RISING PROFILE OF A NEW GENERATION BLOGGER CUM POLITICAL ANALYST IN NIGERIA

Bonaventure Igboanugo aka Bona Leo. Rising Profile Of a New Generation Blogger cum Political Analyst In Nigeria

July 15, 2017

Bona Leo hails from Achalla Awka-North LGA of Anambra state, born on 15th July into Mr and Mrs Joseph Igboanugo's family, Started his Educational career at Emilyrich International Nursery and Primary School later graduated as a science student of Federal Government College Otobi, Oturkpo Benue state (Pro Unitate) and currently holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology Education (Second class Upper) from the prestigious University of Lagos, Akoka Yaba and Masters in Public Health, University of Alabama USA in view.

Being a born industrious Christian man, he struggled like every young and aspiring child after his secondary school days trying to make ends meet when the going went though, later he joined a couple of Network Marketing companies like GNLD, IFA, 4SURE, TREVOR where he had an all expense paid trip to South Africa and Dubai UAE for training on Network Marketing & Customer Service Relations and FUN as an achiever with Independent Field Advertiser (IFA) alongside serving God as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria (CYON), Lagos Nigeria from (2006 - 2009), He is into Long term and short term online investments, he is currently the MD/CEO of Rocbilim Nigeria Limited which is mostly into Consulting and Contracts.

As a true Nigerian he happily married to Rosemary Igboanugo and also engaged in charitable works, helping the needy where necessary and committed to good governance and dividends of democracy, with 2019 closer new breed bloggers are stemming up across the country to take over the mantle of journalism in various sectors in the country.

The Youths are now actively getting involved in mainstream blogging which is a good sign for our growing democracy where news are disseminated to those in the villages and who can't afford the daily newspapers just using their smart phone devices.

In Lagos state, one young man, Bona Leo stands out among the new breed bloggers with interest on Entertainment, Politics and Education

Many see him as an opposition to the government of APC or a PDP member but because of his stance on good leadership and sustenance of democracy in the country, he grew up in the street and have been to more than 20 states in Nigeria and 7 countries he feels the pain, cry and suffering of Nigerians most especially in this CHANGE era, he wants this government to buckle up and tackle the several problems befalling the nation most especially in the power sector and make agriculture attracting to youths and form a formidable ECONOMIC team to salvage the country from its recessive stigma in order to attract foreign investors and maintain or revive those on ground.

He possesses a true leadership qualities and grassroots affiliate. His contributions to the development of his locality has been immense and he has greatly empowered so many youths in one way or the other. He was part of the history making group called (IGBO MANDATE) A non political group with political interests that worked tirelessly with Honorable Tony Nwulu MHR and Honorable Jude Idimogu MHA victories in the last election which brought a revolution of the Igbos involvement in Lagos politics, it is a known fact that Igbos have more establishment and investment in the Centre of Excellence than any other tribe and as such their future, businesses, properties and interest should be protected at all cost. He is currently the Publicity Secretary of Igbo Mandate and Political Analyst cum Strategic Planning's before and after elections. He also have successful records in election planning and analysis as a Biology student of DLI in the Student Union government of DLISA Unilag during his university days are to be reckon with.

Bona Leo I would say was born with politics in his blood, he took keen interest in politics as a young chap back to his University days, Bona Leo would involved in political talks and arguments that centered on governance and administration. He would go on and on to deliver his own version of Martin Luther King's ''I have a dream for Nigeria''.

His strong passion for Marketing/Sales greatly helped him alot in relating with people and preparing him fully well for politics. He had earlier tried so many things in life; played Volleyball, played football, Swimming as hobbies, his passion for politics and his love for his people is what fascinates him.

Bona Leo is warming up for a strategic leadership position in the Nigerian politics SOON as a young aspiring man who believes the Youths are Leaders of Today and no longer Tomorrow so he supports the bill which have passed second hearing at NASS for the #NotTooYoungToRun by Honorable Tony Nwulu MHR.

Popular QUOTES for the day:

Aspire to Acquire your Desire don't Retire but Refire to Acquire your Desire

POOR: Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly

TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More

Even in the face of the present economic challenges we Nigerians are known for resilience and we have the spirit of sportsmanship never to give up and to continue to strive till we get to the promised land. So help me God

God Bless BonaLeo

God Bless Nigeria

France’s Sarkozy to Face Trial

 

A French judge has ordered ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy to stand trial in an illegal campaign finance case

MR Sarkozy faces accusations that his party falsified accounts in order to hide 18m euros (£15m; $20m) of campaign spending in 2012.

Mr Sarkozy denies he was aware of the overspending, and will appeal against the order to stand trial.

He lost the 2012 race, and failed in his bid to run again in this year’s upcoming presidential election.

The case is known as the Bygmalion scandal.

It centres on claims that Mr Sarkozy’s party, then known as the UMP, connived with a friendly PR company to hide the true cost of his 2012 presidential election campaign.

France sets limits on campaign spending, and it is alleged the firm Bygmalion invoiced Mr Sarkozy’s party rather than the campaign, allowing the UMP to spend almost double the amount permitted.

Employees at Bygmalion have admitted knowledge of the ruse and several UMP members already face charges.

The investigation into Mr Sarkozy centres on whether the ex-leader was aware of the alleged fraud.

Thirteen other people are also expected to be tried.

However, Mr Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, has said he will launch an appeal against the trial order, because only one of the two judges handling the case signed the order.

“The clear disagreement between the two magistrates in charge of the matter is such a rare event that it is worth underlining, as it illustrates the inanity of the decision,” Mr Herzog said in a statement.

Growing scrutiny

The development comes as other French politicians have faced questions over their financial dealings.

Francois Fillon, who beat Mr Sarkozy to become the centre-right’s candidate for the presidential race, is accused of misusing public funds to employ his wife and two children.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament is demanding France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen return funds it says she has misspent, by paying an aide at the National Front party’s headquarters in Paris.

Mr Sarkozy is the second French president to be put on trial since 1958, when the current French republic was established.

Former leader Jacques Chirac was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2011 for diverting public funds and abusing public trust.

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Who is Nicolas Sarkozy?

Son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother of Greek-Jewish origin; grew up in Paris

Began his political career as mayor of the affluent Paris suburb of Neuilly from 1983 to 2002

Nicknamed president “bling-bling” by critics for his flashy leadership style

As president, pushed through reforms including raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 and relaxing the 35-hour working week.

• Culled from BBC

CAN Flays Minister for Lying to Nigerians

THE Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has rebuked Lai Mohammed, minister of information, for lying and disparaging religious leaders in the country.

A statement from CAN which was made available to Realnews today said, “We are disappointed but not surprised with the disparaging, lies and abusive statements credited to the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in Ilorin during the Town hall meeting where he was accusing religious leaders of making alleged provocative statements that can lead to religious war.

“Mohammed in his characteristic manner left out the issues but went after the so-called religious leaders, which we all know, are the Christian leaders because we know that the Minister dare not speak against the Moslem leaders who had said worse things. That would be an open invitation of Fatwah.”

Quoting the minister words, the statement reads, “His words; “…Such fallacies like the Islamisation of Nigeria, the killing of Christians by Muslims, the labelling of Nigeria as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world can only serve one purpose: trigger a religious war. Needless to say that no nation ever survives a religious war.

“Those who are making these allegations know that they are not true, but they have found in religion another tool to demonise the government of the day, divert attention from the government’s anti-corruption stance and create undue tension in the polity…”

“Mohammed went on further to dismiss the Islamisation agenda against the country when he said: “The alleged Islamisation of Nigeria under the current administration is totally false and should be perceived in its entirety as a campaign of calumny. The secular nature of Nigeria’s Constitution makes the issue of religious dominance and impunity improbable.”

“We want to boldly declare that Nigerian Christians love their country and they not only promote peace and unity but also always pray for her and the leadership. In the last one year, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared fasting and prayers for Nigeria and her leadership twice. If we are thirsty for a war, we wouldn’t have gone that far.

“Is Lai Mohammed accusing of us of telling lies:

• That our members are being killed, maimed and burnt by the Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast?
• That our members are being killed by the Fulani herdsmen in Plateau, Benue and now Southern Kaduna states?
• That those responsible for these killings profess Islam as their religion?
• That those who killed Madam Bridget Agbahime in Kano were Muslims who were arrested but later discharged and acquitted by the court as requested by the State Attorney- General and Commissioner of Justice?
• That those who killed Madam Eunice Elisha Olawale while doing the morning preaching in Kubwa, Abuja were Muslim fundamentalists who were arrested but also freed by the Police?

“Is Lai Mohammed telling us that no Christian was killed by the Fulani herdsmen who invaded the Southern Kaduna, killed and maimed our members and razed down their communities recently? Is Mohammed saying the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing our members are not armed with sophisticated weapons and is it wrong for us to ask where they get the AK-47 and other weapons they are using?

“When all those killings were going on in Plateau, Benue and Southern Kaduna, was there any time Lai Mohammed or anyone in the Federal Government raised up a voice against the atrocities?

“If those murderous Fulani herdsmen are faceless, how come the Sultan of Sokoto is claiming that they are not Nigerians and in another instance, the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai said they had been paid for the “wrong done to them’’? Why is it that whenever these murderers are perpetrating their atrocities, the security agencies look elsewhere until their victims decided to fight back? Is it because the security agencies are Muslim dominated?  CAN says No to disparaging remarks in the name of politics. Enough of these lies by Lai Mohammed!,” the statement signed by Adebayo Oladeji, special assistant, Media and Communications, to president of CAN, Samson Olasupo A. Ayokunle.

Trump Gets Warning Missiles from Iran, China

CHINA and Iran, two countries that top President Trump’s enemies list, are pushing back against his tough talk this week with showy and provocative military drills. Iran conducted military exercises and rolled out new weapons that its leaders said would help national defense, and China tested a new missile following Trump’s Twitter assault on Beijing’s expansion in the South China Sea. Iran’s defense minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan, displayed the country’s newest weapons, including a guided missile, a grenade launcher, a rifle and a pistol. The arms would boost the military’s capabilities in individual combat and in air defense, he said, according to the Tasnim News Agency.

Iran on Saturday warned Washington against any hostile actions. Iran conducts military exercise in response to Trump’s comments on enemies “If the enemy makes a mistake our roaring missiles will hit their targets,” Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force, said during massive air defense drills, the state-owned Fars News Agency reported. Iran also warned that if attacked, its missiles would target the U.S. 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, American installations in the Indian Ocean and the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

“These points are all within the range of Iran’s missile systems, and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake,” Mojtaba Zonour, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. “And only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv.”

The threats came after the Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday on 25 Iranian individuals and entities supporting the Revolutionary Guards’ ballistic missile program. The sanctions were triggered by an Iranian ballistic missile test on Jan. 29 that the U.S. said violated a United Nations Security Council resolution that prohibits launching missiles capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. Iran said the missile was not capable of carrying a nuclear weapon and that testing defensive weapons is its right. – Vanguard

—  Feb 7, 2017 @ 19:55 GMT

Afcon 2017: Caf vows to improve future Nations Cup pitches

 

The Confederation of African Football says it will take greater control over pitches at Africa Cup of Nations to avoid poor playing surfaces

THE pitches at this year’s finals in Gabon came in for heavy criticism, with the state of the turf in Port Gentil blamed by then-Ghana coach Avram Grant as responsible for causing injuries to players.

“That is a lesson for us to make sure we have better control of better management in future,” Caf secretary general Hicham El Amrani told BBC Sport.

“We are taking it very seriously.

“One way to do things is to be in touch with the Local Organising Committee way in advance, even before a pitch has been laid, and to provide them with our knowledge in terms of selection of suppliers.

“Of course we would have been happier if certain things had been better managed – and I’m not going to go back on the everlasting issue of the pitch in Port-Gentil.

“But overall we are very happy with the tournament and we congratulate the host nation for their tremendous efforts.”

Gabon was chosen at short notice to stage the finals in April 2015, after the tournament was removed from original hosts Libya the previous year because of civil conflict in the country.

El Amrani says that talks have already started about preparing the pitches for the 2019 Nations Cup in Cameroon, whose team won this year’s finals.

Having staged the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last year, some pitches have already been in laid – which is in contrast to the turf in the new Gabonese stadiums of both Oyem and Port-Gentil.

“We just need to make sure we keep offering the best conditions but obviously taking into account the environment in which we operate,” he added.

“From a football perspective, we are also very happy. We saw beautiful games.”

Fan parks

Gabon was supposed to be the first Nations Cup to have fan parks – but El Amrani says this was cancelled after the violence that followed August’s disputed presidential elections.

The government said three people died in street protests while the opposition party claimed the death toll was far higher.

“Because of some delays that we encountered following some turbulences after the presidential elections, we decided it would be more effective not to deliver the fan parks,” the Moroccan explained.

“We had to focus our energy and effort on delivering the stadiums, which was obviously more important.”

Caf plans to have fan parks in Cameroon, where they were a feature of last year’s hugely popular women’s tournament.

“We cannot have them for the Women’s Cup of Nations in Cameroon and then not for the men’s one,” he said.

“I think we need them anyway, not only for Cameroon but also for other teams. People in Cameroon are so crazy about football that we might need stadiums for 200,000 people which we obviously cannot have.”

On a separate note, El Amrani denied that Caf had removed this year’s Under-17 finals from Madagascar after the head of the country’s local FA, Ahmad Ahmad, chose to challenge long-standing ruler Issa Hayatou in March’s presidential elections.

“It is not true, but if the media wants to find links or comment on that, I will not get into that area,” he said.

“When decisions are being made to grant a tournament, take it away, delay or whatever decision is being made, it is a collective decision that is made based on concrete factual reports.”

With the exception of Ahmad himself, all others on the Caf Executive Committee decided to withdraw the tournament from Madagascar – citing the ‘reports of inspection teams’ – and move the May event to Gabon.

• Culled from BBC

Arrest Warrant on Fayemi, A Joke Taken Too Far, Says APC

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has described the arrest warrant issued against former Governor Kayode Fayemi, who is the current Minister for Solid Minerals Development, as a joke taken too far. Responding to the development in a press statement in Ado-Ekiti, APC’s spokesman, Taiwo Olatunbosun, described the lawmakers as a set of idle certificate forgers who are being pushed into issuing a bench warrant against Fayemi by Governor Fayose who has usurped their powers by declaring himself the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Fayemi Olatunbosun challenged the lawmakers to move freely on the streets of Ado Ekiti or their constituencies where they have lost all support.

“Most of them are in hiding in the Government House because security agents are looking for them to answer charges on certificate forgery and so it is baffling that suspected criminals wanted for certificate forgery would be the ones being lined up by Governor Ayodele Fayose to help him divert attention from alleged serial crimes by issuing arrest warrant on an innocent man over trumped-up charges. “We wonder when it becomes the lot of fugitives to sit in judgement to persecute an innocent, law-abiding citizen and responsible leader like Fayemi,” he said.

He added: “This is the kind of Assembly you get when characters such as the present members who are handpicked by Fayose because they have sordid records that suit his equally dubious agenda.

“The APC wishes to state clearly that Dr. Fayemi is too busy and focused in his national assignments to be distracted by a bunch of loafers. “We warn that any attempt to embarrass Dr. Fayemi in any form would not be taken lightly by the party,” he concluded. – Vanguard

Let’s Convert Mosques to School – Sanusi

THE emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II has tasked northern Governors to convert Muslim worship centres to primary school.

Sanusi II who spoke during the graduation ceremony of 2500 Post Graduate Diploma and NCE teachers on day 3 of Kano Basic Education week stated that such step would save cost in this era of recession. If you look at our educational needs viz a viz the infrastructure deficit, it became imperative to convert existing mosque to primary school, and aside cost reduction on this era of recession, it would accelerates education development in the region.”

The emir said that “it is not all the we pray and this utilities remain idle for the better part of the day, it will be highly rewarding if we convert them to learning institutions as obtained in other clime”.

Sanusi II who lamented disadvantage position of the north on western education, called for concerted effort to tackled the problem. The former Central Bank Governor explained that in Morocco just like any other country in the Arab world made efficient utilization of Muslim worship centers to spread knowledge.

The First Class emir said “when you convert these mosques to institution of learning in your domain, you have simply bring education to the door steps of citizens at less cost” He noted that products of such institution would turn out to be “responsible citizens “, adding that it would also boost enrolment.

Agbami Co-venturers Laud Agbami Scholarship Scheme

STAR Deep Water Petroleum Limited (A Chevron Company and Operator of the Agbami field) together with its Co-venturers in the Agbami Field – Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Famfa Oil Limited, Statoil Nigeria Limited, Petroleo Brasileiro Nigeria Limited have congratulated 289 beneficiaries of Agbami Medical and Engineering Professional Scholarship, AMEPS, scheme, who graduated in the 2016 convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos on Wednesday January 25. Thirty-two of the scholars graduated with First Class honours.

Omotuyi Oyindamola Ajoke, one of the beneficiaries, was the best graduating student.

Ajoke attributed her high flyer performance to God and the support she got from Agbami Coventurers through AMEPS. In her words at the convocation ceremony, “I am grateful to Agbami Co-venturers for the scholarship.”

Lanre Kalejaiye, acting director, Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited, expressed the co-venturers’s delight with the impact of AMEPS. “We congratulate all the beneficiaries of the Agbami Medical and Engineering Professional Scholarship in the University of Lagos. We especially commend the 32 who graduated with First Class Degrees. They are all valuable ambassadors of AMEPS,” he said.

AMEPS is a merit-based scholarship scheme which was established in 2009 and administered by the Agbami Co-venturers to bridge the gap in the nations’ supply of Engineering and Medical professionals.

From its inception to date, over N7.5 billion has been spent on AMEPS with over 15,000 young Nigerian beneficiaries. Three hundred and ten (310) of them have graduated with First Class honours. As at the end of 2016, over 9,000 of the beneficiaries have graduated from the scheme, while a total of 6,500 are currently on the scheme.

The Agbami Co-Venturers have also provided strategic support to the development of education by donating 26 fully equipped Science Laboratory complexes, plus six hybrid and two conventional libraries to schools across the country.

The Agbami Field is located approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) offshore Nigeria, and in line with the Deep Offshore Community Affairs Group (DOCAG) engagement principles, co-venturers view the entire country of Nigeria  as Agbami community.

The Agbami Field is currently the single largest oil field in deepwater West Africa. It commenced production in July 2008. At peak production, the Agbami project contributes 250,000 barrels of oil per day to Nigeria’s total oil production, according to a release by Esimaje Brikinn, general manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs.

Police Recovers N111Million from 23 INEC Officers

THE panel constituted to investigate the electoral and other offences perpetrated during the December 10, 2016, Rivers parliamentary re-run election, has alleged that it recovered N111 million from 23 officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Damian Okoro, a deputy commissioner of Police and chairman of the panel, made the allegation while presenting the team’s report to Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of Police, in Abuja on Tuesday, February 7.

Okoro alleged that three senior electoral officers collected N20 million each out of the N360 million given to them by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, while the remaining officers received N15 million each.

The Police commissioner further alleged that there were some cases of misconduct on the part of some electoral officers, who were compromised in the line of duty.

“By this investigation, this panel has diligently unravelled what went wrong with the re-run election in Rivers, the details of which are contained in the report.

“We discovered that failure of leadership and followership rather than law enforcement was responsible for the political upheaval in the state,” Okoro said.

Besides, he said that the task given to the panel was challenging because of the tense political and security atmosphere in the state.

The chairman said that lawless elements targeted political opponents of their sponsors, and law enforcement agents, especially the police.

He attributed some of the violent acts to inflammatory statements by some narrow-minded politicians.

“Apart from their utterances, politicians in their desperation for power, also armed thugs who unleashed terror on their opponents,” he said.

He said that six police officers, who were indicted, had been tried and dismissed from the force.

Speaking at the occasion, Idris said that a report and recommendation would be forwarded to the attorney-general and minister of Justice for his advice.

He said appropriate action would be taken against indicted persons to serve as deterrent.

“We are going to take appropriate action in conjunction with other security agencies to put an end to this problem,’’ he said.

He urged Nigerians to have confidence in the security agencies and believe the panel report.

Idris alleged that Wike refused to cooperate with the panel even when the team visited him in Port Harcourt.

He said that the investigation would go a long way toward ending electoral malpractices in the country. “We will be failing in this country if we allow this to continue,’’ he said.

He said that the money recovered would be paid into government coffers.

It will be recalled that the IGP on December 22, 2016, constituted a 15-man special joint investigation panel to investigate electoral and other offences in respect of the Dec. 10, 2016 re-run election in Rivers.

The membership comprised 12 police officers and three officials of the Department of State Services.

The panel was, among other things, mandated to thoroughly investigate the various infractions, incidents and violence that marred the election.

Court Freezes Ozekhome’s Account with N75m

MIKE Ozekhome, SAN, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, appears to be in trouble. The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, February 7, ordered the temporary forfeiture of the sum of N75 million found in his account domiciled with Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB.

The money which was discovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was suspected to be proceeds of illegal deals. Justice AbdulAziz Anka, presiding judge gave the order on Tuesday when he delivered ruling in a motion ex-parte filed by the anti-graft agency. The motion sought that Ozakhome’s account be temporary frozen on the ground that the money deposited in his account on December 15, 2016, was suspected to be proceeds of crime.

The application was filed before the court by Rotimi Oyedepo. Arguing the motion, Idris Mohammed, a counsel to the EFCC, informed the court that the application was brought before the court pursuant to section 29 of the EFCC Act. Idris said that three exhibit marked exhibit 01, 02 and 03 are attached with the motion ex-parte in addition to an affidavit of urgency sworn to by Tosin Owobo, an investigator of the agency. He urged the court to grant the application ordering temporary forfeiture of the account for 120 days. Acceding to the request of the EFCC, Justice Anka ordered that Ozekhome’s account with the sum of N75 million domicile with Guaranty Trust bank be forfeited for 120 days. The judge also ordered that any party not satisfied with the ruling could appeal.

Nigerian Government Withdraws Corruption Charges against S-Court Officials

THE Federal Government, on Tuesday, February 7, withdrew the nine-count corruption charge it slammed against three senior officials of the Supreme Court accused of complicity in N2.2billion fraud. Those charged before an Abuja High Court at Jabi were Saleh Gambo, chief registrar of the court, Sharif Abdulrahman, deputy director of finance, and Rilwanu Lawal, assistant director of finance.

As soon as the defendants were to be arraigned on Tuesday, February 7, Hajar Yusuf, a counsel to the federal government, announced the withdrawal of the charges. Yusuf said: “My lord this matter is for arraignment today, but I have been instructed to withdraw the charges.” The counsel did not give reasons for the withdrawal of the charges.

Hence, Justice Abba-Bello Mohammed, trial judge, struck out the charge marked CR/13/16 and dated November 3, 2016.

The defendants had been charged for allegedly diversion of N2.2billion belonging to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, into personal bank accounts domiciled at the United Bank for Africa Plc with account number 2027642863.

It was alleged that they had between 2009 and 2016, received gratification in the sum of N10million from Willysdave Ltd, a private contractor to the Supreme Court of Nigerian, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 10(a) (i) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Act 2000 and punishable under the same Act.

Federal government alleged that the trio, on different occasions, surreptitiously used their positions to receive gratifications to the tune of over N74.4m from private contractors that provided services to the Supreme Court between 2009 and 2016.

Why Nigerians Love Flowery Languages

 

In our series of letters from African journalists, novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani considers the art of Nigerian verbosity

MY friends in the international media are perplexed by the flowery language often used in press releases from Nigerian officials.

The pretentious diction, dying metaphors and padded sentences would make George Orwell somersault in his grave.

Take, for example, this paragraph from a press release by the Nigerian parliament:

“The seminar is aimed at making good the promise of the National Assembly that we are on the same page with the President Buhari led administration and in line with the legislative agenda, that there is a synergy between the National Assembly and the Presidency in the fight against corruption.

“It is to reaffirm the point that you cannot clap with one hand. It is our way of saying that there must be a legislative strength to back the anti-corruption stance of the present administration.”

Here is another example, this time a paragraph from a Nigerian military press release:

“The Nigerian Army in synergy with other security agencies under its constitutional mandates… acted responsively in order to de-escalate the deteriorating security scenario in-situ.

“Instructively, the military and other security agencies exercised maximum restraints against the odds of provocative and inexplicable violence that were employed against them…

“It is rather inconceivable for any individual or group to have decided to inundate the general public with an anecdote of unverified narratives in order to discredit the Nigerian Army in the course of carrying out its constitutional duties despite the inexplicable premeditated and unprovoked attacks…”

Such long-winded passages can also be found in the local press, which commonly use expressions such as “the remains of the deceased have been deposited in the mortuary”, “men of the underworld”, “hoodlums” and “tantamount to insubordination”.

Foreigners wonder why Nigerian government officials do not opt for simpler language.

Are they intentionally trying to confuse the public or to conceal information?

Well, these press releases are simply following an age-old Nigerian tradition of verbal ornamentation.

For us, important information has always been best conveyed with grandiloquence.

Writing a love letter

Back in my teenage years, long before the era of texting and sexting, there was only one way for a Nigerian boy to prove his sincere feelings for a girl: By writing a love letter.

Any boy serious about catching the attention of the girl he fancied knew better than to do it in simple English. He had to find the right big words.

---

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

“It is tempting to, as usual, blame the British for all this, for bringing us their English language and their pen and paper”

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If his vocabulary was lacking, there was always that nerdish classmate of his who, for a fee in cash or kind, could take on the role of scribe plenipotentiary.

Either that or the boy could copy verbatim from a love letter already written by someone else.

And so, the typical love letter that many of us Nigerian girls received went something like this:

“My dearest, sweetest, most magnificent, paragon of beauty, I hope this letter finds you in a current state of sound body and mind.

“My principal reason for writing this epistle is to gravitate your mind towards an issue that has been troubling my soul.

“Even as I put pen to paper, my adrenalin is ascending on the Richter scale, my temperature is rising, the mirror in my eyes have only your divine reflection, the wind vane of my mind is pointing north, south and east at the same time.

“Indeed, when I sleep, you are the only thought in my medulla oblongata and I dream about you…”

If these sweet nothings were from a boy in whom you had absolutely no interest, the thing to do was to set his letter ablaze, enclose the ashes in an envelope and promptly return to sender.

Nigeria’s notorious 419 internet scammers adopted this same tradition of using high-sounding words.

Persuading gullible foreigners to part with millions of dollars and pounds is serious business, definitely not a task for everyday words and simple sentences.

A typical excerpt from a 419 scam letter reads something like this:

“Dear Sir,

“I do not come to you by chance.

“Upon my quest for a trusted and reliable foreign businessman, I was given your contact by the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I hope that you can be trusted to handle a transaction of this magnitude.

“It is risk-free, as all modalities have been put in place for a smooth and successful conclusion.

“Thus, I crave your distinguished indulgence and honest cooperation to guarantee that this mutual transaction will be executed under a legitimate agreement that will benefit you and lend credence to my humble belief in your honesty and trustworthiness.”

Like the 419 scammers and the love-struck lads, many Nigerian government officials choose the path of verbosity, expansiveness and repetition in their press releases.

Of course, it is tempting to, as usual, blame the British for all this, for bringing us their English language and their pen and paper.

But then, communication was not any less complicated in the days before Nigerians learnt to write press releases in English.

‘Wear out your listeners’

As veteran Nigerian journalist and author Peter Enahoro noted in his 1966 classic, How to be a Nigerian, the power of Nigerian oratory is measured by the strength of the speaker’s legs – and what better way to ensure that your speech never ends than to punctuate every sentence with a proverb or parable about the tortoise or the monkey.

According to Enahoro: “A sprinkling of logical conclusions is permissible but not vital… If there are two ways of making a point, one short, the other long, plug for the longer route… The idea is to wear out your listeners, because the power of your oratory will be determined by the strength of your endurance.

“If your listeners save their sanity and survive you, then you have made a poor speech.”

Despite modern technology, the general rules of Nigerian communication have obviously not changed much since Enahoro’s observations.

Many still hold on to the ancient belief that complexity of message is proof of power, intellect and influence.

That supposed proof is probably more important to the Nigerian government official than whether or not you understand what he is trying to say.

• Culled from BBC

Kazakhstan seeks to leap onto world stage

In the snowy foreground of a brand new steel and glass building in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, a dancer in national dress stands frozen in a dramatic flourish, her body arching towards the sky.

The cast-iron abstract sculpture stands at the entrance of the second major ballet theatre to have opened in the new capital in the last few years.

Together they point to the energy-rich country's ambition to stamp its own mark on an art form inherited from its Soviet past.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union 25 years ago, ballet has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the Muslim-majority Central Asian region's newly independent countries.

Much of Kazakhstan's multi-million-dollar ballet boom has been funded by the government, but private sponsors and international partners have also stepped in.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 76, famously announced in 2013 that "a country that builds factories is thinking years ahead... a country that builds theatres is thinking in terms of centuries."

At the Astana Ballet Theatre's opening last year, stars of its troupe wowed spectators in a production curated by Brazilian resident choreographer Ricardo Amarante.The artistic level here is very strong: they can do Kazakh national dance, classical ballet and contemporary," the neo-classical specialist, who has been working with the troupe for the last year, told AFP.

"The support from the government is there and now it is important local ballet keeps its mind open to new styles to add, to build on, its classical foundations," he added.

Next door to the 800-seat auditorium is the first certified professional choreography academy recognised throughout Central Asia and unveiled in September.

Three years earlier, the city's largest theatre, Astana Opera, also with its own ballet troupe, opened at a cost of $320 million (297 million euros). The building is considered one of the architectural showpieces of Astana, the capital since 1997

The money being poured into ballet and other arts, even as Kazakhstan suffers an oil-linked economic downturn, testifies to the enduring appeal of cultural tastes popular in the Soviet era.

Russian dancer Galina Ulanova, widely considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time, has helped drive the development of Kazakh ballet.

Ulanova taught and danced in the country's former capital, Almaty, during World War II after being evacuated from the Kirov ballet in Leningrad, the former name for Saint Petersburg.

Under the USSR, ballet became particularly popular in major cities, where Russian-speaking elites helped buttress a cultural agenda driven by Moscow.

Now ballet is "equally popular among Russian-speakers and Kazakh-speakers" in a country where over a fifth of the population is ethnic Russian, says Svetlana Dzhalmagambetova, a former senator who sat on the parliament's social and cultural development committee.

"The Soviet Union did two things very well: space exploration and ballet," said Kazakh-speaking Zhanat Zhunusbekova, after watching Amarante's ballet "Diversity" at the Astana Ballet Theatre.

"We used to have to go to Russia to see a ballet like that. Now we have it here," she added.

Pre-Soviet national culture

After the end of the Soviet era in 1991, state funding for the arts shrivelled up across the region, which suffered a protracted economic slump.in the resource-poor countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan it has never recovered to pre-Soviet levels, driving artists abroad in search of work.

"They earn no more than $140 per month," Aigul Muratalieva, a teacher at Kyrgyzstan's main ballet school, told AFP referring to the country's ballet dancers.

"They gain experience here then go abroad. Our repertoire has greatly diminished. We have no soloists to take on the leading roles in important productions."

In other countries a new emphasis on pre-Soviet national culture has emerged at the expense of the classical arts.

Turkmenistan's authoritarian first president Saparmurat Niyazov banned ballet along with opera, insisting both were out of synch with the country's "national mentality".

Keeping ballet at home

During early independence, Kazakh ballet artists would also leave for foreign countries where their classical training was appreciated and they were better paid.

Now, increasingly, the best ones stay.

The prima ballerina of Astana Opera, Aigerim Beketayeva, starred at the London Coliseum in 2014 in popular Russian choreographer Boris Eifman's production of Rodin.

But like her international award-winning male counterpart Bakhtiyar Adamzhan, Beketayeva has remained attached to the Astana Opera troupe, which she joined after being offered a flat in the capital by the government.

"Often when you watch ballet artists you can see the effort, their straining for perfection," Gulnara Zhumaseitova, a ballet expert at the Institute of Literature and Arts in Almaty, told AFP.

"But Beketayeva is so effortless and natural," she said.

Zhumaseitova said however that the government must use the new academy to further develop "national dance that represents our culture and traditions" as well as find its ballet niche on the world stage.

"National productions based on our dances are something people might come from abroad to see. Currently, they can still watch a better version of Swan Lake in London or Paris," she said.