Friday 27 October 2017

Phantom 8: Tecno’s new flagship challenges competitors



The fast-rising global manufacturer of smartphone, Tecno Mobile, has unveiled a new brand, Tecno Phantom 8. At the unveiling at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, were ace actor Odunlade Adekola and popular tech You-tuber Eric Okafor.

The device has 20 megapixels front and back cameras with 12 megapixel and 13 megapixels configurations. While reviewing  the phone with this writer, Eric Okafor, who is the founder of howtotechnaija.com, said “the refocus camera feature on Phantom 8 is a conversation starter. “My friends on social media suddenly aren’t shy to ask if I used a phone or an actual camera to take amazing portrait shots. Everyone wants to look good and that’s what Phantom 8 offers,”he said.

Ace Nollywood actor Odunlade Adekola explained the optical power of the product from the perspective of a film producer. “The technology behind it is so wonderful. From the camera point of view, the refocusing part of the camera is beyond imagination and the battery is very strong,” he said.

The dual-lens back camera enables the phone to achieve depth of field as identified by Adekola.  The main camera is a 12 megapixel SONY IMX386 sensor with f/1.8 lens and improved low light photography. Other features, which complement the power of the camera, include a TRI LED flash, 10X Zoom, Autofocus, portrait mode (refocus), Auto HDR, Night mode, Superpixel and smart filters.

The portrait mode is found in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. In the iPhone 8 Plus, the Portrait Mode is embedded with Portrait Lighting, which uses the camera sensors to light the subject’s face in real time. Both Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 have the dual camera feature.

Techno Phantom 8 does not only match Samsung’s and Apple’s flagships in terms of camera technology, it also boasts of 6GB RAM, and 64GB storage. These are same specifications with Samsung Galaxy Note 8. However, Apple  offers 64GB as standard storage, with up to 256GB scalable storage without the need for MicroSD. That is currently unbeatable.

Tecno Phantom 8 promises to offer the best experience in photography and design. The product couples form and functionality; presented in a slimmer and lighter metal rounded-edges frame. As a luxury product, it has a 3D diamond design at the back. The device has an appealing aesthetics and architecture. This is an attempt to measure up to Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s exceptional and futuristic packaging.

Obviously the consumers were  expecting Phantom 7, but the company said it tasked its’ engineers to double up and produce Phantom 8. Reviewers said it is a bid to keep pace with  Samsung’s and Apple’s previously launched Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8, respectively.

Tecno Phantom 8 is targeted at upper-middle class. It comes in Champagne old, Galaxy Blue and Phantom Black. Tecno mobile is known for spotting global trends and producing local-driven solutions. The brand, with competitive presence in India, the Middlle East and Africa, has kept its market share on a positive gradient.

Although an Africa and Middle-East brand, Tecno’s strategy of “think globally, but act locally”, positions it in the same niche with Apple and Samsung. Techno Mobile engages idea thinking and native intelligence in a bid to beat competition in its territories.

Welcome to Olukanri Riliwan's blog : EPL Top Scorer, Harry Kane to Miss Man United Clas...

Welcome to Olukanri Riliwan's blog : EPL Top Scorer, Harry Kane to Miss Man United Clas...: As Tottenham Hotspurs are set travel to Old Trafford for the lunch-time kick-off on Saurday, the club have confirmed that their star st...

EPL Top Scorer, Harry Kane to Miss Man United Clash Against Spurs...Find Out Why



As Tottenham Hotspurs are set travel to Old Trafford for the lunch-time kick-off on Saurday, the club have confirmed that their star striker, Harry Kane will miss the massive Manchester United clash with a hamstring injury, and watch on from the sidelines.

The 24-years-old has scored a league-high eight goals in the Premier League this season. The England ace who has scored 17 times in just 13 games for club and country this season, looked to be in pain towards the end of Tottenham's 4-1 win over Liverpool last weekend.

Following the knock, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino had all-but confirmed the potential injury, and when quizzed on Kane's availability, the Argentine chief said: "We'll see, we'll see.
"We need to assess the team because we were forced to rotate [against West Ham] for different reasons and we'll see what happens in the next few days."
Now Tottenham have confirmed Kane is in fact injured, but have failed to state how severe the knock is or how long he could be out for.

However, Pochettino did reveal: "We cannot take a risk with Harry. It is only a small injury but there is no sense risking turning it into something more serious."

The injury also puts Kane in doubt for the huge Champions League clash with real Madrid at Wembley on November 1.

Kane already missed Spurs' 3-2 defeat to West Ham in Carabao Cup midweek, with Fernando Llorente tasked with filling his boots.

The news will come as a massive blow to Tottenham fans, who would have been itching to see what Kane could do against United.

Both clubs are sitting on 20 points in the Premier League this season, with the game already gearing up to be a real six-pointer.

Rapper Olamide Set Twitter On Fire With This Reply To A Fan!



Don’t wish for anybody’s down fall, as a user didn’t find it funny after a tweet to Popular Rapper Olamide Baddo.

See below :






See His Twitter handle :

Tweets by olamide_YBNL
My own opinion: that twitter user was way out of line. Olamide has served us well with his songs and vibes, why say negative things to your own fellow man.

Keep winning Olamide, we dey your back.


Neymar Receives Ban



Paris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar, has been suspended for one match, following his red card against Marseille on Sunday.

This means the Brazilian will sit out their match against Nice on Friday.

Neymar was sent off late in the 2-2 draw in Le Classique after clashing with Lucas Ocampos, who may have over-dramatised the incident.

It was his second yellow card in three minutes.

At the time of his dismissal, PSG were 2-1 down. But Edinson Cavani managed to earn a point with a late free-kick.

Neymar will face a further one-match suspension if he commits the same offence before the end of the Ligue 1 season.

Thursday 26 October 2017

Manchester United named most valuable football team ahead of Real Madrid, Barcelona



Forbes has named Manchester United as the most valuable team brand in the world.

The Premier League club is rated as the fourth most valuable team brand across all sports behind the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Lakers.

However, they top the chart when it comes to football clubs, with Barcelona second and Real Madrid third.

United have a brand value of £425million, a rise of 12.8%.

Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s brand value has risen by a massive 13.2% to a massive £16million, but Messi has seen his brand value drop by 10% to £10million.

However, Ronaldo is only fourth in terms of athletes brand value. Roger Federer tops the charts after a remarkable year, while LeBron James comes in at second and Usain Bolt in third.

MOST VALUABLE BRANDS:

TEAMS – Current brand value

1) Dallas Cowboys – £676million

2) New York Yankees – £519m

3) Los Angeles Lakers – £449m

4) Manchester United – £425m

5) Barcelona – £405m

6) New England Patriots – £391m

7) Real Madrid – £385m

8) New York Knicks – £381m

9) Boston Red Sox – £346m

10) Chicago Cubs – £345m

ATHLETES – Current brand value

1) Roger Federer – £28million

2) LeBron James – £25m

3) Usain Bolt – £20m

4) Cristiano Ronaldo – £16m

5) Phil Mickelson – £15m

6) Tiger Woods – £13m

7) Virat Kohli – £11m

8) Rory McIlroy – £10m

9) Lionel Messi – £10m

10) Stephen Curry – £10m




See When The Quarter-Final Draw Of The Carabao Cup Will Take Place As Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United & Others Qualify



The draw for the quarter-final of this season’s Carabao Cup, will be conducted on Thursday, October 26 at 4pm.

The eight teams left in the competition are: Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester United, Manchester City, Bristol City, Leicester City, Chelsea and Bournemouth.

Question of Sport captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell will be on hand to draw the sides and it will be streamed live on Twitter.

The next round ties will be played during the week commencing December 18.

The final will be played at Wembley Stadium on February 25.


Nigerian steel manufacturer saves economy N236bn


African Industries Group, Nigeria’s major private sector steel manufacturer, yesterday, said that it saves the country $650 million (about N236 billion) through import-substitution, by exporting finished steel from its plants to other African countries.


Ajaokuta-Steel-Company
The group also lamented the high cost of sea freight of steel products to other countries within the continent, calling on the port authorities and other relevant agencies to ease the bottleneck associated with exporting cargoes through the ports and reduce the various charges to acceptable level to make Nigerian goods competitive in the global market.

Group Managing Director, African Industries Group, Alok Gupta, revealed this in a presentation on ´Taking Nigerian Steel to the Global Map´ to government officials, banks, among other stakeholders in Lagos. He said his company has invested more than $1.1 billion in Nigeria with plans to invest more in upcoming projects.

He said: “All these efforts have resulted in huge saving of $650 million in foreign exchange to the country. We have been exporting between 150,000 – 200,000 metric tons of steel on annual basis to Ghana, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Morocco. However, our steel products had to compete with big producers from Ukraine, Russia, China and other developed countries.

“Our export of steel during the first nine months of this year has increased over three fold by weight and value compared to the whole of 2016. To put numbers on it – in 2017 for the first three quarters, our steel exports are almost $13.5 million compared to $4.1 million in 2016 and we are expecting an additional $12 million of steel exports in the final quarter of the year.

Overall, we expect over $25 million in the current year 2017. We are proud to achieve this milestone due to combined effort of our team and enabling environment created by domestic industrial policies.”

On export challenges, Gupta stated: “There are many challenges both on logistics and fiscal policy issues. Sea freight between Lagos and other West African countries is almost double of what it costs to bring the steel product from Ukraine or China. For example, sea freight from Ukraine to Ghana is $35-40 per metric tons while from Lagos to Ghana costs $65 per metric tons which is almost 50 percent more.

“We appeal to shipping companies operating in Nigeria to remove this abnormality and make a level playing field for us, if we really want Nigeria to emerge as global player in steel sector. We need our colleague, partner and workforce among port authorities and customs to ease the bottleneck associated with smooth flow of export cargoes through port, reduce the various charges to acceptable level so as to make Nigerian goods compatible in global market.”

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, lauded the company’s stride, saying that the federal government’s policy on privatization of the steel sector is working.

Fayemi who was represented by Mr. Ime Ekrikpo, Director, Steel and Non- Ferrous Metals, assured operators in the sector of right policy support and incentives aimed at taking the industry higher.

“Our key target in the mining industry is the steel and we will give them all the necessary support to begin to produce from iron ore,” he said.

Also Speaking, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frank Jacob, applauded the company’s export feat. “In spite of harsh operating environment, they are able to produce, export and earn foreign exchange for the country,” he said.

Wednesday 25 October 2017

Asa speaks On Collaborating With Wizkid



Shortly after the release of Asa‘s Bed of Stone album in 2015, Wizkid announced his desire to collaborate with Asa. A section of music fans laughed it off because according to them, ‘Wizkid and Asa could not match because of the obvious difference in their sounds.’ Others bluntly insisted that Wizkid is not on Asa’s level adding that the Star Boy would ruin her soulful sound.

Two years later, a never before seen interview of Asa with Funmi Iyanda has surfaced and opposed to popular opinion, Asa is interested in working with the Star boy.

‘He’s a sweet guy and it was sweet of him to say that. I felt bad, I felt ‘oh my God’ I hope he doesn’t feel bad’, I hope he doesn’t think I incited it or I wouldn’t want to work with him, I’ll really like to work with him. I think he’s interesting, I think it’ll be a nice collaboration if we do it. I’ll love to see Wizkid in another context but being himself, we’ll make something really nice!’ – She disclosed

Asa is Nigerians biggest Afro-soul singer and in over a decade of her reign, she has worked with a handful of Nigerian artistes.

Wizkid has in the past two years risen to global acclaim and it would be such a delight to see Nigeria’s biggest pop artiste

 – Wizkid and Nigeria’s biggest Soul singer

 – Asa hop in the studio and make magic for the world.




‘I’ll Really Like To Work With Him, We’ll Make Something Really Nice’ – Asa



‘I’ll Really Like To Work With Him, We’ll Make Something Really Nice’ – Asa On Collaborating With Wizkid

Shortly after the release of Asa‘s Bed of Stone album in 2015, Wizkid announced his desire to collaborate with Asa. A section of music fans laughed it off because according to them, ‘Wizkid and Asa could not match because of the obvious difference in their sounds.’ Others bluntly insisted that Wizkid is not on Asa’s level adding that the Star Boy would ruin her soulful sound.

Two years later, a never before seen interview of Asa with Funmi Iyanda has surfaced and opposed to popular opinion, Asa is interested in working with the Star boy.

‘He’s a sweet guy and it was sweet of him to say that. I felt bad, I felt ‘oh my God’ I hope he doesn’t feel bad’, I hope he doesn’t think I incited it or I wouldn’t want to work with him, I’ll really like to work with him. I think he’s interesting, I think it’ll be a nice collaboration if we do it. I’ll love to see Wizkid in another context but being himself, we’ll make something really nice!’ – She disclosed

Asa is Nigerians biggest Afro-soul singer and in over a decade of her reign, she has worked with a handful of Nigerian artistes.

Wizkid has in the past two years risen to global acclaim and it would be such a delight to see Nigeria’s biggest pop artiste

 – Wizkid and Nigeria’s biggest Soul singer

 – Asa hop in the studio and make magic for the world.




The $999 iPhone X is paving the way for an even pricier smartphone market



Anticipation is building ahead of the Phone X's November 3 launch. With its base price of $999, the iPhone X is the most expensive phone Apple has ever released, and one of the most expensive phones on the mainstream market.

Unfortunately for cash-strapped consumers, Apple is at the forefront of a trend when it comes to pricing. According to data from market research firm Gfk, smartphone makers are likely to focus more on premium (read expensive) products. As we can see in this chart from Statista, Gfk estimates that the global average sales price of smartphones will increase more year-over-year in 2017 than it has in past years.


Premium features such as water and dust protection, biometric sensors and bigger screens are all driving prices up, says Gkf analyst Arndt Polifke. Consumers may have to pay more, but they'll be getting more too.


NFF speaks on Rohr’s decision to recall Enyeama to Super Eagles


General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi, has said that head coach of the national team, Gernot Rohr, has the final say on Vincent Enyeama’s recall to the Super Eagles.

Rohr has spoken severally about his plans to bring back the Lille goalkeeper, who retired from international football in 2015, after falling out with former Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh.

While some feel his return will add strength to the goalkeeping department ahead of Russia 2018, others think it could stir a captaincy row with John Obi Mikel.

“The NFF does not interfere in the choice of players or goalkeepers for the national teams,” Sanusi told Guardian.

“We gave Rohr the free hand to pick whoever he feels capable of playing in the Super Eagles. I won’t say we are in support of his decision to bring back Enyeama neither will I say we are against it. Rohr’s decision is final as far as such issue is concerned.”

Chelsea beat Everton to reach Carabao quarter- final



Everton caretaker manager David Unsworth said his team did him proud despite their Carabao Cup last-16 defeat by Chelsea. Willian scored the decisive second as Chelsea advanced to the quarter-finals but they were pushed to the final whistle by the rejuvenated visitors.

Chelsea had contained Everton with ease in the first half and led through Antonio Rudiger’s looping header.But the Toffees were sharper after the break as Kevin Mirallas had a shot well saved and Ademola Lookman hit the bar.Willian drilled a superb low finish home in stoppage time before Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted a consolation.

“I’m a bad loser but I have to say I’m proud of the performance, they were terrific,” Unsworth, who has replaced the sacked Ronald Koeman for now, told BBC Radio 5 live.”It was a committed performance. Hopefully we’ll show that in every game I am in charge.”Chelsea will learn their last-eight opponents when the draw is made at 16:00 BST on Thursday.Unsworth – taking charge of Everton in the wake of Koeman’s sacking on Monday – will not have a last-eight tie to look forward to but was rightly delighted with his team’s performance.

A commanding defender during his playing days, he will not relish reviewing the opener however.With Michael Keane dropped to the bench and a flat back four on the pitch, neither Phil Jagielka nor Ashley Williams commanded the penalty box as Rudiger floated free to direct a fine header back across Jordan Pickford from Charly Musonda’s cross. Unsworth has made no secret of his desire to be permanent Toffees manager and, after an insipid first half, his contagious passion for the club appeared to inspire a much-improved second-half showing.Everton’s energy and industry flustered Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Gary Cahill in the home defence and it took a string of smart saves from Willy Caballero to preserve their lead before Willian drilled in the hosts’ second.

A more mobile attack, with Tom Davies, Mirallas and Aaron Lennon all brought into the starting line-up, provided the Toffees with more direction and urgency and that may be the key lesson from the evening.With a Champions League campaign to fight alongside their Premier League title defence, this was the type of game to test a squad that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte feels is stretched too thin.However Danny Drinkwater, a £35m signing from Leicester, is some impressive back-up to call upon and the England international delivered a typically assured performance on his debut for the club. Michy Batshuayi could not take his chance to similarly press his claims for a first-team role.

The Belgian was outmuscled by Jagielka after rounding Pickford in his only clear chance and saw Alvaro Morata, firmly Conte’s first-choice striker, come on in his place before the end.The moment of quality that killed the game as a contest came from another Conte favourite as Willian hammered a low shot in off the inside of the post to double the lead.Calvert-Lewin bundled home a minute later, but it was destined to be in vain.

Glo Network Abuzz Over Free Data Day



Globacom has once again stirred up excitement with the announcement of another Free Data Day coming up on Tuesday October 31, 2017.

Globacom earlier had commenced an offering that allows its teeming data subscribers to enjoy 24 hours of free browsing, uploading and downloading up to 200mb. The first two Free Data Days held on August 11, 2017, and September 2017 were successful and this encouraged Globacom to continue the scheme.

Announcing the third Free Data Day at a press conference on Monday, Ashok Israni, Globacom’s Regional Chief Marketing Officer, said the Glo Overload Free Data Day was the company’s way of deepening the subscriber’s network experience.

He said that subscribers need to dial *777# to enjoy the Glo Overload offer.  “This is after using 100MB plus N150 on voice calls or N250 on voice calls between Tuesday, October 24 and Tuesday, October 31, 2017. After that, the subscriber would receive 200 MB of data free,” he explained.

“When a customer qualifies for the offering, he will be able to enjoy free data usage throughout that day like it happened earlier. With that quantum of data, a subscriber will be able to send and receive 1,000 emails without attachments, send and receive 150 emails with attachments, view around 400 Web pages, post around 50 photos on social media and use WhatsApp the whole day,”  Israni said.

He said that the offer was open to all prepaid Glo subscribers who meet the voice and/or data usage threshold within seven days before the Free Data Day.

Davido The various times the music star has shown his generous side


Davido is not just one of the biggest stars to have come out from Nigeria but one of the most generous stars in the country.
A lot of celebrities have been blessed with so much talent which in turns evolves to financial blessings. Even at that, not all of them are generous enough to lend a helping hand.


play
Davido

(Instagram)



This is where music star, Davido outshines his contemporaries. He is known for giving and assisting a lot of people. On social media, he doesn't shy away from assisting the plights of those in need.

Remember when a certain Instagram fan, Jide Sanyaolu, who would definitely never forget the 1 million naira he got from the O.B.O when he needed money to return to school.

OBO GOT YOU FOR LIFE KID!!! NOTHING MAKES ME MORE THAT U FINALLY GET TO START SCHOOL!! 30 billion for ur account oooo!!!! WE RISE BY LIFTING OTHERS!!

A post shared by Davido Adeleke (@davidoofficial) on May 25, 2017 at 5:32am PDT



We also remember back in May 2017, the little boy who Davido has awarded a scholarship for singing his hit song "If" on a sensational viral video. The video has apparently gotten to OBO and he has decided to reward the boy by sending him to school to get a proper education.


play
At the Davido X Orange Culture Capsule Collection at Selfridges

(Style House Files)


Most recently was in August 2017, when the people who had turned the front of Davido's house to Mecca of sorts seeking all sorts of favors got the shock of life when he had several upcoming musicians give an impromptu performance, almost like an audition. After all the performances, he reportedly gave the winner of his impromptu competition the sum of $1000 about N365,000.

EFL to meet with Pep Guardiola after Manchester City manager's fury over ball


Guardiola lambasted the Mitre Delta ball after the penalty shootout win over Wolves in the EFL Cup suggesting it was "not a serious ball for a professional game"

Pep Guardiola was not happy with the ball used in Tuesday night's tie AFP
The EFL will discuss Pep Guardiola's criticism of its Mitre ball with him after the Manchester City manager claimed it was "unacceptable".

City and Championship club Wolves played with the Mitre Delta ball in Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie at the Etihad Stadium, when the hosts needed a penalty shoot-out to advance to the quarter-finals with the match goalless after 120 minutes.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola, whose team play with Nike and adidas balls in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, lambasted the Mitre Delta, suggesting it was "not a serious ball for a professional game".

The EFL released a statement on Tuesday defending the ball and adding it would converse with Guardiola over his complaints.

The statement read: "The Mitre ball used in this season's Carabao Cup is of exactly the same technical specification as the balls used in the Sky Bet EFL and Checkatrade Trophy, all of which are tested in accordance with the 'FIFA Quality Programme for Footballs' and meet the 'FIFA Quality Pro' standard.

"All balls used in the professional game are required to meet this standard. Clearly, preference is a subjective matter, but overall the entertainment provided across last night's round-four ties would suggest that the ball used is not having a negative impact in the competition.

"We will look to engage with Mr Guardiola and Manchester City to fully understand any concerns in advance of their round-five tie."


Claudio Bravo was the hero as City progressed in a shootout (Getty Images)
Guardiola was understandably pleased to have progressed on Tuesday evening but was vocal in his criticism of the ball.

"The ball is not acceptable to play with... at that level," he said. "We play with a different ball. It's not Nike, Adidas I don't know, it's a different brand. It's unacceptable to play with the ball. That ball is not a serious ball for a professional game.

"I say that because we won, eh? If I don't win, I don't say that because after that it's excuses. As I won, I can tell you: it is not acceptable to play. If it's for the marketing, for the money, for many reasons, it's okay but it's not acceptable to play with that ball. No weight, nothing.

"(We get the balls for) one day or two days, but the ball is bad two days, one month, one year, two years. It's bad, it's bad. The ball is unacceptable for the high of level of the competition. All the players complain. I assure you all of them say 'what is that?' Really. I am sorry Carabao Cup."

FULL LIST of countries with least powerful passport in the world



Nigeria has been named one of the least powerful passports in the world, a new ranking by Canada-based global consultancy firm, Arton Capital showed on Wednesday.

According to the ranking known as ‘The Passport Index,’ Nigerians can travel to only 44 countries either without a visa at all or can have one issued on arrival.

According to the Index, Djibouti and Congo with visa-free to 45 countries; Algeria (46); Liberia, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Burundi and Cameroon (47) are African countries with a stronger passport than Nigeria.

Others are Central Africa Republic (48); Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Egypt (50); Comoros, Gabon, Mali, Madagascar (52); Togo, Niger, Mozambique (53); Rwanda (54); Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso (55); Guinea, Ivory Coast (56); Sao Tome, Benin, Morocco (58); and Ghana, Sierra Leone (60).

Also, Uganda and Zimbabwe rank higher with 61 and 62 visa-free countries respectively, while Cape Verde, Tunisia and Zambia are on 63; followed by Tanzania (65); Gambia (66); Namibia (67); and Kenya, Malawi (68).

Tiny Singapore now has the world’s most powerful passport, according to a new ranking, with its citizens able to travel to the greatest number of countries visa-free.

Passport Index, which keeps track of how usable such documents are, said the city-state grabbed the top spot after Paraguay removed restrictions for Singaporeans.

That means the approximately 3.4 million holders of Singaporean passports can now travel to 159 countries either without a visa at all, or can have one issued on arrival.

Germany came in second place, with its citizens able to visit 158 countries without a visa, while Sweden and South Korea tied for third.

The USA passport was in sixth place, alongside Malaysia, Ireland and Canada.

Afghanistan came bottom of the list with visa-free access to just 22 countries.

Passport Index said the US passport’s usefulness has fallen since President Donald Trump took office, with Turkey and the Central African Republic becoming the most recent countries to revoke their visa-free entry for holders.

Passport Index ranks passports worldwide based on the cross-border access a holder has. It was developed by Canada-based global consultancy Arton Capital.

“For the first time ever, an Asian country has the most powerful passport in the world,” Philippe May, managing director of Arton Capital’s Singapore office, said in a statement.

“It is a testament of Singapore’s inclusive diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy.”

NYSC releases 16 requirements for 2017 batch B registration, mobilization


- NYSC has released 16 requirements for 2017 batch B registration and mobilization

- The agency said that prospective corps members should ensure that they have functional e-mail addresses

- It also noted that foreign-trained graduates should visit the NYSC portal, register and upload the following documents

The National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) has released requirements for the online registration for the 2017 batch B corps members.

The corps members are hereby directed to have the below requirements to qualify for the registration and mobilization process.

1. Prospective corps members should ensure that they have functional e-mail addresses that they can access and Nigerian (GSM) telephone numbers with which to register.

2. Locally trained prospective Corps members are expected to use correct Matriculation numbers to register.

3. For locally-trained graduates, only those whose names appear in the Senate/Academic Board Approved Result lists submitted by their Institutions will have access to the register on the NYSC portal.

4. Foreign-trained prospective corps members should ensure that their Institutions are accredited. Where in doubt, it is their responsibility to approach Federal Ministry of Education for verification. The letter of verification must be uploaded during registration.

5. Those who graduated from Institutions outside Nigeria, (Foreign-trained graduates), are to visit the NYSC portal, register and upload the following documents:

a.West African School Certificate (WASC) (with not less than 5 Credits at 2 sittings) or its equivalent; or General Certificate of Education (GCE O’ Level) (with not less than 5 Credits at 2 sittings) or its equivalent; or NECO (with not less than 5 Credits at 2 sittings) or its equivalent; or High School Diploma or its equivalent.

b. First Degree or Higher National Diploma (HND) Certificate (Second Degree or Ph.D not necessary).

c. Transcript of the first Degree or HND.

d. International travelling Passport showing data page and date of departure for the course of study.

6. It is the responsibility of the prospective corps members who studied in non-English speaking countries to get their Certificates and Transcripts translated into English language before uploading.

7. All graduates of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Physiotheraphy, Radiology, Optometry, Medical Laboratory Science and Pha*rmacy are expected to have their Certificates of Registration with their professional bodies. Payment receipts are not acceptable.

8. Unlike in the past, Foreign-trained graduates should NOT visit NYSC Headquarters, Abuja for verification of their documents. This exercise will now be done at the Orientation Camps.

They should simply print their call-up letters on-line and report at the Orientation camps in their States of deployment, but should come to the camp with the original documents they uploaded for verification.

9. Anybody who presents any fake document will be demobilized and decamped.

10. Prospective corps members should ensure that Passport photographs used meet the following specifications:

a. Ensure your face (eyes, nose, ears, mouth and jaw) is fully shown without bending

b. Ensure the picture fills the frame and centralized

c. Ensure the Photo background is white or off-white with no shadow.

11. On no account should prospective corps members register by PROXY. They should also remember the fingers used for their biometric capturing as these will be used for verification at the orientation camps. Those who cannot be verified with their biometric at the orientation camp will not be registered.

12. Only prospective corps members who want their call-up numbers sent to them through SMS and wish to print their call-up letters on-line are expected to pay (see NYSC Portal on how to make payment).

13. Prospective Corps members, who do not want to pay, have the option of going to their schools to collect their call-up numbers and call-up letters.

14. All prospective corps members who paid for the online registration before but were not mobilized need not pay again.

15. Married female prospective corps members (whether locally or foreign-trained) should upload copies of their marriage Certificates, evidence of Change of name and their husbands’ place of domicile during registration.

16. The orientation camp is highly not ideal for pregnant and nursing mothers. Prospective corps members in this category are therefore to note that they will not be accommodated.

The Trendy Male Fashion That You Should Do Your Best To Avoid



Male fashion like that of females comes and goes and what is trendy now may not necessarily be trendy in a couple of years time. There was a time when tucking in your polo shirt trendy, then another time it became retired. A lot of use agreed that this fashion trend should be let go of. While some of us still rock this fashion trend, it is frowned upon and can only be deemed acceptable if you’re a celebrity or sports star as people will allow you do whatever you want and you don’t need fashion advice because you’re making things work in whatever it is you throw upon yourself.

For the rest of us however, we need to talk about the fashion trend that we should let go of now – wearing the pinstriped button down shirt un-tucked.
This fashion trend started in the early 90s when men started wearing their striped button down shirts un-tucked over jeans. It was a safe fashion statement for people who were willing to keep their fashion sense together but wanted to have an edgy post-work casual look that retained the formality and slimming of the stripe.
This resulted in our shirttails hanging lazily over our junk in the front and senile over Our shirttails playfully hung over our trunk in the back. It made a statement to anyone who cared to listen that you’re an adult that just finished at work for the day and you’re ready to have some fun.
This style worked for a lot of men. The un-tucked, striped button down became a wardrobe staple for men who wanted a business-casual appearance. Men that have little concern about changing their outfits after work before hitting the club. Once a blazer is added to the fray, it can instantly become a semi-corporate wear.

Why You Should Let It Go

Despite how interesting this fashion sense seems, it is time for you to stop wearing the un-tucked, striped button-down shirt. The look look has become so common that it has been adopted by people who don’t know any better and it is best you allow them have it and move on.
Men that rock this look have several of them in their wardrobe and that makes them look like people stuck in the past. You should update your look and leave those shirts and jeans in the past. The worst part of this look are the super-long striped button down shirts that seem to reach for your mid thigh. These ones hurt to look at because despite the fact that un-tucking your shirt tails makes you look rebellious, it also makes you look like someone standing in line to enter a club in the early 2000s.

Kindly trust us and let go of this look guys. If you’re particular about wearing your button downs un-tucked, you can still do but kindly drop the button down pinstripes. Instead, go with solids, checks, and subtle patterns. You’d thank us for this when the accolades start coming in from women and fashion conscious males.

More photos below:


What Maina’s recall exposed about Buhari’s government – Shehu Sani



The Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Shehu Sani on Tuesday said the recall of a former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, has lent credence to the disjointed state of government in the country.

Sani said he believes Maina’s reinstatement into the Federal Civil Service has left Nigerians to question how the Federal Government intends to achieve the objectives of its anti-corruption war.

He made this known on Tuesday when he features on Channels Television’s Politics Today anchored by Seun Okinbaloye.

He said: “What is clear in the whole of these is the very fact that things have not actually changed very much in the very sense that if a man who has an issue to settle with morality, with sanity could at these very times be re-invited or recalled, then moral issues certainly were raised and is also a revelation of the discord and the disjointed state of government as it is now.”

The development, according to him, also reveals “the very fact that some persons are behind the scene wielding very strong powers to which their wielding of power is directly in contradiction with what the President stands for, believes in, and advertises as the moral principles of his government.

“It is of concern today that like I’ve said in my tweets – corruption was being hoisted under an umbrella and today is being swept under the carpet in the very sense that many things have not changed despite the promise of change.

“It is worrying for the fact that there are so many expectations, so many hopes and opportunities for us to cleanse the system; it is very clear that corruption is becoming a cat with nine lives”.

The lawmaker said an order was raised by one of his colleagues during Tuesday’s plenary where the attention of the Senate was brought to the issue of Maina and a decision was taken to set up an ad hoc committee.

Despite the order issued by President Buhari to investigate the recall, Sani stressed the need for Nigerians to understand the separate responsibilities of the executive and the legislative arms of government.

He explained that the Senate intends to investigate the circumstances on how Maina returned to the country and those who were responsible for his recall.

The senator added that the Upper Chamber would also investigate how he was reinstated without the knowledge of the President, referring to the separate reports from the Senate and the Presidency on the corruption allegations in the North East.

“By having two reports, it would be impossible for anyone who will try to suppress it (the investigation). The very fact that the President now has taken a stand by reversing the recall is a clear indication that either what was done was done without his knowledge of it was done with his knowledge but he now realised that it was wrong.

“But the fact as it is on the ground now is that the Senate will fully investigate and will come out with its report. What will not happen will be a situation whereby reports will be hidden from the public and naturally if the parliament is investigating issues, reports are usually made public.

“We are serious about this and Nigerians will come to know the truth of how Maina came back and those who are responsible; we would not allow it to be a family affair and that’s why the Senate has to investigate,” he said.

Nigeria, four others to account for 40% of new smartphone connections by 2020



Currently, Nigeria’s smartphone penetration as at 2016 stood at 30 per cent, but there has been more adoption, especially as new and cheaper devices are entering the market, almost on a monthly basis.

Nigeria, China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan are markets that will account for more than 40 per cent of the 1.6 billion new smartphone connections by 2020. This is according to the Global system for Mobile Communications (GSMA).

Currently, Nigeria’s smartphone penetration as at 2016 stood at 30 per cent, but there has been more adoption, especially as new and cheaper devices are entering the market, almost on a monthly basis. A typical example is Google ICE 2 smartphone.

GSMA, which noted that smartphones account for over half of total connections globally, said as with subscriber growth, smartphone growth is being driven by developing markets.

The body, which represents the interest of over 800 operators globally, informed that lower cost smartphones from local manufacturers such as Huawei, Oppo, OnePlus and Xiaomi in China, Micromax in India, and now AfriOne in Nigeria, are helping to address the affordability barrier.

GSMA said though it took four years to move from four billion to five billion; reaching six billion mobile subscribers will take longer still. It stressed that there are currently 4.1 billion connections and is expected to hit 5.7 billion by 2020.

It disclosed that the digital divide is greatest in India and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). India and SSA account for 42 per cent of the world’s unconnected, with more than 60 per cent of their respective populations not yet on the Internet.

Specifically, while there are about 820 million people in India, still not on the Internet, Nigeria and other SSA countries have about 708 persons not on the Internet currently.

Last year, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) surveyed showed that some 200 communities in Nigeria, which house about 40 million people, were yet to have access to any basic telephone services.

GSMA also revealed that African telecoms operators earned in revenue $41 billion in 2016, which has been projected to hit $55 billion by 2020.

Overall mobile penetration, according to the body was 43 per cent at the end of 2016, the lowest in the world.

It disclosed that on the average, 70 per cent of adults above 16 years old already have a mobile subscription, but that new growth will largely come from the region’s under 16 year-olds, who account for 45 per cent of the total population and only10 per cent of total mobile subscriptions.

“Mobile uptake by the young, tech-savvy population will drive smartphone adoption and demand for data-centric services, leading to higher levels of mobile engagement in the region,” it stated.

GSMA said most Africans are still on 2G but this is rapidly changing; 3G/4G will account for 60 per cent of connections by 2020 and 85 per cent by 2025.

The telecoms body said this trend is a double-edged sword for mobile operators: the rise in data traffic is boosting data revenues, but IP-comms substitution takes away from voice and SMS, which still account for more than 70 per cent of service revenues and are exposed when most consumers are on prepaid tariffs.

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa slowed to its lowest level in 20 years during 2016 due to lower commodity prices and external shocks. Although the economic outlook for 2017 and beyond has improved, the regulatory environment remains challenging.

As a result, the region’s near-term revenue growth is still healthy but will decline markedly from 2018. This, combined with consumer time continuing to migrate to OTT services, means African operators need to place a greater urgency on searching for new growth streams other than subscriber growth.

Usain Bolt gets Borussia Dortmund’s offer for trial


The 31-year-old has eight Olympic gold medals to his name, owns both the 100m and 200m world records and is a well-known passionate Manchester United fan and has spent time training with the Premier League side in the past.

Former Olympic sprinter, Usain Bolt has confirmed that Borussia Dortmund have offered him an open invitation to come for a trial in the future.

The legendary Jamaican athlete is still recovering from a hamstring injury suffered at the World Athletics Championships back in the summer prior to his retirement from athletics.

The 31-year-old has eight Olympic gold medals to his name, owns both the 100m and 200m world records and is a well-known passionate Manchester United fan and has spent time training with the Premier League side in the past.

Eager to see what he can do on the pitch at an elite level, Bolt says he’s looking to get back fit before taking up Dortmund’s offer of a trial.

“Dortmund said the invitation is always open, so it is all about me getting over my injury and into shape.

“Then I can explore it and do the trials and see what level I am at. It’s a personal goal, I don’t care what people really think about it. I am not going to lie to myself – if I feel I can’t do it, I am going to say, ‘Forget this.’ I am not going to embarrass myself.”

Borussia CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke spoke to Reviersport regarding Bolt’s potential trial with the club:

“Our word is our bond. I will meet Puma CEO Bjorn Gulden this week. And that’s on our list.”

Bolt recently confirmed that a number of clubs have reached out about taking him on board, and he is hopeful he can actually play professionally in 2018.”

Monday 23 October 2017

Buhari’s minister reveals why Nigeria loses 1billion dollar on medical tourism


- Minister of state for health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has decries Nigeria’s loss of billions on medical tourism

- He said the federal government is worried about the development

- Ehaire also said that government has spent huge investment in training of skilled manpower and professionals

Minister of state for health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has disclosed that Nigeria loses more than $1bn annually to medical tourism.

Daily Trust reports that he said the federal government was worried about the development and exploring measures to contain the foreign exchange drain.

We gathered that he said despite government’s huge investment in training of skilled manpower and professionals, as well as building health infrastructures; the trend has remained.

This he said is due to loss of confidence in the nation’s health care system.

Ehanire spoke in Lagos on Sunday, October 22, during the first Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Amity Awards and Benefit Event.

Also, the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Prof. Chris Bode said Nigerians have no reason to seek medical treatment abroad as Nigerian health institutions have the capability.

The minister described the award initiated by Solomon Alao, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Intervention Development and Leadership (CIDL) and Social Investment Consultant as a first step in rebuilding confidence of Nigerians in the health sector.

According to him, despite the negative stories circulating about the country’s health sector, there are professionals making sacrifices and working to reverse the trend.

Meanwhile, we had previously reported that Professor Isaac Adewole, minister of health, described the monkeypox disease which has been reported in various parts of the country, as only a ‘suspicion’ at the moment.

President Buhari receives report on Maina’s reinstatement


- President Muhammadu Buhari has received report on Maina’s reinstatement

- Buhari had earlier ordered for Maina’s immediate sack

- But the HoS, Winifred Oyo-Ita had also debunked the claims by minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau that Maina was reinstated by her

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff has received the report of how embattled ex-pension boss, Abdulrasheed Maina was reinstated to the civil service.

The special adviser to President Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that the Chief of Staff confirmed that the Head of Service, Winifred Oyo-Ita, submitted the report to the president’s chief of staff, on Monday evening as directed.

We gathered that Adesina spoke on a live Channels Television news programme on Monday night, October 23.

He had earlier in the day confirmed that Buhari ordered the sack of Maina and “demanded a full report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the ministry of interior.”

Maina’s secret recall into the civil service despite being wanted for alleged fraud had also been reported.


Meanwhile, the head of the civil service of the federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Monday, October 23, said there was no truth in the reports that she approved the reinstatement of a former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, and his subsequent posting to the ministry of interior.

DJ Khaled throws son Asahd a lavish first birthday party




DJ Khaled (L), pictured here with son Asahd (C) and girlfriend Nicole Tuck, celebrated Asahd's first birthday at an extravagant bash Saturday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Oct. 23 (UPI) -- DJ Khaled rang in son Asahd's first birthday at a lavish party over the weekend.

The 41-year-old music producer rented out LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami, Fla., to throw his son an extravagant jungle-themed bash Saturday, according to E! News.

Sean "Diddy" Combs hosted the event, which featured wild greenery, real tigers and dancers dressed as jungle animals. The fête also had a "baby valet" station where young guests could "drive" toy luxury cars.

People reported DJ Khaled spent six figures on the party, which was attended by model Karolina Kurkova and reality stars Jonathan Cheban and Lisa Hochstein. He shared several posts on Instagram, including a highlight reel from the bash.

"@asahdkhaled I love you so much you are my life! my everything! Asahd what you have done for me and mommy is show us the true meaning of love is!! Asahd you bring JOY TO THE WORLD!! You are a [king]! Asahd your chosen!!" the star captioned the compilation.

"Asahd I love you!!!!!" he added. "HAPPY B DAY YOUR B DAY IS EVERYDAY EVERY SEC!!! I PROMISE YOU!!!!! ASAHD you took over @livmiami and had @diddy host your party wow!!!"


DJ Khaled also posted a photo with Asahd on the 1-year-old's official account.

"Ur welcome daddy @djkhaled I know we finally got our hands on the new 2018 #justdance it's gonna be our new work out together!" he captioned a picture with his son next to the Just Dance game.


DJ Khaled shares Asahd with longtime girlfriend Nicole Tuck. His son appears on the cover of his most recent album, Grateful, which debuted in June.

Full List Of Winners Of 2017 FIFA Best Football Awards



Cristiano Ronaldo beat Lionel Messi and Neymar to retain his crown as the Men’s Player of the Year at Fifa’s Best Football Awards 2017 in London on Monday night.

The ceremony – which took place at the London Palladium – is the second since the Fifa award once again split from France Football’s Ballon d’Or prize last year.

“Thank you a lot to the guys for voting for me,” Ronaldo said.

“(I want) To give a mention to Leo and Neymar to be here, Real Madrid supporters, my team-mates, my coach, my president – they support me all the year so I have to say thank you to them.

“We are in England for the first time and I win consecutive awards. This is a great moment for me.”

Real Madrid’s French coach Zinedine Zidane won the manager of the year trophy for his part in the club’s success while Lieke Martens won the Women’s Best Player award after a fine year in which the Barcelona star won Euro 2017 with Netherlands.


Cristiano Ronaldo wins Best Player in London ceremony (Getty Images)
Here is the full list of winners at the 2017 FIFA Best FIFA award.

The Best FIFA Men’s Player
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Best FIFA Women’s Player
Lieke Martens
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach
Zinedine Zidane
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach
Sarina Wiegman
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon
The FIFA Puskás Award
Olivier Giroud
The FIFA Fan Award
Celtic
The FIFA Fair Play Award
Francis Kone
The Best FIFPro XI:
Buffon (Juventus), Dani Alves (PSG), Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan), Sergio Ramos, Marcelo (Real Madrid),
Luka Modric, Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Andreas Iniesta (Barcelona), Neymar (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).

Ronaldo wins Fifa best player award



Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world's best player at the 2017 Best Fifa Football Awards at the London Palladium.

Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, 32, beat Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Paris St-Germain's Neymar to the honour.

Ronaldo helped Real to a Champions League-La Liga double in 2016-17.

Lieke Martens of Barcelona and the Netherlands was named the world's best female player.

Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane was named best men's coach, Netherlands boss Sarina Wiegman won the female coach award, while Arsenal's Olivier Giroud received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2017.

Celtic won the fan award.

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid superstar beat Messi, Neymar to win 2017 FIFA Best Player of the Year




Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliant exploits with Real Madrid has won him the 2017 FIFA Best Player of the Year award beating Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Ronaldo was announced the winner of the award at the  Best FIFA Football Awards which held at Palladium theatre in London on Monday, October 23.

The 32-year-old who won last year's inaugural award helped Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double.


Ronaldo scored 12 goals including a brace in the 4-1 win over Juventus in the final of the Champions League which Real Madrid won for the third time in four years.

Ronaldo's brilliant year is expected to also see him go on to match Messi's record of five Ballons d'Or when France Football Magazine announce their winner in early 2018.

FIFA and France Magazine merged for six years to form the FIFA Ballon d'Or but Ronaldo was the first to win the FIFA Best Player of the Year in 2017 when they split. He also won the Ballon d'Or in 2016.

Messi who scored 54 goals last season as Barcelona won the Copa del Rey finished second behind Ronaldo while his former club teammate Neymar came third.

The voting for the award, equally weighted between national team captains, national team coaches, media and fans, closed last month.

Tonto Dikeh’s estrange husband planning to release edited video on her



The Festus Keyamo Chamber has raised the alarm over imminent release of edited video on Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh by her estrange husband, Olakunle Churchill portraying her as being involved in domestic violence against him.

A statement from the chamber issued by Okechukwu Uju-azorji, warned bloggers and journalists not to use any edited video on Tonto Dikeh or faced being sued.

“It has come to our knowledge that her ex-husband, Mr. Olakunle Churchill has perfected plans to release a short and edited video depicting and portraying our client as being involved in some domestic violence against him.

“Our client wants all bloggers and/or journalists to request for the full version of the video showing the said domestic scene which started with a physical abuse of our client by her ex-husband, which earned her a swollen face. Her ex-husband only intends to release our client’s reaction to the assault on her and not the assault itself.

“We shall be prepared to take legal action against any blogger/journalist that uses the edited version without insisting on or showing the full version,” the statement said.

Tech Google's Pixel 2 smartphone uses the same waterproofing material that off-road cars use




Google finally made its Pixel 2 smartphones water-resistant, which was one of the bigger missing features in last year's Pixel smartphones.

Indeed, the new Pixels have a rating of "IP67," which means it can go down to about three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. I wouldn't recommend using the Pixel 2 for underwater photography, but it's useful for accidental drops in water. After all, just one drop in water can ruin your smartphone if you're not careful.

To make smartphones water-resistant, manufacturers typically use rubber gaskets that line the interior edge of the phone to, well, resist water. Google's Pixel 2 also uses rubber gaskets, but Google also used an extra material that most smartphones haven't used before.

Surrounding the interior of the Pixel 2's USB-C port is what's known as dielectric grease, which is a type of gel or grease that's commonly used to waterproof the electronics in off-roading vehicles, according to Zack Nelson of the "JerryRigEverything" YouTube channel.

In Zack's Pixel 2 teardown video, you can clearly see the gel surrounding the USB-C port. Zack says it's something he's never seen before in a smartphone.


Zack has dismantled numerous phones on his YouTube channel, but he says he's never seen the use of water-resistant gel in a phone before. He did say this gel was used in an underwater drone he reviewed recently, but it wasn't clear if the larger Pixel 2 XL also uses the same special gel.

With the off-road vehicle water-resistant gel in mind, you'd think the Pixel 2 is the most water-resistant phone out there. Yet, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 smartphones actually beat the Pixel 2 when it comes to water resistance. Samsung's phones have an "IP68" water resistance rating, which lets the phones go down to five feet of water for up to 30 minutes, compared to the Pixel 2's three feet of water allowance. But again, the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 aren't really designed to be used as underwater cameras, and its IP rating is designed more for accidental water drops in mind.

Sunday 22 October 2017

FG harps on strengthening local technology



TheDirector General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr Dan-Azumi Mohammed Ibrahim has said the Federal Government remained determined to deepen local content by supporting local scientists and technologists to produce what would be consumed in Nigeria rather than depend heavily in imported solutions.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun in Abuja on the sidelines of the recently-concluded 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), Ibrahim said part of government’s efforts at deepening the utilization of local technologies was to help Nigerians protect their inventions, assist inventors access foreign markets and link them with foreign investors who can support them with needed funds.

He said: “Before any research  development efforts goes for commercialisation, you have to protect it. That protection is through patent. If you do not protect it, somebody can take it and make money. A researcher cannot commercialise his efforts and development. The private sector before they come must ensure that nobody has any right over it. “Secondly, some research and development efforts, you ask yourself, are they really needed? You have to take a research and development as a means of solving problems. Like the Ebola outbreak and HIV AIDS, if you can have a research and development resources that can completely cure it, I’m telling you it is ready for commercialisation, because there are people that are HIV positive and they can pay any price to get cured”, he said.

The NOTAP boss also called for stronger border security and the porous nature make it easier for cheap and inferior products come into the country.

“If we continue to allow them, those products that are produced in the country may not compete favourably with those ones abroad, and we  need to patronize what is produced in Nigeria. If we patronise what is produced in Nigeria, the producers would now expand, refine and improve.

“The reality is that recession has come in and it is giving us opportunity. It is not everything that we can afford to import. By the time local producers get all the support and we consume what we produce, foreign goods will not be commercially attractive. That is the way to go”, he added.

Ibrahim also revealed that NOTAP has begun bringing in technology experts to  train Nigerian researchers on how to write attractive and bankable proposals so that they can access funds needed for improvement.

He also said there must be a linkage between industries and the researchers to ensure researched addressed vital challenges.

“If industries want to undertake a research, let them tailor it to solve a problem and then it can be commercialized. That is the way to go”, he noted.

Rooney goal in vain as five-star Arsenal send Everton into drop zone


Arsenal’s Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez (C) celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Arsenal’s Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka (back), Arsenal’s Spanish defender Hector Bellerin (R) and Arsenal’s Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey (L) during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on October 22, 2017.


Wayne Rooney recreated his famous first league goal for Everton against Arsenal on Sunday but it was not enough to prevent his struggling team falling to a 5-2 defeat and into the Premier League bottom three.
Goals from Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette proved pivotal as Everton continued their worst start to a season in nine years, with this latest reverse adding to the mounting pressure on Everton manager Ronald Koeman.

German international Ozil struck with a superb header in the 53rd minute at Goodison Park, slipping between two defenders to meet a magnificent left-wing cross from team mate Alexis Sanchez and put Arsenal ahead.

Nacho Monreal had cancelled out Rooney’s opener and hopes of a home comeback were damaged when Everton were reduced to 10 men in the 69th minute after midfielder Idrissa Gueye caught Granit Xhaka and was shown a second yellow card.

Lacazette killed off any hope of that recovery in the 74th minute, after neat passing between Sanchez and Ozil allowed the Frenchman to convert clinically from 15 yards.

The rout continued in the last minute of normal time as substitute Jack Wilshere produced a defence-splitting pass which found Aaron Ramsey who finished unerringly to make it 4-1.

But in a bizarre conclusion, there were two goals in stoppage time, first from Everton substitute Oumar Niasse who charged down a Petr Cech clearance to force the ball into the net.

Arsenal were still not finished and Sanchez became their fifth different scorer from the last attack as he was allowed to carry the ball across the face of the area and score with an excellent angled shot.

Rooney rolls back the years
Rooney’s goal had come completely against the run of play in the 12th minute but the technique employed by the veteran forward — who turns 32 on Tuesday — was no less impressive for that fact.

Gueye won the ball from Xhaka some 30 yards out and slipped the ball to Rooney, who leant back and guided a perfect finish into the top left-hand corner of the net.

It was the same end and the same top corner as the goal which announced Rooney’s spectacular arrival in the Premier League against the same opponents, 15 years and three days earlier.

But while the Rooney goal that day had won three points for Everton, a repeat of that outcome looked doubtful from early in Sunday’s proceedings.

Aaron Ramsey was denied by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after just three minutes and a Ramsey cross soon found Lacazette, who showed breathtaking skill to turn his defender and force Pickford into another fine save.

Even after going behind, Arsenal were soon back in the ascendancy with Pickford failing to gather a fiercely-struck Sanchez free-kick but making up for that error by blocking Ramsey’s follow-up attempt from the rebound.

But there was no similar reprieve in the 40th minute when Pickford dived to keep out a drive from Xhaka, which took a deflection off Gyfli Sigurdsson.

The Everton keeper could only push the ball as far as the sprinting Monreal who struck a sweet finish past Pickford for the equaliser.

Everton started the second half brightly but, after Nikola Vlasic ended a promising attack by having a shot blocked, instead of playing in Rooney, Arsenal broke directly upfield for Ozil’s goal.

Lacazette’s goal killed off the contest and, even before the late flurry, there should have been more for the visitors as Sanchez missed with a diving header and Xhaka struck the crossbar with a 20-yard shot.

Yemi Alade Won Four Awards At The African Entertainment Awards In The US


Nigerian singer, Yemi Alade last night went home with four awards and was also given a Honorary Certificate from New Jersey General Assembly at the African Entertainment Awards in the United States.

The "Johnny" crooner won in the following categories;

1. Best Female (Africa)
2. Best Female(International)
3. Special Recognition Award; Mama Africa,
4. New Jersey County Of Essex Honorary Certificate
5. Honorary Certificate from New Jersey General Assembly

Her manager, Taiye Aliyu also bagged a special recognition award.

W/Cup Friendly: Nigeria To Play Argentina


BEVERLY HILLS, October 22, (THEWILL) – Nigeria will play its first international friendly match against Argentina in preparation for next year’s World Cup, on November 14, in Krasnoder, Russia.

According to the General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi, World Cup-bound Nigeria chose Argentina in the friendly next month but had other options to play against Morocco, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Sanusi made this known in a chat with an online platform; www.scorenigeria.com explaining
that all arrangements for the big match have been concluded, except FIFA’s consent.

“We have had long and fruitful talks, and we can say that we have an agreement. We await the approval by FIFA and also, we have to agree on the flight arrangements that would be comfortable for the players and crew,” Sanusi said.

“The match will come up on 14th November, four days after the Super Eagles’ final 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match away to Algeria.

“We had offers from teams like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Morocco but we have opted for the Argentines.”

Nigeria and Argentina played two high –profile friendly matches in 2011, the first in Abuja in June ending 4-1 in favour of the Super Eagles.

The Albiceleste won the second encounter 3-1 in Dhaka, Bangladesh three months later.

Nigeria have also met Argentina in four of their five FIFA World Cup appearances.

Davido Drops Hypnotic Video For Impressive New Single, 'Like Dat'

Just two weeks after blowing us all away with his fourth and arguably his best single of 2017, "Fia", Davido proves he is tru...