Pres. Obama sends message to Nigerians ahead of 2015 elections

In a video posted on Youtube today by US Embassy Nigeria, US president Barack Obama sent a message to Nigerians asking them to stand up against violence and express their views peacefully during the upcoming election. Transcribed version of what he said in the video below...

Hello. Today, I want to speak directly to you—the people of Nigeria. Nigeria is a great nation and you can be proud of the progress you’ve made. Together, you won your independence, emerged from military rule, and strengthened democratic institutions. You’ve strived to overcome division and to turn Nigeria’s diversity into a source of strength. You’ve worked hard to improve the lives of your families and to build the largest economy in Africa.
Now you have a historic opportunity to help write the next chapter of Nigeria’s progress—by voting in the upcoming elections. For elections to be credible, they must be free, fair and peaceful.

All Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear. So I call on all leaders and candidates to make it clear to their supporters that violence has no place in democratic elections—and that they will not incite, support or engage in any kind of violence—before, during, or after the votes are counted. I call on all Nigerians to peacefully express your views and to reject the voices of those who call for violence.

And when elections are free and fair, it is the responsibility of all citizens to help keep the peace, no matter who wins. Successful elections and democratic progress will help Nigeria meet the urgent challenges you face today. Boko Haram—a brutal terrorist group that kills innocent men, women and children—must be stopped. Hundreds of kidnapped children deserve to be returned to their families. Nigerians who have been forced to flee deserve to return to their homes.

Boko Haram wants to destroy Nigeria and all that you have worked to build. By casting your ballot, you can help secure your nation’s progress. I’m told that there is a saying in your country: “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done.” Today, I urge all Nigerians—from all religions, all ethnic groups, and all regions—to come together and keep Nigeria one. And in this task of advancing the security, prosperity, and human rights of all Nigerians, you will continue to have a friend and partner in the United States of America.

Photos: Basketmouth buys brand new N26million Lexus 570 SUV

Comedian Basketmouth just bought himself a brand 2015 Lexus 570 SUV worth a whopping N26m. His friend and colleague Bovi shared a pic of the car on instagram and wrote "Just got back from the naming ceremony of@basketmouth new baby. We named her Aunty Maria#2015model #tearrubber #talentmoney. Congrats bro".

It is wrong for the President to be summoning Jega at will - APC

Press statement from the APC below...

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the President's decision to summon INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega to a meeting that was not attended by other political parties in Abuja on Tuesday is part of ongoing moves to compromise the integrity of the electoral commission, which is expected to be fair and neutral.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is wrong for the President, who himself is a candidate in the forthcoming elections, to be summoning the electoral umpire at will, especially when such meetings are populated by his appointees.
''Without the representatives of other political parties attending such meetings, irrespective of whether or not it is aimed at briefing security chiefs on the preparations for the polls, the ruling PDP and its presidential candidate are seeking to gain undue advantage over others ahead of the elections.

"'It is like the referee in a football match meeting with key officials of one of the teams ahead of the match. This is against the spirit of transparency and fairness and must stop forthwith. ''Had the representatives of other political parties apart from the PDP (the President is the leader of the PDP) attended the meeting, the widespread speculations that Jega's life and job were threatened if he fails to drop the use of the card reader, as well as circulating reports that he will be removed before Saturday, would not have happened,'' it said. APC said whatever briefings must be given by the INEC chairman on the elections must have in attendance the representatives of all the political parties that will participate in the elections.

It also decried clandestine meetings between some key presidency and INEC officials with a view to rigging the elections, warning the presidency to steer clear of the electoral officials if indeed they are desirous of a free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. Meanwhile, the party has said the Presidency and the PDP cannot and must not be allowed to profit from their sponsorship of ethnic militias, including MASSOB and OPC, to create chaos and violence before, during and after the elections. It said the plot by the duo is to make the country so unsafe before the polls that members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who are supposed to serve as electoral officials, will simply say they can no longer participate in the elections because they fear for their lives.

"This will simply truncate the elections and trigger a constitutional crisis, the exact scenario being plotted by the Jonathan Administration and the PDP to allow them to either perpetuate themselves in office or install an interim government,'' APC said. It said another booby trap on the path of holding the elections as rescheduled are the pending court cases against the use of the card reader by INEC. ''Nigerians should note that nothing is yet guaranteed as far as the holding of the rescheduled elections is concerned.

The Jonathan Administration and the PDP are still shopping for a court judgement to declare the use of the card reader unconstitutional, just because they are now painfully aware that Nigerians have rejected them and their party.. ''We are therefore calling on all our compatriots to be more vigilant in the next few days to the elections. We are also alerting local and foreign observers, and the international community, to the ongoing shenanigans by the Jonathan Administration and the PDP to scuttle the polls,'' APC said

Alhaji Lai Mohammed National Publicity Secretary All Progressives Congress (APC) Abuja, March 18th 2015

Kim Kardashian's doctor warns her she's having too much sex

The reality star said she'd been warned by her doctor to cut down on how much sex she's having. She claimed in a bid to get pregnant, she and Kanye have been having sex up to 15 times a day. I die! Which man can go 15 times a day? If I hear...

"I've done everything so perfect to try and get pregnant. There's a list of things you shouldn't be doing and I was perfect for eight to 10 months and now I don't understand.

"I'm going to do everything that I want to do and that includes going platinum. Hopefully I will get pregnant doing all the wrong things. I'm totally changing my tactics. I'm over it. I'm over trying, overthinking it, hence why I dyed my hair blonde.'

Gov Shettima says liberated villages still not safe as Boko Haram members exist there

The Governor of Borno state Kashim Shettima says the towns and villages liberated by the Nigerian military is still not safe and habitable as there are still pockets of Boko Haram members in some of the villagers. The Governor said this in a statement released today where he spoke against the immediate return of villagers living in various IDPs back to their villages for election.

He said that would expose the villagers to another attack which would mean sacrificing them on the altar of politics. Excerpts of the statement signed by his spokesperson, Isa Gusau after the cut...

"I am absolutely in support of elections holding in local government areas after all, I was elected with popular mandate in 2011 with elections taking place across in all local governments of the state and having to win more than two-third of the 27 local government areas of Borno State. One who has won elections and has kept fate with his people and is doing his best to meet his obligations has no reason to fear elections.

The voters are the same whether they vote in local government areas or anywhere else. However, I think it will be irresponsible on our part as a government to hurry our citizens back to liberated communities now mainly to go and vote because that will be very callous. We have pockets of insurgents in some villages, we have had attacks that are very recent on some routes, we all know that these liberated communities are still not fully safe and habitable.

The military has recaptured lost territories but we have one or two to go. Then, some insurgents fled to villages and they are still posing problems, how safe will our people be if we force them back today? How safe will it be to send people to Gamboru, Baga, Monguno, Malamfatori, Kala-Balge, Mafa and other places. What about the issue of landmines possibly planted there that everyone knows the military has been contending with? All those politicians that stay in Abuja and cause all manner of confusion for Borno, if they are so certain that liberated communities are now safe, let them go and live in Gamboru like ordinary people.

Why have they moved their entire families including their cats out of Maiduguri that is relatively safe not to talk of the local government areas? Why do they want our citizens to go to liberated communities and put their lives at risk knowing fully well that there is so much to be done. Apart from the issue of safety, there are decomposed bodies, we need to do so much fumigation and environmental cleansing, we need to rebuild homes destroyed, markets, schools, hospitals, many have been destroyed, we need to fix things because our citizens are human beings and they deserve to be treated as such.

Why should we push our citizens to live where we can’t send our wives and children to live? We are concerned about our people, we cannot allow them take unnecessary risks. We are confident all will be well eventually insha Allah but we need some careful planning. We want to set up a Task Force on Evaluation, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of the insurgency and the task force will have representatives of all stakeholders.

It will be a multi-faith and multi-ethnic based so that every segment of the affected population is covered be it citizens, associations, government or institutions from security to all others. We have a serious work before us, it is not child’s play that some people are advocating for mainly for their selfish and dehumanizing interests. We must learn to put politics aside where the existence of our citizens are involved. Power should not be our only concern at all points. There is more to life than desperation to access power.”

8 tourists shot dead in Tunisia museum, 30 more held as hostages

8 people have been confirmed killed, 21 seriously injured and 30 people held hostage after gunmen believed to be Islamic radicals stormed a museum in Tunisia today march 18th. Seven of those killed were tourists/foreigners from Britain, France, Spain and Italy. The two men dressed in military guard entered the building and immediately opened fire.

Over 200 people managed to escape the popular Bardo Musieum, which is a big tourist hotspot famous for it's ancients works, and close to the Tunisian National parliament. The parliament building was quickly evacuated after the shooting broke out. Over 100 of the tourists at the museum at the time of the attack were Italians. 

Tunisia Anti- Terrorist unit have surrounded the Musuem and have engaged the terrorists.