The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has lambasted governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha for participating in the merger talks that produced the All Progressives Congress (APC), it described his involvement in the alliance as ‘ridiculous and unfortunate’.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the party said Governor Okorocha acted alone because “APGA is not in the merger. We were never consulted by anybody before such statement of our involvement was issued.”

A member of APGA’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and former Minister of Health, Dr. Tim Menakaya, while addressing the media, said, “The merger of political parties, where the parties are expected to lose their identities, cannot be an ad-hoc arrangement or decision of one person,” adding, “We have nothing against the formation of any mega opposition party.”

Menekaya said that the decision to initiate such a discussion was vested in the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the merging parties “and shall be ratified by their national conventions and communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through a letter jointly signed by the national chairman, national secretary and the national treasurer of each of the merging parties.”

“The issue of merger with other political parties is not on the agenda of APGA for now. Our concern at the moment is to restructure, nurture and build a strong party capable of winning elections across the states of Nigeria.”

While calling on all party members and the general public to disregard the misleading inclusion, the party chieftain said: “of our party in the ongoing merger talks of opposition parties. It is not on the agenda of the party for now.”

Okorocha, who was elected on the platform of APGA, was at the 10 opposition governors’ who met in Lagos Tuesday to form the APC.

A civil rights activist and spokesperson of the Ijaw Republican Assembly (IRA), Ms Ann-Kio Briggs on Wednesday in Abuja said Nigerians are disappointed with President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

She said this at the 10th Daily Trust annual dialogue held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel.

According to Briggs, “A lot is expected of this President Goodluck Jonathan-led government and rightly so. This is one government that was backed by the people of Nigeria with a lot of expectations. To say two and half years into this government that Nigerians are lost and disappointed so far by this government is an understatement.”

“We can’t forget the crisis Nigeria faced in 2009, where the people of Nigeria from north to south to east to west rose up with one voice and said no to a situation where self- styled political leaders almost took Nigeria to the cleaners.”

“We are yet to conclude on the issues of corruption that has emerged from the fuel subsidy expositions and pension scandals, neither can we run away from the reality that since the 2009 crisis… the nation is yet to move into the change that we all expected when we went to the polls in 2011.”

The activist recalled that when Jonathan was elected, “a lot of promises were made, a lot is still expected, we can neither run away from the reality that Nigerians have waited for two and half years since 2011 to get what they voted for- change.”

She also said Nigerians “are growing increasingly desperate that maybe the changes may not come, that promises and excuses are no longer acceptable to the people who are suffering under the weight of politicians who seem just as lost as the citizens they are leading in delivery of democracy and change.”

On the planned centenary celebrations, the frontline advocate for good governance stressed that “there is nothing to celebrate. Nigeria has sent a satellite to space but we are still looking for it. It is the same country that can’t even manufacture a bicycle. This centenary celebration is nonsense.”

Commenting on the issue of federalism, Briggs said “Nigerian federal system is too faulty and must be dismantled. If the government of Nigeria is honest with the citizens of Nigeria, and the so-called political class is truthful when they say Nigeria will never break up, they should show us what they are doing towards ensuring that Nigeria will not break up.”

“The days of leadership based on numbers is gone and if Nigeria is to stay together as one nation we need each other not as master and slave or minority and majority but as brothers in one nation.”

On Thursday, the 2012 Football Money League, which is published yearly by Deloitte, ranked Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, as the richest clubs in the world. Madrid remain on top for the eighth consecutive year and also broke through the €500 million barrier.

“It is an impressive achievement for Real Madrid to have surpassed €500m in revenue in a single year. Real have led the way in the phenomenal rate of revenue growth achieved by the game’s top clubs,” Dan Jones, Partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said.

The top 10 includes five English clubs, with Manchester City jumping five places into 7th position.

Overall, the revenue of the top 20 clubs in the list rose 10% to €4.8 billion.

 

Football’s money league 2011-12

1. Real Madrid: Revenue: €512.6m
2. Barcelona: €483m
3. Man Utd: €395.9m
4. Bayern Munich: €368.4m
5. Chelsea: €322.6m
6. Arsenal: €290.3m
7. Man City: €285.6m
8. AC Milan: €256.9m
9. Liverpool: €233.2m
10. Juventus: €195.4m

Captain of the Zambian national team, Christopher Katongo, has stated that although he is disappointed with the draw against Ethiopia on Monday, he is looking forward to the next two games against Nigerian and Burkina Faso.

Adana Gebreyes cancelled out Collins Mbesuma’s first half opener, despite the Ethiopians having one man less, after their goalkeeper Jemal Tassew was sent off.

“[Ethiopia game] was tough but we will qualify to the quarterfinals,” Katongo said. “We have two games so we will make sure we collect maximum points. We will wear a different jacket in the next game.

“We are ready against Nigeria, people should not judge us based on one game; this is not the result we wanted but what we are asking is for the nation’s support.”

Nigeria has won their last two meetings against Zambia at the AFCON. In the 1994 final, two goals from Emmanuel Amuneke clinched the title for the West Africans, while the Super Eagles triumphed on penalties at Angola 2010, at the quarter-final stage.

 

Nollywood producer, Charles Novia, who is notorious for his feisty utterances, has this time around taken a swipe at Nigerian radio and TV On-air-personalities.

Novia, whose autobiography is still causing ripples, declared that most of them are “fake-accented elephants”, but reserved praises for a few, who he said are representing the country well.

 

Excerpts:

 

Listening to some Nigerian radio stations can either leave one permanently befuddled or just plain angry all the time. The latter is what happens to me mostly, so I stopped listening to most radio stations for some time. The television stations are not any better. The cause of one’s linear anguish is not hard to find. Confusing accents of the presenters!

Yes, one cannot really tell if the presenters on radio and television [in Nigeria these days] are from Miami, Manchester or Mushin or if they are just a bunch of clueless upstarts mouthing words which seem to make them happy but leaves the listener with a terrible ‘earache’.

Tracing the history of radio and television presentation in Nigeria, who can ever forget the glorious days and diction of Soni Irabor, Jim Lawson Madueke, Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Abolo, Donald Everedjo, Sienne All-Well Brown, Ruth Benemesia Opia, Lola Alakija, John Momoh, Silver Oforgu and so many other articulate and fantastic presenters who shaped the entertainment industry with their style and panache of presentation?

What these names have in common is a clear and distinct presentation style with a pleasant-sounding smattering of perfect Queens English and intonations, mixed with the distinct mother-tongue of the personalities ( if you will) . These guys made millions of people shape up their articulation. We wanted to talk like them, to present like them, in the very clear and African-tinged intonations they had. We loved them and still do.

Being a former colony of Britain, it was only natural that our Spoken English as citizens of Nigeria, had to be a bit uppity and middle class even when many of us were of a lower rung in the society ladder. But that helped many people aspire to change their destinies in their chosen fields.

Sadly, in the mid-nineties, the sweeping American culture crept into our mainstream radio and things changed, albeit horribly. Before we knew it, the ‘Yo, Yo, Yo!’ presenters hit the airwaves. Sounding very American ( and most times Ghetto Americanese too) became the fad. So, the beautiful accents we have as Africans just disappeared with the ‘dash monkey banana’ borrowed accents.

Almost every Presenter came on air sounding like poor imitations of Hollywood Black Gangsters or rap artistes. These days, you just have to strain your ears to hear anything they say on air. Words like ‘alright’ has given way to ‘aight!’ and so many examples. It’s not so much the fake accents that pisses me off but the lack of a true identity by these presenters! Some are confused and don’t even know if the accent they speak with are American or British or just a horrible cacophony of both. All these ‘gonna, wanna, burra, berra’ Presenters! Una nor go kill person.

I have visited South Africa a few times and one of the things I like about their Presenters on radio and television is the NATURALNESS. The Black South African Presenters don’t attempt to hide their MOTHER-TONGUE accents with the English Language. In fact, it makes them so distinct and wonderful on air. I like Supersports Presenters on DSTV from SA like Thomas Mlambo and even the Ivorian Football Analyst ( can’t remember his name now). You feel so at ease with them.

You hear them. (I must also commend Charles Anazodo and Praise and the female presenter on Supersports Nigeria. They are superb in their presentation). And that is not to say that we don’t have presenters in Nigeria at present who are superb. We do have but they seem to be in a minority compared with the horde of fake-accented elephants who have assailed the Nigerian airwaves. Some of them have so perfected the art of ‘forming’ so well that they can’t even pronounce Nigerian names at all on air!’Okoro Feeling Funky’ jockeys! As Basket Mouth the comedian would say ,’Their Father!’

 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline in Arepo, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, was on Wednesday set ablaze by suspected vandals.

The fire was allegedly caused by some suspected vandals who invaded the area in the early hours of Wednesday, and perforated the pipelines which led to an outbreak of fire. The situation was also compounded by another inferno, which occurred during an exchange of gunfire between men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and vandals around Magboro. Spokesman of the state command of the NSCDC, Mr. Kareem Olanrewaju, confirmed the fire at Arepo.


According to him, the state Commandant, Aboluwoye Akinwande, had already visited the scene, noting that the incessant attacks on the NSCDC men by vandals had necessitated the deployment of more armed personnel to the troubled area.