Archive for March 2009
A visit to KCCC Aurora Colorado
AURORA – Kingdom Connection Christian Center is a faith based Ministry empowers believer. KCCC aims to disciple equip and release believers into their calling by ministering to the whole man.
I met with the Senior Pastors, Dr. Ade and Rev Adeola Ajala during a recent trip to the State of Colorado and it was apparent that one other core aspect of their ministry was ensuring diversity in worship.
For more information visit http://www.kccconline.org
Ghana: New Haven For Investment
ACCRA – Ghanaian Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has attributed the increasing exodus of Nigerian businessmen and other investors into the country to what he called a safe, secure, politically stable democratic environment in place in Ghana.
He said it was reassuring that in this period of global economic meltdown, Ghana continued to see an increase in interest in foreign investors willing to invest in the country.
Mahama spoke at the weekend in Accra, Ghana at the launch of a Nigerian company, eTransact, which is engaged in electronic payment system. “All over the world, investors are sensitive to the business and political environment and would only put their capital in environment that they consider safe, secure and conducive. I believe that the current spate of interest of the investor community is the result of what we have been able to achieve collectively as a nation since the adoption of the 1992 Constitution- a safe, secure, politically stable democratic nation in which the rule of law is faithfully upheld,” he said.
By investing in Ghana, the country’s vice-president said eTransact was introducing into the country a facility that in today’s IT driven world had become very imperative for economic growth.
“The use of any electronic transactions platform would reduce the need for cash and would enhance the creation of credit by the financial sector. It would also reduce the huge outlay we spend on currency printing at the moment,” Mahama said.
The launch held at the State House, Accra, Ghana was attended among others by the Ghanaian Minister of Commerce Haruna Idrissu; Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Paul Acquah; Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the country, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; bank executives and captains of industry in Ghana and their counterparts in Nigeria.
The Global CEO of eTransact Valentine Obi said eTransact Ghana was set up to provide cutting edge innovative financial switching and electronic payment solutions for the Ghanaian financial sector.
He described the company as a pan-African organisation with operations in four other African countries and the United Kingdom.
Obi said most African countries were deeply cash-based economies with over 60 per cent of money outside the banking system, disclosing that eTransact was out to take African payment system to the next level.
According to him, the mission of eTransact is to provide secure, convenient and cost effective means to make and receive payments.
Harnessing the power of internet, mobile phone, ATM and POS terminals, Obi said eTransact is positioned to be the leading global financial switching solution in Africa and worldwide.
Acquah, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said the country’s financial sector remained healthy following some transformation it had gone through.
He said the sector had been built on a set of legislation and regulations that had established a framework for the development of a modern banking and financial services industry.
Source – thisdayonline
Princess Tina Amaka Agwatu-Anderson Celebrates Academic Success in Colorado
Denver – Just the perfect time to celebrate. A day after a nationally announced severe weather advisory. The Sun was out and bright and so were the guests who thronged the graduation party of Princess Tina.
DJ Kequan from Atlanta kept guests jubilating while the celebrant ensured that family and friends had a great time. View clips from the event.
2009 AFI DALLAS International Film Festival
DALLAS – The AFI DALLAS International Film Festival returns for its third year in 2009. The Festival will feature international films from emerging filmmakers; the latest work from great film masters and unique nightly red carpet gala premieres which include all attending filmmakers and stars. Spanning 8 days and 9 nights, AFI DALLAS’ presentation of more than 160 screenings make it one of the largest film festivals in the Southwest.
AFI DALLAS presents an international competition of features, documentaries and shorts, as well as world cinema showcases. In addition, filmmaker awards are highlighted once again by Presenting Sponsor Target and their Target Filmmaker Awards, offering $25,000 cash grants to the winning filmmaker in the Best Narrative Feature and Best International Documentary categories. As well, cash awards are offered to the winners of the Current Energy Filmmaker Award and MPS Studio’s Texas Filmmaker Award.
An Open Letter to Martin Luther King
Walk with me down memory lane. The time: 1968. In 30 months, one million dead. The setting: a dusty camp in Biafra where survivors waited and hoped for peace. The survivors: Refugees fleeing from the “Dance of Death.” My mentor: One of the refugee camp directors, whom I called “Teacher” out of respect.
“Martin Luther King has been killed,” Teacher said, with a pained voice and vacant eyes. I looked towards Teacher, wondering: “Who is Martin Luther King?” I was a 13-year-old refugee in the west African nation of Nigeria, a land then called Biafra. Martin Luther King. What did that name mean?
Eight out of ten Biafrans were refugees exiled from their own country. Two years earlier, Christian army officers had staged a bloody coup killing Muslim leaders. The Muslims felt the coup was a tribal mutiny of Christian Igbos against their beloved leaders. The aggrieved Muslims went on a killing rampage, chanting: “Igbo, Igbo, Igbo, you are no longer part of Nigeria!” In the days that followed, 50,000 Igbos were killed in street uprisings.
Killing was not new to us in Biafra. I was 13, but I knew much of killing. Widows and orphans were most of the refugees in our camp. They had survived the Igbo “Dance of Death” — a euphemism for the mass executions. One thousand men at gunpoint forced to dance a public dance. Seven hundred were then shot and buried en masse in shallow graves. When told to hurry up and return to his regular duty, one of the murderers said: “The graves are not yet full.”
A few days later, with only the clothes on our backs, we fled from this “Dance of Death.” That was six months before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Teacher and I were eventually conscripted into the Biafran army and sent to the front, two years after our escape.
After the war, Teacher – who had taught me the name of Martin Luther King — was among the one million who had died. I — a child soldier – was one of the fifteen million who survived.
Africa is committing suicide: a two-decade war in Sudan, genocidal killings in Rwanda, scorched-earth conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, and Liberia. The wars in modern Africa are the largest global-scale loss of life since the establishment of the Atlantic Slave trade, which uprooted and scattered Africa’s sons and daughters across the United States, Jamaica, and Brazil.
Africa’s wars are steering the continent toward a sea of self-destruction so deep that even the greatest horror writers are unable to fathom its depths. So, given our circumstances, Martin Luther King was a name unknown, a dead man among millions, with a message that never reached the shores of Biafra.
Neither did his message reach the ears of “The Black Scorpion,” Benjamin Adekunle, a tough Nigerian army commander, whose credo of ethnic cleansing knew nothing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement: “We shoot at everything that moves, and when our forces move into Igbo territory, we even shoot things that do not move.”
As we heed Martin Luther King Jr.’s call, and march together across the world stage, let us never forget that we who have witnessed and survived the injustice of such nonsensical wars are the torchbearers of his legacy of peace for our world, our nation, and our children.
Transcribed from speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali on April 4, 2008 at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia at the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The entire transcript and video are posted at emeagwali.com.
Philip Emeagwali was inducted into the gallery of history’s 70 greatest black achievers by the International Slavery Museum and into the Gallery of Prominent Refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Barack Obama: A time for global action
WASHINGTON – We are living through a time of global economic challenges that cannot be met by half measures or the isolated efforts of any nation. Now, the leaders of the Group of 20 have a responsibility to take bold, comprehensive and coordinated action that not only jump-starts recovery, but also launches a new era of economic engagement to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.
No one can deny the urgency of action. A crisis in credit and confidence has swept across borders, with consequences for every corner of the world. For the first time in a generation, the global economy is contracting and trade is shrinking.
Trillions of dollars have been lost, banks have stopped lending, and tens of millions will lose their jobs across the globe. The prosperity of every nation has been endangered, along with the stability of governments and the survival of people in the most vulnerable parts of the world.
Once and for all, we have learned that the success of the American economy is inextricably linked to the global economy. There is no line between action that restores growth within our borders and action that supports it beyond.
If people in other countries cannot spend, markets dry up — already we’ve seen the biggest drop in American exports in nearly four decades, which has led directly to American job losses. And if we continue to let financial institutions around the world act recklessly and irresponsibly, we will remain trapped in a cycle of bubble and bust. That is why the upcoming London Summit is directly relevant to our recovery at home.
My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose. Much good work has been done, but much more remains.
Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will act boldly to lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad. Through our example, the United States can promote a global recovery and build confidence around the world; and if the London Summit helps galvanize collective action, we can forge a secure recovery, and future crises can be averted.
Our efforts must begin with swift action to stimulate growth. Already, the United States has passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the most dramatic effort to jump-start job creation and lay a foundation for growth in a generation.
Other members of the G-20 have pursued fiscal stimulus as well, and these efforts should be robust and sustained until demand is restored. As we go forward, we should embrace a collective commitment to encourage open trade and investment, while resisting the protectionism that would deepen this crisis.
Second, we must restore the credit that businesses and consumers depend upon. At home, we are working aggressively to stabilize our financial system. This includes an honest assessment of the balance sheets of our major banks, and will lead directly to lending that can help Americans purchase goods, stay in their homes and grow their businesses.
This must continue to be amplified by the actions of our G-20 partners. Together, we can embrace a common framework that insists upon transparency, accountability and a focus on restoring the flow of credit that is the lifeblood of a growing global economy. And the G-20, together with multilateral institutions, can provide trade finance to help lift up exports and create jobs.
Third, we have an economic, security and moral obligation to extend a hand to countries and people who face the greatest risk. If we turn our backs on them, the suffering caused by this crisis will be enlarged, and our own recovery will be delayed because markets for our goods will shrink further and more American jobs will be lost.
The G-20 should quickly deploy resources to stabilize emerging markets, substantially boost the emergency capacity of the International Monetary Fund and help regional development banks accelerate lending. Meanwhile, America will support new and meaningful investments in food security that can help the poorest weather the difficult days that will come.
While these actions can help get us out of crisis, we cannot settle for a return to the status quo. We must put an end to the reckless speculation and spending beyond our means; to the bad credit, over-leveraged banks and absence of oversight that condemns us to bubbles that inevitably bust.
Only coordinated international action can prevent the irresponsible risk-taking that caused this crisis. That is why I am committed to seizing this opportunity to advance comprehensive reforms of our regulatory and supervisory framework.
All of our financial institutions — on Wall Street and around the globe — need strong oversight and common sense rules of the road. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering.
Rigorous transparency and accountability must check abuse, and the days of out-of-control compensation must end. Instead of patchwork efforts that enable a race to the bottom, we must provide the clear incentives for good behavior that foster a race to the top.
I know that America bears our share of responsibility for the mess that we all face. But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy. That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people.
This G-20 meeting provides a forum for a new kind of global economic cooperation. Now is the time to work together to restore the sustained growth that can only come from open and stable markets that harness innovation, support entrepreneurship and advance opportunity.
The nations of the world have a stake in one another. The United States is ready to join a global effort on behalf of new jobs and sustainable growth. Together, we can learn the lessons of this crisis, and forge a prosperity that is enduring and secure for the 21st century.
Barack Obama is president of the United States.
A Global Viewpoint article distributed by Tribune Media Services
Dilemma of Actress, Ex Beauty Queen Ibinabo Fiberesima
LAGOS – A Lagos High Court yesterday ordered the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo, to immediately arrest a popular actress and former beauty queen, Miss Ibinabo Fiberesima.
Fiberesima was on February 20, sentenced to five years imprisonment for manslaughter following the death of a medical doctor, Mr. Suraj Giwa.
Presiding judge, Justice Deborah Oluwayemi directed Akpoyibo to effect Fiberesima’s arrest and lock her up in Ikoyi Prisons from where she must be brought to court next Tuesday.
The court refused to hear the former beauty queen’s application for a stay of execution of her jail sentence until she appears in court and frowned at her flouting of the judgment.The court also frowned at the attitude of Ibinabo’s counsel, Kamasuode Wodu, and the Ministry of Justice, Lagos State, represented by the State’s Director of Public Prosecution, Olabisi Ogungbesan, accusing them of encouraging Ibinabo to flagrantly disobey court order.
It, however, refused to hear an application brought by counsel to Ibinabo seeking an order of the court staying execution of the said judgment pending the final determination of the appeal.
It also threatened to extend the jail sentence by six months should she fail to appear in court on the next adjourned date.“If the applicant is not here, I cannot hear the application and if she is not here on the next adjourned date, I may be compelled to add six months to her jail term,” the judge said.
She also turned down a medical certificate brought by Fiberesima’s counsel, Mr. Kemasuode Wodu, to the effect that the convicted actress was receiving treatment in a hospital in Port Harcourt.
The judge rejected the certificate on the ground that it was not addressed to the court, but addressed “to whom it may concern.” The court is not ‘to whom it may concern,” the judge said, wondering why the state government had not yet arrested the actress since the day she was sentenced. It regretted that several innocent persons were wallowing in prison custody while a convicted person walks about freely.
The judge further threatened that if Fiberesima is not produced in court on the next adjourned date, she would order the police commissioner in the state where she is receiving the purported treatment to arrest and keep her in custody there. Justice Olawayemi, obviously angry that Fiberesima was not behind bars, said: “I have never seen a case where a person is convicted and sentenced to prison but still walks around freely.”
“The court must be obeyed. The judiciary must be respected. Legal practitioners must take the judiciary as a serious business; so when an order is made, it is the duty of legal practitioners to ensure that the order is obeyed.“This is contempt of my cour. The applicant is already convicted and is not supposed to be anywhere except the prison yard, so her not being here is contempt of my court. How can a convicted person be asking for my consent when she has not obeyed my order? She’s entitled to an appeal, but the proper thing to do is to obey the order.
I wonder what the state government is doing for not arresting her.” There are lots of people without offence and this is a convicted person enjoying life. The applicant’s counsel would be allowed to move his application (for stay of execution) when the convict is brought to court.”
Justice Oluwayemi had, on February 20, sentenced Fiberesima to five years imprisonment for manslaughter in the death of a medical doctor, Mr. Suraj Giwa.
The court held in the judgment that the N100,000 fine imposed by the lower court on Fiberesima was tantamount to judicial recklessness. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, had in 2005 charged Fiberesima to the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Tapa, on a two-count charge of dangerous and reckless driving on the Epe Expressway, Lagos that led to Giwa’s death. The jail sentence followed an appeal by the Lagos State Government against the verdict of the lower court.
Source – Thisdayonline
Austrian Fabrics: the West African Heritage
AUSTRIA – For more than 40 years Austrian embroideries represent the highest quality level of African clothing tradition. These premium textiles are fixed to people who are wearing embroideries as a symbol and metaphor. A tight business relationship between West African customers and Austrian manufacturing companies assure innovative and qualitative products as well as modern design developments.
To intensify the knowledge about the West African market/customers two Austrian fashion experts made a comprehensive investigation and accomplished a research study about the West African embroidery market. Silke Jurkowitsch and Alexander Sarlay are impressed by the always well dressed West African people and the deep-rooted clothing tradition. “Cloths are a mirrow of the person, cloths show the spirit of the people”, they say. The project is dedicated to all people who cultivate a clothing tradition and who take care about their clothing style.
The motivation for this project is based on learning from history of more than 500 years of trading with textiles between West Africa and Europe. Still today, there are the same factors and mechanisms used for doing business. New things are as well absorbed instantly and transformed into the existing tradition. Also fashion is a typical western phenomenon; the things which are counting in the African world are the traditional ones.
Traditional clothing still is a symbol of status, reputation, wealth, etc. Furthermore money for high qualitative and valuable products is still available. The product itself must be developed, marketed and sold in a 100% true-package to the customer. Therefore, copied, cheap, low quality and second-hand textiles are only a way to be “decorated” in the correct cultural way even for people with little money. One of the only existing USPs of Europe is the richness of creativity and the close relationship to African customers. In this project, creativity is the main driver for staying in front of the competitors in the high-end African embroidery market.
The project objectives therefore are the exploration of the niche for Austrian embroideries, to recognize the key factors of designing embroideries for different African cultures and to identify the key factors for trading in West Africa.
The methodology is divided into three levels: Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow. The “Yesterday” part is developed based on existing literature in the fields of ethnography, cultural aspects, religion, art, strategy and marketing. This is followed by the “Today” part, which is a concentration on the actual situation in Africa, Europe, Asia and Near Middle East done in a qualitative way (e.g. observation, interviews, and photo documentation) directly in West Africa. Finally, the “Tomorrow” part consists of the combination of specific challenges for the Austrian embroideries in West Africa as well as international best practices which lead to a positioning for the Austrian embroideries and thereof important project propositions.
This project can contribute to new knowledge by developing a research model in the future for specific high-end products in Africa. The conclusions derived from this model could be the recognizing of the importance of the eye-level, the awareness of the customers´ background in nation, religion, tradition, and the usage of the customers language to market the niche of the product successfully with different marketing activities.
by Silke Jurkowitsch, Alexander Sarlay
About the Authors
Silke Jurkowitsch and Alexander Sarlay were born in the western part of Austria: They grew up with a long fashion tradition in their living area and have a wide ranged experience working together with textiles, decorative and crystal components. Their know-how about textile and crystal business opens new innovation projects in every industry. A main focus is on opportunities and chances in different parts of Africa. Today they live as real cosmopolitans, most of the time they are travelling between Africa, Middle East and Asia. Their alliance combines cross-cultural creativity, leading global business networks in different branches and professional Project Management.
Contact
Sarlay & Jurkowitsch Consulting
Silke Jurkowitsch: silke@sj-c.cc
Mobile: +43 660 3111 550
Alexander Sarlay: alex@sj-c.cc
Mobile: +43 660 111 2001
6094 Axams
Austria
Pope Benedict XVI visits Cameroon; says condoms not the answer in the fight against HIV/Aids
YAOUNDE – Pope Benedict said on the eve of his trip that he wanted to wrap his arms around the entire continent, with “it’s painful wounds, its enormous potential and hopes”. “A Christian can never remain silent,” he said, after being greeted on arrival in Cameroon by President Paul Biya.
Pope Benedict XVI stated that HIV/Aids is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem.
The solution lay, he said, in a “spiritual and human awakening” and “friendship for those who suffer”. Speaking at the airport in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, the Pope called on Christians to speak up in the face of violence, poverty, hunger, corruption and abuse of power.
The pontiff, who preaches marital fidelity and abstinence, said the practice of handing out condoms only increased the problem of HIV/Aids. Some 22 million people are infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, according to UN figures for 2007.
The Pope is also due to visit Angola on his week-long trip, where thousands are expected to attend open-air Masses.
According to Vatican figures, the number of Catholics in Africa has been rising steadily in recent years. Baptized Catholics made up 17% of the African population in 2006, compared with 12% in 1978.
While in Africa, the pontiff is expected to talk to young people about the Aids epidemic and explain to them why the Catholic Church recommends sexual abstinence as the best way to prevent the spread of the disease.
He gave a similar message to African bishops who visited the Vatican in 2005, when he told them that abstinence and fidelity, not condoms, were the means to tackle the epidemic.
The Pope will stay until Friday in Yaounde, where he will meet bishops from all over Africa who will be taking part in a meeting at the Vatican later this year to discuss the Church’s role in Africa.
In Angola, which is still recovering from 27 years of civil war, Pope Benedict will meet diplomats posted in Luanda and is expected to urge the international community not to abandon Africa.
The pontiff is also due to hold private talks with political leaders in the two countries, both of which have been accused of corruption and squandering revenues from natural resources.
“Good People, Great Country”: The New Approach to Image Building
ABUJA – The Nigerian Information Ministry has unveiled a new image building slogan “Nigeria: Good people, great country”.
Information Minister Dora Akunyili, who made her name as a fierce campaigner against fake drugs, said the country’s reputation was unfair.
“We must shed this toga that says we are untrustworthy, unreliable and ungovernable,” she said.
She admitted that the country did have real problems with poverty, corruption and infrastructure, but that wouldn’t stop them trying.
“Some people say: ‘Why rebrand now?’ Nigeria cannot wait until it solves all its problems before addressing its image.”
A better image would improve tourism and encourage businesses to invest in Nigeria, she said. As Nigerian’s own perception of themselves improved they would be less inclined to commit crime.
The previous administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo had a similar campaign to improve Nigeria’s image called “Heart of Africa”.
Local media reported that the government spent $5.6million (£4million) on it in one year.
It was scrapped by Mrs Akunyili last year. The minister last week promised the National Assembly the “good people great country” campaign will cost a lot less, and spending will be transparent
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