Terrorists hack into DHQ, Navy websites

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI
ABUJA—Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, raised alarm, Tuesday, that the Defence Headquarters’ website and that of the Nigerian Navy had been hacked into by terrorists, adding that the threat posed by the Boko Haram sect, through online reports of their activities needed to be effectively checked.
Petinrin raised the alarm just as the Chief of Defence Communications, Air Vice Marshal Osmond Amu warned that if cyber crime was not checked, “the security challenges the country is currently facing, such as killings, bombs by Boko Haram, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, corruption and so on, which had kept the armed forces and other security agencies on their toes, would be nothing compared to the potential threats inherent in cyber space.”
Speaking in Abuja, at the opening of the World Cyber Conference, the CDS, who was represented by Major-General K. Amao, Chief of Research and Development, DHQ, said to checkmate hacking into the websites of security agencies, “DHQ has achieved successes in the deployment of Information and Communication Technology, ICT, surveillance and tracking equipment to locate criminal elements in our society and perpetrators of the Boko Haram menace.

File photo: Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin (2nd left) and other security chiefs after a security council meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja, recently. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

“However, further successes would be achieved if we appropriately apply cyber technology and space researches to tackle the country’s contemporary security problems.”
Declaring that it was no longer news that Nigeria has been making moves towards the actualisation of a cashless economy, the CDS said: “Before the pronouncement of the cashless policy, cyber attacks had been a major threat to the Nigerian economy. The threat to the Nigerian cashless policy can, therefore, never be overlooked.
“While the country’s apex bank, CBN, backs this policy, commercial banks over the last few months have also keyed into the initiative.
“Cyber attacks may stand out as a stumbling block or threat to the actualisation of this project, except concrete measures are put in place to counter such attacks.”
On his part, AVM Amu said: “The armed forces and other security agencies are by themselves incapable of containing the physical security challenges, hence the call for collective participation. Same applies to the containment of cyber threat, but with a higher universal involvement.”
In her message, Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, said the prevalence of cyber crime is a worrisome development as Nigeria becomes more reliant on ICT.
Vanguard

Ibori’s Wife Theresa Among The Crooks Owing Millions To UK

Theresa Ibori

By SaharaReporters, New York

Theresa Ibori, the wife of jailed former Nigerian state governor James Ibori, was on the list of deadbeats who altogether owe British taxpayers “a staggering one billion pounds,” according to a new report.
Senior lawyers called on ministers to look “urgently” at whether new powers were needed to collect the unpaid debts.

Mrs. Ibori’s name appeared along with major drug importers, fraudsters and other serious criminals who are among more than 7,000 convicted offenders that must still pay back their unlawful gains.

“These are very worrying figures,” said Keith Vaz , chair of the Commons home affairs select committee of the unpaid debt totals. “They show that it is far too easy for major criminals to hold onto the profits of their crime. These serious offenders are escaping proper punishment and, even worse, they are being left with large sums of money which they can use to fund further crimes.”

Mrs. Ibori still owes just under £5 million of a court order imposed for her role in a £50 million fraud committed by her husband, despite owning a home in Hampstead and missing a deadline for repayment that ran out in May.

Danjuma ‘Donated N800m’ To Obasanjo Campaign In 1999

TY Danjuma

By SaharaReporters, New York

Guests at the 2012 Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony held in Abuja were shocked today when it was revealed that a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, donated a massive N800m to the Olusegun Obasanjo presidential campaign in 1999.
The revelation was made by one of the master of ceremonies who read Danjuma’s citation at 2012 Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony organized by the Leadership Newspapers. The event was held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Abuja Hotel.
Danjuma, who was a Minister of Defence after Obasanjo took office, received the award of Leadership Person of the Year 2011.  The Taraba State born general merely smiled when the revelation was made.
It is not clear how such an amount of money was donated to the campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 1999 election because the Independent National Electoral Commission did not allow such a huge amount to be given by an individual to a political party or a candidate.
Even when the law on campaign donation was amended, the highest an individual can donate to a political party still remains about N1m.
At the ceremony, people simply shrugged their shoulders.  “The PDP has always been the PDP, the members know how to manoeuvre their ways,’ quipped some members of the audience. 
Danjuma was later rewarded with one of Nigeria's most lucrative oil blocks which fetched the retired general about $1.5 billion.  He also owns another one in Sao Tome.
Danjuma is said to have insisted that Obasanjo handover to a civilian government in 1979, a process that led to his handing over to the National Party of Nigeria government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari.  He then spent 20 years in the cold before returning as the PDP candidate in 1979.
It will be recalled that Danjuma and Obasanjo fell apart during Obasanjo’s second term in office and had to resign his position as the Minister of defence.
“In a different society, this obscene N800 million revelation would still have been probed, and sanctions effected,” a political analyst told SaharaReporters in Abuja.
 

2015: CPC to dump Buhari for Sanusi?

The hope that the former Presidential Candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC], Gen. Muhammadu Buhari will secure a ticket for the 2015 election is almost slipping away, as the party’s prominent members may opt for the incumbent Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN], Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Presidential candidate of their party.
The party inside source had disclosed that the party’s resolution was to use young and vibrant Nigerian whose ideology and philosophy would be in line the interest of Nigerians.
Sources have revealed to our correspondent that the party has decided to go for a younger Nigerian because Buhari, who has been contesting for the same position since 2003 may not be appreciated by Nigerians due to his age.
It was also noted that few days to the 2011 general elections, Buhari reportedly said that the last year election would be his last political struggle in the country. This contradiction has created room for serious deliberation over the choice of his candidacy, says the source.
Buhari who has been on Jonathan’s neck since  his renewed interest to contest in the 2015 election, has been  approached by the party’s chieftains to back the candidature of the CBN Governor as the party Presidential candidate in 2015, Daily Post had authoritatively gathered.

It was also gathered that Sanusi has decided to give the contest a trial, while leaving his acclaimed interest in the Kano emirate stool in the cooler.

Meanwhile, so much is yet to be done regarding the alliance between the CPC and the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] for the 2015 general election. The National leader of ACN, Senator Ahmed Tinubu had on several occasions met with Buhuri on the need to merge in order to overpower the PDP in 2015.
Tinubu, who is the exponent of the alliance, had disclosed that the alliance will enhance result, as the two parties are very strong in the country, and can as  unseat the PDP government.
However, an attempt to form such alliance in 2011 under the platform of Mega Party did not yield any positive result.
DailyPost.

**Pls note below, Nasril el'Rufai's comment on Buhari's candidacy. Nasril el'Rufai, as the Chairman of CPC Renewal Committee is in a better position to tell the world the position of the Party. Above news on Sanusi may just be mere media speculations.

"I don’t think that issue is on the table right now.What is on the table right now is the unity of the opposition and building strong structures all over the country to merge and outstrip that of the PDP.When the parties all come together,the decision as to which candidate is in the best position to win the election will be taken.And which candidate is finally selected by the merged parties will even depend on whether that candidate is likely to face a Jonathan or someone else.So it is too early to start making those calculations.Of course, there are presidential aspirants all over,you could speculate about who would emerge.Of course, Buhari  is a strong candidate,having been president before and the general level of insecurity and corruption and impunity in this country may probably call for someone with Buhari’s credentials.But that is not on the table right now.What is on the table right now is to unite and build a very strong nationwide party…." - Nasril el'Rufai.

Lessons From Mike Adenuga

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, please permit me to celebrate the life of one of the most distinguished Africans in global business today. The story of Dr Mike Adenuga is one that fascinates me because of its twists and turns. Since 1991, when I first encountered this spirit, as I like to describe him, he has not ceased to amaze me. There is no word in the lexicon that has not been used to describe him in the years that I have followed his larger than life image. Like a ubiquitous magician, he has conquered territories and built impossible bridges.

When banking was in vogue, Dr Adenuga alone owned two, DEVCOM Merchant Bank and Equatorial Trust Bank. When banks were forced to recapitalise, Adenuga merged his two and raised his N25billion capitalisation pronto. He remained the single owner of a bank for so many years. When Hurricane Sanusi came and took his bank away from him, Adenuga fought back quietly and took his bank back, after recapitalising with a cheque of $150m, with a promise to raise more if need be.

When Nigerians were allowed to prospect for oil and gas, Adenuga was the first to discover oil in commercial quantity. This was after his mother; Chief Mrs Oyindamola Adenuga had queried the sense in throwing money into a bottomless pit by investing in oil exploitation under the name of Consolidated Oil. Not many gave him a chance of success but the extremely daring man felt no venture, no conquest. He stuck to his guns and his gamble eventually paid off, and he joined the big league of oil barons.

If you thought he was done with taking risky exploits, Dr Adenuga was soon going to bid for a telecom licence. That bid fell through and Adenuga lost his non-refundable deposit running into millions of dollars. The sheer volume of his loss would have rendered even some heavyweights bankrupt and totally discouraged but not this warhorse who understood how to fight and win battles. The self-evasive man plotted his return away from public glare. He would later catch his enemies off-guard when he pulled a sucker punch and eventually won his bid under the name of Globalcom, or Glo for short. The Chairman did not come in as an Ijebu trader; he came with the instinct of a bull that had to change the reticent system he met on ground by not allowing sleeping dogs to lie.

The advent of Globalcom caused a volcanic eruption in telecoms and Adenuga brought mobile networks nearer to the masses by offering them affordable packages that never existed. He provided endorsement opportunities to our entertainers, young and old, and paid never-heard-of fees to them. Adenuga made Globalcom truly global with his roaming facilities. It remains unknown how Glo signed a roaming agreement with London’s T-Mobile that had hitherto blacklisted Nigeria and Pakistan.

The roving spirit of Adenuga would soon cross into Benin Republic where he secured another Telecom licence. Before you could say Yayi Boni, Adenuga’s men were erecting masts all over the country at the speed of sound. As that was going on, the Republic of Ghana was warming up for the arrival of the Glo magic. Long before Glo’s arrival, Adenuga had locked down some of Ghana’s best artistes and advertising sites and air slots. The intimidation of competitors was total. In just four months, Glo has already attracted two million subscribers in the old Gold-coast.

But the gold-digger continues to dig under the ocean for more conquests. He has achieved the incredible feat of laying submarine cables from Europe to West Africa. The launch of Glo 1 came as a major boost for its blistering operations. The Glo 1 cable runs from United Kingdom across Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Ghana  to Nigeria.

Glo’s heavy funding of football in Africa and beyond is unprecedented.  It restored old glory to the Nigerian League and promoted African soccer stars through the hosting of the Glo-CAF awards. Adenuga has since been dubbed the new Pillar of Sports in Africa. In just nine years, Glo has become one of the most visible brands in Nigeria. Its ads are world-class. I participated in one of its shoot in Cape Town over two years ago and could not believe the intensity of the work at stake. He spares nothing and demands only the best. By its tenth anniversary, Glo is expected to have docked in other African countries as it spreads its wings all over Africa.
Writing about Dr Adenuga is a daunting task but definitely an inspiring vocation.  Reading about him is even more difficult because of the strain of sifting fact from fiction. Those who don’t know him well have embarked on a certain demonisation of the man. I have read many comments about his recent award of GCON and come to the conclusion that Nigerians need to learn more about a man who has done things his own way, almost forever, and is reaping bountiful harvests from it. 

If Adenuga was born elsewhere, several doctoral thesis and biographical works would have surfaced on him like those of Paul Getty, Aristotle Onassis, Howard Hughes, John Rockefeller, Henry Ford and others. It is the reason we must salute the effort behind the first comprehensive probe of the Adenuga mythology by authors Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe. Many have cited Adenuga’s inaccessibility as the reason for frugal information on him. I disagree. All over the world it is our duty to penetrate the impregnable world of this enigma to give mankind a peep into his almost surreal planet.

The summary of my intense probe is that our youths need to know how Adenuga has built a super conglomerate. I will cite only ten examples.  The first is hard work. Adenuga is a workaholic. Many of those close to him are forced to share in his amazing penchant for work and more work. The second is his sharp vision. He has his clear sight on any project he wants to embark on. Three, he personally supervises every project because he doesn’t want anyone to disappoint him. He sometimes sends different people on a similar mission to have an effective backup. Four, he’s a risk-taker. Adenuga hates the word impossibility. He does his homework first and once he’s convinced in his heart, he will take the plunge.

Five, Adenuga is brave. He has come to see life as a theatre of war. To win any battle requires courage. Six, despite his massive wealth, Adenuga is a very simple man. I sometimes wonder if he has not turned work into relaxation while relaxation is a difficulty for him. He’s not an extravagant man. He spends most of his wealth on others. Seven, unknown to many, Adenuga is a very shy and humble man. He would bend down to greet most people. His reclusive existence is a perfect façade against invaders of his privacy. He avoids people because he finds it hard to say no to them. Eight, Adenuga is extremely loyal to his friends. And he demands unflinching allegiance in return. If he loves you, he can almost pluck his eyes for you. No amount is too big for him to give away. Nine, Adenuga abhors politics. This is probably his biggest asset. He knows very well that politics can make or mar. Though he has many friends in the corridor of power, he prefers to let them face their job while he faces his. He’s the only man at his level who would not attend political gatherings but he knows how to reach out to his powerful friends. This has earned him great respect from associates and foes alike. Adenuga is not a common commodity to be seen everywhere by everybody. Ten, he’s a mythical figure who strives to attain further achievements as people spin gossips around him. The common allegation against him is that he’s fronting for powerful interests. But his attitude is how could he have been fronting forever? It is like giving exam questions and answers to some people, they may still fail. Adenuga has been in business for too long to be an errand boy. 

When the same GCON eluded him last year many had queried why he was not given as a way of rewarding his salutary efforts at creating thousands of jobs for Nigerians and Africans.  But he never complained but continue to do what he knows best, keeping more sleepless nights. For him patience is a virtue and respect for constituted authorities is not a minus. His can do spirit keeps him going.

I doubt if there are institutions that teach entrepreneurship as practical courses in our country today. With the current level of mass unemployment in our clime, it has become pertinent to study the lives of those extra-ordinary people who have braved all odds to achieve monumental results in a particularly difficult terrain. I say this with every sense of responsibility because of the new trend where many of our youths no longer aspire to achieve greatness by dint of diligence and toil because they assume that every successful Nigerian did not have to work hard to attain prominence and significance. All manner of conspiracy theories are usually propounded to justify the good fortunes of exceptional geniuses who have created something out of nothing. They often forget that there’s no easy way to the top. And even when you get to the top, it is never a child’s play to maintain and sustain such accomplishments.

Truth is, there’s no alternative to hard work. It could never have been a fluke for a man to consistently turn everything he touches into gold over a long period of time spanning four decades. I have studied the lives of many entrepreneurs directly and indirectly and discovered that what they share in common is the uncommon capacity to stay awake while others are sleeping and snoring. They set their gaze on targets and break down barriers. They hold on fastidiously to their dreams and refuse to be discouraged by merchants of doom. They surmount all obstacles and soar like the eagle.  They take every temporary set-back as an opportunity to recharge and attempt a higher altitude.

Such is the superlative story of Dr Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Isola Adenuga, fondly called The Guru by friends and admirers. His travails and triumphs should be a compulsory case-study for all students of Business Administration. I have had the privilege of watching this prodigiously gifted man for 21 years and I have come to the unassailable conclusion that he’s in a class of his own. His style of operations continues to confuse and confound his critics but this has worked incredible wonders for him.
It is doubtful if there’s any other Mike Adenuga on the surface of this earth.

ThisDay

But How Did We Get Here?

Simon Kolawole Live!

Exactly what is corruption? If you are a typical Nigerian, you would define it as government officials looting our treasury. In our view, everything starts and ends in government offices. Should we then be surprised that almost everybody is campaigning against corruption in Nigeria? We are all waging a war against corruption. We are all appalled. We are all agreed that corruption is dragging the nation backward. The main reason Nigeria is not making progress, we say authoritatively, is that those in government are just stealing public money.

Corruption in Nigeria, I did say last week, is not the exclusive preserve of the politicians, civil servants and captains of industry. Among the “common people”, there is an instinctive honing of stealing skills. We should stop thinking people suddenly become corrupt when they join government. In fact, having been tutored and mentored on petty stealing from probably the age of five, Nigerians naturally explode when they occupy positions of authority at any level either in private or public sector. There is just something about our mentality which breeds greed. We don’t think we should do things the right and proper way. Actively or passively, we aid and abet corruption in our society.

I had barely shut down my laptop when I experienced corruption in another dimension. Last Thursday, I wanted to send about 410 cartons of printed materials to Abuja. Because it had become urgent, I decided to use air cargo rather than road transport. I went to IRS Airlines, paid nearly N300, 000 (I was issued with a receipt) and detailed a friend to follow the cargo to Abuja by the same flight. But someone had hinted me that the cargo would be sent to Abuja by road that night, and that IRS would contrive lies to explain it away. I spoke personally to the officers in charge, who swore that the cargo would leave by the 2pm flight. I sought and got assurances. I was at the airport for three hours sorting things out. I saw the cartons being tape-wrapped and taken to the tarmac.

By the time the aircraft landed in Abuja, only five cartons were on board! The rest were sent by road. We had to collect the mobile number of the driver. We monitored his movement all night until he finally arrived IRS office at Abuja airport Friday morning. “That is what IRS does,” an insider informed me. I made every effort to reach the owner of the airline to inform him on these sharp practices. He failed to pick my calls or return several SMS. I despaired. It would have cost me maybe N100, 000 to send the same cargo by bus. I cannot say for certain if this is official fraud or something that was perpetrated by the low-level staff or even if there was connivance at different levels. One thing for sure, though, is that there is no limit to our fraudulent instincts in Nigeria.

While we continue to batter “our leaders” on the corruption pandemic in Nigeria, we also need to start looking inward, looking at ourselves. There is corruption in every sector and every segment of Nigeria. Pastors and imams are prayer consultants to looters and murderers. Lawyers collect hefty fees, part of which is to bribe judges. We in the media are not only accomplices but are active participants in the graft chain. Government-employed doctors divert patients and materials to their private clinics. Yet, we are all complaining about corruption and how it is hampering our progress as a nation.

But how did we get here? In my view, there are two primary motives for corruption. The first is greed. The second is need. Among “our leaders” and the middleclass, greed is usually the principal thing. They earn enough legitimate resources, but are never content. So they keep looting. Among “we the people”, need is the principal thing. The ordinary people are poor or just getting by on lean resources. But for the proceeds of petty corruption, they would hardly be able to feed or pay their children’s school fees. (Meanwhile, I am not trying to justify anything. I am actually trying to explain my understanding of what is going on).

I received interesting, mixed responses to my article of last week, “Olympic Gold for Corruption?” One respondent, whose opinion I always respect, said the devaluation of the naira and removal of subsidies over the years have destroyed the standard of living of ordinary Nigerians and impoverished them, thereby making them vulnerable to petty corruption. Nobody would watch himself or his family starve to death. Survival is a basic human instinct. People would do whatever it takes to survive. He said some 40 years ago, when the economy was decent, Nigerians were not as fraudulent as this.

I believe there is a link between cost of living, standard of living and the propensity to play by the rules. But this can only explain part of the problem. The bigger problem, in my opinion, is that our values have been devalued. It is not just about poverty and survival. Something has happened to us. Cheap money is everywhere. Integrity, honesty, contentment and modesty are values that are fast disappearing in our society. We have seen how the rich get richer at our expense; they can afford everything they want while the rest of Nigerians struggle to get by. Living within our means has become a mere ideal.

Some readers blamed leadership for the rut. A good leadership will produce good followership, they argued. I agree with this line and I have advanced it several times, but that is if we understand the concept and nature of leadership as “my little corner”.  If, as the leader of cleaners in your office, you are sweeping dirt under the carpet, you would sweep corruption under the carpet if you get to Aso Rock! If you are “repackaging” bags of rice as the leader of your shop, is it when you become governor that you would suddenly stop “repackaging” pensioners’ money? That’s some food for thought.

How then can we get out of this corruption mess? That should be a good topic for a seminar…

And Four Other Things...

A GRAND COMMANDER
Globacom Chairman and one of Africa’s biggest entrepreneurs, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr, will be conferred with the second highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), by President Goodluck Jonathan tomorrow. This honour used to be reserved for politicians, mostly vice-presidents, but Jonathan has bucked the trend and given recognition to entrepreneurs, starting with Alhaji Aliko Dangote last year. To be honest, I always find the names of questionable characters on the honours list, but the Federal Government gets it right once in a while. Adenuga has more than paid his dues. He definitely deserves this honour.

CALLOUS COPS
Do the police train their officers on how to treat bereaved victims? Do they understand the meaning of trauma? My younger sister got a call early Wednesday morning from a police officer who said she was calling from somewhere in Edo State. “Your husband is dead,” she said, and asked my sister to come and claim the corpse. Is that how to treat someone who had just become a widow? I thought that was madness. After the remains were retrieved, the officer started asking my sister to “send something” to her and the DPO “to show appreciation” for the way they handled the matter. Madness. Sheer madness.

AIRPORT BLACK MARKET
With the suspension of operations by Air Nigeria, Chachangi and Dana Air—as well as some stringent regulations on commercial aircraft—there is a booming graft industry in the aviation sector as only two-and-a-half airlines are operating. Tickets are bought, hoarded and resold, with a new ID card provided within two minutes to give you a new identity to pass security checks. This is to say nothing about airlines closing check-in counters quite early—with some person approaching you and assuring you that if you could part with N10, 000, you would still get on board. It always works, I was told.

HURRAY, MURRAY!
If any British tennis player was going to break the jinx and bring home a grand slam title, it was always going to be Andy Murray. He has shown again and again what a good player he is, but carrying the hopes of the whole nation had weighed too heavily on his shoulders. At the 2012 US Open, Murray became the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, beating Novak Djokovic in five sets. I’m happy for Murray, but we now have to live with the nuisance of the British press, which will now blow up Murray as the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen.

ThisDay

Jonathan urges judiciary to embark on comprehensive reforms

The Judiciary in the country has, again, been asked to embark on a comprehensive reforms  in order to enhance capacity, efficiency and productivity.

President Goodluck  Jonathan, who gave the charge on Monday during the official inauguration of the Federal High Court, Uyo, said this was one of the challenges the judiciary had to overcome.

President Jonathan, who was represented by Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, challenged the Federal High Court to meet the demands of prompt justice administration and further straighten the faith of Nigerians in the judiciary.

“It is the sacred duty of the judiciary to help ensure stability within the polity through the promotion of the rule of law, strict guardianship of the constitution and constant and unfailing application of the principles of justice. The Judiciary cannot afford to compromise the essential principles set out in our constitution to ensure justice for all Nigerians irrespective of their political disposition, tribe and race,” Jonathan said.

“One issue of constant concern to all our compatriots is that the wheel of justice still grinds rather slowly in our courts. It is instructive, however, that the Federal High Court has committed itself to turning the wheel faster and this we applaud and hope you will devote time to in your conference. Rest assured that we are prepared to support all efforts to enhance the dispensation of justice,” Jonathan added.

The president reasoned that a vibrant judiciary which fulfilled its essence as the Third Estate of the Realm was not only a restraining influence on the likely excesses of the executive at the local, state or federal level, but also builds a tradition of respect for, and inspires confidence in the law.
Nigerian Tribune