Senate summons Shell on Ogoni clean up

By Wale Odunsi 

The Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology had met on Thursday with Shell Nigeria over the lingering oil spills and environmental degradation of Ogoni.
The meeting, which was attended by the Managing Director/Country Chairman of Shell Mutiu O A Sunmonu and a team of shell officials had asked the committee to take immediate steps to remediate the oil spill affected areas of Ejema Ebubu and Bomu Manifold communities before the end of 2013.
It would be recalled that the Committee chaired by Sen. (Dr.) Bukola Saraki had on October 1st 2012 paid an unscheduled visit to several oil spill sites in Ogoniland as part of its oversight visit. During the visit the Committee was appalled by the deplorable condition of most of the sites visited with the attendant suffering it has brought to the people in those communities with some of the sites still oozing crude oil after several years of neglect.
At the meeting, which was held at the National Assembly Complex, the Committee expressed its displeasure over the delays in cleanup and remediation exercise of the oil spill sites and the ineffectiveness of many remediation methods so far adopted in the country. The Committee reiterated its discontent over Shell handling of Ejema ebubu, Bomu Manifold, Goi and Bodo spills sites among others and requested Shell to commit to full clean-up and remediate the sites before the end of the year.

In its response, Shell complained that they were willing to remediate the impacted sites within its right of way but where the spills are out of its right of way, their biggest challenge has been that of the communities not allowing access to such sites.
This it maintained is the reason why it may not give definite commitment to the Committee on the remediation of Goi and Bodo oil spill sites within the year, but committed to the remediation of the Ejema Ebubu and Bomu Manifold Communities as earlier stated.
The Committee on its part promised to liaise with state governments, relevant government agencies and the communities to ensure that Shell gets the necessary access to enable it start effective remediation of the areas where it has been denied access in the past.
Many consider the outcome of the meeting as a remarkable development and a step in the right direction in the management of oil spills and degradation of the Niger Delta. It will be recalled that the committee is pushing through the National Assembly, a bill initiated by the chairman of the Committee to set penalties for oil spills and ensure that responsible parties clean up and remediate impacted sites promptly.
DailyPost

“He is under contract and must focus on West Brom” – Club slams Odemwingie after QPR move flops

By Ifreke Inyang 

West Brom have expressed their anger at how Nigerian striker, Osaze Odemwingie, tried to force a transfer deadline day move to Queens Park Rangers.
The 31-year-old turned up at Loftus Road, without both clubs agreeing a fee and was refused entry into the stadium by QPR officials.
The deal eventually did not see the light of day and Odemwingie must now face life at the Hawthorns till the summer, where the club’s chiefs are unhappy with his behaviour.
“This evening’s developments have brought a conclusion to what has been an unsavoury affair,” Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace told the club’s official website on Thursday.
“As our sporting & technical director Richard Garlick has repeatedly said in recent days, we had no need or desire to sell our core players.

“The only way we would have considered letting Peter leave was if an acceptable offer was forthcoming and if we had found a suitable replacement at relatively short notice.
“Neither materialised and, in the end, the matter became a point of principle as much as anything.
“Peter has acted wholly unprofessionally. He must now accept the fact he remains under contract for a further 18 months and has to focus on his Albion commitments.”

Civil servant sacked over Facebook comment sues Bauchi State Government, three others

By Feyi Afisunlu 

Mallam Isa Yuguda

Bauchi State government and three others have been sued by a staff of the State Ministry of Finance, Mallam Abbas Ahmed Faggo who was sacked over his facebook comment on the elaborate government spending on the wedding of the Governor’s son.
A copy of the suit filed by his counsel, Mr Usman Baffa Darazo, which was distributed to newsmen on Thursday at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Bauchi revealed that Fago filed a suit before National Industrial Court, sitting in Jos and faulted the termination of his appointment by the state government on the grounds that he was not given fair hearing or the opportunity to defend himself.

Fago said: “After I answered the query given to me by the Head of Service, I was discharged from duty by the magistrate court and considering the
allegation levelled against me which is criminal in nature, I was supposed to have been given adequate time and facilities to defend myself in relation to the said allegation before my appointment was terminated.”
He however urged the court to declare the termination of his appointment as null and void and order government to reinstate him with all his emoluments
from the date of his termination.
Faggo’s Counsel,Mr. Darazo said the case was before the Chief Judge of the Industrial Court for reassigning and mentioning.
DailyPost

Osun State demolish 3,000 dilapidated public schools

By Feyi Afisunlu 

No fewer than 3,000 dilapidated school buildings out of the 4,000 identified across the 30 local government areas in Osun state have been demolished by the state government.
This was disclosed by the Chairman, Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Committee (O’ schools), Chief Lai Oyeduntan in Osogbo, on Thursday.
He stated that his committee had spotted schools with dangerous dilapidated structures in the state and will replace them with new ones.
He hinted that 100 model elementary schools would be built in the state, while 50 middle schools and 20 high schools would also be built in the nine federal constituencies of the state before the end of the year.
He explained that most of the school buildings in the state were constructed by the administration of
former Premier of the old Western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and that of the former Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief Bola Ige, which his committee observed were weak and could no longer stand the test of time.

Oyeduntan added that some of the school buildings erected during the administration of the immediate
past Governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola were either located close to highways or of low quality standard, a development which compelled the government to demolish them also.
He further explained that the buildings that were demolished were not only those built by the government of Oyinlola as insinuated by some people, stressing that the present government in the state does not put political sentiments into its actions and deeds.
Oyeduntan concluded by affirming that arrangements had already been concluded to ensure that the planned merger of schools succeeds, assuring that all envisaged challenges that may affect the new government policy have been considered, such that the policy
DailyPost

Governor Shettima turns down NGO Award over Boko Haram ceasefire

Borno state governor Kashim Shaettima has turned down an award from an Europe based non-governmental organisation, International Advocacy for Peace Negotiation & None-violence after being nominated for the award on Wednesday following his success of achieving ceasefire via dialogue with Boko Haram.
The Governor humbly rejected the offer, which the NGO said in a letter dated 30th January, 2013 and addressed to Shettima that his ‘resilient and determined role in brokering a cease fire deal with Boko Haram as well as his pioneering and consistent calls for dialogue’ merited him the award’.
Governor Shettima said such award may be a welcome idea, even as he described it as ‘hasty, biased and unnecessary’.
In the award letter signed by one Mr. Russell Donvito, who is the Coordinator of the NGO, Governor Shettima was supposed to be presented with the award in far away Brussels by March, 2013.
Russel’s letter reads in part; ‘we remember you making that proposal to the media in April, 2011, as the Governor of Borno State, being the centre of the insurgency. We have been closely monitoring your (Shettima) actions and statements about peaceful resolution, we have also confirmed from our local based partners how you have been committed and meeting different people including detained insurgents, courting and persuading them to give links for negotiations…We belief that negotiations must start from somewhere, you cannot have all armed guys to turn in overnight, you must start from someone however low or big so long as he is of that group. It is for these and much more, including your bold submission in Washington in 2011 before the US military, calling for dialogue with the Boko Haram when most other speakers couldn’t say, that we think you should be singled out for honouring at no cost whatsoever, by the advocacy.

Justifying his boss’ action in an interview, Governor Shettima’s spokesman Isa Umar Gusau, said the Governor did not reject the award but ‘humbly and politely feels that the award is to , “hasty, biased, diversionary and extremely selective because so many people, key security chiefs, establishments and groups at the national and state levels are actually involved in whatever successes gradually being achieved and these people and groups are still working day and night to achieve peace for Borno and Nigeria”’.
Gusau added that Governor Shettima feels that the award recipients should be those who lost their lives to the violence, those who have become orphans and widows, those who have lost breadwinners and everyone that stood or continuously work for the return of peace in Borno and the rest of the country’.
DailyPost

My Master's Wasn't Worth It

Be careful what you study. Going to grad school isn't always worth the time, effort and money.

MBAs: A dime a dozen?

Courtesy: Aaron FraserName: Aaron Fraser, 42
Place: Virgin Islands

I once looked at the MBA as the crème de la crème of business degrees, but now I realize I'm a dime a dozen.

I have an MBA in media management from Metropolitan College of New York and a master's in organizational leadership from Mercy College. I am in debt to the tune of $120,000, and for me, it just wasn't worth it.

After graduating, I applied for jobs in New York for at least a year. In interviews, I was either overqualified, or high risk.

I am high risk, so I'm told, because I have multiple degrees, which means it's more likely that I would pursue other means of employment if I am offered a higher salary.

I'm 42 years old, and I'm competing with 25-year-olds who have MBAs from Harvard. There are so many young people with MBAs from exclusive schools, it's very difficult for somebody like me to compete. Employers don't expect middle aged people to be innovators.

My master's is a joke

Courtesy: Jen SmialekName: Jen Smialek, 31
Place: Boston, Mass.

I work in such a completely different industry, it's a joke amongst co-workers that I have a master's in education.

I completed that degree -- which was my second master's -- in 2010, and taught for a year in Boston. It was the hardest work I've ever done, but I loved it.

A year later, it was first in, first out in terms of layoffs. I didn't have any seniority and I was unfortunately laid off.

I couldn't find another teaching job, so I returned to marketing. I had about $26,000 in student debt from that master's, and I've since paid off most of it (I completed my first master's for less than $500).

If I could go back, I wouldn't earn the education degree again. It was a good personal enrichment activity, but for someone like me who does Internet marketing, my career would benefit more from an MBA.

I work 3 part-time jobs

Courtesy: Nick HintzName: Nick Hintz, 28
Place: Kansas City, Mo.

When I graduated from my undergraduate program in 2008, I had a bachelor's degree in psychology, which was too general to get me a job. I wanted to go into business, so I decided to earn a master's degree in human resources at the University of Minnesota.

At the time, it was rated as the number two HR school in the nation, and it cost a lot to go there. I took out $120,000 in student loans. The economy was unraveling at the time, but I hoped that over a couple years, the job market would improve.

Instead, things got worst. I graduated in 2010 at the bottom of the U.S. job market. At the time, only about half our class found jobs.

Now it's been more than two years, and I'm competing against fresh grads for entry-level positions and leadership training programs. A career counselor told me I missed the boat on getting a solid return on investment for my master's.

I have three part-time jobs. I am an unpaid volunteer in a local hospital's HR department, I'm a content manager for a video game website, and I clean typewriters... yes, typewriters.

I'm stuck with a large amount of debt, I have this fancy master's no one cares about, and I can't get the experience I need. I'm really at a loss of what to do.
Yahoo!News

Interview With Nollywood Actress Mimi Quaker: I’m Not a Lesbian, I Only Organise Girls…

Mimi Quaker isn’t really a rookie anymore, since featuring in “Evil Mind” some two years ago. The beautiful, curvaceous girl from Port Harcourt has got enough under her belt to rub shoulders with the very best in the industry. Unlike most of her peers, she has seen the two worlds of music and movie. Having featured in close to ten movies, Mimi also has a stake in the music world as a music video vixen. In fact, she was named as one of the top ten video vixens in 2012 by a popular blogger.

But the jovial, down-to-earth Mimi, had a sling of controversy thrown her way when she was accused of being a lesbian for keeping and displaying pictures of various girls as her Blackberry DP (Display Pictures). In this chat with Weekend Groove, she opens up on why she keeps pictures of different girls as her BB Display Pictures, her career and many more. Enjoy:

How did you get into acting?

It was a bit easy for me. I met Chico Ejiro on Facebook and told him about my intention to go into acting. He invited me for an audition and that was how it all started for me.

When did you know  you could act?

I have always loved acting right from my childhood. Back in primary school, I would gather my friends together and got them laughing by putting up different acts. It was then people started taking notice of my talent. Even,some of them advised me to go into acting. It is a childhood passion that has now been realised.

You said you have been acting since 2010. How many movies did you do in 2012 alone?

2012 was really hectic. I had to go back to school full time. So, my studies  took most of my time. Right now, I am in the University of Lagos and I’m studying philosophy. Even at that, I still managed to shoot about six music videos last year.

So, who have you shot music videos with in the past?

I have shot videos with people like KAN, Brymo, Rex, Terry G and several other Nigerian artistes. I was even picked as one of the top ten video vixens by Linda Ikeji, the blogger.

What is the actual difference between doing music videos and doing  movies?

There isn’t much difference between the two. Both involve acting in the real sense but the acting in movies is more intense than the acts you need to put up in music videos. However, for me, the big difference is in the pay. Music videos pay far more and it doesn’t take much of your time like movies do. While movies takes months to wrap up, music videos can be a day thing.

Are you telling us that doing music videos are more lucrative than acting in movies?

Yes, it is. For one, the time you spend in producing  just one movie, you could spend the same amount of time doing over ten music videos.

Now, give us an idea of how much it pays for one music video production ?

I can’t tell you that now. It’s  like revealing my salary to the whole world. All I can say is that it pays well.

We learnt that artistes usually take advantage of girls who do music videos, is it true?

It is everywhere, not only in the music or movie industry. It is more of a personal thing. You see, it depends onthe individual.If that is what you have come for, fine, you get it but nobody forces anybody on anybody. For me, I have not experienced such since I started singing.

But some artistes usually make passes at you?

Yes, of course. Like I said , it depends on what you are set to achieve. If that is what you set out to achieve then, you are bound to get it.

So when passes are made at you, how do you fend them off?

You just nicely turn them down…

(cuts in) Is it that simple. Imagine somebody grabbing at you roughly and suddenly…?

(cuts in)  That has never happened to me. Maybe it is in the way you carry yourself but that has never happened to me. Besides, I work with decent and respectful bunch of people who are too nice and cultured not to consider that. All the artistes and directors I have worked with are not rude or indecent to descend that low. Maybe it happens in other places but I have never had to face such a situation. Never.

How far do you intend to go in acting?.

I intend to go very far. You know, it is something I really like to do and I have no intention of dumping it entirely for music video or anything. I just want to finish my education first. Education is important because if you are educated people would take you more seriously. After my education, I intend to come back with a storm, and probably do one or two movies of my own, with my own money.

Between doing movies and music videos, which one are you more involved with right now?

Music videos of course, because it doesn’t take all my time. In 2012 I featured in more than five videos.

And those five paid enough to last you the whole year?

Yes they did. Apart from that I also organise girls for music videos.

How do you mean. Like an agency or what?

Yes. Most of the directors are my friends and they ask me to bring girls for music videos. So, I organise girls for their videos. All they do is ask me to bring girls with certain specifications and I search for girls with those specifications. Sometimes, I provide nothing less than five girls for a music video and what I do is to get paid from the girls’ payment.

How much percentage do you take off their cuts?

Well, sometimes I take up to 40 per cent.

So, what do you look for in the girls you pick?

The shape is the most important feature. The girl must be very curvy with nice skin colour, not necessarilylight-skinned and the height doesn’t matter. The type of girls to choose often depends on the director’s specifications. In some instances, the director may require a busty girl, big backside girl or even a slim-waist girl. Generally, a sexy curvy girl passes.

There have been a lot of girls on your Blackberry (DP) Display Picture. Does this have anything to do with your sexual preference?

I don’t know what you are talking about but those girls you have been seeing on my DP are some of the girls I selected for a music video.

Why do you flaunt them on your DP?

(laughing), is it giving you headache or is there any problem with that?

Some have said you flaunt them because you are a lesbian and are involved with them.

(laughing) I don’t want to talk about that.

What do you mean you don’t want to talk about that?

Are you done? I don’t want to talk about that. Next question.

Are you a lesbian, Mimi?

No. next question.

Are you in a relationship?

Yes I am.

So what attracted you to the man?

I guess the physique. I also like guys with a good set of teeth. He must also be handsome, tall, well built and God-fearing.

As an upcoming artiste, imagine you are given a script that entails you having séx on set, would you take it?

Yes, because it is only make-believe. You are not actually having séx but making it look like you are having sex.

But what if it involves exposing vital parts of your body?

Well, if the money is good enough, I will take it. The whole idea is make-believe and getting the job done. It has nothing to do with my person.

Who do you consider your role models in the industry?

In Nigeria, I have Mercy Johnson and Genevieve. I used to like Rita Dominic but not any more because she has not lived up to my expectation.

What do you consider first before taking up a role?

The role itself. I must be able to assimilate it and project it to perfection before I can take it on. Then, I look at how it would be viewed by the society and the likely criticisms that may arise from it. Then, I look at what impacts it has on the society. I like to do films that pass messages to the society.
 TalkOfNaija