Entertainment is one of the greatest exports in Nigeria today, across the globe Nigerian music is being played and industry players are recognized, just recently some Nigerian artistes were recognized in the just concluded Grammy awards. An industry constantly evolving and changing, the need to bring in fresh inputs and ideas have always been seen as a driver. Mesic, a new music label that will be launched in the month of April is poised and position to bring in the desired freshness and creativity.
Speaking on the importance of changing the narrative in the industry, the tech market leader and the award winning Ebia said “we are bringing new things such as unique sound, choice of creative talents, the choice of producers are new breed of young people. We are looking at global business starting from Nigeria. We are looking at unique sound that is not the normal sounds we hear in the country. We are bringing something unique to the table. “
“Our distribution model will be different from the norm. hinging on everything is the technology that we are going to deploy from production to mastering and distribution. Mesic will be a clear departure from what is in the industry. With a lot of focus in the Nigerian entertainment ecosystem, ours is to be a reference point”, Ebia added.
Coming from a tech background and digital marketing ecosystem, the founder of Mesic, Michael Ebia who Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder. Ebia is also responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth, and management of ADE Digital, with his wealth of knowledge and exposure, he will be bringing these exposures to the entertainment industry.
Ebia is a marketing professional with a passion to propagate Digital Marketing in Africa. Founder, iAmSoDigital Africa and Author, ME’s Blog, www.iamsodigital.me (Africa’s Leading Digital Buzz Blog) An Idea Developer, Social Media Strategist, Online/Web Expert. Advertising. Strategic Sponsorship Scouter – SSS. Speaker. Change Agent. As the Co-Founder of ADE Digital, Ebia is saddled with the responsibility of the overall strategic direction, growth, and management of ADE Digital.Providing oversight on all digital projects and campaigns at ADE. He managed Communicate Better Group in United Kingdom; he managed the firm’s general digital marketing efforts across its offices in the UK.
How far has Governor Sanwo-Olu gone in his journey to A Greater Lagos? This is the main question that will be answered as the administration marks its second year anniversary as from Tuesday, April 27. Mr. Sanwo-Olu and Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat mounted the saddle on May 29, 2019.
A series of activities have been put together to showcase the administration’s performance and impact on Lagosians. But it will not be all about what has been achieved; Sanwo-Olu will be offering Lagosians a glimpse into the future, which he often refers to as #A Greater Lagos. He will be unveiling new projects, which the administration will build to make life more comfortable for the citizenry.
The mid-term report will begin with briefings by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government rendering accounts of their achievements in the past two years.
Events of the second-year anniversary include media interviews and interaction of key members of the Lagos State Executive Council, including Dr. Hamzat, the media and various segments of society.
Mr. Governor will unveil iconic projects in the Health, Education, Transportation, Housing and other sectors, besides the various infrastructure projects that have been completed during his tenure.
The ground-breaking of the New Massey Street Children’s hospital, which is billed to be the biggest in Africa, will be performed by Mr. Governor. New schools and housing units will be commissioned.
Since taking the oath of office, Governor Sanwo-Olu has commissioned roads across the State, such as the Tedi-Muwo Road and Link Bridge at the Lagos-Ogun State boundary that cuts across Alimoso and Agbado-Oke Odo; the 1.4km dual carriage Pen Cinema Bridge; the 13.68 kilometres Oshodi-Abule-Egba BRT corridor; 31 networks of roads in Ojokoro LCDA as well as six junction improvement projects to tackle traffic congestion under the Traffic Management Intervention Plan.
In Lekki, the Government is building the Regional Road and the Lekki-Epe Expressway. In Ikorodu, work is progressing on Agric-Isawo Road; Bola Tinubu-Igbogbo-Imota Road; Ijede Road; Oba Sekumade Road in Ipakodo; and Itamaga to Ewu Elepe Town.
No less than 3,500 housing units have been delivered with thousands more to be completed before the end of the second quarter.
Major strides are also visible in water transportation as an alternative means of commuting passengers to reduce pressure on road infrastructure across the five divisions of Lagos State. No less than 15 jetties are in various stages of completion at the Ijede Waterfront and Offin in Ikorodu; Marina Waterfront, VIP Chalet, Apaa and Isalu Ajido in Badagry; Oke-Ira Nla and Takwa Bay, Eti-Osa; Liverpool Road in Apapa; Ebute-Ero on Lagos Island; Mile 2; Ijegun-Egba and Ilashe in Ojo; Ito-Omu in Epe, as well as Ilado in Amuwo Odofin.
Mr. Governor has just performed the ground-breaking of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line Project to complement the 29km Blue Line Project, which has reached 93% completion stage. Phase One of the project will be delivered in the last quarter of year 2022 to convey passengers from Okokomaiko to Marina.
In social intervention, over 38,000 residents are beneficiaries of programmes that provide empowerment for youths and succour to other residents through agriculture; healthcare and grants for women in rural areas. There are many who have graduated from the State’s 19 Skills Acquisition projects. These figures exclude the residents who enjoyed free treatment in public hospitals during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Smart City Project is on. About 3000km of fibre-optic cables are being laid in the first phase of the project, which will be 6,000km when completed. It will provide faster and more reliable internet that will improve education, security and commerce to boost the attainment of a 21st Century Economy.
Schools, hospitals, security agencies and members of the public can hook up to the internet connectivity to advance teaching and learning; consultation and treatment of patients as well as surveillance of crime and traffic violations across the State. Besides, thousands of cameras will be installed to check crime.
The recent acquisition of body cameras for security and traffic monitoring is an innovative approach to monitoring, identifying and checkmating criminals.
Governor Sanwo-Olu will round off the second year anniversary events by engaging the media, captains of industry and other stakeholders at an interactive session on May 28 when he will deliver a state of the State address.
By far the biggest employer of people in Africa is what is generally called the “informal sector.” I personally don’t like this title “informal,” preferring something like the “entrepreneurial” sector, but the truth of the matter is that most people in Africa survive and put their kids through school, by being “self-employed” in some sort of business activity.
Whilst most of the people in this sector are generally literate, having been to school, there’s very little in our education system that actually prepares them for a life running their own business.
This attitude that people must “fend for themselves” is something we need to end across Africa. Governments do have a responsibility to help create real jobs in an economy.
For those government leaders that ask for my advice, there are always five things that I recommend:
Publicly acknowledge that the “informal sector” is the central activity in your country. Whether people are smallholder farmers, street traders, or tradesmen and women, don’t be ashamed to acknowledge them as real economic players. They are contributing to the economy just like the biggest businesses that you have in your country.
Acknowledge the importance of this sector by putting in place policies that enable them to prosper. When they prosper, they will grow, employing more people. Start by holding meetings with them which are genuinely aimed at listening, and engaging them with dignity and respect.
Ensure law enforcement officials respect the informal sector. If governments don’t formally recognize the key role of this sector in the economy, law enforcement may treat these entrepreneurs badly. This is what makes this sector vulnerable to corrupt officials.
Ensure this sector enjoys real rights under the law. For example, no policeman should be allowed to arbitrarily confiscate someone’s goods, without due process. Courts should be arranged (and officials trained) in such a way that they can adjudicate the needs of this sector speedily, and cost effectively.
My favorite:
Introduce entrepreneurship training into the formal education curriculum. By the time someone has completed seven years of school, they should be able to put together a basic profit and loss statement, and a basic balance sheet. They should also be able to read financial statements. This is really, really simple, and not much more complicated than reading football scores!
A high school leaver must also know:
how to register a company, and register for tax.
the basic company law of their country.
about banks and how they operate.
about payroll, and laws governing the rights of others.
how businesses really operate, and how prosperity is generated in an economy.
about sustainability, of both economic growth and the environment.
I would go as far as to say that anyone who goes to a university must also have mandatory entrepreneurship training, irrespective of what they study. This is because we have university graduates that are also unemployed, who could easily create jobs for themselves and others.
Together we can help our vast army of entrepreneurs in Africa become skills-based “enterprise builders.”
I strongly believe that if Africa focuses on fostering and developing entrepreneurship, there will be a remarkable uplift in job creation.
Living with autism is an extremely challenging situation for a child, the parents and care giver(s). Speaking incoherently, not smiling back when smiled at, avoiding eye contact, not responding to their names when called and much more, are only a few of the behavioural traits of a typical autistic and if one has never met one, spent some time with one, you might be a little bit confused when you do, and that is if you actually notice the traces easily and quickly.
The average day in the life of a family managing a child/children suffering from autism is a long and stressful one. Even for those who have been able to successfully design a work and activity plan for the kid(s), managing their meltdowns, picking the right foods and tutoring them is not an easy task at all especially as the kids grow older. No wonder there are instances where a lot of parents isolate these kids from the rest of the world because of the fear of societal acceptance….but for how long?
In Nigeria today, there is little or no existent data on the number of cases existing and not much is known about the statistics of children on the spectrum. This is due to several challenges including the following areas such as Social Stigma,Lack of awareness,Inadequate testing facilities,Lack of Knowledgeable personnel,Lack of adequate government support and Religious beliefs
It is with this background information that the Kanyeyachukwu Autism Society KAS, a non-profit established in 2017 and aptly named after the young art prodigy Master Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, decided with the help of his art works, to draw attention to children and adults living with autism by hosting a yearly art exhibition tagged “FABULOUS AUTISTIC & TALENTED”.
This year’s exhibition aptly themed “no child left behind”, was a hugely successful follow-up to the debut which held in 2019 and which featured art works and performances by various children living with special needs.
And just as his other exhibitions, what a display of the beauty, grace and gift from God it was.
Obviously Kanyeyachukwus’ parents, teachers and handlers have been busy, as his works have graced the walls of several galleries and museums in Nigeria, Europe and other parts of Africa in the last 3 years and even during the lockdown last year, gaining wide acceptance in the art world with art collectors and enthusiasts viewing, purchasing and reviewing his works.
His art has been described in the past as “deep, highly intelligent, and unbelievably very mature for his age” – Dr. Kolja Kramer, Curator Moya Museum Vienna, Austria.
Back home, it has also been described as “one that infuses the deep colors of our society and in his own way, brings it to life on canvas.“ – Joseph Umoibom, art Curator and GM Terra Kulture art and studio, Lagos Nigeria.
Kanye is very ingenious and has a lot more to give said Prof Ernest Agoba University of Jos dept of fine and applied arts
Kanye has achieved quite a lot in record time and they include;
Kanye who I aptly call “the young Picasso”, has also participated in quite a number of exhibitions for his age, most of which have helped to announce him as an upcoming creative genius, living with autism. Still, this has not rubbed of the fact that he needs to be well managed in fact, it only goes to show that once well handled, autism can be a blessing in disguise.
Speaking with his parents, one comes to the conclusion that aside the awards and reviews, they still go through what every parent of an autistic goes through when managing their child. In fact it looks to me like they have been made to double their efforts for as an internationally acclaimed artiste, kanyeyachukwu has on many occasions had to attend award ceremonies, press interviews, exhibitions, photoshoots etc and all with these occasions come the “lights, the cacophony of voices, musical instrument”s etc, which are usually a trigger to huge meltdowns suffered by autistics.
“it all starts with coming to terms with the situation and accepting your fate” says the mum. “when Kanye was born he was the cutest of all our babies and for a while everything was okay till we started noticing a few behavioral issues and saw the warning signs, then we had our entire world thrown into turmoil but we never relented, never stopped praying, and my husband and I never stopped thanking God for the gift of having him.”
For me as a writer, Kanyeyachukwu’s story speaks about change, patience, compelling love, focus and attention, and this continues to be extremely important now. Telling families, especially the ones that have lost all hope in the ability for their children to attain some level of functional independence, live a fulfilled life, make friends, speak, sing, dance and do all the other things children and adults do, that with early detection and intervention there is hope. The Kanyeyachukwu story and that of many other special and gifted children is proof that NO CHILD SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND
The Emergency Communication Centres (NCC) established by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in both Ogun and Enugu states have been commissioned by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
The two NCC projects were part of the seven projects inaugurated by the Minister during the virtual commissioning of the batch nine of digital economy projects for a Digital Nigeria which took place at the Communications & Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja on Friday, April 23, 2021.
The ECCs are deliberate projects embarked upon by the Commission pursuant to its mandates, enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, to dedicate a national emergency number and to ensure the protection of lives and property of Nigerians
To date, 19 states of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have benefited from functional ECC projects, the implementation of which has received greater momentum under the Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, as the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of the Commission.
By simply dialing a dedicated toll-free Emergency Number, 112, citizens can easily receive timely succor in times of emergency from appropriate emergency response agencies (ERAs) such as the Police, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Fire Service, Ambulance Service, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and so on.
Other digital economy projects commissioned by the Minister include the Community ICT Centre, Dutse, Jigawa State; Information Technology Hub at Abubakar Tafawa Belewa University, Bauchi; and Digital Economy Centres (DEC) in Imo State Polytechnic; Garki Secondary School, Abuja and Ojodu Grammar School, Ojodu, Lagos State. These five projects were executed by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Speaking during the commissioning, Pantami, who commended the agencies under his Ministry for joining hands in collectively advancing the course of digital economy which he is spearheading, stated that the projects are in line with the tripartite agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The agenda, according to the Minister, focuses on the tripod of economic development, curbing corruption and improving security of the country.
“It is the goal of the Federal Government to leverage ICT to address developmental issues in our country and that is what we have been doing in the Ministry by facilitating development of Nigeria’s digital economy targets through a number of policy and regulatory initiatives, Pantami said.
In attendance during the commissioning ceremony were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr Festus Daudu; the EVC, NCC, Prof Danbatta; DG, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Inuwa Abdullahi and the Postmaster General, Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), Dr. Ismail Adewusi.
Others are the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), Dr. Abimbola Alale; Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Dr. Abdulaziz Aliyu and Ayuba Shuaibu , Secretary, Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) who is also Chairman, Project Review and Commissioning Committee.
Renal/kidney problem, it has been on rise lately. The death of Ada Jesus has been attributed to kidney collapse. Though some folks attributed that to some curses and magic wand but let us look at it closely. Can we at least downplay these superstition. We can start asking questions like why and how? May her souls rest in peace! It can happen to anybody ,please let’s not attribute this to anything, we have kidney issues today in the country and our young ones are dying of it! We are loosing talents and there should be lots of sensitisation!
Kidney (Renal) failure (acute or chronic) occurs when the kidneys no longer function well and the end stage of kidney failure. Your kidneys may be small, but they perform many vital functions that help maintain your overall health, including filtering waste and excess fluids from your blood. Serious kidney disease may lead to complete kidney failure and the need for dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant to stay alive. While effective treatments are available for many kidney diseases, people are sometimes unaware that kidney disease can often be prevented. The following are the ten major causes of kidney disease.
Within 3 yrs ago I have seen many of my young friends and very very close folks like 4 of them died of kidney failures. These guys are like between 22yrs to 25yrs max! This is the highest. I am talking of personal experience. I lost one again just late last year , she was 25!
The truth is that kidney failures are high these days and unfortunately the medical community is always busy going on strike that is for those that are still in the country , well I don’t blame them, they are underpaid and work environment terrible….while the National Orientation Agency (NOA) are still trying to grasp on what to sensitize people. But the truth is that we have a renal and kidney epidemic in Nigeria. Young people are dying of kidney I have 4 of them just last 3 yrs and they are within 25yrs old, not more than that.
It is a lifestyle issue. If you are close to these youths today especially the artistes and those that want to blow , you will see the high drug useage. from codeine to rephnol, from Arizona to Colorado and funny enough they publicise this in their music and movies. Stick around these young folks…. The function of kidney is like a filter. It filters these drugs but when it can’t , it collapses !
I was in a restaurant somewhere in Ikeja just few days ago and I overheard some young boy saying that he is high from the Colorado that he took and he needs to eat! I am talking about 9 am in Ikeja ! This is what it is. Go to Aboki shop and you will see how they sell these drugs like codeine and rephnol, thy drink skushi and it is laced with drugs …these are prescription drugs and these young folks take these stuff for getting high. But no matter how they try to get high, they can’t be the most high! These drugs goes to kidney
Another issue is our dulling pharmacists, they have no idea what is over the counter medication and highly prescription drugs. Go to chemist or pharmacies you can buy a high dosage of anti biotics and analgesic drugs ! These goes a long way to add to kidney problem issue in the country.
What about those women selling agbo ! These ladies use industrial alcohol (ethanol) for their agbo! Agbo is a herbs laced with roots and soaked with some alcohol sold by dirty women in dirty plastic and using cups. Then you can imagine what they sell and what the gullibles drink! Then they will take some alabuku or whatever to high them, the men take a lot to sustain erection and make them o 5 rounds…as if they are doing some sexual Olympic! That’s madness! They should go audition in the porn industry not some innocent girl.
You see the NOA has a lot to do in the area of kidney failures ! I domt want to talk about those that bleach! Bleaching contain some terrible chemicals and these chemicals enter the body through the sweat pores and then it heads straight to the blood stream and the function of kidney is to filter it. Then imagine those women that go to market and mix their creams !
So my dear people don’t blame any pastor or person for Ada Jesus, we must start asking why the kidney malady is high! When kids were having sickle cell they were attributed to be ogbanje by Igbo or Abiku by Yoruba it is basically sickle cell. You know the human nature has a way of attributing what they don’t understand to some surreal or supernatural whatever. We saw that in 666 and Corona virus with 5G!
We must understand that we have kidney challanges in our hands and the medical communities and government isn’t doing enough sensitisation.
If we can avoid foreign foods , fine, if we drink, let’s drink in moderation and take enough water to flush our kidneys. We must as a matter of fact know the kind creams we use, don’t tone (toning is subtle way of saying bleaching) are you toning, is your skin carburettor?
In addition, healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and regular exercise, often help to control, and may even help to prevent, high blood pressure.
Take note of the urine…if you were, look at it ! “When kidneys are failing, the increased concentration and accumulation of substances in urine lead to a darker color which may be brown, red or purple. The color change is due to abnormal protein or sugar, high levels of red and white blood cells, and high numbers of tube-shaped partic”, Speteurology
In this media chat, Olasunbo Atekoja, the Co-founder of Seclot Vet and Country Manager of Seclot, an IT security firm that ensures that organizations do not get breached, located in Lagos, the Seclot boss talks about security, how they have been deploying top-notch security solutions, offline and online in the country and why many of their clients are happy with them. Anthony Nwosu captures these in an exclusive interview.
As an IT firm, can we know the core practice of Seclot Limited?
SECLOT was coined from Security for the LOT, our core practices are background verification, surveillance systems and tracking systems. We noticed that the above-mentioned areas are places that many organizations have challenges, ours is to fill in these voids by providing world-class services. Seclot is a security-oriented company that deals with online security and physical security. Our vision is to Become the Leading Provider of Technology Driven Security Solutions in Africa and To Become the Leading Provider of Technology Driven Security Solutions in Africa.
In terms of product offering and service, what are your unique go to market approach?
We leverage social media and referral marketing. We deliver complex security solutions by helping protect data, Intellectual Property and the reputation of individuals and organizations. We have deployed and handled big projects over time and these projects speak for us in various way, referrals pour in and we appreciate our clients for this kind gestures.
You are playing in security ecosystem such as deploying CCTV etc, how has this been?
Our major source of income has been the CCTV deployment however there seems to be a lot of players in the field. We currently leverage referral marketing in getting new clients. Do you have a thief invading your property or you are not sure of what your house helps does at home in your absence, installing CCTV would help to catch them while at the act! CCTV can act as a huge deterrent to criminals, they are less likely to target your property’s once they notice CCTV installed there. In order to make the most use of this, clearly advertise its presence on your property. Our solution is for both corporate and individuals especially parents. Knowing where your kids are at a particular point in time or been sure that all things are in place can help promote peace of mind which in turns promote productivity. Our CCTV solution try to address these questions.
“I WOULD ADVISE ORGANIZATIONS TO ENSURE THEY CARRY OUT BACKGROUND AND ADDRESS VERIFICATIONS ON ALL THEIR STAFF BEFORE EMPLOYING THEM. IN A CASE WHERE A STAFF WAS PLANNING TO COMMIT A CRIME BUT KNOWS HE CAN BE TRACED; HE WOULD PROBABLY NOT COMMIT THE CRIME.”
As the country is getting a bit perilous, how can organizations and individuals deploy IT tools to combat crime and security breaches?
The first success criteria in combating crimes are having a database of people, this would inform possible perpetrators that they can easily be caught. I would advise organizations to ensure they carry out background and address verifications on all their staff before employing them. In a case where a staff was planning to commit a crime but knows he can be traced; he would probably not commit the crime. Also, all the IT tolls must be in place depending on the level of business you operate, from biometric scanners, card technologies even motion sensors can be deployed.
Cloud solution is big today. As a player in the ecosystem how have you been deploying cloud solutions in the country?
We are currently building our vetting platform(https://dev.vet.seclot.com/) using Microsoft Azure. The platform is a self-service portal where you can create your profile and upload details of people you want to vet. The vetting would be done and result uploaded back to the portal, interestingly, you can still view these details years after the vetting has been done. We also relentlessly focus on securing our clients digital ecosystem where data assets are the most valuable and vulnerable components of the global economy leveraging our professional teams across Africa to deliver exceptional solutions and services.
You have a distress notifier, how does this work and has it been deployed, what are the success rates?
Yes, we have a distress notifier. This was developed and launched in 2019 however we couldn’t record enough success. From analysis, the failure resulted from lack of stakeholder buy in, unwillingness of users to pay and lack of marketing. Personal insecurity is a growing concern amongst people, we ensure you can reach out to people or your loved one’s when in need, be it Domestic violence, Sexual assault, Robbery, Road accident, Kidnap; having the ability to click a button and get people come to your aid is a necessity. Our Distress Solution empowers your mobile phone, wrist watch, every other available wearable device (IOT) to be used as a distress notifier.
As part of its routine enforcement activities to sanitise the industry of criminal elements, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has arrested no fewer than five suspected individuals for allegedly engaging in fraudulently registering and selling Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.
The hitch-free operation was carried out by a joint team from the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Department of the Commission, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in the Wuse area of Abuja.
The arrested suspects were subsequently handed over to the NSCDC Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Wuse, Abuja for further investigation with respect to the allegations leveled against them.
Commenting on the enforcement operation, NCC’s Head of Enforcement, Salisu Abdu, who led the joint enforcement exercise, said the exercise was part of the routine activities embarked upon by the Commission to rid the industry of criminal elements engaging in fraudulent registration of SIM cards.
He said pre-registering a SIM card is an offence punishable under relevant regulations in the telecom sector and constitutes a breach of national security.
“It is criminal and fraudulent to pre-register a SIM card in Nigeria and it is an offence punishable under the law. Though the Federal Government recently lifted the ban on sale of new SIM cards, it should be noted that proper registration of SIM cards and linking them to National Identity Number (NIN) before activation has now become a prerequisite,” he said.
Abdu warned those who are engaged in the unlawful registration of SIM cards to desist from the illegal act, noting that the Commission will continue to collaborate with relevant law enforcement agencies in its routine enforcement activities in order to rid the industry of individuals, who have resolved to contravene SIM registration regulations.
The enforcement activities will continue in other locations across the FCT and other states of the country.
The Imo state Governor, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma during the Easter celebration Sunday service at his Home Church, Omuma, called on all workers and the entire Imo citizens for true service to God and humanity and repentance in ways of corruption and de-service God, Imo State Government and Imo citizens.
Governor Uzodimma in his statement on the Easter Sunday, called on all Imo workers and Imo citizens to recommit themselves and their Christian faith in true service to God, to their neighbors, and at their working places by re-examining their activities and conscience.
Governor Uzodimma stated “Have we treated our conscience well, how have I managed my position as a government worker, am I among those cheating government, am I among those earning double salary and making noise that I have not been paid, am I among those frustrating every effort of government, if the answer is yes, then today is the day for you to repent.”
He further enjoined Imo citizens that perseverance, tolerance, good faith are ways to guide our conscience and the driving criteria for guaranteed salvation from the Lord.
The attention of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has been drawn to some videos being circulated on Social Media, as well as media reports drawn therefrom, alleging that the NAF Alpha Jet aircraft, which was reported missing in Borno State on 31 March 2021 after losing radar contact, was shot down by terrorists. One of such videos, in particular, began with sporadic shooting by several terrorists, including underaged children on motorcycles and vehicles. It later skipped abruptly to a scene depicting an aircraft exploding mid-air, supposedly as a result of enemy action. Another part of the video showed a terrorist, who, while standing by the wreckage, claimed that they had shot down the NAF aircraft.
Although the video is still being thoroughly analysed, it is evident that most parts of the video were deliberately doctored to give the false impression that the aircraft was shot down. For instance, the video clip failed to show the correlation between the sporadic shooting, which even from casual observation was obviously aimed at ground targets, and the sudden mid-air aircraft explosion. In addition, it is almost impossible for an aircraft to have exploded mid-air, in the manner depicted in the video, and still have a good part of its fuselage, including its tail, intact. Indeed, an explosive impact of that nature would have scattered the debris of the aircraft across several miles.
It is obvious that the Boko Haram Sect, in its characteristic manner of employing false propaganda, is seeking to claim credit for what was obviously an air accident that could have been caused by several other reasons; particularly at a time when the capability of the group to inflict mayhem has been significantly degraded by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Consequently, Nigerians are please advised to ignore the contents of the videos making the rounds until all investigations as to how the aircraft crashed are completed. The NAF, on its part, remains resolute and will continue to work assiduously, in synergy with sister Services and other security agencies, to rid the North East of all terrorist elements.
EDWARD GABKWET Air Commodore Director of Public Relations and Information
