John Atta Mills R.I.P

John Evans Fifii Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012)

Tens of thousands of people in the Ghanaian capital Accra have attended the state funeral for President John Atta Mills, who died suddenly in July.

Some 18 African heads of state and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton witnessed the ceremony in Accra's Independence Square.

Government is spending £3million modernising foreign jails

The British Government have announced plans to fund an initiative to make prisons in countries like Jamaica and Nigeria more comfortable, in a desperate bid to persuade foreign criminals to serve their sentences at home.  

The government have decided to take this unprecedented step by establishing a £3million annual pot to make it easier for convicts to serve their sentences back in their home countries, after it emerged that the UK’s own prison system housed  11,127 foreign inmates (from 156 countries, this is up from 10,778 in 2011), costing taxpayers an estimated £420million. .Officials insist it will be cheaper in the long run than the annual £38,000 bill for keeping a single prisoner locked up in the UK.

Currently, money is being spent in Jamaica to ‘assist Jamaican authorities in modernising their prison service and rehabilitation and reintegration activities’.
In Nigeria, one project supports the provision of ‘human rights training for prison officers’. A second project will construct new facilities at a women’s prison in Lagos, to reduce overcrowding.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: ‘To some extent, this is the inevitable legacy of mass immigration of 3.5million people under Labour.
‘The resources necessary to tackle the rising number of foreign prisoners have not been made available.’
Tory MP Priti Patel said: ‘Prison is always the best place for dangerous criminals, but our jails should not be used as hotels for foreigners. Ministers need to take action to deport them to serve their sentences in the countries they come from and then stop them from coming back to Britain.

‘Living in Britain is a privilege and foreigners who come here and flout our laws should be sent packing without delay.’
‘We believe that, wherever possible, foreign national prisoners should serve their sentences in their own country.
‘Not only will it save money for the UK, it will also mean that these prisoners will be closer to family and friends.This helps to support prisoners’ social rehabilitation and reintegration into society.


In the past, the Labour government tried to reduce the number of overseas inmates. Offenders were offered credit cards pre-loaded with more than £450 - funded by the taxpayer - if they agreed to return home.This was part of a package worth up to £5,000. 

Nigeria: Ghana Cancels Policy On $300,000 Base for Nigerian Traders

It appears that the controversial capital base and employment requirements which had angered alot of Nigerian business owners in Ghana has been dealt with.
Apparently the Ghanaian Government has rescinded its policy compelling Nigerian business owners to pay a minimum capital of 300,000 dollars and employ at least five Ghanians or be threatened with their businesses being shut down by authorities.

Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Ademola Onafowokan, made this known to State House correspondents

Onafowokan, said that the controversial capital base and employment requirements had caused a lot of furore for Nigerian businessmen in Ghana before the commission intervened in the matter.
He said that the Federal Government with the Foreign Affairs Ministry had explored possible diplomatic means to stop the discriminatory and unfair trade laws. The envoy said that it was practically impossible for the Ghanaian authority to drive Nigerian businessmen away because of the pivotal role they played in the economy of that country.
He said that Nigerians had contributed immensely to the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow of the Ghana economy. "We have been able to speak with the Ghanaian authorities to drop the issue of 300,000 dollars and for now they are not disturbing any Nigerian. As the High Commissioner, I can tell you that.
"Right now we have spoken to them and everything is calm. But even if we did not do that Ghana will not try it. If Ghana says the Nigerian businesses should go home, both the big ones and the small ones, the economy of this country will collapse, because maybe only after China, Nigeria is the second biggest investor in terms of FDI in this country.So they will not drive them away but at the same time when you go to somebody's place you have to learn to conform.
"These people a few of them do not have the necessary paper and how can you regularise your stay without the necessary paper, and they know your shops, so, that is the major cause," he said. Onafowokan, however, underscored the need for Nigerians in Ghana to comply with the ECOWAS and Ghana laws on immigrations.
He said that there were many Nigerians resident in Ghana without Nigerian passport and valid resident permit. The envoy explained that the ECOWAS Treaty on Free Movement provides that an immigrant to a member state should obtain relevant resident permit after three months of domicile in the country.

(SOURCE. VANGUARD NEWSPAPER)

Nigeria: Former Militants Storm Office of Nigeria Union of Journalists

Hundreds of former militants invaded the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Warri, Delta State, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, threatening to burn down the building.
The former militants, who had been granted amnesty by the Nigerian government, were angered by the fact that there was no reporter available to interview them and cover their protest over the non-payment of their monthly stipend.
The former militants, brandishing various weapons, also arrived with kegs of petrol and were accompanied by 17 women who said they were demonstrating in solidarity with their husbands, who had been trained by the government under the second phase of the Amnesty Programme aimed at disarming and re-integrating them into daily life.
The former militants attempted to lynch Michael Ikeogwu, the chairman of the Correspondents' Chapel of the NUJ. Ikeogwu was saved by the quick intervention of soldiers and police officers, who arrested a handful of the former militants.
Dele Fasan, a Galaxy Television correspondent in Warri who tried to calm the situation, was manhandled for failing to record the protest.
The former militants gave journalists 30 minutes to make arrangements to interview them and started smashing glass doors when it was obvious that most reporters had fled. Gbenga Ahmed, a reporter with the privately-owned Independent Television, based in Benin, also had his car vandalised and was forced to record the protest.
It took the efforts of the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Army's 3rd Battalion in Effurun, a few kilometers from Warri, to curtail the rampage. Lieutenant Colonel Ifeanyi Otu sent his personnel in response to a distress call from the leadership of the NUJ.

United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to meet with President Goodluck in Abuja

United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will arrive in Abuja on Thursday to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and other government officials.

Clinton, who is on a 10-day trip to Africa, will also be stoping in Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Malawi, South Africa,  in what the State Department has said is meant , "to emphasise US policy commitments outlined in the Presidential Policy Directive - to strengthen democratic institutions, spur economic growth, advance peace and security as well as promote opportunity and development for all citizens."

Due to the death of President John Attah Mills, Clinton will leave Nigeria for Ghana as head of the US delegation to the late President funeral slated for August 10.

NEW MUSIC: AALIYAH – “ENOUGH SAID” (ft. DRAKE)

Drake’s love for Aaliyah is no secret. The Young Money rapper has shown his appreciation for the late singer with a tattoo and sampled her music on his debut Thank Me Later. Now he realizes a dream by collaborating with her on “Enough Said.” The understated record, produced by longtime Drake collaborator Noah “40” Shebib, features bars from Drizzy (“Selling under 150, you ni**as gotta be kidding”) complemented by Aaliyah’s haunting vocals.

It is expected that Drake will executive produce the upcoming posthumous album from Aaliyah.

Picture submitted by nevermind5555 on Fanpop.com

   

Olympics Men's Basketball 2012: USA Beat Nigeria

 Final score a record breaking 73 (NIG ) 156 (USA) .....

"Did they not brief the American team?....We have problems, bad roads, Boko haram, bad leaders ...we even import rice...and gasoline. Why could they not just be the Americans we have known and loved? The compassionate heroes ! , the country that created the likes of Saint Angelina Jolie and Captain America (who saves the day) .....could they not just keep the whole record breaking thing for another country?"