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http://ift.tt/2qy2ITA Lagos State accounted for 12.62 million internet subscription or 13.65 per cent in the country. The story cum revolution in Nigerian telecommunications sector has been a successful one, ever since the berthing of GSM in the nation’s economic shores. Nigeria’s economy blossomed: jobs, innovations and wealth created as a result of the positive impact of telecom industry on the overall health of the economy. But these successes cannot be said to come without its attendant shortcomings. Before now, Nigerian telecom consumers were left in the cold. The lingering issues of unsolicited messages, drop calls, poor network service, and so on, have been the bane of telecom consumers in the country until recently, when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) intervened majorly, to save the situation once and for all. The launch of Nigerian Telecoms Consumers’ Year, 2017, by the regulatory agency—the NCC, came as breath of fresh air to telecom subscribers in the coun...

http://ift.tt/2ricw1f Ogaga Ifowodo’s A Good Mourning (Origami, Lagos; 2016) is poetry that rouses Africa’s collective memory on some of its darkest past. His poetry, like history, reminds its readers of the recent past. Sadly, it’s a past that has direct bearing on the present and a strong implication for the future. The oxymoronic title poem, A Good Mourning, does not come until much later in the collection that highlights Nigeria, nay Africa’s chequered history. The poem is the moving account of the travail of the presumed winner of 1993 Presidential election, M.K.O. Abiola. Through the poem, Ifowodo, a vocal activist in that dark military era, reenacts that controversial, epochal political period, the significance of which has largely escaped the current political players, who are the beneficiaries of that grim contest. But beyond Abiola’s political saga, the brutal assassination of his wife, Kudirat, and his own subsequent death in the hands of his jailers, Ifowodo’s poetic rum...

http://ift.tt/2nGVnQh The shipping industry will have to commit to stricter policies, and fast, if it wants to get on track with the adoption of clean technologies, and meet the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) requirements, the International energy Agency (IEA) has said. The agency in its latest report titled: “Tracking Clean Energy Progress: 2017,” said the international shipping industry is not on track with meeting the 2°C scenario target by 2025. “Meeting the 2DS requires the global shipping fleet to improve its fuel efficiency per vehicle-km at an annual rate of 2.3 per cent between 2015 and 2025. Yet, the EEDI of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), applying to new ships only results in a fleet average improvement of one per cent to 2025,” the report reads. Despite the fact that the IMO has made progress in agreeing on regulations on reducing sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ships, its GHG policy is still under consideration, w...

http://ift.tt/2rigFCd Vía Nigeria News, Headlines and Opinions – The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper http://ift.tt/2skgFRl

http://ift.tt/2qxOcX1 Babatunde Durosimi-Etti The major thrust of the present administration is job creation and improving the welfare of Nigerians. To walk the talk, Lagos State has gone ahead to create a Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment. In this interview, the Commissioner overseeing the ministry, Babatunde Durosimi-Etti, a former chairman of the state investment company, Ibile Holding, told CLARA NWACHUKWU, that Lagos plans to reduce unemployment by at least 50 per cent through various initiatives. Excerpts: You are the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment; there cannot be wealth without employment. How are you going about creating this employment in order to empower the youth? I do agree with you on the correlation that you need to be employable before you can be an entrepreneur and subsequently create wealth. The most important thing with the work we are doing here is to make sure that we first of all look at past initiatives, what have gone wrong in the...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Nigerian Muslims will commence their 2017 Ramadan fasting today, the Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has said. The Secretary General of NSCIA, Prof Ishaq Oloyede,  said the crescent moon has been sighted in several locations across the country, and that fasting would commence today. He said: “We wish Muslims in Nigeria and all over the world a prayerful, meaningful and purposeful Ramadan.” The Sultan had on Thursday urged Muslims in the country to be on the lookout for the new moon for the month of Ramadan on May 26 (today). Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, had also on Thursday announced that the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan would begin on Saturday. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting which is one of the five pillars of Islam. The post Ramadan: Moon sighted, Muslims begin fasting today appeared first on Vanguard News . Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Bose Adelaja The Lagos State Government has demolished over 120 illegal shops, including structures constructed under high tension cables, after the expiration of a six-month notice served on both owners and occupiers by the government at Itedo area of Lekki Phase 1. The exercise took place weekend at about 7a.m., just as SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, who led the operation, disclosed that owners and occupiers of the over 120 illegal shops and structures were served a reminder ‘Demolition Notice’ four weeks ago by the government an were fully compensated. He said radiation from high tension cables poses danger to human health and that no responsible and responsive government would put any of her citizen’s life at risk.   The post Lagos govt demolishes illegal structures appeared first on Vanguard News . Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2ppg285

http://ift.tt/2p9g0Dw SEVENTY-TWO hours down the line we shall inter what is mortal of our departed friend, Dipo Famakinwa, the Director General of DAWN Commission. That is really not of much significance to us. Science has proved that 30 per cent of the human body is water and the remaining 70 per cent is a combination of the properties you will find in the soil. So, giving dust back to dust is a ritual with biological content. One thing we are not going to bury with him is his irrepressible soul which we shall continue to appreciate long after the mortal is gone. Dipo is a friend and brother I knew right from our days at the university when we were youngsters driven by a lot of enthusiasm and idealism. We were not in contact after Ife until we met around 1992 through our mutual friends like Gbade Siyanblola and Femi Oshoniyi. He took us one fateful evening to his house in Ogba which was under construction then. Even just a few years after graduation, Dipo dreamt big and executed ...