Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Poitier]

how come?



I was watching a documentary a couple years ago on some earlier IMF programs that Ghana did and the populace and the more enlightened politicians were bemoaning it. social programs cut etc. I'll see if I can find it.

Yeah the IMF is poison: http://www.thecoli.com/threads/why-...bola-the-destruction-of-the-3rd-world.257264/

Props if you can find the doc

 

[Sinnerman]

Yeah the IMF is poison: http://www.thecoli.com/threads/why-africa-can’t-handle-ebola-the-destruction-of-the-3rd-world.257264/

Props if you can find the doc

http://www.smallplanet.gr/documentaries/chronologically/2012-2013/315-people-and-numbers



the youtube link is just the first ten minutes. seems tough to find an actual link online

 

[Poitier]

http://www.smallplanet.gr/documentaries/chronologically/2012-2013/315-people-and-numbers



the youtube link is just the first ten minutes. seems tough to find an actual link online

Rented this. Sad but good. fukk the IMF and fukk the c00ns who create coups to do their bidding.

 

[TMNT4000]

Nigeria has capacity to make Ebola vaccines- Officials

WorldStage Newsonline-- Nigeria has the capacity to make vaccines for the treatment of Ebola virus disease, according to the Co-chairs of the Treatment Research Group on Ebola in Nigeria, Prof Innocent Ujah and Prof. Karniyus Gamaliel.

Gamaliel who is the Director General of Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) noted that with the right environment, Ebola vaccine can be produced in the country.

He said, "I want to assure you and assure Nigerians through you that we can make vaccines through the right support in our laboratories. We can also discover drugs that can help with the Ebola situation. You should never doubt Nigerian capacity and capabilities to do these. After all, one of the scientists coming for the event is from NOI, he is a Nigerian; he is making waves there. But, he is using foreign firm. If we create such environment here, that man can come and do it here, even if he is alone.”

Prof Innocent Ujah, also the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, (NIMR) said the country had options including developing solutions to problems like in the case of Ebola outbreak in the country.

According to him, "It is because of marketing that Zmapp and the likes are known, tomorrow, we shall be able to discuss with you our other options, why we are not too crazy about the foreign options, why we won’t tell you now really that we have our own solution. It is not that we don’t want all that, we need all the help, but, we don’t want solutions. Solutions have to be developed by us; we have find solutions to our own problems. And, that is the clear messages that the Minister and the Federal Government have been able to show.

"That is by given the right environment, Nigeria can solve its own problems. I think after tomorrow, we will be able to see a sense of direction."

On the success of the country in handling the Ebola outbreak, Ujah said that the country recorded 38.6 percent fatality rate which was considered as considerate given the fatality rate from other countries with Ebola virus.

He said, "But, we realized the number of cases in Nigeria was 20; we lost eight. By any world standard, the case fatality rate is about 38.6 percent, as against between 70 to 90 percent that have been recorded.

"What it means is that if we are very proactive, which we are, we should be able to solve our problems. And, it is in this realization that we thought there should be a follow up; a follow up to put experts together to discuss and brainstorm the next level.

"We expect that when we present the agenda of going forward from this point, we expect that other stakeholders will buy in. If you look at this Ebola war, one of the legacies that have come out very clear is that Nigerians can cooperate across any line. The TRG are various people from different backgrounds, working together on this.

"Particularly, the events that happened in Lagos and Port Harcourt, government, states and federal government cooperated very well. Nigerians came out, that legacy; I think we need to sustain it. When it comes to funding like Prof Iwu said, we are going to know the framework and lay the plans to stakeholders. The hope is that stakeholders will buy in and support…To sustain this effort, remember, Nigeria is still vulnerable, we can have an attack any day, this period is the period of planning. This period is the period of discussion so that we can strategize, think well and take steps and measures that would help us cope better than what we have done so far.”

The experts meeting on Thursday, he said would address three specific objectives.

“The first is to review available treatment options on Ebola virus disease. The second to discuss experimental vaccines in the management of Ebola virus disease and to develop a national plan for self-development of medical counter measures to emerging infectious diseases, including Ebola virus,” he said.

He also announced that experts and stakeholders, both from within and outside government have been invited for the meeting.

Also, Ujah said organized private sector is expected to participate in the meeting "because after the national response, what is now left is that we go back to our labs and our research unit and look at what will happen. At the end of the day, it is in the realization of that that we believe the treatment research group should organize a high-level experts meeting on Ebola virus."

He stressed that the meeting will be able to provide strategic direction. Explaining that the country "should go to ensure that one, not only containing, but sustenance and effective research in the area of Ebola virus disease and other emerging infectious diseases.

"We are celebrating that we have been able to contain Ebola virus disease in Nigeria, but, we cannot rest on our oars. We must continue to research to be able to put Nigeria on the world map of those that could have been involved in introduction of vaccines and even drugs for effective management of Ebola virus."

Prof Maurice Iwu who also addressed the issue of the roadmap and possible funding challenges for research by the group said at the end of the meeting a clear picture of the framework would have been reached.

Iwu stressed, "the idea is that by the time we meet tomorrow and beyond, there will be a clear guideline as to medical research and drug research.

"The whole idea is to have a framework under the guidance of the Federal Minister of Health. What we have done is a good job so far, but the good thing is that we are not resting on our oars. The Ministry and the Federal Government have decided to have a national programme. This thing is not a Federal Government programme only, it is a national programme.

"What they mean by this is that the state will be involved, the private sector will be involved, the media will be involved, armed forces will be involved, every Nigerian will be thinking in one direction namely: that we are not only going to be users of technology, we will be people who will be creating knowledge which other parts of the world can source from."

http://worldstagegroup.com/index.php?active=news&newscid=18206&catid=10

 

[TMNT4000]

Dangote To Invest $12b In Nigerian Economy

The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has said he will invest $12bn in Nigeria’s economy.

This was contained in a statement felicitating with Muslims on the Sallah celebration. He expressed his firm belief in the Nigerian economy.

He said that of the $12b, $2.3 billion would be invested in sugar and rice production in Adamawa State to create about 180,000 jobs and combat terrorism in the North-East.

He said that the Nigerian atmosphere is good for business and that he wouldn't have invested in the country if he didn’t believe that.

While wishing all Muslims a spiritually rewarding festival, Dangote described the current situation in the country as a passing phase. He urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be overwhelmed by despair but to be determined and courageous.

“It is high time Nigerians rededicated themselves and maintained the virtues, without which the country would continue to wander hopelessly, ” he added.

http://newswirengr.com/2014/10/05/dangote-to-invests-12b-in-nigeria-economy/

 

[Poitier]

Dangote To Invest $12b In Nigerian Economy

The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has said he will invest $12bn in Nigeria’s economy.

This was contained in a statement felicitating with Muslims on the Sallah celebration. He expressed his firm belief in the Nigerian economy.

He said that of the $12b, $2.3 billion would be invested in sugar and rice production in Adamawa State to create about 180,000 jobs and combat terrorism in the North-East.

He said that the Nigerian atmosphere is good for business and that he wouldn't have invested in the country if he didn’t believe that.

While wishing all Muslims a spiritually rewarding festival, Dangote described the current situation in the country as a passing phase. He urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be overwhelmed by despair but to be determined and courageous.

http://newswirengr.com/2014/10/05/dangote-to-invests-12b-in-nigeria-economy/
“It is high time Nigerians rededicated themselves and maintained the virtues, without which the country would continue to wander hopelessly, ” he added.

More of this!!!!

 

[Poitier]

July 2, 2014
Citizens march in front of presidential office for better services and end to what they call poor governance.
A Republic Day(link is external) protest in front of Ghana's presidential office became an online public relations battle after government officials and citizens engaged in a war of words on social media. Demanding accountability for the state of the nation's economy, Ghanaians hit(link is external) the streets in Accra on Tuesday to ask President John Dramani Mahama(link is external) and his government to fix the country's problems.





Using the hashtag #OccupyFlagstaffHouse, many took to Twitter to express frustration with what they say is government corruption and incompetence.

No More Corruption. Prosecute Thieves! I'm proud of all the brave Ghanaians who came out today. We made our point and will continue till things change in this country. God bless our homeland #Ghana and make her great and strong! #OccupyFlagstaffHouse #OccupyGhana













Concerned Ghanaians For Responsible Governance (CGRG) - the group that organised the demonstration - said another protest will occur in front of the Parliament House.

Some of the grievances stated in the CGRC's petition include: Rising utility tariffs, high petrol prices, unreliable access to electricity, bad roads, lack of job opportunities, and "lack of proper communicative skills on the part of some government officials".



Responding to the protesters' concerns, President Mahama reaffirmed his administration's commitment to improving the lives of Ghanaians:







Some Ghanaians responded to the president's tweet with scepticism:







Others expressed support, calling for their fellow citizens to be respectful of the president:













Hanna Tetteh, the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, responded to the demonstration in a series of tweets, criticising its motivation and turnout:

The foreign minister's reaction drew fire from many Ghanaians, who criticised her for being "out of touch" with the public's concerns:





Some took issue with the actual tweets:








The foreign minister continued to respond:

Thanks to community member Paa Kwesi Twumasi for pitching this story.

 

[Poitier]

Nigeria's 'megachurches': a hidden pillar of Africa's top economy
BY TIM COCKS

OTA Nigeria Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:17am EDT

0 COMMENTS

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  1 OF 8. Bishop David Oyedepo (C), founder of the Living Faith Church, also known as the Winners' Chapel, conducts a service for worshippers in the auditorium of the church in Ota district, Ogun state, some 60 km (37 miles) outside Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos September 28, 2014.
  
  (Reuters) - When a guesthouse belonging to one of Nigeria's leading Christian pastors collapsed last month, killing 115 mostly South African pilgrims, attention focused on the multimillion-dollar "megachurches" that form a huge, untaxed sector of Africa's top economy.
  
  Hundreds of millions of dollars change hands each year in these popular Pentecostal houses of worship, which are modeled on their counterparts in the United States.
  
  Some of the churches can hold more than 200,000 worshippers and, with their attendant business empires, they constitute a significant section of the economy, employing tens of thousands of people and raking in tourist dollars, as well as exporting Christianity globally.
  
  But exactly how much of Nigeria's $510 billion GDP they make up is difficult to assess, since the churches are, like the oil sector in Africa's top energy producer, largely opaque entities.
  
  "They don't submit accounts to anybody," says Bismarck Rewane, economist and CEO of Lagos consultancy Financial Derivatives. "At least six church leaders have private jets, so they have money. How much? No one really knows."
  
  When Nigeria recalculated its GDP in March, its economy became Africa's biggest, as previously poorly captured sectors such as mobile phones, e-commerce and its prolific "Nollywood" entertainment industry were specifically included in estimates.
  
  There was no such separate listing for the "megachurches", whose main source of income is "tithe", the 10 percent or so of their income that followers are asked to contribute.
  
  As the churches have charity status, they have no obligation to open their books, and certainly don't have to fill in tax returns -- an exemption that is increasingly controversial in Nigeria, where poverty remains pervasive despite the oil riches.
  
  The pastors argue their charity work should exempt them.
  
  "We use the income of the church to build schools, we use the income of the church to serve the needs of the poor," David Oyedepo, bishop of the popular Winners Chapel, told Reuters in an interview. "These are non-profit organizations."
  
  
  
  PASTORS ON FORBES LIST
  
  Nonetheless, the surging popularity of the megachurches among the Christians who make up half of Nigeria's 170 million population has propelled their preachers into the ranks of the richest people in Africa.
  
  In 2011, Forbes magazine estimated the fortunes of Nigeria's five richest pastors. Oyedepo topped the list, with an estimated net worth of $150 million.
  
  He was followed by "Pastor Chris" Oyakhilome of Believers' LoveWorld Incorporated, also known as the Christ Embassy and popular with executives and politicians, on $30 million to $50 million.
  
  TB Joshua, pastor of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, at the center of the recent diplomatic storm over the deaths in its guesthouse, was thought to have $10 million to $15 million.
  
  The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) declined to comment on how churches fit into their GDP figures, but a source there said they were included as "non-profit", which falls under "other services" in the latest figures. In 2013, the category contributed 2.5 percent of GDP, the same as the financial sector.
  
  A former banker at Nigeria's United Bank for Africa, who declined to be named, recalled being approached five years ago by a church that was bringing in $5 million a week from contributions at home or abroad.
  
  "They wanted to make some pretty big investments: real estate, shares," he said. "They wanted to issue a bond to borrow, and then use the weekly flows to pay the coupon."
  
  In the end, he said, the bank turned down the proposal on ethical grounds.
  
  Yet Nigerian churches do often invest large amounts of their congregations' money in shares and property, at home and abroad, he and another banking source said.
  
  One pastor bought 3 billion naira ($18 million) worth of shares in the defunct Finbank, which later merged with FCMB, after it was rescued in a bail-out in 2009, a fund manager who handled the deal told Reuters. The pastor used a nominee trust account to keep his name off the books.
  
  In 2011, Oyakhilome was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and charged with laundering $35 million of contributions to his church in foreign bank accounts. He denied all wrongdoing and the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
  
  Oyakhilome was not available for comment and Joshua's media team declined a request for an interview with him.
  
  
  
  MIDAS TOUCH
  
  Oyedepo's headquarters, "Canaanland", is a 10,500-acre (4250-hectare) campus in Ota, outside the commercial capital Lagos. It comprises a university, two halls of accommodation, restaurants and a church seating 50,000 people, with a total overflow capacity of five times that.
  
  "You can see that everything this man touches turns to gold," Nigerian Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina said in a speech at a reception for Oyedepo's 60th birthday at Canaanland last month.
  
  "May the grace of God abide with you," he added, to a rapturous "Amen!" from the guests in a marquee.
  
  Other dignitaries present included twice-president Olusegun Obasanjo and former military ruler Yakubu Gowon. A choir sang gospel songs as the guests cut an elaborate six-tiered cake and popped fizzy grape juice out of champagne bottles in golden wrapping -- alcohol is banned in Canaanland.
  
  The next day, he delivered four Sunday services in a row to tens of thousands of cheering followers, his white-suited figure projected onto large flat-screen televisions all around.
  
  "From today, no evil spirit, no demon will survive the Almighty!" he shouted, and the crowd roared "Amen!".
  
  A spokesman said the church has 5,000 branches across Nigeria, and 1,000 more in 63 other countries across five continents. But Oyedepo's empire also includes two fee-paying universities that he built from scratch, a publishing house for Christian self-help books, and an elite high school.
  
  Other pastors have similarly diversified ways of getting the Gospel of Christian salvation out.
  
  Oyakhilome owns magazines, newspapers and 24-hour TV station, and Joshua draws miracle-seekers from all over the world with claims that the holy water he has blessed cures otherwise incurable ailments such as HIV/AIDS.
  
  Before Joshua built his 10,000-seat headquarters at Ikotun-Egbe in outer Lagos, the area was part swamp, part abandoned industrial estate.
  
  Now, it is a boom town with shops, hotels, eateries and bars catering largely to the travelers who come not only from West Africa but also from all corners of the globe to hear his sermons. Joshua also runs a TV station.
  
  
  
  "BLESSED BY THE LORD"
  
  Guests entering Oyedepo's birthday marquee in Canaanland would have seen a picture of the poor household in southwest Nigeria where he grew up, testament to a rags-to-riches story that many Nigerians would love to emulate.
  
  Like U.S. televangelists, Winners Chapel preaches the "prosperity gospel" that faith in Jesus Christ lifts people out of poverty, and that message partly explains the explosion of the Pentecostal movement in sub-Saharan Africa, where misfortune and poverty are often seen as having supernatural causes.
  
  "We see giving as the only way to be blessed. Blessing other people is a way of keeping the blessings flowing," said Oyedepo, whose blessings include a Gulfstream V jet and several BMWs.
  
  Giving to support the church and its work is something the faithful are encouraged to do, a Christian tradition that was a pillar of the Roman Catholic church in medieval Europe, just as it has been a major money-spinner for U.S. televangelists.
  
  Aneke Chika, a business analyst in an oil services company, told Reuters on the steps of Oyedepo's church that she set aside 20,000 naira of her 200,000 naira ($1,218) salary every month.
  
  Asked about Forbes' estimate of his fortune, Oyedepo told Reuters: "For me, to have fortune means someone who has what he needs at any point in time. I don't see myself as having $150 million stacked up somewhere. Whatever way they found their figures, I am only able to say I am blessed by the Lord."
  
  He said he could not estimate the church's total revenues or expenditure on items such as salaries because the various departments, including education, were too diverse.
  
  The enterprises on the Canaanland campus, from the shops selling cold sodas and bread, to a woman boiling instant noodles and eggs for breakfast in a lodge, to pop-up book stalls hawking Oyedepo's prolific literary output, are owned by the church's estate, which employs their staff on its payroll, workers at all the outlets told Reuters.
  
  Winners Chapel's Corporate Affairs department said the church employed more than 18,000 people in Nigeria alone.
  
  Oyedepo says the wealth the church gathers is invested in expanding it, and that if he did not use a private jet, he would be unable to oversee its many foreign operations and still return to Ota every week in time for Sunday's worship.
  
  Britain's Charity Commission says it is reviewing potential conflicts of interest in his finances, and last month the Home Office (interior ministry) barred him from Britain, though it declined to say why.
  
  Oyedepo said he knew nothing of the commission's review, nor had the Home Office explained to him why he was barred.
  
  A national conference to debate Nigeria's constitution this year proposed that the megachurches should be taxed.
  
  But with an election coming up in February, it is debatable whether President Goodluck Jonathan, who is close to several megapastors, would risk upsetting these influential men and their hefty congregations with a fat tax bill.
  
  "There is no single government input on this premises," Oyedepo told Reuters in the interview. "We supply our water, we make our roads, then you ... say: 'Let's tax them'. For what?"
  
  (1 US dollar = 164.2 naira)
  
  
  
  (Additional reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha in Lagos and Ahmed Aboulenein in London; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Kevin Liffey)
  

 

[Poitier]

I thought this was interesting and insightful. Just like Ghana, Nigeria needs to ramp up public sector spending.

The Real Poor Nigerians
Posted by: dika ozoemena in Featured, Politics 1 day ago 1 Comment 1367 Views



THE REAL POOR NIGERIANS DO NOT GIVE A fukk ABOUT NIGERIA POLITICS. THEY ARE BUSY HUSTLING TO STAY ALIVE

Nigeria poor, a cool bunch of people with little or no money at hand. They are not just poor – they are really poor and the class of Nigeria poor folks do not include the Average middle class who feel he is poor because his neighbor, the rich middle-class guy, oppress him a lot with stuffs he cannot afford even tho he is not really poor.

I have a problem with the Mr Biggs, Chicken Republic, KFC, Ozone & SilverBird Gallery visiting middle-class folks who thinks they are poor while also paying N5000 averagely for their monthly DSTV subscription. You are not poor. You have no right to claim you are poor. You have no right to claim you are suffering because the real poor folks beneath you in the ladder are suffering – Hunger pangs is a regular visitor to their tummy. Average middle-class folks should & ought not to be classified as “Poor Nigerians”, – classifying them as poor Nigerians is an insult to the real poor Nigerians.

The poor folks are those whose Mr Biggs & Tantalizer are Mama Basira, Iya Bako & Mummy Tobi; the un-kept looking food sellers whose food you will never eat because she sells her food in an environment unhealthy to your health. The poor folks are those who Mama Basira haul insults at because they’ve exceeded their credit patronage limit but they have to eat, their family have to eat and Mama Basira understands this. That’s why, after the insults, she still sell food to them on credit. She understands their situation. She pities them because she can relate with their situation.

The real poor folks are Ibrahim & Rashidat’s parents; the little kids who hawk pure-water and other stuffs down your street while their privileged mates – the children of the middle-folks are in the classrooms. Government-owned Primary and Secondary schools offer the children of the poor Nigerian folks a chance to be educated. That’s all. After their SS3, Wo ma lo ko ishe owo. The stubborn ones rugged their University education. Some of the stubborn ones later go on to become success stories while others make it up to the middle-class social ladder.

The real poor Nigerians have no time to complain about the bad roads, bad government policies & other stuffs we rage about. They are busy hustling to survive. And the poor Nigerians are not on social media – they have no such time to waste. Time is money. They have to hustle to eat, to feed their family. To stay aive.

The real poor folks are those who may have never visited a hospital before after birth; not that they don’t fall sick but because they cannot afford hospital bills so they engage the service of the local doctors (Chemist) or the traditionalist (Alagbo) whenever they fall sick. When they eventually die, their relatives have to contribute money for their burial & their kids are shared off among relatives because the possession they left behind will fetch nothing of worth. They may even have lots of debt hanging on their neck and their creditors usually attend their burial to confirm for themselves if he/she is really dead. The Creditors are usually the most saddest during the burial – Watch out for them.

The real poor folks don’t give a damn about who becomes President or governor; they are interested in Elections only due to the benevolence of Nigeria Politicians during election periods. Hence, The real poor folks are those who collected rice from Fayose & Fayemi in Ekiti state and still didn’t vote on Election Day for either candidate because hunger calls and they have no money for pepper & kerosene. They have no strength for election queues. And they are busy praying to God to send a helper to provide for them pepper & kerosene so they can cook Fayose and Fayemi rice in one big pot to fill their belly.

For the real poor folks, Everyday is a battle for them. Everyday, they fight for the right to stay alive. Nigeria have failed them. The Politicians have failed them & “We” – their fellow Nigerians have also failed them. As their neighbors, we’ve have never cared about them. We don’t give a fukk about their existence. We spend lots of money partying, caring for our dogs while they tarry hungry – While they go to bed hungry. We make subscription payments for our Dstv & Phones with the same amount that is enough to sustain them for months. We come online Clamoring for change; because we have the bragging rights to do so while we ignore the existence of our neighbors who our little benevolence to will “Change” their living situation. Change does not begin at Federal Level – “Charity begins at home” – Change begins with You & I. Change begins with “You & Your Neighbor”. Change begins with “US”.

The touts we see in Mushin, Oshodi and other places where touts are – they are the children of poor Nigerians. 99% of the little Children you come across roaming the streets of Mushin, Oshodi, Ibadan and other places you come across them will up as a menace to the society, they will end up as tools to be used by the pot-bellied power hungry Politicians to unleash violence. They are your problem, they are our problem. Statistically, they are the government problem. They add up to illiteracy rate and children out of school rate. But realistically, they are our problem. They will end up as our problem.

God Bless Nigeria.

By – Dika Ozoemena

 

[Poitier]

Almost as bad as the IMF and World Bank are the NGOS which fukk up the public sector and encourage corruptions

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Nigerian god helps those who help themselves. The key to survival is understanding the rules of the hustle so that by strategically positioning yourself, God can meet you at the point of your need and bless your hustle.

You hear that millions of dollars have been set aside by foreign governments and donors for development in Nigeria. Don’t smile. They don’t love you. For them too, it is a hustle. Don’t wait to hear on radio or TV how this money is being spent. This will be unwise. You need to strategically position yourself to benefit from this foreign aid.

Start an NGO. Get a lawyer to register one at the Corporate Affairs Commission. From experience I will advise that you do your research before registering one. Research major donors- the European Union, DFID, the UN, USAID. Find out what they have agreed to fund for the next few years. Avoid the things that have received much funding in the past few years. Donors can be like children- they can get bored with one thing and without warning, move to another. Plus, there is that evil thing threatening to truncate Europe’s hustle called a recession. Although God is faithful and will protect your hustle from truncation, you need to take proactive steps to avoid being left with a redundant NGO due to lack of funding. Do one of two things: One, give your NGO a broad name that can cover two or more areas. The more the merrier. So instead of registering HIV/AIDS Alliance, register Health Watch Alliance. Instead of registeringAlliance against Torture, register Alliance for the Protection of Human Rights. Or two, register multiple NGOs. With this you can never go wrong. You can change the dance as soon as the donors change the tune.

When building the foundations of your NGO, you must be careful the kind of people you invite. You don’t want the type who will suddenly become wild when the aid dollars start flowing in. Make the Board of Trustees your relatives and the parents of your close friends who are too busy, too old or too rich to care how you run your NGO.

Invest in media equipment. Cameras, video recorders, projectors. To begin, organise cheap programs so that you can have pictures and videos to go with your proposals and letters of introduction. People need to see that you have been working hard, donating things and doing campaigns in your chosen field. Make sure you get lots of pictures of poor, sick looking children you have helped. Or homeless people you have given blankets to.

Make friends with guys who work in donor agencies. Networking in the NGO world is important. Many times crucial information about funding and projects slip out at social gatherings. This is how you know who is funding what and when.

Take your time to work on proposals. A good proposal is everything. Seventy percent of the job of an NGO is paper work- proposals and budgets and retirements and press releases. If you are not sure how to package an NGO proposal, learn. If you can’t do it, don’t be stingy. Pay someone to do it. Pay for a beautiful website with lots of photos showing things you are committed to. Foreign donors get tickled by nice functional websites. Make sure you visit the website of your donor and follow the guidelines strictly.

Usually a career in one of the big donor agencies or international donor NGOs will prepare you for all of the above. If you have the patience, look for a job with one of the

UN agencies, DFID or USAID. Study their processes. In a few years you will be ready to become a big local consultant or start your own NGO.
Running an NGO can be tricky. You rely on the hustle of foreign and local donors. You can suddenly run dry. You do not get a pension. So you must save for the day when donor rains cease to fall or you are too old to get another job. You must learn how to weave in extra items into the budget and inflate project costs. Anyone who calls this stealing, God will swiftly truncate their hustle.

When you spend donor money, you need to show that you really deserve the money. So if money is left over, you need to find a way to spend that money or, next time you will get much less than you ask for.

Because NGO people are jealous, it is important that as God blesses your NGO hustle, you do not draw attention to yourself. You don’t want fellow NGO people reporting you to EFCC. Wear casual shirts (or kampala shirts) on jeans unless you are attending donor meetings or meetings with government counterparts. No need to advertise all the money you are making from saving your fellow countrymen.

Never miss dinners and meeting organized by embassies and donors. These guys are a huge source of funds. It doesn’t matter if you do not get a personal invitation- once there is civil society in the program, polish your shoes, take your glossy complimentary cards and get going.

If you are into human rights and all, try to get arrested. Foreign donors get excited when they meet human rights activists who have actually been locked up or who have gory tales to tell. Take advantage of popular protests to boost your activist CV and the reputation of your NGO.

Do television, radio and newspaper interviews. Pay to get interviewed if you have to. Do press releases. You must not only do work but be seen to do work. The more visible you are, the more NGO points you get. The more NGO points you get, the more funding you are likely to have.
If you follow my advice, before long, you will be flying from one all-expense-paid foreign conference and seminar to another, getting fat on per diems. May you continue to receive funding and may God through your NGO, bless your hustle.

 

[The D-List Vet]

how come?

I am to young right now

 

[Poitier]

Titan Of Trade: Tony Elumelu’s Drive to Empower Africa and Minority Entrepreneurs
Billionaire to launch $100 million program for African & African-American entrepreneurs

by Richard Spiropoulos Posted: August 11, 2014

(Image: HeirsHoldings.com)

The U.S.-Africa Summit officially wrapped in Washington, D.C. the week of Aug. 6.

The gathering of at least 50 African heads-of-state and hundreds of business leaders from the continent is being considered a big first step toward a potential future of a growing economic bond.

During this three-day summit, African Americans who attended got an up close and personal look at an African titan of trade. At a summit packed with some of the biggest names from the continent, Tony Elumelu was one of its brightest stars.

As chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of theTony Elumelu Foundation, Elumelu who coined the term Africapitalist, is one of the continent’s richest and most powerful businessmen. He is of the firm opinion that the summit was a defining moment in U.S.-African relations and a chance for Sub-Saharan Africa to showcase its worth on the world stage.

Elumelu tells the WSJ, the largest ever gathering of African leaders on U.S. soil offered “An opportunity to move beyond the usual conversations on aid and instead explore new opportunities to collaborate and co-invest in initiatives that generate value on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Speaking exclusively to Blackenterprise.com, he revealed his vision for an equal partnership between the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the African American community.

Elumelu tells BlackEnterprise.com that unlike other American presidents, Obama, didn’t visit the continent last year to administer aid but came instead with a list of fundamental propositions on his agenda. It included facilitating trade between the U.S. and Africa as equal partners, engaging with investors on the continent and the need to power the continent with consistent electricity.

He also says the time to criticize the U.S. for not engaging the continent sooner has passed.

“We should welcome the fact that the journey has finally begun. I like the nature of the imagined engagement between Africa and America. President Obama’s visit to Africa last year was the starting point,” Elumelu says. “The fact that they have realized the need to engage with Africa at the scale and magnitude that they are going about it now is welcome.”

His foundation is also playing its part in reaching out to minority and women-owned businesses. “The Tony Elumelu Foundation will launch an entrepreneurship program with 100 million dollars that will touch 10,000 entrepreneurs across Africa and the United States,” he says. “We will train and mentor them and create platforms for them to have commercial business engagements.”

To expatiate, Elumelu notes how much preparation, time, and money it took to host an event of such scale and magnitude in the capital city of the United States. “It’s almost like everything stopped momentarily or temporarily for this event,” he says. “It has a signalling impact. It says to all policy makers in America, and those not on the leadership level that Africa is important to this country. Even the U.S. Secretary of State was in attendance considering the situation in the middle east reaching a boiling point.”

Elumelu and Obama share a singular belief: If access to electricity is provided to Sub-Saharan Africa, it would accelerate development across the region. It is a belief that has propelled him to make several speeches on the matter including addressing the United Nations and the United States Congress.

Addressing the audience and U.S. House Representatives at an event at the summit hosted by CongressmanGregory Meeks titled, “A Dialogue With African CEOs” that brought together women and minority business owners, CEOs from across Africa and U.S., and SME entrepreneurs, Elumelu said he understood that members of Congress had genuine differences, but he urged them to consider a more dire big picture.

“We also understand that the nearly two million people dying from the effects of fire cooking every year; the millions of tons harvests rotting from lack of power for processing, preservation and transportation; the 90 million kids who can’t study at night; and the staggering rates of unemployment on the continent, are much bigger than your differences.”

BlackEnterprise.com asked Elumelu why there wasn’t a larger contingent of small business owners at the summit as opposed to the plethora of representatives from big corporations from the various sectors of U.S. industries.

Elumelu acknowledged that more needed to be done to welcome the little guy, listing three pillars to drive the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises. They include:

The various governments playing larger roles:

Government should help to create an enabling environment that would support the growth of SME’s. SME’s in Africa like they say, start in the morning and die in the evening. We need to correct that. The reason this happens is because of the lack of an enabling environment. That’s the part government has to play.

The private sector needs to engage:

We all have a role to play. Financial institutions should [have] access to finance for SME’s. We should understand that access isn’t necessarily just commercial banking loans but also include venture and angel capital, angel capital. But on a more serious note, there is no need bothering improving access to finance without improving the operating environment.

Successful Business leaders need to replicate their success stories

We all need to begin investing in the youth. That’s the purpose of the program I mentioned earlier. We believe this will help improve chances of survival because they are also in this category. Individuals who have the spirit of touching mankind and society should help. If we truly want to build our continent and create jobs, we should look to SME’s. We must look at ways to jump-start that sector.

I don’t see miracles happening overnight but the journey has begun and we can only build on what has started.

Stay tuned for an in-depth article with Elumelu on his plans to help build and share wealth with the African American community in an upcoming issue of Black Enterprise magazine.

 

[Poitier]

Somalia's government launches postal service

Somalis living abroad will be able to post letters home

Somalia's government has launched its first postal service in more than two decades.

It has also introduced postcodes nationwide for the first time in the country's history.

The postal service fell into disuse when long-serving ruler Siad Barre's regime collapsed in 1991.

Its reintroduction is the latest sign that some normality is returning to Somalia after more than two decades of clan and religious-based conflict.

Last week, Somalia's first-ever cash withdrawal machine was installed in the capital, Mogadishu.

The cash machine is in an upmarket hotel

African Union troops are trying to restore order across Somalia
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mohamed Ibrahim said Somalis would now be able to receive letters from abroad.

The next phase would be to make it possible for them to send letters to friends and relatives who live abroad, he said.

Mr Ibrahim told the BBC he was excited about the re-launch of the service.

Many young Somalis had never been exposed to a postal service, and he would be "very happy" to teach them about "something that is taken for granted around the world", Mr Ibrahim said.

Most Somalis communicate via email and mobile phones or send handwritten letters via friends.

African Union and government forces are battling an insurgency by militant Islamist group al-Shabab.

It has been driven out of most of its urban strongholds and its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a US air strike last month.

However, the group still carries out sporadic attacks in cities and controls large swathes of territory in rural areas.

 

[Poitier]

The SAVI programme in Nigeria: towards politically smart, locally led development
OVERVIEWDOWNLOADSFEEDBACK
Development assistance programmes that start from careful analysis of what works and what does not in country contexts are still remarkably rare. This is mainly because aid programming is heavily constrained by what politicians in donor countries believe, often on limited evidence about recipient country needs and possibilities. To a lesser extent, it is because we lack well documented examples of programming that achieves a ‘good fit’ with country context, or is ‘politically smart’, problem-driven, adaptive, locally led, etc. This paper is a contribution to an expanding set of studies that is helping to correct this evidence gap. It examines the experience of SAVI, one of a suite of state-level DFID programmes in Nigeria.


SAVI belongs to the formal category of ‘demand side’ governance programmes; the acronym stands for State Accountability and Voice Initiative. It provides support to State Houses of Assembly, mass media organisations and civil society organisations (CSOs), while another state-level programme, SPARC, provides public management assistance to the executive branch of government. The paper asks to what extent SAVI differs from previous programmes in Nigeria and elsewhere that are similarly labelled, and whether it may be accurately described as politically smart and locally led.

This publication is an output of the following project: Politically smart, locally led development

http://www.odi.org/publications/8876-politically-smart-nigeria

 

[stepbackj34spud]

Somalia's government launches postal service

Somalis living abroad will be able to post letters home

Somalia's government has launched its first postal service in more than two decades.

It has also introduced postcodes nationwide for the first time in the country's history.

The postal service fell into disuse when long-serving ruler Siad Barre's regime collapsed in 1991.

Its reintroduction is the latest sign that some normality is returning to Somalia after more than two decades of clan and religious-based conflict.

Last week, Somalia's first-ever cash withdrawal machine was installed in the capital, Mogadishu.

The cash machine is in an upmarket hotel

African Union troops are trying to restore order across Somalia
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mohamed Ibrahim said Somalis would now be able to receive letters from abroad.

The next phase would be to make it possible for them to send letters to friends and relatives who live abroad, he said.

Mr Ibrahim told the BBC he was excited about the re-launch of the service.

Many young Somalis had never been exposed to a postal service, and he would be "very happy" to teach them about "something that is taken for granted around the world", Mr Ibrahim said.

Most Somalis communicate via email and mobile phones or send handwritten letters via friends.

African Union and government forces are battling an insurgency by militant Islamist group al-Shabab.

It has been driven out of most of its urban strongholds and its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a US air strike last month.

However, the group still carries out sporadic attacks in cities and controls large swathes of territory in rural areas.

nikkas don't even have ATMs