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  • Four interesting things African parents do

    African parents are gifts that keep up on giving – they are loving, there are tough, they are inspiring and can sometimes drive you crazy (then again, all parents, regardless of race or ethnicity, are all guilty of this), but we can’t deny that they are the absolute best. Here are four interesting things African parents do.

    Calling their children from far away to hand them things less than a meter away

    Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not uncommon for African parents to ask their children to do things they can easily do themselves, or send their children on errands they can easily go on themselves. They argue that the point of this is to teach their children duty and responsibility, and considering how resourceful African children eventually become, African parents just might be onto something.

    Prohibiting children from calling elders by their first names

    In African homes, it is considered disrespectful for children to call an elder by their first name, and African parents are zealous in ensuring such disrespect does not occur in their homes. It is more appropriate for children to address elders as ‘uncle’ or ‘aunty’ (though the children might have no familial ties or relation with the person). In less Afrocentric homes, the children are allowed to address elders with ‘mr’, ‘miss’, ‘mrs’, ‘sir’, ‘ma’ or ‘madam’ in addition to their actual names, but never with just their names.

    Read Also: Four ways to start a business without money

    Speaking to their children in proverbs and metaphors

    This is done often by African parents when they are upset or dissatisfied with the actions of their child/children. African parents use the proverbs and/or metaphors to better drive home their point to their children, and ring a note of warning and/or caution. If an African parent speaks to their child/children with a proverb and/or metaphor, they mean business and it’s definitely not something to be taken lightly.

    They seldom admit they are wrong

    For some reason, African parents seldom admit they are wrong. They might acknowledge they have erred through their actions, but they will hardly ever verbalize it or apologize for it. It is difficult to understand, but some argue that it might have something to do with the fact that they believe that admitting their faults and verbally apologizing to their children will put the respect the children have for them at risk, and humanize them to the point of possibly losing the respect of their children.

  • Four ways to start a business without money

    It might surprise you to know that there are actually ways to start a business with little or no money. Below are four ways to start a business without money.

    Adjust your business model to demand fewer needs

    If you can start your business as a sole employee please do so, pending when you are able to raise enough money to employ other professionals. Also, save the cost of getting and maintaining an office space by working from home, if having an office space is not vital to getting your business up and running. In addition, try to make your company more service-oriented because this kind of business requires little or no financial investment; all you really need are your skills and you can immediately get started providing these services. When you start getting some money, you can use the extra revenue to then grow and establish your business.

    Read Also; Remembering Kudirat Abiola 23 yrs after: 11 things you probably didn’t know about her

    Get friends and family to help

    Tell your friends, family and even past colleagues about your business and get them to help spread word about your business; this can serve as free marketing and publicity for your business. Encourage as many of them as possible to share your posts about your business on their social media profiles, and to also introduce your brand to their professional contacts. This will help serve as a kind of grassroots marketing that will spread word about your company and introduce it to a larger audience.

     

    Avoid unnecessary expenses

    Considering you are trying to start a business without money, you need to be as frugal as possible. Leverage on your relationships with people and try to get as much as you can for free, at least until you are able to start making some extra revenue to afford better for your business. Please note that as frugal as you are going to need to be, you should be careful not to let that compromise the quality of your services. This is why you really need to leverage on your business and even personal relationships, so you can get the help and professional input of these people for free (at least until you are able to make enough extra revenue to pay for their services).

     

    Ensure your payment policy is well thought out

    This is the problem a lot of startups face; they don’t have a good payment policy. As a result, people take advantage of this weakness to either delay payments or avoid paying for the services all together. Avoid basing your payment policy on what you think your customers want or will be comfortable with, base it on what is going to make your business operate successfully. This is because, after all said and done, it’s not your payment policy that will keep people coming back for more, it’s the quality of your service. Therefore, you should not compromise your service quality and business operation, for an unfavorable payment policy.

  • PENGASSAN to set up trust fund for late President’s children

    The National Leadership of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has announced it will set up a trust fund in collaboration with other social partners to fund the training of the children of its late President, Francis Olabode Johnson.

    Acting President of the Union, Comrade Frank Esanubi, disclosed this when the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, William Alo led the management of the Ministry on a condolence visit to the union.

    Esanubi said details of the arrangements would be made known to the social partners in due course and assured that the union would do everything it could to maintain the industrial peace that Johnson left behind.

    He said the leadership of the union had met to discuss how to take care of the family, saying “there will be a trust fund to cater for the education of the children to tertiary level. We promised to do our best to see that the family will not feel any material need”.

    Esanubi described the late Johnson as a great and humble man, who was versed in the ability to maintain relationships.

    Alo described the late PENGASSAN President, as a stabilising factor during industrial actions.

    He said the leadership style of the late president brought good industrial relations that helped the ministry in the time past, saying “I call him the stabilising person because through out his stay we had peace concerning the union”

    Read Also; Ministry condoles PENGASSAN over Johnson’s death

    He said the death of the PENGASSAN President came as a shock to the ministry, adding that even though death is inevitable as everyone must taste it, saying “We strongly believe that the time for Johnson to answer the call has come; we have no doubt in our hearts that he is in heaven”.

    Alo described Johnson as a dependable ally of the Ministry, whose support and contribution assisted the Ministry in achieving its mandate of maintaining industrial peace and harmony in the country.

    According to him: “The late PENGASSAN President employed his wealth of experience and administrative ingenuity in bringing about good industrial relations that have stabilized the sector.”

    He appealed to the union not to allow the family to suffer and promised on behalf of the ministry to do all they could to support the family and appealed to them to the union leadership to maintain the industrial peace that late Johnson left behind.

  • Expediate action on payment of Nigeria Airways Pensioners, NUP tells Buhari

    The Nigerian Union of Pensioners has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite action on the release and payment of the N22.6 billion meant for the payment of Pensioners of the Nigeria Airways by directing appropriate authorities charged with the responsibility of the payment to do the needful.

    In a statement signed by the National President, Dr. Abel Afolayan and General Secretary, Elder Actor Zal, the NUP expressed appreciation to the President for the approval of the money which was supposed to be paid in three tranches but is concerned about the delay in enforcing the payment.

    The statement reads: “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, the umbrella body of all pensioners in Nigeria hereby congratulates President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (GCON) on their swearing-in for a well-deserved second term in office.

    “Equally, the Union wishes to express her profound gratitude to the President, for the approval and release of the sum of N22.6 billion to pay the balance of pension of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited having paid the first tranche about three months ago.

    Read Also: Photos: Buhari attends Eid-el-Fitr prayers in Abuja

    “It is fundamentally true that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. It is exciting that after passing through the dark years in the hands of past administrations, President Muhammadu Buhari has shown that he is a true leader and lover of Nigerian pensioners as evidenced by this exciting and magnanimous gesture.

    “In line with the above, we hereby urge Mr. President to expedite action on the release and payment of this money to the curious pensioners by directing appropriate authorities charged with the responsibility of the payment.

    “The NUP, therefore, wishes the President long life, good health and wisdom to continue to pilot the affairs of Nigeria into safety in his second term of office, taken into consideration the enormous challenges ahead.”

  • €70m Jovic join Real Madrid on six-year contract

    Real Madrid have completed the signing of Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt, with the highly-rated striker penning a six-year contract with the Blancos.

    The 21-year-old Serbia international emerged as one of the most sought-after talents in European football during the 2018-19 campaign.

    His return of 27 goals in 47 appearances attracted plenty of attention, with Real one of several sides to cast admiring glances in his direction.

    Those at the Santiago Bernabeu have won the race for the forward’s signature, with Jovic tied to a deal through to the summer of 2025.

    A brief statement from the Liga giants on their official website read: “Real Madrid CF and Eintracht Frankfurt have agreed to the transfer of player Luka Jovic, pending a medical examination.

    “The player will be tied to the club for the next six seasons, until June 30, 2025.”

    Real were expected to spend big this summer after enduring a testing 2018-19 campaign.

    It is suggested that they have parted with around €70 million (£62m/$79m) in order to bring in Jovic.

    They had to dig deep to get a deal over the line as Eintracht only recently pushed through a permanent deal of their own for the promising front man.

    The Bundesliga outfit took up a purchase option in the loan agreement which saw him star for them across a two-season stay from Benfica.

    Read Also: Falcons off to France today

    An immediate profit has been made, although those in Germany are disappointed to be bidding farewell to the player who impressed so much during his time in the Bundesliga.

    Frankfurt’s sporting director Fredi Bobic has said: “Luka Jovic is a big loss for us.

    “His explosiveness and scoring skills have spread throughout Europe and we’ve benefited not only from his goals over the past two years.

    “But for us it was clear that there is a financial pain threshold.

    “For Eintracht Frankfurt this is a good and important transfer. We wish Luka only the best for his future.

    “He has the best qualifications for a great career. And we are proud that we were able to support him along the way.”

    Jovic will join an attacking pool of talent in the Spanish capital that includes Karim Benzema and Mariano Diaz.

    He will be hoping to hit the ground running in La Liga, with Zidane’s side in need of inspiration from somewhere as they seek to get back on the trophy trail in 2019-20.

  • Southeast Governors, cattle breeders not in any dispute -Miyetti Allah

    The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria MACBAN has warned mischief makers to stop their malicious publications against the Southeast Governors over herdsmen, saying they have no problem with their hosts.

    The reaction followed online reports that Southeast will soon boil over the stubbornness of the governors ascribed to Alhaji Gidado Sidikki, president of the group.

    But Sidikki told reporters on Tuesday in Akwa that the online publication was fake and malicious.

    He said it intended to pit the Cattle breeders against the Governors and people of the zone, who had been good to them since inception.

    Besides, Sidikki said he had not visited Abuja for the past one month and he was only the Chairman of MACBAN in Southeast and not President as quoted.

    According to him: “Once again duty calls you to rise and save our society from the pains of misinformation consequent upon the permissiveness of the Social Media.

    “Few days ago, we woke up to a malicious publication in a Social Media platform, Akelicious.com/proxy/, purporting a phantom statement in Abuja entitled ‘South East will Boil any moment from now because of their Stubbornness’ ascribed to the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, erroneously assigned to me”

    “My mission here is simply to expose the lie in the mischievous publication. First. while it is my wish to inform the public that Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria did not make any statement to the effect of the content of the publication either in Abuja or anywhere for that matter”

    ” I humbly would wish to correctly place my designation as the Chairman of South East Zone of the Association and not ‘the leader of cattle breeders in Nigeria’ as I was addressed in the primary falsehood the publication sought to disseminate”

    “Again, I wish to put it on record that the South East Zone of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, and her cattle herder members whom I serve as the Zonal Chairman enjoy warm relationship with the governors, governments and people of South East Nigeria”

    ” I wish to state that this warmth has not been completely devoid of flashes of momentary conflicts at few locations. Such instances were however promptly addressed by the authorities and warm communality restored amongst the people.”

    He added: “Given the increasing orientation and re-orientation of our people and the locals, who are our landlords here, and given the strong commitment of the state governors to peaceful relationship across board, one harbours no doubts that the relationship between our herders and their landlords can only be increasingly better as time progresses”

    Read Also: Miyetti Allah cautions members against destroying farms in Ebonyi

    “It is, therefore, my intention, while dispelling the published rumour from the pit of malicious mischief, to share my upbeat spirit with all of us. It is my utmost belief”

    “That the sincere and committed understanding we all propagate today will yield us minimal rancour if not rancour free society tomorrow”

    “I wish to thank the Governors of the South East States of Abia, Anambra, EbonyEnugu and Imo for their wonderful sense of accommodation, as I pledge our continued efforts towards greater harmonious environment for thriving economic activities and better life.”

  • Flood: 4,390 Anambra farmers benefit from NEMA seedlings

    Over 4,390 farmers affected by the 2018 flood disaster in seven local government areas of Anambra have received seedlings from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

    NEMA’s Supervisor for the project, Mrs Bolanle Ojo, who dropped the hint in Ogbaru, Anambra North local government area of the state, put the total hectares of farmland affected by the flood in the state at 7,251.72.

    She listed the affected local government areas to include Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Ogbaru, Orumba North, Awka North and Ihiala.

    According to Ojo, the victims would receive yam, rice, maize, tomato, pepper and vegetable seedlings as well as plantain suckers and cassava stems.

    She said, “Yam farmers will receive 10 baskets of 60 pieces of yam per hectare each while cassava farmers will get 40 bundles of cassava stems each.

    “Rice and maize farmers will receive 40kg of seedlings per hectare, while pepper farmers will get 0.4kg of seedlings, tomato farmers, 0.6kg, vegetable farmers, 2kg and plantain farmers, 40 bulks of plantain suckers.”

    The Supervisor further explained agro-chemicals and fertilizers would be distributed to the farmers at a later time.

    “The Federal Government is doing this to support the farmers affected by the 2018 flood in the state because a lot of farm lands were washed away while destroying many crops.

    “Although some farmers bounced back, government realized that it was difficult for smaller farmers to bounce back because they continued to count their losses.

    Read Also: 10 tips for staying safe during a flood

    “The intervention, therefore, is to prevent food shortage in the country,” she stressed.

    Ojo hinted that the agency had earlier distributed seedlings in some council areas but would be in Ogbaru for four days as a result of the huge population affected by the flood.

    One of the beneficiaries and rice farmer, Mrs Mary Uyanne, who received two bags of rice seedlings, was full of thanks for the intervention having experienced a great loss to the flood.

    “We were given two bags of rice to cultivate; my house, cassava and rice were all destroyed during the flood.

    “I am happy that the Federal Government remembered us as a way to recover from the loss.
    “It is a relief and I pray God to continue to bless them so they can remain a source of blessing to us.

    Chairman of Rice Farmer Association, Odekpe, Mr Lazarus Ani, said he had been experiencing challenges since the flood devastated his farm and belongings.

    He said, “We have been gnashing our teeth and crying since the flood incident, but today, the Federal Government through NEMA has sent these relief materials to us.

    “We are now happy and hopeful that after cultivation of these seedlings, we will rejoice again during harvest.

    “But we still appeal for more things like chemicals and fertilizers to enable us treat our crops for good yields.”

    He also appealed for the construction of roads leading to some of the farmlands destroyed by the flood disaster.

  • Photos: Lai Mohammed, Aregbesola, others attend Eid-el-Fitr prayer in Lagos

    Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed, the President, Nasrul-Lahi-Fatih Society (NASFAT), Engr. Kamal Yomi Bolarinwa,  Former Governor of Osun State, Alh. Rauf Aregbesola others observed   Eid Mubarak Prayer at Old Secretariat GRA Ikeja, Lagos state.

  • You created problems we’re dealing with, not Oshiomhole, APC replies Oyegun

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday hit back at the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, saying is penchant for condoning indiscipline and the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party rules created the problems which the Oshiomhole led leadership is currently grappling with.

    Reacting to a statement credited to the former Chairman accusing Oshiomhole of lacking the capacity to lead a political party, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu said that the resultant effect was widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the 8th National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014.

    Onilu said that under the Oyegun leadership of the party, members merely saw the APC as a vehicle for acquiring political offices, stressing that the members who are not comfortable with the reforms going on in the party are free to join the PDP and other opposition parties.

    “Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for.

    “You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders contrary to the position of the party. Where was the party? Where was the discipline when this happened?

    Read Also; Oyegun: Oshiomhole lacks capacity to lead

    “It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period. The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National assembly practically held our government to ransom.

    “The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government.

    “The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP.

    “We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations.

    “It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later. We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules” Issa-Onilu said.

    Speaking on the defeat suffered by the party in some states, Onilu, said there were peculiar issues in the respective states lost by the party that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said “if Oyo, Imo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Zamfara States were taken one by one, it will be discovered that there were peculiar issues in the respective states that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “I would put the painful outcomes broadly under two reasons. One is indiscipline on the part of some members of our party in most of the states. The second reason is that the party leadership did not do much between 2015 and 2018 to move the party from being an amalgam of different political parties to become a truly blended progressive political party”, he said.

    The APC spokesman said the next three years are very important as the APC under the leadership of the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole will continue to strengthen compliance with the rules, build support structures for democracy, ensures discipline across board, and deliver good governance for the benefits of all Nigerians.

    “We expect members who have different agenda to join their kind in PDP. We will welcome with open arms, those who share our progressive ideals, so that by 2022, we will have a party whose members are truly progressives.”

    On the letter written by Senator Lawal Shuaibu to the National Chairman, Onilu said what the Deputy National Chairman succeeded in doing was to portray members of the NWC as a bunch of cowards, adding that he was only looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame following undesired results in his home Zamfara State.

    He said “when he Senator Lawal Shuaibu alleged that the National Chairman is running the party like a sole administrator, does that mean the rest of us are incompetent? I doubt if he would have many members of the NWC supporting him in this.

    “The ability to face up to the challenges and to take responsibility for mistakes are important qualities of a leader. If the NWC had taken any action that did not produce the desired result, it would be plain cowardice to look for a scapegoat or pass on the blame to another person.
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  • Photos: Buhari attends Eid-el-Fitr prayers in Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday attended the Eid el-Fitr Prayers at the Mabilla Barracks, in Abuja.