THE ART OF SEDUCTION.

By Glory Edozien

There are few things I love more than being chased by a man that is totally into me. The constant phone calls, the surprise gifts for absolutely no reason, the ‘just because’ flowers sent to my place of work, the romantic dinner dates and, of course, the intense look in his eyes when he tells you he’s in love with you. I don’t know about the rest of the female populace, but as far as I am concerned, there aren’t many things that are more seductive than when a man is totally into you and is willing to prove it.

So you can understand why it has never crossed my mind to be the one to make the moves on a man. Now, before you all start to scream at me, let me just say there is nothing wrong in making the first move on a guy, but personally, it is something I have never been comfortable doing. If I meet someone I am attracted to and he makes no move on me, I let the matter rest. Call me old fashioned, but I believe it is a man’s place to do the chasing. Also, I don’t think we women are built to take the possible rejection that may follow. What if I chased some guy and he told me he wasn’t interested. HA! I might have to move to another country! I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Plus, I would be absolutely clueless on how to go about such a mission.

However, I have recently found out that I am in the minority where this is concerned.  According to my friends, we 21^st century independent women are go-getters; we see what we want and go for it! Be it a job, a car or a man…if we want it we must have it. Unfortunately, I am yet to tune myself to accept such a broad ranging definition of independence. However, things might soon change.

Recently, I have been undergoing training as part of continuous professional development at work. Little did I know what I was in for. My trainer was a blessing from heaven. He is tall, has a good build and then a face that would rival Denzel in his prime. As soon as I walked into the door, I knew I was in trouble. The man oozed hotness at about a million kilometers per hour and I literally could not take my eyes off him. To crown it all, he was intelligent. He spoke with the eloquence of a demi-god and answered every question with the ease of a professional. I was in a trance! Throughout his portion of the training, my mind concocted all sorts of romantic scenarios and by lunch time I had already started writing my first name and his last name on my note book. At one point, I had to give myself a mental shake just so I could concentrate on what he was saying as opposed to the way his lips were moving!

I finally decided to confide in my male colleagues and they began to give me pointers on how to make a move on the guy. “Just walk up to him and ask him if he wants to go for drinks after the session” one suggested. “Tell him you want his number so you can ask some follow-up questions” another advised. I refused all their suggestions and they laughed in my face. “Glory, do you think this guy is just going to walk into your lap without some encouragement?” “How is the guy going to know you are interested if you don’t give him some sort of indication?” they all asked me. I sat moping. I had no answers, but I refused to acknowledge that there was some validity in the points they raised.

After two days of training my trainer walked out of my life and I may never see him again. I almost called out his name and ran down the stairs after him as he shook our hands and left our office premises in his official car. My male colleagues all looked at me in disbelief. But as I explained to them, if he was interested in me he should have made a move to get my number or something. Why should I be the one to chase after him?

Later that evening I narrated the story to a few close male friends and they both agreed that my way of thinking is archaic. According to them, the key to chasing a guy is to spot a mature man from a pack of boys. They explained to me that a mature man will know what is expected of him and would take over the reins immediately, instead of letting me carry on with the chase. But according to them, there is a fine line between subtle suggestive hints and full on ‘I want you’ gestures and men usually prefer the former.

So here is my dilemma. As I type this article, I have the ‘trainer’s’ complimentary card on my table, complete with mobile number and email address. Should I take the advice of friends and contact him? What would be the preferred method of contact- email, text or phone call? And what exactly should I say to him? Or do you think I should let sleeping dogs lie and face my work for the day? After all, if he was interested he would have made his move! Have you ever made a move on a guy or as a guy, has a woman ever put the moves on you? What are your thoughts people? Help a sister out!

THE BIGGEST PRIZE: Here are Nominees for The Future Awards 2010 – Young Person of the Year!

The Central Working Committee for Nigeria’s most respected youth event, The Future Awards, has decided to unveil the long list for the biggest award, Young Person of the Year, one week before schedule!

“We are very excited by what we have come up with this year – so excited that we have 10 names on the list this rather than the usual 8,” says Shade Ladipo, a member of the committee. “And we thought we should share that excitement!”

All the nominees for Young Person of the Year have been taken out of the various categories as always and identified as trailblazing role models for young Nigerians,” Ladipo said. “They are all winners, and so they will all be given plaques like last year. Also, they will not go through the 4 stages of judging for the awards, only one stage for voting and one stage for judging since all of them are finalists and will be so recognized at the awards.”

“They have all been contacted and we are incredibly proud of them. You will be inspired.”

THE YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
1. Genevieve Nnaji, 31 – Actor
2. Nnaemeka C. Ikegwuonu, 28 – Advocate
3. Uche Eze, 26 – Entrepreneur
4. P-Square (Peter & Paul Okoye), 29 – Artiste
5. Ojoma Ochai, 29 – Intrapreneur
6. Michael Ajere (Don Jazzy), 29 – Entrepreneur
7. Nneka, 29 – Artiste
8. Debo Olaosebikan, 25 – Scientist
9. Blessing Okagbare, 22 – Artiste
10. Makinde Adeagbo, 25 – Innovator

Genevieve Nnaji – Actor

Genevieve Nnaji is an international star, representing the very best that Nollywood has to offer, and one of the best faces that the country can present to the world. The 31 year old multiple-award winning actress, who has been so credited on CNN and Oprah, is a global role model.

Nnaemeka C. Ikegwuonu – Advocate

Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, 28, has received global acclaim for his work with communities in South-eastern Nigeria where he has promoted sustainable agricultural development and environmental conservation beneficial to rural poor farmers, with recognition that includes becoming a Laureate of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise – Young Laureates Program 2010.

Uche Eze – Entrepreneur

Known by her famous brand, Eze is a pioneer in every sense of the word. BellaNaija.com is now the gold standard for online media and others can now do it because the 26 year old dared to quit her job in Corporate Nigeria to champion New Media innovation – becoming a TEDAfrica Fellow in the process, and featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and on CNN International.

Debo Olaosebikan – Scientist

25 year old Olaosebikan (also a rapper under the stage name Levelz!) is currently completing a PhD in Physics at Cornell University where he is working on the world’s first silicon laser with Dr. Michal Lipson, one of the world’s leading Nanophotonics pioneers, groundbreaking research that will introduce the world to an era of much more faster computer processes.

P-Square – Artiste

Across Africa, the 29 year old twin brothers Peter and Paul Okoye have become huge superstars showing what Nigeria is capable of, winning everything from the $1 million Kora All Africa Music Award prize to a multi-million naira telecom endorsement deal.

Nneka – Artiste

No one saw her coming! 29 year old Nneka Egbuna arrived in Nigeria from the world and soon went back to conquer it, becoming one of Nigeria’s most prominent global voices, winning the BET Awards and performing across the world.

Don Jazzy – Entrepreneur

Born Michael Ajere, the almost mythical Don Jazzy is a now-legendary Nigerian music entrepreneur. With Mo-Hits, the 29 year old has done nothing less than revolutionized Nigerian music and the capacity of the Nigerian music industry, creating a string of stars including D’banj, Wande Coal, Dr. Sid, and D’prince.

Ojoma Ochai – Intrapreneur

Ojoma Ochai has distinguished herself with a storied career at the British Council, rising through the ranks to become, at 29, the Assistant Country Director for the international culture organisation, becoming a powerful symbol – in a country with a now-pervasive celebrity culture – that one can stay within and still shine bright and make a mark.

Blessing Okagbare – Athlete

22 year old Okagbare has been referred to as one of 2010’s most important athletes in the continent. A long and triple jumper and short sprinter, the Olympics medallist scored a 100 m/long jump double at the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship for University of Texas at El Paso, and won the Nigerian 100 m title in 2010.

Makinde Adeagbo – Innovator

Facebook has changed the world, and 25 year old Adeagbo is one of its frontrunners. A Software Enginner with the company for four years, amongst other things the whiz-kid is famous for being part of a 2-man team responsible for reducing over 1 MB of Javascript to 2 KB, making the site load twice as fast worldwide. Nominees in the 20 other categories will be unveiled on Monday, December 5, and voting on all categories will begin immediately on that date.

More information on the nominees is available on www.thefuturenigeria.com. We can’t wait!

Bad Roads: Lagos Adopts New Approach

Hakeem Balogun Road

The Lagos State Government has adopted a new system of fixing deplorable roads in the state.

In recent months, some residents have expressed displeasure over the state of roads across the metropolis, which prompted PUNCH METRO to do two-series story on the deplorable conditions of the roads.

But due to the negative publicity that the stories generated, the state government has now come up with a new integrated approach to rehabilitating existing roads.

Under the new approach, three critical agencies of the government are now involved in the rehabilitation and management of the roads simultaneously. They are the Lagos Public Works Corporation, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.

PUNCH METRO gathered that the idea was to ensure that the three institutions would complement one another.

The Executive Chairman, LPWC, Mr. Gbenga Akintola, said, “Essentially, the ‘zero tolerance for potholes and craters’ programme embarked upon by the government can only be meaningful if the three organisations work hand-in-hand with one another.”

Findings show that work has begun on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, part of Agege Motor Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway (Lagos end) and Ikorodu Road, as well as some neighbourhood roads.

It was gathered that under the new approach, asphalt would no longer be used to patch roads that are susceptible to flood, but instead, interlocking stones are now being used, while roads that are prone to erosion and flooding will now have stone base, with fibre mat laid underground to prevent early deterioration.

Akintola said, “Based on the expert advice, and the current engineering practices in road management, some identified spots will require different materials. Indeed, there is no excuse for waiting for favourable weather before embarking on road maintenance.

“The mandate from Governor Babatunde Fashola is that, as much as possible, all roads in Lagos must be in a better state.”

Some of the residents, who spoke with our correspondent, advised the government not to wait till the roads become impassable before embarking on their rehabilitation, noting that a routine maintenance programme should be put in place to ensure all-year round management of road infrastructure.

Mr. Musibau Adeagbo, a resident of Ijeshatedo said, “The governor should direct the relevant agencies of government to evolve an all-year road maintenance programme.

“He should also look with pity on the suburbs instead of concentrating on the highbrow areas of the metropolis because most roads in the suburbs are in an appalling condition.”

A resident of Idimu, Mr. Kayode Odugbesan, lamented the deplorable state of roads in Isolo-Ikotun axis, saying that plying the road was stressful.

He said, “People who stay around here have been suffering. To get out of Idimu through Isolo in the morning is hellish. The stress is even more when returning in the evening because from Iyana Isolo to Idimu, it takes an average of two and half hours to get home, a distance that should not take more than 10 minutes ordinarily.

“The slow pace of construction work on the Jakande Estate Road has compounded the problem because all vehicles going into the estate and those coming out are forced to use one lane, and the lane is in a shambles.”

Another resident of the area, who declined to give his name, urged the state government to compel the local government and local council development authorities to compliment its efforts by taking care of roads within their domain.

“It is only when this is done that what the state government is doing at present can be meaningful,” he added.

High-Paying Careers With No Future

It may come as no surprise that the job of newspaper reporter is going the way of the buggy whip maker — but the forces of modernity have placed some unexpected occupations on the endangered species list as well. Using statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-2011, we identified 10 of the most surprising job categories whose numbers are projected to shrink in the coming years, plus a few that will grow so slowly that you might as well be sending your resume to Irish banks.

Judge

Politicians can argue whether the best quality for a judge is empathy or an ability to call balls and strikes, but here's a different perspective: What you really need is patience. By 2018, the BLS predicts that there will be 700 fewer jobs for judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates, than there were in 2008, thanks mainly to budget cuts. And since the average tenure for a judge is 14 years, turnover is glacial. "Years ago, some left to become general counsel in the private sector, where they could triple their salary, but since the economic downturn, they're staying longer on the bench," says Tamara Dillon, who researches the occupation for the BLS.

Fashion Designer

Call it Project Turnaway. By 2018, only 200 more designers will find work in a field that employed 22,700 people as of 2008. That's about 2 percent of the number who applied to become Project Runway contestants in 2009, estimates Carol-Hannah Whitfield, who was a finalist on the show that year. "The world doesn't need another designer," Whitfield says.

Insurance Underwriter

Blame it on the software. New programs allow underwriters to take on three times as much work as in the past, collapsing the need for more hires. As a result, the BLS projects that the number of people employed in the field will decline by 4 percent, or 4,300 jobs, by 2018. "[The underwriter] just punches in data, and it spits out, say, whether a potential homebuyer is approved or not," says Henry Kasper, supervisory economist at the BLS. Growth in the insurance industry isn't exactly exploding either, further undermining the career outlook for underwriters.

Travel Agent

Call it the Attack of the Roaming Gnome: Online sites such as Travelocity, Priceline.com, Expedia, and Orbitz have decimated the ranks of travel agents as consumers increasingly book their own trips. The BLS expects 1,200 fewer travel agents to be employed in 2018 than in 2008. And the number of traditional travel agencies has been sliced in half — from a peak of 44,000 in 1997 to about 20,000 today, according to Douglas Quinby of PhoCusWright, a travel industry research company based in Sherman, Connecticut.

Newspaper Reporter

Read it and weep: According to the BLS, a whopping 4,400 jobs will disappear by 2018 (out of 69,400 total in 2008). That's more than three times the number of newsroom employees at The New York Times. The bad news for print can be summed up in one word: Internet. "Some of the print people are finding jobs online," says Lauren Csorny, an economist at the BLS. "But there aren't enough to make up for the losses." No wonder that newspaper reporters ranked No. 184 out of 200 jobs, one slot above stevedore, in CareerCast.com's annual JobsRated survey.

Broadcast Announcer

The play-by-play for this occupation isn't pretty. Consolidation has eliminated many jobs already, and technology is hijacking off-air tasks, such as editing, once performed by announcers (and future announcers paying their dues). Add the increased use of syndication and the growth of satellite radio and the picture is even bleaker. By 2018, broadcasting is expected to lose 2,400 radio and TV announcer jobs.

Plant Manager

Automation and offshoring will decimate the ranks of production managers by 2018. According to the BLS, employment will drop by 11,900 jobs from a 2008 total of 156,100. With faster machines and better productivity, one plant can do the work of two, squeezing managers out. Increased imports of manufactured goods will do additional damage. With 50 percent of the textile industry moving off-shore, for example, half the plant managers in that sector are at risk of losing their jobs. The outlook is equally bleak for managers in the computer, electronics, and auto parts industries.

Chemist

Nearly half of all chemists are employed in manufacturing firms — plastics, pesticides, and paint, to name a few. And that's a bummer for them, because manufacturing companies are continuing to outsource their R&D and testing to small, specialized firms, cutting job opportunities for in-house chemists. The profession lost 42,000 jobs from 2008 to 2009, according to Chemical and Engineering News, and the BLS projects only a 2 percent rise in the total number of chemists employed by 2018.

Economist

The Federal government is the largest employer of economists in the country. More than half — 53 percent — of all economists in the U.S. work for declining government sectors, so Uncle Sam's not hiring a lot of economists just now. "Econ" is a hot college major, but most of those newly-minted grads won't find work as traditional economists. Instead, they'll end up in niche sectors in business, finance, insurance, and education. Those set on working as conventional economists better have a Plan B, or a Plan Ph.D, because they'll need one. The economists at BLS do tell us that by 2018, an additional 900 economists will be employed — so the outlook is not as dismal for dismal scientists as it is for, say, travel agents. But if current trends continue, the future isn't promising. "You look at the last 10 to15 years and it has been flat," says Henry Kasper of the BLS. "There's little reason to think it's going to get better."

CEO

Associated Press

OK, it's not a profession, but it's worth keeping in mind if you aspire to the corner office: Mergers and streamlining will make the climb to the top harder than K2, as companies combine and jobs are eliminated. The BLS projects that there will be 5,500 fewer CEOs by 2018. To boost your odds, consider Rosetta Stone; CEO candidates should be fluent in at least two languages, says Patricia Tate of the BLS. So if you speak Spanish, Arabic, or Chinese, félicitations.

Winners of 2010 Nigerian Music video awards

2010 nigerian music video awards was held some nights ago at Eko hotel ,see the full list of the winners below 

1. VIDEO OF THE YEAR:
 2face – “Only Me”
2. BEST AFRO HIP HOP VIDEO: 
Mr. Raw Nwanne – “O Chukwu”
3. BEST USE OF ANIMATION: 
T.W.O – “I Need Someone”
4. BEST FUJI MUSIC VIDEO: 
Dekunle Fuji – “Funmilayo”
5. BEST CONTEMPORARY AFRO: 
Sound Sultan – “2010”
6. BEST MAINSTREAM HIP HOP: 
Bouqui – “Take You Away”
7. BEST AFROBEAT MUSIC VIDEO: 
Fela – “Viva Africa”
8. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Director): 
TOSIN IGHO – “Don’t Leave Me”
9. BEST AFRO POP: 
2face – “Only Me”
10. BEST USE OF CHOREOGRAPHY: 
Dipp – “Pop Off Selecta”
11. BEST HIGHLIFE: 
J. Martins – “Eva”
12. BEST REGGAE DANCEHALL: 
General Pype – “Champion”
13. BEST SOFT ROCK VIDEO: 
Djinee – “Overkillin’”
14. BEST USE OF EFFECTS: 
Dipp – “Pop Off Selecta”
15. BEST INDIGENOUS CONCEPT:
 Kefee – “Thank You”
16. BEST USE OF COSTUME: 
Goldie – “You Know It”
17. BEST R ‘n’ B: 
Banky W – “Strong Ting”
18. BEST GOSPEL: 
KSB – “Turn Around”
19. BEST VIDEO BY A NEW ARTIST: 
Solidstar – “One In A Million”
20. MOST POPULAR NIGERIAN MUSIC VIDEO IN EUROPE: 
JJC – “We Are Africans”
21. BEST DIRECTOR: 
Clarence Peters
22. BEST EDITOR:
 Clarence Peters
23. BEST PRODUCER: 
KENNIS MUSIC
24. BEST NEW DIRECTOR: 
Frizzle – “Taka Sufe”

MI2: ALBUM REVIEW

So the long awaited, eagerly anticipated, much hyped MI2 album has finally dropped! You should have seen the madness on twitter pre and post droppage(?) of the album… Heard #MI2 even trended worldwide on twitter (at #8)…  Maybe there is an MI2 movie coming out, don’t know, but it was only an album that dropped. The concept of the album though is pretty much a movie, and I absolutely luv it. I like the whole Waje thing going on, she plays M.I.’s love interest.. And Dr SID as a real doctor lol.. and then the baddest bad guy Mustapha.. Classic!

Mr. Incredible did not fail to deliver the goods on this album please! Honestly if you sit down to listen to this guy’s lyrical wordplay you will definitely agree that he is indeed a ‘Microphone Magician’ because normal people cannot do it like he does. And did you hear the song ‘Beef’?? I mean I was feeling the joint so much i had to extract a portion for y’all.

“See musicians tryna beef me for real son/maybe they doin it to promote their album/they know that using my name will help them sell some/so Iceberg is alright your welcome/but I’m not in their league help me tell them/the super eagles don’t play against the falcons/see wor wor pikin dey form handsome/kelechukwu clap for yourself, well done” 

#NuffSaid

 

Tracks to watch out for on the album: Beef, Number One ft. Flavour, Craze, Action Film, One Naira and almost all the others lol.

But was this album overrated? Did M.I. really give us something we hadn’t already seen from him? Don’t get me wrong, M.I. is a hot contestant for the best rapper in the whole continent. But that is not an excuse to shy away from constructive criticism. Now MI2 is a hot album, we all agree to that (no?.. transformer). But the hotness of this album is the same hotness that M.I. has brought to all his other appearances. This does not mean, in any way that I did not enjoy the album, I’ve been rocking to it since it came out and I’m not even stopping anytime now, but it didn’t give me as much ‘wow’ as I thought I would get. I was kinda expecting to hear something that would make me go “damn I didn’t know this guy had [this] or could do [that]“, but instead I was saying “Yes boss! M.I. killed it again”. And there is nothing wrong with that, but its just like soccer players… When they have scored enough goals, they begin to score goals WITH STYLE. Mr. Incredible has “Scored” enough hits, I believe its time for him to add a few more leg-overs, flying headers, and bicycle-kicks to his already baddass style.

Also, as much as I enjoyed all the movie skits in the album, I would love a version of the album that has those skits cut out please. When I’m bumping this album in my ride on the way to the clubs, I’d rather hear non-stop music than have Mustapha and the gang interrupting me for over a minute on almost all the tracks. I mean, I couldn’t even fit the whole album on a regular blank CD when I got it. Had to start choosing which songs to drop, and on this album there are VERY FEW songs one would want to remove.

All in all, the album is a must-get for all lovers, beefers (Suya sellers and retailers), and the very few in between!

Grade: 8.5/10

What do you think?..

AFRICA'S RICHEST BOYS.

Let’s talk about two of my favourite things…MEN & MONEY! Yup and lots of it! LOL

When Forbes released their list of Richest Men in the World in the spring there were a few African’s on it…including Nigeria’s own Aliko Dangote. The Atlanta Post has put together a list of the 8 wealthiest men in Africa, based on net worth…these men all have fortunes exceeding billions of dollars.

Here’s the list in descending order.

#1 Mohammed Al Amoudi (Ethiopia)

Forbes World Ranking #64
Net Worth: $10 Billion
Age: 65
Fortune: Self Made
Source: Oil
Education: N/A

#2 Nassef Sawiris (Egypt)

Forbes World Ranking #127
Net Worth: 5.9 Billion
Age: 48
Fortune: Inherited and Growing
Source: Construction
Education: Bachelor of Science

#3 Onsi Sawiris (Egypt)

Forbes World Ranking #307
Net Worth: $3.1 Billion
Age: 80
Fortune: Self Made
Source: Construction

#4 Naguib Sawiris (Egypt)

Net Worth: $2.5 Billion
Age: 55
Fortune: Inherited
Source: Telecom
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science; Master of Science

#5 Patrice Motsepe (South Africa)

Forbes World Ranking #421
Net Worth: $2.3 Billion
Age: 48
Fortune: Self Made
Source: Mining
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science; Doctor of Jurisprudence

#6 Aliko Dangote (Nigeria)

Forbes World Ranking #463
Name: Aliko Dangote
Net Worth: $2.1 Billion
Age: 52
Fortune: Inherited
Source: Sugar, Flour, Cement
Education: N/A

#7 Mohammed Ibrahim (Sudan)

Forbes World Ranking #463
Net Worth: $2.1 Billion
Age: 64
Fortune: Self Made
Source: Communications
Education: Bachelor of Science/Electrical Engineering; Masters/Electrical Engineering

#8 Samih Sawiris (Egypt)

Forbes World Ranking #655
Net Worth: $1.5 Billion
Age: 53
Fortune: Inherited
Source: Hotels
Education: Bachelor of Science/Electrical Engineering; Masters/Electrical Engineering

Half of the list is made up of Egyptians, who happen to be family…Naguib Sawiris, Nassef Sawiris & Samih Sawiris are Onsi Sawiris’ sons…they have a combined wealth of $13 billion…talk about a family of over achievers.

It’s time to get started on those business plans people!

Less I forget....Watch Out...my name's gon be on that least pretty soon..

ONE PLAYED VERY GOOD, ONE PLAYED VERY BAD-MOURINHO

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says his side were not good enough against Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho - Real Madrid

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says it will be easy to come to terms with the 5-0 loss suffered at the hands of Barcelona in el Clasico because the Blancos were not simply good enough at Camp Nou.

Barca jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and never looked back en route to an emphatic win to send them top of the Liga standings.

"One team played very good, one team very bad," Mourinho commented in a post-match press conference. "One deserved to win and one deserved to lose.

"Humiliated? No. It's easy to deal with this loss, we just weren't good enough."

Barcelona now have a two-point lead over the Blancos in the Liga standings.

BARCELONA COMPLETED OVER 600 PASSES IN REAL MADRID MASSACRE

Xavi said to be the best on the pitch.

Xavi Hernandez (FC Barcelona) )

Barcelona completed over 600 passes during their 5-0 crushing of Real Madrid on Monday evening in La Liga's Clasico encounter at Camp Nou.

With 684 passes attempted by the hosts and 89% completed, in total 608.76 balls found their Blaugrana target.

Madrid, meanwhile, managed a completion rate of 74% - almost three in four - of 331 passes, meaning that 224.94 reached a white shirt.

In total Barcelona held just over two thirds of possession at 67% to 33%, while they had 15 attempted shots to Real Madrid's 5.

Of those shots, 6 of Barcelona's 15 found the target, and of course, five found the net. Real Madrid tested Victor Valdes just twice.

Also worthy of note were the passing exploits of Barcelona midfielder Xavi, who managed 110 passes in his 87 minutes on the pitch.

Match Stats
-
15 Shots 5
6 On Target 2
684 Passes 331
89% Complete Passes 74%
67% Possession 33%
12 Fouls 16
5/0 Cards (Y/R) 7/1

Source: www.goal.com

 

President Jonathan Offered Us $50,000 Bribe, But We Returned It - Pastor Tunde Bakare

Fiery Lagos-based pastor, Tunde Bakare, has confirmed to Saharareporters that President Goodluck Jonathan provided a $50,000 cash bribe to a delegation of the Save Nigeria Group that visited him last Monday, but that the group sent back the money.

Pastor Bakare’s confirmation came in the midst of a tepid denial of our earlier report by Tony Uranta, one of Mr. Jonathan's political operatives. Uranta had claimed on his Facebook page yesterday that Saharareporters misrepresented the crux of the meeting between the president and the Pastor Bakare-led delegation.

Specifically, Uranta denied that Jonathan discussed his ambition to run for office with the SNG delegation. He also stated that no money was offered to the SNG team and claimed that, contrary to our earlier report, the Bakare group had not asked him to return the bribe money to Jonathan.

But in a telephone interview with Saharareporters on Sunday evening, Pastor Bakare confirmed that the details of our earlier exclusive report were factual and unimpeachable.

Bakare, who has a reputation for speaking out fearlessly on current political issues, affirmed that the Minister of the Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, had offered the SNG delegation the sum of $50,000 on behalf of President Jonathan. The SNG had met with Jonathan to review his performance in office.

In the phone interview, Pastor Bakare stated categorically that his team was indeed offered money after it submitted a position paper on why it was opposed to the president's ambition to be re-elected. He confirmed that the cash was immediately returned to sender through Uranta, shortly after it was presented to the SNG delegation.

The SNG convener told Saharareporters that his team felt terribly embarrassed and offended by the orchestrated attempt by Jonathan and his team to buy the SNG’s support through illicit means.

An obviously angry Bakare said, “You can quote me. I don't do deals and I don't lie. Tony [Uranta] could be saving his own face. Tony lied that he didn't collect the money from us. There are living witnesses. Orubebe has confirmed to me that the money was returned. Mr. President is aware through Oronto Douglas that we returned his money through Tony.”

Bakare said he, Yinka Odumakin and other SNG officials went to the meeting with Jonathan with a written document that explained why the SNG would not support his candidacy.

“We submitted a document regarding the culture of impunity in which he (Jonathan) continues to swim," he said.

As Saharareporters had exclusively reported, Jonathan sought a meeting with the Save Nigeria Group to discuss his ambition to run for office after it dawned on him that former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, the consensus candidate chosen by the so-called Northern Political Elders Forum, was going to present a stiff political challenge.

A close aide to Mr. Jonathan told Saharareporters that, whilst Atiku is steeped in corruption, the president was also aware that the Atiku group had a dossier on corrupt deals by both Jonathan, his wife and his close associates and advisors, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

After Bakare made his presentation and accused Jonathan of having abused the goodwill offered him by Nigerians, the president tried to buy the group’s loyalty by giving its officials $50,000 through Orubebe.

An Abuja-based democratic activist told Saharareporters that, by attempting to buy the SNG's support, Mr. Jonathan had “exposed himself to charges of hypocrisy and doing the opposite of what he preaches.”

In a speech on Saturday, Mr. Jonathan had urged Nigerians to ignore politicians who seek to win elections by offering money to groups and individuals.

The president gave the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do sermon at the 2010 graduation ceremony of the Senior Executive Course 32 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State. Vice President Namadi Sambo represented the president at the event and read the speech on Jonathan’s behalf.

OBAMA FREEZES FEDERAL WORKERS PAY.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama announced a two-year pay freeze for federal employees Monday, and warned the American public that the move is the first of many difficult decisions that must be made to reduce the nation's mounting deficits.

"The hard truth is that getting this deficit under control is going to require some broad sacrifice, and that sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government," Obama said.

The freeze would apply to all civilian federal employees, including those working at the Department of Defense, but would not affect military personnel. The freeze is expected to save more than $5 billion in savings over two years, $28 billion over five years and more than $60 billion over 10 years, White House officials said.Congress is not covered by Obama's executive branch order. But lawmakers voted last April to freeze their pay, with the House and Senate opting to forgo an automatic $1,600 annual cost-of-living increase.

While Obama said the federal employee salary freeze was necessary to put the nation on sound fiscal footing, he also said that he didn't reach the decision lightly. "This is not just a line item on a federal ledger," he said. "These are people's lives."

The savings from the pay freeze make only a small dent in the nation's $1 trillion-plus budget deficit. But with voters voicing their anger over Washington's spending during the midterm elections, even a symbolic gesture would show the White House got the message.

ANGELINA JOLIE REFUSES TO CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING...FEELS ITS A CELEBRATION OF MURDER

"While everyone was giving thanks , one of America's most famous families, the Jolie-Pitts, have decided to sit this Thanksgiving out.

"Angelina Jolie hates this holiday and wants no part in rewriting history like so many other Americans," a friend of the actress tells me. "To celebrate what the white settlers did to the native Indians, the domination of one culture over another, just isn't her style. She definitely doesn't want to teach her multi-cultural family how to celebrate a story of murder."

Angelina has been filming her directorial debut, about a Serbian man and Bosnian woman who fall in love during the Bosnian War. Angie, always extremely sensitive to the suffering throughout the world, is filming in English and the native languages.


"Angelina gets so grossed out by Thanksgiving that she has made sure her family will not be in America this year on Thursday," an insider tells me.

And although Brad Pitt recently told 'EXTRA,' "We'll whip up a turkey somewhere," he certainly hasn't shared that plan with Angelina. A family friend tells me, "If Brad wants turkey, he will have to cook it himself. For Angie, it will be another day when America tries to rewrite history."

Story by Rob Shuter

NIGERIAN MAKES FBI MOST WANTED LIST FOR STEALING $44 MILLION

 

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI has added a Nigerian, Mr. Tobechukwu Enyinna Onwuhara, 30, to its list of ‘Most Wanted Fugitives.’

According to a report on America’s Most Wanted, the Bureau said ‘Tobechi Onwuhara is a criminal mastermind’ who in less than three years stole $44 million dollars from banks in the United States using sophisticated methods including stealing bank customer’s personal information, Home Equity Lines of Credit details and account numbers.

FBI agents say Onwuhara was born in Houston and sent to live with his wealthy Nigerian father, Prince Doris Onwuhara who the Bureau say is a ‘well-known con man who made a fortune from the notorious Nigerian 419 scheme’ before returning to the United States when he reached his teenage years in 1999. Having settled in the southern state of Texas, he got a job with US lender, Capital One Financial Corporation where authorities believe he gained insider knowledge on how to work the US financial system.

 

His first brush with the law happened in April 2002 when he was arrested by Lewisville city police in Lewisville, Texas after police got a tipoff that he may be using stolen identification to steal money from credit card accounts. When police raided his apartment, they found stolen credit card account numbers, fake driver’s licenses and materials used to forge identification.

Same year in December in the western state of Seattle, FBI said ‘Onwuhara walked into a local bank and tried to max out the cash withdrawal limit on a stolen credit card’ but fled the bank when he sensed trouble. He was said to have jumped into a waiting car driven by a friend of his, Abel Nnabue and they led Seattle police on a high-speed chase but were eventually caught when they tried to flee on foot. Both men were charged, convicted and sentenced to two years in a Seattle prison but spent only eight months of their sentence for good behaviour.

 

After their release, they relocated to Texas and went low for a while until sometime in 2005 when the real estate market was at an all time high and Home Equity Lines Of Credit loans became available. Though it was harder to steal from Home Equity Lines of Credit, Onwuhara and his co-conspirators found a way around it. FBI say Onwuhara painstakingly researched home owners credit reports to see if they opened home lines of credit accounts and how much they had available. At this time in the real estate market, it was very common to find homeowners with $300, 000 - $ 400, 000 in home equity. Onwuhara impersonated such homeowners after learning their passwords and home phone numbers through extensive research.

 

The Nigerian acquired multiple prepaid phone lines and wireless internet cards to prevent anyone from successfully tracing their numbers. He then also signed up to a spoofing service which allowed a home owner’s number appear on the bank representative’s caller ID when he called a bank to request a wire transfer from the account to a home owner’s regular checking account before the funds are eventually wired to accounts in Asia and then the monies would go to a Hawala in Africa.

 

‘Hawalas’ are funds transfer systems that are not regulated instead, they operate on trust. ‘Brokers or Hawalanders would take a cut and then transfer the money to an African Bank, eventually returning to a US bank,’ according to America’s Most Wanted. Most of the funds returning to the United States came through accounts belonging to Precious Matthews or one of the other conspirators. Investigators say Onwuhara made most of the calls himself but when an account belonged to a female, he would get his girlfriend, Precious Matthews to make the call while other co-conspirators would be delegated other duties including finding new home owners with equity in their homes.

 

According to FBI records, Onwuhara and his crew had stolen more than $20 million dollars before the bureau were notified of the scam and by the time the FBI penetrated their well-organized syndicate and learned their identity, they had stolen an additional $20 million dollars. To learn their identity, the FBI contacted Verizon Wireless, a prepaid wireless company after it learned they were using prepaid internet services provided by the company to log into bank accounts and were able to obtain surveillance videos of three men paying for the service at one of the provider’s stores.

 

In the spring of 2008, the FBI got a break when they also found out that Onwuhara was using a spoofing service and they contacted the provider who made more than 1500 audio recordings available to them. As expected, most of the recordings were conversations between Onwuhara and various bank representatives, but unfortunately for Onwuhara someone from his crew had also used the phone to call a pharmacy pretending to be a doctor and ordered a prescription for Tobechi Onwuhara. This was a huge lead for the FBI. When they ran Onwuhara’s name, there was a match in their database where they found out he had been arrested before for bank fraud. When they matched his photo with the surveillance videos obtained from the telecommunications company, they believed they had their man.

Gradually, they started their investigations and tried to learn the identity of his co-conspirators. This was when they discovered that Onwuhara had left Miami for Nigeria with a brief stopover in New York.

 

The FBI waited for Onwuhara and his travelling companions to return to the country and decided to stop him at the airport after he had rerouted his ticket several times. The Bureau said they wanted him to believe he was being questioned as a possible terrorist and he fell for it by giving them information that eventually linked him to the fraud. Before August 1, 2008, FBI agents already knew Onwuhara and his girlfriend, Matthews lived in their $5000 a month mansion near Miami in Florida. As they were making their way to a Florida casino with their crew on that day, agents and local police decided they had enough evidence to take them in. While they were effecting their arrest, agents realized that Onwuhara had entered the casino and believed Matthews sent a text message to him that they were being arrested and he managed to get away.

 

Authorities say they have not been able to track him down since. FBI said before they took the gang down, Onwuhara would spend about $50, 000 a night in a strip club up to three times in a week and usually stayed at various five star hotels whenever he made his frequent travels. Onwuhara according to the Bureau has stashed cash abroad and also shipped many luxury cars to Nigeria- all paid for in cash.

 

They believe he is hiding in either Canada; Miami, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; or New Jersey. His co-conspirators have been sentenced to various jail terms:

Henry ‘Uche’ Obilo, 30, Miami: Sentenced to 88 months in prison.

Abel Nnabule, 34, Dallas: Sentenced to 54 months on Jan. 30, 2009.

Precious Matthews (Onwuhara’s girlfriend): Sentenced to 51 months on Feb. 13, 2009.

Brandy Anderson, 31, Dallas, Sentenced to two years of supervised probation and 40 days of community confinement on Feb. 20, 2009.

Ezenwa Onyedebelu, 21, Dallas, Sentenced to 37 months on Feb. 27, 2009.

Daniel Orjinta, 43, Nigeria: Sentenced to 42 months on March 06, 2009.

Paula Gipson, 34, Dallas, Sentenced to 15 months on September 04, 2009.

How to Get Paid and Collect Money You’re Owed

Sometimes doing the job is the easy part. Those of us who often work on assignment or contract know that for a select few engagements, it’s actually getting paid by your employer that’s the most difficult part of the equation.

For anyone who faces the prospect of a deadbeat account or payee, these tips should help refill your coffers with a minimum of pain.

1) Understand the risks from the start – Before you accept an engagement, weigh how difficult you think it will be to get paid, or if there’s a risk that your employer won’t pay you at all. This can set your expectations for the post-assignment “getting your money” dance, and, more importantly, help you set an appropriate rate for the work. The bigger the risk, the more you should charge.

2) Set the terms from the beginning – Will you be paid when you complete the work? Or 90 days later? Payment terms should be set out in writing and you should ask your contact what’s realistic about getting a check. Many payment terms are never really honored.

3) Invoice as soon as possible – Many accounts payable departments pay invoices in the order received, no matter what the terms of your arrangement are. Can you submit an invoice at the same time as the work is completed? Can you invoice in advance? Depending on your relationship with the contact and the company, you may be able to trim weeks off your turnaround by simply sending in your bill early.

4) Check-in regularly – Whenever you create a new invoice, make it a habit to check on old invoices too. Is something lingering in your “to be paid” file that shouldn’t be there? Eighty percent of the time, in my experience, this is due to an invoice being lost or not being routed to the right department. Check in with your contact or the A/P department and ask (nicely) if your invoice was received and when you can expect a check. If they ask you to resend it, do so immediately. Checking up on invoices on a schedule of twice a month is a good policy.

5) Escalate your concerns – Chances are the person who contracted with you is actually powerless to get a check cut. His boss may not be. If you feel like you’re getting the runaround, make the jump from your contact to his supervisor. The more senior the manager is, the more likely he will be to not want to waste his time hearing from contractors who haven’t been paid. A well-timed call to the president of the company can often get results in just a couple of days.

6) Withhold work until the money comes – This likely needs to be part of your contract, but if you feel like there’s a strong risk that you won’t get your money, simply make your deal that you don’t send the finished product until you get paid for it. There are many variations on this arrangement: A quarter of the payment up front before you start work, a quarter at a certain milestone, and half on completion, for example. Also, another good trick is to simply not accept more work until you’re paid in full for the last job.

7) Threaten small claims court if you must – Eventually, things can get really bad and you have to bring out the heavy guns. In California, you can now collect up to $7,500 in a single small claims court case, but be warned: This path will be time-consuming, and there’s no guarantee you’ll even receive your payment in the end. Still, filing a small legal claim is not difficult, is inexpensive if you do it yourself, and the very fact that you filed the claim – or simply threaten to – can often bring results. Don’t expect to get much more work from the account, though.

8) Call a debt collector – This should be your method of absolute last resort. Debt collectors are expensive (expect to fork over 50% of any money recovered) and rarely get results. Typically all they will do is make a few calls to the other party and put a black mark on their credit report, with the promise of removing it if the bill is paid. A collector could get you paid in the end, but it probably won’t. What it will do, needless to say, is utterly ruin your relationship with that party, so only resort to a debt collection service if you’ve exhausted every other avenue.