Alaramma

There is a growing effort to deodorize the consistent, recurring and habitual attitude of Dr. Kperogi to peddle fake news and share concocted stories and lies. The truth is: Kperogi is a purveyor and enabler of fake news, no amount of revisionism and whitewashing can change this fact. A cursory look into his both Twitter and Facebook posts can attest to it. Herein are seven (by no means exhaustive) professorial lies: 1. September 2016, Dr. Kperogi had it from an impeccable source that the Aso Villa Clinic 2017 budget was more than the combined budget of all the 16 Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria. When his attention was drawn to the factual error of his statement, it earned Garba Shehu the tag of an incapable spokesman. The sad thing is Garba Shehu was Kperogi's teacher during his undergrad. Dr. Salisu Shehu, I vividly recalled, tried to make him see reason why it was inappropriate to talk that way to his teacher...well, he was also tagged a glorified quota-system professor. 2. Dr...

Aisha went to open a bank account for her daughter who has just gotten admission into a university. Some of the KYC requirements, among other things, was to submit a utility bill, or a rent receipt. However, Aisha lives in her own house, she pays electricity and water bills online, from her bank account. This is a serious challenge to most parents, and Nigerians desiring to get involved in the traditional banking system in Nigeria. "I can't remember the last time I saw a utility bill receipt", Usman told me. He does all those transactions online. His bankers normally sends him statements of account at the end of every month. All he does is print them and keeps for records purposes, or when 'NEPA' or water board people come around. In Nigeria, we take 3 steps at good policies, and 4 steps reversal. At the heart of all this policies confusion is the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN). With the advent of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), the issue of submitting a ut...

After I wrote a scathing remark about police brutality, abduction and extortion, a good Nigerian, perhaps a police man, sent this advisory note to me. Go through and see if the contents of the advisory made sense in regard to happenings around Lagos. Mind you, this advice only states total compliance by civilians and it did not state how civil the police itself should conduct itself while doing its statutory work. READ ON: 1. For your own good, whenever law enforcement agents ( whether in uniform or not) stop a vehicle you boarded, stay calm, avoid hissing and grumbling. Whether you are a man or a woman, respect them. 2. Please take the receipts of your electronic equipment, laptop or other bulk gadgets (original or photocopy), anywhere you go if you must carry them. 3. If you don't have means of identification from your school or workplace, get at least a national ID card or driver's licence. It is crucial. 4. Delete all your bank alerts, and transfer sensitive i...

I was waiting for my order in Yahuza suya when one bulgy Igbo man sauntered in. He paid and collected and order number. He sat besides me and immediately started complaining of the pending long wait. His number was 77, mine was 63. As we all waited the man became impatient. He called one of the attendants. "You people don't do PDP here?", he roared at the attendant. "I will give you N500 if you can get our orders, me and my bros here", he pointed at me. Minutes later our orders arrived, money exchanged hands and we left. As we head to the car park, I asked him, "so this is what the PDP does?" He launched into a long tirade. The PDP is known to cut corners, circumvent rules, encourage dishonesty, 'godfatherism', and many negative antics that finally led the party down the drain. Today, party faithfuls of the APC are becoming anxious at the path the party is heading, with many fingers being pointed at the National party Chairman, Adams Oshiom...

I know Barrister Mohammed Bello Mustapha to be a Buharist right from the birth of Buharism as a political ideology in 2002. He was the number one "errand boy" in The Buhari Organisation (TBO) secretariat at Gana Street, Maitama, before it relocated to Ahmadu Bello Way, Abuja. He served in the TBO along side eminent personalities like late AVM Mukhtar Mohammed, Alhaji Sule Yahaya Hamma, Engr Buba Galadima, Mr. Sam Ndah Isaiah, Hajiya Naja'atu Bala Mohammed among others. Barrister Mustapha was the youngest in the secretariat, hence he was the National Youth Leader of TBO, while Hajiya Naja'atu was the National Women Leader. These people were the first set of promoters of Buharism as a political ideology in Nigeria. From All People's Party (APP), to All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), to Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), to All Progressives Congress (APC), Barrister MB Mustapha remains a loyal Buharist. Barrister Mustapha was the originator of the whole ide...

"The Illuminati wasn't always just some crazy chimera- it used to be a very real group with ambitious goals. And even though it doesn't exist anymore, the fact that many people still have paranoid beliefs about it reveals a lot about power". This conversation has lasted for more than 300 years and has refused to go away meant that there's something about power and control that is deeply rooted at the heart of men. Even without the Illuminati, your wife would want to control you, your friends wants to influence you, your parents wants to shape your destiny. All these are the core philosophical values of the Illuminati; and while in power, they could influence political decisions of governments. These shadowy groups, Illuminati and Freemasons, are no longer operating in shadows. In fact, they are even recruiting members online! And the fall out for such groups have created similar cults around the world whose intentions vary, but the end result is control. The...

I don't know when exactly I became a ferocious reader. I can not also say pointedly at what time my interests shifted to reading; not that type of reading where you devour a 300 page  novel in a day. I mean serious ones like...oh you have to pay me to make sense out of your lives. I stumbled into some disturbing statistics about Adamawa State. Months before now, Kaduna State had made headlines about policies that had resolved the State-local government joint account imbroglio. Structured policies have created tons of interested citizens hungry for ICT skills, this has created many I.T hubs across the State. And recently, the Governor himself proudly announced a 72.24% and only 27.76 represented recurrent expenditures for the 2020 fiscal year, meaning that the cost of governance has been pruned to allow more for developing infrastructure and other needed projects. The first time in the history of the country. Most astounding is Kaduna state clinching the top spot for 'enforcin...

My nine year old son came to me one evening after dinner and asked me to give him my phone. He often does that when he gets lost on his homework; google is his good companion. However, that evening request was different. The boy wanted to google my name so that he can find out what people think about me, his father! The world has become an open field of information, whatever you do will stick on the Internet for generations yet unborn. How would a father explain to his son over sex-for-grades scandal on which he was caught soliciting for sex on camera? How will a father explain to his son over a video he was caught slapping a woman in a sex-toy shop? Some of these things will never go away. Our children will surf the net one day and would be faced with our horrendous activities of shame. Not only in the field of open source of information, our people are becoming better at judging of character and profiling. As a public figure, your worst nightmare is to be reminded of a guilt-buri...

Bank Verification Number (BVN) is one of the best things that has happened in the banking ecosystem of Nigeria. "The Central Bank of Nigeria through the Banker’ Committee and in collaboration with all banks in Nigeria on February 14, 2014, launched a centralized biometric identification system for the banking industry tagged Bank Verification Number (BVN)." The purpose of the project, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), is to use biometric information as a means of first identifying and verifying all individuals that have account(s) in any Nigerian bank and consequently, as a means of authenticating customer’s identity at point of transactions. BVN have proven to hinder corruption and money laundering in the financial system. This novel idea can be replicated over several sectors of the Nigerian economy to further protect people, enhance tracking system, financial inclusion, expansion of tax as well as reduce poverty levels. The use of technolog...

The most urgent and critical need of a poor person ranges from jobs, education, access to health facility and care, affordable decent housing, renewable energy, clean water and food. Global poverty index claimed that about 2.7 billion people are in dire need of these life saving products and services. In theory, these can not be affordable by a poor person whose earning is below $2 (N700) a day. Development economists are pushing an unorthodox approach to ending global poverty. Traditionally, governments are at the core of providing for these services. However, the costs kept expanding and poverty is consistently escalating, especially in third world countries. Paul Polak and his co-travellers advocated for "market-based solutions to poverty and advocates for big business to target the poor" at the bottom of the pyramid. Paul Polak, who five years ago published the book Out of Poverty: What works when traditional approaches fail, has written a second book with Mal Warwi...

I am not surprised that some organizations have fired their drivers and have outsourced that need to Uber. What happened? 1. They have reduced the cost of paying salaries and buying company cars 2. They can effectively track the whereabouts of their staff. Technology can take away your job. You can either grow along with it or be thrown out. Welcome to the connected economy. My neighbor who works with the government is however aghast that this is happening during his life time. This man is only 50. In the next 20 years we would no longer need the services of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). Why? Because of automated driverless cars. Drivers' license will also be extinct! This is the reality of technology which has ushered in the connected economy. Look around you and ask yourself if your job can be saved from technology. 10 years ago drivers in banks and other institutions never thought that a time will come when their services would no longer be needed. Connected eco...

I met an older politician at the airport and he immediately noticed how emotional I was talking about ending poverty in the North. I particularly mentioned three Governors that can rally their counterparts to champion this cause. These are Nasir El Rufai in the North Wesr, Bello Mutawalle in in the West and Prof Zulum in the North East. Now this older politician ( I don't want to mention his name) cornered me into agreeing that private initiatives must be involved. And some how, he brought up Atiku Abubakar's name into the conversion. This is why I am writing this; Because of the salient points (salient because Atiku himself was not coherent enough about his micro plans for ending poverty in the North) he raised indicating that Waziri's fight with the APC and President Buhari was his (Atiku's) insistence on building the economy of the North East. In clear contents, the North west have hijacked governance, politics and economy of the North. Waziri Adamawa was the n...

Power rangers, The Thundermans, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, I am Frankie, Game shakers, Henry Danger, Sophia the first are some of the TV shows I watch with my kids. This way, I have established their stream of interest for TV, books, games and topics for discussion with their friends. I wash their hair myself and cut their nails. Every Saturday we do their wardrobe together. Their hygiene is a top priority which I have emphasized by becoming part of it. Oh children blackmail parents a lot, so you know that, when your child refused to do home work or house chores until given a bribe of chocolate or allowed to watch TV at odd hours is blackmail. Parents must reverse these attitudes and stay ahead of their kids. My kids like to watch Zeeworld series between 8pm to 10pm. They never miss these extra ordinary TV shows. The first thing I did was to remove the TV from their room. We watch everything together in the living room; not that I am interested, but I do it to monitor their...

A raging pressure has been on to anoint Barrister M.B Mustapha as a substantive National Secretary for the Action Progressive Congress (APC). It would be recalled that M.B Mustapha contested for the post alongside Mai Mala Buni during the last APC elective congress. Mr. Buni has since become theYobe State Governor, leaving the position of the National Secretary vacant, months after the election. The Yobe State APC caucus have insisted that the post be still reserved for Yobe State. Other contestants to the seat have shown overwhelming reason to challenge the Yobe State position. One of such is the emergence of the Senate President from Yobe. It would be unfair for the other states to be sidelined as Yobe holds both the Senate president and the National Secretary positions. Taraba state is one of the States that have shown it's displeasure on the way the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party is handling the matter. It has insisted that Taraba has never held any national ...

October 14, 2019 The Coalition of Northern Groups is deeply touched by the report of nine innocent children forcefully separated from their parents and moved to Eastern Nigerian towns. We are profoundly agitated to learn that the children were also baptized with new names and forcefully converted to a religion other than the one their parents practice. We are also moved that all the players on both removing and receiving points belong to a certain Nigerian tribe whose members are deeply entrenched in every town, city and village in northern Nigeria. We are particularly saddened that days after the discovery of this heinous crime, no federal, state or local government, cultural, traditional, or religious group, NGO, or international organization has spoken on the matter. We are further disturbed that even the national and international media except just a few appear to want to downplay this matter. OBSERVATIONS 1. The fact that according to the revelation, this act of merc...

Transsion, which has become Africa’s top-selling phone maker in the last year, launched its initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Star market this week and its market value came close to doubling on its first day before setting down. Shares of the Shenzhen, China-based company closed up 64%  raising about $400 million and valuing the business at around $6.5 billion riding on the waves of its dominance in Africa. It’s a remarkable story for a Chinese company that has never sold one phone in its crowded, competitive home market. Also notable is the fact that for consumers across Africa, the name Transsion means very little. Instead it is its brands that have become some of the fastest growing across the continent. The holding company has been very successful at positioning its three brands: Tecno, Infinix and itel for different segments of its markets across smartphones and feature phones. In June, all three brands featured high up the Top 100 Most Admired Bran...

@YeleSowore was arrested on 3rd August, 2019 by the DSS for charges, among other things, calling for a revolution, an overthrow of a legitimate government, which is termed as TREASON. A term associated with a "crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's nation or sovereign. This usually includes things such as participating in a war against one's native country, ATTEMPTING TO OVERTHROW ITS GOVERNMENT". The DSS has since refused to release the alleged traitor mulling over the need for  overriding national interest. Hence, the rumors of appeal by the Federal government. In another twist, officials of the justice ministry are alleging that the judge (Justice Taiwo Taiwo) who delivered the bail judgement in favour of the revolutionist is a bossom to the defendant's council, Femi Falana (SAN), and so there is an evidence of bias.

Technology is expanding the frontiers and boundaries of business and political governance. During the 'Obama years', his face or messages appeared in 2 of every 4 Americans. Today,  former President Barack Obama has topped the list of 'highest person with twitter followers', with over one hundred and eight million (108,787,220) followers. Meaning that with a piece of technology, the flexibility of solving problems 'have been solved'. At the heels of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, comes out other services aided by technology like Fintech, age-tech etc. KPMG reported that "global investments in Fintech remained steady at over $31b, year-overyear,and that "Nigeria has over 50 fintech start-ups that make up the fintech ecosystem with investment exceeding $200 million between 2014 and 2015. While the volumes of transaction keep growing, the likes systemSpec's Remita, Interswitch, Paystack are leading the space." Remita alone processes over ...

This is Ramsey Nouah and Genevive Nnaji. They are two of the most popular African personalities in the world as far as film goes ( Genevieve Nnaji  and  Ramsey Nouah ). They are Nigerians. They embody everything about Nigeria: hard work, tenacity, sheer power of the will, and extroversion. Now, these two Nigerians helped bring Nigeria to the rest of Africa. Their movies penetrated national borders and were shown in nearly every TV on the continent. Just by dubbing their tapes and reselling them for a dollar on the streets, bootleggers in Nairobi and other cities made enough money to live on. Individually, Genevive, 40 years old, has starred in 80 movies spanning 30 years of acting, concluding with Lionheart in 2018, which she also wrote and produced (acquired by Netflix for $3 million). Ramsey Nouah, 48 years old, has starred in about 50 movies spanning 2 decades. Of course, both of them have won the AMA and shattered other records in Nollywood. They made ...

Senator Elisha Abbo, (yes that's him, you all know him) has allegedly called Governor Ahmadu Fintiri a liar and a dictator when it became apparent that his supporters (Abbo's) had failed to clinched Local government election tickets in Adamawa State PDP primary election. Abbo was said to have been angered and accused the PDP and the Governor of heavy interference in selection of party ticket bearers. But in a swift reaction, Gov. Fintiri's supporters are quick in reminding the attention-seeker-Senator that Adamawa politics is not a sex-toy shop. ENJOY: I don’t know your advisers (that’s if you actually have) but trust me, they are doing a terrible job. Do you think that the people advising you are genuinely concerned about you and your progress? Gov. Fintiri is human, just like you and I. He makes mistakes too just like everyone, but calling him a dictator is out of context. What has he done to show that he is a dictator? We all know that everyone makes unpopular...

Let me tell you a personal story: It is mandatory in Nigeria, for every fresh university graduate to serve the father land voluntarily for a year, in his or her area of expertise, in the national youth service corps (NYSC)… a paramilitary one year service to the nation, to bring about unity amongst Nigerians and to learn of cultures and traditions different from the one you were born into. Graduates are made to preselecte 4 states mostly outside there geopolitical zone for this exercise. Since I was born and educated in the south (Bayelsa / Delt a  states) I had to select likely states in the north and western parts of the country. Some time January 2017, I got a message on my phone, reminding me to be in the orientation camp sometime that same month, I felt afraid immediately, the time and date was not the issue here but the location was more important to I and my family, for it was Plateau state... A state I didn't even choose. I was Posted to plateau state ,  the...