NEWS: 20 Million Youths For 2015

January 2012 was remarkable in the history of Nigeria. It was the month that sent a message to those whose core merchandise in statecraft is insensitivity in policy formation and implementation. That month, Nigerians proved those who used to dismiss them as cowards wrong. Our legendary docility gave way to participation. Our penchant for not caring to know how our resources are massively looted in government was jettisoned for a new found love for knowing: knowing how we get our revenues and how we expend same; knowing how much litres of fuel we consume per day; knowing the exact amount it costs us to feed our president. It was this quest for knowing, and insistence on having things done properly, that pushed us to the streets to protest the blank increment of pump price of fuel. It was hugely successful.
Those eruptions were initiated by mostly young people. Under the aegis of #OccupyNigeria, youths planned such protests that staggered the establishment and jolted the pessimists. We have thought it through, and seen that the battle to reclaim Nigeria demands a new approach. We have opted for a continuation of the revolution we started with #OccupyNigeria. It has a new name: #20MillionYouthsFor2015.
What are we about? We are an assemblage of young Nigerians whose primary aim is to change the course of governance, not from the sidelines this time, but from inside the system. We plan to build a membership of, at least, 20 million people -from every tribe and religion – who will participate in educating Nigerians about the need to destroy the existing order that is fast running our country out of existence and instituting a new order that will birth equity, fairness, justice and development for all. We will be partisan because politics is too serious a business to leave for the politicians alone. We will participate fully in the politics of this country. Our army of 20 million people will organize themselves, pick intelligent, courageous, transparent and detribalized candidates for all positions in the 2015 elections and run their campaigns from ground up. There is no age limit, but leadership of the movement will be restricted to young people alone.
We are tired of just becoming critics. Aluta Continua isn’t one of our favorite quotes. We won’t continue with the struggle. WE SIMPLY WILL END THE STRUGGLE by ending the grip of the corrupt in our polity. We owe our generation the duty of saving this country, building it to become a force to be respected in the world, and passing down to our children a nation they can be proud of.
What makes us different from regular NGOs? Most NGOs are mere observers. We will not just observe. We’ll become actors in the system. We will build an entirely new country beginning from our internal processes. We have in our roadmap a system that makes power of the movement resident in the local communities. Our strength is in our membership system that replicates itself. It is called the CELL system. Every member MUST belong to a cell. Ownership is by everybody. Every leadership position is by popular votes. Bribery is abhorred and punishable by expulsion. Every member will be made to understand the importance of working hard for the movement. Our core duty is education. But we will not educate people from afar. We will bring them into our fold and educate them on citizenship participation. We have an enormous pool of human resources with which to achieve this aim.
Movement Ownership: Every member is an owner. The rules do not give room for one-man ownership. We have put every structure in place to make it impossible for the movement to become a one-man movement.
Modus Operandi: We’ll run like a world-class corporation. We have set up our system to operate like a frictionless machine, with the speed of an insurgency and the efficiency of a corporation. We’ll take advantage of the youth population in the country. We will aggressively recruit members. In fact, outreach is part of our rules.
We have found the solution. All we need to do is begin implementation. And that implementation commences the moment you sign on. It begins with you!
Our road map is available for people who are interested.

Register online at: my.20millionyouthsfor2015.org/register1976.h

Facebook: www.Faceboook.com/20millionyouthsfor2015

Twitter: @20millionyouths;

Email: Info@20millionyouthsfor2015.org

REVELATION: We Pushed Jonathan To Remove Fuel Subsidy - BABANGIDA

It was revelations galore at a public gathering in Lagos on Monday as Nigerians were told that all the 36 State Governors, without exception, pushed President Goodluck Jonathan to remove fuel subsidy.

The disclosure was made by non other than the...

Governor of Niger State and Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, Mua’zu Aliyu Babangida, while delivering a lecture on ‘Governance, Social Conflict and the imperatives of Communal Harmony’.

“When the issue of fuel subsidy came up, all of us, I mean all the governors with no exception, literarily ‘pushed’ the President to remove the subsidy on fuel. This is because before the monthly allocation is given, lots of deductions had taken place and little is left for the states and local governments.”

He however said the Governors had to stop the pressure when some politicians started committing treason in the name of “Occupy Nigeria”.

The outspoken Governor further decried the current situation whereby some States earned more allocations than the others, saying such development had placed some States in “paradise” while others are in “purgatory”.

GOSSIP: Yesterday's Bombing - Boko Haram or Church Rivalry?

Seven people were Sunday morning arrested in Bauchi state for reportedly attempting to carry out a bombing on a COCIN church. The group which was caught in Miya Barkatai village in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, was said to be in possession of weapons and locally made explosives which could be operated manually.

Investigations have reportedly led the police to believe the suspects belong to a  rival group within the church.

The police commissioner, Ikechukwu  Aduba said “It was a rival group within the church that decided to attack this morning. When we got the report, we sent our men, who arrested about seven members of the group. The group had something like explosives, but we are waiting for the bomb experts to confirm our suspicion, because sometimes after investigation it may turn out to be something else and not explosives”.

However, yesterday, the dreaded Boko Haram sect, which is known for its extremist Islamist views, claimed responsibility for the attack. This throws up a lot of possible scenarios – has Boko Haram been claiming responsibility for terrorism it had no hand in? And have random robberies and other acts of criminality been carried out and hidden under the cover of the Boko Haram ideology?

culled from Lekan Olanrewajufrom via Ynaija

Share your thoughts below.

ARTICLE: How To Compose Music - Creative Ideas

Starting a composition is a difficult task. Getting your inspirations, thinking creatively, applying your creative thoughts to your music and supplementing your ideas with additional composition are all difficult tasks to accomplish.

For starters, your current state of mind will greatly affect the music you write – whether you feel angry, joyful or sad chances are your musical composition will in some way reflect this mood.

Different times of day and different seasons affect your composing as well as current affairs and any stress’s you might have.

The variety of factors that can influence your composition periods are immense and hopefully these few pointers will demonstrate some methods of breaking out of the psychological restraints placed on you.

• Colours – If you are looking to compose a piece of music based around a certain mood find a relevant colour that matches for instance orange gives the impression of energy and drive. Eventually you will learn to bias your mood to suit the composition you are aiming for.
• Character – it is well known for actors to really get inside the character they are portraying through their acting. Understanding key emotions and various behaviours help the actors ‘ live ‘ as their proposed character. If you are creating a theme for a character (think darth vaders theme tune) you need to be demonstrating and describing that character through sound. If you follow the same process as an actor would you will eventually unravel hidden details that will help refine your composition, make it more realist and detailed and allow for it to be much more creative and expressive.
• Nature – a lot of creativity and inspiration can be got by observing nature. From birds communicating through a song like speech to the rustle of leaves in a summer breeze. Trying to emulate nature is an excellent way to begin a sound-scope – or incorporating nature into a character theme for example to express an angelic quality, singing like the birds (fast trills on piccolo or glissandos on the violin)
• Memories – another great source to tap into is your memories. A lot of emotion will go into compositions that are personal in some way to yourself. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your past – try to imagine the memory in great detail – sounds, smells, colours the weather – anything that will give you a good image and story to compose about.

These are just a few sources for inspiration – use your imagination – it has never ending possibilities!

With so many possibilities to compose about and now that your creativity is running, the next area to discuss is music theory.
The last thing that you want to happen is to have all these wonderfully creative ideas for your composition but being held back by the lack of musical knowledge.

A rugby player could develop his passing techniques and his scrum techniques but if he doesn’t know the rules of the game he won’t be able to perform during a game.

Although music composition and as a whole is not bound by any rules you still need the knowledge of writing music – in the same way as a poet needs a knowledge of his language to write a poem.

Some of the key areas you should know about and be constantly revising are:

• The Staff, Bar Lines, Clefs, Time Signatures.
• Note Values, Rests, Phrasing, Rhythm
• Articulation, Instrument Specific Techniques (pizz, con sord)
• Major, Minor, Diminished, Pentatonic, Diatonic Scales
• Modes
• Chords, Extensions, Inversions, Sequences, Arpeggios


Of course it is not absolutely essential you know about all of this but it will mean that your creativity is weakened due to lack of a means to fully communicate. 

Use music theory books – go through them and notate comments on the pages, take notes on to blank flash cards to memorize scales and extended chords, use past music theory exam papers to test and analyze your knowledge and then act on your weak areas, purchase a aural perception CD to recognize different cadences and the general sounds achieved from different combinations of notes and chords – there are many ways to learn all of this but find the way that you are comfortable with and stick to it.

Finally the last piece of advice in this article is to keep your composing active.

Aim to compose a short piece of music each day, maybe before you go to bed you can reflect on your day through a composition. Mix it up – compose for different orchestrations and different abilities.

Composing is challenging but by keeping active like this will greatly benefit you and your compositions – and you never know – you may accidentally stumble upon your masterpiece!


Enjoy and Share.

NEWS: 9ice for House of Rep 2015

Popular Nigerian artiste, Abolore Adigun Akande, who is well known as 9ice, has hinted on his intention to run for the position of House of Representative at the next round of elections in 2015.

9ice gave this hint yesterday while on a Television programme in Lagos, where he was a guest. 

According to him, he is currently running an online programme in Public Administration at Capella University, Minneapolis, United States of America. He also said that once he completes it, he will get a law degree.

All these, according to the ex-husband of Toni Payne, are to equip him for the job of being an Honourable at the National Assembly in Abuja.

9ice shot into limelight with his hit single, Gongo Aso, which became a household song in 2008.

CELEB GIST: Bobbi Kristina Hospitalized: 19-year-old Daughter of Whitney Houston Rushed to the Hospital

Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina was rushed to hospital Sunday suffering from stress, a day after the death of her pop star mother, police and a family friend said.

“She was taken to hospital and treated for stress,” the friend told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity after media reports that the 19-year-old was taken to the Cedars Sinai hospital in Beverly Hills.

Bobbi Kristina is Houston’s daughter from her stormy 15-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown. She was taken by ambulance from the Beverly Hilton hotel, where Houston was found dead on Saturday, police said.

“She was having some anxiety and she was transported to Cedars Sinai” hospital, a spokesman for the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) told AFP, giving no further details.

The TMZ celebrity news website reported that various prescription pills were found in Houston’s hotel room, quoting family members as saying she used Xanax, which is often used to treat anxiety.

The news about Bobbi Kristina came as Houston’s family broke their silence on the tragedy, issuing a statement saying they were devastated by the “unimaginable tragedy” of the singer’s death.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Whitney. This is an unimaginable tragedy and we will miss her terribly. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support from her fans and friends,” said the statement.

Houston, a superstar in the 1980s and 1990s with hits including “I Will Always Love You,” was found dead in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton on the eve of the annual Grammys award show Sunday.

The star’s mother Cissy Houston, a gospel singer, reportedly spoke to her daughter a short time before she died.

source:Emirate News

CELEB GOSSIP: 9ice Impregnates Ex-Wife, Toni Payne

Abolore Akande otherwise known as 9ice disclosed in an interview recently that he can still revive the love relationship between him and the mother of his son, Toni Payne, many people did not know where he was heading to. 

Also, it is common knowledge in Lagos that...

Toni Payne herself has been looking for every opportunity to settle their issues through friends and family and this has been paying off secretly.

But the situation is now becoming clearer, after-all. From all indications, she has finally succeeded in getting back into the loving arms of 9ice with tales of her being pregnant for the singer again.

According to an insider: "Toni Payne is eight weeks pregnant for 9ice and that was the reason he disclosed to the general public through an interview he granted, that he can still live with her as husband and wife in spite of their mudslinging on the pages of newspapers." it is also disclosed that the love birds have been seeing each other secretly at the Alapomeji residents even having to sleep over on some occasions. 

NEWS: Reps Slam Oil Marketers over Fuel Subsidy Scam

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Subsidy Regime yesterday came hard on some importers of petroleum products for deliberately creating loopholes to benefit from the subsidy regime. Although some of the marketers have earlier been reportedly indicted in an audit report by KPMG, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Farouk Lawan, said that there was a huge differential in the claims received by the marketers in 2010 and 2011.

The KPMG report was said to have accused Dee Jones Petroleum and Vitol Oil of negligence and illegally creating loopholes to benefit from the subsidy payment. Managing Director of Dee Jones Petroleum, Mr. Samuel Chukwudi Eze, had told the committee that the firm received N2.74bn for subsidy payment in 2009, N4.38bn in 2010 and N12bn in 2011, attributing the huge differentials to the high exchange rate in 2011.

Another marketer, Vitol Oil, was accused of conniving with oil marketers who did not have any storage facility to use their tank farms as if they were owned by the company and hence tricking the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, into giving import allocation based on such facilities.

The committee was, therefore, constrained to mandate both firms to avail it of all records of the bill of lading and invoices of the said payments made within the period. It also ordered the firms to provide documents of their existing relationship and dealings with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Lawan expressed concern over the failure of the chief executives of some of the indicted companies to appear before the committee, stressing that henceforth, proxies would not be allowed.

He directed all the marketers to submit their certificates of incorporation, letters of credits, letters of allocations, bills of lading, invoices, quantities of products imported and their countries of origin and evidence of payments. The committee also expressed reservations that most of the companies were owned by people who are politically exposed and have close links with people in government, and warned them to desist from submitting doctored documents to the committee.

Managing Director of Brittania Oil Nigeria Ltd, Mrs. Uju Ifedika, told the committee that although her company would soon embark on the construction of refineries in Nigeria, the failure of the Federal Government to ensure the constant supply of crude to privately-built refineries was anti-investment.

source