CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS OF NON-FOOTBALL SPORTS, NFS

In the last twenty years, Nigeria has not won any major football competition. In these last twenty years, Nigeria and indeed corporate Nigeria have invested massively in football thereby sustaining that old assumption that football is the only sport that promotes, unites us or that it would help sell our goods and promotes our political and corporate image.

(2) That has not been the case. Instead of that massive investment to yield the anticipated dividends, three things have happened:

(i) we are mostly hypertensive when our football team plays – notice too, that our football teams (male and female) were not at the World Cup in South Africa nor at the London 2012 Olympics respectively and in Russia 2018 Nigeria did  not go beyond the group stage.

(ii) investment in football has not always sold any goods and services, and

      (iii) Nigeria has unwittingly enriched only the practitioners and those who run football with our massive investment.

     (iv) other sports like Boxing, Athletics, tennis, golf, hockey, swimming and weightlifting have brought Nigeria glory , fame and laurels http://saharareporters.com/2017/05/02/nigeria-and-britain-fight-over-who-claims-anthony-joshua-world-heavyweight-boxing, https://www.pulse.ng/sports/dtigers-nigeria-beat-caf-114-69-to-qualify-for-fiba-world-cup-id8860280.html, https://www.pulse.ng/sports/other_sports/d-tigress-nigeria-beat-argentina-75-70-in-2018-fiba-world-cup-id8901131.html, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/nigeria-sports-news/279930-table-tennis-aruna-quadri-makes-history-to-win-first-nigeria-open-title.html, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/278853-asaba-2018-okagbare-in-action-as-nigeria-wins-three-more-gold-medals.html

(3) But there are corporate bodies like yours that have invested in other sports apart from football. Or perhaps you want to invest in non-football sports either as an expression of your corporate social responsibility, CSR, or you desire to promote your goods and services with sports like basketball, boxing, polo, golf, hockey, swimming, weightlifting and etcetera?

(4) Bob MajiriOghene Communications wants to work with you on this.  We want to collaborate with you. However, we can only support and partner with you only if you let us help you tell everyone what you want to do, what you have done, and what sport, apart from football you are keen to support either as an expression of your CSR, or as a tool to promote your brand or your company or institution. As the 2019 elections draw near, this opportunity gives emerging political figures the chance to brand themselves to the teeming young voters out there as a great investor/supporter of non football sports, NFS.

(5)Bob MajiriOghene Communications, a foremost media organisation/consult will collaborate with mainstream media to tell/present stories about corporate institutions and individuals that have supported non-football sports as an expression of their CSR, or want to use that publication to sell their brand or score a crucial political point. These features will run weekly.

(6) To participate, simply send us your corporate profile or bio or photos or and arrange to send us to any location that eloquently expresses your involvement in any NFS. All you need do is pick up the bills for placing your involvement in non-football sports on the newspaper and a token as our editorial fee which you pay AFTER your NFS has been published. 

(7) We want to congratulate you on/for this key decision to promote and sponsor a NFS, and include your organisation or person in the role-call of the who-is-who in the development of NFS in Nigeria.

(8) For further details, please call Bob on 08156171133, +2349092194428 or email: majirioghene@yahoo.com, majirioghene@gmail.com or Austin Oboh, assistant editor (Daily) Daily Independent Newspaper, Lagos, on 08056381188, 08094847369.

DEVELOPMENT MATTERS - Who will tell this to Obaseki?

Towards the end of last month, and early this month of September, I plied the Benin-Auchi road. The first was to Abuja while the second was to the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Apart from the fear which grips your heart when you suddenly find yourself head to head with an oncoming vehicle because the driver is trying to evade a dangerous pothole, there is the general sense of dismay at the imagery which this road has with our direction as a nation. Investigations reveal that this is a Federal road, and the chap at the Federal House of Representatives in whose jurisdiction this road falls has assured that the contract for the repair, rehabilitation of the road has been awarded. He said the contractors are waiting for the rains to subside to resume repairs.

And that is where the shame really starts – not the fatigue or deaths from ghastly accidents on these roads – no, not from any of these.At this point in the life of our country, nobody who values the importance of the lives of her people, and the special place that our roads have in alleviating poverty should give this kind of excuse. 

It means that our people will continue to suffer and die just because of ordinary rainfall!  In other parts of the world where government places a premium on the lives of her people, they defy/harness/subdue the elements. They spare no expense and do everything in their power to make the lives of their people meaningful. Is the extra cost of repairing a road during the rains more than the lives of those which we stand to lose by waiting until the rains are done pouring?

If you regularly ply this road, you might just notice that a very good reason for its bad state is that it sustains a vibrant inter-state commercial enterprise. The lorries bring in watermelon, fish, chicken, onions, beans, yams, cows and fruits into Benin City from the North – and return empty. Some persons told me recently that they return empty because the comparative advantage of the ‘trade’ between Edo/Delta states and the North is tilted very much in favour of the states in the North where those agricultural produce come from. What this means is that while the states in the North where those agricultural produce come from smile to the banks from selling their goods within Nigeria, our people in Edo/Delta are generally laid back, as oil producing states ‘enjoying’ oil wealth.

What to do? At the short-term, the government must fix that road, rain or no rain, and then begin to look for ways of taxing those Northern traders. Governor Obaseki might want to also visit the Edo ADP premises and the roads around there to see how beautifully abandoned the place is. The one leading to Ekenwan road from the Airport needs attention sir. In the long term, the governors of Edo and Delta states, and indeed those of the entire Niger Delta Region may want to embark on a peer review programme to the North to ascertain how the North suddenly became the food supplier of the Niger Delta and the South-South states of Nigeria.

Rave Reviews for PATHWAYS FOR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATORS

Those who already have a glimpse of Bob MajiriOghene Communications' newest title PATHWAYS FOR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATORS, have availed us pre-production reviews. We will share these reviews here as an appetizer to a document which seeks to help both newbies and the veteran hone their communications skills with a bias for development;''

Here goes:

Critical Reviews

Lekan Otunfodunrin, Online editor, The Nation Newspaper, Nigeria. - Generally, I think it is a welcome resource for professionals in this sector and students who need to learn about the skills required for development communications. There are adequate examples illustrating the points made in the sections.

Sam Kargbo, executive director, Civil Empowerment & Rule of Law Support Initiative, CERLSI.  - This is a work for posterity. Strong analyses. I recommend it to budding as well as established development communicators.

Emmanuel Okunmwendia, editor-in-chief, Alltimepost, USA.  - This book has filled the void often found with documentation from development organisations from Nigeria and Africa.

Dr Emman Shehu, director, International Institute for Journalism, Asokoro, Abuja - Etemiku charts a course in development communications with Pathways...

Betty Abah, executive director, Centre for Children’s Health, Education, Orientation and Protection CEE-HOPE - Powerful…I took time and read everything…so rich in information! Kudos!

Tony Abolo, media consultant & CEO Tonbole Production – This is a rich contribution to Development Communications. It is a hands-on and professional perspective which makes it easy for any newcomer to find a way to handle the task of development communications and make a tremendous success of whatever the assignment is.

Simit Bhagat, Program Officer Asia at Thompson Reuters Foundation – Like its name, this is a pathway for new and experienced hands in the development sector…very well written.

Jennifer Onyejekwe, communications advisor, Chemonics, Nigeria - As democracy becomes more entrenched in developing countries, the importance of the work done by communication for development professionals heightens. This book provides the necessary guide to new entrants in the communication for development field and a refresher to the old hands. A good read!

   

Bob MajiriOghene Communications introduces new title!

Our editor in chief Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku is an author of books for children. His debut, Mamud & the Moringa Tree was a best-seller. It is a book for children aged 5-14. It is a story about a boy's friendship with a tree. The theme focuses on the symbiotic relationship that exists between man and nature and between nature and man. It carries an appeal for people to stop chopping down trees for their energy needs. The book also highlights the nutritional properties of the Moringa tree.

https://amab.com.ng/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=683

The latest, Spikey…story of an African dog is an intriguing story of the radical change which took place in the character of an African dog after its owners showed it care and love after it became sick to the point of death. The manuscript is being prepared for publication with gray-scale illustrations to resolve the theme and bring out the essence of our relationships for nature and our four-legged friends. The book will be good for children from ages 9 – 12.

You can book your copies in advance from Bob MajiriOghene Communications, +2348156171133

BM Communications Brochure

This is our brochure for information and enlightenment purposes. Kindly get in touch with us for all editorial services
majirioghene@yahoo.com, +2348156171133

Stop Secret companies from helping corrupt Nigerians hide stolen wealth

Press Release

6^th April, 2016

Stop Secret companies from helping corrupt Nigerians hide stolen wealth

Benin City, Edo State…Recent revelations in the Wikileaks of financial corruption around the globe, daubed the Panama Papers, indicate that about 140 politicians and public officials, including 12 current and former world leaders have used more than 214,000 offshore entities to hide the ownership of their assets. Names of Nigerians already being probed and tried for corruption and who have used their positions in public office to steal from the common purse have featured in the recent cesspool.  I am inclined to believe that the late General Sanni Abacha used the same methods to loot public funds and hide them in offshore havens in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United States.  Nigeria must take proactive measures now.

The Panama revelations have come at a time in Nigeria when very lean financial emoluments accruing from crude oil sales have nearly crippled our economy, subjected the average Nigerian to passing nights at fuel stations and perennial power outages.

‘I call on the Nigerian government to review our anti-money laundering laws according to global best practices, to curtail the ability of politically exposed persons to use their positions to siphon public funds to tax havens. If the government can at least develop and make public its asset recovery blueprint, it would go a long way in sending an initial message to the comity of nations that Nigeria is ready to walk the talk in the fight against corruption’.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ, the organization which investigated the Panama scandal, 140 politicians and public officials from around the world, current and former world leaders include prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the president of Ukraine, and the king of Saudi Arabia, and more than 214,000 offshore entities appeared in the leak and is connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories.

‘Since governments all over the world including the US, UK and India have started to respond to this monumental fraud,  it would not be out of place to ask President Buhari to order the EFCC to investigate Nigerians whose names have featured in the Panama Paper Leak. We ask the international community as well to assist Africa in overhauling an international tax system which helps the few rich to be richer and impoverishes the poor’.

Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku

Editor-in-chief

Bob MajiriOghene Communications

majirioghene@yahoo.com 

.

They buy and sell women and girls?

There are these four stickers produced by Ajegunle Community Projects, pasted on my door. They make me reflect on the status of womanhood in Nigeria. The stickers encourage everyone to create a culture that says No to violence against women. The second sticker is a quip. It says: what a woman cannot do cannot be done. I find the third and fourth stickers making very serious statements that I think you and I should consider.  Real men don’t abuse women and he is educated and successful, respects in the community, is deeply religious but he beats his wife. There is yet another one ascribed to the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC).  

 It reads, “If you educate a woman you educate the whole world”. Adult women make up the largest group of sex trafficking victims, followed by the girl children, although a small percentage of men and boys are trafficked into the sex industry as well. Nearly every country in the world is involved in the illegal and lucrative business.

But what really is human trafficking? It is an illegal form of slavery that involves the transport or trade of people for the purpose of work. It involves both sexual and labour exploitation of the victims. It’s a situation where victims are taken from all that is familiar to him or her to an environment or isolated habitation for cruel means. Extreme poverty is a common bond among trafficking victims. Most large industries use women and children for work in the factories at night making one to think that they are helping families to survive by placing meals on their tables. Some are tricked or lured with offers of legitimate and legal work as shop assistants or waitresses. Others are promised marriage, educational opportunities and a better life. Still others are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents who cannot stand hunger. 

It has caused a lasting mental and emotional effect on the victims as well as the physical well being of women and girls. Beyond the physical abuse, trafficked women suffer extreme emotional stress, including shame, grief, fear, distrust and suicidal thoughts. Victims often experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and with that, acute anxiety, depression and insomnia. Many victims turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. Women and girls are typically trafficked into the commercial sex industry, i.e. prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation. Victims are sometimes taken away from home for false assumptions that the person is a witch or wizard. They are often tortured, beaten, caged or imprison as means of punishment. 

These women or girls are forcibly raped by the traffickers themselves in order to initiate the cycle of abuse and degradation. Some women are drugged in order to prevent them from escaping and are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy thus help in spreading HIV and other STDs to their young victims and creating localized disease epidemics. The largest number of victims of human traffickers is from Africa, Asia, and Southern America. However, according to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), the greatest numbers of traffickers are from Asia, followed by Central and Southeastern Europe, and Western Europe. But a trafficking in persons report, 2014, published by the United States Embassy, Abuja, said that Nigeria is a veritable source and destination for the trafficking of women. The Report further states that Nigerian traffickers rely on threats of voodoo curses to control Nigerian victims and force them into situations of prostitution or labor.  Nigerian women and girls are taken from Nigeria to other West and Central African countries, as well as to South Africa, where they are exploited for the same purposes. Children from West African countries—primarily Benin, Ghana, and Togo—are forced to work in Nigeria, and many are subjected to hazardous labor in Nigeria’s granite mines. Nigerian women and girls—primarily from Benin City in Edo State—are subjected to forced prostitution in Italy, while Nigerian women and girls from other states are subjected to forced prostitution in Spain, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Russia. Nigerian women and children are also recruited and transported to destinations in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where they are held captive in the sex trade or in forced labor. Nigerian gangs subject large numbers of Nigerian women to forced prostitution in the Czech Republic and Italy, and the European Police Organization (EUROPOL) has identified Nigerian organized crime related to trafficking in persons as one of the largest law enforcement challenges to European governments. The Report on trafficking in persons 2014 recommends a passage and implementation of the draft anti-trafficking bill, which would amend the anti-trafficking law to give prosecutors more authority, and restricts the ability of judges to offer fines in lieu of prison time during sentencing. It also said that it is important for Nigeria to vigorously pursue trafficking investigations, prosecute trafficking offenses, and adequately sentence convicted traffickers, including imprisonment whenever appropriate.

We support these recommendations and call for the protection of the image of the victims. People who sell people must be brought to justice.  We must discourage parents, guardians against introducing theirs girls and women into such reprehensible business.  Our government should monitor and take quick action on any information from other sources. Our government should provide cash incentives for innovative projects benefiting women and girls.  I also want to encourage the Soroptimists to try and continue to directly and indirectly help victims and potential victims with their projects which provide women with economic tools and skills to achieve financial empowerment and independence. National and international institutions should attempt to regulate and enforce anti-trafficking legislation. 

Okpolokpo is assistant editor, Bob MajiriOghene Communications, Benin City.