WHO RUNS THE WORLD?- MARK ZUCKERBERG!

Berlin Germany Feb 25

 2016 was Mark Zuckerberg's 'Year of running'. The CEO of Facebook pledged to run 365 miles in 2016.  He continued to jog in every City visited and past iconic landmarks surpassing his 365 mile target.  Below are some more of his pictures as gotten from his Facebook page

Barcelona, Spain Feb 21

Beijing China March 17

Lagos Nigeria, 

Rome Italy, August 29

FG PROPOSES TO OPEN ICT UNIVERSITY IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2017

The Federal Government has proposed to open an Information and Technology University sometime in the first quarter of 2017. This will be done in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission. It will also help earn foreign exchange for the country Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, disclosed this on Monday, the 26th of December 2016 in Abuja while speaking at a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum. “By the grace of God, in the next three to six months, we should have established in Nigeria an ICT university which will be first of its kind in Africa. “This is with the sole purpose of providing training environment and training facilities to make the industry have enough skilled manpower in various sub sectors of the ICT sector. “I am happy to say that we already have what is called the Digital Bridge Institute which is for short term training programmes in six locations across the country and we hope to transform this institute into the ICT University of Nigeria. “I am already talking to a lot of operators at the international level, Facebook, Motorola, Ericson, all of them. We are encouraging them to come and adopt the university campuses as their own.

“They can bring in money and bring in faculties and a lot of logistics to assist in training Nigerians and we can now export these trained skilled facilitators to African countries to work,” said Shittu

You can read the full story on Pulse Tech

RIVERS STATE FIRST LADY SHARES LOVE STORY WITH GOVERNOR NYESOM WIKE ON THEIR 17TH ANNIVERSARY

Rivers State First Lady, Justice Suzette Nyesom-Wike shared her love story with her husband Governor Nyesom Wike on Facebook. In celebration of their 17^th wedding anniversary yesterday, the beautiful First Lady, who is not shy of PDA with her hubby, recounted how she met her husband while in the University and their journey so far.

"It's funny how life sometimes takes us where we never plan or expect to go. For three years, we sat in the same lecture rooms and halls but never passed a word between each other. It was only after I chanced upon his law note books in the possession of a mutual classmate that everything changed.

At that time, the law books in our library were expired and in most cases not available and we had to find other means to report our Nigerian case law. Most of us resorted to copying from others who had lawyer friends they visited in chambers and while there, used their law reports/books.

Thankfully, the situation is different today as not only has our Governor completed the long, abandoned building of the Faculty of Law, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, but he has also furnished it and equipped the law library with modern books, law reports and even e-resources. The current students there are lucky to benefit from this upgrade as theirs is now a standard Faculty of Law.

It surprised me then, to realize that he was indeed a serious minded student and not as I had earlier perceived. His notes were up to date as he took time to report more cases than were cited by our lecturers, which necessarily meant better grades if you can put them all down in your answer sheets during tests and examinations.

I immediately coveted that notebook and pleaded with my classmate to loan me the book after she had finished, promising to return it in two days. She refused. Another request with the promise to return it in one day as I was prepared to sit up all night copying those cases, was declined . My last plea to photocopy the notebook and return it immediately fell on deaf ears. She told me to seek the permission of the owner, with the belief that I wouldn't dare.

And of course, she was right to think that as she knew that we had never once spoken to each other. At that point, I inquired from her, his name. She replied simply: "Wike". I wondered how odd that name sounded as I'd never heard it before. I also wondered how to approach him as I believed that he disliked me as much as I did him.

But the desire to have that fully loaded note book was too strong. I could not give up without at least, making an attempt. As he passed by us, I called his name as I had just learnt: "excuse me, Wike". He froze and I noticed his shock and disbelief. I started putting my words together, expecting him to scowl at me, thinking in his head - "Oh! So you have decided to talk to me now that you need my notebook eh?'

He didn't let me complete my request. He caught the drifrt so fast and he spoke to our mutual classmate, telling her to give me his note book after she had finished with it and he walked off. It was now my turn to be in shock! After I recovered, I started putting the heat on our classmate to give me the book asap.

One borrowed book led to another and yet another borrowed book and soon after, we became friends. I got to see the hardworking, focused, studios and serious minded person he was and still is. Before Iong, there was a marriage proposal. I declined as I didn't see myself as the marrying kind but he wouldn't give up.

He said to me that the moment he first set his eyes on me when he joined us in our second year out of the more than five years I was in that institution, he knew already that I was going to be his wife. That got me even more confused. Having noted all the qualities I had noticed in him, I knew that he was a man with very great prospects or potentials for success, as I'd told him then.

I therefore decided to accept his proposal and took a chance, believing that he would make me a happy woman. Today, the 19th of December, marks the 17th year we have been together as a married couple. He is a man that has exhibited excellent taste .... no wonder he chose and continues to choose me .

He promised to give me the world at that time but he has given me much more than I could have ever asked for. Our three adorable children are a testimony to that fact and I can't tell you enough, how fulfilled I feel.

Please permit me to use this medium to share some of the life lessons I have learnt in these past 17 years of marriage, especially in reaching out to encourage our youths who have skewed perceptions about marriage.

You have to make the right decision about your marriage. I made a decision to become a happy wife 17 years ago, by contributing to build a happy marriage. I learnt that marriage in itself doesn't make you happy. You have to make your marriage a happy one. Marriage is not what you get. Marriage is what you bring, what you give and what you do.

There is no perfect marriage or perfect couples. Rather, when two imperfect friends honour and celebrate each other, they are empowered to build up a great blossoming marriage with flourishing children.

Marriage, it has been said, is likened to an empty box that couples should labour to fill up with all the good things they want in their marriage - friendship, understanding, respect, love, etc. Love does not come packaged with any marriage. Love is in people and people put love in marriage. People infuse romance in marriage. Same thing with all the other values.

A couple must practice the art and form the habit of giving, loving, serving, forgiving, rewarding, praising, and just keeping the marriage box full always. If you take more out and put less in, the box empties out.

Let us challenge ourselves to work harder at achieving happier marriages. It will lead to more harmonious homes and communities and eventually a more prosperous and peaceful Rivers State. That is how powerful and endowed married couples are.

I recall, after we became engaged, attending a conference at Christ Church in December, 1996 where Selwyn Hughes, the initiator of the daily devotional called "every day with Jesus" featured and spoke to the young ones (at that time) about marriage. I bought his book then titled: Marriage as God intended.

Rev. Mossy Madugba authographed the book on his behalf and on my request as it wasn't possible for me to meet the author after the occasion. He wrote these words on the first page - "Blossom where you are planted". Indeed, I can say without any fear of any contradiction, that by the grace of God, I have blossomed and will keep blossoming where the Lord, God has planted me.

Today, on this occasion of our 17th marriage anniversary, I celebrate my hardworking classmate, friend, lover and husband .... Nyesom Ezenbunwo Wike CON. We have been through thick, thin and thinner but just like old wine, it keeps getting better with time.

Happy 17th Marriage Anniversary to you, my love. May we forever stay young in each others eyes."

Happy wedding anniversary to His Excellency and the amiable First Lady. Here are some of the pictures

CBN SET TO LEGALISE BITCOIN

CBN and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) have set up a committee to study the trending digital currency, Bitcoin.  Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, Managing Director of the commission revealed this at the 2016 Workshop for Financial Correspondents in Kaduna.

The theme of the workshop is “Economic Recession and the Nigerians Banking Sector: Opportunities, Challenges and the way Forward”.

He said “We will look at its advantages and disadvantages, what it means for the payment system and what it means for safety and security of customers.

“We will also look at what it means for money laundering, anti-corruption, crime and measurement of money /near money instrument for the economy.

 According to Ibrahim, in Europe and the United States, it had gained traction and some of the leading banks in Europe had also adopted their own versions of bitcoins.

“Some of the central banks have also adopted it and are seriously doing everything possible to bring in the emergence of this invisible products.

“If you are a subscriber, you only know yourselves and they give you a bit of the bitcoin and in some countries, you can convert it to cash.

“You can make payments with it because it has been recognised and one of the famous ex-chief executive of Barclays PLC, Antony Jenkins, have joined the group’s board of directors,” Ibrahim said He said that a lot of Nigerians had already started patronising bitcoin, stressing that ‘it had started to creep in and nobody could stop it. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks. Nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Its promoters aver that it is more resistant to wild inflation, devaluation, import policies, currency fixing and corrupt banks. It is a true floating currency whose value is determined by demand and supply

MMM launchs in Kenya and Ghana, another ponzi scheme NNN opens in Nigeria

Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM) has replicated its service in Kenya and Ghana. The scheme which is highly popular in Nigeria surfaced in Nigeria’s neighbor approximately 48 hours after its activities in Nigeria was suspended for a month. Wife of Chuddy Ugorji, a leading MMM Nigeria promoter, wrote an open letter to participants, seeking to calm frayed nerves. Some Nigerians however see the launch in other countries merely few hours after the freeze in Nigeria as a problem.   Meanwhile, it seems Nigeria is a ripe ground for ponzi schemes as a new scheme NNN has been launched. It operates similar to the frozen scheme with an offer of 35% return on investment

WHY PORT-HARCOURT NEEDS CAMEROUN’S RECENTLY LAUNCHED TRAVELER APP

Arnold Niji a 27 year old Engineer launched the Traveler mobile application in October. The App uses data, GPS and motion sensor technology to improve passenger safety, monitor driver speeds and emergency responses. According to its founder, the App is a response to the high number of accidents and the inability to control the drivers and to contact hospitals and families of victims.  More than 20,000 people died on Cameroon's roads between 2010 and 2015. Passengers can use the app to report passenger overcrowding, road issues and traffic incidents. All information is sent to a central database. For bus passengers, at the onset of their journey, they enter the company name, vehicle number plate and destination. In the event of an accident, if a user indicates it in the App, the App then notifies all emergency contacts of people travelling on the same bus and also automatically alerts hospitals of their location. Like Cameroon, we face similar problems in Nigeria. Port-Harcourt is no exception. According to statistics from the Federal Road Safety Corporation (FRSC), an average of 15 people died daily in road accidents across Nigeria in 2015. 5,440 Nigerians lost their lives in road accidents across the country in 2015. The good news is that with such an App, the death toll can be reduced. Here are reasons why we need an App like that in PH. Terrible road infrastructure- Yes, the Governor should be commended for working on some roads but fact is the roads could be better. Lives are still lost regularly via road accidents. Pot-Holes, ditches, un-tarred roads, flooded roads and bumpy roads are common things we have to deal with on a daily basis. Over-speeding is common- Nigerians are notorious for over-speeding perhaps partly because there are no checks for it. The recent effort by the FRSC to introduce speed limiters is facing numerous challenges, some of them of the Agencies making. Drivers still drive recklessly with little or no penalties. If you have ever driven in Port-Harcourt or had to undergo a journey in this town, you will understand what i mean. Prayer seems to be the temporary solution- Ever entered a bus and a Pastor or passenger gets up to pray for the safety of the journey, even when you didn’t ask or don’t feel like? Sound familiar? I suspect it’s not entirely because of how religious we are as a country but also because almost every Nigerian knows that to survive a road trip in the country is a function of God’s grace. From bad roads, to defective vehicles, to driver’s recklessness and over-speeding, journeying from one place to another in Nigeria is definitely a herculean task Tardy emergency responses- No one needs to remind us of how essentially non-existent our emergency response units are. Save for Lagos state, where the emergency units response tries somewhat, most other cities include Port-Harcourt have zilch emergency response time. The App will be able to notify them of any road accidents and hopefully they will be able to get ont he road in time to rescue victims.

YAHOO ACCOUNTS HACKED - HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Over a billion accounts on popular mailing company Yahoo have been hacked . In a statement personally addressed to account users, Bob Lord, Chief Information Security Officer of the giant tech company disclosed that Yahoo recently discovered a data security issue that may involve users’ Yahoo account information. This is the 2nd breach Yahoo it is recording. Yahoo alerted users in September 2016 about a breach.

An unauthorized third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with a broader set of user accounts. They have been unable to identify the intrusion associated with this theft. Information stolen include names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information. Yahoo is taking some measures to ensure users are not affected but in the mean time here is what you can do as a security measure- Change your passwords and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which you used the same or similar information used for your Yahoo account. Review all of your accounts for suspicious activity. Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that ask for your personal information or refer you to a web page asking for personal information. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails. Yahoo also recommends using Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password on Yahoo altogether.