Ikay Rocks – The Presence [Mp3, Lyrics, Wiki, Bio]

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THE PRESENCE (Mo wo’le) is a song from the place of sincere worship. God’s presence opens us to true love, true joy, peace and POWER. This song helps us communicate and bask in the beauty of holiness. It was produced by Segun Gabriel (segunkeez) and mixed and mastered by Steven Brown (USA).

Set your worship altar on fire with this one.

Ikay Rocks – The Presence

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Somalia’s ex-PM elected president…Read full details

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Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo

Former Somali prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who holds joint American citizenship, was elected president on Wednesday, vowing to crack down on corruption and Al-Shabaab militants.

The 55-year-old former premier, whose hails from the Darod clan and who goes by the nickname “Farmajo”, won after incumbent president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud admitted defeat in a second round of voting by lawmakers.

“This is the beginning of unity for the Somali nation, the beginning of the fight against Shabaab and corruption …” a triumphant Farmajo said after being declared the winner in a long, drawn-out election process in the conflict-wracked nation.

Civilians took to the streets and soldiers fired celebratory gunfire in the capital Mogadishu which had been near-deserted for two days with roads and schools closed and residents urged to stay indoors for fear of a strike on the capital by Shabaab militants.

And Somali refugees in Dadaab, the world’s biggest refugee camp in eastern Kenya, also erupted with joy and sang the national anthem when hearing Farmajo had won, according to an AFP correspondent.

“Time has come for us Somalis. I thank God. This is the man we need, he cares for us, he cares for the poor men and women,” said 60-year-old Anfi Kassim who has lived in the camp since 1992.

After six hours and two rounds of voting, a crowded field of 21 presidential candidates was whittled down to the two veteran politicians.

Farmajo failed to win the required two thirds majority, but had 184 votes to Mohamud’s 97, prompting the incumbent to drop out to avoid a third round.

The father of four served as prime minister for only eight months between 2010 and 2011 and was ousted in a deal to form a new government and postpone elections that year.

However several of his moves, such as implementing regular payments of soldiers, were well received and many supporters took to the streets of Mogadishu to protest his removal.

Farmajo was born in the capital to a family from the southern Gedo region, and moved to the United States where he studied history and political science at the University of Buffalo.

He went on to work in the foreign ministry and as a diplomat in Washington before the collapse of Siad Barre’s military regime in 1991 which led to civil war and decades of anarchy in Somalia.

– Limited vote –

Farmajo also ran for president in 2012, in the first election inside the country since 1991. In that election only 135 clan elders picked the lawmakers who went on to elect the president.

In 2016 Somalia had been promised a one-person, one-vote election. However political infighting and insecurity saw the plan ditched for a limited vote running six months behind schedule.

Although the election is billed as its most democratic in nearly five decades, only 14,000 delegates were able to vote for the lawmakers who went on to elect the president.

The long, drawn-out election has largely consisted of horsetrading between different clans, with widespread allegations of vote-buying and corruption, leaving it a distant process to the average Somali.

The internationally-backed government still has limited control over a country where swathes of countryside are controlled by Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants who regularly launch deadly strikes against Mogadishu.

– ‘Most expensive election’ –

If Farmajo is serious about cracking down on corruption, he has his work cut out for him in a country listed as the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International.

Mogadishu-based anti-corruption NGO Marqaati in a report released this week described rampant vote-buying, and alleged that civil servants had gone unpaid for seven months and public lands sold off to fund lobbying for MP positions.

“When delegates refused to take money and vote a certain way, they would be replaced, intimidated, harassed and, in some incidences… shot,” read the report.

The report said some delegates were paid up to $30,000 each to vote for MPs, while presidential candidates seeking to sway MP votes were reported to have to fork out between $50,000 and $100,000 per lawmaker.

According to Marqaati this made it “the most expensive election, per vote, in history.”

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U.S energy project adds 30,000 new solar connections in Nigeria (Read full details)

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Solar Energy

The U.S energy project known as “Power Africa’’ has added 30,000 new solar connections in Nigeria.

The U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington said in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

U.S. through its Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had in 2016 signed an agreement with Lumos, an off-grid electricity provider to enhance provision of solar electricity to homes and small businesses throughout Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lumos was also a recipient of catalytic funding through OPIC and the Africa Clean Energy Finance initiative, a partner with the U.S. State Department.

The funding provided crucial start-up capital for 30 innovative clean energy projects across 10 African countries.

The envoy, accompanied by the Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission, Mr Michael Harvey, had during a visit to customers of Lumos in Abuja stressed the need to expand electricity access in Nigeria.

According to him, the visit is a fact finding assessment as USAID works with partners to grow the programme.

“With market intelligence provided by USAID and financing provided by OPIC, Lumos has added 30,000 new solar connections in Nigeria since the beginning of the partnership,” he said.

Symington, who also visited Beam Clinic and Maternity Centre, Trinity Clinic, and selected retailers, said his visit was to better understand how access to solar energy had improved their businesses and service delivery.

The ambassador stressed the need to expand on and off grid access to energy to enhance business activities.

“Expanding both on and off grid access to energy will not only help individuals and businesses, but will help overcome some of the obstacles to Nigeria being able to fulfill its full economic potential.

“I met a number of people today whose lives have been profoundly changed by access to efficient and reliable energy.

“And I am excited to see this ongoing partnership expand to ensure greater access to solar energy throughout Nigeria,” he said.

NAN reports that to date, “Power Africa’’, has mobilised 40 billion dollars in private sector commitments in order to increase access to electricity through both on and off grid generation and distribution projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

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