Nasty C is on a roll. The 20 year old rapper released NDA video yesterday but that isn’t enough. He has now went on to release 3 new videos on Apple Music.
The videos he released are for Don’t Do It featuring Tellaman, Good Girls and Phases under Mabala Noise and Freeworld Music.
Watch the 3 new videos back to back via Apple Music.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2mB6GFz
Duncan unleashes the music video for Enzo, the latest single off his 2016 album Balaclava featuring Lastee.
The video for Enzo is directed by Nigane Sikobi, produced by Pilot Films for Afrotainment. Watch the clip below
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South Africa's Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan (C), walking out from the Finance Ministry with officials up to the South African Parliament to deliver the 2016 Budget Speech, in Cape Town. / AFP PHOTO / RODGER BOSCH
South Africa’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivers the annual budget in parliament Wednesday as he battles to revive the economy and head off loyalists of the president who seek to oust him.
Gordhan, a popular figure in South Africa and among international investors, is widely seen as being at loggerheads with President Jacob Zuma, who has shrugged off a series of recent corruption scandals.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been engulfed by friction between Zuma’s plans for funding “radical economic transformation” and Gordhan’s stand against graft and uncontrolled expenditure.
“The budget will allow Gordhan to show his independence as the head of treasury and not be influenced by politics,” political analyst Mcebisi Ndletyana told AFP.
“But he also has to find some money to support Zuma’s projects — that could prove to be very difficult in this economic climate.”
Gordhan last year faced fraud charges that were criticised as a move against him by Zuma’s associates as political turmoil spooked investors and saw the rand plummet.
The charges were dropped at the last minute, exposing tensions in the ANC as several ministers came out in Gordhan’s support.
The ANC youth league, women’s league and its military veterans association have all called for him to resign.
– On borrowed time? –
Gordhan’s future has come under the spotlight again ahead of the budget, with speculation of an imminent cabinet reshuffle to axe him — a step likely to trigger another crisis of confidence in the markets.
Uncertainty increased last week with the announcement that Zuma-ally Brian Molefe, the former chief executive of the state-owned power generator Eskom, was heading for parliament as a new lawmaker.
“You don’t bring someone of Molefe’s calibre into parliament just to make him a backbencher,” said Ndletyana.
In a pre-budget interview with television news channel eNCA, Gordhan, 67, admitted that he was “not indispensible”, adding “we are just humble civil servants.”
The finance minister, who is not viewed as a future presidential candidate, was appointed in 2015 to calm panicked investors when Zuma sacked two finance ministers within four days.
The budget will be closely watched by rating agencies who have raised concern about the country’s slow growth and bulging public sector wage bill.
In December, South Africa escaped a downgrade by Standard & Poor’s, which kept the country’s foreign currency debt one notch above junk status but with a negative outlook.
South Africa’s economic growth slowed to 0.4 percent last year, while gaping inequality and 27 percent unemployment present the ANC government with major challenges.
The party recorded its worst-ever election results in local polls last August.
It is due to choose a new leader at the end of this year, ahead of the 2019 general election when Zuma must stand down after serving two terms.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lEXL7U
By Jide Ajani
No man is good enough to govern another without his consent – George Washington
The consequence of the serial delinquent conduct of its leaders, is the chaos that has enveloped the party. For the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, an over bloated and overrated sense of self-importance that its leaders parade, set the tone for the current malady afflicting the party; and which has led to this tumbledown.
But, first, to understand the mentality of PDP leaders (and by extension, the typical Nigerian politician) you need to understand their perception of wealth and power and the relationship that exists between both. Because, in the final analysis, the crisis in the party today about which of the factions should rightly lead, is about wealth and power – naked wealth and naked power, that is.
It was Andrew Chua who wrote that “some have said that Wealth is Power. But it is equally well-known that Power brings Wealth. So, what is the relationship between these two objects of desire? Which brings which? Which is the chicken and which is the egg? When we combine the definitions of Wealth and Power, we get the correct perspective to view these two subjects.
The truth is, Wealth is ONE TYPE of Power. Wealth itself can also be traded for other types of power. You can use wealth to influence those in positions of authority, through both legitimate lobbying and corruption. So the question of ‘Do you want wealth or power?’ is in itself faulty. Wealth is one type of power. It’s like asking if you prefer apples or fruits. A better question would be ‘Do you prefer Wealth or Authority?’ Maybe this is what people really mean when they ask the afore-mentioned famous question. Now, we are correctly asking if you prefer apples or oranges. And of course, like choosing between two different species of fruits, the answer comes down to personal preference”.
For those who once claimed to own PDP, they want all. And any which way, the one brings the other. But which one first? Both; depending on your status at the point of entry.
And because they want all, they create all manner of confusion in their bid to get all.
Even the simple matter of laid down procedure by their own making, is treated with scornful disdain. That is why the aggregate of litigations from this crisis of leadership was generated by PDP’s shambling approach to the observance of its own rules.
Today, intrigues and surfeit of distractive tendencies to good behaviour, are the hallmarks of PDP. Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua spent more time attempting to resolve intra-party crises, just as then President Goodluck Jonathan, too, spent more time interfering, via subterfuge, in the affairs of an already shambolic party during his time as leader of the party.
The Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt has decided that Ali Modu Sheriff is the rightful leader of PDP. Consequently, the Ahmed Makarfi caretaker committee stands useless.
After the judgment, the latter group insisted it will go to the Supreme Court; while Sheriff himself, flexed muscle, declaring that his party, yes his PDP, would cage the likes of Governor Ayo Fayose and Nysom Wike. The irony in this declaration is that it was both Fayose and Wike who sourced for and imposed, in the first instance, Sheriff on PDP as interim chairman.
But this would not be the first time that the PDP would shoot itself.
The whole crisis in the party can be traced to the following series of mis-steps because accidents don’t just happen; a series of events lead to what ends up being a mishap.
When the PDP was being conceived, the founding fathers, from 18, to 34, had their vision and mission.
However, once Matthew Okikiolakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo was released from prison and imposed as presidential candidate of the party, it was only going to be a matter of time before that folly would catch up with leaders of the party – imposed, because one of the guidelines of the party, enacted by its leaders, was that to contest the presidency, an aspirant must have delivered (won for PDP) his ward, local government, federal constituency, senatorial district and state at the earlier elections. Obasanjo did not help PDP win in any, yet that rule was violated.
To further gravitate the PDP towards lawlessness, Obasanjo, after jettisoning the consensual approach the party had intended to employ in choosing a running mate for him – he deceived the party leaders, avoided them and single-handedly picked Atiku Abubakar who had, earlier in the year 1999, won the Adamawa State governorship election – he went ahead to institute a process that ensured that governors-elect, operating from their houses, became defacto leaders of PDP at the state level, thereby rendering the state party secretariats where the chapter chairmen and exco members were supposed to take decisions for the party, irrelevant.
It was on that template that every other public office holder in PDP sought, demanded and grabbed loyalty for himself and not the party. With the help of some short-sighted leaders of the party, Obasanjo proceeded to rig-out late Sunday Mobolorunduro Awoniyi, one of the founding fathers of the party, and imposed Barnabas Gemade as national chairman.
Even Gemade’s tenure became indeterminate because at Obasanjo’s convenience, he ensured that Gemade was removed and Audu Ogbeh, was imposed on the party. Gemade, after being disgraced out of power by the same Obasanjo who imposed him, placed a curse on the party, declaring in anger that the fate that would befall subsequent chairmen of the PDP would be worse than what he was being made to suffer at that time. And when the duo of Gbenga Olawepo and Emma Ibeshi, young leaders of the PDP at that time, egged on by Atiku, insisted that Obasanjo’s whimsical approach to party engineering was bound to spell doom, they were ignored and later dealt with.
Gemade’s curse is still potent and continues to be the lot of PDP chairmen as exemplified by the latest Appeal Court sacking of the Makarfi Committee.
That was not all: In fact, there are 40 documented instances of PDP’s serial infraction of its own laws, or malevolent, distractive or destructive actions by its leaders.
Even when Goodluck Jonathan had taken over as President after the demise of Umaru Yar’Adua, some of these same party leaders embarked on a voyage of grand treachery, spiced by greed, avarice and lack of tact. They broke their own agreement which said after the eight years of power in the South, the North would rule for another eight years.
The agreement, reached on December 22, 2002, at an expanded caucus meeting of the party which held inside Aso Rock Presidential Villa, ordinarily forbids Jonathan from seeking the office in 2011. But the same Obasanjo reportedly said “Jonathan, you must run” in 2011. Whereas the Nigerian Constitution is superior to PDP’s zoning agreement, simple decency should have dictated to the party leaders that what they were doing was not only wrong, it was immoral and ungodly. It came back to haunt the party.
That the party lost the general elections of 2015 is yet another sad result of the irresponsible conduct of some of its leaders, leading to defections and anti-party activities before and after the defeat.
As the shambling and shambolic PDP wobbles on, it would be interesting, the findings of an interrogation of how a party with so much promise became a scandalous embarrassment to the memories of its founding fathers.
The PDP governors have withheld consent on Sheriff; and the majority of party members are on their side. So, how Sheriff plans to lead the majority of PDP leaders and members without their consent would be an interesting development.
The post PDP and its default mode appeared first on Vanguard News.
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•Owie, Urhoghide, Abaribe, Bwacha, Ojuogboh speak on direction of PDP’
By Henry Umoru & Ben Agande
Ahead of tomorrow’s crucial meeting of stakeholders in the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff led mainstream of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, party members and other stakeholders are proffering options for the party.
Among those who spoke to Sunday Vanguard on the issue at the weekend were serving members and former members of the National Assembly among whom were Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Roland Owie, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, Senator Enyinninya Abaribe and the deputy national chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh.
Senator Owie, who is also the South-South co-ordinator of yet to be registered Action Democratic Party, ADP, in his reaction said the judgment was against impunity and lawlessness by strangers who invaded the PDP and destroyed the visions of the founding fathers of the party.
In a text message to Sunday Vanguard, Senator Owie, said, “The Appeal Court judgment on the Makarfi- Sheriff case is a judgment against impunity and lawlessness by strangers who invaded the PDP and destroyed the visions of the founding fathers of the party.
Also reacting, the Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, PDP, Taraba South said, “What Nigeria needs is a platform premised on ideology and not the business of political tourism that has characterised our political landscape. In a nutshell, it is an opening for all serious politicians from all shades to compare notes for the realisation of the aforementioned.”
On his part, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, PDP, Edo South said, “All sides must show respect for the rule of law. If the Makarfi led group is not satisfied, they could go the Supreme Court. If I were to honestly advice, the Makarfi group should allow Sheriff settle down and organise a fresh national convention where new party leaders will be elected.”
Also reacting, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South said, “Most PDP members will be very disenchanted with this ruling because Sheriff is seen as an interloper.
“In a way it is good. Now all those who want reform of PDP will move to form a new party and use it to expand the democratic space in Nigeria.”
The deputy national chairman of the Sheriff faction, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh, on his part lauded the decision which he said, was in respect of the rule of law.
Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, Dr. Ojuigboh said the verdict of the court has demonstrated that there was “no victor, no vanquished and has made the process of negotiation more imperative.” “This is a victory for the people and the rule of law. There is no victor no vanquished. We are using this opportunity to appeal to everybody to find a political solution. We have always maintained that there is no room for legal solution to a party problem.
“We will now go to the negotiation table and see how we will resolve the problem. “We will appeal to Governor Fayose that as a governor of the party he is the son of the party. This is not the time for litigation. We have said before that this is not the time for Supreme Court. We appeal to him to calm down and listen to the party. The party is ready to hold a national convention. I have spoken to three governors, and they said the way forward is negotiation. The court is not necessary. We should return to the negotiation table” he said.
The post ‘How PDP can be saved’ appeared first on Vanguard News.
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By Lucky Oji
The Ijaw Elders Forum, Lagos, views with serious concern reports of attack and brutalisation of protesting Ijaw women and youths in Yenagoa by alleged thugs.
The victims were reportedly attacked on Tuesday as they assembled to engage in a peaceful march against the decision of the Bayelsa State government to offer land to Fulani herdsmen for cattle grazing in the state capital. The elders in a press release signed by the Chairman, Chief Bukazi Etete and General Secretary, Pastor Efiye Bribena, said it is worrisome and condemnable that the women and youths were brutalised in the presence of policemen, who were expected to provide security for the peaceful protesters.
“The attack and assault on unarmed and defenceless citizens is unacceptable to every lover of freedom. Nigeria is a democracy with constitutionally guaranteed freedom to assemble and express dissent in a peaceful manner.
“Any attempt to stifle constitutionally guaranteed rights in a democracy by individuals or institutions of the state is an invitation to anarchy. As elders, we do not want a state of anarchy foisted on our beloved state by enemies of democracy and the Ijaw nation. We crave for peace in Bayelsa, across the Niger Delta and in our country at all times,” the group stated.
The elders noted that it is the responsibility of the state leadership and the government to properly engage and consult with the citizens on policies that would affect their well-being.
They advised the Bayelsa government to constructively engage with people of the state to allay their fears over its decision on the land allegedly allocated for cattle grazing.
“The grazing land issue is very sensitive and the fears being expressed might not be misplaced given the incidence of deadly clashes between herdsmen and farmers in various parts of the country. It is therefore the responsibility of government to carry the people along when taking decisions that affect them.
“We agree that there are pros and cons in the decision by the government. But it still owes the citizens the duty to explain to them. The absence of such engagement could lead to protest as we have seen on this issue,” it said.
The post Cattle grazing: Ijaw elders condemn attack on protesters in Bayelsa appeared first on Vanguard News.
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By Douglas Anele
When one of President Donald J. Trump’s top advisers invented the tantalising but deliciously deceptive expression ‘alternative facts,’ it was an indication that the idea of truth as a regulative principle of human reason and its engagement with reality is being manipulated once again to hoodwink people with touch-and-go mentality who seldom activate their critical acumen.
This is because the motivation for bringing up the concept in the first place is the spirited attempt to justify the bizarre argument that two contradictory versions of the same event can be true simultaneously, thereby negating one of the fundamental axioms of logic, otherwise known as the law of non-contradiction, which stipulates that contradictories can neither be true nor false at the same time. In response, some commentators have pointed out, correctly in my view, that the doctrine of ‘alternative facts’ is incoherent, that it is a euphemism for fiction being presented or masqueraded as fact.
With respect to what actually led to the invocation of that notion, namely, whether it was Trump or his predecessor Barack Obama that attracted a bigger crowd at the presidential inauguration, aerial photographs showed that the crowd at Obama’s inauguration ceremonies is bigger than Trump’s; but Donald Trump and his lieutenants would rather have us believe the ‘alternative fact’ that his crowd is larger.
From the foregoing, the recourse to alternative fact is an attempt to substitute fiction for fact or falsehood for truth, especially if the latter is for some reason inconvenient or unacceptable to the person making the substation.
Now, the ontological correlate of the law of non-contradiction is based on the law of identity, which asserts that a thing is identical with itself, that the phenomena which constitute reality are really what they are although they might be perceived and interpreted in different ways. Even so, in our interactions with the world, we tend to presume that there is only one true version of every event or occurrence, despite variations in how they are reported and difficulties in ascertaining the truth particularly if the situation is complex or if the event in question has deep and wide-ranging repercussions for a sizeable number of people.
Take the case of the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari, which has been a topical issue in the media for some time now. Clearly, it is either the President is both physically and mentally fit to continue in office or he is not. Government officials have been trying to convince Nigerians that Buhari is still fit to lead by posting photographs of him with leaders of the National Assembly and some prominent members of his party in different newspapers.
In addition, last week Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, released a statement that President Trump had a cordial discussion with his boss. To Buharimaniacs, the photographs and official claims that our President has spoken to a handful of people proves that he is “in good shape”; but to skeptics it would have been more convincing and reassuring if the President’s media managers had arranged for Buhari himself to address Nigerians through Skype, Face Time or any of the social media platforms so that they can see and hear directly from him and, consequently, form a more reliable idea of his health condition.
As it is, the whole thing seems deliberately stage-managed in order to project an alternative fact regarding President Buhari’s actual situation. Perhaps, the President is really not in the best mental and physical shape to shoulder the herculean task of leading Nigeria at this time, which implies that the most reasonable option for him is to resign. Buharimaniacs who excoriate anyone that recommends resignation for the President if he cannot continue to lead because of his health and insist that he must finish his term of office because he is the only one that can save the country are probably suffering from messianic delusion.
There has never been a divinely ordained messiah anywhere in the world. What happens is that, throughout history certain men after undergoing intense subjective experiences arrogate to themselves the title of messiah or allow themselves to be persuaded that they have been divinely chosen to rescue their communities from impending calamity.
However, since there are no indispensable human beings, all messianic claims are ultimately futile. Therefore, no matter the incredible qualities possessed by the so-called messiahs or those that the German philosopher G.W. Hegel called world historical individuals, the community outlasts them, and there is no guarantee that any positive societal change they might have inaugurated would not be reversed as the wheel of time rolls inexorably forward. Indeed, on many occasions several self-styled messiahs have brought disaster upon themselves and their communities.
Last Sunday, I argued that African leaders generally suffer from sit-tight neurosis – they would rather die in office than resign because of old age, ill health or public rejection arising from poor performance. Oftentimes these megalomaniacs argue the “alternative fact” that their tenacious grip on power is borne out of patriotic feelings, whereas the motivating factor is craving for power, primitive accumulation and dispensing of political patronages based on filial, ethnic, and religious affiliations.
In my view, President Buhari bears the ultimate responsibility of deciding what to do if he considers his current job too demanding for his health and age, as he frankly admitted in South Africa shortly after his election about two years ago. In that regard, while in London beyond the reach of the constant stream of favour seekers most of whom he might really not want to see, the President can engage in honest critical self examination and ignore sycophants parading the “alternative fact” of his indispensability and the disaster that would befall the country if he leaves office before May 29, 2019.
I hope Buhari returns to the country soon, reinvigorated both mentally and physically to face the daunting challenges of his office. Presently Nigerians are suffering as usual whereas those they elected to serve live as if Nigeria belongs to them alone. Perhaps the President is trying his best; but given the escalating hardship nationwide, his best is not good enough.
Repeated promises of a better tomorrow cannot feed the hungry, heal the sick, provide jobs for the unemployed or retrenched workers and save the poor from penury; it can never be a substitute for clear headed pragmatic policies which must be implemented by the most technically and morally qualified Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic origin or religion. On his return, President Buhari needs to quickly overhaul his government and thoroughly seek out Nigerians who can help him alleviate the sufferings of our people expeditiously.
Meanwhile, some perceptive Nigerians have identified discouraging contradictions in the promises and actual conduct of the President. Of those, the one that is immediately relevant to our discussion is his penchant for going abroad for medical attention. Remember, as a presidential candidate Buhari promised to introduce positive change in leadership.
Realistically, no reasonable person expects him to transform Nigeria overnight; yet there are some personal choices he could have made since he became President which would signal that he is serious about positive attitudinal modification in leadership, about introducing a new leadership model for others to emulate. My friend, Obi Nwakanma, captured the contradiction I have in mind succinctly when he noted the hypocrisy in the President’s pledge to end medical tourism abroad by top echelons of the ruling elite and his visits to London for treatment despite the billions of naira voted for Aso Rock clinic.
To some people, this glaring contradiction does not matter at all because Buhari is involved – for these buharimaniacs, to demand full disclosure on his health is unconstitutional! Now, Buhari as a presidential candidate went round the country canvassing for votes and those obsessed with his privacy did not talk about it then. Having become President, whether they like it or not he has given up most of his claims to privacy, including that of his health status, especially considering the fact that his medical bills would be paid from public funds. The issue is not just a constitutional matter; it has a moral dimension also.
To be continued.
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