Angola awaits successor to long-ruling leader Dos Santos

Angola is expected to formally announce the end of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos’ controversial 37-year rule Saturday, and name a successor to lead the ailing African oil-producing country.

News of the veteran leader’s impending retirement, announced on state radio on December 2, has made front page news in Angolan newspapers all week.

But the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in power since 1975, has officially remained silent on the matter.

On Saturday, on the 60th anniversary of its founding, the party is expected to confirm that Dos Santos, 74, will not seek another term as president in the 2017 party elections.

It will also likely announce that he will be succeeded as head of the party by his current defence minister, Joao Lourenco, 62.

Angola does not directly elect a president, but rather the leader of the winning party automatically becomes head of state.

In all likelihood, the retired general Lourenco will succeed Dos Santos -– one of the longest ruling leaders in Africa -– after the party elections next August.

The departure, announced in a closed-door meeting of the MPLA’s central committee last week, does not come as a complete surprise.

Dos Santos himself announced in March his intention to end his political career.

“President dos Santos had been planning to step down in 2018,” said Alex Vines, Africa program director at the British think tank Chatham House.

“But I think a combination of Angola’s economic conditions and less good health brought his plans forward.”

After years of spectacular growth thanks to an oil boom, like many crude-producing nations Angola has suffered a sudden downturn in the last two years due to a prolonged drop in oil prices.

Last week, national oil company Sonangol, managed by Dos Santos’ daughter Isabel, announced it would not be paying out dividends to the state this year -– a first for the country’s main source of foreign currency.

– ‘Nothing will change’ –
While it will be a new page in the history of Angola, the departure of the former Marxist guerilla fighter is unlikely to shake up the running of the country.

This is to the chagrin of critics who have been denouncing Dos Santos’ “dictatorship” for years.

“Nothing will change with people who, when they could have, didn’t dare –- whether out of fear or self-interest -– to make a difference,” said journalist William Tonnet, a critic of Dos Santos.

Expected successor Lourenco is an ex-artillery general who was trained in the former Soviet Union. He is seen as a true son of his party, as is interior minister Bornito de Sousa, who is expected to become his deputy.

“These are two apparatchiks, two pure products of the party who remain under its control,” said Benjamin Auge of the French Institute of International Relations.

“The room to manoeuvre will be extremely limited. They will defend the president’s record, without starting a revolution.”

However, Angola-watchers notice both men do not have ties to the oil industry, a sector considered to be closely guarded by the president’s family.

“Joao Lourenco is one of those rare leaders in the MPLA who hasn’t dirtied his hands in this corruption business,” said activist Nuno Alvaro Dala, who was recently convicted and then pardoned for an alleged coup attempt.

Some have suggested that Dos Santos’s retirement was purposefully instigated by a hostile faction within the MPLA.

The announcement could be “the expression of discontent within the party, particularly over the position of the president’s children,” said Didier Peclard, a professor at the University of Geneva.

“If that were the case, then hypothetically it could be a way of precipitating a transition.”

Award-winning journalist and writer Rafael Marques refuses to believe this, and disputes the idea of a more palatable faction within the inner circle of the MPLA.

“Angolans will move from one dictator to the next,” he said. “Change is not coming tomorrow.” - The Guardian

Ronaldo publishes details of 225m-euro income

Cristiano Ronaldo published his financial records on Thursday which showed the Real Madrid star declared income of more than 225 million euros in 2015 as he battled accusations of tax evasion.

An international consortium of media organisations claimed that a huge data leak involving 18 million documents showed the Portuguese skipper hid 150 million euros ($160 million) from image rights in the British Virgin Islands.

But the 31-year-old has released details of his income in 2015 which he had already passed on to the Spanish tax authorities.

The procedure, known as a ‘Model 720’ and which was apparently presented to tax chiefs in March, showed that Ronaldo earned 203.7 million euros outside of Spain and 23.5 million inside the country.

“This document confirms that Spain’s Tax Agency is knowledgeable of all of Cristiano Ronaldo’s assets and income. From now on, the player will not make any further statement on this subject,” said a statement released by his management company, Gestifute.

“As reported in recent days, the player has been aware of his tax obligations right away from the beginning of his professional career in all of the countries in which he has resided, and has not and has never had any issue with the tax authorities of any of those countries.

“This communication, which was not required by law, constitutes irrefutable proof that Cristiano Ronaldo and his representatives are in good faith and cooperate with the authorities in a spirit of transparency and compliance with legality.”

Earlier Thursday, Ronaldo seemingly resorting to a proverb to plead his innocence of any wrongdoing.

“You believe I am worried? He who owes nothing, fears nothing,” said the superstar after being approached by Portuguese TV station RTP to respond to the allegations after Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening.

On Wednesday, his club side also came out in his defence.

“Real Madrid demand the maximum respect for a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, whose behaviour has been exemplary during his entire time at our club,” Madrid said in a statement.

I have been a little bit frustrated, Moses confesses

Until four months ago, Victor Moses was the unwanted player in the Chelsea squad, with successive managers sending him out on loan rather than giving him the opportunity to prove his worth at the Bridge. But all that has changed with the arrival of Antonio Conte, who has ‘recreated’ the former Wigan man into a formidable asset to the club’s chase for the English Premiership title this term.

Moses joined Chelsea from Wigan in 2012 after a very productive season, but he spent much of that time on loan to other clubs, including Stoke, Liverpool and West Ham. And the Super Eagles’ forward yesterday admitted that he found his situation frustrating.

Speaking to Sport Magazine, Moses, who is now one of the first names in Conte’s matchday list, said of his loan days, “I’ve been a little bit frustrated, I’m not going to lie.

“You spend about a month-plus in the hotel before you find your own place to stay – stuff there kind of plays in your head, and obviously the kids have to go to another place, go to school.

“I’ve not actually had time to relax. When the season finishes, you have to move back to London again, and those kind of things play in a footballer’s head.”
Moses, who won the EPL Fans’ player of the month award for November, has been touted as one of the candidates for the player of the year award.

His profile has risen so suddenly that European giants, Barcelona, have shown interest in taking him to Nou Camp.
But the Nigerian has remained firmly determined to make the best use of his new lease of life in Chelsea.

He attributes his success in his new role as a wingback to help from some of his team mates, especially Cesar Aspilicueta.
According to Moses, “He understands it more than I do, so he’s constantly talking to me, making sure that I’m in the right place and that really helps me.” - The Guardian

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. But what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?

If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. So why does this happen? Because most people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference. You check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up. And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before he/she finishes communicating. Do any of the following sound familiar?

"Oh, I know just how you feel. I felt the same way." "I had that same thing happen to me." "Let me tell you what I did in a similar situation."

Because you so often listen autobiographically, you tend to respond in one of four ways:

Evaluating:	You judge and then either agree or disagree.
Probing:	You ask questions from your own frame of reference.
Advising:	You give counsel, advice, and solutions to problems.
Interpreting:	You analyze others' motives and behaviors based on your own experiences.

You might be saying, "Hey, now wait a minute. I'm just trying to relate to the person by drawing on my own experiences. Is that so bad?" In some situations, autobiographical responses may be appropriate, such as when another person specifically asks for help from your point of view or when there is already a very high level of trust in the relationship.

NSE, EFCC stop N20m capital market fraud

The Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have succeeded in aborting a N20m fraud targeted at the estate of an investor in the market, the late Prof. David Osifo.

The development was contained in a letter by the deceased’s wife, Prof. Bola Osifo, to the NSE, commending the two organisations for helping the family to recover the sum of N20m being her late husband’s investment.

In the letter, she wrote, “On behalf of the Osifo family, we will like to thank the NSE for the dedicated effort in ensuring the stolen shares were reimbursed to my husband’s estate.”

The late professor had equity investment to the tune of N20, 176,852.19 in the capital market but was said to have been illegally appropriated by some fraudsters.

Upon the detection of the crime, the wife of the deceased contacted the NSE.

The Exchange, according to the statement, was said to have swung into action and collaborated with the EFCC to recover the sum in full.

The collaboration between the NSE and the EFCC to prevent and combat abuse and infractions by players in the capital market was said to have yielded fruit.

The NSE in October 4, 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the EFCC to tackle market infractions and abuse. This partnership had successfully opened direct lines of communication and information sharing with the EFCC for reporting and investigations of incidents leading to a more proactive law enforcement and swift recovery of stolen securities.

To further protect investors, the NSE had set up the Investors Protectors Fund to compensate claimants for pecuniary losses suffered by them as a result of wrong doing by certain dealing member firms of the Exchange. The establishment of the IPF is pursuant to Section 197 of the Investment and Securities Act 2007. So far, 158 investors have been compensated

Speaking on the establishment of the IPF, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, who is also a trustee of the IPF, described it as a milestone.

“This milestone gives me great pleasure as it affirms our commitment to the continuous development of initiatives that will bolster confidence in the capital market,” he said.

Our rice’ll be sold at N13,000/bag –Ambode

The Lagos State Government has pledged to make rice available to residents at a reduced cost of N13, 000 per 50kg bag.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, disclosed this on Thursday during the 2016 Agricultural Summit organised by the Agricultural Sectoral Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Ambode, who spoke through his  Special Adviser on Food Security, Mr. Ganiyu Okanlawon, said the state had entered into a partnership with Kebbi State Government to produce ‘Lake Rice’ which would be made available to consumers at N13,000 per bag in the coming weeks.

Speaking during the programme with theme ‘walking hand-in-hand to move agriculture forward,’ Amobode disclosed that his government had also established a department of  agribusiness in the Ministry of Agriculture, an agricultural trust fund and the first commodity exchange market in Nigeria.

In his opening remarks, the President, LCCI, Dr. Nike Akande noted that the agricultural sector was expected to play a pivotal role in the nation’s quest for diversification through increased non-oil earnings, job creation and foreign exchange earnings.

“These are needed to drive the economy towards the path of recovery from recession,” she said.

Citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Akande noted that even after the recent rebasing of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, agriculture still accounted for a large share of its economic activities.

She urged the government to do more in terms of providing enabling business environment where private sector businesses could thrive, adding, “The development of a good rail network to facilitate the movement of agro produce to markets cannot be overemphasised.”

Suspected herdsmen behead graduate farmer in

A farmer, Ndubuisi Uzoma, has been beheaded in his farm at Iddo community along the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road, Abuja by assailants suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

The headless corpse of the university graduate was found in the pool of his blood last Sunday by his relations, who went in search of him when he failed to return from the farm.

The deceased’s elder sister, Chidimma Umeh, told Northern City News that Uzoma had earlier complained that he was having issues with Fulani herdsmen who grazed their cattle on his farm.

She stated that the young man stayed late in the farm in order to prevent the herdsmen from encroaching on his farm and destroying his crops.

Weeping profusely while talking to our correspondent, the bereaved woman lamented the loss of his brother, whom she said took to farming because he could not secure a job after graduating from the university.

“I lost my brother on Saturday, he left in the morning and till night, I didn’t see him and I told my husband about it. We went to his farm to search for him, that was when I saw blood and I shouted, ‘Jesus, my brother is gone.’ Look at my brother’s corpse, there is no head, it’s been cut off, they beheaded my brother,” she sobbed.

Chidimma said that the case was reported to the police but no arrests had been made.

She said, “They have killed my brother. We went to the police to report and my husband also visited the chief to inform him about it, but no one has been arrested.

“He was a graduate, he was engaging in farming because he could not secure a job. If he was working in the office, he wouldn’t have died like that.”

Corroborating his wife, Umeh said the deceased had always complained about the herdsmen who invaded his farm, noting that the dastardly act might have been perpetrated by them.

Umeh said, “On Saturday night when I came back from work around 11.30pm, because I closed late, l met my wife and son going out, she said they were going to look for her brother. I said maybe he was with some of his friends to watch football match on the television.

“Because the farm is far, we decided to go there the next day. At the farm, my wife saw blood and she shouted. We went to the police and we got a vehicle to evacuate the body to the mortuary. Ndubuisi didn’t have problem with anyone, he only complained about the encroachment on his farm by Fulani herdsmen and I believe they killed him.”

The District head of Iddo, Bello Seidu, confirmed the incident, saying such a thing had not happened in the area before.

The leader of the Igbo residents in the community, Sunday Chukwuneke, stated that he had lived in Iddo for a long time, noting that, that was the first time such a killing would occur.

“I never heard anything like this since I started living in Iddo. Many people called me about the incident and I visited his (Uzoma’s) relations and they said they didn’t have problem with anybody. They explained that he usually complained that Fulani people were encroaching on his farm, that is why he comes back late from the farm between 6:30 and 7pm. We went to the farm and we saw everything,” he narrated. - Punch