Xenophobic attacks angry Nigerians target S-African business outfits

Angry Nigerians, yesterday, stormed the South African High Commission in Abuja, threatening to shut down South African companies in Nigeria over xenophobic attacks against foreigners in South Africa, including Nigerians.
According to the Nigerian Consul-General in South Africa, Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke, the loss by Nigerians in the attacks included looted shops, burnt shops, two burnt mechanic shops, 11 burnt cars and two stolen cars among others.
Reacting to the attacks, angry Nigerians protested in Abuja and Benin City even as the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, urged the Federal Government to drag the South African government to the African Commission.
Telecoms giant, MTN, on its part condemned the attacks and charged the South African government to provide strong measures against the spread.
Youths protest at South African High Commission
Nigerian youths under the aegis of Nigerians Demand, took to the streets of Abuja and cordoned the entrance leading to the South African High Commission in Wuse District, protesting the unwarranted attacks and killings of Nigerians.

Apart from the High Commission, the protesters who were accompanied by a team of security personnel also stormed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DSTV offices at Maitama, requesting that justice be done to victims of the attacks.
Some of the protesters, who marched in different groups chanted anti-xenophobic songs and displayed placards with different inscriptions that read: “Dear South Africa, we have loved you but you are attacking and killing us why? #Say no to Xenophobia; Stop killings in South Africa, Act now; we are Africans; Foreigners are not responsible for your joblessness, stop the killings; Say no to xenophobia; On February 13, 1976 Nigeria donated $2 million to ANC to assist its liberation movement, #Say No to Xenophobia; Say no to killings of Nigerians in South Africa,” among others.
Bringing the situation under control
Addressing the crowd, co-ordinator of the group, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, expressed disappointment over the attacks and the lackadaisical manner it is being handled by the South African Government and urged the High Commissioner to expedite action in bringing the situation under control.
His words: “We are sad that South Africans, who other Africans stood by during their times of challenge, are showing hate to other African countries. South African government is aiding the killings. We want them to prosecute the traditional ruler who instigated the killings. We are not happy, we want to know steps that are being taken to stop this.
“Never in history have we attacked South African businesses. We don’t see reason to do competition with South Africa. We don’t know where the hate is coming from.
“We have seen shops being looted, we have also discovered that those who are looting the shops have police protection and they are happy that foreigners are leaving South Africa.
“We have spoken with some of our friends and they have told us that they have seen a situation where South Africans are happy and excited that they are leaving. For us, this calls for serious concern because South African corporations and multi-nationals are here, doing their business and thriving very well.

Xenophobic Attacks:Nigerians protesting against xenophobic attacks in South Africa at the South African High Commission, in Abuja, 

We don’t want South Africans killed in Nigeria
“We see that this is very sad because Nigerians in social media are already urging us to retaliate, but we don’t want this idea because we do not want South Africans to be attacked or killed in Nigeria but we want a situation where the South African government will take action. Let them take a definite action, do sensitization programme for their people. Let them reach out to the traditional rulers in South Africa because this crisis was caused by a traditional ruler.
“We want a situation where the South African government takes adequate action. We are not leaving here until we speak to the High Commissioner. We are here for a very peaceful protest, we will not cause any trouble but we do not want Nigerians to take the laws into their hands. We have asked them not to attack South Africans or their businesses.
“All we want to show is for South Africans to know that Nigerians are very unhappy over what is happening. We also want to use this opportunity to tell the Nigerian government to do more, so that they can be on top of the situation because South Africans have become enemies to African people.”
Youths give SA 24-hour ultimatum
Also addressing the crowd, another leader of the group, Tolu Ebun, said: “Enough is enough. We are giving the South African government 24-hour ultimatum to halt the attacks on foreigners.
“The police in South Africa and the government are not doing enough. We have pictures where the police would stand and look as their people attack foreigners, loot their shops with smiles on their faces; this is sad. Look at Nigerian police protecting the South African High Commission, this is what we should get. This is what South African police should do; not stand by and watch the citizens kill other citizens. This is not good, this is sad, barbaric and we are not part of it.
“We are giving South Africa 24 hours to speak to us. We are angry, South Africans are our friends living in Abuja, living in Lagos and all over Nigeria. There are South African businesses established in Nigeria and we have not brought down any, we have not attacked them in anyway, we stood by them. Why are they attacking us? Is this what Nelson Mandela stood for? Is this what the Madiba died for?”
She further wondered why the High Commissioner should continue to enjoy the protection of Nigeria Police when the reverse is the case in his country.
The group, however, vowed that the protest would be sustained as long as the crisis is not addressed.
84 suspects arrested —SA High Commission
In his response, the Political Secretary and representative of the South African High Commissioner, Sthembiso Shongwe apologised for the xenophobic attacks and appealed to the protesting youths to be calm and assured that his government was working hard to bring the attacks under control.
Shongwe said the South African government had already taken steps to bring the situation under control with over 84 people arrested for various offences.
He further pleaded with Nigerians and promised to work harder to avert future occurrences of the ugly incident.
Youths storm MTN office in Benin City
In Benin City, thousands of youths under the aegis of The Flagship, protested to the Benin City office of MTN, along 3rd East Circular Road, Murtala Muhammed Way, in Benin City, threatening to shut down all firms owned by South Africans.
The placard-carrying protesters urged President Zuma to call the perpetrators to order as Nigerians will destroy any South African business in the country in retaliation for the maiming of foreigners in that country.
The group’s spokesman, Austin Enabulele, described the alleged attacks as inhuman and condemnable, adding that the protest was a warning to the South African government to put a stop to the attacks on Nigerians or risk losing its investments in Nigeria.
He said: “We are all Africans, we wonder why they should attack our fellow Nigerians who are doing their legitimate businesses in South Africa, when we have shown them love to operate in Nigeria.
“We have come here to tell (President Jacob) Zuma to call his people to order because if he fails to call them to order we will do the needful. We are aware of all their businesses in Nigeria; we know of MTN; we know of Shoprite; we know of Multichoice and we know of every other company that belongs to South Africa.
… threaten to shut down Shoprite, Multichoice, MTN
“We will shut down all their services, if they continue the killing of our brothers and sisters. So, we have come here to tell them to put an end to the killing of our brothers and sisters who are doing their legitimate jobs in South Africa.”
Also speaking, Vice President of the group, Gloria Noren, decried what she described as ingratitude of South Africans, whom she said had received financial support from Nigeria during the apartheid era.
She also urged the Federal Government to commence the immediate evacuation of Nigerians from the crisis-ridden country in order to forestall further havoc.
“How can someone come out to say that we are taking their jobs from them? What about the money they are making from us? Nigeria spent over N60 billion fighting apartheid for them. Why should we extend love to them and they give us hatred. It is totally inhuman, distasteful, disgusting.
“We are sending this message to our Nigerian government to go ahead and repatriate all Nigerians in South Africa because we cannot keep losing our brethren.”
SERAP urges FG to drag SA to African Commission
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project Project, SERAP, on its part urged the Federal Government to drag the South African government to African Commission over attacks on Nigerians living in the country.
The group in a statement signed by its executive director, Mr. Tokunbo Mumuni, asked President Goodluck Jonathan to take legal action against the South African government before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to seek effective remedies, including adequate compensation for Nigerian victims of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Mumuni in his statement said: “Several Nigerians have been attacked and have lost more than 21 million Rand in the on-going xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
“This is unacceptable as it clearly violates the obligations of South Africa under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. These serious human rights abuses call for strong and decisive action from our government.”
SERAP argued that South Africa and Nigeria have ratified the African Charter, which made it possible for President Jonathan to support the victims by demanding adequate compensation for the victims.
The group urged the President to immediately instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke, to file an inter-state communication before the African Commission on Human and Peoples.
“There is no better time for President Jonathan to do this as the African Commission is meeting this week in Banjul, The Gambia, for its 56th Ordinary Session. Articles 48 and 49 read together with Article 47 provide the legal basis for Nigeria to submit communication against South Africa for violations of the right to life and non-discrimination provisions of the Charter. Countries like Uganda have taken full advantage of this procedure in the past and there is absolutely no reason why Nigeria can’t do the same.
“By taking the proposed legal action against South Africa, the Jonathan government will be giving Nigerians in South Africa the best parting gift ever while also sending a powerful message to the authorities there that Nigeria will no longer accept the inadequate response by South Africa to blatant attacks against our citizens.”
It stated that South African authorities have persistently failed to strongly speak out against xenophobic attacks, and to hold perpetrators accountable, which it said, continued to impact negatively on Nigerian community in South Africa.
It stated: “Such a failure to act also sends a message of impunity to those who commit such crimes. An expectation of impunity can contribute to an escalation of such attacks. And this is exactly why our government must act decisively to stop this trend.
“South African authorities have the primary responsibility to protect individuals, including Nigerians resident in that country, from all types of violence and the duty to implement their international legal obligations to combat xenophobic and other forms of bias-motivated violence.
“The authorities need to be told in clear and unmistaken terms that tolerance and non-discrimination are important elements in the promotion of human rights and democratic values.”
MTN urges SA govt to provide strong measures against spread
Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria, yesterday, charged the South African government to provide strong measures against the spread of the current xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other nationals in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
The company, at a press conference said it was as concerned as other Nigerians over what is happening in South Africa at the moment and condemns the attacks in very strong terms.
Corporate Service Executive of the company, Mr Akinwale Goodluck, however, condemned calls and suggestions on social media for Nigerians to boycott or attack South African businesses in Nigeria, saying that reprisal attacks could not be a better alternative since the South African attacks was not state sponsored, but from a small group of South Africans that are aggrieved about some issues in their country.
Goodluck reminded that MTN Nigeria is a Nigerian company with 99 per cent of work forces made up of Nigerians, though the company has South African roots.
He also hinted that the MTN Group would announce financial assistance for victims of the attacks and displaced foreign nationals, who are now gathered at the Transit Park in South Africa for safety purposes.
He said the assistance would cover temporary accommodation, foods, beddings and blankets, medicals among others.
“There should be no cause for revenge in Nigeria. We are confident that the South African government will deal with the matter, which they have been able to bring under control in the last few days”, he stated.
Goodluck confirmed that there were peace protests to their offices in Abuja and Benin, yesterday, on the issue, which he said they have been able to manage effectively.
He appealed to Nigerians to shun any act of violence, promising that MTN and indeed all South African affiliated businesses in the country are working to ensure that the problem is put under control.
He warned that any violent attack on the telecommunications firm would have spiral effects on other sectors of the economy, which depends on ICT and telecommunications facilities to thrive.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism, Mr. Thulani Nzima, has condemned the attacks disclosing that about 310 suspects have been arrested. He also said all district disaster management centres have been placed on high-alert while a 24-hour call centre has been established, in addition to shelters which have been set-up to accommodate displaced foreign nationals.
According to Tourism CEO, “It is with embarrassment and shame that I come before the world and especially my fellow Africans to apologise for these senseless attacks. I hold in contempt the loathing and subsequent attacks suffered by our brothers and sisters from the continent. The majority of us South Africans, perceive and carry ourselves as Africans and believe what we have witnessed in some parts of our country goes against the grain of who we are as a people, our constitution, and the principles of Ubuntu that we so dearly adhere to.”
He pointed out that additional law enforcement officers have been mobilised around the country and deployed to the affected areas to enforce the law and prevent further attacks and government is working closely with the UNHCR, UNICEF as well as non-governmental organisations to provide food, psycho-social and other support to those affected.

Terrorists elect Buhari to resume search for oil along Chad Basin for the lazy Mohammed emirate of the north

The President-elect General Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday, said his incoming administration will accord priority to ending the Boko Haram insurgency and bring stability in the north east geopolitical zone, focus on re-activating the Lake Chad and deploy enormous resources to resume vigorous search for oil along the Chad Basin in parts of Borno State.
General Buhari who spoke at his residence in Kaduna while responding to requests made by Governor Kashim Shettima, the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Elkanemi and some elders from Borno State during a congratulatory visit to the President elect.
‎Buhari said he was very much aware of the problems of the northeast and will not waste time in tackling them up one after the other. He said his administration will enhance collaboration with neighboring Governments of Chad, Niger and Cameroon to curtail the trans- border movement of Boko Haram insurgents, cut supply of arms, cut recruitment and training of fresh recruits and that stability of the northeast was a must project for his administration noting that nothing can be achieved unless peace was restored to the troubled region.
‎The President-elect also assured the delegation the receding of lake chad will be addressed through the transfer of water from the central African Republic to the lake to boost its commercial activities for fishing and irrigation farming.
He recalled that he once red a document raising fears about receding of the Lake Chad which he handed over to then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, but now he will handle the matter. Buhari said the Lake has the potentials to create millions of jobs through irrigation and many other commercial uses it was associated with many years ago.
While acknowledging delays in oil exploration activities in the Chad Basin, the incoming President said he was very much aware of exploration activities in the area since 1978 as Minister of Petroleum. He said he had visited a site in Borno State as a Head of State to assess exploration activities and that he was very much conversant with the issue and would take it up as President when he settles in office.
General Buhari said he had many years ago, suggested the need to take the search for oil in the north seriously, not only to increase the export potentials on Nigeria, but also to balance cross regional perceptions and manage agitations so as to enhance the stability of the country. He promised to pay special attention to the economic potentials of the northeast so as to make it attractive for investments.
Governor Kashim Shettima who led the delegation in company of all traditional rulers, elders, elected National and State Assembly members and other stakeholders, had earlier disclosed that they were at the resident of the president-elect to congratulate him over his historic victory at the polls and to also remind him of problems affecting Borno State which he already knew.
The Governor said the people of Borno feel so much attached to General Buhari given his background as someone that served as Military Governor in the State. He said the citizens looked up to him with so much hope because the President elect was very much familiar with the problems of the State and how it has suffered in the last six years owing to massive killings of its people and extreme destructions of communities and public institutions. He pleaded with the incoming President to pay special attention to the affairs of the Borno‎.
The Shehu OF Borno Alh Abubakar Ibn umar Garbai Al Amim El-kanemi, appealed to the president Elect to consider making the Federal Government take over the welfare of youths volunteers fighting insurgency in the State, noting that Borno State Government has been spending so much on that in addition to huge expenditures in managing the Boko Haram insurgency besides spending on capital projects and payment of salaries of workers. The Shehu also appealed for Buhari’s intervention on resumption of commercial airlines to Maiduguri international Airport, which has been suspended almost two years ago.
Chairman of Borno Elders Forum, Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari expressed optimism that with incoming President’s track record of service, elders in the State have so much fate in him to address the needs of Borno citizens and also to move the nation forward. End

Clueless Jonathan: Some Powerful Forces After Me, Jonathan Cries Out

President Goodluck Jonathan has raised the alarm that some powerful forces in the country are after him following his inability to win the March 28 general elections. The president who spoke through his spokesman, Reuben Abati at a media briefing in Abuja on Sunday said the forces after him have continued to push into the public domain false allegations capable of causing national crisis in an attempt to diminish his local and international reputation as well as legacy.
He cited as false a report published by Sunday Punch today alleging that the Presidency spent a whopping N2 trillion on the 2015 General elections, and that a Committee of Five has been set up by President Jonathan to conduct an audit of how the funds were disbursed by party members and state officials adding that the publication is mischievous, false and embarrassing.

According to the presidency “the President has not set up any committee as alleged in that story. It is also not true that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party used state funds, or spent N2 trillion during the campaigns. The innuendoes are wrong-headed; the motives behind the story are suspicious.

The story alleges, for example, that the Presidency spent N2trillion on elections and embarked on a money-sharing spree to party members, support groups and state officials. The authors of the story and their self-appointed megaphones further insinuate that public funds were deployed in this regard. Their allegation of a theft of public funds is extremely malicious.

How much is the budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria? The annual budget of the Federal Government is a little over N4 trillion. The story is practically suggesting that half of the federal budget was spent on elections. This kind of reckless insinuation is meant to incite the public and instigate national crisis.

With FAAC having to do everything possible every month to ensure disbursements and with the Federal Government heavily committed to the war against terror in the North East, where is the alleged N2 trillion from the Federal purse? President Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party conducted the 2015 elections in strict accordance with the rule of law. The suggestion of any unlawful conduct cannot be sustained under any circumstances.

President Jonathan has done his best to protect and strengthen democracy and promote peace. He justly deserves all the accolades that he has received from both Nigerians and the international community for this. Certain persons and interest groups may not be happy that his profile has further risen and that his legacy is assured; but they do their country gross disservice when they act so unpatriotically.

Anyone who is engaged in imposing a crisis on the country by any means is not being fair to Nigeria. We can only appeal to the public to be wary of such reckless tactics now on display, which form the substance of an odd, malicious campaign after the elections.

” We are particularly worried that since the March 28 and April 11 elections, some persons have continued to work very hard to diminish the Jonathan Presidency. They need to be reminded that the time for politics is over; it is now time to focus on the in-coming government, with emphasis on national development and moving the country forward.”

Nsibidi is an ancient Igbo writing system of graphic communication indigenous to the people of Biafra

Nsibidi (also known as nsibiri,^[2] nchibiddi or nchibiddy^[3]) is a system of symbols indigenous to what is now southeastern Nigeria that is apparently an ideographic script, though there have been suggestions that it includes logographic elements.^[4] The symbols are at least several centuries old: Early forms appeared on excavated pottery as well as what are most likely ceramic stools and headrests from the Calabar region, with a range of dates from 400 to 1400 CE.^[5][6]

There are thousands of nsibidi symbols, of which over 500 have been recorded. They were once taught in a school to children.^[7] Many of the signs deal with love affairs; those that deal with warfare and the sacred are kept secret.^[7] Nsibidi is used on wall designs, calabashes, metals (such as bronze), leaves, swords, and tattoos.^[2][8] It is primarily used by theEkpe leopard secret society (also known as Ngbe or Egbo), which is found across Cross River among the Ekoi, Efik, Igbo people, and other nearby peoples.

Outside knowledge of nsibidi came in 1904 when T.D. Maxwell noticed the symbols.^[4] Before the British colonisation of the area, nsibidi was divided into a sacred version and a public, more decorative version which could be used by women.^[8] Aspects of colonisation such as Western education and Christian doctrine drastically reduced the number of nsibidi-literate people, leaving the secret society members as some of the last literate in the symbols.^[9] Nsibidi was and is still a means of transmitting Ekpe symbolism. Nsibidi was transported toCuba and Haiti via the Atlantic slave trade, where it developed into the anaforuana and veve symbols.^[10][11]

History[edit]

The origin of the word nsibidi is not known. One theory traces the word to the Ekoid languages, where it means "cruel letters", reflecting the harsh laws of the secret societies that hold nsibidi knowledge.^[12][13] In Calabar, nsibidi is mostly associated with men's leopard societies such as Ekpe. The leopard societies were a legislative, judicial, and executive power before colonisation, especially among the Efik who exerted much influence over the Cross River.^[5]

Origin[edit]

The origin of nsibidi is most commonly attributed to the Ejagham people of the northern Cross River region, mostly because colonial administrators found the largest and most diverse nsibidi among them. Nsibidi spread throughout the region over time and mixed with other cultures and art forms such as the Igbo uri or uli graphic design.^[5] In 1909 J. K. Macgregor who collected nsibidi symbols claimed that nsibidi was traditionally said to have come from the Uguakima, Ebe or Uyanga tribes of the Igbo people, which legend says were taught the script by baboons,^[3] although one writer believes Macgregor had been misled by his informants.^[14]

Status[edit]

Nsibidi has a wide vocabulary of signs usually imprinted on calabashes, brass ware, textiles, wood sculptures, masquerade costumes, buildings and on human skin. Nsibidi has been described as a "fluid system" of communication consisting of hundreds of abstract and pictographic signs. Nsibidi was described in the colonial era by P.A. Talbot as "a kind of primitive secret writing", Talbot explained that nsibidi was used for messages "cut or painted on split palm stems". J.K. Macgregor's view was that "The use of nsibidi is that of ordinary writing. I have in my possession a copy of the record of a court case from a town of Enion [Enyong] taken down in it, and every detail ... is most graphically described". Nsibidi crossed ethnic lines and was a uniting factor among ethnic groups in the Cross River region.^[5]

Uses[edit]

Court Cases - "Ikpe"[edit]

Nsibidi was used in judgement cases known as 'Ikpe' in some Cross River communities. Macgregor was able to retrieve and translate an nsibidi record from Enyong of an ikpe judgement.

The record is of an Ikpe or judgement case. (a) The court was held under a tree as is the ^[15]

custom, (b) the parties in the case, (c) the chief who judged it, (d) his staff (these are enclosed in a circle), (e) is a man whispering into the ear of another just outside the circle of those concerned, (f) denotes all the members of the party who won the case. Two of them (g) are embracing, (h) is a man who holds a cloth between his finger and thumbs as a sign of contempt. He does not care for the words spoken. The lines round and twisting mean that the case was a difficult one which the people of the town could not judge for themselves. So they sent to the surrounding towns to call the wise men from them and the case was tried by them (j) and decided; (k) denotes that the case was one of adultery or No. 20.

Ukara Ekpe[edit]

Nsibidi is used to design the 'ukara ekpe' woven material which is usually dyed blue (but also green and red) and is covered in nsibidi symbols and motifs. Ukara ekpe cloths are woven in Abakaliki, and then they are designed by male nsibidi artists in the Igbo-speaking towns of Abiriba, Arochukwu and Ohafia to be worn by members of the Ekpe society. Symbols including lovers, metal rods, trees, feathers, hands in friendship war and work, masks, moons, and stars are dyed onto ukara cloths. The cloth is dyed by post-menopausal women in secret, and young males in public. Ukara was a symbol of wealth and power only handled by titled men and post-menopausal women.^[16]

Ukara can be worn as a wrapper (a piece of clothing) on formal occasions, and larger version are hung in society meeting houses and on formal occasions. Ukara motifs are designed in white and are placed on grids set against an indigo background. Some of the designs include abstract symbols representing the Ekpe society such as repeating triangles representing the leopard's claws and therefore Ekpe's power. Ukara includes naturalistic designs representing objects such as gongs, feathers and manilla currency, a symbol of wealth. Powerful animals are included, specifically the leopard and crocodile.^[5]

Examples of Nsibidi[edit]

Below are some examples of nsibidi recorded by J. K. Macgregor (1909)^[15] and Elphinstone Dayrell (1910 and 1911)^[1][17] for The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and Man. Both of them recorded symbols from a variety of locations around the Cross River, and especially the Ikom district in what is now Cross River State. Both of the writers used informants to retrieve nsibidi that were regarded as secret and visited several Cross River communities.

Iran deal on nukes could boost Tehran’s cyber-terror army, says report

Iranian cyber-terrorists are launching more sophisticated and frequent attacks against the U.S. and its allies, and the proposed deal to ease sanctions on the Islamic Republic could give it the money and technology to ramp up its digital warfare, according to a new report.

The study, by the American Enterprise Institute and the cybersecurity firm Norse and released on Friday, follows similar reports by other online threat detection firms and analysts as the U.S. plans to ease financial sanctions on Iran under the framework of a deal to limit the country’s nuclear capabilities. While all eyes are on the nuclear capability, the report warns it could be online attacks that explode.

"The lifting of sanctions as a result of the recently announced framework for a nuclear deal with Iran will dramatically increase the resources Iran can put toward expanding its cyberattack infrastructure," the report states. "We must anticipate that the Iranian cyberthreat may well begin to grow much more rapidly."

“The immediate issue now with sanction relief really requires careful thought.”

- Fred Kagan, American Enterprise Institute

There is every reason to expect Iran to ramp up damaging digital attacks on foreign governments and corporations, given that the program is already expanding despite the sanction, say experts.

“What we’ve noticed is a steady increase in attacks both from state-sponsored [Iranian attackers] and groups affiliated with Iran,” Sam Glines, CEO of Norse, told FoxNews.com.

The AEI-Norse study says the size and sophistication of Iran’s hacking capabilities have grown within recent years, and the country has already penetrated well-defended networks in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, destroying sensitive data. Hackers connected to Iranian computer systems have also launched attacks on Israel, according to the study.

The report attributes several high-profile cyberattacks to malicious Iranian cyber activity including the 2011 denial-of-service attacks on the websites of JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America. It also says Iranians brought down the computer systems of the Las Vegas-based Sands Casino in February 2014, after owner Sheldon Adelson suggested Iran should be bombed with a nuclear weapon.

“We see the Iranians continue to expand their sophistication,” Fred Kagan, director of AEI’s Critical Threats Project, told FoxNews.com

But Kagan is raising new concerns about whether a proposed deal to ease some financial sanctions on Iran, in exchange for increased surveillance and limitations on its nuclear program, would allow the country access to more cash to beef up its cyber warfare efforts.

“The immediate issue now with sanction relief really requires careful thought,” Kagan said.

IRANIAN CYBER THREAT DATES BACK YEARS

Kagan also believes easing sanctions that would allow Iran easier access to technology and is likely to enable the country’s regime to advance its cyber warfare program.

Other cyber threat detection analysts have backed up Kagan’s concerns about a growing threat from Iran targeting cyber infrastructure in the U.S. and elsewhere.

A December 2014 report by Cylance says Iran goes to great lengths to secretly advance its cyber warfare efforts by blurring “the line between legitimate engineering companies and state-sponsored cyber hacking teams to establish a foothold in the world’s critical infrastructure.”

“The scary thing is they’re advancing at a rate that’s higher than normal,” Cylance Vice President of Strategy Jon Miller told FoxNews.com.

Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed legislation that would allow Congress to have a say on a nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Chairman Bob Corker, (R-Tenn.), has expressed concerns about the easing of sanctions against Iran under the deal.

Ranking Member on the committee Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has worked to bridge differences between Congress and The White House over the deal.

"I am concerned about what Iran is doing on many fronts, including cyber capabilities, which is another example of Iranian sponsorship of terrorism," Cardin said. "It is why the Iranian Nuclear Review Act, which is aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, specifically says that U.S. sanctions on Iran related to terrorism and ballistic missiles remain in place.”

Source Fox News

Obama suggests possible compromise on Iran sanctions

President Obama suggested on Friday that Iran could receive significant economic relief immediately after concluding a deal to curb its nuclear program, a gesture towards one of Tehran’s key demands. Obama said such a move would depend on the final accord allowing international sanctions to be quickly re-imposed if Tehran violated the agreement it is now negotiating with global powers. The administration has said the U.S. prefers sanctions would be lifted in phases as Iran meets certain requirements. “Our main concern here is making sure that if Iran doesn’t abide by its agreement that we don’t have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops in order to reinstate sanctions,” the president said at a news conference. “It will require some creative negotiations,” Mr. Obama said, adding, “I’m confident it will be successful.” Such solutions could potentially include a faster timetable for lifting sanctions and also freeing up tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenue that has been frozen, though Obama made no reference to that money. Later, seeking to clarify the president’s comments, a White House official said Obama “will not accept a deal without phased sanctions” relief. How sanctions would be lifted under is becoming a flashpoint as Iran and the West try to move from a preliminary agreement made earlier this month to a final deal by a June 30 deadline. Obama, at the news conference, which came after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, said the level and timing of sanctions relief are less important to the U.S. than the measures that will determine how quickly sanctions can be re-enacted if Iran breaks any final agreement. On both the lifting of sanctions and the “snap back” provisions that put them back in place if Iran is in violation, Obama said U.S. negotiators will be seeking “formulas that get to our main concerns while allowing the other side to make a presentation to their body politic that is more acceptable.”

This is why we fight and the more reason why we must win

This is why we fight and the more reason why we must win…….Before the white man came my ancestors never had any dealings, politically or socially, with the Mohammedan Emirates of Awusa/Fulani lands in the dry arid Sahel or the conquered and cowardly Yoruba race. The white man came and 6 million Biafrans were massacred without mercy at the hands of the Satanic jihadists supported by Christians from Europe. Isn't it ironic that those that call themselves Christians in Biafraland are blissfully unaware of the fact that it was their 'fellow' white Christians in Europe, especially those that brought them the New Testament that handed them over to the murderous barbarism of Islam in the zoo called Nigeria? For as long as we live, we won't let them forget their treachery and evil against innocent citizens of Biafra.

THE GREATEST KILLER OF BLACK AFRICANS IS NOT MAN MADE DISEASE SUCH AS EBOLA BUT IGNORANCE AND INABILITY TO REASON

THE GREATEST KILLER OF BLACK AFRICANS IS NOT MAN MADE DISEASE SUCH AS EBOLA BUT IGNORANCE AND INABILITY TO REASON
What is a Nation?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a nation is "a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory".
The simple question for those erroneously referring to themselves as Nigerians out of ignorance is, does this definition of a nation apply to the British created human Zoo called Nigeria? If the answer is a resounding no, why then have these dim witted, half baked intellectuals insist on calling Nigeria....sorry the Zoo their nation?
Even in the next one billion years the British created zoo will never attain the status of nationhood. Biafra or death!

Cowardice Yoruba media at it again: Igbo leaders a disgrace

Point of correction Ojukwu speech is about Biafra not Igbo, Igbo is a language not a people.
I was told that every Igboman who heard Ojukwu’s speech after the Biafran war was filled with a renewed sense of pride and hope. A hope that one day the Igbo nation will rise and become a force of reckoning not just in Nigeria but in the entire black world. I have read that speech over and over and each time I read through, I am filled with pride and imagination of how those who heard the words pouring out of the mouth of the warlord himself must have felt. Before going any further, let me recount a little part of what the late sage said while addressing the press:

“In the three years of the war, necessity gave birth to invention. During those three years of heroic bound, we leapt across the great chasm that separates knowledge from know-how. We built rockets, and we designed and built our own delivery systems. We guided our rockets. We guided them far, we guided them accurately. For three years, blockaded without hope of import, we maintained all our vehicles. The state extracted and refined petrol, individuals refined petrol in their back gardens. We built and maintained our airports, maintained them under heavy bombardment. Despite the heavy bombardment, we recovered so quickly after each raid that we were able to maintain the record for the busiest airport in the continent of Africa. We spoke to the world through telecommunication system engineered by local ingenuity; the world heard us and spoke back to us! We built armoured car tanks. We modified aircraft from trainer to fighters, from passenger aircraft to bombers. In the three years of freedom we had broken the technological barrier. In three years we became the most civilised, the most technologically advanced black people on earth.”
Ojukwu, with those few lines, defined the ingenuity and never-say-die spirit God has embedded in the marrows of the Igboman. But my question for Ndigbo is, where has this ingenuity for which the entire world has given them a standing ovation, gone? Why can’t it be used today to enhance the cause of Ndigbo? Can’t we re-enact the same war time feat to launch ourselves back to reckoning again in Nigeria and in the entire black world?

Since Ojukwu died, Ndigbo have been like sheep without a shepherd. Those who we thought could take up the mantle of leadership are nothing but selfish entities who care for nothing but their personal interest. As I am writing this article, I just got words that a senator in Imo State has been discovered as a saboteur working against the interest of his people because he has been promised to be made Senate president in the new political dispensation which begins on May 29. What is it with Ndigbo and greed? How long are we going to kill ourselves? Isn’t it a gargantuan shame that a tribe as populous as Ndigbo can’t provide a single individual that is seen to be credible enough to be elected president of Nigeria? A casual observation of the performances of the governors of the south eastern states will reveal their level of under-performance since 1999. Case point, take Aba which has failed to enjoy any meaningful development since the 1929 Aba women riot. The place is a total mess. What have the governors done with what has been accruing to the state in the last 16 years of democratic rule? The fact that these individuals who have mismanaged fortunes of the state consider themselves fit to even contest election is a slap on the faces of Ndigbo. Ndigbo, are we cursed? The red-cap goons known as Ohaneze do nothing but crawl from one place to another offering themselves for sale and for use. This has been their money-making scheme for too long and it can no longer hold water. Can’t we take a cue from the style Dangote adopted and made a kill? The Yoruba have already adopted it and it is working. We have to restrategise to become that economic power house we crave. The idea that every Igboman who makes money whether through his ingenuity or by accident becomes misguided and begins to push for political office even though they are clearly not professional politicians should be discarded.

We hear of Dangote, the Dantatas, Otedola, Mike Adenuga, the Okoyas, where are the Igbo equivalent in terms of their organisational set-up? Most of our businesses are largely one-man businesses and whenever the founder dies, the whole thing dies. Ndigbo must do away with their selfishness and personal greed, otherwise we will continue to languish as a people. We must redirect our thoughts away from the deeply engrossed notion of “to make it in life,” “we must make money at all cost.” What Ndigbo should learn from the just concluded elections is that without a harmony of opinion, all our efforts will yield nothing. Igbo kwezuenu.

Source Punch

Niger Delta are you after your freedom or after guarding your own oil pipeline for Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba?

Pipeline Surveillance: Urhobo community issues one-week ultimatum to FG, NNPC to approve contract ONE of the host Communities of Nigeria, Oil and Gas, HOSTCOM, Urhobo Ethnic Nationality, Delta State, yesterday, issued a one week ultimatum to the Federal government, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC and the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, NPDC to approve the pipeline surveillance contract due to the Urhobo failing which the security of oil facilities in Urhrobo land cannot be guaranteed. The body, in a statement issued by its Chairman, Comrade Efe Okovwurie at a meeting with the leadership of the oil and gas producing/impacted communities in Urhobo nation, vowed to resist any attempt to employ a contractor from outside the Urhobo nation to handle surveillance and intelligence gathering for oil facilities located in Urhobo communities. It maintained that the body as well as the Presidents General and Chairmen of oil and gas bearing/ impacted communities of Urhobo had resolved that the federal government should award the pipeline surveillance and intelligence gathering contract for the Urhobo nation oil and gas facilities to the Urhobo Oil and Gas HOSTCOM Ltd.

The statement disclosed that the first phase of the surveillance contracts had no impact on the oil bearing communities, alleging that “the contractors recruited ghost workers, hence the communities are insisting that the Urhobo portion of the pipeline surveillance that cuts across over eight local government areas in Urhobo land must be given to the company jointly owned by the oil bearing communities so that the indigenes of the communities living with the facilities in their backyard can equally be involved as workers, monitors, supervisors and advisers.” Alleging that some group of persons who benefited from the first phase contract had hired and mobilized some Urhobo youths to Abuja for a protest on how to secure the contracts, the statement advised the federal government and the managements of NNPC and NPDC not to listen to anybody except the leadership of HOSTCOM, Urhobo nation. The statement enjoined Urhobo oil bearing communities to be patient and support the actualization of their agitation, reiterating the determination of HOSTCOM is to accommodate indigenes of the communities, traditional rulers, Presidents General of the kingdoms, youths, women bodies in Urhobo Nation, Ex-Militant of Urhobo nation, HOSTCOM leaders and others in the contracts if awarded.

Biafra Memorial Gallery May 2014