Biggest Statue of Jesus in Africa Unveiled in Nigeria

In Nigeria on Friday ,was the unveiling of the nine-metre tall statue of Jesus Christ carved from white marble, thought to be the biggest of its kind in Africa. In Abajah is a village in Imo State, south-east Nigeria
Standing barefoot with arms outstretched, the "Jesus de Greatest" statue weighs in at 40 tonnes.



More than 100 priests and hundreds of Catholic worshippers attended the nine-metre (30-foot) statue's official unveiling in the village of Abajah in southeastern Nigeria.
It was commissioned by Obinna Onuoha, a businessman who hired a Chinese company to carve it and placed it in the grounds of a 2000-capacity church that he built in 2012.

In his homily at a Mass before unveiling the statue, presiding bishop Augustine Tochukwu Okwuoma said it would be a "very great symbol of faith" for Catholic worshippers and passers-by alike.

"It will remind them of the importance of Jesus Christ," said Okwuoma.
Earlier in the week, Onuoha told AFP it would be "the biggest statue of Jesus on the continent."

The 43-year-old boss of an oil and gas distribution company timed the statue's unveiling to coincide with his parents' 50th wedding anniversary.

"We think religions can exist side by side," Onuoha said. "We hope that people can live in harmony." He said this in connection with the diverse religious group in Nigeria.

He said the idea of building a giant statue of Jesus came to him in a dream nearly 20 years ago.And when his 68-year-old mother fell seriously ill a few years ago, she made him promise that he would build a church if she survived.

Sahara Group Praised for Efforts in transforming the Power Sector

The Federal Government has lauded Sahara Group and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for the unfolding transformation of Egbin Power Plc, the nation's largest power generation utility. 

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola‎, and the Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Dikki, in separate speeches at the weekend, commended the post privatization achievements of Egbin’s new owners at a meeting to flag off the dispatch of additional 220mw from the Egbin Power Plant to Lagos.

After conducting an on-the-site inspection of the plant, Fashola noted that the change at the plant was impressive considering its dismal state and decades of improper maintenance after it was commissioned over 30 years ago.

"When the plant was built over 30 years ago for lower a population, it lacked maintenance and complete overhaul. These have led to only one or two units working while other units were either not working at all or partially working. Today, due to Sahara’s Investment in the plant, we are back to the six turbines that are working with 1320 MW ready for evacuation,” he said.

Recalling that he represented the Federal Government in handing over Egbin to the investors two years ago, Dikki, the BPE DG, said, "I know the state in which Egbin was when we handed it over. One plant was down for over 10 years and it is that plant that we are having back and commissioning today."

Dikki said:

"I want to congratulate the investors in Egbin‎ for being a flagship, a shining example of what privatisation is meant to achieve. Moving from less than 400MW to 1,320MW in less than two years is no mean achievement, given the fact that no component is manufactured locally. "This is a shining example that we want every privatisation candidate to emulate."

Chairman, Egbin Power Plc, Mr. Kola Adesina said ‎that prior to the privatisation of the plant in November 2013, Egbin’s average generation capacity was 300MW due to the dismal state of its six units, adding that at its lowest point; only one of the six units was operational.

He said:

"Post-acquisition, we are already witnessing some significant achievements, particularly, the plant’s current sustained 1,110MW generation capacity that is responsible for over 25 per cent of power supply in the nation. From the outset, we had just one desire: Let there be light. In spite of numerous challenges, all we could see was a Nigeria that has the capacity to harness its amazing potential though a robust and sustainable power sector. This vision has yielded ongoing initiatives, investments and innovations which have restored Egbin to its installed capacity of 1,320MW.”

Adesina said Egbin had already commenced feasibility studies to double the capacity of the plant to 2670mw.

“As we prepare to power the change that will drive Nigeria to its next phase of sustained growth, we also target an Egbin that would birth an industrial park. I will like to say that, the Sahara Group, KERL, Egbin Power Plc and other sister companies have elected to own the vision of electrifying Nigeria and we remain committed to this vision,” he added.

Nigerian Telcos spends 46.1 Billion Naira on Sim Registration, Deactivate 10.7 Million SIM Cards

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the four operators of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), spent about N46.1 billion on SIM card registration from 2010 to 2015, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

The breakdown of the figure showed that while NCC spent N6.1 billion, the four GSM operators, MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat, collectively spent N40 billion, with each operator spending about N10 billion.

As at 2013, MTN said it spent N5 billion on SIM card registration, but explained that the amount rose to over N10 billion in the last few weeks, since the registration exercise is ongoing. 

The other three GSM operators, also said they had so far spent huge amount ofmoney, running into billions of naira on SIM card registration, but they are yet to release the exact amount spent so farNigerian Telcos have deactivated about 10.7 million SIM cards and this has led to affected customers picketing telcos’ customer centers across the country, Guardian reports.

The SIM cards were barred after the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Nigerian telecoms industry regulator, gave carriers a seven-day ultimatum to deactivate pre-registered SIM cards and those with poor biometric capturing from their networks.The report by Guardian reveals that a number of aggrieved customers interviewed indicated that they were duly registered and were surprised when they discovered their SIM cards had been barred.

Since telcos began the biometric capturing of customers in 2011, the NCC revealed in September 2014 that about 45% of registered SIMs were improperly registered.Collectively, the NCC and the four telecommunications operators in Nigeria, Etisalat, MTN, GLO and Airtel have spent about N46.1 billion on SIM card registration from 2010 to 2015.

NGSDP NATIONAL POWER TRAINING INSTITUTE (NAPTIN): A FEDERAL SCAM?

This is a piece by  an Engineer that did his training with NAPTIN. Very ENLIGHTENING!!!

" It is pertinent to let the world and the Federal Government know of the scam being perpetrated on the citizens and Graduate Engineers by the National Power Training Institute (NAPTIN) and its DG Engr. Reuben Okeke. 

We the graduates of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 sets have decided to come out and voice out our pain, anguish, displeasure and disappointment about the behavio of Engr. Okeke and that of NAPTIN as a whole. If we do not speak out on time then other graduate engineers will still fall prey to their unholy and unconstitutional practices as NAPTIN has already posted adverts for the next batch of trainings for 2015 when the graduates of the previous two sets are still languishing at home jobless even after obtaining a 'MERIT' pass certificate which was the minimum required grade obtainable by any NAPTIN graduate seeking a job offer within the power sector. 

Infact, Engr. Okeke in clear terms stated during the 2nd inauguration ceremony on 15/11/2013 that the 10 best graduating students of NAPTIN will be granted the the right of first refusal for job placement within NAPTIN itself. This statement, the same Engr. Okeke has vehemently denied during our last scheduled meeting with NAPTIN seeking that they fulfilled all the promises they made both at the 2nd inauguration (15/11/2013) and graduation (01/12/2014) ceremonies.

But we wish to remind Engr. Okeke and NAPTIN that it is on note that he made those statements to the hearing of everyone present at those two ceremonies, some of which includes representatives from the ministry of Power, chairman Senate committee on power and also some foreign investors, and that we have in our possession the video recording of those occasions which we will use in exposing his lies when the time comes. Infact, during our graduation ceremony, Amb. Igali stated in plain English that the President had given approval that the 189 "merit" graduates of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 to be employed by TCN, a copy of that statement which we equally have in our possession. 

Though it is also important to let the public know that we never had problems with the quality of training NAPTIN gave us, the quality of the training we received was "first class " ranging from the classroom exposure in our respective regional training Centres (RTCs), to our sectorial and sub-sectorial practical field jobs, infact, while on the field we worked alongside seasoned Engineers and sometimes expatriates in carrying out routine maintenance, repairs and installations jobs. 

But the crux of the matter is why waste so much resources without any end product? Why should an unemployed graduate cough out 750,000 naira plus almost another one million naira for housing, feeding, and transportation, risking lives traveling all over the country for one year without a guaranteed end product? These graduates travelled to Abuja RTC, Egbin thermal (Lagos sectorial ), Sapele thermal (Module I), Olorunshogo -papalanto (module II), etc in the course of the well structured training. Some other colleagues went to Geregu (Kogi sectorial ), kaduna disco (sectorial ), kainji RTC (module II ), Jos RTC, Afam IV & V (Port-Harcourt sectorial ), Orji River RTC (Enugu ), Lagos transmission (Ijora ), etc 

The training being a national program meant that we had to travel the length and breadth of Nigeria but on OUR OWN MONEY! . The training was no joke, so why should the end result be? These questions and many more are the reasons for our outburst and we demand answers to them. 

If NAPTIN and the Federal government cannot employ the merited graduates of NAPTIN, then let it be scrapped. It is unhealthy and unconstitutional for the FG through NAPTIN to exploit the vulnerability of Engineering graduates for profit making purposes without adequate plans for the benefit of the graduates themselves. 

It is worrying also that even within the FG circle itself NAPTIN certificate is useless, valueless and unrecognized. All our individual attempts to render the NAPTIN certificate to the ministry of Power (MOP) and it's other Government sister power agencies such as NERC, EMS and co, for their consideration of our employment has seen this same NAPTIN certificate thrown back at us saying that " we do not know what NAPTIN is and as such it cannot be used as a basis for your employment ". This statement not only show how useless the certificate is but also showing its lack of educational value and making it an equivalent of a roadside computer Centre. 

Painful as this may sound, it is nothing compared to the despair we felt while with our host companies during our respective field sectorial duties where our host companies kept on with side recruitments through the back door. Infact my host plant, Sahara Energy (owners of IKEDC and Egbin thermal ) conducted a fresh recruitment under our very nose and sent the successful candidates to the same NAPTIN for training without any consideration for us. Obviously we made our plight known to NAPTIN but they washed their hands of it saying they cannot force any Genco or disco to employ people against their wish, then we wonder and begin to ask the questions of what happened to the remaining FG stake of 30-40% ownership in such companies if they cannot atleast have a say in those companies recruitment exercise. 

Bordering on all these points is the reason for our public outcry about NAPTIN nefarious activities that even after 22 months and 9 months of graduation of the 2012/2013 set and 2013/2014 set respectively; and constant meetings and pleas with the NAPTIN management to fulfill their own end of the bargain (since we have fulfilled ours), but they have all through these meetings shamelessly denied ever promising us Jobs. 

Therefore, we have resolved to expose them for what they are, we will stop at nothing to make sure that they deliver on their promises to us. It is time for them to be held accountable to their words, the era of making empty political statements and promises is gone. 

Our demands therefore are simple and as follows ;

1. The immediate grant of the right of first refusal for direct employment into NAPTIN for the 2013/2014 first 10 best Graduates. 

2. The immediate employment of the remaining 189 merit graduates of both the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 sets either by TCN or by its other Government sister Power agencies. 

4. That FG should mandate NAPTIN to stop the present advert for admission which it has posted both online and in the National dailies, till our pressing issues are attended to. 

4. That the FG through Ministry of Power (MOP) should mandate all Private Companies (Gencos and Discos ) and Public (TCN, NERC, etc) to grant the graduates of NAPTIN the right of first refusal during employment as it still retains 30-40% ownership of stake in such companies. 

5. That failure to do 1&2 above, then NAPTIN should refund our 750,000naira paid as Tuition and school fees.

6. That as promised during our inauguration, NAPTIN should endeavor to partner with top recognised universities both home and foreign for the upgrade of our certificate to Post-graduate studies. 

PS: 

We also wish to use this medium to tell our respective State Governments and our other benefactors who sponsored us and even provided us stipends to take care of our running expenses incurred during this period, hoping that we will become useful to ourselves and the State in particular can now see through the lies of Engr. Reuben Okeke as the DG of NAPTIN who is only concerned about the money that will come to him. 

Our advice is to disregard further letters sent to you about admission of your state indigenes for the next set of trainings when virtually all of us from the previous sets are still at home. We employ you to insist on NAPTIN making true their promise of getting us Jobs first before sponsoring another set. 

- To our fresh Graduates, please do not fall prey to their scam I.e adverts you see everywhere. They are only looking for the gullible to prey on, draining them financially, mentally, psychologically and otherwise in the process. inshort, they are only interested in your money while selling you lies. They remain a scam and a fiarce until proven otherwise. BE WARNED!!! "

Signed :

2012/2013

2013/2014

Graduates of NAPTIN

original work BY CrixusD"

Hackers Compromise Jeep Cherokee

A pair of veteran cybersecurity researchers have shown they can use the Internet to turn off a car's engine as it drives, sharply escalating the stakes in the debate about the safety of increasingly connected cars and trucks.

Former National Security Agency hacker Charlie Miller, now at Twitter, and IOActive researcher Chris Valasek used a feature in the Fiat Chrysler telematics system Uconnect to break into a car being driven on the highway by a reporter for technology news site Wired.com.

In a controlled test, they turned on the Jeep Cherokee's radio and activated other inessential features before rewriting code embedded in the entertainment system hardware to issue commands through the internal network to steering, brakes and the engine.

"There are hundreds of thousands of cars that are vulnerable on the road right now," Miller told Reuters.

Fiat Chrysler said it had issued a fix for the most serious vulnerability involved. The software patch is available for free on the company's website and at dealerships.

"Similar to a smartphone or tablet, vehicle software can require updates for improved security protection to reduce the potential risk of unauthorized and unlawful access to vehicle systems," the company said. It didn't immediately answer other questions.

Miller and Valasek have been probing car safety for years and have been among those warning that remote hacking was inevitable. An academic team had previously said it hacked a moving vehicle from afar but did not say how or name the manufacturer, putting less pressure on the industry.

2015 Jeep Cherokee

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Mark Rosekind on Tuesday said his agency is increasingly concerned about the security of vehicle control systems.

"We know these systems will become targets of bad actors," he told a conference on autonomous and connected vehicle technology in Ypsilanti, Mich. If consumers don't believe that connected vehicle systems are safe and secure, he said, "they will not engage it."

Members of Congress have also expressed concern, and on Tuesday senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats, introduced a bill that would direct the NHTSA to develop standards for isolating critical software and detect hacking as it occurs

Miller and Valasek said they had been working with Fiat Chrysler since October, giving the company enough time to construct a patch to disable a feature that the men suspected had been turned on by accident. They plan to release a paper at the Def Con security conference next month that includes code for remote access, which will no longer work on cars that have been updated.

They said the harder problem for an attacker, moving from the entertainment system to the core onboard network, would take months for other top-tier hackers to emulate.

Many Jeeps could remain unpatched, leaving them open to attack. But the researchers said hackers would need to know the Internet Protocol address of a car in order to attack it specifically, and that address changes every time the car starts.

Otherwise, "You have to attack random cars," Valasek said.

The men stressed that it would be easy to make modest adjustments to their code and attack other types of vehicles.

They said that manufacturers, who are racing to add new Internet-connected features, should work much harder on creating safe capability for automatic over-the-air software updates, segregation of onboard entertainment and engineering networks, and intrusion-detection software for stopping improper commands.

"Anything that connects to the outside world is an attack vector, from my point of view," Valasek said.

The Art of Speaking: Emmanuel Fadahunsi

Most of us will shy away from any opportunity to speak to a crowd or even to address a few persons....its understandable:D.I recently did a personality test and was classified as an extrovert,lively, outgoing and loud personality.I occasionally step up to the plate if I needed to address people, but I lacked something in that regard,a certain Je ne sais quoi,a finesse, that art of making words seem alive. Elbert Hubbard in 1908 said: Art is not a thing — it is a way. It is not the thing I say it is the way I say it, that makes it the art. 

Emmanuel Fadahunsi has harnessed the art form in delivering well crafted and intriguing speeches that would spur your emotional core, and that's why on the 9th of May, 2015, Emmanuel Fadahunsi,of Seaside Toastmasters Club emerged the District 94 (WestAfrica) Champion of Public Speaking, at the District’s Spring Conference in Azalai de la Plage Hotel, Cotonou, Benin Republic, winning six other finalists from across the eleven West African Countries that make up District 94. His “Don‟t let it in”, speech about how you can only be brought down in life if you let in the challenges , a speech inspired by a terrifying boat experience which Emmanuel reflected on,this taught him a vital lesson; water from the sea cannot sink a boat unless it gets inside.

This is an event with many firsts ,by winning the contest Emmanuel Fadahunsi has put himself and Nigeria in the history books,as he will be the first West African and Nigerian to represent District 94 (West Africa) at the World Championship of Public Speaking in Las Vegas from August 12-15, 2015. A big congrats to him and success in Vegas!!. Pictures from the competition at Benin Republic.

10 Things To Expect from Windows 10

Since the release of Windows 8, Microsoft users have been itching for the next generation of Windows. You might expect Windows 9 to be the next operating system on the list, but Microsoft says that with such huge changes, they’ve decided to name the OS Windows 10 to signify that it’s a leap from Windows 8, not just an increment in the system.

Users are hoping that Windows 10 lives up to this claim, and many believe it will do so. TechRadar reports that they feel Windows 10 is coming along well, and CNET says Windows 10 “may just be everything that Windows 8 should have been.”

Unveiled in September, 2014, Windows 10 should be out by the end of July according to rumors (there is no confirmed release date as of writing this). Also good news: Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users will be able to download the new OS for free within the first year! Want to see what this new operating system is like? Check out what you can expect from Windows 10 below.

1. The Traditional Start Menu Will Return

Let’s be honest. Not too many people were thrilled with the Windows 8 start menu on desktop. Microsoft listened to these complaints, and they’re bringing back the traditional start menu for Windows 10 all while integrating a usable menu for smaller mobile devices. This start menu will bridge the gap between the Windows 8 tiled version and the classic version by displaying the two side-by-side all without leaving your desktop.

2. The Continuum Feature Will Adapt Your Screen to Your Environment

While the classic start menu is great for desktop computers, it isn’t exactly a friendly choice for smaller touch-screen devices. That’s why when you’re in tablet mode, you’ll be able to view the start menu in a full-screen touch-friendly environment. You can even toggle your device between tablet and laptop mode for those devices that double as both using the Continuum feature.

Continuum will allow you to adapt any device to its environment. For instance, if you plug in your phone to a monitor via HDMI, your phone’s screen will switch to desktop mode to make navigating your presentation easier.

3. Cortana Will Be Your New Personal Assistant

With the Windows 10 release, Cortana is coming to desktop. This voice assistant will be accessible near the start menu on the bottom left corner of your screen, and you can call her up by saying, “Hey Cortana.” Pop-up notifications will then be displayed, and you’ll be able to search your OneDrive or hard drive. If you don’t want to use voice commands, you can type commands in the search bar.

4. Internet Explorer Will No Longer Be Your Go-To Browser

While Internet Explorer won’t go away – it will still be available for sites where you need it – Microsoft is introducing a new web browser with Windows 10 called Microsoft Edge. This new browser will essentially be a safer, faster, and cleaner version of Internet Explorer complete with new apps like Cortana. You’ll also be able to annotate websites and send them to others in “reader” view. Like older Windows operating systems, you can still download Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers if you’d like.

5. Snap Quadrants Will Allow You to Work With Four Apps at Once

Do you hate toggling between apps to get to work? While previous Windows operating systems offered split screen options, Windows 10 features “Snap” quadrants that will make it possible to work with four different apps at once!

6. You’ll Be Able to Create Multiple Desktops

Have several big projects going on at once? No longer do you have to open up a ton of apps for multiple projects and have them all overlap. Instead, Windows 10 will allow you to create multiple desktops so you can organize the apps you’re currently using for each project.

7. Task View Will Make Managing Your Desktops Easy

To make managing your projects easier, the new “Task View” button makes getting from one desktop to the other simple. This button is anchored to your Taskbar and allows you to manage your current desktops, move apps between desktops, and easily switch between applications.

8. The Gaming Experience Will Change Slightly

Among Windows 10 changes, they’re bringing back the popular Solitaire by default, so you don’t have to worry about installing that from the App store. Windows 10 will also be closely integrated with Xbox, which will allow you to stream games from Xbox to your PC as well as play Xbox users on the same game (for select games).

9. You’ll Have Access to iOS and Android Apps

Microsoft’s list of apps is likely to explode when the Windows 10 update hits. That’s because with the new OS, it will take just a few clicks to turn Android and iOS apps into Windows apps. With around only 300,000 apps right now in the Windows store, these numbers could sour over 1 million thanks to Windows 10, opening Windows users to tons of new opportunities.

10. Microsoft HoloLens Will Work With Windows 10

The future of holographic computing is practically here. With Windows 10 will also come the release of the first holographic computer that will transform your world. Microsoft HoloLens is rumored to be released around the same time as Windows 10, and it will run on Windows 10.

Windows 10 will bring enhanced productivity on all devices – from desktop to mobile. If you want to see what the OS is capable of, you can download the preview version now.