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Re: ‘The ABC of a Recalcitrant Debtor’: Shaka and Yellow Journalism

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Few things rival honesty as the primary characteristic of a reputable journalist. Fairness, objectivity and honesty are three key factors that every good journalist must not jettison in his/her stories. While every journalist works hard to ensure he earns the trust of his audience, it is worth knowing that dishonesty is the surest way to violate that trust, Danjuma Gogo writes.

I read on Friday, February 5, 2021 the story in ThisDay Newspapers written by my brother Shaka Momodu which he titled “The ABC of a Recalcitrant Debtor”. Only that headline caught my attention far away here, making me to go deeper into the article. No doubt I am not the only one who read it.

Just like every other reader, I have followed till date Shaka’s style of writing and will still be reading him even when he often writes what seems to please his personal interest and his paymasters than the desires of his audience he often claims to be writing for.

After reading Shaka’s ‘The ABC of a Recalcitrant Debtor’, what first came into my mind was how a renowned journalist Femi Adesina who is the spokesman of Nigeria’s President had described him in his article on January 13, 2020. Adesina had titled that piece “Shaka Momodu: A Columnist as Hater-in-Chief” … Sorry I wouldn’t like to deviate here.

I recall that my brother Shaka Momodu said in his February 5 write up that “The latest in the pantheon of bad debtors, who are either refusing or unwilling to pay back their loans, is the Chairman of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, ABC Orjiako.”

Dear Shaka, I would have loved to read from your piece all the bad debtors you know and those who are either refusing or unwilling to pay back their loans because you wrote as if you have their list. So why single out one man? At that point, I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me how Shaka will proceed and end the article knowing fully well that Access Bank Plc and Seplat Petroleum Company Plc have been entangled in legal tussle in the former’s misdirected efforts to recover an outstanding $85.8 million loan given in 2012 to Cardinal Drilling Services Limited by Diamond Bank (now Access Bank) which Cardinal was yet to offset.

Like every other public commentator, I have followed developments around the botched crusade on December 2, 2020 when the bank tried so hard to take aback the Nigerian corporate world using a team of fully armed policemen and lawyers, who in a commando approach took over and disrupted businesses and activities at the No. 16 Temple Road, Ikoyi Lagos corporate office of the Nigerian oil and gas giant, Seplat Petroleum Company Plc. Thanks to the Court as the last hope of a common man…

Like every other person interfacing with global investors, I became worried when Seplat’s application for the vacation of the orders was not ruled on by Justice Rilwanu Aikawa on December 24, even though it had been argued by both parties, thus halting corporate activities of the global brand.

My dear brother Shaka, you know how economical you were with the truth in that piece by describing ABC Orjiako as the sole owner of Seplat knowing fully well that the company listed on both Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges is a public company whose ownership is distributed amongst general public shareholders.

Shaka, as it has been reemphasized severally, aren’t you aware that as chairman of Seplat, Orjiako was not a party to the loan agreements or Deeds of Debenture, and did not stand as a guarantor or make any commitment whatsoever in respect of the loan at any point? Rather, Access Bank had filed action against him as the Third Respondent, which you know is in flagrant violation of well-established and universal principles of law.

The Appeal Court had on January 22, 2021 intervened in the miscarriage of justice, by suspending the interlocutory orders pending the determination of the substantive appeal brought by the oil firm. Expectedly, the Appeal Court’s ruling was predicated on public good and economic consequences of the lower court’s orders.

Shaka, please be fair to readers and ensure your personal feelings most time on any critical issue is put aside in order to unleash the truth –that is good journalism.

Danjuma Gogo, an economist and a public affairs analyst is based in Houston Texas (+1 832-774-2176)

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Education

FG Abolishes 18-Year Age Benchmark For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions

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The new Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country.

This is coming as the minister indicated interest in reviewing the nation’s education policy.

However, Alausa stated that there would be no reversal of the Federal Government’s decision to void over 22,700-degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and the Benin Republic.

Alausa spoke on Tuesday at his inaugural ministerial press conference in Abuja.

He stated that practical education will help to address the unemployment situation in Nigeria, as tertiary institutions will not continue to churn out graduates every year without providing jobs for them.

He disclosed that the Federal Government will collaborate with private sector operators to train students in order to discover and unleash their potential.

Alausa added that universities of agriculture will be empowered to adopt commercial farming practices to combat food insecurity.

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Outrage in Equatorial Guinea: Government Restricts WhatsApp Multimedia Sharing Amid Scandal

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There is outrage in Equatorial Guinea as the government restricted its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp.

This decision followed the guidelines that the country’s government gave to telecommunications operators when it urged them to implement measures to restrict access to inappropriate content.

The country’s Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga, has been involved in a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people in the nation.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

It was reported that the over 400 videos include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

But, in a new development on Tuesday, it was reported that the citizens have been lamenting their inability to share photos, videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.

Sources revealed that the restrictions have been affecting business and academic activities in the country.

Citizens wonder why the actions of a few individuals would result into holding thousands of other innocent ones hostage.

Earlier, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teddy Nguema, announced plans to install surveillance cameras in all state body offices.

This sweeping measure is part of an ongoing effort to ensure strict adherence to public service laws and combat misconduct among officials.

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NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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