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The hitches trailing the introduction of the new Naira notes in Nigeria has exposed the lack of devotion to duty by certain government officials and the dubious attitude of staff of some banks.

This assertion was made on Monday by a former chairman of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''The Naira redesign is an indictment on certain officials of government who have not been diligent in their duties and a number of staff in banks who are duboius and questionable. As a matter of fact, Nigerians are now in great doubt of the real motive behind the Naira redesign. The apex bank should not be used to achieve sinister motives, it could be counter productive'', Comrade Emelieze stated.

The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has insisted that the January 31st deadline for the invalidation of the old naria notes remains unchanged.

However, the Federal House of Representatives and the Senate want the apex bank to extend the deadline to 30th June, for the benefit of millions of Nigerians. Interestingly, a sizable number of Nigerians who have handled the new notes have expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction with the quality of the new notes compared to the old ones.

In his reaction, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafasudeen-in-Islam worldwide, Prof. Sabitu OlagokeJP, opines that the deadline for the withdrawal of the 200, 500 and 1,000 Naira notes is in order, but warns that this could result in negative consequences. Excerpts:

What is your reaction to the insistence of the CBN that the January 31st deadline remains unchanged for the invalidation of the old naira notes?

First and foremost, we should not lose sight of the purpose of the introduction of the new Naira notes, which which is to curb the excesses of politicians and to ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) conducts free, fair and credible elections.

This will usher in the truly chosen ones for the next political dispensation. Vote buying has always been the bane of our struggle to have genuine representatives in power, making the efforts and the huge amount being spent on the election be without impact.

The January 31st deadline by the CBN, therefore, must have been informed by the advice of its in-house economic experts.

This advice may revolve around the need to curb the spending tendencies of politicians before, during and after the elections.

To be fair to the CBN, 80 per cent of Nigeria's money in circulation is outside the box of control of the apex bank.

However, the following challenges must be addressed without losing focus of the objectives for introducing the new naira notes:

1)Nigerians, particularly traders across the country o are feeling the impact of the unavailability of the new naira notes.

2)There are also challenges to getting old naira notes into the banking system.

3) Businesses are shutting down and markets are operating at a reduced capacity as the deadline for the collection of the old naira notes is near.

4)The new notes are not easily accessible presently.
ATM machines are still dispensing the old notes.
I believe that the January 31st deadline should remain and that Nigerians should bear and cope with the scramble that comes with such changes.
Stemming from all the accompanying negative developments that have trailed the naira redesign, further efforts to cushion the effects of poverty and hunger must be intensified to be able to achieve rational changes for which the new naira notes are designed.

Scheme Involved Selling Stolen Personal Identifiable Information

CLEVELAND – A Nigerian national was sentenced today to more than three years – or 37 months – in prison by U.S. District Judge James S. Gwin after he was convicted by a jury of formulating a conspiracy to obtain stolen financial information, making fraudulent and unauthorized purchases of retail goods and gift cards, and stealing funds from victim bank accounts in Northern Ohio and elsewhere.

Blessing Adeleke, 31, of Nigeria, was convicted in October 2022 of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and 16 counts of bank fraud. According to court documents, between January 2014 through October 2016, Adeleke served as an administrator for an online marketplace, Shad0w.info, where compromised data, such as credit numbers and personally identifiable information (PII), were sold.

As part of the conspiracy, Adeleke and others obtained stolen credit card information and purchased items, such as retail goods and gift cards for themselves. Adeleke shared this stolen credit card information with others, including co-defendant Kylie Ann Harlow. Court documents state that Adeleke and Harlow shipped retail goods purchased with the stolen financial information to Harlow and others and, in some instances, returned the goods and gift cards to retail stores to obtain cash.

Adeleke and Harlow eventually forwarded the fraudulently obtained goods, gift cards, and money to other members of the conspiracy for their personal enrichment.

Adeleke gained access to at least one bank account belonging to a victim in Pepper Pike, Ohio, from which he sent 16 fraudulent checks. 

Kylie Ann Harlow previously pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme and was sentenced in June 2021. This case was investigated by the Cleveland FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian S. Deckert and Daniel J. Riedl.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support and assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Ghana.

The U.S. Department of Justice thanks its Ghanian partners, specifically the Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, for supporting this extradition.

The FBI Legal Attaché in Accra and the U.S. Marshals Service also provided significant support and assistance to Adeleke’s extradition.

Source-FBI

Nigeria needs a detribalized leader who will be able to address its multiferous challenges.

This assertion was made over the weekend by the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke in his address titled, ''Governance and Leadership : 2023 Election and Effective Participation'', at the grand finale of the 40th Annual Shafaudeen International Convention, ''Ishrat 2023'', in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''Our challenges are solvable problems. We don't want a sectional leader. We don't want a tribal leader, but rather, we want a leader who will lead all Nigerians leaders who have not been able to solve the country's problems, and are not supposed to get to the exalted position. Nigeria deserves to have Godly, but non-religious bigot leaders for good governance for our unity and development. He must be able to see to the restructuring of the country and the amendment of the 1999 constitution for us to have fiscal federalism in place that will allow regions, states, local governments to control resources for their development through the right placement of items on the exclusive list and consider concurrent lists. All eligible voters must get registered, collect their Permanent Voters Cards and come out to vote for candidates of their choice, but with the positive mindset of objective exercise to elect a credible leader for real change, Nigeria deserves to have to be truly united and developed.

Unfolding events that have characterized the last few weeks until the general elections have been described as a written script by Those-in Authority being played out.

This was made known by a former chairman of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''Nigerians should be very vigilant and resist any attempts to either manipulate or postpone the general elections. Happenings have indicated that the government is desperate to scuttle democracy regardless of denials. What is happening is very suspicious and calls for worry and vigilance,'' Comrade Emelieze stated.

Illicit and Outlawed substances

The use of illicit and outlawed substances is now the status quo in several communities in Nigeria. Indeed, it has become a source of livelihood for a sizable number of Nigerians. The inaction of Those-in-Authority to reign in those involved suggests that there is clandestine support for their activities.

The general elections have been described as a good opportunity to establish functional education in Nigeria.

This assertion was made on Tuesday by the Founder, Spiritual head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke in his address titled, ''SHAPING THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA-THE FUTURE IS NOW'' at the 3oth Annual Shafaudeen-in-Islam stakeholders' Conference in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''Functioanl education is deserved by a nation like Nigeria to promote inclusive society, civility and patirotism, credible leadership and good governance driven through zero tolerance to corruption and institutional indiscipline. Education will make us realize achieving this sanity-prone environment for development. Luckily for us, the 2023 general elections will avail us the opportunity to achieve this if we make give the right choice of a visionary leader that would be spirit led to operationalize democracy through justice and equity to propel Nigeria into peace and sustainable development and a safe and secured environment., Prof. Olagoke stated.

The provision of the appropriate policies, programs, services and information that supports children and youth development has been recommended for the grooming of the future generation.

 This recommendation was given on Saturday by the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke at the opening ceremony and Inter-House Sports of Shafaudeen Group of Schools in Ibadan,, Oyo state, Nigeria.

In his address titled, ;; Child Rearing and Wellness for Growth and Development, Prof. Olagoke stated : ''Appropriate policies, programs, services and information that focus on nurturing care are, therefore, needed to build an environment in which children and young people can thrive. So,the way parents nurture and the way government as well as other stakeholders support children and the youth constitute one of the most critical factors for their health, growth and development.''

Written by Michael Caster, Asia Digital Programme Manager at ARTICLE 19.

In late November, protests erupted in a factory manufacturing Apple products in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou amid workers’ discontent about pay. Footage and images from the site showed police beating protesters and arresting them. The turmoil in Zhengzhou was the latest in a series of challenges that have delayed the manufacturing of Apple products in China and led to the company accelerating its plans to move its production elsewhere. Other tech giants are seeking to do the same, concerned about tensions between the US and China and COVID-19-related shutdowns imposed by the Chinese authorities. As these companies start to relocate their operations, they have the chance to account for their human rights record in the communist country. For years, they have bowed to state policies that restrict the fundamental freedoms of Chinese citizens. These companies have to review their human rights records in authoritarian states and commit not to make the same mistakes in the countries where they will relocate their production or grow their markets. It is time for tech companies to undertake a human rights reset. Compliance with censorship Apple, the world’s richest company, has made a significant profit in China, which has also left it vulnerable to pressure from the local authorities to act against its stated human rights commitments. While the size of its production has been politically and economically important to the Chinese government, which in theory would have given the company leverage to oppose such rights abuses, Apple has been seemingly unwilling to push back in meaningful ways. The company has complied with repressive legislation, such as the Cybersecurity Law and others, which require tech companies, among others, to monitor and report politically sensitive content, store Chinese users’ data in China and provide the authorities with access to it. Apple has also engaged in censorship, deleting tens of thousands of apps from its Chinese App Store, including encryption and circumvention tools, such as VPNs needed to hop over the Great Firewall of China. Most recently, in November, Apple limited the parameters for wireless filesharing on its app AirDrop after its use by anti-government protesters in China. The changes allow the option “share with everyone” to be active for just 10 minutes before it switches back to “contacts only”, effectively eliminating its utility during protests. Apple is not alone. Microsoft, another US-based tech giant, has also been compliant with the repressive policies of the Chinese government. Following the implementation of the Cybersecurity Law, the company partnered with the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group to develop a version of its Windows operating system specifically for Chinese government users. This has raised concerns about the company giving backdoor access to its software to the Chinese government. Microsoft is also a member of the Internet Society of China and as such has made a pledge to block websites that offend the Chinese censors. After most services offered by Google were blocked in China in 2010, Microsoft’s Bing has been the only major foreign search engine that works without a VPN. Surely, compliance with Beijing’s censorship demands helps keep it that way. Similarly, LinkedIn, which Microsoft acquired in 2016, was the only big foreign social networking site available in China, after Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube were blocked in 2009. In late 2021, LinkedIn had over 57 million users, making China its third largest market after the United States and India. In exchange for access to this sizeable userbase, LinkedIn too was expected to play the censorship game. The platform geoblocked content belonging to high-profile human rights defenders, such as Zhou Fengsuo, journalists like Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, and corporate investigator Peter Humphrey, along with the posts of millions of Chinese users deemed “sensitive”. Despite its record of compliance, in March 2021 the Cyberspace Administration of China rebuked LinkedIn for not censoring enough. Finally, in October 2021, Microsoft announced it was shutting down LinkedIn services in China due to a “significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements”. Clearly, the cost of tech companies doing business in China’s enormous market, whether producing or selling products and services, has long been to abandon their responsibilities to respect human rights. But it shouldn’t be this way. A human rights reset As big tech companies prepare to reduce their reliance on production in China, they have an opportunity to set new standards for human rights. Apple is looking to shift its supply chain to India and Vietnam. But both of these countries are known to engage in severe censorship as well. India leads the world in internet shutdowns, responsible for 106 of 182 shutdowns documented last year by the #KeepItOn Coalition. In recent years, the Indian authorities have enacted legislation that pressures tech companies to over-censor and retain user data to hand over to the government. It now looks to threaten end-to-end encryption. India has ordered platforms to take down content it didn’t want and warned of severe penalties for noncompliance, including threatening Twitter staff with up to seven years imprisonment. Earlier this year, Twitter sued the government for such “overbroad and arbitrary” regulations. It is also concerning that Apple is expanding into Vietnam, which ranks among the five worst internet freedom abusers in the world, according to US-based pro-democracy organisation Freedom House. Like China, Vietnam’s Cybersecurity Law requires tech companies to comply with data localisation, actively censor content, and make user data available to the authorities. In November, its government announced plans for new rules that would require platforms to remove offending content within 24 hours. Vietnam has also shown that it will hold tech companies financially hostage until they comply with its digital diktats. In 2020, following months of government-backed bandwidth throttling to drastically slow down its services, Facebook, which makes about $1bn a year in the country, agreed to increase censorship of “anti-state” content on its platform. With such repressive policies in place in both India and Vietnam, Apple faces the risk of repeating the same mistakes it made in China unless it changes its approach to dealing with government pressure. The company and other tech giants doing business with repressive states should heed their responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) to address any adverse human rights impacts their activities may have, including on the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information online. They should resist government orders to arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression and implement labour protections in their supply chains. They should be fully transparent about how they negotiate market access and licensing agreements with governments and make such documents publicly available to empower independent oversight. Companies should have a robust policy on how they will adhere to their human rights responsibilities in the face of government pressure and hold open consultations with civil society to establish clear benchmarks and red lines. Companies must commit to independent human rights impact assessments, which should be revised as conditions change, and be publicly available. Shareholder groups in these companies should also impress upon corporate leadership the importance of compliance with their human rights responsibilities. Tech companies can and should do business without hurting human rights. Having a positive human rights record could be just as profitable as bowing down to repressive state policies.

Source-Article 19