In 1999 at the threshold of the New Millennium the corporate world was held spell bound by a campaign blitz about the inevitable crash of computer systems and the collateral danger to human existence. The buzz word the world over then was Y2K compliance. There were so many cataclysmic predictions against noncompliance. It was as if the world would come to an abrupt end by midnight of 31st December, 1999. Everybody fell for it especially as the campaigns came from respected voices, global institutions and multinational giants. Little did the unsuspecting hostage audience know that behind all the fuss was the vested interest of computer firms interested in marketing their wares to the pliant corporate world. Then came 1st January, 2000, the world did not cease to exist; the moon did not drop from space neither did the other planets but the world seamlessly progressed into a new year, a new decade, a new century and a new millennium.
Crime has no ethnic face. When criminality is defined according to ethnic origin or religion, social cohesion is threatened. There are people of criminal inclinations in every group, race, place and religion. In fact, we defeat the fight against insecurity if we lend ourselves to ethnic prejudices. The insecurity devouring Nigeria affects everyone – Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Idoma, Jukun and people of different religions. The criminals pillaging the country do not select victims based on ethnicity and religion. The devourers only come to steal, kill and destroy.
A few days ago, bandits invaded the home of Professor Aliyu Mohammed at Wusasa in Zaira, Kaduna state. They kidnapped him, killed his young son and shot his brother – not minding his religion or ethnicity. There have been countless cases of attacks on commuters on Abuja-Kaduna road. The victims of these attacks have been Nigerians of all shades and contours.
As the National Identification Number registration deadline nears tomorrow, Ripples Nigeria can confirm that 68 million bank accounts are without Bank Verification Number (BVN).
According to data from Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme Nigeria, active bank accounts stand at 115 million as at May 2020. When the 46,035,474 accounts linked to BVN as at January 17, 2020 are subtracted, it becomes clear that only 40 percent of active accounts are linked.
This is seven years since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the mandatory Bank Verification Number (BVN) scheme.
Although about 3 million BVNs were linked between August and January 2020, the lagging figure again shows some institutions and Nigerians’ nonchalant attitude to government policies.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be inaugurated on 20th January as the 46th President of the United States of America. His historic election was made possible in part to electoral inroads which the Democrats made in the State of Georgia. Georgia last voted for a Democratic president in 1992 (when Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush). Biden’s recent win of Georgia unique therefore because he is the first Democratic president elected by Georgia in nearly three decades.
Expectedly, political observers have attributed the successes of the Democrats in the recent presidential and senate elections in Georgia to the work of Stacey Abrams. Abrams founded the voting rights organization New Georgia Project in 2013 to increase voter registration and turnout among communities of colour in her home state. In 2018, Abrams was the first Black woman to win a Democratic nomination for governor but lost by just 55,000 votes. Amid widespread concern that her loss was the product of voter suppression, Abr
Ardova Plc (AP) a downstream player has announced that it is in talks with the shareholders of Enyo Retail and Supply Limited relating to acquire the |