Breaking News: Course Registration For 2014/2015 Rain Semester Activated

The course registration for the 2014/2015 Rain semester for Obafemi Awolowo University students has finally been activated. Login to your e-portal page to register.

Photos: Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi, New Ooni-designate Arrives Ile-Ife

The ancient town of Ile-Ife is currently agog with celebration as the new Ooni-designate, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi finally arrives.

Photo Credit: Lukmon Akintola

Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) Call For Entries (NYSC)

The Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) is a special N2 billion empowerment programme for serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) which was launched on October 5, 2015. This novel scheme, which is a joint initiative of the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has the following objectives:

- Encourage graduates of tertiary institutions currently undergoing the compulsory one-year NYSC programme, to venture into business and become employers of labour rather than job seekers.
- Address the entrepreneurship capacity gap of the NYSC members who are expected to produce bankable business plans after the three-day capacity building programme.
- Deepen financial inclusion by de-risking the NYSC members and making them eligible for concessional loans ranging between N500,000 and N2 million to be provided by BOI.
- Ensure sustainability of the businesses of the eventual loan beneficiaries through effective monitoring by the NYSC Directorate and BOI.

The GEF Programme comprises the following:


a. Online Business Plan Competition to select the most promising real sector business ideas. Selection/screening of participants shall be done via the GEF online application portal: www.boinigeria.com

b. Three days intensive entrepreneurship capacity building programme.

c. Loan amount of up to N2 million to be provided to each successful participant with bankable business plans within BOI's 35 SME clusters (list at BOI's website www.boi.ng), at an interest rate of 9% per annum, with tenors ranging from 3 - 5 years inclusive of 6 - 12 months moratorium period.

The Capacity Building Programme is scheduled to hold simultaneously at the following venues:

Geo-Political Zone/State : NYSC Camp Location
1 South-South : Former Martins TTC, Issele-Uku, Aniocha North L.G.A, Delta State
2 South-East : Umunna, Bende L.G.A, Abia State
3 South-West : Aisu College Hospital Road, Ede, Osun State
4 North-East : Government College, Jalingo, Taraba State
5 North-Central : Mangu, Plateau State
6 North-West : Mani Road, Katsina, Katsina State
7 Lagos : Iyana Ipaja, Agege, Lagos State

The Entrepreneurship Capacity Building Programme will take place at the above stated centres between 18th - 20th November, 2015.

Interested serving NYSC members are hereby requested to apply online immediately.

Deadline
Application closes by midnight of 3rd November, 2015.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should: Click here to apply online

Management,Bank of Industry
customercare@boinigeria.com

Ogunwusi Emerges New Ooni Of Ife

Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of the Giesi ruling house is the new Ooni of Ile-Ife, Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola has said in a press statement.


The governor said in the brief statement that the kingmakers of Ife had completed the required process and communicated the choice of Prince Ogunwusi to his office for approval.Ogunwusi takes over from Oba Sijuade, who died on july 28 2015 in a London hospital.

Source

OAU Related Unoaku Anyadike Wins 2015 MBGN Pageant

By David Adetula

One of the beautiful daughters of Professor Chima Anyadike of the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University has emerged this year's Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria.

Details of Unoaku as profiled by Wikipedia reads:

Unoaku Anyadike (born September 16, 1994) is a Nigerian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned as the winner of the 2015 edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant.

Born into a middle-class family to a Yoruba mother from Ile-Ife and an Igbo father from Anambra state. Her father is a professor in the English Department at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University and her mother is the proprietress of Sunshine Nursery and Primary School, arguably one of the best primary schools in Ile-Ife, Osun State, South-Western Nigeria, Unoaku is a student of the University of Ibadan where she is currently studying Psychology.


On October 24, 2015 while representing Anambra State, Unoaku was crowned winner of the 2015 edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria that was held at the Calabar International Convention Centre. She will represent Nigeria at the Miss World 2015 pageant scheduled to hold in China.

The entire OAU Peeps family congratulates and wishes her the very best!!

Without A Cabinet, Nigeria Is Stuck 'On Hold' - Reuters

Seven months after Muhammadu Buhari was elected president on a promise to "fix" Nigeria, a policy vacuum has brought decision-making to a halt, hampering everything from national budget planning to new roads and art exhibitions.

Late on Thursday, the Senate ended yet another session screening Buhari's ministerial candidates without giving its approval, leaving Africa's biggest economy with no government since the former military ruler took office on May 29.

With political wrangling in full swing, lawmakers will need at least another week for more vetting. After three weeks, only half of Buhari's 36-strong lineup has got the green light.

Buhari has launched the first steps to reform the oil sector in Africa's biggest producer and fight graft, which is blamed for most of the nation of 170 million people living in poverty despite Nigeria's vast energy wealth.

But some of his high-flying plans are gathering dust in rudderless ministries while entrepreneurs and businessman look on in vain as Africa's biggest economy reels from the decline in crude prices.

"We support Buhari's change but ministers need to get appointed and start working," said Chidubem Nnajiofor, whose computer shop has been struggling to pay for imports because of central bank currency controls imposed to protect the naira.

"You cannot get dollars even if you have a letter of credit."

BUDGET DEFERRED
The 72-year-old president has won praise for a bailout of federal states and audits designed to root out graft but, with the economy flatlining, investors wonder why he took four months to name a cabinet of familiar political faces.

"For a while, one could say that transparency reforms introduced by the new government and the state government bailout possibly trumped the appointment of a cabinet," said Razia Khan, Chief Economist, Africa, at Standard Chartered Bank.

"As we get closer to the budget cycle deadline and important decisions on subsidies and taxation need to be taken, the absence of a cabinet will likely become more glaring."


Parliament typically tables the annual budget in November but there is no draft yet for a planned supplementary budget for this year, let alone a proposal for 2016. Discussions are likely to take longer than normal because of the need of spending cuts.

The lack of a government has hampered even basic ministry work such as aid projects or state-sponsored art exhibitions. Business people and diplomats have been dealing with undersecretaries who are afraid to sign off on anything.

"No political decisions are being taken at the moment at ministries," said a Western diplomat who asked not to be named.

Even when the Senate clears Buhari's nominees, ministers will have to wade through reams of documents that have piled up on their desks over the last half a year before getting down to work.

ONE-MAN SHOW?
Many Nigerians support Buhari's cause to fight graft. Most people in the country struggle to make ends meet while a globe-trotting elite has enjoyed an oil bonanza.

To the delight of many, foreign airlines are reporting a slump in first-class bookings as high-rollers take care over displays of wealth, and noticeably fewer private jets jostle for space at Abuja's airport.

But in the absence of ministers, reforms aired before the election - such as curbing food imports to boost domestic farming - are stuck on the drawing board, and without any consideration for their consequences.

For example, if steel imports are curbed, as has been mooted, Buhari may have to drop some infrastructure projects because local steel output is insufficient, executives say.

The cabinet delay is also sowing confusion and intrigue, according to political insiders, with some ministers on the cabinet list telling friends which portfolio they have landed, only to call back later to say they are not so sure.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, head of state oil firm NNPC, is expected to become junior oil minister with Buhari maintaining oversight of the sector.

Buhari - by his own admission not an economist - has tasked his deputy president, Yemi Osinbajo, a commercial lawyer, with overseeing economic policy. Osinbajo has said dollar curbs are only a short-term measure to preserve currency reserves.

But the wider paralysis is blocking nearly all government spending, putting a big brake on growth.

"It's only when government starts embarking on capital projects that there is money," said Joel Mtsor, who runs a printing firm in Abuja that relies on government work.

"Nothing is happening - no workshops, no seminars. As I speak there is no printing company today that is busy," he said.

Source: Reuters

South African Fee Hike Put On Hold Following Massive Student Protests

South African universities will not increase fees in 2016 as planned, President Jacob Zuma announced Friday after days of student protests over the issue.

Students celebrated, but many posting on social media said fees remained too high and worried about what will happen after 2016.

Zuma's move came after protests outside government offices in Pretoria escalated, with a small group throwing rocks and police responding with stun grenades and water cannons.

The announcement was followed by police firing tear gas and sustained volleys of rubber bullets in an effort to clear the grounds of the Union Buildings housing government offices.

The protests capped a week of demonstrations over the contentious issue, which saw protesters barricade universities and storm the South African Parliament to press their message that university education in the country is too expensive, among other issues.

"In the long term, there is a package of issues that was raised at the meeting that needs to be followed up," Zuma said after meeting Friday with student leaders. Those issues include proposals to make higher education free for all.


Zuma said a presidential task force created to address the question of fees will be expanded to look at other issues as well.

Initially, fees were to go up by 10%, but the government lowered the increase to 6% before freezing the hikes for next year.

Zuma's announcement followed chaotic scenes outside the Union Buildings.

A small group of protesters pushed through barricades, threw rocks at police and set fire to public toilets. Police fired stun grenades and sprayed the crowd with a water canon before eventually deploying a razor-wire fence.

More than a dozen universities have been shut down because of the protests. Students are using the hashtag #FeesMustFall to rally on social media.

Earlier, protesters barricaded entrances to campuses, including the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

On Wednesday, students stormed the Parliament in Cape Town, trapping lawmakers.

They pushed past guards and pried open gates. Once inside parliamentary grounds, they sat in front of the building to block lawmakers from getting out.

Students clashed with the police, whom they accused of using tear gas to disperse crowds.

At the time, the South African Police Service said it had arrested six students for "illegal protests" in Cape Town.

Source: CNN