WORLD BANK PRESIDENCY: Can Dr Okonjo-Iweala make it?

ON Friday, the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank drew the curtain on nominations into the position of World Bank President as Robert Zoellick plans to step down in June.

The management of the Multilateral Institution in a statement confirmed that three nominees will be considered for the position: They are Jim Yong Kim, Jose Antinio Ocampo and Dr. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.


Mr. Jim Yong Kim is a US national and President of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The Korean-born Kim, 52, according to USA Today represents a break from the financiers and bureaucrats who have run the World Bank. That may be strength and a weakness, according to Mr. Uri Dadush, Director of international economics at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and a former World Bank Director of economic policy.

He said: “This is a very smart man and has many of the characteristics that you would look for in a World Bank president. He’s going to have a major challenge to overcome a characterisation as being too focused on the health and education agenda and to develop a deep understanding of the broader development agenda of the bank.” Dadush adds that Mr Kim lacks experience in boosting economic growth, a key part of the bank’s mission.

José Antonio Ocampo is a Colombian national and Professor at Columbia University, New York. Mr Jose Antonio Ocampo, 59, Colombian is a US-trained economist who has excellent credentials in academia, national politics and at the United Nations. He has held posts as Agriculture Minister, Planning Minister and Central Bank chairman in Colombia’s government. He is currently a professor at Columbia University in New York..

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, 57, is a respected economist and diplomat. This mother of four children has spent more than two decades in numerous positions at the World Bank.

Formal interviews

According to the World Bank statement short listing the three candidates the Executive Directors will conduct formal interviews of the three in Washington, D.C., during the following weeks, with the expectation of selecting the new President by consensus by the 2012 Spring Meetings. The IMF-World Bank meeting is slated for April 21- 23. At the Spring Meeting the official announcement of who among the three becomes President of the World Bank will be made.

Ordinarily, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who until recently served as the Bank’s Managing Director would be expected by experience to pick up the job. But the President of the World Bank is made out of choice of convenience by the super powers. It is a known fact that when Europe has its citizen as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the United States of America will produce the President of the World Bank.

This is so because the largest shareholdings in the two multilateral institutions are Europe and America. Last year, Europe filled the position of IMF managing director when Kraus Khan was disgraced out of office. Already Canada has backed U.S. President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the World Bank, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday.

“Mr. Kim is a distinguished figure in global health and development, noted for his innovative work fighting the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis in developing countries,” Flaherty said in a statement. He added: “We believe he is a strong candidate to lead the World Bank.”

While the US has nominated Kim, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa have endorsed the nomination of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a respected economist and diplomat, as a candidate to take over the bank when Robert Zoellick steps down in June.

“The endorsement is in line with the belief that the appointment of the leadership of the World Bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, should be merit-based, open and transparent,” the three said in a statement. It was a rare example of unity among countries often at loggerheads as they strive for dominance on the continent. The United States has held the presidency since the bank’s inception after World War Two, and a European has always headed the IMF.

Brazil nominated former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, but said it cannot do so without Colombia’s support. While Ocampo agreed to stand and Brazil was willing to nominate him, Colombian Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said on Thursday his country was instead focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labour Organization.

He said that effort had a greater chance of success than going for the World Bank job because Colombia already held the top post at the Inter-American Development Bank. Ocampo seems to be on his own as his home country does not even support his nomination let alone campaign for him. That leaves the contest between Nigeria’s candidate and that of the United States.

Russia, a member of the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) caucus of large emerging market economies, has refrained from publicly backing a non-U.S. candidate and instead called for a greater role for them in top management at international financial institutions.

Although the World Bank board would like to reach a consensus, Washington retains the largest single voting share and could expect the support of European nations and Japan, the bank’s second-largest voting member. The rise of emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil has put pressure on the United States and Europe to throw open the selection process for both the bank and the IMF.

Last year, all of the bank’s 187 member countries agreed on a transparent, merit-based process to select a president. If that is followed the chances are that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would be selected on merit.

But if the United States insists on voting by shareholding volume, as the single largest share holder, it will vote for its own candidate and would expects it allies in Europe and Japan to support its candidate. If that happens, the US as usual will have its way and Yong Kim becomes the next World Bank President. The question is how much of diplomacy is the Federal Government of Nigeria putting into this.

This is more of politics and diplomacy than mere qualification and experience. If the Nigerian Government push far enough it can get Russia, China, Brazil, India and other African countries to support its candidate. Besides, this is the first time a woman will be coming forward for the top World Bank job. The US is gender sensitive, it may just concede for Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to be the next World Bank President.

The deadline for nominations was 6 p.m. Washington time (2200 GMT) on Friday. The World Bank board of member countries will then shortlist three candidates and finalize its choice by the time of the IMF and World Bank semi-annual meetings on April 21. The new head of the bank will take over at a time when the euro zone debt crisis is slowing the global economic recovery, undercutting demand in emerging and developing markets. That person will have to decide how best to deploy resources in a budget-cutting environment in which large bank shareholders such as the United States are demanding results-based development, more transparency and greater efforts to tackle corruption. Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development in Washington, said earlier the nomination of a credible candidate such as Okonjo-Iweala “upped the ante for the U.S. to have a really strong candidate.” “It is a sign that we’re living in a world where the geopolitical landscape is shifting and the U.S. can’t do things by itself,” she said.

The United States faces an unprecedented challenge to its grip on the World Bank presidency, with emerging African economies nominating a candidate to set up the first contested bid for the top job at the global development lender. Angola, Nigeria and South Africa endorsed the nomination of Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a respected economist and diplomat, as a candidate to take over the bank when Robert Zoellick steps down in June.

Eedris Abdulkareem Called D'BANJ(Koko Master) A Bastard

Eedris Abdulkareem Called D'BANJ(Koko Master) A Bastard

Eedris Abdulkareem Called D'BANJ A Bastard-The man wey say i dey craze because i sing nigeria jaga jaga where him dey now inside this hardshipNa 2002 I sing Nigeria JagaJaga, na 2012 we dey so o. And all of una wey sing for Goodluck , F*ck that bastard D'banj for collecting Money from Goodluck ,God will punish you

Dbanj has refused to join the Nigerian protest in London or Lagos, he is though to be smooching ladies bottoms and drinking rounds of ace, spade and barcadi in his London home…

Mo’ Hits record label&Don Jazzy’s Label is mine —D-Banj(Kokomaster)

Mo’ Hits record label&Don Jazzy’s Label is mine —D-Banj:Dapo Daniel Oyebanji a.k.a. D’banj, has disclosed that he owns Mo’ Hits record label and ace producer and hit maker Don Jazzy is his artiste.
The Kokomaster, as he is fondly called, said this in an interview on Ebony Magazine’s official website published on March 12, 2012.
D’banj, who claims he owns the record label, added that he was also responsible for signing of the label’s artistes which include, Dr. Sid, Wande Coal, Don Jazzy, D’Prince and his blood brother, K-Switch.
The pop star goes on to talk about his entrance into the US market and his signing with Kanye West’s label G.O.O.D. Music during the interview.
D’banj, apart from referring to Don Jazzy as ‘his artiste’, does not mention or credit the producer in any other part of the interview.
His claims during the interview, however, contradict the generally held view that D’banj and Don Jazzy co-own the label, with Don Jazzy acting as President while D’Banj is Vice President.
The pair, who started out about nine years ago when D’banj released his hit single ‘Tongolo’ have made headlines in recent times, with sources saying they are currently on the verge of breaking up, following seemingly irreconcilable differences.
According to D’banj,” Coming from Africa I’m my own manager, I have my own label called Mo’ Hits with my artistes Dr. Sid, Wande Coal, Don Jazzy, D’Prince and K-Switch. I own Mo’ Hits and we’ve won numerous awards by the grace of God’.
“Being with Kanye for the last eight months and me leading a successful label in Africa, I’ve learned a lot and I believe people will see what we’re going to do. I signed with Kanye in June and that same month I won the BET Award for Best International Act.
“My New York concert isn’t done by G.O.O.D. Music, it’s done by Live Nation, meaning I’m already a moving machine. So who’s better to introduce me to the global stage than Kanye West, a crazy genius?” he said.
Speaking further, he said: “ Kanye doesn’t try to change you. He has great ears and great people working with him. I learned the way people do music in America is different, number one, the budget. You don’t have to rush a song, you can take your time.
“I was glad because I have a studio in my home but I thought I was doing too much. I’ve been working with everyone else on G.O.O.D. Music too and John Legend and I worked together in London recently. It’s been great experience, I just beg people to listen with an open mind,” he averred.
Speaking on how he will break into America’s entertainment scene, D’banj said: “I’m bringing my culture, my music and preaching the gospel. We’ve been learning from America’s Hollywood scene and other areas in Africa because our continent is developing. We look up to the way you’ve built your industry and we try to do ours in the best way that we know. It’s so good to see that Americans appreciate my music so that’s what I’m bringing, just original Africa.”
On how he joined Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, he said: “I had a concert in Dubai and when we pulled up to the airport’s first class lounge and a hostess ran up to me with a plaque with Kanye’s face on it, asking me to sign it. I said ‘I’m not Kanye West, I’m D’banj but Kanye West is coming.
“Then my manager spoke to Kanye, came back and told me ‘He’ll give you five minutes.’ I walked over. As an African man, I’m always prepared and I played my music ‘Stand Out,’ ‘Fall In Love’ and ‘Scapegoat’ for him on my iPod. Before we knew it, I’d almost missed my flight and he invited me to New York.”
Meanwhile, officials of Mo’Hits records have reacted to the Ebony margazine interview, claiming that D’banj was quoted out of context.
An official of the record said,”My name is Ricardo and I am an Officer of Mo’Hits. This article is taken out of context and I was there during the interview. In no way would D’banj ever Disrespect his partnership with Don Jazzy by calling him his artist or vice versa , they are partners in an entity.”
According to D’banji’s Media/Personal Manager,”D’banj never had any such statement with Ebony magazine during the interview he did with them. We are in touch with the editor of the magazine on these and a correctional rejoinder will be published soonest. Mohits Records is co-owned by Don Jazzy and D’banj.”

FG grants citizenship to 43 foreigners

Federal Government on Wednesday granted citizenship to 43 foreigners who applied for Nigerian citizenship.

They were chosen from the 122 applicants presented to the Federal Executive Council by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Ababa Moro, who is also the chairman of the Advisory Council on Nigeria Citizenship.

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said this at the end of the weekly FEC meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Maku, who was joined at the briefing by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Usman, said nationals of Britain, United States of America, Lebanon, Russia, Egypt and Uruguay were among those granted Nigerian citizenship.

He said the FEC decided to step down the remaining 79 applications to give room for further screening.

Maku also said the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, briefed the meeting that the 2011 budget has performed 83 per cent.

He quoted Okonjo-Iweala as expressing the confidence that by the end of the month, the budget would have recorded higher percentage of performance.

He said the government was already working towards achieving 100 per cent performance for the 2012 budget.

The FEC also approved contracts totalling N15.4bn. The contracts include the design for the dredging of River Benue, building of five new power substations and the rehabilitation of Warri Seaport.

Maku said that because of the expected increase in power generation by the time new plants would have been commissioned later in the year, the government approved the building of the five substations in Kaduna, Enugu, Kogi, Ondo and Jigawa States and to be completed in 24 months.

The project, according to the minister, will cost $ 21,400,650.42, €5,148, 815, and N3, 675,786,105.87.

The council also approved the rehabilitation of AMS Terminal ‘B’ at Old Port, Warri, Delta State for the Ministry of Transport/Nigerian Ports Authority in favour of Messrs China Harbour Engineering Company Limited in the sum of N2,022,310,942.78 inclusive of all taxes with a completion period of nine months.

When completed, the project will meet the berthing requirements of shipping companies serving oil drilling and prospecting companies.

Don Jazzy Confirms Breakup From Dbanj - "End Of Old Era"

Finally Don Jazzy has released a statement confirming that he is no longer in partnership with D'banj and he's hoping to kick start his own record label soon, In his words:

Quote

‘Good day friends. So sorry I have been away for long as I have been going through some changes in my life. It is with a heavy heart that i announce the end of a long Era and the beginning of a new one some of the Rumors you have all heard recently are sad but true. The way forward now is to make sure I keep bringing you guys more of the beautiful music y’all love to dance to. And to end the old era I will be donating d proceeds of my production catalog from day 1 till date to 5 charity organizations. Thanks. IDJA’

In a similar fashion, Dbanj has shot and premiered the video of Oliver twist without any cameo from Don Jazzy, its all getting messy at this point

Sources said that D'banj has registered another record label – DKM (D koko Matser) Records with Wande Coal looking at floating his already registered 'Black Diamond' imprint with support and keeping his relationship with 5 album/years contract with Mo'hits and Don Jazzy in tact.

Dbanj Releases Video of Oliver Twist Cameo from Kanye West ( WITHOUT DON JAZZY)

That is it, just Don Jazzy's Parting voice, no visual appearance - watch video below:


http://youtu.be/xzCzQZg8CEg

Bolton Midfielder collapse in an FA Cup game

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba was rushed to a hospital Saturday as medics appeared to try to resuscitate him after he collapsed during an FA Cup match.

Muamba fell to the ground in the 41st minute with no players around him and the quarterfinal was immediately stopped, then abandoned.

Medics rushed onto the field with a defibrillator and treated the 23-year-old Muamba, pumping his chest for around six minutes of treatment.

Some players appeared to be praying as fans chanted his name between periods of silence at White Hart Lane.

After Muamba was carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and with his chest still being pumped, all the players also left the field before referee Howard Webb abandoned the quarterfinal.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle and forward Kevin Davies accompanied the player to a hospital. Bolton said there were no further details on his condition.

Bolton teammate Stuart Holden, who was watching the game on television, tweeted: "waiting anxiously for updates from teammates. Fab is a fighter!"

Muamba was born in what was then called Zaire on April 6, 1988. His father left the country because of political turmoil and settled in England, and Muamba joined Arsenal's youth academy in 2002.

He made his debut at age 17 on Oct. 25, 2005, in the League Cup at Sunderland, and was loaned to Birmingham in the League Championship the following season. The loan was made permanent in May 2007, and he made his Premier League debut for Birmingham in 2007-08.

He joined Bolton in June 2008.

Muamba has been part of England's youth team system and was a member of its team at last year's European Under-21 Championship, where he came on as a substitute against Ukraine and started against the Czech Republic

MOTHERING SUNDAY

                                               Edited By Hon Augustus Bills


                                                          Mothering Sunday

is a Christian festival celebrated throughout Europe that falls on the 4th Sunday in Lent. Secularly it became a celebration of motherhood. It is increasingly being called Mother's Day, although in countries other than the UK and Ireland that holiday has other origins. In the UK it is considered synonymous with Mother's Day as celebrated in other countries.

History
In the Roman religion the Hilaria festival was held in honour of the mother goddess Cybele and it took place during mid-March. As the Roman Empire and Europe converted to Christianity, this celebration became part of the liturgical calendar as Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent to honour theVirgin Mary and the "mother church".[2]
During the sixteenth century, people returned to their mother church for a service to be held on Laetare Sunday. This was either a large local church, or more often the nearest Cathedral. Anyone who did this was commonly said to have gone "a-mothering", although whether this preceded the term Mothering Sunday is unclear. In later times, Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother Church, usually with their own mothers and other family members. It was often the only time that whole families could gather together, since on other days they were prevented by conflicting working hours, or, more usually, since holidays had not been invented yet, that was the only day in the year that they were allowed off.
Children and young people who were "in service" (servants in richer households) were given a day off on that date so they could visit their families (or, originally, return to their "mother" church). The children would pick wild flowers along the way to place them in the church or to give them to their mothers as gifts. Eventually, the religious tradition evolved into the Mothering Sunday secular tradition of giving gifts to mothers.
By the 1920s, the custom of keeping Mothering Sunday had tended to lapse in Ireland and in continental Europe. In 1914, inspired by Ann Jarvis' efforts, Constance Penswick-Smith created the Mothering Sunday Movement, and in 1921 she wrote a book asking for the revival of the festival; Constance was the daughter of the vicar of Coddington, Nottinghamshire, and there is a memorial in Coddington's church. Its widescale revival was through the influence of American and Canadian soldiers serving abroad during World War II; the traditions of Mothering Sunday, still practiced by the Church of England and Church of Ireland were merged with the newly-imported traditions and celebrated in the wider Catholic and secular society. UK-based merchants saw the commercial opportunity in the holiday and relentlessly promoted it in the UK; by the 1950s it was celebrated across all the UK.
People from Ireland and the UK started celebrating Mother's Day, but on the same day that Mothering Sunday was celebrated, the fourth Sunday in Lent. The two celebrations have now been mixed up, and many people think that they are the same thing.
Mothering Sunday remains in the calendar of some Canadian Anglican churches, particularly those with strong English connections.
Names

The other names attributed to this festival include Refreshment Sunday, Pudding Pie Sunday in Surrey, England), Mid-Lent Sunday. Simnel Sunday and Rose Sunday. Simnel Sunday is named after the practice of baking Simnel cakes to celebrate the reuniting of families during the austerity of Lent. Because there is traditionally a relaxation of Lenten vows on this particular Sunday in celebration of the fellowship of family and church, the lesser-used label of Refreshment Sunday is also used, although rarely today.
Rose Sunday is sometimes used as an alternative title for Laetare Sunday, as is witnessed by the purple robes of Lent being replaced in some churches by rose-coloured ones. The 1913Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that "the Golden Rose, sent by the Popes to Catholic sovereigns, used to be blessed at this time, and for this reason the day was sometimes called 'Dominica de Rosa'."
This Sunday was also once known as "the Sunday of the Five Loaves", from the traditional Gospel reading for the day. Prior to the adoption of the modern "common" lectionaries, the Gospel reading for this Sunday in the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Western-Rite Orthodox, and Old Catholic churches was the story of the feeding of the five thousand (for instance, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer stipulates St John's Gospel 6:5-14).
Other
The Epistle for the fourth Sunday in Lent as set out in the Book of Common Prayer gives a special place to the theme of maternal love: Galatians 4:26 states that "Jerusalem which is above is free; which is Mother of us all."
Another tradition associated with Mothering Sunday is the practice of "clipping the church", whereby the congregation form a ring around their church building and, holding hands, embrace it.
For some Church of England churches, it is the only day in Lent when marriages can be celebrated.
During the church services held in that day, it is traditional that children will give a bunch of spring flowers to their mothers.
Cakes and Buns
 Simnel cake is a traditional confection associated with both Mothering Sunday and Easter.
 Around 1600, when the celebration was only held in England and Scotland, a different kind of pastry was preferred.
 In England, "Mothering Buns" or "Mothering Sunday Buns" were made to celebrate. These sweet buns are topped with pink or white icing and the round, multi-coloured sprinkles known in the UK as "hundreds and thousands". They are not widely made or served today.
 In Northern England and Scotland some preferred "Carlings", a pancake made of steeped peas fried in butter.