US/Africa Summit: Two African leaders stay away while Nigeria's delegation supposedly tested on arrival for Ebola?

US and African leaders to meet in Washington

By Olalekan Adetayo

The Presidency on Sunday said no member of President Goodluck Jonathan's delegation to the United States for the US/American Leaders Summit was screened for exposure to the dreaded Ebola virus on arrival at Washington DC.

Jonathan and some top government officials arrived the US on Sunday for the summit billed for Monday (today).

Some members of the President's advanced team had arrived the US on Friday and Saturday.

President Barack Obama was quoted on Friday as saying that some African participants attending the summit would be screened for exposure to the dreaded virus which is currently ravaging some West African countries.

Obama explained that the action would be taken to protect the US from the outbreak of the disease.

He said, "Folks who are from these countries that have even a marginal risk, or an infinitesimal risk of having been exposed in some fashion, we're making sure we're doing screening."

A Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, had died in a Lagos hospital of the dreaded virus.

All those who had contacts with the deceased whose remains had since been cremated were being observed by the Federal Government.

Although no other case of the virus has so far been established in Nigeria, Obama's statement fueled speculations that Jonathan and members of his entourage might be subjected to screening before they could be allowed into the country.

But shortly after arriving the US, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, disclosed on his Twitter handle that no member of the President's entourage was screened.

"Nobody took any Ebola test, please," the presidential spokesman wrote in a response to a question raised by one Okunola Bukky.

Abati had earlier twitted some of the photographs of the President taken on his arrival at the airport while being received by top US and Nigerian government officials.

Based on the photographs, Bukky asked Abati, "please, confirm to us if the entourage took Ebola test…"

Independent investigation conducted by our correspondent also showed that none of the members of the President's advance team who arrived in the US on Friday and Saturday was screened of the virus.

"Why will we be screened? How? By who? There is nothing like that. At least, nobody screened me," a member of the President's advance team who arrived in the US on Saturday told our correspondent on Sunday.

Two African leaders had already said that they would not attend the meeting because of the outbreak of the Ebola disease in their countries.

The leaders are the presidents of Liberia and Sierra Leone, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Ernest BaiKoroma, respectively.

An incompetent Aso Rock bereft of vision and the moral compass to take Nigeria forward

Babs Ajayi

The culture and values subscribed to by Goodluck Jonathan has brought nothing but setback, poverty, distractions and diversions from real issues and objectives, and sustained an attitude that most Nigerians would love to see eliminated from the scheme of things in the nation. 

The head is so rotten and we all know that when the head of a fish is rotten the whole body is threatened and doomed. Goodluck Jonathan is doomed and the nation with him, if he is not quickly rid of control and thrown out. Nearly 300 girls have been missing for more than three months; government has no clue about the whereabouts of the girls and cannot bring them home. 

The same government has not even taken the step of reaching out and visiting the families of the girls, but when some of the parents succeeded in finding their way to Abuja to meet with Malala Yousafzai who visited from the UK over the matter, the government took advantage to lure them into Aso Rock and quickly induced them and corrupted them with cash. 

It was a con game, a carrot laden with warms; these agonizing parents were offered cash and their rank and file thrown into a battle about how to share Jonathan's Greek gift. It is wrong, very wrong and criminal for Jonathan and his men inside Aso Rock to lure these parents with cash and to induce them. 

It is very, very unacceptable to offer bribe to mothers and fathers who have been going through tough and difficult times, a hardship that Jonathan ought to have been able to resolve a long time ago. 

I still wonder why the likes of Goodluck Jonathan believe that this life is all about money and that people are hopeless without cash. No amount of money is enough to remold or replace any of the girls. 

We now know why looting and corruption is so rife in the nation because most of these people believe that money solves it all and money can do it all. 

Money failed Umaru Yar'Ardua when he died as a sitting president. Money failed Ibrahim Babangida and that is why Mariam Babangida is no longer with us today. Money failed Augustus Aikhomu and Mike Akhigbe, both dead despite huge bank accounts of stolen money. 

Money just recently failed Umaru Dikko and Rilwan Lukman. It is just a matter of time and money will fail Goodluck Jonathan as well. It is not a curse - just plain truth of life, so why elevate money to the level of a god in your life? Why steal and loot so much that there is little left to reach the people or develop the nation? 

The level of corruption in Nigeria is so monumental that even those who are looting are deluded. They are now telling you and me that looting and stealing government funds is not corruption! They have now come up with their own self-serving definition of corruption!

Hallelujah! Everybody say amen inside the Aso Rock Chapel, our God is not a poor God! 

These simple, hardworking, rural people who never sought the spotlight are thrown into it by terrible circumstances and nightmare no parent ever wished for have now been corrupted by Jonathan and his men. He met them just one time and he robbed the conning oil on them, anointed them with the spirit of greed and seduced them with filthy lucre. This is the only way known to Jonathan and the only language he understands.

Do not be surprised that Aso Rock and its media mongers will be shocked that some of us are making so much of a 'mere gift' of some millions of naira to some parents; that we are making so much 'noise' about it and making an issue of it at all. They will wonder what the heck is some millions of naira that we are 'making so much noise' about it, but we want things to be done right and the nation's resources used appropriately and fully accounted for. 

Most of our people are tired of a nation that cannot fend for its people, not because the nation does not have money but because the money is often stolen and looted. Writing about the plight of the Chibok girls in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper recently, the columnist Mohammed Adam said the following: "But concerned and dismayed as people around the world are, we all can't just march into the Nigerian rain-forest and snatch the girls back. 

That is the responsibility of the government, and the failure rests entirely with what passes for government in Nigeria. And this failure raises the fundamental issue of what use government really is, in many parts of Africa. 

Dictators, politicians win elections, rig them or seize power all in the name of the people, but once in, look out for only themselves. Some of them plunder the kitty, leaving the vast majority of people impoverished…it is inconceivable that a child would go missing in Canada or say Germany, and the government machinery would not go into overdrive to find this one human being." 

You can read the whole article at http://ottawacitizen.com/news/world/the-world-has-forgotten-the-nigerian-girls#. 

I believe Mr. Adam spoke directly to Mr. Goodluck Jonathan in that article. Jonathan, Mark, Okonjo-Iweala, and Moro should read it. Mr. Adam also spoke directly to the media mongers working for and with Jonathan to rewrite and pervert the truth. Essentially, it is clear that most of the people in Aso Rock and in this government have no conscience. 

They have sold their conscience for cash and for positions they never thought they could hold in their wildest dream. They have also sold everything including their integrity, positive previous contributions to society. They have sold their peace of mind and their soul as well.

These people are finished despite the huge cash they have been able to stack up and the new houses they have been able to grab.

I was encouraged to write this piece by many in Nigeria who have been sending the news item relating to Jonathan's cash gift to the parents of the Chibok girls to one another and to their groups of friends online and expressing shock and anger at the action of Jonathan. 

Here are some of their comments: "The leadership of our nation is sick," "Really shameful. Why the need for money," and "This is very, very shameful." The good thing about the concerns and comments is that they come from Nigerians of all religious beliefs, ethnic nationalities, businesses and professions. They are united around one thing: the need to rid the nation of a corrupt leadership. 

The head is rotten and decaying and we can no longer stand by and watch criminals run the nation to the ground. It is a shameless and corrupt thing to do - to give cash in envelopes to some of the parents of the Chibok girls, who are still missing. Aso Rock must have a huge vault to be able to give out alarming and unaccounted-for sums of cash. 

What was the money for? Why must Aso Rock give out money in cash to people? That is just how bad and corrupt things are right inside Aso Rock. Whatever happened to trust funds for education? How about rural development, infrastructures and social amenities? I guess those are not needed and are not good enough; cash is the way and the only way thieves prefer. 

Just buy the people with cash and the problems will go away? Welcome to Aso Rock where thieves run the affairs of Nigeria.

For the record, Cameroonian soldiers rescued the wife of the Vice Prime Minister, Amadou Ali who was abducted three days earlier. What the morons in Nigeria Army uniform cannot do in more than 3 months was accomplished in 3 days to liberate a single person from the clutches of Boko Haram. That tells you that the Nigerian Armed Forces is a fraud, a sham and a bunch of citizens' intimidators and harassers. 

The only people they are capable of waging war against are our citizens and unarmed, helpless civilians. Cameroon even sacked two senior army officers, Col. Youssa Gedeon and Lt-Col. Justin Ngonga just one day after the abduction of Mrs. Ali to send a clear message to its armed forces that the security and safety of the nation and its citizens is a top priority of the government. 

We must acknowledged that the lady that was rescued belonged in the top political hierarchy in Cameroon but her rescue within days attests to the worthiness of Cameroon's Armed Forces unlike the do-no-good, fat-bellied, pepper soup eating, unruly and undisciplined, bus-burning, riot-ragging, poorly trained and terribly managed Nigerian Armed Forces. The Nigerian Armed Forces needs a major strategic overhaul and total retraining.

The Nigerian Armed Forces have been an army of occupation for 30 or more years and they have always perceived their job description to be largely the invasion of the homes of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and other critics of the Armed Forces, as well as human rights campaigners such as Gani Fawehinmi, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Femi Falana. 

The other task they do very well is to go on rampage at bus stops, burn down buses, beat up drivers and conductors who will not allow them to ride for free, horse-whip drivers who will not carry their vehicles on their heads to allow an officer to drive by in a heavy traffic. These are the 'duties' the men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces have performed with distinction in over 30 years.

Men of the Nigeria Army in particular have excelled in this work as they demonstrated (demonstration of craze, as Fela Kuti put it! Na craze man be that o! Na animal be that!) a few weeks ago when they went on rampage, destroying lives and property in Lagos State.

You have to give it to them. That is what they know and can do very well. They have been fighting the Nigerian taxpayer and citizens for over 30 years and they are not equipped to fight the nation's enemies, defend its sovereignty or checkmate insurgency; that is not Nigerian Armed Forces!

Clearly, we can see that the Armed Forces need to be retrained and retooled, be taken through values and culture coaching, and be made to know that the civilian - any civilian for that matter - men, women, young and old, boys or girls are their masters, their bosses.

I have never seen a soldier who did not pay to enter a bus in North America and yet these officers will always give up their seats to civilians whenever the bus is full. "Would you like a seat, Mam?" and the officer will get up and offer his seat. "Come and sit here, sir," and the officer will bow and smile and move over to offer his seat to a citizen. 

We do not have gentlemen and women in our Armed Forces. Our own soldiers, naval and air force men are essentially "professional" thugs, hoodlums, irritants, touts and criminals in uniform. 

I know I speak for the Nigerian people on this matter.

Iconic NFL reporter Pam Oliver on her career and how she has managed to last this long in the business

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Fox recently announced that Pam Oliver would be demoted and that Erin Andrews would be replacing her on the sidelines of Fox's NFL broadcasts.

That Pam Oliver has managed to last this long (19 years) in the business is indeed an accomplishment by itself and speaks to her professionalism and unrivaled commitment to her craft.

In this video (below) she speaks with Lee Hawkins of the Wall Street Journal about her career and how she managed to stay at the top for as long as she has.

Trouble in paradise: Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen's marriage in trouble?

Larry Brown Sports

Is the marriage between Tom Brady and wife Gisele Bundchen in trouble? 

That’s what one tabloid would like to have you believe.

In a story published Monday called “Gisele & Tom: A House Divided!”, Star alleges that Gisele is controlling of Tom’s home life and that he is getting fed up.

Quoting from the article:

According to insiders, Gisele, 34, is supercontrolling with Tom and has final say on everything from how their home is decorated to exactly how and where their children, Benjamin, 4, and Vivian, 19 months, are raised.

The story alleges that despite having tons of housekeepers, Gisele has a list of chores for her husband to complete such as waking up early to clean floors and toilets. They say Tom is getting sick of doing things Gisele’s way.

In the past, Tom, 36, went along with Gisele’s demands in order to keep the peace, but pals insist he’s finally starting to stand his ground. “She throws an insane tantrum when things don’t go her way,” says the source.

“One time, Tom didn’t do one of the chores on his list, and she berated him — even telling him that he’s a terrible role model for their children. But instead of doing what she wanted, he just took the kids and left the house. Gisele was shocked.”

The story also says that a “final straw” was Gisele deciding she didn’t want to live in the LA mansion they built, and instead preferred a quieter environment. You may recall that the couple began construction on the Brentwood mansion back in 2010 after purchasing the plot of land for over $11 million. The entire construction cost was estimated to be around $20 million and the project supposedly took about four years to complete. It’s unclear whether the family ever lived in the mansion, but they listed it this year and sold it to Dr. Dre. They’re now building a huge complex in Brookline, Mass. instead.

And how’s this for a kicker? Star concluded its story with a quote from a friend who says they wouldn’t be surprised if Tom decided he could no longer take the married life.

“She rules Tom’s life,” continues the friend. “Nobody would be surprised if he threw in the towel soon.”

Eh, I think everyone on the outside world would be surprised if that happened. But if they are having problems, nobody should be surprised. First off, all marriages have their problems. Secondly, few things are as perfect as they seem on the outside.

While I can picture Gisele as a controlling type, I just can’t imagine Tom scrubbing toilets around his house. No way that’s possible, right?

Patriots are 'least liked' team in the NFL?

The NFL Shield (Credits: National Football League)

By cover32 Staff

In recent days, soccer fans have been coming out of the woodwork, showing their allegiance to “the world’s game” as World Cup fever starts to reach a fever pitch. 

Jumping on the bandwagon of Team USA makes sense; national pride will get sports fans to tune into almost anything. 

But the conversations have also revealed that plenty of people in the United States have become fans of overseas teams as well.

Real Madrid. Barcelona. Manchester United. Bayern Munich. Arsenal. Name a prominent European team and someone in America is suddenly on their bandwagon.

It becomes an obvious question: Why do people with no built-in allegiance to a team wind up becoming a fan?

Which leads to an interesting hypothetical. If roles were reversed and people from other countries were forming a bond with a National Football League team, which ones would they gravitate toward?

It led the editorial staff at cover32 to rate each NFL franchise based on their likability. The idea is simple: If a fan was neutral, what teams would they be most attracted to.

Here’s how things shook out:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers – They win consistently, which is nice. But they don’t take shortcuts to success, as the Steelers don’t buy their championship rosters. There’s something honorable about rooting for a team that is loyal and has work ethic.

2. Green Bay Packers – Being able to own a piece of the team would be cool. So too would the fact that the league’s championship trophy is named after the franchise’s former coach. Green Bay is the closest thing to a college atmosphere in the NFL.

3. Buffalo Bills – There’s a Chicago Cubs quality about the Bills; there’s a lovable loser element that dates to date to their four-consecutive Super Bowl losses in the 1990s. But they also possess a fiercely loyal fan base and have an underdog quality.

4. Cleveland Browns – One certainly wouldn’t jump on the Browns bandwagon because they wanted enjoy easy victory; instead, it’d be about being a part of a group that has endured a lot of pain in search of eventual victory.

5. Kansas City Chiefs – There’s a classic Midwestern charm to the Chiefs, as their diehard fans have avoided the corporate pitfalls that plague so many teams. It’s good people in search of another title, something 40 years in the making.

6. New York Jets – While the Giants fans are bluebloods, the Jets backers are the working class folks who give the Big Apple its swagger. Hanging out with a hard-working guy beats a Wall Street tycoon any day of the week, especially on Sundays.

7. Dallas Cowboys – As annoying as it may be to many NFL fans, the allure of “America’s Team” still remains; that’s something that people want to be a part of, as there’s a certain mystique that comes with the rich guy everyone roots against.

8. Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons are interesting to people who want to get on board with a promising team – Matt Ryan and Julio Jones make them that – but aren’t the obvious choice. Given their meager track record, Atlanta is an obscure choice.

9. Detroit Lions – A high-powered offense would make rooting for the Lions a fun experience; every Sunday is sure to at least produce some excitement. Being a part of the excitement that comes to Detroit when they win a title would be special.

10. Oakland Raiders – It may be a difficult group to understand, but it’s hard not to be envious of those who root for the Silver and Black. Everyone wants to belong to a group that is so passionate and loyal; Raiders fans have each other’s backs.

11. Indianapolis Colts – For those who don’t like to be a long-suffering fan, the Colts would be a great choice; they’re the fortunate franchise that transitioned from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck after just one dismal season. That’s living right.

12. Denver Broncos – While it would be nice to root for Peyton Manning every Sunday, it’d feel a little dirty, knowing that he was a mercenary brought in for one purpose. Plus, knowing what’s to come after his retirement would loom large.

13. New York Giants – Yes, rooting for the Giants is sort of like pulling for Microsoft, the IRS or Bank of America; but organizations with deep pockets, lots of connections and tons of resources tend to not disappoint their supporters.

14. Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings have a unique look with the purple and the whole Scandinavian thing. Plus, they too evoke some compassion, given that they came up short during all four of their trips to the Super Bowl.

15. Chicago Bears – There’s a history associated with the Bears, dating back to George Halas, that would be cool to tap into. But having to constantly harken back to the 1985 team would get annoying after a while; so too would Jay Cutler.

16. Cincinnati Bengals – Someone would have to be searching for punishment if they willingly chose to be a Bengals fan, as the franchise has been mired in mediocrity (at best) for two decades. But there have been sparks of hope the past three seasons.

17. Miami Dolphins – The glitz and glamour of South Beach is attractive, but those hideous colors from the ’70s are a turnoff. Also, having to constantly defend the 1972 squad, the NFL’s only perfect team, would be tiresome to the nth degree.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars – They have a very likable head coach, a promising young quarterback and an owner who defines unique, all of which is attractive. But their sheer lack of relevance would make them tough to get on board with from afar.

19. San Diego Chargers – The powder blue uniforms would be fun to watch on a weekly basis. But their fair-weather, front-running fans aren’t exactly a group that anyone would aspire to join; and Philip Rivers is tough to love.

20. St. Louis Rams – Jeff Fisher is an old-school coach who deserves a title, so he’d be fun to root for on a weekly basis. And the fact that the franchise took a chance on Michael Sam should make their fans proud. But the team is just blah on many fronts.

21. Seattle Seahawks – Frontrunners probably would like rooting for the Seahawks, but that’s about it. They have a brash coach who left a mess in his wake at USC, a trash-talking cornerback and an overrated QB. But they do win, so that’s cool.

22. Arizona Cardinals – The Bidwells have never proven to be a family that wants to win; at least, they aren’t willing to spend the money to show that they’re serious about it. Thus, it’d be hard to spend hard-earned cash supporting their product.

23. Houston Texans – The Texans are the definition of boring. Yes, they don’t do anything to rub anyone the wrong way, but that’s most because they simply don’t do anything. Period. What is there to gravitate toward, other than the cool logo?

24. Carolina Panthers – Despite winning the NFC South a year ago, the Panthers are fairly drab; that’s because defense tends to be fairly boring. And since Cam Newton has very few weapons around him, that’s the way it’s going to be in Carolina.

25. Tennessee Titans – The most-notable thing about this franchise is that their lone trip to the Super Bowl resulted in such an agonizing defeat that the drama worked its way into the script of “Cast Away.” But that’s not much to hang one’s hat on.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs were more likable when they had the ugly orange uniforms and hadn’t won a darn thing. Once they modernized their look and won a single Super Bowl title, the cool factor was gone completely.

27. Baltimore Ravens – Yes, they’ve won two Super Bowls since the turn of the century, but they’ve done it with some of the least likable characters in NFL history. Ray Lewis and Ray Rice make Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers look cuddly.

28. San Francisco 49ers – Having to hear about the glory days of Joe Montana and Steve Young would become tiresome after a while, but not as much as trying to happily cheer for Colin Kaepernick, Jim Harbaugh and Aldon Smith.

29. New Orleans Saints – Drew Brees is a nice guy, but he’s not enough to hide the stench of owner Tom Benson, who is a slimy businessman, and head coach Sean Payton, a bratty looking dude who always seems like he’s up to no good.

30. Philadelphia Eagles – This is an organization that has employed Michael Vick and Riley Cooper in recent years; talk about forcing fans to plug their noses when they enter the stadium. And their fan base is rude, crude and socially unacceptable.

31. Washington Redskins – Honestly, now would not be the time to jump on board the Redskins bandwagon. They have a racist nickname, an arrogant owner and a prima donna quarterback. Other than that, it’s nothing but stocked cupboards in D.C.

32. New England Patriots – Bill Belichick is a cheater that still thinks he’s smarter than everyone else, which makes the coach imminently distasteful. And quarterback Tom Brady is about as relatable as William and Kate across the pond.

Ridiculous Himalayas bus ride - Not for the faint-hearted!

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Post by Ototo.

How translation tech can help you 'speak in unknown tongues'

Waygo App

By Laju Arenyeka

There is no doubt that being multilingual in this global village is an added advantage. 

However, when compared to the thousands of languages in today's tower of Babel, it's next to impossible that one person would be able to speak them all. 

But an advantage of today's world is its smart tech from which translation tech evolves. Here are some ways translation tech apps is empowering users with the right tongues at the right time:

Waygo

If you've ever been to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant you'd wish you had this app sooner. Waygo, available on iPhone and Android, is capable of recognizing and translating Chinese and Japanese menus and signs, simply by pointing a smartphone camera. The company behind it says it's working on more languages for the future. If this is true, it might come in handy at your favorite Indian restaurant very soon.

Google glass

In what might seem like a trick borrowed from Men in Black, you can simply look through your Google glass, hold your head by looking at a sign and say: 'Ok Glass, translate this.' Apps such as UniSpeech and Word Lens make this possible.

Skype Translator

With apps like the Skype Translator, people who do translations for a living might soon have to find another source of income. This Microsoft-designed app lets provides translations as people speak to one another in different languages during voice calls. It will launch for Windows 8 devices later this year.

The different languages of money

Online shopping giant, eBay isn't just making in different currencies, through its machine translation, it automatically translates listing details on its websites and apps. In June it bought a start-up called AppTek, which specializes in this area. eBay has also said it's interested in making more tools using translation such as instant messaging software for sellers and potential buyers to chat about a product even if they don't speak the same language.

'Tweeting in tongues'

Twitter has added Bing Translate, a feature powered by Microsoft's technology, to translate tweets from different languages. Users who have the feature on the iPhone Twitter app can tap on tweets to see a translation.

Apps for sign language

Understanding sign language is not the easiest thing for the average person. Imagine an app that can help you through this with a snap of the finger! Microsoft has worked with Kinect Sign Language Translator, using the Xbox camera and motion-detection accessory to translate sign language into text and spoken language.

Maya Angelou's inspiring speech in 2009.....

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Women of the Year - Maya Angelou's Inspiring... by glamour

RJ Reynolds told to pay almost $24 billion to widow of smoker..... individual responsibility out the door?

By Deji Komolafe

A court in the United States of America has ordered the country's second largest cigarette company to pay $23.6 billion to the wife of a smoker who died of lung cancer.

RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company was hit with the punitive fine in addition to $16.8 million in compensatory damages.

Cynthia Robinson took action against the firm in 2008, seeking compensation for her husband's death in 1996. 

A company official said the verdict was grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law.'' 

During the four-week trial, lawyers for Ms Robinson argued that RJ Reynolds was negligent in informing consumers of the dangers of consuming tobacco. 

This negligence, the lawyers said, led to her husband Michael Johnson Sr. contracting lung cancer from smoking after becoming "addicted" and failing multiple attempts to quit. 

"RJ Reynolds took a calculated risk by manufacturing cigarettes and selling them to consumers without properly informing them of the hazards," Ms. Robinson's lawyer Willie Gary said. 

"We hope that this verdict will send a message to RJ Reynolds and other big tobacco companies that will force them to stop putting the lives of innocent people in jeopardy," he added. 

RJ Reynolds plans to appeal against the court's decision, vice president and assistant general counsel Jeffery Raborn said in a statement. 

"This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness, and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented," he said. 

"We plan to file post-trial motions with the trial court promptly, and are confident that the court will follow the law and not allow this runaway verdict to stand." 

The punitive damages awarded to Ms. Robinson were said to be the largest of any individual case stemming from a class action lawsuit filed in Florida. 

Several similar cases have resulted in smaller payouts after the state's highest court ruled that smokers and their families only had to prove addiction and that smoking caused their illness.

Mandate through the gun: Root cause of Jonathan's struggles with Boko Haram

Nigeria's late President Yar'Adua

Editor-in-Chief

There is no question that the "injustice" of decades past led to the subsequent birth of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ("MEND").

MEND is one of the largest (if not the largest) militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

The organization (essentially a terrorist organization) came into existence in the course of the last two decades, hinging its supposed "legitimacy" on the "exploitation and oppression" of the people of the Niger Delta region.

While it is true that untold devastation had been wrought on the natural environment in that region, MEND's position, as well as that of adjacent groups, would seem to suggest that the leadership of that region (Niger Delta) was not itself complicit in the culture of corruption, that basically ensured that the Federal Government turned a blind eye to the excesses of the foreign oil firms.

While one would not reasonably argue with the facts as they obtain, in relation to the lack of opportunities and economic underdevelopment prevalent in the Niger Delta, that should not give credence to the existence and activities of  an organization such as MEND, that resorted to acts of terrorism in its perverted quest for justice.

The fact is that the Nigerian Government of the day struggled to contain MEND much like it is struggling to contain the dreaded Boko Haram Islamic militants.

The truth is that Boko Haram is not really an Islamic sect looking to force Islam on the people of Nigeria. On the contrary, this terrorist group is essentially the military wing of the Kaduna Mafia (now the Arewa Consultative Forum) with the main objective of reclaiming the leadership stake of the core North, in the Nigerian political theater.

According to unimpeachable intelligence sources, those behind Boko Haram are highly placed political figures (including former heads of state of Nigeria).

The problem though is that the monster they (the core Northern leaders) created, has taken on a life of its own.

Although these "usual suspects" have lost control of the group, they are secretly the top cheer leaders for the acts of terrorism and senseless violence the group continues to inflict on the Nigerian people.

President Jonathan knows who these people are and he said as much recently (although he is still technically lying through his teeth). They are essentially the pillars of his rogue administration who feel left out of the current political equation and are out to settle the score.

These "usual suspects" (mostly of Northern extraction) believe that the "Northern mandate" was stolen in the last elections (following the death of the late president Umar Musa Yar' Adua).

In Jonathan, they (the Northern leaders) see a man who was thrust on the people of Nigeria by the barrel of the gun.

As far as they are concerned, if it is okay to assuage for the perceived wrong deeds done to a certain section of the country, then they are more than justified to engage in the same acts of terrorism through a surrogate military wing, with the sole intent of having power shifted back to the core North.

There-in lies Mr. Jonathan's dilemma and the future of Nigeria as a single entity, hangs precariously in the balance, unless honest and well-meaning stake-holders of all ethnicity and background decide to take their country back.

The truth is that the current administration does not enjoy the support of the people that matter, the Nigerian masses.

When you couple that with the fact that there are many in the corridors of academia and influence within the Nigerian theater of operation, who see this current president as a "terrorist imposition", it remains a very tall order for this administration and maybe Nigeria, to survive.