WhatsApp To End Support For Blackberry And Nokia Operating Systems By 2016

WhatsApp is to cease support for a number of operating systems by the end of 2016, the company announced yesterday.

With Android and iOS dominating the smartphone realm, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile still clinging on, the Facebook-owned company has revealed it will end support for BlackBerry (including BlackBerry 10), Nokia S40, and Nokia Symbian S60 by the end of this year. Additionally, it will no longer support Android 2.1 and 2.2 or Windows Phone 7.1.

The news comes in the same week that WhatsApp celebrated its seventh anniversary and also comes shortly after it passed one billion monthly active users (MAUs).

“When we started WhatsApp in 2009, people’s use of mobile devices looked very different from today,” the announcement read. “The Apple App Store was only a few months old. About 70 percent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia. Mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft – which account for 99.5 percent of sales today – were on less than 25 percent of mobile devices sold at the time. As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use.”

While the news will no doubt be greeted with dismay in many regions, particularly developing markets where Nokia’s older operating systems still enjoy some market share, it makes sense for a company to focus its efforts on platforms that the vast majority of its users are on. WhatsApp has evolved a great deal since its inception as a simple mobile-messaging app — it now offers voice calls, and video calls are reportedly being added too. And it seems this, in part at least, explains why the company is looking to refocus its efforts in terms of the platforms it supports.

“While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” the announcement explained. “This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.”

Moreover, when BlackBerry itself is no longer focusing on its native operating system, well, who can blame WhatsApp for ditching it?

Moving forward, WhatsApp has one piece of advice for any of its users who are still using one of the aforementioned operating systems: Upgrade to iPhone, a more modern Android, or a Windows Phone device by the end of 2016.

Venture Beat.

Nigeria Signs Two Major Agreements With Qatar

Nigeria and the Qatar have signed a Bilateral Air Services Agreement, BASA, in Doha on Sunday to pave way for direct flights between major cities of both countries.

The two countries also signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and tax evasion. These are on the sideline of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the country.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, representing President Muhammadu Buhari, signed the air services agreement on behalf of the country while Qatar’s Minister of Transportation and Communications, Jassim Bin Saif Alsulaiti, signed on behalf the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, also signed the agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes income with her Qatari counterpart, Ali Shareef Al Emadi.

It is also expected that the agreement on bilateral air service will promote trade, commerce and tourism between the two countries just as Nigeria has also commenced discussions on partnerships towards establishing a national airline for Nigeria.

The agreement on the avoidance of double taxation which had been negotiated since February 2015 will no doubt bring in more investments and businesses between Qatar and Nigeria.

Olajumoke Orisaguna: The Nigerian Cinderella – Reuben Abati

About three weeks ago, 27-year old Olajumoke Orisaguna was a complete unknown on the streets of Lagos, hawking bread. A loaf of bread is about N100, and even with a full tray such as she carried in her first public embrace of fame, her whole ware for a day may not be more than N3,000, with daily profit between N300-N700.

She had trained as a hair stylist, got married but had to leave her husband and a daughter back home in Ire, Osun state, to “hustle” as it were in Lagos. The life of a bread seller in Lagos is easily imaginable: exposure to the elements, to sundry abuse, including the possibility of being raped by unruly artisans and bachelors, who will offer to buy bread and something else along with it, if the hawker is willing. This was Olajumoke Orisaguna’s reality until she ran into TY Bello and Tinie Tempah and her life changed. Today, she has been enrolled as a model. Her story has appeared in all newspapers, on CNN, Huffington Post, and virtually everywhere online.

Two companies: StanbicIBTC and PayPorte have made her their brand ambassador. The former even awarded her two daughters scholarships up to university level. Her face has appeared on the cover of magazines. She is now a student at Poise Finishing School, an intern with two beauty salons, and a motivational speaker, even if she reportedly can’t speak English. When she went to the office of the National Identity Management Commission to get an identity card, NIMC also cashed in on her new found fame to use her to promote the agency: “Olajumoke knows she needs to NIMC. She walked into a NIMC centre yesterday unsolicited. Olajumoke is smart. Be like her.” This must be the most saccharine endorsement of Olajumoke so far.

To crown it all, a construction company has given her a luxury apartment in Lagos. From hawking bread in Agege, she is now within weeks, the darling of corporate Nigeria, the poster girl for corporate social responsibility, a landlady, and a role model. She had probably never seen the inside of an aircraft, but a few days ago, she was on a flight to Abuja to give a speech!

Mrs Orisaguna is Nigeria’s Cinderella. Hers is a sudden, unplanned, unexpected, unprepared for grass to grace, rags to riches story, a kind of I–just-dey-waka-my-own-jeje-luck-come-jam-me-tale. It doesn’t happen everyday. It is the kind of accident that many Nigerians seek: accidental fame and fortune. It is perhaps the magical, miraculous, I-don’t believe-it-but-it-is-true quality of this story that has captured the public imagination.

Olajumoke was hawking her bread innocently in Sabo, when she stumbled upon a photo session by that gifted mother of twins, artist and photographer, TY Bello, working on a series of shots for the international hip hop star, Tinie Tempah. We have been told that Olajumoke Orisaguna “photobombed” herself into the activity. I guess she just happened to walk by trying to sell bread, and TY Bello who is a spirit in action when she is at work, had a brain wave and took her picture. Enormously creative, T Y Bello thinks on her feet. When she has that her big camera in her hands, she is an agile, inventive artist.

Her camera is a weapon for interpreting space and reality, and for discovering new meanings. It must have occurred to her that asking the international musician to pose with a bread seller would give the picture a much deeper meaning, inherent in the open contrasts and auto-suggestions. It is that split second decision that has turned Jumoke Orisaguna into a superstar. The shot was brilliant, the result was impressive with people asking: “Who is that girl? She will make a good model.” TY Bello took on the challenge, and became Olajumoke Orisaguna’s promoter, mentor, adviser, godmother, and supporter, taking her to new heights within three weeks. Nobody is talking about Tempah, the main subject of the photo shoot; the focus is on the wanderer who walked onto the set, the bread seller who has taken the bread of the show, the waka-pass who became the star. I understand Tempah is quite happy; don’t be surprised then if he composes a special song soon, titled “The Bread Seller!” or “Photobombed” or simply “Olajumoke.”

The Olajumoke Orisaguna story is a perfect demonstration of the witchcraft quality of photography and that single shot that has changed a life may well be one of TY Bello’s most remarkable efforts in her chosen genre. But I find around Olajumoke’s sudden transformation from person to brand, too much capitalist hypocrisy and opportunism. The brand is selling like hot cake, but the person needs protection. I feel for her. I fear for her. There is a sense in which she is a potential victim. The brand experts now taking her from place to place probably would not have even patronized her. They don’t eat the kind of bread that she sold.

Many of them don’t even know what part of Lagos is called Sabo. They don’t buy their bread from hawkers; they would rather go to supermarkets or confectionery stores. Before luck smiled on this young lady, many of those now posing for photos with her would never have noticed her presence. There are definitely many of her type, still hawking bread, or some other items, some even sitting in front of the bank, with a baby strapped to the back, but they may never be noticed or helped. The same companies that are using Olajumoke to talk about corporate social responsibility, are actually joking, they know that this is not CSR; it is brand exploitation!

And it may not last. There is nothing in Olajumoke’s background or exposure that has prepared her for the life of glitz being imposed on her. The skills she has acquired as a bread seller and hair stylist may not carry her far in the cruel world of modeling. When this blitz is over, she will need to compete for jobs and attention, if she must remain a model. She will have to learn sooner or later, to survive on her own. She will have to maintain the luxury apartment that she has been given. She has been taught fancy dressing, including the magic of make up and those magical colours that change a dull face into a phallus-teasing one do not come cheap.

She is at best an art work that other people have created: she has been made up into a siren, her hitherto dull skin now glows, in one photo, her hair had a queenly allure, they have given her new clothes, jazzing her up, to look feminine and sensual, and they have taught her how to smile in a tempting manner. Wow. That smile! The sorry part of it all is that her narrative is quite innocent and hauntingly brief, as is the case with all overnight sensations. The capitalist hypocrites will soon find something else to excite them, just as the media will find a new story. It probably would have been much better to help Olajumoke Orisaguna set up a small-scale business, to take her off the street-life of hawking, rather than this world of sharks into which she has been thrown. Perhaps the best that has been done for her is sending her on internship at beauty salons. She could at least set up a beauty salon of her own and live happily thereafter.

In a normal society, no young woman should be on the streets hawking bread in order to survive. In a normal society, Olajumoke Orisaguna would have been given the opportunity to go to school, and have a proper career. She is being given, all within three weeks, the kind of empowerment that society has denied her and many like her, but how about all the other Olajumokes who may never “photobomb” their way to luck? Her new life is a reminder of what she could have been but which she could not become because of the kind of society in which she has found herself. She should never have had to hawk bread to support her husband and children.

Her husband! Yes, Mr. Sunday Orisaguna. I have seen him in the photographs, either carrying their baby, or just putting up appearance. He looks lost, confused, overwhelmed, harassed and uncertain. He must be wondering what has happened or is happening to the woman he married. There is a clear difference between Olajumoke, the wife and bread seller, and Olajumoke, the model and celebrity. While Olajumoke is beginning to wear designer clothes, her humble husband is still managing his one-day-me-too-go-jam-luck attires. His wife has been sent to finishing school. By the time she finishes, I hope her new persona will not finish her marriage.

Olajumoke is now learning to speak English, but her husband is a humble, sliding door installer who probably speaks only Yoruba. In our kind of society, given the social level and cultural background of the parties involved, it won’t be long before the demons will begin to crawl out of the woods, from in-laws who may begin to psycho-analyse Olajumoke, to family members who will scrutinize her every gesture, and friends with whom she hawked bread and has now left behind.

Lack of clarity over role interpretation and the new persona could also confuse the young mother. She needs a different set of skills to manage new relationships, especially the new friends coming her way, including those lecherous uncles who may show up and seek to exploit her innocence. The people turning her into a sex symbol should also tarry a while, and remember that she is a married mother of two. She needs counseling. And her sliding door installer husband, who has featured in her fairytale so far as a hanger-on, no matter what happens, should not be made to slide away. Sunday Orisaguna should also be counseled, given new clothes, taught English and sent to finishing school. He should not be left behind.

Jeb Bush drops out of Republican presidential race

Jeb Bush withdrew from the Republican presidential race after his loss in South Carolina, abandoning a campaign that struggled frequently in the glare of anti-establishment politics.

"The people of Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken," Bush said Saturday, "and so tonight I am suspending my campaign." Bush failed to win or even place third in any of the first three GOP contests.

The son and brother of previous presidents, Bush entered the race with high name recognition and big money. But those assets turned into liabilities as Donald Trump rose in the polls and voters rebelled against traditional Republican politics.

Few candidates symbolized the establishment more than the former governor of Florida, and voters from Iowa to South Carolina said they could not support the idea of a "third Bush" in the White House in 30 years.

"A lot of my friends felt like they didn't want another Bush," said Kathy Randall, an attorney from Summerville, S.C, who attended a Trump event in nearby Walterboro.

Bush also fell into the cross hairs of Trump. The New York billionaire slammed Bush as the "low-energy candidate," a label that stuck.

GOP leaders long questioned the strategy of the Bush camp, especially Right to Rise, a super PAC that raised a whopping $118 million last year.

Bush’s super PAC reported spending more than $86 million through late this week, according to a tally by the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute. But virtually none of that money targeted Trump, who emerged as the national front-runner in the GOP race not long after the real-estate mogul announced his candidacy last June.

Instead, the group trained more of its firepower on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, with whom Bush competed for establishment support.

New campaign-finance reports filed Saturday night as South Carolina results were coming in showed the super PAC’s fundraising had slowed to a trickle. Right to Rise collected just $378,821 in January, much of it provided by a single donor — NBA’s Orlando Magic owner Dick DeVos, Sr., who gave $250,000.

The super PAC issued a statement Saturday saying, "We could not be more proud of Jeb Bush, the campaign he ran, and the hopeful and optimistic message of conservative reform that he communicated throughout this primary. Our team is grateful to the more than 11,000 Jeb Bush supporters who helped us in our efforts." The PAC announced it is ceasing its activities on behalf of Bush; it was not immediately clear what would happen with any funds left over in its accounts.

The former two-term governor, out of office since 2007, also struggled at times on the campaign trail and often had trouble connecting with voters.

In one incident, Bush said "people need to work longer hours," a comment that rivals in both parties pounced on. Bush later said he was referring to part-time, underemployed Americans who wanted full-time positions.

While Bush at times seemed to shun the family name — his campaign signs said simply "Jeb!" — he brought in high-profile members of his family to stump for him at the end.

His mother, Barbara Bush, campaigned for him in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The South Carolina primary also featured the reappearance of George W. Bush.

To some voters, however, the former president's speech simply underscored how much a better campaigner he was than Jeb Bush.

"He's not his brother," said Carolyn Jackson, 70, a retiree from Lexington, S.C., who attended a Cruz event in Columbia. "He's a good, honorable man — and he is not presidential material ... He just doesn't have the proper strength."

The former president issued a statement following his brother's announcement to end his campaign. "Tonight I talked to my brother and congratulated him on his campaign for the presidency," George W. Bush said. "I told Jeb how proud I am of him and his staff for running a campaign that looked to the future, presented serious policy proposals, and elevated the tone of the race.

Campaign volunteers at Bush's party traded hugs and goodbyes after the former Florida governor's announced he was dropping out.

Solomon Schoonover, a 26-year-old law student, said he had volunteered with the Bush campaign since he announced his candidacy in June.

"It's disappointing because I know that he's the man for the job," he said. "People got distracted by the flashy object and news headlines," he said, alluding to businessman Trump.

Sean Kilbane, a 32-year-old veteran who supported Bush, said he's disappointed in voters.

"It's a huge letdown," he said. "Americans have shown how susceptible they are to one-liners, to rhetoric, and just ignore issues and policy. It's an example of how easily Americans can be manipulated just by getting them emotional."

USA Today

Why We Can’t Recover Funds Looted By Alison-Madueke, Others – Presidency

Lack of funds is stalling Nigeria’s effort to trace and recover its stolen monies, and prosecute former government officials responsible for the heist, the presidency has said.

A letter by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption (PACC) to a United Kingdom-based anti-corruption organization, Global Witness, soliciting assistance in raising funds, revealed that due to the fall in crude oil prices and the general economic downturn, the government lacked the needed funds to pursue recovery of loots.

The letter, dated February 15, 2016, was signed by the Executive Secretary of PACC, Bolaji Owasanoye, and directed to the Director of Global Witness, Simon Taylor.

It stated that the commitment of the government to tackle Boko Haram insurgency, fight corruption and improve the livelihood of Nigerians through job creation, was being hampered by dwindling oil revenue and mounting debts.

Mr. Owasanoye, a professor, argued that the economy could not be revived simply by improving revenue generation, without wiping out corruption and recovering money stolen former officials.

He said ongoing investigations into the diversion of arms funds by the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, and ex-military chiefs, show that significant amount of the money needed by the government to alleviate poverty were still in “the pockets and bank accounts of looters of public funds”.

He said intelligence reports and court rulings elsewhere have shown that there were more funds to be recovered from the immediate past Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, the fraudulent sale of OPL 245 by Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by “a well-known money launderer”, Dan Etete, assets traced to former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, and former military ruler, Sani Abacha.

He however explained that due to the multi-jurisdiction of the cases, and the exorbitant charges of professionals such as lawyers, forensic financial investigators, and the ability of the suspected officials to use part of the alleged stolen fund to challenge the recovery of the fund, the government needed huge flow of resources.

“However, this poses a major problem. An empty treasury means that the money is not currently available for the government to engage these professionals due to the high fee that they charge.

“Even in cases where service will be given on contingency basis the initial seed fund required to start the process is not affordable. As a result, the action the government urgently seeks to take is being stymied,” Mr. Owasanoye wrote.

He argued that the government’s capacity to pursue all potential cases would be greatly boosted by the creation of an Assets Tracing, Recovery and Litigation Fund from which lawyers, investigators and forensic auditors will be paid.

He added that the government was also working on an arrangement where professionals engaged would be paid only on successes recorded.

“Once engaged, government can negotiate with the professionals to earn only success fees. Each professional engaged will secure its own litigation funders to support their briefs,” he stated.

Mr. Owasanoye further revealed that government would not have got as much traction as it does in its drive to prosecute ex-officials, and in the recovery of funds, if it had not received a combined financial lifeline of $5 million from international organizations such as the Ford foundation, MacArthur Foundation and the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

“This fund is supporting the mandate of the Presidency Advisory Committee on Corruption which is co-ordinating the anti-corruption effort of the government and promoting improved criminal justice administration.

“In light of the very dire economic situation of the moment this support and the proposed Assets Tracing, Recovery and Litigation Fund, is crucial to government ability to get recovery assets to support social welfare projects for the impoverished majority of Nigerians.

“Furthermore, funding support will enable government to use money that would have otherwise gone to professionals for assets recovery for other social protection projects,” he wrote.

Arms Deal: EFCC Recovers N381m From Ex Chief of Air Staff’s Wife

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered N381m from Mrs. Omolara Amosu, the wife of the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu.

Sources within the EFCC said on Saturday that the money was recovered in three tranches: N180m, N101m and N100m.

The money, according to a detective, was traced from the account of the Nigeria Air Force to the bank accounts of a company in which Amosu’s wife is a director.

He added that Amosu’s wife is a signatory to the accounts.

He said, “We recovered N381m from Amosu’s wife, Omolara. Initially, we recovered N180m from her account before another N101m and then N100m. These were monies transferred from Air Force accounts.”

Explaining how the money was diverted, the detective added, “They (Air Force officers) sent the money to an account where their wives have interests or are signatories without doing anything.”

A second source within the EFCC said that more properties belonging to the immediate past Chief of Accounts and Budgeting of NAF, Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun, had been seized.

The detective said a property, which is a quarry located in Ogun State, had equipment worth about $600,000.

He, however, did not state the value of the property.

Two weeks ago, houses worth over N2bn in Ikoyi and Victoria Island allegedly belonging to Adigun were seized.

The source said, “Adigun is still here with us. We recovered a quarry which he owns. In the quarry there were pieces of equipment worth about $600,000. They have all been impounded and investigations are ongoing.”

Amosu, Adigun and over nine air force officers are currently under investigation by the anti-graft agency for the procurement of equipment which was said not to be transparent.

Since his detention, Amosu had been quizzed over the procurement of two second-hand Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at a cost of $136.9m.

The helicopters were alleged not to be operationally airworthy at the time of delivery while a brand new unit of such helicopters costs about $30m.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that Amosu and some other officers would be charged to court as soon as the holding charge which the EFCC obtained in court to hold the officers for 30 days from January 28 lapses.

A detective said, “Amosu will be charged to court anytime from now. Recall that we obtained a holding charge from a court to hold him for a maximum of 30 days. We are rounding off our investigations and anytime from now, he will be charged to court.”

Take Boko Haram Stories Off Your Frontpages and Headlines – Lai Mohammed To Media Houses

Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed is calling on media houses to take stories of boko haram attacks off their front pages.

Speaking during a Press conference in Abuja, the minister said, ”As our military continues its relentless efforts to keep us safe, let our media, which has played a major role in keeping the people informed about the war on terror, deny Boko Haram the oxygen it needs to cling on to life – which is publicity. Let us get the news of the terrorists’ cowardly attacks against defenceless citizens off the front pages and away from the headlines”.

Read full speech below:

Recent cowardly attacks on vulnerable targets, including communities and the Internally Displaced Persons camps, have got many wondering whether Boko Haram is making a resurgence, following its decimation by our gallant military. In the wake of the attacks, some commentators have even gone as far as saying the terrorists are still in control of a chunk of our territories, a comment that can only achieve the purpose of providing succour to the demoralized and dispersed terrorists.
In truth, there is neither a resurgence of Boko Haram nor the reoccupation of the same territories from which the terrorists have been flushed out. Thankfully, no less a personality than the President himself, supported by the Governor of Borno, has debunked the claim that Boko Haram is still holding on to territories.

Despite the best efforts of the government to keep the citizens safe, the recent attacks did not come totally as a surprise. When we launched our National Security Awareness Campaign last December, in part to rally the support of Nigerians for the war and to sensitize them to be more vigilant, we did warn that the terrorists would resort to attacking soft targets, which are highly vulnerable places like motor parks, entertainment and worship centres, markets, etc. We then stepped up our public enlightenment campaign as part of efforts to ensure the safety of our citizens as well as their property.

Unfortunately, the rump of the terror group has managed to detonate some suicide bombs and unleash their terror on some vulnerable communities and IDP camps, leading to loss of lives and destruction of property. We strongly condemn these mindless attacks on innocent citizens and commisserate with the families of those who have been killed or injured in the attacks.

Irrespective of the frequency and viciousness of these attacks, which are bound to taper off with time, I can confidently say they do not represent a resurgence of Boko Haram, and I will explain that in the course of this article. But first, let me appeal to all concerned not to say or do anything that will demoralize our gallant men and women in uniform, who are daily fighting – and sometimes paying the supreme price – so that we can all be safe. Having travelled to the theatre of operations myself, I have seen the huge sacrifices of our military. They deserve nothing but our undiluted support. This is the best form of appreciation we can show them at this time. Anything else is counter-productive. Commendation, not condemnation. Support, not second guessing. That’s what we owe the gallant troops.

As I said earlier, the current attacks by the degraded Boko Haram will not surprise anyone who is conversant with the ebb and flow of insurgency. During the immediate period after an insurgency has been degraded, the fact that terrorists are dispersed into the community is often followed by an upsurge of terror attacks in the form of suicide bombing and sabotage of critical facilities. Activities during these period are often carried out within population and against soft targets or vulnerable groups. There is often apprehension in the community that terrorism is getting worse, even though, in reality, insurgency has been weakened as a cohesive terror force. This is the current phase of insurgency in the country.

This Administration is not unaware of this development and is taking appropriate measures, in line with global best practices, to ensure an effective response. These include the strengthening of intelligence and security, especially in the affected communities and the IDP camps, and the stepping up of the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement efforts. While these efforts are going on, the government enjoins members of the public to be vigilant, security conscious, and to cooperate with security agencies by providing information on suspicious and strange objects, activities and persons in their communities. By doing these, we will be denying terrorists a safe haven and the opportunity to carry out their atrocities.

It is important that we explain further to our compatriots that the recent spike in suicide bombings and attacks on vulnerable communities are not unusual at the phase of insurgency in which we are now, which is the phase in which the insurgency is defeated or degraded by the military. As we have said many times, insurgency is not a classic warfare, and the guns will not fall silent overnight.

For better understanding, one must recogize the different types of the termination of insurgency. One involves a situation in which the insurgents succeed, in which case the group subdues the government and society, imposes its will and re-organizes the economic and socio-political structures of society accordingly. The insurgency in Iran that brought the current regime in the country to power is an example. When this happens, the insurgency is often christened as a revolution by the victorious insurgents. There is also the negotiated settlement, including amnesty for insurgents. Examples abound in some South American countries like Guatemala, and to an extent Eastern and Southern Africa where previously recalcitrant colonial or apartheid regimes had to negotiate with anti-colonial and anti-apartheid movements. And then there is the phase in which the insurgent group is defeated or degraded by the government, which is the current experience of Nigeria.

Each of the three types has long-term consequences. However, none of them provides immediate cessation to terror attacks, as evident in cases like Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries that previously recorded insurgency. Terror attacks and activities in the form of suicide bombing, sabotage of infrastructure and propaganda often continue for years after the cessation of mass insurgency.

In the past nine months since the advent of this Administration, Boko Haram insurgents have been considerably decimated as a result of coordinated and unrelenting efforts by the military. The Administration has also succeeded in galvanizing our neighbouring countries and the global community, including major powers, towards the defeat of insurgency and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the communities and population most affected by terrorism. Boko Haram has been dislodged from its occupied territories; thousands of its captives have been set free; its capacity to operate as a troop moving in convoy of vehicles and motor cycles to launch attacks on communities and military formations has been neutralized. In essence, the insurgents have been effectively denied territory or sanctuary and are now in disarray.

Scattered, demoralized and hungry, they have resorted to terror tactics available to a degraded and defeated insurgent group. The fact that they occasionally operate in a few local governments does not equate to holding and controlling territories. We must make that distinction.

As our military continues its relentless efforts to keep us safe, let our media, which has played a major role in keeping the people informed about the war on terror, deny Boko Haram the oxygen it needs to cling on to life – which is publicity. Let us get the news of the terrorists’ cowardly attacks against defenceless citizens off the front pages and away from the headlines. Let all of us, Nigerians, give our total support to our gallant troops and be vigilant, while also taking ownership of the war so that, together, we can clear our communities of the remnants of the terrorists.

Lai Muhammed
Minister of Information And Culture
16th February, 2016