The Future Nigeria

With support from its “Special Research Fund” (BOF), Ghent University is able to finance doctoral scholarships for candidates from developing countries who wish to obtain a Ph.D. at Ghent University . No restrictions are imposed on the field of research; nevertheless preference will be given to topics that are relevant for development. Relevance for development measures the degree in which the action of development corresponds with the expectations of the beneficiaries, the needs of the country, global priorities and the policies of partners and donors.

There are two types of scholarships: full grants for starting PhD students and grants with a maximum duration of 1 year for students finalizing their PhD research at Ghent University .

Type 1: Grants with duration of 2×2 years for starting PhD researchers. This type of grant is intended for new PhD researchers who want to obtain a PhD degree at Ghent University .

Duration: There is an initial period of two years, which can be extended by an additional two years, depending on the evaluation of the progress report.

Who can apply? The candidates must come from – and must also possess the nationality of – one of the countries specified on the Institution’s website.

How does it work: The candidate applies to Ghent University jointly with a promoter of Ghent University . The Research Council makes a selection of the applications based in part on the recommendations obtained from members of the Council for Development Cooperation. The recommendation is based on the evaluation of the doctoral project, the qualifications of the applicant for the doctoral scholarship and the scientific/scholarly potential of the promoter’s research group(s). The development of the research potential of the institution can also be taken into account in the evaluation.

How much funding is involved: The value of the scholarship depends on, a.o., the researcher’s family situation. The monthly allowance is approx. € 1,545.

Type 2: Grants with a maximum duration of 1 year, for finalizing PhD research at Ghent University . This type of grant is for PhD researchers who have already carried out a substantial part of their PhD research and who need maximum 1 year to finalize their PhD.

Duration: The grant can be either 6 or 12 months.

Who can apply: Candidates must come from – and must also possess the nationality of one of the specified countries. They also must prove that the doctoral research they have done so far, is clearly linked to Ghent University , meaning that previous collaboration with Ghent University must exist.

How does it work The same application and evaluation procedure as for the type 1 grants is followed, with the exception that the feasibility to finalize the doctorate within the time span of the requested grant will also be taken into account for the evaluation of the applications.

How much funding is involved: The value of the scholarship depends on, a.o., the researcher’s family situation. The monthly allowance is approx. € 1,545.

Deadline: March 22 2010

Further information: BOF@UGent.be

Sadly this year, The Future Awards brochure did not have its usual feedback form where we can get from guests their honest suggestions, feedback, advice and comments.

However, as is our character, we really want to hear your feedback, because this is YOUR event. This event belongs to all young Nigerians.

Therefore, please click on this link to give us your ANONYMOUS and FRANK critique as well as advice on how we can get make even greater impact next year and get even better. Because, no matter how successful, things can get better!

We assure you that your advice will be considered and incorporated as necessary.

Get a chance to win an I represent Nigeria Tshirt AND a carton of Indomie!!!!

Just answer these questions, and as usual after a raffle, the winners will be unveiled!

What does the Young Person of the Year 2010 do for a living?
Where is she based?

Gifts are to be given every week!

Since returning her critically ill husband to the country in the dead of the night yesterday, Turai Yar’Adua has in the last twenty-four hours effectively seized control of the apparatus of government, shoving aside Goodluck Jonathan and unilaterally causing a reversal of the decision by the National Assembly to name him Acting President.
She has a combination of factors working to her advantage: on the one hand, her husband is back in the country and expected to resume Presidential functions; on the other, the state of his health renders him incapable of exercising any presidential authority, automatically creating a vacuum for a proxy.
This bizarre scenario is what Mrs. Yar’Adua is exploiting, with urgency and precision. Yesterday, she instigated a series of puzzling actions, aimed at curtailing the movement and powers of the Acting President.
These include the deployment of two members of the brigade of guards to barricade the “presidential seat”, allegedly to prevent Mr. Jonathan from sitting on it to preside over the meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation; and the early afternoon ransacking of Mr. Jonathan’s office by personnel of the State Security Service (SSS).
Not long after that action, the President’s spokesperson, Segun Adeniyi issued a statement announcing that, “while the President completes his recuperation, Vice President Jonathan will continue to oversee the affairs of state.” There is however no evidence that the Acting President is in any position to oversee Nigeria’s affairs, as he spent most of Wednesday holed up in his office or home, as ignorant as the rest of the country about happenings in the corridors of power. In the vacuum, the First Lady is in absolute control, not only of the affairs of state, but also of access to the President.
Acting in the dark
Over 20 hours after arriving in the country, no public official has yet seen Mr. Yar’Adua, NEXT findings reveal. It emerged yesterday that even Mr Jonathan, has not seen or spoken to Mr Yar’Adua since he returned to the country. A highly placed source in Aso Rock revealed this Wednesday, adding that a political stalemate is in the offing between the two men.
The source confirmed that the Mr. Jonathan was completely unaware of the president’s homecoming until just a few hours before his plane landed in Abuja. In addition, all the security and army personnel that were dispatched to the airport did not receive their orders from the Acting President’s office.
Two army units, the 4th battalion and Guards brigade, were deployed to secure the road leading to the airport and escort the presidential convoy back to Aso Rock.
According to our source, “300 carefully selected officers were secretly deployed and conveyed in 25 vehicles for the operation. Even the weapons were released to them at night.” The directive for this deployment was not issued by the Acting President who is also the present commander in chief of the armed forces of Nigeria. This caused a little pandemonium among the ruling class who wondered who deployed the men.
“The Acting President did not give orders for the deployment of the troops and neither were we consulted on such.
So we all wondered if the army was just acting on its own. Maybe it was the Chief of Defense Staff, or the Chief of Army staff or the National Security Adviser who deployed them; you know they all never liked Mr. Jonathan. We don’t know even up till now,” our source stated.
A President held hostage
The list of persons who are being denied access to the President by the First Lady is growing.
Apart from the Acting President, none of the Ministers or Presidential aides has seen or spoken to Mr. Yar’Adua. Not even Segun Adeniyi, Mr. Yar’Adua’s senior special assistant on media and communications, who issued a press statement on behalf of the President has seen or directly heard from him, NEXT findings reveal.
The Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Bukola Saraki, and the Chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Vincent Ogbulafor, have also been unsuccessful in their attempts to see Mr. Yar’Adua.
“They are preventing everyone from seeing him. None of us, except his wife and his security aides have seen him since his arrival. Right from the airport, they hid him from everybody. The Vice President even tried to go see him yesterday, but was disallowed by Turai,” a senior government official stated.
At the moment, no one outside the tiny inner circle has any details about the current state of the President’s health. A widely-quoted NEXT exclusive story in January reported that he was “seriously brain damaged.” Our investigations continue to point to a man who remains incapacitated and clearly unable to function as President, contrary to Mr. Adeniyi’s statement that the President had been “discharged” by his Saudi doctors.
We have it on reliable authority that since the President’s arrival in the country on Wednesday, his critical condition has necessitated his continued stay in the Ford E-250 intensive care ambulance that picked him at the Abuja airport. He is expected to be in the ambulance until the intensive care unit that will receive him is retrieved by Julius Berger from Katsina and re-installed in House 7 within the grounds of the Presidential Villa.
Sources also said that the President was carried on a stretcher aboard the ambulance that airlifted him into the country. The arrival of the President in the early hours of Wednesday was engineered to take place in utmost secrecy. Just before midnight on Tuesday, the military units sealed off the presidential wing of the airport and cordoned off the area, ordering all airport staff to move to the international wing. The airport was sealed off from journalists and other visitors who had begun to gather at the presidential wing.
The air ambulance conveying the President landed at 1.45am in a remote section of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport runway. Tarmac floodlights were also dimmed, heightening the covertness of the operation.
Sinking deeper into confusion
A brief private meeting between Mr. Jonathan and the ministers held in place of the customary Wednesday Executive Council meetings, which Mr. Jonathan has consistently chaired in the absence of Mr. Yar’Adua. The meeting, which traditionally starts at 10.00am, was postponed by Mr. Jonathan as soon as news of the President’s arrival broke.
The Ministers were duly notified.
A minister confirmed that the instruction to postpone the council meeting came from Jonathan.
“I received a call at about 8.30 from his secretary saying that our meeting would be postponed,” the minister said. “I was asked to come directly to the conference room by 2 (o’clock) where they would explain why the meeting did not hold.” The minister went on to say that many of his colleagues did not know about the arrival of the President until Wednesday morning. “Some of us were hearing it from you people in the media as of this morning,” the minister said. “As for me I have not spoken to him since he left and that remains so.” The failure of the meeting to hold is just one of the many manifestations of the deepening confusion that has plagued the country since news first broke on Tuesday evening of Mr. Yar’Adua’s return.
At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili announced that the Mr. Jonathan would be meeting with Mrs Yar’Adua on yesterday evening. Even though a source said the meeting was not at Mrs Yar’Adua’s behest, but an attempt to stave off a constitutional crisis, the fact that it is taking place at all is yet another pointer to the significant role that the President’s wife will be playing in the current power configuration.
It remains unclear what the agenda of the meeting will be, but a source insisted that the ongoing political stalemate cannot be dispelled until the Acting President meets with the President. “Until the Acting President receives a secure directive from the President, the executive council cannot fulfil its duties,” the source said.

Sir Elton John has claimed Jesus was a ’super-intelligent gay man’. The openly homosexual musician made the claim in a magazine interview and admits he admires the Christian Messiah because his aim was to spread peace and love in the world.

The ‘Rocket Man’ singer – who is married to Canadian filmmaker David Furnish – told Parade magazine: ‘I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.

‘On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving.

‘I don’t know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East and you’re as good as dead.’

Elton also revealed he fears he could be killed by a crazed fan – just like John Lennon and Gianni Versace.

The 62-year-old singer was close friends with fashion designer Versace who was shot dead in July 1997 on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by Andrew Cunanan and admits he decided to increase his personal security following the tragedy.

Referring to Versace and Lennon, he said: ‘Two of them shot outside their houses. None of this would have happened if they hadn’t been famous. Fame attracts lunatics. I never had a bodyguard ever until Gianni died. I don’t like celebrity anymore.’

Beatles legend Lennon died in 1980 after being shot by deranged fan Mark Chapman outside his apartment building in New York .

For five years, The Future Awards has prided itself on certain values – especially those that will herald a New Nigeria and do away with attitudes and traditions of a generation gone past.

Therefore, in the midst of all the congratulations for what was an immensely successfull and over-subscribed night, for us comes a deep sense of responsibility to those who look up to The Future Project as a beacon for what our future can be.

From our first edition in 2006, and at all the awards, we have always been determined to start our events on time despite the many logistics nightmares that are unavoidable in our country. We have prided ourselves on being the one of a few major Nigerian events to start early and not keep guests waiting unduly.

This year, unfortunately, we fell far short of that target.

The circumstances were unavoidable. The prestigious Muson Centre venue is used each Sunday by the House on the Rock church, which characteristically ends its services at about 1pm. However, on this particular Sunday, the service ended almost four hours later than schedule, and this seriously affected any ability to start late. Short of changing the venue, we were helpless to do anything to remedy this situation.

It is in fact to the credit of the team of young people who managed every single aspect of the event – sound, stage, decoration, management, light, etc – that they were able to set up such huge logistics within 3 hours; so that the event was able to kick off within two hours.

However, even though there was nothing that could have been done about the situation, we feel we owe it to the many young – and older! – people who look up to this project, to explain this and to apologise.

There should be no ‘African Time’ in the future of this country, and we remain committed to the highest standards in all that we do. After all, that is our mantra: to survive in spite of the difficult challenges of the Nigerian environment.

We remain grateful for all the messages of goodwill and appreciation. And even as we savour the congratulation for the grand events on the 6th and 7th of February, we continue our work of joining hands to rebuild our country!

(CNN) — Only moments after Tiger Woods began reading his apology Friday, writers, pundits and tweeters largely split into two camps: those who felt that his words were a heartfelt effort to acknowledge wrongs and set them right, and those who didn’t believe a word of it.

David Hinckley, in the New York Daily News, was unconvinced: “Prisoners of war reading prepared denunciations of Western imperialism look more comfortable than Tiger Woods did Friday, apologizing for his ’selfish and irresponsible’ behavior. Never relaxed and easygoing in front of a TV camera in the best of times, Woods was a man saying the right things out loud while everything about his demeanor was silently screaming, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ His eyes occasionally moving around the room as he worked to enunciate his scripted remarks clearly, Woods looked like a man who had caught his leg in a bear trap.”

By contrast, SI.com’s Michael Rosenberg took Tiger at his word: “This was a real person with real flaws and real failures that he really acknowledged. Tiger has always preferred to sell an image instead of being himself; this was obvious even before he crashed his car last Thanksgiving. Ironically, at the moment when Tiger’s image is most at risk, he finally showed us who he is. … A lot of us have trouble apologizing to our spouse or our boss when we make a mistake. Think about what it must be like to apologize to the world. I don’t know what else people can ask of the guy.”

At beliefnet.com, Rabbi Schmuley Boteach was convinced that the apology was heartfelt: “Tiger Woods’ statement was a model of repentance and contrition. He admitted he had a problem. He said that words alone would not solve it, that he requires, and is receiving counseling. He admitted that celebrity and money had given him a sense of entitlement and had corrupted him. He said he had behaved selfishly and irresponsibly. He accepted that being a public figure meant private responsibility and that he had to model good behavior for the youth. And he looked the entire time like he meant it. It was that rarest of things, a sincere and unconditional statement of contrition and responsibility from a public figure for cheating on his wife.”

ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons called the apology “a borderline train wreck” and said: “It amazes me that Tiger learned little to nothing from the past two months. The control freak whose life slipped out of control dipped right back into control-freak mode, reading a prepared speech in front of a hand-selected audience of people, taking no questions, talking in clichés and only occasionally seeming human. Everything about it seemed staged. Everything. When the main camera broke down at the nine-minute mark and Tiger had to be shown from the side, I half-expected to see that he was plugged in to the wall.”

CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom had a different take, saying that while Tiger Woods hit a “home run” in acknowledging that he had a mistaken view of what his fame entitled him to, the most significant thing about the apology was the absence of his wife, Elin: “Elin Woods joins the more recent and growing list — Elizabeth Edwards, Jenny Sanford — who stand out for not standing by their husbands’ public confessionals. Famous wives are public figures themselves, however reluctantly, and serve as role models for girls and women who watch their moves carefully. Elin’s absence says this: I am not a doormat. Nor should you be. She may forgive, or not; she may stay, or not. That’s her private business. But she refused to be part of the public spectacle… And that is as it should be.”
Charts: Twitter opinions of Tiger Woods
Video: Fans react to Woods apology
Video: Tiger’s timing
Video: Examining Tiger’s statement

CNN contributor Roland Martin said he wasn’t looking for an apology: “I’m sick of these sanctimonious folks who are blabbering about Woods needing to be grilled about his private behavior. Look, Tiger Woods didn’t cheat on me. He’s not my daddy, brother, cousin, church member, neighbor or friend. He didn’t let me down or crush my view of him. He is not and never was my role model.”

Estranged couple, 9ice and Toni Payne might be going through hard times with their marital lives but it sure isn’t affecting their individual businesses as they’ve both been reported to be making giant moves since breaking up.

9ice is credited to have sold more than 2 million units of his new album TRADITION and is reported to be planning to release another album in March with the first single already on the internet.

But, just as he is smiling to the bank, his former lover and mother of his son; Toni Payne isn’t sleeping either as reports reaching us says she just added veteran singer Onyeka Onwenu to her client list.

“We are very proud, in fact floored to say ONYEKA ONWENU is our latest PR client. Her new album is smashing, and I am honored to be working with such a fantastic Legendary Music Icon.” TONI PAYNE said.

Toni Payne concept and PR currently manages artists W4 and ZARA.

There is no stopping the “We Are Africans” movement. Nigerian-born and London-based songwriter/ rapper/ singer/ music & video producer JJC (aka Skillz) spent December 2009 and January 2010 in Lagos, in order to take the movement back to the motherland – and the result is here: an amazing new Nigerian version of “We Are Africans”, featuring Femi Kuti, Dagrin, Eldee, DJ Zeez, Kel, Ay.com, Moe Money and Ragga Remi.

Not only did JJC record the song in Lagos, a video was also shot in Lagos by none other than Big Boyz Entertainment, the production company, headed by JJC and Moe Money, that is fast emerging as a real powerhouse for quality and innovative videos (their production cache includes “Fokasibe” and “Bobbee FC” by DJ Zeez, “Karmakazee” and “Takerewa” by Olu Maintain feat. Kentro Family, “Omo 2 Sexy” by Justina, “Morile” by Bouqui, “Pu’yanga” by Tilla Man & Dola Billz, “Shake” by DK, “Why” by Jibola and “Anyhow” by Shakar El Swagga and many more). The new video will be on your TV screens very soon.

Serious, but also fun, tongue-in-cheek and wildly infectious, “We Are Africans” is an anthem – in fact it can be labelled as the national anthem for the United States of Africa. It is a song for all Africans – from the motherland and from all parts of the Diaspora – which combines the sentiments of pride, unity and positivity. It is also the perfect soundtrack for 2010, a year of huge importance for Africa: The world will be watching when the World Cup games take place in South Africa, and 17 African nations (including Africa’s giant Nigeria) will be celebrating 50 years of independence.

The video for the original version of “We Are Africans” has so far attracted almost 100,000 views on YouTube and more than 15,000 views on the influential American hip-hop site www.worldstarhiphop.com, as well as being playlisted on MTV Base Africa and being on heavy rotation on Nigezie, BEN TV and many other channels.
The phenomenal response to “We Are Africans” has lead to various remixes having been recorded in London, including the Africa On Your Street Remix featuring Tilla Man, Dola Billz, Millaz, Mo Eazy, Magnum and many more (see video link above), as well as a Funky House remix featuring award-winning UK-based Ghanaian rapper Sway. And the movement will continue.

JJC is also preparing for the release of his solo album, to be entitled “United States of Africa”. The album will showcase a wide range of styles and will include “Jigi Lale”, “Skankers”, “Say Yes”, “Hungry” (preview and picture videos of all these can be found on YouTube).

It is no exaggeration to say that JJC is not only a multifaceted, prolific and creative persona, but also a true pioneer of the Afro Pop music scene. He counts D’banj and Don Jazzy as his musical protégés, and under his alias Skillz has produced a range of hits for Nigerian artists, including “Ijoya” by Weird MC, “Pu’yanga” by Tilla Man & Dola Billz, “No dull yourself” by MP and “Why” by Jibola. JJC first rose to fame when he formed Sony Music act Big Brovaz (their first single “Nu Flow” was a worldwide hit) and he then went on to produce for Lemar, Jamelia, Ginuwine, Liberty X, Booty Luv and many others. Alongside these mainstream production credentials, he created pioneering Afropean group JJC & 419 Squad, where he was the producer, songwriter and main vocalist. JJC & 419 Squad, whose hit songs included “Gbao”, “Atide” and “Kilonsele”, broke new ground with their fresh mix of hip-hop and African flavours, with lyrics in Pidgin, Yoruba and English. The group uniquely managed to reach out to European as well Nigerian audiences, and they performed at countless events, including major festivals such as WOMAD in the UK (the biggest World Music festival in the world) and also at MTV Base Africa’s launch concert in Abuja, alongside Ludacris, 2-Face and Asa. Their music was used in Oscar-nominated films (Stephen Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things) and on mainstream TV (Channel 4’s drama Stealing Lives) and tracks were included on internationally released CD compilations. JJC & 419 Squad picked up a number of awards, too, such as the 2004 Kora award for ‘Best African Group’. More recently JJC won ‘2009 Best UK-based African Act’ trophies at the African Music Awards and the BEFFTA Awards (both held in London in October 2009), and in December 2009 he picked up the ‘Nigerian UK Artiste of the Year’ award at the annual Dynamix All Youth Awards in Lagos.

“We Are Africans” (original version) – Digital single out now on iTunes, eMusic, Amazon etc.

Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTNnuCqLzOY
Original version featuring J-Rock & Randy (Big Brovaz/ Party Dark)

UK remix video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb2pEQ9L7cA
Africa On Your Street remix featuring Moe Money (Big Boyz), Tilla Man & Dola Billz (166 Family), Chi, Naughty 1 & Shaq (Millaz), Mo Eazy (E Ladder Ent), Magnum, Paradise and Priceless (Fenix Ladies)

Naija remix (part 1) video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNAp6Y2xTUo
Naija remix featuring Femi Kuti, Dagrin, Eldee, DJ Zeez, Kel, Ay.com, Moe Money & Ragga Remi