Seasons Greetings From UniqueMedias

Wishing you and your family a great successful New Year in Advance
 stay blessbless

Virgin Mary apears on Christmas day in Georgia

congregation of transfiguration catholic church Georgia were amazed when an image that looked like Virgin Mary appeared on a glass window in the church.

At  first, people assumed that the image on the glass which many had started taking photos of was condensation but the local priest of the church on seeing it confirmed that it wasn’t.

Father Fernardo Molina-Restrepo, the Priest said “No No No, there is no way you can do that” when asked if he was the one that drew it.

He told his followers on a facebook post: “many claim it is the image of the Virgin Mary, some say it was due to a faulty window coating, I will let you make your own interpretation. We may never agree on how this image appeared on the window.”

The priest said the image first appeared on December 12, which is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadualupe.

The Parishoner, Victor Jose Alvarado who posted the image on Facebook said:”We started praying and singing songs to the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe and immediately started feeling peace and the smell of roses!!! We just finished having lunch when someone noticed a very bright sun ray and in front of our eyes her image started to appear in the window.”

A woman who was among the people also queuing to see the image was in tears as she prayed to the silhouette while saying out loud “Believe, believe and have faith.”

How to be Courageous

Yves Biggoer-Burger was in the second grade, he witnessed a group of peers teasing an overweight girl. Drawing himself up to his full 8-year-old height, he stood by her side and said:

“Guys, she might be bigger than you, but she’s definitely not as stupid.”

The boys slunk away, shame-faced.

Many of us can remember times in our childhood—and our adulthood too—when we would have liked to act as bravely as Yves. But we couldn’t muster the courage. Maybe we weren’t lion-hearted or quick-witted enough. Maybe we thought that courage belongs to an elect class of noble souls and daredevils and not for the likes of us.

I have felt all of these things.

But this is a mistake not only for those who might benefit from our courage but also for our very own selves. Courage helps us grow and give. And it’s available to us all.

This post is not about how to take monumentally brave actions, like Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education activist who was shot for her efforts, or like a firefighter rushing into a burning building. It is instead about understanding what courage really is and training ourselves to perform small, daily acts of bravery.

1. Courage means being afraid and acting anyway, not that you’d know this from looking around at our culture, which celebrates fearlessness. (There are over 50 books titled Fearless on Amazon as of this writing.) If you tend to be fearful, you probably assume that you’re not courageous. Courage researchers Cynthia Pury and Charles Starkey reviewed the citations for valor of 74 recipients of the Carnegie Medal for heroic actions and found not a single mention of the wordsfear, afraid, or worried. This isn’t surprising; the psychologist Avril Thorne found that listeners embrace traumatic stories emphasizing bravery or compassion, but not ones focusing on fear or sadness. Yet, we all know that fear is a universally powerful emotion, and we all know how terrible terror feels. Thus, we should grasp that feeling afraid and acting anyway is a form of nobility.

2. Courage is a habit, a muscle you can exercise. Most of us aren’t born courageous, so we shouldn’t expect to magically acquire it without practice. As Brene Brown writes in her book The Gifts of Imperfection, “Courage is…a habit, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.”

Get in the habit of deciding what you think about things and speaking from that place of conviction. Practice saying what you think about small, inconsequential things: pleasantly, politely—but firmly.

3. Notice every time you do something that you’re scared to do—something your body is telling you not to do. You’ll start to realize that you do these things all the time. You’re already much braver than you think. This is particularly true of shy people for whom daily life requires them to smile in the face of fear. Here is one of my favorite quotes, by Charles Darwin: “A shy man no doubt dreads the notice of strangers, but can hardly be said to be afraid of them. He may be as bold as a hero in battle, and yet have no self-confidence about trifles in the presence of strangers.”

4.  Focus on the people or cause you’re standing up for. It’s easier to be courageous on behalf of others than it is for your own sake. Here is one of my favorite examples: a fellow Princeton grad named John Burford, who rushed a fraternity, was horrified by its dangerous hazing practices and wrote a letter to the school paper describing his experiences. It was a hugely courageous act. At the time, all of Burford’s friends were members of the college Greek system. But he focused not on the risk to his own social standing but on the safety of future students: “Ultimately,” he explained, “what I wasn’t OK with was the possibility of being remembered…as ‘that guy who knew what fraternities at Princeton did, and could have spoken up, and then somebody died because of his fucking cowardice.’”

5. Find courage in numbers. It’s much easier to act in the company of even one other person who feels the way you do. The hardest thing in the world is to dissent solo. Sometimes, you’ll have to go it alone, of course. But often, this isn’t necessary.

6. Learn to attend to positive signals and to discount negative ones. Many of us have a “negativity bias” that causes us to pay more attention to disapproval than to positive reinforcement. Be aware of this, and gently steer your mind to positive stimuli. When I first started my public speaking career, I tended to focus on whichever audience member had the most disgruntled expression on her face. These days, though I still hope to please everyone, I’m much more attuned to those who seem happy to be there.

7. Find role models of quietly courageous people. I’m a huge believer in the power of role models for just about anything you hope to do or become. When you’re trying to stretch yourself beyond your apparent limits, there’s a part of you that wonders whether it can actually be done. A role model is a constant reminder that the answer is yes. Channel that person until it feels natural to channel your very own self. And if you don’t have a role model handy, try Miep Gies, the quiet and ordinary woman who sheltered Anne Frank in her attic for two years. “I don’t want to be considered a hero,” said Gies. “Imagine [if] young people would grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty. I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary.”

It was exactly Gies’ ordinariness that made her courage all the more noteworthy and attainable for us all.

How about you? Do you think of yourself as courageous? Do you agree that courage means being afraid and acting anyway? What acts of courage inspire you most?

How To Attract and Maintain customers

The essences of business is rendering services to the public by organizing and giving them the best of of what they are getting from you or the organization
 the service that is required to satisfy is the first thing to consider when trying to attract more or new costumer ,
1, First love
First love is the forces that attract the customer and is the same force that will keep them and from ones love to the service on the first approach
Friendship is establish between the customers and your services
2, Packaging
This aspect is very important cos is the most use when presenting an idea of a particular product to the consumers it attract and motivated the viewer to want , the look , the taste and the value is what comprise packaging be sure that your product is well examined in standard before you present it to the public
3, Maintenance
The culture of success is the the spirit of trail blassers when you constantly provide the type of service that customer know your product for without blinking or reducing the value , this has to do with sincere constant checking on value product
4, Connection
The world is connected to itself so is the customer connected to the product that he or she values, ensuring that you provide means that your consumer will be able to feedback is very essential , mobile contact social media platform or email will help in going a long way .
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The Benefit of Having A plan

I used to have this problem and I’m wondering whether you’ve experienced a similar thing.

I have what I think is a great idea and before I know it I’m started to put plans together to implement the idea. Before long I’ve put hundreds of hours into the idea. When I first started working on this project it looked really promising.

Then, things started to go sideways. What I thought was going to happen never really came to be. I knew that I should either change direction or just give up all together. Except, that I’ve put all of this time and effort in and I just didn’t want to stop.

Does this sound like something you might have experienced. If your answer is yes then read on.

My worst project happened because there was no Plan B.

When I owned my food service and vending company I had a catering division that was slow during the winter. I thought a great idea would be to take over a restaurant so my catering staff would be kept busy during our slow time and I wouldn’t have to start from scratch building a new service delivery team every Summer.

It sounded like a great idea. I found a restaurant for rent and started to negotiate. I negotiated and negotiated and eventually started to negotiate with myself. It was at this point that I really needed to have a plan B. I needed to pull the plug.

Instead, I kept negotiating and eventually ended up opening the restaurant. Eight months later I ended up closing the restaurant after losing about $75,000 with another sixteen months left on my lease. The cost for me to learn about always having a plan B was over $100,000. This is something I hope doesn’t happen to you.

Ideas almost never turn out the way you thought they should.

Literarily every plan I’ve ever put together has always ended up having strange twists and turns along the way. What about you? Have you started a project and before long you find that the road you started wasn’t the one you should follow?

If your answer is yes, what did you do about it? If you’re like many people you just kept on keeping on. You didn’t pivot, you just stayed with your original idea.

This often happens because you’ve come to believe there is only one way to get to your outcome. Reality is there are probably hundreds if not thousands of ways to get to where you want to go.

Flexibility is the key to developing any new idea. Be aware of changes that need to be made and then make them.

If you have a great big idea, chunk it down.

In the software world there is a school of thought called Agile Planning. Software developers start with a big idea and then immediately start to chunk the big idea down to smaller pieces.

The goal with Agile Planning is to produce a working prototype in a very short period of time. For this to happen the software developers need to take their big project and look at the component parts.

I want you to do the same with your plans. Don’t try to plan out every step of your new big idea. Think about what’s the smallest piece you can deliver and then do that. Let the market tell you what changes you need to make.

You’ll find your program gets developed faster with less strain on you and your team.

This where fail fast/fail cheap comes to play.

Just get something up and running. If it works the first time (which is rare) keep on going. But, if the road you’re going down isn’t working out the way you wanted it to, feel free to pivot. It’s what successful organizations do.

You don’t have to get it perfect the first time. In fact, getting it right the first time will hurt your project. You need to get real world feedback and be willing to make changes that will help make your project more viable and more interesting to your customers. It’s just the way it works.

Make sure you continue to think about your end result.

I love Stephen Covey’s mantra, “start with the end in mind.” When you do that how you get there becomes much less important.

When you keep the end result in mind, it’s not about the path you started with it’s about the path that works. Most of the time this road will be different than what you first thought. You just need to listen and be willing to make changes along the way.

And remember that sunk costs will kill your plan if you let it.

Do me a favor, don’t put so much time, effort and money into an idea that you’re not going to be willing to let go. Don’t be like me when I was negotiating the lease for my restaurant. Be willing to let go when things aren’t going the way you think they should.

It’s not really very hard. You just need to keep your options open and don’t get stuck on one idea you’re convinced will work. If I had kept my eye on keeping our staff working I could have found a much better solution than trying to operate a restaurant which just didn’t fit with what we did.

Make sure you always keep your options open. If you have a plan B in place before you start, you’re not likely going to think there is only one way…..and there never is only one way

The Most Important Skill You Should Learn

TheAs I've written previously it requires the drive to tackle the modern world head on: doing nothing has never been so easy. Got a spare few hours? They can disappear as quickly as unlocking your smart phone. For me then this affords opportunity for those who have taught themselves the skill I allude to; to learn how to learn and have the desire to maniacally do so for the rest of your life.The ability to employ autodidacticism in your every day life is the single most valuable skill you can ever acquire and employ. Self-directed learning enables you to learn the skills that you are most passionate about and employ them in innovative way to achieve your goals and ambitions. We no longer need schools, universities or teachers to spoon feed us the information you are paying to acquire. Go out and try finding what interests you and expand your horizons through learning. Schools are irreparably broken, they teach you memory skills required to pass exams at the detriment of teaching you what it means to learn.

single most important skill you will ever learn is in itself an oxymoron. It is dependent on your ability to vanquish procrastination and achieve something today with view to tackling the unknown that comes tomorrow.

Look back through history it is easy to see what I'm talking about. Some of history's greatest geniuses have forgone university and typical routes of learning to teach themselves and become masters of their fields. William Blake, Jimi Hendrix, HP Lovecraft, Leonardo Da Vinci, James Watt and Alan Moore are all autodidacts. The majority never finished school, not one of them finished a degree course. Instead they chose to follow their curiosity and educate themselves to become specialists in their respective fields by allowing their learning to be both self-directed and within the areas which were of strongest personal intrigue. 

The paradox of modern life is that at no time in human history have we been afforded the access to information that we have now. We can literally learn everything about anything and everyone with the pressing of a few key strokes. Wherever you turn on the internet there is the opportunity to learn.From Wikipedia to Codecademy via Udemy, Edx, Duolingo and Coursera there is unprecedented access to education via learn as you read content, taught courses and self directed learning available to absorb however and whenever you wish. This metaphorical drowning in information, I surmise, has resulted in a generation less inclined to pursue self-learning as they erroneously believe they can rely on the internet to provide every answer and solution. The ease of access has bred an over reliance which I believe has contributed to a skill gap in the professional market and disinclined individuals to pursue what they are interested in.

As my library of read literature has expanded the prevailing message from those who have achieved unimaginable successes is that in order to achieve anything one skill is more important than everything else combined. Previously I have dismissed it as a disingenuous post rationalisation inserted to humanise the writer and make it sound as if anyone can achieve the successes they have enjoyed if they employ the same methodology. I have though recently changed my mind after experiencing personal success having identified my goals and incrementally began working towards them, I too now believe anyone can achieve inconceivable success. The message is as simple as it is effective; make goals and acquire the means to achieve them. Success doesn't just happen, it arrives because you have unmercifully pursued a dream which was at first written words on a page or an imagined belief. The difference between those who have succeeded and those who haven't is that one set out to achieve and the other has waited for it to happen blaming why is hasn't on bad luck. This self generation of opportunity comes to those who put themselves out there. Who learn skills that are valuable and employ them to achieve the goals they have made for themselves. 

Good things come to those who go out and get them. Nobody achieved greatness waiting for it to find them.

How then can you become an autodidact? Begin small and turn off the TV.Whether you start with 15 minutes a day on an app like Duolingo teaching yourself Spanish, change from Radio 1 to Radio 4 or consume a single video on Udemy each week, this small change can accumulate to meteoric advancement. Once you have broken the Zombaic routine of drifting through each day and letting life happen you can begin making stratospheric strides in learning. Set Goals. Pursue the things that intrigue you. Learn the things that allow you to achieve. You don't have to look very far to find reports warning that degrees do not prepare graduates for work. Why not take an alternative approach enabled by modern technology? Tools such as Linkedin can provide a window to the careers we seek. Learn what those whose path we seek to replicate have learned, acquire the skills necessary for the positions you aspire to or the goals you seek to attain. By doing so you have learned how to learn and acquired the skills necessary to achieve the ascent to the position you have planned. Make goals and attain them. Make 2016 the year your revolutionary crusade for enlightenment begins. 

lagos state governor Ambode promise free lagbus ride on chrimas day 25

The

Lagos state governor has proven that he is in true spirit of the season there declaring a free lagbus ride on Christmas day celebration in Lagos , for all lagosians , tumps up Ambode

How to become a valued partner

Whether you are a consultant, an Executive Coach, an outsourced solution provider, an internal HR professional, senior finance executive, or a key player on the IT team, everyone wants to become a valued partner in the business.Everyone wants a voice in strategic decisions and to be included in the conversation.

But before we discuss some tips on how to become valued partner, let’s discuss one surefire way to NOT be included in future key strategic conversations: to force your way into the process. Forced inclusion never works. It doesn’t matter if you coerce your way to the table, play bull in the china shop, or if the CEO demands that others accept your inclusion and let you in the door; it will backfire on you.

If they don’t value your contributions to the conversation, if you are not perceived as necessary to reach the best decisions, they will simply schedule meetings without you. They will ask for forgiveness later, rather than permission, or simply claim that they forgot to include you.

To truly be included, you need to be invited. And you will only be invited if you are seen as absolutely essential to the decision-making process. Here are some tips on becoming a valued partner…

Deep knowledge. You must have a true understanding of every aspect of the business, how all the moving parts work together, the obstacles ahead, and intimate knowledge of the competition in the marketplace. And you must be able to articulate your understanding to anyone involved in the decision-making process in a manner that demonstrates that you truly get it.

Big picture thinking. Having a strategic vision requires you to see all areas of the business, internal and external. If you only have a deep understanding of one area, you are more likely to be tactical in your decisions, rather than strategic. You must be able to foresee problems from the stakeholders’ perspective in order to offer the most highly valued and comprehensive solutions.

Walk the talk. A partner helps others within the organization achieve their goals. Nothing speaks louder than results. And results require actions, not just words. The better the results you get, the more likely you are to be invited into the conversation.

Listen well. Everyone loves to feel that they have been heard and understood. One attribute of leadership is being known as a good listener. And if you can reiterate and articulate what has been said, you will be valued as a partner in the decision-making process.

Tying all of this together, the best way to be treated like a valued partner is to act like one. The more you demonstrate your value, the more you will become recognized as the go-to person in the organization and you will be included and have a voice in the big strategic decisions.

The impotants of team work

Team work 

Teamwork is an activity that many people try to avoid in the workplace, but why are we so against it? I’m here to tell you that there are a number of benefits of working in teams for both you personally and for your organisation. Not only is it a great opportunity for professional development, it is also a means of making your work easier. Read below to learn why teamwork is important in the workplace, and the benefits it can have for you.  

Increased efficiency

When working in a team, you are working towards a common goal or set of objectives. The whole process of your work becomes more efficient, for example if there is a problem faced along the way there are more ‘hands on deck’ to help solve the issue. Similarly, having multiple team members on board allows you to get the work done faster with shared responsibilities. From a management perspective, encouraging teamwork in the workplace will allow your company or department to take on additional work, and in turn generate extra revenue without having to hire more staff.

Idea generation  

One of the greatest benefits of working in a team is the inspiration and ideas that can result from team discussions. When running ideas by one and other, there is a lot more scope for creativity in comparison to working on a project alone. In an effective team environment, staff members feel confident in suggesting their ideas. When working autonomously and having a direct responsibility for ideas, people tend to present the safer option to their managers. However, when in a team brainstorming environment the notion of suggesting creative and unique ideas is welcomed. Teams also bring people together from different backgrounds and levels of experience which can help in creating optimal solutions.

A learning experience  

As mentioned above, teamwork is important in the workplace as it brings people together from different backgrounds and levels of experience. Consequently, projects which involve teamwork serve also as an opportunity for professional development and learning. This may be conscious learning during a meeting, or learning which occurs without you even realising whilst listing to others. It is quite possible that you can learn from someone else’s knowledge which allows your own skills and capabilities to grow. Billie Nordmeyer adds that ‘Individual team members serve as educational resources to other employees in a team environment’. It is also important to note that as employees become more knowledgeable, their confidence increases. This can help improve their attitude as well as increase their job satisfaction which is a win-win situation for employers.

Enhanced communication

Communication is key to the success of many projects – so why not engage in an activity that can help enhance your communication skills? Teamwork activities such as meeting together to discuss ideas or collaborating information to contribute to a project require both verbal and written communication skills. Working regularly in this capacity will allow you develop both your own skills as well as those who are in your team. Teamwork also facilitates an open discussion which allows each team member to be adequately informed about the project. In this respect, when everyone is on the same page this ensures that the project is completed as efficiently as possible.

Share the workload

When working in a team towards a common goal, the workload is shared among all team members. In a perfect scenario, this work should be shared equally and be distributed according to the strengths of each member. Teamwork also allows for helping another team member when you have finished your workload. It is important to remember that you are all working towards the same goal – if you finish your work before others you should offer your assistance in order to help complete the project. From a management perspective, when it comes to delegation this should be conducted with the strengths of your employees in mind. Assigning tasks to the correct people will ensure maximum efficiency and a high quality output.

Support network

It is important to remember that support and a sense of belonging in a workplace can contribute greatly to job satisfaction. A strong team environment can act as a great support mechanism for staff members. Group members will help each other, rely on each other and build trust within the group. During challenging times, support is crucial for the success of the project; when members are able to look to one and other for guidance or support, focus can remain on the overall goal. If a challenge is handled individually you are at risk of becoming overwhelmed and making irrational decisions.

What do you think?

Do you believe that teamwork is important in the workplace? Alternatively, do you have any examples that you can share where teamwork either helped or hindered your efforts?  I am interested to hear of your experiences. Please feel free to comment your opinion below and join in the discussion.

2 Men planning to marry 1 woman

When 2 men loves 1 woman what should they do?

Against all odds Slyvester Mwendwa and Elijah Kimaniof Mombasa County in Kenya have decided to marry the love their lives, Joyce Wambui.

When Mwendwa, 26 and Kimani discovered they were in love with the same woman, they struck an unusual deal that allows both men to live with Joyce and raise all the children she bears together.

David Okwembah of BBC reports that the marriage will only be accepted if they can prove polyandry is an accepted cultural practice in Kenya. Sadly, no tribe in Kenya accepts polyandry.

When contacted by BBC Focus on Africa, Mwendwa stated that he understands that his marriage might not be legal, but because he loves Joyce he would rather go into a contract with Kimani so as to avoid any conflict.

Daily Nation reports that a community police officer,Adhalah Abdulrahman confirmed that he saw the two men fighting over the woman in Mombasa county. Joyce is reportedly a widow with twins who didn’t want to leave any of the two men.

Woman with sleeping beauty disease sleeps through childbirth

24 year old woman from Birmingham, Jody Robson who is believed to have the ‘sleeping beauty syndrome’ has no memories of going into labour or giving birth to her son, as she slept through the childbirth process.

This syndrome is medically referred to as Kleine Levine Syndrome. It is a rare neurological disorder that makes its victim unable to wake up from sleep for days, or sometimes even weeks.

Jody has had series of sleep episodes, some of them being so severe that she would sleep and wake up into a new year barely realizing she had slept for too long. She said: “one moment I’ve closed my eyes, and the next I’ve woken up and its two or three weeks later. I’ve missed holidays and my sister’s eighteenth birthday because I was in anepiso

The experience started for the first time at a sleepover when she was 12. Jody had packed her toys, sweets and change of clothes hoping to have fun, but unfortunately, she drifted off into a long sleep.

This rare disorder also leaves with bits of her memories; she has to rely on Steven, her husband to update her on what is happening in the life of their two sons.

Jody is frustrated because she is sleeping through the children’s childhood and cannot do anything about it. While speaking on sleeping through childbirth, she said: “it upsets me because I don’t remember giving birth and it’s supposed to be a precious moment. I think it’s the most upsetting episode I ever had. It gets me emotional because I missed it.”

She has high hopes that one day the doctors would fully diagnose what is really wrong with her and prescribe a medication.

Budget 2016’ll revive economy, says Buhari

ABUJA—PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, apologised to Nigerians over the persistent and biting fuel scarcity in the country and attributed the problem to market speculators and stakeholders who are resistant to change. He assured that the government was working hard to end the shortages urgently.

President Buhari who begged Nigerians while presenting the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, said the government has not increased fuel price and that the pump price of fuel remains N87 per litre.

Buhari presents N6.08trn 2016 budget to NASS

Buhari arrived the Chambers at 10.01am. Apologizing to Nigerians for the pains occasioned by the continued fuel scarcity across the country, he said: “The  current fuel scarcity with long queues at petrol stations all over the country causing social dislocation is very unfortunate. Government profoundly apologizes to Nigerians for this prolonged hardship and misery. It is as a result of market speculators and resistance to change by some stakeholders. Government is working very hard to end these shortages and bring fuel to the pumps all over the country.”

Meanwhile, the Senate, yesterday, amended the Appropriation Act of 2015 to extend implementation of 2015 budget from December 31, 2015 to March 31, 2016.

The President who started his address at 10.17am and ended it at 10.51 am, disclosed that 30 per cent of Nigeria’s annual budget will be committed to capital expenditure, even as he raised Capital Expenditure from N557 billion in 2015 to N1.8 trillion in the 2016 budget.

Having reviewed the trends in the global oil industry, he said the government decided to set a benchmark price of $38 per barrel and a production estimate of 2.2 million barrels per day for 2016, with plans to  focus on non-oil revenues by broadening the tax base and improving the effectiveness of revenue collecting agencies.  The government is projecting to realise N1.4 trillion as non-oil revenue.

President Buhari, who noted that the present administration projected a revenue target of N3.86 trillion for 2016 and recurrent expenditure of N2.43 trillion, said that the Federal Government also proposed to spend N1.66 trillion on foreign and domestic debt servicing.

The President also declared that his administration would fight corruption no matter how long it takes.

To borrow N1.9 trillion

In the budget, there is a projected foreign and domestic borrowing of N900 billion and N986 billion respectively.

On recurrent sectoral allocations, Education received the highest recurrent vote of N369 billion; followed by Health, N296 billion; Defence, N294 billion; Ministry of Interior, N245 billion while the merged ministries of Power, Works and Housing received budgetary allocation of N433 billion for 2016.

The speech read in part: “The Budget was based on a benchmark oil price of $53 per barrel, oil production of 2.28 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N190 to the US$.

“The projected revenue was N3.45 trillion, with an outlay of N4.49 trillion, implying a deficit of N1.04 trillion. Due largely to under-provisioning by the previous administration for fuel subsidy and the costs required to support the military operations in the North East, the Government had to obtain National Assembly’s approval for a supplementary budget of N575.5 billion. I take this opportunity to thank all members of the National Assembly for the prompt passage of that Bill.

“To deliver our development objectives, we have increased the capital expenditure portion of the budget from N557 billion in the 2015 budget to N1.8 trillion, in the 2016 budget. Distinguished and honourable members of the National Assembly, for the first time in many years, capital expenditure will represent 30 per cent of our total budget. In future years, we intend to raise the percentage allocation for capital expenditure.

“This is a fulfillment of our promise to align expenditure to our long-term objectives, and a sign of government’s commitment to sustainable development. This increased capital expenditure commits significant resources to critical sectors such as Works, Power and Housing – N433.4 billion; Transport – N202 billion; Special Intervention Programs – N200 billion; Defence – N134.6 billion; and Interior – N145.3 billion. These investments in infrastructure and security are meant to support our reforms in the Agriculture, Solid Minerals and other core job creating sectors of our economy.

“We will invest to safeguard lives and property. We will invest in equipping our farmers with the right tools, technology and techniques. We will invest in empowering and enabling our miners to operate in a safe, secure and humane environment.  We will invest in training our youths, through the revival of our technical and vocational institutions, to ensure they are competent enough to seize the opportunities that will arise from this economic revival.

“Indeed, the future looks bright. And I ask that we all work together to make this vision a reality. The 223 per cent year on year growth in capital expenditure demonstrates our desire to make Nigeria more competitive, and start the journey to deliver sustainable development in our country.

“In fulfillment of our promise to run a lean government, we have proposed a nine per cent reduction in non-debt recurrent expenditure, from N2.59 trillion in the 2015 Budget to N2.35 trillion in 2016. Furthermore, we have budgeted N300 billion for Special Intervention Programmes, which takes the total amount for non-debt recurrent expenditure to N2.65 trillion.

Reduces  overhead cost

“The Efficiency Unit set up by this Administration together with effective implementation of GIFMIS and IPPIS will drive a reduction of overheads by at least seven per cent,  personnel costs by eight per cent and other service wide votes by 19 per cent. Distinguished and honourable members, this budget will be executed to provide optimum value by ensuring every naira spent by this Government, counts.

“We will devote a significant portion of our recurrent expenditure to institutions that provide critical government services. We will spend N369.6 billion in Education; N294.5 billion in Defence; N221.7 billion in Health and N145.3 billion in the Ministry of Interior. This will ensure our teachers, armed forces personnel, doctors, nurses, police men, fire fighters, prison service officers and many more critical service providers are paid competitively and on time.

“Our 2016 borrowings will be principally directed to fund our capital projects. Furthermore, the sum of N113 billion will be set aside for a Sinking Fund towards the retirement of maturing loans; while N1.36 trillion has been provided for foreign and domestic debt service. This calls for prudent management on our part, both of the debt portfolio and the deployment of our hard earned foreign exchange earnings.”

Buhari who noted that government was aware of the harsh economic situation presently being faced by Nigerians, however, blamed the situation on unbridled corruption and security challenges, adding: “We have demonstrated a strong will to fight corruption. I am sure you will agree that the sheer scale of corruption and impunity of the past explains in part, the economic challenges we now face. On these initiatives, and the many more to come, we shall not be deterred. We will pursue the recovery of everything that belongs to the people of Nigeria. No matter where it is hidden. No matter how long it will take.”

President Buhari assured Nigerians that his administration was poised to rebuilding the economy and restoring public confidence in the government. He said although the nation has series of problems to contend with, the challenges were not beyond the country to tackle, adding that  the 2016 budget was designed to stimulate the economy and make it more competitive, while focusing on infrastructural development; delivering inclusive growth and prioritizing the welfare of Nigerians.

Buhari also assured that the budget would address problems associated with youth unemployment and general poverty in the land, with particular emphasis on the deplorable conditions of most vulnerable Nigerians, adding, “I know the state of our economy is a source of concern for many. This has been further worsened by the unbridled corruption and security challenges we have faced in the last few years.

“From those who have lost their jobs, to those young people who have never had a job, to the people in the North East whose families and businesses were destroyed by insurgents, this has been a difficult period in our nation’s history, lessons that we must not forget or ignore, as we plan for the future.

“By June 2014, oil prices averaged $112 per barrel. But as at today, the price is under $39 per barrel. This huge decline is having a painful effect on our economy. Consumption has declined at all levels. In both the private and public sectors, employers have struggled to meet their salary and other employee related obligations. The small business owners and traders have been particularly hard hit by this state of affairs.

“Fellow Nigerians, the confidence of many might be shaken. However, I stand before you today promising that we will secure our country, rebuild our economy, and make the Federal Republic of Nigeria stronger than it has ever been.

“The answers to our problems are not beyond us. They exist on our farmlands; our corporations; in the universities in the hearts and minds of our entrepreneurs; through the gallantry of our Armed Forces; and the resolute spirit of Nigerians, especially the youth, who have refused to give up despite all the obstacles confronting them.

“This Budget proposal, the first by our Government, seeks to stimulate the economy, making it more competitive by focusing on infrastructural development; delivering inclusive growth; and prioritizing the welfare of Nigerians.

“We believe that this budget, while helping industry, commerce and investment to pick up, will as a matter of urgency, address the immediate problems of youth unemployment and the terrible living conditions of the extremely poor and vulnerable Nigerians”.

The President who reiterated that the administration would diversify the economy through import substitution and export promotion, said that such economic strategy would build resilience in the economy and guarantee that the contemporary challenges did not confront the nation’s future generations, adding, “In the medium to longer term, we remain committed to economic diversification through import substitution and export promotion. This will build resilience in our economy. It will guarantee that the problems we have today, will not confront our children and their children. This shall be our legacy for generations to come”, he stated.

According to him, despite the general global economic downturn in 2015, Nigerian economy was able to grow by 2.84 per cent in the subsisting fiscal year, just as he promised that the present administration would continue to evolve and implement strategies that would maintain micro-economic stability, while managing the oil price shocks currently aching the country.

He said: “Today, it is widely acknowledged that the global economy has slowed down. This is particularly the case with emerging markets such as Nigeria. However, despite the weak emerging market growth rates, our domestic security challenges, declining oil prices, and the attendant difficulties in providing foreign exchange to meet market demands, the Nigerian economy grew by 2.84 per cent in the third quarter of 2015. We have, and will continue to implement strategies that will maintain macroeconomic stability and manage the oil price shocks we are experiencing.”

President Buhari was accompanied by All Progressives Congress, APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun; his ministers including Rotimi Amaechi; Senator Chris Ngige; Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Chief Audu Ogbeh;  Ogbonnaya Onu; Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Lt.Gen.  Abduulrahman Dambazau; Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Amina Ibrahim Mohammed; Babatunde Raji Fashola; Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu; Abubakar Malami, SAN; Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan; and Mrs Kemi Adeosun among others.

During his presentation, President Buhari got encomiums from the gallery as they clapped 20 times  with the last one at 10.52am and even when the President paused to drink water at 10.36am, the audience also clapped for him.

Buhari’s Budget a big fraud, he will mortgage Nigeria’s future — PDP

Meanwhile, the National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, picked holes in the budget..

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh,  the party described the N6.08 trillion budget as a big fraud and executive conspiracy tailored towards mortgaging the future of the nation.

The party while querying President Buhari’s decision to borrow N2 trillion, which it termed the biggest in the history of the nation, said that it was the height of recklessness and deceit from a government that trends on propaganda. PDP also berated the Federal Government for trying to use its bogus welfare programme and phantom capital projects as cover and conduit to siphon the funds to satisfy partisan interests, particularly to settle huge campaign debts.

Metuh said: “It is obvious that this budget is an extension of the campaign promises of the APC government, presented as a manifesto filled with bogus promises which implementation will be inconclusive, thereby allowing the APC to once again deny their promises.

“There has never been any known economy in the world where government deliberately mortgages the future of its nation by borrowing excessively to finance partisan interests while hiding under bogus welfare programmes. This is moreso important as the APC in reeling out their bogus campaign promises never informed Nigerians that they would mortgage their future through excessive borrowing.

“We have it on good authority that this is the first in the series of APC borrowings which would leave the future generation of Nigerians under the burden of huge debts after four years.”

Metuh who noted that the budget clearly shows that after seven months in power, President Buhari and his party, the APC were yet to differentiate between governance and campaign propaganda, said: “By all standards, the 2016 budget, the first major economic policy outing of this government, is completely unrealistic and duplicitously embellished with impractical predications, a development that confirms fears by economy watchers and investors that this administration is obviously ill-equipped for governance.

“We are indeed shocked that President Buhari and his minister of information have come up with two different reasons for the current fuel crisis in the country. While we appreciate the President’s apology, we think it is high time he called this minister to order as his excessive propaganda and blame game are ridiculing this administration and the image of the nation.

“Furthermore, it is instructive to note the official endorsement of Mr. President to the devaluation of the naira as against his campaign promise of firming up the value of our currency even to the much vaunted one naira to one dollar. Does it mean that Mr. President lied his way to power, or that he did not understand the complexities of governance when he was making his false promises to Nigerians?

“In future, there is need to regulate campaign promises so that we will not end up with a government that promises to climb Mount Everest with bare hands and end up mortgaging our future with orchestrated borrowings.’’

Lawmakers hail proposal

Reacting to the budget, shortly after the Senate and the House of Representatives adjourned till January 12, 2016, Senate Deputy Majority Whip, Senator Francis Alimikhena, APC, Edo North, described the budget as that of hope, just as he urged Nigerians to be patient with the government as things will be better soon, adding that President Buhari meant well for Nigeria and Nigerians.

In his reaction, Senator Bukkar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe South), said the promise of free education by the president was laudable, describing it as budget of hope.

Also commenting, Senator Kabir Marafa, APC, Zamfara Central who described the budget as that of hope, however promised that the Senate would ensure that the bill was given attention and passed for the interest of Nigerians

Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West) in his reaction said it was cheery to see the budget take care of social interventions such as school feeding and social welfare for the unemployed.

Senator Bassey Akpan (PDP, Akwa Ibom North-east) who described it as people-centred and an indication that the president means well for the country,  said that National Assembly would look at assumptions in it and ensure that the implementation was in line with the way it is passed.

Reacting to the budget, Rep Austine Chukwukere, APC, Imo State who described the 2016 Appropriation Bill as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari as a fruitful budget, said that the budget would stimulate and engineer the economy in such a way that the infrastructure deficit that had been the order of the day in previous administration had been given a boost.

Rep Chukwukere said that the increment in the capital expenditure would lead to improvement on the dilapidated infrastructure in the country as well as the industrial re activation.

Chukwukere who is the Deputy Chairman of Finance Committee said that if the budget would be fully implemented it would re-kick start the economy for the good of Nigerians.

On the $38 benchmark in which the budget was premised despite that the oil price per barrel had fallen to $32, he explained that the projection was that before first quarter of next year, the oil price must have appreciated going by some indices.

He expressed the optimism that the benchmark would not affect the effective implementation of the budget.

Also commenting on the budget, Rep Philip Shaibu representing Etsako Federal Constituency of Edo State on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, said that the budget will make poverty history in 2016.

He said that the emphasis on job creation and improved education was a welcome development, adding that creation of employment will empower Nigeria youths.

Shaibu who was a former Majority Leader in Edo State House of Assembly and a one time president of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS said there was a departure from what was obtained in the previous administration where the government borrowed money to finance the recurrent expenditure.

According to him, President Buhari had increased the budgetary allocation to the capital expenditure and assured that the money to be borrowed would be used on capital expenditure and not on recurrent.

He said that one of the essential feature of the budget was the deviation from oil to solid minerals and agriculture, noting that over reliance on the oil sector has brought the economy to the present poor state as a result of the fall in the price of oil.

He further said that with the transparency introduced by the government, there was hope that it would be implemented to the fullest.

Adding, “I see our economy booming, I see the economy being restructured. Poverty issue will be totally addressed. I am optimistic,” he stated and commended on the two leadership of the house for taking the decision to ensure effective oversight function

Also in his reaction, Member representing Bali/Gassol federal constituency of Taraba state,  Hon.  Garba Chede, said the budget  is a product of deep thinking based on realities of the nation today.

“This is the first time APC administration was presenting a budget and this budget,  undoubtedly, is a creation of deep thinking based on realities, which was obvious to all Nigerians.”

Budget is fueled by insincerity –  Fani- Kayode

However, former Spokesperson of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani- Kayode, said  the 2016 budget is fueled by insincerity.

According to him, it was ironic that former governor Asiwaju Tinubu; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Governor Nasir El- Rufai, who kicked against deregulation during former President Jonathan’s administration, have suddenly become great supporters of deregulation.

In a statement, Chief Fani- Kayode who accused  Buhari’s administration of spending money like a drunken sailor, alleged that the government  was  borrowing as if there was  no tomorrow and thereby  ‘’mortgaging the future of Nigeria, Nigerians  and our children.’’

“The 2016 budget is fueled by insincerity, shrouded in fantasy, built on tall dreams and spawned by deceit, ignorance and the illusion of change. It is bloated, unrealistic, expensive, cosmetic and it will not result in anything good.  In order to fund part of the budget the government intends to borrow money and this will throw our country into even greater debt. What a tragedy this is given the fact that in 2007 Nigeria was debt-free. The Buhari administration is spending money like a drunken sailor and they are borrowing as if there is no tomorrow, mortgaging the future of our nation and our children.

“We need far more fiscal discipline and seriousness than that if our government really wishes to improve the economy and better the lives of ordinary people.

“Meanwhile the Federal Government has said that President Goodluck Jonathan is responsible for today’s long fuel queues even though he left office seven months ago. They seem to have forgotten that in 2012 it was their group, led by Bola Tinubu, Nasir El Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi and President Buhari himself that aggressively opposed deregulation and almost brought the whole country to a standstill with protests and riots all over the place in their efforts to prevent the government from removing the oil subsidy.

“Had it not been for their pettiness, lack of understanding, shortsightedness and double standards the subsidy would have been removed three years  ago and fuel queues would have been a thing of history. Sadly they lacked the foresight to appreciate the virtues of that policy and today they have the nerve to blame Jonathan for the mess that they themselves essentially created.

“They have been in power for 7 months now: it is time for them to step up to the plate, start taking responsibility for their own actions, do a better job and stop blaming Jonathan for their own miserable and avoidable failures.”