A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics says that Nigeria lost about $1.3billion during the nationwide strike that got many people on the streets in protest against an increment in the price of fuel. The strike, which began in January 9, shut down most business operations across the nation and forced many Nigerians to stay at home while thousands of protesters hit the streets. It was the most daring of all strikes in the history of civil unrest in Nigeria. Even in the days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is considered to have been even more stubborn than President Goodluck Jonathan, a national strike never took that dimension. Hoodlums and failed politicians hijacked the protest from organized labour. In so many parts of the country, Nigerians were robed and attacked. There were reports of loss of lives and destruction of property all over the country. Businesses were totally shut down. Those who were afraid to hit the streets stayed at home while economic activities completely came to a halt.
In the business environment, the wholesale and retail sector counted the most losses with about 42 percent of total losses during the strike action. Nigeria lost about 87billion naira in that sector alone, according to reports, while the petroleum sector was next with losses of 28.7billion naira. Although, the price of fuel per liter has since been reduced from 141 naira per little to 97 naira, inflation has refused to come down, and transportation fare remaines high. According to Chief Bayode Ogunmupe, economist and Social Commentator, fuel subsidy is a waste hence it is advisable that it be removed. He agrees that this would lead to temporary hike in the pump price of petroleum products. But on the long run Ogundipe opined that the policy would encourage a free market economy, which would motivate investors to build refineries in Nigeria with many gains. Enumerating the long term gain of subsidy removal ,economist said they include : a fall in the price of petroleum products in the long run, employment opportunities, eradication of fuel importation and corruption, technology transfer, and stability of the naira, strong economic growth and many other gains.
Although, the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Federal Minister of Finance, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo–Iweala, Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke, among others, had passionately explained and enumerated the various benefits of the fuel subsidy removal to the national economy in a widely televised debate, it did not stop Nigerians from protesting the policy when it was implemented. The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan cannot be accused of not carrying Nigerians along in the implementation of the policy. In the words, of former President of Nigerian Labour Congress, and Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomole, the present administration should be commended because unlike the administration of former President Olusegun Obsanjo, the Jonathan administration took time to explain the policy to Nigerians. The obvious question is this: What really went wrong? The general opinion even from informed quarters, converges at the fact that the timing was wrong . And it is hard to fault those who object to the timing because simple logical thinking shows that a festive period when many Nigerians had traveled to remote villages for the Christmas and New Year celebrations was indeed a bad time to increase pump price which subsidy removal translated to, as many could not return to base because of the sudden hike in fuel prices which made transportation back unimaginably high. The government clearly did not give Nigerians time to prepare for the hike.
Furthermore, many opined that the government should have put in place adequate palliatives to ensure that ordinary Nigerians do not suffer because of high cost of fuel which everyone agree would have a multiplier effects on every aspects of the economy and caused inflation. This is why some Nigerians, including former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, suggested that the removal of fuel subsidy should be gradual. Some economic experts said the fuel subsidy removal should have been done in phases. In a shere emotive reaction Nigerians lamented that a 100 percent increase in fuel price in January was a bad New Year gift from a president, in a country where majority of the 160 million people live on less than two dollars a day, and where Nigerians are weary of years of blatant corruption under different regimes. Many view the subsidy as their only benefit of the nation’s oil wealth. In the words of Segun Alabi, a Lagos business man, ‘‘When one realizes that many countries had taken a similar policy measure to their economic advantage, one will endorse the removal; on the other hand if we look at the immediate short term experience of the average Nigerian, and the huge corruption in our governmental institutions, one will be forced to oppose it,’’ According to him, Nigerians are not opposed to the removal of subsidy they are afraid that the money would be stolen. The Federal Government should have extended the period of awareness to enable all stakeholders lend their voices to the policy. He also advocated a gradual removal of the oil subsidy with plenty of palliatives. According to him, 1500 buses provided by the federal government for mass transit is grossly inadequate judging from the huge population of Nigerians who depend on fuel for various commercial activities including power generation since Nigerians still suffer an epileptic electricity supply.

The latest breakthrough in technological advancements for the Nigerian media is perhaps the announcement by the Nigerian communication Satellite Limited that it would launch NigCcomSat-1R into orbit on December 19th, 2011. This was made known at a pre-launch three-day stakeholders conference and exhibition held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos. This disclosure is good news for the Nigerian broadcasting media as the sector prepares to move from analogue to digitization by 2012. According to experts the satellite when launched into orbits will revolutionize the broadcasting media in Nigeria and contribute immensely to the improvement of broadcasting in the country. The primary market target for Nigcomsat include; Government and private broadcast media Organizations. International broadcast organizations, through local representatives; Independent producers who hitherto, could not afford direct broadcasting channels although the distribution model for the multimedia home platform is the primary responsibility of participating broadcast companies. Stakeholders say, the benefits are innumerable. It includes, a highly competitive media industry, meeting up to international standards.
This was not the first effort by Nigeria in this regard. There was NigComSat-1, which was launched in May 13th, 2007 but was deorbited on November 10, 2008. NigComSat-1 failed in orbit after running out of power due to an anomaly in its solar array. NigcomSat -1R will replace NigconSat-1 which was deorbited after it was successfully launched in 2007. NigComSat-1R was therefore a replacement of the failed satellite. This was in line with the contract that was signed in 2004 by the Federal Government of Nigeria and China Great Wall Industry Corporation which provided all aspects of in-orbit delivery of a satellite to an international customer. This included satellite manufacture, launch services, ground station construction, project financing, insurance and training. This means that insurance companies and the Chinese Corporation are financing this new satellite project. On the 10th of November 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria at its FEC meeting concluded that the NIGCOMSAT project is a national priority project and a critical ICT infrastructure for; alleviating poverty, bridging the digital divide; cost effective solution to the ICT requirements of the nation and affordable access to information and communication for Nigerians and the African continent. The federal. Government also hope to diversify the revenue base of the country from oil to knowledge and services. All these benefits would accrue to the Nigerian broadcasting media sector as well as other technological based sectors of the economy.
Chief executive Officer of NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Engr. Ahmed Rufai, while addressing stakeholders at the recently concluded prelaunch conference in Lagos said that the project is a very positive step in the right direction. He assured Nigerians that NigComSat- 1R has been fully integrated and every necessary performance test has been carried out on the satellite. He informed participants that the satellite had already been moved to its launch site in central China, from where it would be launched on December 19. The satellite television customers in the country and other parts of Africa are currently getting programming contents through direct To Home (DTH) providers, but explained that the communication satellite, when launched would support players in the Nigerian broadcast industry to aggregate hundreds of channels and deliver same directly to homes across the country. This is expected to create employment in the broadcast media, stimulate entrepreneurship and investments as well as create a robust broadcast media industry for Nigeria.
One of the role of NigComSat-1R, is to foster the growth of broadcasting industry, as it would allow broadcasting media stations concentrate on the provision of quality content in order to realize maximum revenue. The satellite would also act as open door to attract foreign direct investments into Nigeria. The replacement satellite, according to Rufai, is Hybrid satellite, since it would not only offer communications services, but would also provide navigational services for the aviation and maritime industries.
This can only mean that the Nigerian broadcast media would be entering into the league of technologically advanced broadcast media. This development holds many benefits for the Nigerian media. The implications, according to experts are all beneficial to the media industry, although commercial satellite usage is not limited to the broadcast media alone. It is evident, however, that the Nigerian media would enjoy many benefits from the launch of NigComSat-1R by December.
Vice President of China Great Wall industry corporation (CGWIC) builders of NigComSat-1R, Mr. He Xing, also confirmed the readiness of NigComSat-1R for the December 19 launch, and explained that the replacement satellite would be launched on the DH-4 platform of CGWTC. Nigerian engineers that have undergone intensive training in China in recent times would carry out the ground control of the satellite in Nigeria. He said that CGWIC has provided training for over 60 Nigerians Engineers sent by the management of NiGcomSat-1R and they are capable of controlling the satellite from the ground station in Nigeria and providing services to Nigerians and Africa. With over 50 years in the practice of space technology and with the successful launch of several satellite from China by CGWIC, a successful launch of NigComSat-1R on December 19 is expected.
Director General of Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, Mr, Yomi Bolarinwa, was emphatic in his submission that Nigcomsat-1R will boost broadcasting in Nigeria.
According to hum, The Nigcomsat dth is designed to offer Viewers one hundred channels of SD television programming on a pay as you go and free to air service delivery model. This system can easily be upgraded to accommodate hd channels if any broadcast organization is interested in the transmission of hd channels.
In chat with independent Television Producer, Akeem Bayowa, he was of the opinion that the development would change the face of Nigerian broadcasting. He said, such a project would improve the quality of broadcasting media in Nigeria and ensure high level competition amongst operators which would further lead to an increase in the quality of service delivery which he said would be healthy for the Nigerian broadcast environment. Bayowa however said that government owned television media such as NTA and LTV should brazen up to the demands of modern broadcasting, so that they would not be left behind. He said that local standards would soon become a thing of the past and international broadcasting practice would take pre-eminence as result of advanced technology.
Experts say, the system for direct to home distribution will also be used as a platform to deliver backhaul services for terrestrial dtt transmissions after the 2012 analogue to digital migration. In addition, these infrastructures shall also enable participating broadcasters to have uplink satellite capacity on demand without huge investments in reserved satellite capacity. The signal flow for the system includes acquisition of broadcaster content, compression of received signals, multiplexing of all signals and the modulation of the signals before re-transmission to home users.. The content providers or aggregators are required to install appropriate uplink infrastructure from remote uplink sites. NigComSat-1R, General Manager, Technical for NIGCOMSAT, Abdulraheem Adajah said NigComSat-1R comes with a minimum lifespan of 15 years and a maximum lifespan of 15 years plus. It has payloads of 7 antennae and 26 transponders to address redundancy and it operates under four different bands: C, Ku, KA and the I bands.

Just when Nigerians are beginning to get very comfortable with their Blackberry phones, after the Nokia E- and N-series, Huawei has made an entrance into the highly competitive Nigerian mobile phone market with the launch of its Android smartphones which boast high pixels, touch screens, hot spot/WiFi connectivity and sleek designs. The flagship of the Android phones, the U8520 series, is a dual SIM phone that supports both WCDMA/HSDPA 900/2100 MHz and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz frequency bands.
Osita Akabueze, Channel Director, Huawei Technologies, while giving a rundown on the features of the flagship brand states that Huawei U8520 is the first of its kind given that it is running on Android 2.2 dual SIM enable. According to him, ‘with the U8520, you have one SIM for your data storage and the other SIM portal for voice. So you have your router, your PC and your phone all in one device. We have made this phone because we understand the need of the people. They want phones that give access to data on the go and very quickly too and at an affordable price. All this we have considered in making this phone.’
Given the features of the Huawei U8520, one wonders if the company can give other established brands like RIM, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson a good run for their money? Will consumers be easily persuaded to key into the brand given its affordability and value worth?
‘The android is the biggest operating system for Smartphone’s right now. You have more options with an android OS, more applications than Blackberry. Imagine, I can use my phone as my computer mouse; that’s the kind of thing you enjoy on Android. However, this does not mean that any phone running on Android is better than a Blackberry. There are specifications to look out for like the processor speed, ram size, processor type, the Android version the phone is running etc. The latest Android version is called Gingerbread or 2.3.
‘As for the Huawei U8520, I don’t see it causing a shiver that much. Consumers will continue to be attached to their Blackberry because of the BB chat. So while BB has its own selling point, the Huawei U8520 has a different selling point which for me is a huge data capacity. It all depends on what you want in a phone,’ states Chuks Ogochukwu, Systems Administrator, Paragon Investment Management Ltd.
Giving that the Huawei brand is the 5th Android vendor in the world and having established itself on end-to-end advantages in telecom networks, devices and cloud computing, industry watchers believe that the status-quo is likely to change in the Nigerian mobile market.
To achieve the needed success required to compete favourably with leading brands in the Nigerian market and be the next leading brand in a few years time, Huawei says it has partnered exclusively with Telec, Nigeria’s number one sales distribution company with over 11 years experience in the country. With a vast network of warehouses within major cities, a robust customer base and strong channel partners pan-Nigeria, Telec is positioned to provide excellent and superior sales, logistics and support services to the trade.
Also, the company’s regional headquarters in West Africa is situated in Nigeria. What this means is that special attention is being paid to ensure the success of the brand in West Africa starting from Nigeria. In addition, the company offers after sales service, all in efforts to provide full customer satisfaction.
According to Jacky Lee, Managing Director, Terminals, Huawei Technologies West Africa Limited, Huawei has been recognized for its quality products, professional after-sales service and comprehensive business support. ‘We are offering warranty on our products in such a way no brand has done before to give authenticity to the devices that we manufacture. Our warranty is above 12 months and each of our phones comes with a seal of authenticity bearing the brand name and the distributor’s name,’ he states.

Jossy the first to be evicted, and Danny was on his way to the tailshouse
The Namibian housemate was the first causality. The 28 years old Recording artist/Ad Manager from Windhoek was the first to be evicted from the BBA house, the same day Danny the Ethiopian housemate was sent to the tailshouse. Africans did not have sufficient opportunity to know him; and one may not be able to comment on the stuff he is made of. Also it was difficult to know why Africans booted him out so early. Namibia has participated in all the 6 seasons of BBA, yet no winner has emerged from the South African Country.
Then it was the turn of Nkuli, the 23 years old Community TV Intern from South Africa. Though petit but intelligent, the young buddy left too early. Fans were surprised at her leaving the BBA house as the second evictee. Again Africans did not have fair knowledge of her stuffs. This again diminishes the SA chances of winning the TV reality show for the first time. Even though, Nkuli fellow countryman Lucklay is still in the show, July 31 will determine if he would be the first South African to emerge as BBA winner.
Lotus the fun-filled and fabulous TV presenter from Dar es Salaam left in a rather dramatic manner. Lucklay the South African tailsmate and Lotus were involved in a hot argument. Lotus‘ reaction, a slap on Lucklay was against the rules of the game. That was the end for the Tanzanian. Lotus was expelled from the BBA house.
Michael, the 32 year old hairdresser from Maputo was next. Michael’s early eviction was a big shock to many. The Mozambique dude was one of the intelligent and mature housemates in BB Amplified, so many had expected him to go far in the competition. That did not happen. End of the road for another Mozambiquean in their failed attempts on the BBA TV show grand prize.
Ernest, Bhoke and Nic dramatic eviction reduced the chances of Uganda, Zimbabwe and Kenya by 50%. The intrigue in the house reached a crescendo with Bhoke and Ernest two love interests constant disagreement with Karen and Ernest laziness and arrogance. The tailsmates did not hesitate to put up the duo for eviction. This was the most remarkable eviction. The lovers were showed the exit door. Nic the 26 year old TV producer from Nairobi was also a co-traveller in the eviction train that Sunday.
Danny, the 34 year old fashion specialist from Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian Headsmates was the first to be sent to the tailshouse after a keenly contested eviction with Jossy in week 3. While Jossy was back to Namibia, Danny was lucky not to have been evicted. This was a second chance. The tailsmate with limited vocabulary could not play the game and he was consumed in the process.
From the Headhouse, Vina, Weza, Confidence, Sharon O and Vimba were Africa favourites. At a time during the show, Vina and her West Africa neighbor were repeatedly put on the chopping board every other week. While Vina, the Nigerian headsmate survived all the evictions, Confidence and Weza were not that lucky. The week Confidence was evicted, Weza the Angolan Damsel and Channel O music presenter was sent to the tailshouse.
Perhaps Weza and Confidence were two housemates who can be said to have been the best representatives of their countries since the BBA TV show debut in year 2002 in South Africa. Both were elegant, flybouyant, beautiful and carry a lot of candor and poise into the show.
Their eviction at different time was a pointer to the fact that Angola and Ghana may have to wait for another season to try their hands on winning the BBA TV show. Alex the second housemates from Ghana whose popularity was boosted by his romance with Miss Peo, the housemate from Malawi and his strategic alliances with some other housemates could not provide the entertainment and qualities that Africans were looking for in a winner.
Alex like Ernest was evicted in a dramatic way with his love interest Miss Peo. That was the end of the road for Ghana.
Then it was Zeus, Bernadina and Mumba. The eviction of the three was very emotional. Karen was the most affected by their exit. Apart from her love interest, Zeus; Karen was a close ally of Mumba and Bernadina. Karen cried uncontrollably in the night of the eviction of her close allies.
Weird Characters
BBA Amplified has its own uniqueness, intrigues and drama. Who are the characters? Obviously, obviously, Karen and Lucklay are two major characters in BBA. Many fans saw Lucklay as unstable character in the beginning of the show, events in recent weeks has reflect how strong Lucklay is. On her own side, Karen was among the least rated housemates when the show began. Overtime, Karen has proved many people wrong. The Nigerian housemate is perhaps the strongest character in the BBA house.
Two weeks ago, Karen stunned viewers when as HoH she refused to nominate any of her housemates for possible eviction instead she nominated herself. Again during her save and replace session, Karen refused to replace herself with any of the housemates. According to Karen, all the housemates are her friends and as a result of that she offers to put herself on the chopping board. To African viewers, this is the bravest stunt in the history of BBA. Not only had Karen made a big sacrifice for Africa instead of herself and her country, Karen has shown that she has a very big and good heart. Weeks in weeks out, Karen has shown that she is reliable, honest and natural. In one of her chat sessions, Karen again told Africa that if she wins the prize money, she will share a half of it between herself, Bernadina and Mumba; and the remaning half, she will commit to charity. This goes to show that Karen is a kind, generous and easy going African, whose passion does not lie in money but in genuine interest in people. This was the turning point of the show. It was amazing on that Sunday, that Karen did not only survived eviction, but polled the highest number of individual and country votes in BBA Amplified with 8 countries voting for her. It is on record that it is only “otono” Lucklay who had pulled such a dramatic stunt, when he refused to nominate any of his housemates earlier in the game where he put himself up for eviction.
Among the 10 housemates left in the show, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have two representatives each. Whether as a matter of coincidence, fate, popularity or luck, Nigeria has emerged as the only country in the history of BBA that will present two representatives in the grand finale of the BBA show. With Vina as the last HoH, she used her power to save her fellow countrywoman, Karen and by that episode; Vina, Karen and Sharon O the Musician from Kampala have booked their place in the finals.
The other country (Zimbabwe) that has two representatives at this stage of the show (Vimbai and Wendell) are unfortunately among the 7 housemates up for the last eviction party.
Nigeria history making
In the history of BBA, no single country has won the BBA twice. Nigeria has remained the only country in Africa that has not only won the BBA TV show, twice but won it back-to-back; with Kevin and Uti winning the big prize of $200,000 USD each in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
BBA Amplified drama
In a dramatic manner, the 2011 season has provided a bigger opportunity for the Nigerian housemates. The two are already in the finals. With an expanded opportunity for two winners in the Amplified edition, Nigeria is in the threshold of winning Africa’s most famous TV reality show for the third consecutive time.
Perhaps, Africa may be in for a big surprise. As the game stands today, there is a probability of the two Nigerians winning the two coveted grand prize monies. Let’s see as the game unfolds.
Whatever happens on Sunday 31st July 2011 in South Africa, Nigeria will be making history in the BBA show and may be setting the pace for other participating countries to emulate.
As we earnestly wait for the D Day, here in M2 Magazine, we wish Vina and Karen the Nigerian indefatigable representatives the best of luck!

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