ASUU Strike: NUT Gives Two-Week Ultimatum to FG, Lecturers

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) gave a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve the strike, embarked upon by university lecturers.

Mr. Michael Olukoya, the NUT President stated this in Abuja at the end of the Union’s meeting with teachers’ representatives across the country on September 26, 2013, Thursday.

Mr. Olukoya said that members of the Union would not hesitate to close down the nation’s schools, if the two parties failed to reach agreement after two weeks.

He described the current ASUU strike “as nationalistic, patriotic and self-sacrificing”.

“We will not hesitate to shut down the education system in the country, if the government fails to fulfil or honour the agreement it entered into with the lecturers.”

It would be recalled that ASUU had embarked on a strike it described as “comprehensive, total and indefinite” on July 1, 2013.

The lecturers are protesting the non-implementation of some issues, contained in an agreement the Union had entered into with the Federal Government since 2009.The NUT President said that Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo’s call for a complete over-haul of teachers’ qualification as unacceptable to the NUT. He said that the blame should be put on the door steps of the employers and not teachers.

“NUT will forever be proud of all its teachers, believing that all employment agencies are corruption-free, disciplined and quality conscious in their employment drives.”

Mr. Olukoya also urged the governors of Kogi, Benue and Cross River to honour the agreement they made with teachers on the payment of 27.5 per cent teachers salary structure.

A big bet on BlackBerry — or a smart investment?

(Thinkstock)

Is Prem Watsa nuts? That’s the question a lot of people are wondering these days after the Toronto-based billionaire made a $4.7 billion bid to take over BlackBerry.

Just three days before his September 23 proposal, the troubled smartphone maker said it was stuck with $1 billion worth of unsold phones and had to lay off 4,500 workers. Its share price has fallen 96% from its July 2007 high and the company is losing market share to competitors like Apple and Samsung every quarter.

There are doubts that Watsa’s bid will succeed, according to Reuters — and those doubts sent the stock down further to $8.10 on Wednesday, below the $9 per share offer Watsa’s Fairfax made. If the deal does happen, it may seem like a peculiar buy to many analysts and investors. But for Watsa, the fact that everyone thinks he’s lost it means he’s probably on the right track.

You have to be willing to sell if you’re wrong.  — Dan Dupont

The Indian-born founder and chief executive officer of Fairfax Financial, a Berkshire Hathaway-like company that owns a number of insurance and investment businesses, is a value investor, much like Warren Buffett.  

Value investors seek to make big bucks in large part by buying out-of-favour companies. It certainly has paid off for Watsa. He purchased part of the Bank of Ireland in 2011 when most people were staying far away from Europe, and he recently bought into a real estate company in Greece.  Watsa has reportedly already made a 50% return on his Bank of Ireland investment.

While not all of his investments have worked out — he took losses on Montreal-based forestry company AbitibiBowater (now known as Resolute Forest Products), Winnipeg-based media company Canwest and he currently owns 10% of BlackBerry’s shares — he’s had far more hits than misses. 

There’s a good reason why Watsa and Buffett take a value approach to investing and it’s the same reason why you should consider it, too: the approach has proven to be more lucrative than other strategies.

Eric Kirzner, the John H Watson Chair in Value Investing at Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, recently looked at how much better value investing has done versus growth investing—a strategy that usually involves buying high-growth companies with rapidly expanding earnings.  

He compared returns on the Russell 1000 value index and the Russell 1000 growth index since 1979 and found that value beat growth by 1.6% per year on a compound annual growth basis. That translates into value stocks doing 71% than growth companies over the last 34 years “There’s clearly a premium on value investing over growth,” he said.

Buy low, sell high

Charles Taylor war crimes convictions upheld

Mr Taylor showed little emotion upon hearing that his conviction and jail sentence had both been upheld

A UN-backed special court in The Hague has rejected an appeal against war crimes convictions by lawyers representing former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

It ruled that his convictions had been proved beyond doubt.

Taylor appeared impassive in court as the judge upheld his convictions and 50-year sentence.

He was sentenced in May 2012 for aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war.

His lawyers had argued that there were legal errors during his trial.

Taylor was found to have supplied weapons to the Revolutionary United Front rebels in exchange for a constant flow of so-called blood diamonds.

He was found guilty at his trial of 11 crimes including terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers by rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone during the vicious civil war of 1991-2002.

Judge Richard Lussick said at his trial that they were "some of the most heinous crimes in human history".

Taylor has always insisted he is innocent and his only contact with the rebels was to urge them to stop fighting.

He became the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.

Nicki Minaj flashes boobs in cropped unbuttoned jacket with no bra

The richest female hip-hop artist in the world, Nicki Minaj showed off side boobs in this daring boob-baring top and leather trouser pants as she headed to the Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday to promote her brand new scent, Minajesty. She shared some of the photos on her instagram page. See more photos after the cut...

Only son of Tasty Fried Chicken boss Olubunmi Adedayo dies

The only child of Tastee Fried Chicken boss Mrs Olayinka Adedayo, Olubunmi Adedayo has passed away. Bunmi, who until his death was the executive director of TFC, died on the 24th of September in the US. Heard he fell ill here in Nigeria and was flown to the US for treatment where he died.

He's survived by his parents, wife and two kids. May his soul rest in peace...amen.

Chinese man has new nose grown on his forehead after losing his nose in a car crash

A 22 year old Chinese man named Xiaolian has had a new nose grown on his forehead after loosing his original nose in a car accident. Xiaolian had the treatment to create a replacement for his original nose which was infected and deformed following the accident in 2012. He actually left his damaged nose unattended to after the accident which led to the infection and eventual deformity, leaving the surgeons unable to repair it.

Surgeons in China were left with no option than to create another nose for the man to breathe properly and then transplant it to the original place. The nose was created by placing a skin tissue expander onto Xiaolian’s forehead. This was cut into the shape of a nose and was supported by cartilage taken from the man’s ribs. Continue...

Obasanjo's sister owns Apo building where squatters were killed

The unfinished building where security forces killed at least seven squatters on Friday September 20, in the Apo neighbourhood of Abuja, belongs to Mrs. Adunni Oluwole Salisu, believed to be the sister to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Pemium Times reports exclusively.
Documents from the Abuja Geographical Information Systems (AGIS) shows that the property, located at No. 8 Bamanga Tukur Street, Gudu District, near the Gudu cemetery, belongs to Mrs. Salisu.
Mrs Adunni Oluwole Salusi was said to have engaged the services of SSS operatives led by Marilyn Ogah and combined team of soldiers to get the squatters out of her building. Unfortunately 7 people were killed in the operation though the SSS said they stormed the uncompleted building because they got intelligence report that Boko Haram members were hiding in the building and were planning to strike Abuja.