ODUDUWA

                                    Benin Empire bronze statue of Oduduwa

ODUDUWA is considered the founding king of the imperial age of the Yoruba that later became a divinity. He was born in the 8th-century bc as a Nok prince from what is now central Nigeria.

Before his arrival, the Yoruba had no actual king but were led by a council of babalawo (the Ogboni), headed by the head priest of Obatala. They were amongst the last people on Earth to never have engaged in war. While they lived a state of pure peace, Oduduwa understood the nature of war, something that was becoming increasingly present in Africa at the time stimulated by Asiatic invasions. He understood this because he was a great prince who had traveled across the continent seeking the joys of adventure.

When he traveled east to the Nok trading partner, Kush, due to his excellent skills in battle, he was conscripted by Pharaoh Piankhi to help him defend Africa. While the Black Carthaginians (called the 26th-Dynasty Meshwesh) had controlled Kemet for some time, their last king sought to ally with the Asiatics in exploiting Kemet. Oduduwa then joined Piankhi's army and they expelled the Asiatics and forced the Carthaginian Meshwesh princes to submit to Kushite leadership. This was the first time Oduduwa witness the ways of the Asiatics and the degree of blood-thirstiness in their war tactics. He then fled back to Nok to report what was happening at the gates of Africa.

He was then informed by the wise elders that the Asiatics are relentless and will eventually make their way through the gates of Africa in Kemet and march on to destroy the birthplace of wisdom, Ife, the holiest place on Earth.

Long before this could occur, Oduduwa set to establish a kingship in Ife that would maintain the first spiritual system of humankind but also involve the militaristic and political governance that could defend Ife when the time arrived.

Oduduwa successfully established Ife's first military and the beginnings of kingship in alliance with the priesthood were born. This became known as the Oduduwa Dynasty for his sons were assigned leadership of various city-states throughout Ancient Nigeria, even outside of Yorubaland. For instance, it was his son Oranmiyan who was sent to Benin City and left them an heir to rule in his place, Eweka. It is through Eweka that the Benin kings are linked to Oduduwa and the Yoruba culture as a whole.

Though the Yoruba had not known war, the establishment of a military government adjoined with the priesthood proved essential as the domino effect of war made it from West Asia to Yorubaland. For this, Oduduwa was deified and somewhat merged as a successor to Obatala's peace; a successor that understood the importance of a more militaristic reality than Obatala. The Yoruba fended off Islamic advancement for many centuries as well as European exploitation. However, war between African groups weakened the Yoruba and their empire collapsed, allowing for infiltration by Europeans.

Acknowledgement: IFA: Yoruba Scientific Spirituality

THE UNKNOWN NIGERIA

In its years of existence as a modern state, Nigeria has been portrayed as anything but normal through the media. The reality is, like any evolving society trying to take its rightful place among the comity of nations it would naturally experience developments both positive and other wise.

So while acknowledging our challenges, heart warming occurrences equally requires mentioning.
The main aim of 'The Unknown Nigeria' is to enlighten the public and its numerous audiences. We are not saddled with laundering an image rather 'The Unknown Nigeria' is more concerned with presenting facts and figures through well researched WORTHY News/ stories/ opportunities and services which have largely been ignored, under reported or out rightly buried.

The Group '1,000,000 Ambassadors of The Unknown Nigeria' is created to help propagate Nigeria's worthy news/stories/businesses/services that is hardly spoken about.

Membership of the group is open to Nigerians and Non-Nigerians alike.

Welcome to a different world of 'The Unknown Nigeria'!


Copy & paste the link below to join the group:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1000000-Ambassadors-Unknown-Nigeria-8268677?gid=8268677&mostPopular&trk=tyah&trkInfo=idx%3A1-1-1%2CtarId%3A1426372522204%2Ctas%3A1%2C000%2C000+amb

Nigeria Makes List Of 20 Fastest Growing Economies

A new report released by Bloomberg, a New York-based financial newswire service, has named Nigeria, the Philippines, China, Kenya, Indonesia and India as countries that would join the ranks of the 20 fastest growing economies in the world this year.

According to the report, Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is projected to expand at 4.9 per cent this year while Kenya is expected to by 6 per cent in 2015, even as unemployment and poverty remain stubbornly high with over 40 per cent of Kenyans living below the poverty line.

Nigeria was ranked sixth behind China (7 per cent), the Philippines (6.3 per cent), Kenya (6 per cent), India (5.5 per cent) and Indonesia (5.4 per cent).

Peru, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan, Colombia and Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Mexico, Ireland and Singapore also made the list in the global economic ranking.

“Emerging markets in Asia and Africa still reign supreme; they’re at the top of global growth projections over the next two years. The world is expected to grow 3.2 per cent in 2015 and 3.7 per cent next year after expanding 3.3 per cent in each of the past two years,” according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia, which together make up about 16 per cent of global gross domestic product, are all forecast to grow more than 5 per cent in 2015. By comparison, the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK), which combined account for about a quarter of global growth, are expected to grow 3.1 and 2.6 per cent this year respectively, saidBloomberg.

“The euro area probably will expand just 1.2 per cent as European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi, deals with a fragile Greece and embarks on a bond-purchase programme to stimulate the region’s growth. China still remains the fastest-growing G-20 nation even though the Asian economy is no longer expanding at the pace it did a few years ago. China’s economy grew 7.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, and is expected to slow to 7 per cent in 2015.

“To counter that slowdown, People’s Bank of China policy makers are boosting monetary stimulus. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate in November for the first time since 2012.

This month officials lowered by 50 basis points the deposit reserve ratio which is the amount of reserves that banks need to keep on hand. US growth forecasts for 2015 are coalescing around 3 per cent even as the dollar soars to its highest level in more than a decade.

“As growth picks up, the Federal Reserve is weighing whether to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006. Their benchmark federal funds rate has remained near zero since December 2008,” the survey said.

http://leadership.ng/business/415309/nigeria-makes-list-of-20-fastest-growing-economies

The 30 Year-Old Nigerian Mobile Phone Entrepreneur Who Is Challenging Apple In Africa

 Micheal Akindele talks about his motivation, his vision, market value and so much more in this interview with Mfonobong Nsehe (Forbes)

                                         

                                                    *********************

Michael Akindele, a 30 year-old Nigerian, is a director and a co-founder of SOLO Phone, an experience-driven digital content and smartphone company focused on delivering the best content and services on the mobile platform to African consumers.

SOLO Phone, which was established in Nigeria in 2012, is an experience-driven mobile device manufacturer which aims to provide the best content and services to the African consumer at an affordable price. The company manufactures smartphones priced at $150, bundled with free music of up to 20 million songs licensed from Sony, Universal and Warner. SOLO also recently launched a Video-On-Demand App available to all Android devices in Nigeria which offers the latest Nollywood and Hollywood movies from global movie studios.

I recently had a chat with Akindele where he recounted his entrepreneurial journey and explained why he feels SOLO phones will give other smartphones a run for their money.

What’s your personal and professional background?

I was born August 29, 1984 in Washington D.C., to Nigerian parents. At the age of 2 years old, my family moved to Nigeria and spent the next 10 years in Ibadan. At the age of 12, my family returned to the US where I continued my education in Alexandria, Virginia. After graduating from T.C. Williams High School, I attended George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where I received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from the Volgneau School of Engineering with a focus on Computer Science and Information Technology. I also received a minor in Business Administration from George Mason’s School of Management. While at George Mason I was a member of the Track & Field Team and competed in the hurdles and middle distance running events. Being an athlete on a Division I Track & Field team gave me the confidence I needed to take on events outside of sports and a chance to win. Two days after graduating from George Mason I began my career as a Technology Consultant with Accenture. I gained valuable professional experience from being a Technology Analyst with Accenture. While at Accenture, I started working on a project, which quickly progressed and birthed The Apprentice: Africa. A business partner and myself successfully licensed an American reality game show from Mark Burnett Productions for the Sub-Saharan media market, which featured real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump. I returned to Nigeria January 2007 and was part of a team that developed, produced and distributed the African edition of an 18 week reality show titled The Apprentice: Africa that had a strong following in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Walk me through your entrepreneurial journey so far. I know you worked as a Core Analyst at Accenture in the U.S, and then you returned to Nigeria to help produce the African edition of The Apprentice reality TV show. You were also involved in an animation studio before SOLO. Tell me about it.

While developing The Apprentice Africa, I gained hands on experience on producing TV content for the African market. I recognized the gaps and immediately started developing original content inspired by African culture, music and folklore. I recognized the media market was populated by an influx of content from Western markets with little commercial opportunities left for local content producers. We successfully produced a pilot for an original 3-D animated series titled The O Twins. However,we quickly learned the market for content distribution was very shallow. Outside of the cable TV market there is little to no room left for original content production. The cable TV market is limited to affluent consumers who can afford televisions at home. However, the majority of African consumers are unable to afford this luxury. This presented a challenge I was willing to take on. I knew if someone was able to successfully solve that problem it would create tremendous opportunities not only for the distributors but also for creative professionals across the continent. Today Sub-Saharan Africa is among the world’s fastest growing mobile market in the world, and is the biggest after Asia. The introduction of affordable smartphones, specifically designed for the African market, has improved the market scenario. Mobile broadband connections are now anticipated to quadruple from its 2012 figure to reach 160 million in 2016. This uptrend reflects the gradual change in consumer habits, as they gain their first Internet experience through a mobile device. This is the future of content distribution and value added services.

Tell me about SOLO. What prompted you to set up SOLO Mobile, and how where you initially funded? (How many employees does the company have?)

In 2010 I started a company called Fusion Mobile, which was short lived. We were unable to close funding needed to start a company singularly focused on driving Africa’s first mobile device manufacturing and content distribution company. However, in June 2013 I was approached by Adlevo Capital to partner with a group of experienced mobile telecommunications professional led by Tayo Ogundipe to start a company called SOLO. Tayo Ogundipe is an experienced finance executive with extensive background in the technology and telecommunications sectors working for companies like Ubiquitel, Sony Ericson and HTC. Thus the dream of SOLO was born. November 22, 2013 we successfully launched a mobile device company that provides experience-driven, end-to-end digital content and services to young adults and adults who are young at heart requiring a mobile device that provides convenient, affordable gateway to the widest range of digital content that is delivered on the go, every at blazing speed to the African consumer.

There are so many Smartphones in the market already. What is Solo doing differently from the others?

Companies simply compete today in the Smartphone market on hardware specifications. Prior to 2005, no one saw Apple coming. Today Apple consumes over 90% of the profit in the Smartphone market. However, to the average emerging market and African consumer an Apple device is out of reach due to its high cost. The emergence of an open OS driven by Google had brought commoditization to the mobile hardware market. SOLO is an emerging markets play. SOLO is an experience driven device manufacturer with a vision to provide the best content and services to the African and emerging markets consumer at an affordable price that not only delivers tremendous value for money but also enriches their lives. The foundation of SOLO is built on delivering key value added services in critical enterprise verticals such as education, healthcare and commerce, to mention a few. Today, SOLO offers affordable smartphones bundled with free music up to 20 million songs licensed from Sony, Universal and Warner. This innovation was possible because of partners that believe in the SOLO vision. We also recently launched a Video-On-Demand App available to all Android devices in Nigeria offering the latest Nollywood and Hollywood movies from global movie studios such as Disney, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures. Our go to market strategy was to offer download powered by SOLO HotSpots. This innovation offers consumers to download movies in 3 – 5 minutes. This by far is the best offering in today’s market populated by streaming services where data costs are still extremely high. SOLO innovates by putting the consumer first and that is the premise SOLO was founded on.

You launched in November 2013. How has the reception been so far?

Consumers have received our offerings relatively well. In our first year, we established strong distribution network across Nigeria by partnering with key smartphone retailers. Furthermore, we’ve also partnered with primary eCommerce platforms to drive adoption and sales of our device and services.

Founding a start-up like SOLO must have cost quite a bit of money. How did you raise the finance to set it up, before the January 2014 round of funding from Adlevo and Kuramo Capital?

The initial start costs for SOLO was funded by its founders who generously contributed to its vision. On December 24, 2013 we closed our Series A funding led by Adlevo Capital and Kuramo Capital.

SOLO seems to be focused mainly on Nigeria. Might you be looking elsewhere for growth, say the rest of Africa, or even Europe or North America?

The vision for SOLO is an emerging markets play. Our goal is to expand beyond Nigeria and establish SOLO as an Africa-wide brand offering consumers access to the best content and services on the mobile platform. Furthermore, we will expand to other emerging markets that compliment the SOLO vision.

Are your phones manufactured here in Africa or is manufacturing outsourced to China?

The economics for manufacturing our devices today in Africa isn’t possible yet. Today we produce our devices in Asia. In the mid-to-long term we will explore the possibilities of manufacturing our devices locally in Africa.

I read somewhere that SOLO phones offer owners free access to millions of songs from international, African and Nigerian songs. What are the details of your licensing agreements with the record labels and musicians?

Our commercial engagement with the music labels is confidential. However, we structured our agreement with the music labels to benefit local artists and content producers. Today SOLO Music compensates local music artists and their management companies with an opportunity to generate additional income based on music consumption through SOLO Music thus providing artists an opportunity to promote their music through SOLO Music to increase their earnings potential.

How has innovation changed the way you do business?

Innovation is everything at SOLO. We live and survive by it. Every day we ask ourselves: “how can we do what we do better?” Without that core premise we wouldn’t be where we are today. Speed and execution is a common phrase you will hear at SOLO daily.

What’s your motivation?

My motivation is driven by the need to create value for all stakeholders involved. This includes investors, management, content owners, partners and all SOLO employees. Today SOLO employs over 160 people with expertise in various disciplines from engineering to sales.

What has been your biggest challenge in running a successful business from Nigeria?

The opportunities we’ve created have far outweighs the challenges. We’ve successfully secured some key assets that provide SOLO key value differentiation in today’s market. However, we face the same challenges all companies face such as the increase in Dollar to Naira exchange and strikes at the port. In summary, we’ve been able to weather these challenges with a belief that staying power in a fast growing industry positions SOLO for success.

What’s next for SOLO?

We recently launched a co-branded affordable Smartphone with Airtel in Nigeria bundled with our music and movies offering. We will continue to deepen our relationship with Operator partners building on the premise of delivering the best content and services to consumers in emerging markets. The future of delivering these value added services is tremendous in a market where low income earning consumers can benefit on the access to these affordable solutions that enriches their lives. That is the future of SOLO

Acknowledgement; Forbes 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/03/02/the-30-year-old-nigerian-mobile-phone-entrepreneur-who-is-challenging-apple-in-africa/4/

Three USA Based Nigerian Doctors Separate Conjoined Twins in Houston

The Siamese Twins were born in April 2014 to Elysse Mata, and her husband, John, and were conjoined at the chest almost face-to-face, linked at the abdomen and sharing a common liver.

The twins had 4 kidneys going into two bladders and they also shared major organs like diaphragm, pelvis, lungs intestines and lining of the heart. However, thankfully the twins had separate hearts.

10 months old conjoined twins, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata were successfully separated on February 17th and 18th 2015 in a 26-hour long surgical separation in a Houston, Texas hospital

This operation was conducted by a medical team that included , two Nigerian female doctors and one male doctor, Professor Oluyinka Olutoye( a top surgeon ) among-st other members of the team (24 in total)

Professor Olutoye one of the top surgeons in the historic separation is a graduate of kings College Lagos and University of Ife. He is presently the Co-Director of the Texas Children's Fetal Center and Co-Program Director of Perinatal Surgery Fellowship Program of the well-known Baylor College of Medicine. He came to the U.S. in 1989 to pursue his post-doctoral studies and deciding to stay back.

The success of this surgery has once again brought to fore the ever increasing professional recognition and influence of the Nigerian doctors in United States of America.

Recently , the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa stated during a presentation at the Federal Ministry of Health that about 77 per cent of black doctors practicing in the United States of America were Nigerians. She also talked about the possibility of the Nigerian State harnessing the vast human resources of Nigerian Doctors in the health sector that are abroad.

Hon. Dabiri-Erewa revealed that Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora were always willing to render assistance but observed that the hindrance had been lack of coordination.

As a result, The Federal Ministry of Health has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigerian health professionals in the Diaspora and opened a Diaspora Unit to coordinate relations between the health practitioners and the ministry.


Acknowledgement ; The Guardian, Tun Samuel