Learning How to Make Money Blogging

There are two major types of business models that
entrepreneurs use to make money blogging. The first
and most common way to turn a blog into a profit
making machine is to sell advertising to different
companies and brands who want to reach that blog's
readers. The second kind of money making blog is one
that helps a single brand improve its image by creating
positive associations between the blog and the product
in the mind of consumers. Both kinds of blogs can
make a lot of money, especially if the creator has a keen
mind for marketing.

If you are blogging with the goal of selling advertising,
there are two basic ways that you can go about
recruiting sponsors who want to put ads on your site;
you can let someone else do all of the legwork, or you
can do the work yourself and keep all of the revenue.
Within the first group, many people make money
blogging by selling space through Google's AdSense
program. The advantages of this program are numerous,
as it requires very little effort on the part of the blogger
or webmaster to begin raking in profits. However, most
people discover that they make less money through this
method than they had hoped that their blog would earn.

Selling advertising directly to companies who want to
put banner ads or sponsored links on your blog can take
quite a bit of time, but it is often fairly lucrative. If you
have a lot of contacts in industries that are related to the
topic of your blog, you may want to try to go this route.
People who have a strong background in sales and are
experienced at pitching proposals can make quite a bit
of money by renting blog space to interested companies.
The most serious problem with this model is that you
often have to build quite a sizable readership before you
can attract advertisers, which can mean that you have to
do several months of work before you start to make
money blogging.

As blogging becomes a more and more lucrative
business, a lot of established companies are considering
how they can get into the action. One way that
companies are capitalizing on the blog movement is by
having blogs that provide a kind of friendly face for
their corporation. Often, a company will employ an
established blogger to create a weblog designed
specifically to appeal to that company's customers and
to create positive associations with the brand in
consumers' minds. More than one writer who never
even dreamed that he or she could make money
blogging has been approached by a company and
offered quite a pretty penny for this kind of gig.    

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Banky W returns! …releases new album

Listening to Olubankole Wellington aka Banky W, four years ago when he stormed the scene with his first single; a remix of Rihanna’s Umbrella which he styled Ebute metta, you could tell this was a star born to rule.

But after ‘Strong Ting’ and ‘Lagos Party’, Banky W completely withdrew from the front burner, allowing his label E.M.E to grow with E.M.E crew leading artist Wiz Kid riding wave after wave of successes. It’s been three years now and perhaps, Banky W has had mercy on his starved fans.

Word is out that he will be finally releasing his much anticipated #R&BW album with two leading singles Yes/No and Good Good loving.

Yes/No, will see Banky W join forces with legendary producer Cobhams Asuquo, to create another tremendous ballad with powerful vocals that should leave ladies in the clouds.

“Good Good Loving” is produced by Spellz. African R&B and definitely another testimony of the star Banky W truly is.

The E.M.E Chairman, was expected to deliver the album earlier this year… however, in a move that caught his numerous fans and followers by surprise, he postponed it to put the EME Crew in the forefront.

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FG okays N98bn for infrastructure in 9 oil producing states

Abuja – The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N98.588 billion for 28 infrastructural development projects in nine oil producing states in the country.

The states include Rivers, Cross-River, Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo and Abia.

Minister of Information Labara Maku disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Maku said the approval was sequel to a memorandum presented to council by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)

“Today the Commission brought to Council a memorandum seeking to carry out 28 projects in the oil producing States.

“These projects caught across road construction, bridges land reclamation erosion problem as well as in some instances power supply and education.

“Mainly what the Commission has done is to bring these projects which they will implement between now and 2014.’’

The information minister said the contracts were approved in line with the Federal Government’s determination to create a conducive environment for sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.

Maku said the Council also approved a N317.922 billion contract for the completion of the Shagari irrigation project in Sokoto State.

He said the project was awarded in 2007 but could not be completed due to lack of funds.

Also speaking, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, said when completed in the next six months, the project would cover 220 hectares of land for irrigation.

She said that the project would have the capacity to produce 1,540 tonnes of rice and 3,300 tonnes of vegetables, with at least 2,640 persons engaged.

The council also approved contracts for the construction and rehabilitation of five roads across the North-West, South-South, South-East and North-Central geo-political zones of the country.

The Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, who disclosed this at the briefing, said that with the onset of the dry season, government was prepared to deploy resources and energy toward the provision of roads.

He said Council also approved contract for the construction of the Wudil-Utai-Achika-Darki-Jigaware road in Kano and Jigawa States at N4.393 billion with a completion period of 24 months.

The minister said contract for the reconstruction of section 2 phase 1 of the Kotangora-Rijau-Tunga Magajia road in Niger State at the cost of N3.698 billion was also approved.

He said Council also approved contract for the completion of the Auchi Poly-Ekperi-Uzea-Ohe-Afuda road in Edo State with the construction of pedestrian bridge at the Auchi Polytechnic main-gate.

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Nigerian ducked for credit card scam in British

LONDON (AFP) – A Nigerian-born man appeared in a British court on Wednesday charged with attempting to defraud a British-Iraqi family who were mysteriously shot dead in the French Alps.

Abiodun David John, 33, is accused of eight counts of fraud for allegedly trying to access Saad al-Hilli’s accounts, both before and after the engineer was killed with his wife, her mother and a passing cyclist on September 5.
John is also charged with attempting to obtain a credit card in Hilli’s name the day after the 50-year-old businessman was found dead in his BMW estate car in a car park near the French village of Chevaline, Lake Annecy.
John appeared dazed and fell to the floor during a short hearing at Guildford Magistrates’ Court in Surrey, southeast England.
He was remanded in custody until a further hearing at Redhill Magistrates’ Court in Surrey on Tuesday. His defence lawyer told the court that his client intended to plead not guilty.
Surrey Police say the fraud charges are not linked to the ongoing murder investigation by around 100 French and British police.
The Hillis’ two young daughters survived the horrifying attack.
Seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli was shot and severely beaten and her four-year-old sister Zeena lay undetected under her mother’s body for eight hours after the shooting.
Police have investigated several theories about why the four victims were killed, ranging from an alleged family dispute over money, to Hilli’s work in the satellite industry and his connections in Iraq.
French investigators have denied press reports that they now believe cyclist Sylvain Mollier was the prime target.

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Nigeria: Germany to build power plant in Katsina

The German government is concluding arrangements in the planning phase for a solar power plant in Katstina State.
The German ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Janetzke-Wenzel who visited Katsina on Monday to launch the solar power plant disclosed that the power plant was part of the German-Nigerian Energy partnership.

With optimism, she said that the power plant is expected to have a capacity of 30 MW
The Ambassador who was accompanied by high-ranking German economic representatives together with the Governor of Katsina, His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema, the ambassador launched the capacity building project in a ceremony well-attended by many representatives of the government and society.

In their speeches, the Ambassador and the Governor stressed that with the power plant, which will be manufactured in collaboration with a renowned German company, Katsina will receive environmentally clean and reliable electricity.

The economic development of Katsina, she added would be provided with an important impetus.

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Rapid Traffic Secrets: How to Get Instant Traffic To your Website

Attention: Online business owners...

"Finally! How Would You Like To Tap Into 27 Secret Traffic Sources To Generate Unlimited Amounts of Website Traffic?..."

Use Any of These 27 Rapid Traffic Methods And Generate Thousands of New Website Visitors, All Day, All Night!

Why is Traffic So Important, You May Ask?

Then, Let's get straight to the point. Without traffic, you have no business. It doesn't matter how fancy your website is. If your website isn't getting exposure, then you're wasting your time.

It's a simple formula:

More Traffic = More Leads/Sales

The truth is, learning how to get traffic to your website isn't as hard as you think.

It might sound like a lot of work and very time consuming, but it doesn't have work that way.

I've written a special eBook to help you get as much traffic as you want, any time!

Introducing: Rapid Traffic Secrets

So what exactly will you discover in this eBook?

You'll get 27 website traffic tactics to generate unlimited traffic to your website(s) or sites you're affiliated with.

Article marketing tactics to drive a whirlwind of free targeted traffic to your website. This is by far the best long term traffic strategy...the best part is, it's free!

Podcasting traffic tactic. Podcast will instantly build your brand and increase your credibility as people will be able to download your informative podcasts.

How do a lot people get famous these days? From videos! You'll discover how to get tons of traffic for free using sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

Want to generate unstoppable viral traffic? This traffic tactic is guaranteed to give you long-lasting traffic.

How to build thousands of backlinks instantly from this free traffic method.

How to piggy-back on other people's traffic, giving you leverage.

Does this sound amazing or what?

Well, Get Instant Access To This Special Report Right Now!

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How To Make Money From Mobile Apps Development And Marketing

Here are 3-Strong Reasons To Think Mobile Marketing Right Now…

•#1 The Mobile Market is 6.8 times bigger than Facebook!

•#2 Users are 3 more times likely to buy something on a mobile phone than on their computer.

•#3 73% of mobile uses wish they'd receive more mobile coupons (perfect for local business consultants!)

•Building applications for mobile devices are big business right NOW. In fact, when Internet marketer Joel Comm released his “iFart” application, it had 10,000 downloads in just one day at a cost of $1.00 to the user. That is $10,000 in one day from people who want to hear farting noises on their mobile device.

Yes -a simple idea like that can make you a lot of money. Applications like “iFart” go viral because of their entertainment value.

Note, very little promotion are done for a viral application and everyone will starts to talk about it and tell others.

Get your copy of this eBook and kick-start your way into Apps building and marketing. Here and in this eBook, you will get all the information you need to start the business... the way to start, where to go to start NOW and How to start NOW in a Step-By-Step

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Nigeria: We’ve Received 56 Demands for State Creation, Says Ekweremadu

Deputy Senate President and Chairman of Senate Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said the National Assembly has received about  56 requests for state creation from the various parts of the country.

This came as the National Assembly said the 43 items selected as priority in the public hearing on the amendment of the constitution did not foreclose other issues from being canvassed.

But Ekweremadu, who spoke at his Enugu residence, where he hosted some political leaders and traditional rulers from the various communities within the five local government areas of his senatorial zone, assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would not fail on the ongoing review.

He urged the people of the South-east region to allow their leaders to take decision on the issue.

Ekweremadu, who represents Enugu west senatorial district in the National Assembly had during the brief meeting informed the people of the forthcoming nationwide two-day simultaneous zonal public hearing slated for November 15 and 16.

The Deputy Senate President, who is the incumbent Speaker of the Economy Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament, said though a lot of issues such as devolution of powers, recognition of the six geo-political zones in the constitution, role of traditional rulers, local government, land use act, fiscal federalism, Nigeria Police, the National Youth Service Commission (NYSC) Act, amongst others, the issue of state creation remained one of the most serious and delicate matters hence, people must guide their statements on the issue.

The ECOWAS speaker had during the meeting, listed the provision of electricity, water, Information Communications Technology (ICT) facilities, roads, multi-purpose halls, among others as some of his constituency projects.
He also announced that the Federal Government had concluded plans to award the Nenwe/Oduma  road project in Aninri local government area of the state at the cost of N12 billion.

On the issue of memorandum received during the constitution review, a member of the House of Representatives representing Etinan Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom State, Hon. Dan Akpan, said the National Assembly would still be open to receiving memoranda from groups and individuals for a comprehensive review of the constitution.

Akpan, who spoke while fielding questions from journalists, lauded the people of Etinan Federal Constituency for their active participation at the public hearing on the amendment of the constitution.

The lawmaker reassured the people that their inputs would be adequately reflected in the final draft of the constitution and dismissed the people’s fear of their contributions being honoured.

“If we are not going to implement it then we would not have even invited people. We would just stay at the National Assembly and finish everything.  The mere fact that we are doing this in the 360 Federal Constituencies at the same time, underscores the seriousness and importance we attach to this process.

“We are going to synchronise all the data collated and come out with a unified position.  What we are doing is not just mere sending people out,” the lawmaker stressed.

Similarly, the former First Lady of the state, Obonganwan Imo Isemin, and the local government area chairman of Nsit Ubium, Mr. Essien Esama, had commended the House of Representatives for the initiative and expressed satisfaction with the exercise, hoping that the wishes of the people would be granted.

On his part, the Senator representing Uyo Senatorial district, which Etinan Federal Constituency is a component, Senator Ita Enang, hailed the excellent mobilisation and organisation of the constituency for the hearing.

“Let me commend Hon. Akpan for continuing in his ability to mobilise and organise the people of his constituency.  I have gone round other constituencies and what I have seen in Etinan is overwhelming,” Enang said.

Meanwhile, Cross River State branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has said it wants the ongoing constitutional review to expunge the clause of two-third majority of support for creation of new states and replace it with that of simple majority to make the agitation less cumbersome.

A legal practitioner, Mr. Sylvanus Odong, who disclosed this on behalf of the association, while contributing to the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution in Obubra local government area of the state, said with simply majority, new states would easily be created.

According to him, applying the clause of two-third majority in the exercise may deny some geo-political zones the opportunity of having new states as there may be a gang up against one or two zones given the dichotomy in the country on religious and ethnic lines.

The NBA, which doubted the success of the current exercise considering the failure of similar exercises in the past, also described the creation of State Independent Electoral Commission as a pain on Nigeria that has made mockery of democracy in the country.

Facilitator of the public forum and member representing Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency, Hon. John Owan Enoh, said the House of Representatives was determined to come out with a constitution that would be the product of the people.

Eno described the lower chamber of the National Assembly as a rallying point for Nigerian noting that it was out to ensure that different classes of Nigerians make their contribution to the envisaged constitution hence the decision to take the public session to the grassroots in all the 360 constituencies in the country.

Chairman of the occasion and former Secretary to Cross River State Government, Chief Johnson Ebokpo, said it was expected that Nigerians having achieved independence/nationhood 52 years ago, should settle down and be proud to be Nigerians with proper constitution to guide them but that this was yet to be.

Ebokpor said there had been complaints that the 1999 Constitution was imposed on the people with some distortion but commended the efforts of the national assembly towards producing people oriented constitution and also commended Eno for always keeping in touch with his constituents.

Meanwhile, there were disagreements among the constituencies in the state on the creation of additional state for the South-east geo-political zone.

While Akamkpa/Biase constituency supported to creation for equity, justice and fairness, Obubra/Etung constituency opposed it reasoning that it could jeopardise their agitation for the creation of Ogoja state.

Many constituencies in the state opposed the amendment of Section 214 (1) of the 1999 Constitution to enable for the creation of state police in the country, saying the present federal police structure was good enough to handle the security situation in the country.

The representative of Akamkpa/Biase constituency, Hon. Daniel Asuquo, promised that all the resolutions of the people from the various constituencies would be properly presented without distortion.

Mr. Etim Inyang, a legal practitioner from Akamkpa/Biase Federal Constituency said that it was unfair for state governors to be called Chief Security Officers without any control.

“State governors are not in control of Commissioner of Police, yet they are called chief security officers; it is unfair and this should not be allowed to continue,” he said.

Also, contributors at the Akpabuyo/Bakassi/Calabar South Federal Constituency said that the present Federal structure of the Nigeria Police Force should remain.
The constituencies also voted for amendment to Section 197 (1) of the Constitution to abolish the state Independent Electoral Commission.

They said the present Independent National Electoral Commission should be strengthened to allow it conduct all elections in the country.

They called for the amendment of the Section 162 (1) of the constitution to abolish ‘State Joint Local Government Account’ and to allow Local Government Councils receive their allocations directly.

A former Minister for Heath, Dr. Emmanuel Nsa, said there was need for the amendment of Section 8 of the Constitution to remove ambiguities in the process of creation of states.

“Let us make creation of states easier by advocating a simple majority in the National Assembly so that those who have genuine cases for state creation should have it. All the geo-political zones should have equal number of states,” he said.

In a related development, the people of Cross River State have proposed one single term tenure for Presidents and Governors and the office of the President should be on merit rather than zoning.The People agreed that the Section 135 and 180 (2) be amended to create a single tenure of six years for the Office of President and Governor respectively.

They agreed that there should be specific provision in the constitution to take care of the interests of persons with disability.

A representative of the NBA for Akpabuyo/Bakassi/Calabar South federal constituency, Mr. Emma Ebika, advised the National Assembly to ensure the unity of Nigeria.
“NBA is of the opinion that every effort should be made to keep Nigeria one. Let the vote of the people count at any time. Whatever they say should reflect on the decision of the National Assembly,” he said.

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The Definition of Blogging

The definition of blogging is something that is very
much in flux, as the new technologies that appear every
day redefine what a blog is, what a blog can be, and
what a blog should do. For many years, blogs were
defined as text-based websites that kept records of days,
similar to a captain's log on a sailing ship. However,
this started to change as the group of people who kept
blogs became more diverse. The more bloggers began
to explore the limits of the medium and of the
technology that made it possible, the more the
boundaries of what could be called a "blog" expanded.
              
Today, there are an abundance of photo blogs, and there
are even video blogs as well. Mobile blogging devices
may well change the definition of blogging entirely by
making it possible for bloggers to create new kinds of
posts. Another element of the blogosphere that is
starting to redefine blogging is the corporate blog. As
more companies hire writers to keep blogs with the sole
purpose of creating positive buzz about their brand,
bloggers across the globe are arguing about whether
these manufactured blogs are really worthy of the name.
Between all of these different forces that are constantly
expanding and reshaping the blogosphere, it is difficult
to imagine that the definition of what is and is not a
blog will ever remain fixed for very long.  

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Blogging: Learning How to Make Money Blogging

There are two major types of business models that
entrepreneurs use to make money blogging. The first
and most common way to turn a blog into a profit
making machine is to sell advertising to different
companies and brands who want to reach that blog's
readers. The second kind of money making blog is one
that helps a single brand improve its image by creating
positive associations between the blog and the product
in the mind of consumers. Both kinds of blogs can
make a lot of money, especially if the creator has a keen
mind for marketing.

If you are blogging with the goal of selling advertising,
there are two basic ways that you can go about
recruiting sponsors who want to put ads on your site;
you can let someone else do all of the legwork, or you
can do the work yourself and keep all of the revenue.
Within the first group, many people make money
blogging by selling space through Google's AdSense
program. The advantages of this program are numerous,
as it requires very little effort on the part of the blogger
or webmaster to begin raking in profits. However, most
people discover that they make less money through this
method than they had hoped that their blog would earn.

Selling advertising directly to companies who want to
put banner ads or sponsored links on your blog can take
quite a bit of time, but it is often fairly lucrative. If you
have a lot of contacts in industries that are related to the
topic of your blog, you may want to try to go this route.
People who have a strong background in sales and are
experienced at pitching proposals can make quite a bit
of money by renting blog space to interested companies.
The most serious problem with this model is that you
often have to build quite a sizable readership before you
can attract advertisers, which can mean that you have to
do several months of work before you start to make
money blogging.

As blogging becomes a more and more lucrative
business, a lot of established companies are considering
how they can get into the action. One way that
companies are capitalizing on the blog movement is by
having blogs that provide a kind of friendly face for
their corporation. Often, a company will employ an
established blogger to create a weblog designed
specifically to appeal to that company's customers and
to create positive associations with the brand in
consumers' minds. More than one writer who never
even dreamed that he or she could make money
blogging has been approached by a company and
offered quite a pretty penny for this kind of gig.    

Read More

5 Ways To Improve Your Adsense Earnings

If webmasters want to monetize their websites, the great way to do it is through Adsense. There are lots of webmasters struggling hard to earn some good money a day through their sites. But then some of the “geniuses” of them are enjoying hundreds of dollars a day from Adsense ads on their websites. What makes these webmasters different from the other kind is that they are different and they think out of the box.

The ones who have been there and done it have quite some useful tips to help those who would want to venture into this field. Some of these tips have boosted quite a lot of earnings in the past and is continuously doing so.

Here are some 5 proven ways on how best to improve your Adsense earnings.

1. Concentrating on one format of Adsense ad. The one format that worked well for the majority is the Large Rectangle (336X280). This same format have the tendency to result in higher CTR, or the click-through rates. Why choose this format out of the many you can use? Basically because the ads will look like normal web links, and people, being used to clicking on them, click these types of links. They may or may not know they are clicking on your Adsense but as long as there are clicks, then it will all be for your advantage.

2. Create a custom palette for your ads. Choose a color that will go well with the background of your site. If your site has a white background, try to use white as the color of your ad border and background. The idea to patterning the colors is to make the Adsense look like it is part of the web pages. Again, This will result to more clicks from people visiting your site.

3. Remove the Adsense from the bottom pages of your site and put them at the top. Do not try to hide your Adsense. Put them in the place where people can see them quickly. You will be amazed how the difference between Adsense locations can make when you see your earnings.

4. Maintain links to relevant websites. If you think some sites are better off than the others, put your ads there and try to maintaining and managing them. If there is already lots of Adsense put into that certain site, put yours on top of all of them. That way visitor will see your ads first upon browsing into that site.

5. Try to automate the insertion of your Adsense code into the webpages using SSI (or server side included). Ask your web administrator if your server supports SSI or not. How do you do it? Just save your Adsense code in a text file, save it as “adsense text”, and upload it to the root directory of the web server. Then using SSI, call the code on other pages. This tip is a time saver especially for those who are using automatic page generators to generate pages on their website.

These are some of the tips that have worked well for some who want to generate hundreds and even thousands on their websites.  It is important to know though that ads are displayed because it fits the interest of the people viewing them. So focusing on a specific topic should be your primary purpose because the displays will be especially targeted on a topic that persons will be viewing already.

Note also that there are many other Adsense sharing the same topic as you. It is best to think of making a good ad that will be somewhat different and unique than the ones already done. Every clickthrough that visitors make is a point for you so make every click count by making your Adsense something that people will definitely click on.

Tips given by those who have boosted their earnings are just guidelines they want to share with others. If they have somehow worked wonders to some, maybe it can work wonders for you too. Try them out into your ads and see the result it will bring.

If others have done it, there is nothing wrong trying it out for yourself.

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Google Adsense: How to Write Great Blogs and Watch Your Adsense Dollars Add Up

The best thing about blogging is that there are no rules.  You can write about anything you want.  A self-publisher’s dream!   There are some things you can do though to maximize your Google Adsense profits.  Narrow your subject.  Don’t just write about shopping.  Write about shopping for antique dresser drawer pulls.  Write every day. Have a blog at more than one site. If you develop a readership, you’re more likely to increase your profits.

Write about something you know or want to know or at the very least care about. If you try to write a great blog based on a “hot keyword” yet it’s something you could care less about, you’ll likely not stay with it long. Experiment and see what works for you. You can write based on your own opinion or something factual. You can review a product or service or a movie.  Read other people’s blogs and notice how many reads they’re getting.  Above all, have fun.  After all, it’s free and if you’re persistent you’ll see your Google Adsense dollars adding up.

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Adsense: 3 Reasons Why Adsense Is Essential For Content Sites

To know why Adsense is essential for your content sites is to know first how this works.
 

The concept is really simple, if you think about it. The publisher or the webmaster inserts a java script into a certain website. Each time the page is accessed, the java script will pull advertisements from the Adsense program. The ads that are targeted should therefore be related to the content that is contained on the web page serving the ad. If a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying the search engine for the click.

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Health: ‘Regular Exercise, Antidote to Heart Attack’

Nigerians have been advised to engage in regular exercise as a means of preventing risk factors of coronary heart disease that now kills people in large numbers worldwide.

Dr. Funmi Akinloye, who made the appeal at a recent screening for the detection of hypertension organised by Nigerian Heart Foundation in Lagos, as part of activities marking the World Health Day noted that researches are still trying to find out exactly why physical activity plays such an important part in preventing coronary heart disease, but said that physical activity helps to lower high blood pressure and prevents it from occurring.

Akinloye who revealed that high blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease, explained that regular, moderate rhythmic exercise, such as walking, cycling or dancing help to reduce blood pressure in people with the condition.

According to her, regular physical activity plays important role in achieving or keeping to healthy weight. ‘’The amount of activity you do is as important as the food you eat. This is because the exercise you do is as important as the food you eat. This means balancing the energy taken into your body (the calories in your food and drink) with the energy you use up (through activity), she noted.

People who are overweight according to her, are more likely to have high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol levels and so have a greater risk of coronary heart disease. she also noted that physical activity helps with diabetes, stressing that if one already has diabetes, physical activity can help to control it.

‘’Physical activity can also help prevent people from getting diabetes, which is very important because men who have diabetes are about three times more likely to get coronary heart disease than those without diabetes and women with diabetes are about four times more likely to get the disease,’’ she stressed.

Exercise according to her helps to prevent blood clotting as it helps to raise the protective cholesterol, but however warned that it is important to increase physical exercise gradually.

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Mikel, Moses, Apam Out Of Venezuela Friendly

Chelsea super stars, John Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and France-based central defender, Onyekachi Apam will not be part of this week’s international friendly between Nigeria and Venezuela in Miami, Florida, United States.

Head Coach, Stephen Keshi said Sunday that the trio had different reasons for not being part of the game, but that should not bring fears to Nigerians as capable replacements have already been named for the encounter.

Mikel for instance has family matters to settle bothering on his future as a father, following some domestic accidents.

“Timber wolves player, Bright Dike, who stars in the MLS for Timberwolves Fc has already been invited to play in his place and we are sure that he will do well in the encounter, especially as he is based in the United States," Keshi declared.

For Victor Moses, Sharks FC’s Gomo Onduku, who has been in splendid form at the national camp has been drafted in and will be part of the team that will travel Sunday night to Miami, Florida for the encounter against Venezuela.

“I have been there before and we don’t have any grudges against players withdrawing from international friendlies, especially when they are compelled to do that but we want to be told on time so that we can make replacements," Keshi declared on Sunday morning.

All other players invited for the encounter have since confirmed their early arrival, even as the team jets out Sunday night via Delta Airlines for the game that comes up on Wednesday night in Florida, USA.

NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, is expected to lead the delegation for the friendly, that kickstarts Nigeria’s preparations for the 2013 African Cup of Nations to be hosted in South Africa.

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Nigeria: Former Nigeria Track Star, Omagbemi, Dies at 81

One of Nigeria’s foremost track and field stars and administrators, Jimmy Omagbemi, died Monday, aged 81 years.

Omagbemi, who has been living in the United States of America for several years now since retiring from the National Sports Commission (NSC), was confirmed dead from protracted illness by his former athlete son, Victor.

Although details of his burial arrangements remain sketchy Monday, there were speculations Monday night that the former track & field coach may be buried in America Tuesday.

Omagbemi had a podium finish at several major athletics championships. He placed second in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Game’s 4×110 yards Relay (with the likes of Smart Akraka, Thomas Obi, and Victor Odofin). He was fifth in the 100 yards.

He was a member of Nigeria’s team to both the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games in Rome and Tokyo respectively were he placed decently even if he did not make it to the podium.

President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chief Solomon Ogba, expressed his sadness at the death of the respected former athlete and administrator.

“We are deeply sad that Chief Omagbemi passed on now that we need his fatherly advice on how to reposition the country’s track & field towards achieving success at future games,” observed the AFN chief.

He promised that the AFN will be involved in whatever plan the family of the late Omagbemi have in place to give him a befitting burial.

Omagbemi’s daughter in-law, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, was too much in a shock to speak on the late track & field icon Monday night.

Prodded, she muttered; “Only God knows when to take. He giveth and also taketh. Even if my father in-law had lived for 200 years, we still would have been sad that he is leaving us.”

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10 Best Internet Businesses That Makes Highest Money Online in 2012

Are you looking for an online business?
The truth is, making money online is not FREE. It costs money to learn, money to implement and time to grow. There are so many opportunities online that most people are absolutely confused about which one to follow.
First of all, before choosing any internet money-making opportunity, you need to be sure that whatever you choose will let you build  a business. Anything that won't let you build a business is absolutely a no-go area. 

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How to be Happy: Genuine Happiness Comes from Within

Life isn’t the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?”  Then I pause and observed for awhile… I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self’.

So, how does one become genuinely happy? Step 1 is to love yourself.

My theology professor once said that “loving means accepting.”  To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.

Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have – truly, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”

When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.

I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.

How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you… every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFLs. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.”, instead of looking at it all blank and murmur “Geez, I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!” and then walk away.

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life doesn’t always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or not even the best. So, how do you become genuinely happy?  Every one has his own definition of ‘happiness’. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much best selling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success. So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple. You don’t have to have the best things in this world. Its about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling your self “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – that will make you a genuinely happy person.

When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults. You pass step 1 in the project “how to become genuinely happy”.For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten folds back.

Again, throw me that same question “how to become genuinely happy?”. I’ll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted- “Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Coz then you don’t just become happy… you become free.”

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Getting anxious over Anxiety Depression?

A lot of people who are exerting too much of their brain power usually exhaust not only their physical strength when engaging in various multi-tasking activities, they also tend to over extend their brains up to the point when it plainly needs some good old time for relaxation. A lot of busy people who seem to cannot fathom the idea of relaxing and taking time of from work, as well as their worries, tend to actually start having nervous breakdowns, anxiety depression and all sorts of mental illnesses that can cause a person's sanity to go haywire, fortunately, if you're one of those poor unfortunate ones who are unable to distress and is constantly worried and fussing over things, there are actually available cures and various treatments for treating anxiety depression.

Anxiety depression is actually characterized by all sorts of irregularities and erratic behavior from the person who is suffering from it, this is usuallu due to certain stress triggers that may tend to easily cause a person undue jitters and stress. Also, a lot of people who tend to get easily nervous over stressful activities are actually prone to having anxiety depression, its just a matter of being strong-willed when it comes to facing difficult and stress-prone activities. It may be pretty hard to overcome at first, but trying to be calm and cool in times of extreme pressure is what'll actually save your mental health from going totally downward spiral.

When it comes to effectively curing one's self from a mental illness, one must keep in mind that you have to be actually honest with yourself and assess what kind of depression or mental illness you actually have, go to reputable psychiatrist to get yourself diagnosed correctly as well as be able to get the right depression treatment for yourself. Here are the various types of depression:

Manic or Bipolar depression - characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one's mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the
next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell.

Postpartum depression - characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this.

Dysthimia - characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it's been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately.

Cyclothemia - characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one's moods.

Seasonal Affective Disorder - characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies however, prove that more people
actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person's mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time. 

But the type of depression that has actually been proven to be quite common among people is anxiety depression, which is actually characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things. Anxiety, a supposedly normal behavior that'll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity like first date jitters or a grueling exam the following day. Anxiety actually helps you get psyched up towards facing certain "difficult situations"; anxiety therefore is actually a good thing. Anxiety depression however, is simply the opposite, not to be easily dismissed as a "case of the nerves"; Anxiety depression is in actuality an illness that can be caused from the biological makeup of an individual, or in other words, a hereditary illness.

Also, there are actually various types of Anxiety depression, each having its own unique characteristics. Take for example Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD, this kind of Anxiety depression is a lot more complicated than the average Anxiety depression, in spite of possibly being a day-to-day habit for those who suffer this kind of Anxiety depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually makes the individual quite more paranoid than usual, anxiety attacks are more frequent, even absurd at times. They can even be anxious even when there's no apparent reason that calls for them to behave in such a way. People suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually shows a lot of symptoms, from lack of sleep, to being unable to relax, getting tired easily, cannot concentrate on what they're doing and even suffering from depression.  This kind of Anxiety depression is still curable; just a little work will actually do the trick.

Consult a reputable cognitive behavior therapist who'll help give the individual the therapy that he or she needs to help him or her loosen up, also prescribed medicines are sort of a must to help these individuals battle anxiety attacks, help them calm down and relax.

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Christmas in African Nations

    Christmas celebrations in African nations is characterized by
much outdoor activity because the season often occurs during a time
when the weather is pleasant. Using palm trees and participating in
processions are also characteristic features of activities related to
Christmas in many parts of Africa.
    In South Africa, activities that occur outside during Christmas
include the usual caroling, but also the unusual ones of swimming and
camping. The beach and mountains play an important role during
Christmas in South Africa because the season occurs during the hottest
time of the year - summer.
    Given the pleasant nature of the weather during Christmas,
families also take advantage of it by often going sightseeing in the
countryside on a relaxing drive in the late evening of Christmas Day. A
rich and sumptuous menu that includes a suckling pig or roast beef,
turkey, mince pies, yellow rice, vegetables and puddings usually makes
up the traditional South African Christmas dinner.
    To create a festive environment, decorated pine branches and fir,
sparkling cotton wool and tinsel are used in homes and businesses as
decorations.
    A similar decorative pattern of using evergreen, palm trees and
lighted candles are also seen in countries such as Ghana and Liberia.
While these are used in homes and businesses, they are also often
carried in processions and during caroling activities.
    While South Africans gather at the beach during Christmas time to
enjoy the warm summer waters, people in other African nations often
gather outside at in town squares and in the streets to march, sing and
enjoy an overall feeling of merriment.
    Despite the seemingly general similarity in activities, however,
countries have their own individual style that makes Christmas
celebrations unique.
    Of all the celebrations in African nations, Christmas activities
in Ethiopia stand out for their difference in when they are celebrated
and how it is done. One of the features that make Ethiopian Christmas
different is that the main celebratory event occurs    on Jan. 7, around
the time known as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day in North and South
America.
    Given the general modest economic financial situations of a
significant number of the population in many African countries,
Christmas celebrations also tend to occur over a shorter period of
time, compared to activities in more wealthier countries.
    Another difference in celebrations of Christmas in Ethiopia is
the participation of various people who take part in a pilgrimage and
converge on the capital city during Christmas Eve. These wanderers fill
the night air with a din of praying and chanting and create a
multicolor spectacle when they gather on Christmas morning to have a
religious service.
    But retaining a similarity with other African nations, Ethiopians
enjoy a Christmas dinner that includes a meat stew. Stews, rice, root
vegetables such as yams, breads and soups often are part of the menu of
traditional Christmas day dinners in African nations.
    Christmas dinners are likely enjoyed by families outside, where
everyone shares the meal while sitting in a circular pattern outside
under the shade of a sprawling tree, instead of sitting in a formal
setting at a table.
    As is the practice in every household during Christmas, Africans
also exchange gifts. Popular items that are exchanged as Christmas
gifts include cotton cloth, soaps, sweets, pencils and books, all very
practical items that can be readily used. Again, this may be related to
the modest financial resources of up to half the population in many
African countries, as well as to cultural norms. Individuals aren't
able to afford extravagant gifts but they still want to surprise
children, family and friends at Christmas with an unexpected gift. The
generally pervasive cultural norm of humility and modesty that exists
among traditional African peoples, also plays an important role in not
having overreaching extravagance at Christmas.

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Blogging News Stories as They Happen

Blogging news stories as they unfold is one of the most
exciting and controversial applications of technology
that bloggers have discovered. One thing that makes the
blogosphere so active is the fact that it is possible to
update a blog instantaneously, so the news on blogs
tends to be more current than the news in the paper, or
on television. Unlike news delivered by these other
media, news that appears on blogs does not have to
travel through a series of editors and administrators
before it reaches the public eye. This has some
advantages, and some distinct disadvantages.

One of the most notable cases of news hitting a blog
before appearing in other media took place in July 2005
when terrorism struck London. As passengers were
evacuated from a subway car near an explosion, one
man took several photographs of the scene with his
cellular phone, and within an hour these images were
posted online. First-person accounts of the catastrophe
began appearing on blogs soon after these photos
appeared, and people all over the world learned about
the events in London by reading the words and seeing
the photos posted by bloggers.

The fact that these stories and images were being spread
directly by individuals operating without the added
filter of a reporter helped to make the crisis feel very
immediate to people across the globe. When it comes to
blogging, news often appears in a very personal context.
This has the potential to be the beginning of an exciting
new era of reporting, one that takes "New Journalism"
to it's logical next step by putting the power to shape
how the news is written and read directly into the hands
of the public.

Many bloggers and cultural commentators who are
champions of the weblog movement feel that this
growing trend of individuals who getting their news
from blogs is a good thing, because it makes the flow of
information more democratic. By decentralizing the
control of news, blogs allow more voices to enter the
field of debate about important current events.
However, many people are adamantly opposed to the
use of blogs as news outlets, and there are plenty of
good arguments on this side of the debate. Unlike
newspapers or television stations, few blogs have fact-
checkers, and there is little attention paid to journalistic
accountability on many blogs. This can lead to the rapid
spread of misinformation, and more than one falsehood
has taken the blogosphere by storm. The questions
about whether blogging news as it happens is ethical or
not are very complicated, but no matter where you stand
on the topic of current events blogs you are almost sure
to agree that this movement has the potential to
revolutionize how modern people get their news.

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Google Adsense - The Easiest Money To Make Online?

For the last couple of months, Google Adsense has dominated forums, discussions and newsletters all over the Internet. Already, there are tales of fabulous riches to be made and millions made by those who are just working from home. It seems that Google Adsense have already dominated the internet marketing business and is now considered the easiest way to making money online.

The key to success with Adsense is the placing of ads on pages that are receiving high traffic for high demand keywords. The higher the cost-per-click to the advertiser, the more you will receive per click from your site. Obviously, it does not pay to target low cost-per-click keywords and place them on pages that do not receive hits.

With all the people getting online and clicking away everyday, it is no wonder why Google Adsense has become an instant hit.

For some who are just new to this market, it would be a blow to their pride knowing that their homepage is buried somewhere in the little ads promoting other people’s services. But then, when they get the idea that they are actually earning more money that way, all doubts and skepticism is laid to rest.

There are two major, and clever, factors that some successful webmaster and publishers are learning to blend together in order to make money easier using Adsense.

1. Targeting high traffic pages on your website. If you check on your logs, you will discover that many of your visitors are taking advantage of the free affiliate marketing resources and ebooks that you are offering on your site. In simple words, your ads are working effectively and are generating more clicks. It also means more money for you.

2. Placing Adsense links on pages that are producing little, or better yet, no profit. By placing Adsense on a free resources page, you will reduce the amount of potential customers being lost to other sites. Tricky, but effective nonetheless.

When learned to work effectively, these two factors are actually a good source of producing a minimal amount of revenue from a high traffic page. Many people are using this strategy to pick up some extra and cash with Adsense. This is also especially rewarding to informational sites that focus their efforts on delivering powerful affiliate link free content to their visitors. Now they can gain a monetary return on their services.

With the many techniques that people are now learning on how to make the easiest money by their Adsense, it is not surprising that Google is trying everything to update and polish their Adsense in order to maintain their good image.

The possibility of adding is 2nd tier in Adsense is not impossible. With all the people spending more time in their Adsense now and still more getting into this line of marketing, there is no doubt about the many new improvements yet to be made. Imagine the smiles on the faces of the webmasters and publishers all around the world if ever they sign up for sub-affiliates and double or even triple the amount that they are already earning.
The one particularly handy money-making feature that is available with Adsense now is the ability to filter out up to 200 urls. These gives webmasters the option to block out low value offers from their pages as well as competitors to their websites. Talk about taking only those that are advantageous and discarding the ones that seem “useless”.

With Google Adsense, the possibilities are limitless. Yet there is also the possibility of someone taking advantage of the easy money process that this internet marketing is doing. If you think more about it, these negative factors may force Google to break down and thrash Adsense in the process. If that happens, people would have to go back to the old ways of internet marketing that does not make money online as easy as Adsense.

For now, however, Google Adsense is here to stay. As long as there are people wanting to earn some easy cash online just using their talents, the future ahead is looking good. Besides with all the strict guidelines that Google is enforcing over Adsense, it will take awhile for the Adsense privileges to be spammed and even terminated.

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Obama Re-elected as America's Preident

President Barack Obama handily defeated Gov. Mitt Romney and won himself a second term Tuesday after a bitter and historically expensive race that was primarily fought in just a handful of battleground states. Networks project that Obama beat Romney after nabbing the crucial state of Ohio.

The Romney campaign’s last-ditch attempt to put blue-leaning Midwestern swing states in play failed as Obama’s Midwestern firewall sent the president back to the White House for four more years. Obama picked up the swing states of New Hampshire, Michigan, New Mexico, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Ohio. Florida and Virginia are still too close to call, but even if he won them, they would not give Romney enough Electoral College votes to put him over the top. The popular vote will most likely be much narrower than the president’s Electoral College victory.

The Obama victory marks an end to a years-long campaign that saw historic advertisement spending levels, countless rallies and speeches, and three much-watched debates.

The Romney campaign cast the election as a referendum on Obama’s economic policies, frequently comparing him to former President Jimmy Carter and asking voters the Reagan-esque question of whether they are better off than they were four years ago. But the Obama campaign pushed back on the referendum framing, blanketing key states such as Ohio early on with ads painting him as a multimillionaire more concerned with profits than people. The Obama campaign also aggressively attacked Romney on reproductive rights issues, tying Romney to a handful of Republican candidates who made controversial comments about rape and abortion.

These ads were one reason Romney faced a steep likeability problem for most of the race, until his expert performance at the first presidential debate in Denver in October. After that debate, and a near universal panning of Obama’s performance, Romney caught up with Obama in national polls, and almost closed his favoribility gap with the president. In polls, voters consistently gave him an edge over Obama on who would handle the economy better and create more jobs, even as they rated Obama higher on caring about the middle class.

But the president’s Midwestern firewall–and the campaign’s impressive grassroots operation–carried him through. Ohio tends to vote a bit more Republican than the nation as a whole, but Obama was able to stave off that trend and hold an edge there over Romney, perhaps due to the president’s support of the auto bailout three years ago. Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan all but moved to Ohio in the last weeks of the campaign, trying and ultimately failing to erase Obama’s lead there.

A shrinking electoral battleground this year meant that only 14 states were really seen as in play, and both candidates spent most of their time and money in those states. Though national polls showed the two candidates in a dead heat, Obama consistently held a lead in the states that mattered. That, and his campaign’s much-touted get out the vote efforts and overall ground game, may be what pushed Obama over the finish line.

Now, Obama heads back to office facing what will most likely be bitterly partisan negotiations over whether the Bush tax cuts should expire. The House will still be majority Republican, with Democrats maintaining their majority in the Senate.

The loss may provoke some soul searching in the Republican Party. This election was seen as a prime opportunity to unseat Obama, as polls showed Americans were unhappy with a sluggish economy, sky-high unemployment, and a health care reform bill that remained widely unpopular. Romney took hardline positions on immigration, federal spending, and taxes during the long Republican primary when he faced multiple challenges from the right. He later shifted to the center in tone on many of those issues, but it’s possible the primary painted him into a too-conservative corner to appeal to moderates during the general election. The candidate also at times seemed unable to effectively counter Democratic attacks on his business experience and personal wealth.

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Lagos State Okada riders protest alleged killing of colleague by policeman in Lagos

Commercial motorcycle riders aka okada on Tuesday protested the alleged killing of one of the colleagues by a policeman in Ilupeju area of Lagos.

The protest led to confusion in the area as policemen fired bullets and teargas to disperse the protesters.

A witness wrote on Facebook that the policeman shot the okada rider dead after failing to stop the biker on Coker Road in Ilupeju.

The cyclist had successfully evaded the policeman’s attempt to arrest him when he was surprisingly shot dead.

More details on the okada rider’s killing were not immediately available.

Policemen and traffic agents have been accused of using brutal methods to enforce the Lagos State Traffic Law, which also bars okada riders from some roads in the metropolis.

There are reports that some policemen have actually killed some okada riders in the guise of enforcing the law.

Thousands of motorcycles belonging to okada riders have been seized and auctioned or destroyed.

However, the traffic law has come under widespread criticism for the strong arm tactics employed by policemen and traffic agents.

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