The Man Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR-Odunze Reginald C

When in 1999, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan became the deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, little did he know that he has date with destiny, not only with destiny but will at the tenth year became the president of the country and will be at that saddle for six good years.

If a soothsayer has told him  then that he will one day became the president of this great country, Nigeria, I know probably that he will not believe the man.

He was a loyal deputy, to his master, he kept his cool, and was not in only way planning to unseat his master, he perform his duties with zeal, happiness and determination,  and was that driving force that propelled him. Nothing propels a man more than that self awakening concept that everything is by the design of the creator.

What has failed many men in life is that of inordinate ambition, a desire to reach the zenith at the shortest possible time, a desire to outsmart your master, and even probably overthrow him. Such men fail to realize that such masters have seen others and decides to appoint them.

 In his daily book ministration, titled “Daily manna” Dr Chris Kwakpovwe noted that in life, one should endeavor to avoid the “3 great F that can finish a man or woman prematurely 1. Females  (women) 2. Fame (inordinate ambition or desire for greatness and pursuits of titles instead of God and 3. Fortune (love of money and inordinate desire to be rich”   Dr. Goodluck recognize that and that was the source of his success in life, coupled with name, because name matters a lot.

But what drives me in writing such memoir is the man desire never to shed any blood for power adding that what brought him so far is love and not hate. This is a great contrast to political postulations where it is aptly captured by Machiavelli “that for you to be a great leader, you have to be as a cunning as a force and as fierce as a lion”

That does not mean that politics is not good , in fact Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest American presidents once said “that politics is too good a vocation to be left alone for politicians”.

And Machiavelli in his monumental book, “The prince “noted that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. And that is the main reason, politicians stick to power. Though Machiavelli was dubbed the devil, by his enemies, associates and intellectual  and political hypocrites but he definitely made a point and such point to my greatest amazement has still been relevant till today, even though Machiavelli was writing during the time of Mussolini of France and Adolf Hitler of Germany. But what he opined has been relevant in most African countries, where there is that sit tight syndrome. The depose of Mubarak of Egypt, the death of Col Gadaffi of Libya  on what has come to be termed as Arab spring are still fresh in our minds. But why do politicians sit tight?  That is not our business today; our business is on the man Godluck Jonathan.

I have come to appreciate this man, not that I am a politician, neither was I given a political appointment. But the man has come to prove many people wrong that there will always be among the lot, who will not influence by the urge for power.

As I watch comment on social networks yesterday , the democracy day and even today, the common statement has been the change has come, but behind that change somebody has made it happen, by giving independence to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Goodluck has left an indelible footprints in the sands of time and in the annals of  history and in the future he will become to many, a tough act to follow, especially who wants to perpetuate themselves in power.

 

Odunze Reginald is the Lead Consultant, Chareg Consulting.

 

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Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch on sale for $131 million

Photo: The train station at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. (Reuters: Phil Klein)

Related Story: Lawyer puts price on Michael Jackson's death, as trial climaxes

Related Story: Michael Jackson damages claim absurd: promoters

Map: United States

Neverland, the sprawling California ranch that was once the location of "King of Pop" Michael Jackson's mind-boggling amusement park, is up for sale for $131 million, real estate agents say.

But an expert said the price tag was "optimistic," given the unproven charges of child molestation which tainted Jackson's final years before his death in 2009.
The late star built up his Neverland Ranch on 1,000 hectares outside Santa Barbara to include zoo animals, numerous amusement rides and lavish gardens.
It has 22 buildings, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The animals have been removed, save for a single llama, and the property has changed hands and is now called the Sycamore Valley Ranch.
An online property listing included pictures of the Normandy-style property, complete with pools and fountains, bridges and a decorative shrubbery with the name Neverland spelled out above a floral clock face.
An investment firm renovated the property and several real estate agents are looking for a buyer at the listing price of $131 million.

Photo: A chandelier hangs over a lofted main entryway of the main house. (Reuters: Phil Klein)

But experts said the sellers may struggle to reach their asking price, because of the property's former owner's tainted reputation.
"There is obviously a lot of affection for him and his talent," Randall Bell, a specialist in valuing stigmatised properties, told the Los Angeles Times.
"But it's hard to get by the fact that Neverland is closely associated with child molestation.
"I think US$100 million is very optimistic."
The property was bought about six years ago for $22.5 million by Thomas Barrack Jr's Colony Capital, the LA Times said.
The property includes a massive six-bedroom main house, a movie theatre and stage.
Jackson, considered by some to be the greatest pop artist of all time, wrote some of his top hits on the ranch.

Photo: A swimming pool on the property. (Reuters: Phil Klein)

But the ranch was also the infamous location where Jackson invited children to visit and sleep over and where he was accused of molesting young boys.
He was never found guilty in court, but the charges engulfed Jackson in the mid-2000s before the singer-songwriter died in 2009.
The Wall Street Journal reported that tours of the property will not be given.
At the time of his death Jackson was planning a global comeback tour to help him stave off bankruptcy, five years after being acquitted of child molestation charges that left his career in tatters.
He had debts of up to $500 million before his death, but in the five years since his executors have earned more than $700 million, according to a book, Michael Jackson Inc, published last year.
Money-making ventures have included the This Is It movie of rehearsals for the doomed tour, a touring Cirque du Soleil stage show and two posthumous albums.

Photo: A path leads to the main house. (Reuters: Phil Klein)

AFP

Culled from ABC News

New ways to prevent credit-card fraud

After the rash of retailer data breaches this past year, you may be tempted to stash your credit cards under your mattress and just pay cash. But even if you managed to avoid being a victim of fraud or were covered by your bank or card company for your losses, credit-card data breaches can still cause you headaches. In an effort to reduce losses, your purchases may be rejected if they appear to be unusual. To cover their costs, banks could jack up fees and interest rates. “Ultimately, everyone ends up paying for fraud in one way or another,” says Randy Vanderhoof, director at EMV Migration Forum, a card-security consortium. But there are a few new tools you can use to help take a bite out of credit-card fraud and keep your own cards safer.
Get a card with a chip
Banks have an October target date to start issuing new credit cards with an embedded microchip called EMV (named for its backers, Europay, MasterCard, and Visa), although many are running behind schedule. Every time you use a card with a chip, the information is stored as a one-time coded message, so any information stolen in a breach is later useless to the thief. For the same reason, the chip also makes it more difficult for fraudsters to steal your data at places such as gas stations to make a counterfeit card. One downside: The new chip won’t reduce the risk of fraud when you make purchases over the Internet because you still have to input your credit-card information.
Use a digital wallet
If you’re familiar with Apple Pay or Google Wallet, you know what a digital wallet is. The idea is that you can pay for retail goods with a wave of your smartphone and the costs are then charged to a credit card you choose. The mobile payment devices, currently accepted at less than 5 percent of retailers, add security through a process known as tokenization. When you pay, the wallet substitutes your credit-card info with a set of random numbers (a token), making the data useless to fraudsters.

Consider a credit-card remote control
More banks are offering smartphone apps that operate the credit cards they issue. You can set a card to work at one store but not another or in some but not all geographic regions, or you can simply turn it off altogether. Customers of Lone Star National Bank in McAllen, Texas, for example, have been using the technology for more than a year. In that time, fraud losses have dropped about 60 percent, according to a bank representative. In April, Discover launched a service, Freeze It, that lets you turn off your card if you misplace it. The service is available through the Discover mobile app, at discover.com, and by phone.
Switch to a smart card

A new device from Stratos, a company based in Ann Arbor, Mich., looks like a regular credit card. In fact, it’s a single piece of plastic onto which you can load all of your accounts using a special card scanner that Stratos provides. When you make a purchase, you tell the Stratos card which card you want to use and it encrypts the data. A nice feature: You can use a mobile app to automatically lock the card if you happen to misplace it. The service costs $95 per year (or $145 for two years). Coin and Plastc are companies that offer similar smart cards.

Put your finger on it

MasterCard is working with Zwipe, a company based in Oslo, Norway, on a card that uses biometric technology. Instead of dipping or swiping your card at the store, you place your finger over a built-in sensor on the card, then point the card at the payment terminal. The sensor matches your fingerprint with an image of it stored inside the card before allowing a charge to go through. MasterCard expects to launch the card in the U.K. this year before bringing it to the U.S.

Culled from consumer reports

5 once-prestigious jobs that are now B-List-By Catey Hill

Once upon a time, parents couldn’t stop bragging when their sons or daughters were studying to be lawyers or family doctors. But thanks to our changing job market — and the fact that college and graduate school costs have ballooned — some of these formerly brass-ring jobs are losing their luster. Here are five once-prestigious jobs that aren’t quite what they used to be.

Lawyer
Overall enrollment in law school has plummeted to a 27-year low and enrollment of first-year law students to a 40-year low, according to a report on annual enrollment released in December by the American Bar Association. That’s likely because those considering becoming lawyers know two things: 1) they’ll likely face relatively dismal job prospects upon graduation, and 2) they’ll likely have a ton of debt coming out of law school.
A report released last year by the National Association for Law Placement found that overall employment for recent law grads fell for the sixth straight year in 2013 (to 84.5%); unemployment specifically among 2013 grads was 12.9%, a slight uptick from a year prior. And even those who are employed may not be getting rich — the median starting salary is $62,000, down 13% over the past six years — and still far from the cushy six figures Mom was probably hoping for.
Furthermore, they’ll often contend with six-figure debt. According to the New America Foundation, the typical debt load (undergrad and graduate debt combined) for those who go to law school is nearly $141,000 among those who borrow money — an increase of more than $51,000 from 2004, which is climbing faster than that of many other professions. That means law grads who had to borrow money are likely to face typical monthly payments of nearly $1,200, which can be hard to shoulder if you don’t land a six-figure job.
Combine those two factors with the less-than-stellar reputation some lawyers garner (ever heard the phrase “colder than a lawyer’s heart”?) and you can see why this once lucrative, prestigious career has now been relegated to the B-list for many.
Professor
The academic job market isn’t what is used to be: Since 2001, the percentage of Ph.D. graduates who have neither a job nor a postdoctoral position lined up upon graduation has climbed steadily, and now more than one in three recent Ph.D. grads don’t have either.

Plus, those prestigious and coveted tenure-track positions that give you veritable job security and sabbaticals are increasingly rare, thanks in part to the fact that some colleges are cutting such positions to save money. From 1975 to 2007, the percentage of tenure-track positions fell from 20.3% to 9.9%, while the number of full-time non-tenure track positions rose from 13% to 18.5% and part-time from 30.2% to 50.3%; non-tenure-track positions typically come with less job security and sometimes less pay. “For the last thirty years the share of tenured and tenure-track faculty positions has been declining, while the proportion of non-tenure-track appointments (both full-time and part-time) has continued to grow,” Boston University notes.

Stockbroker

At one time, being a stockbroker was a genteel and lucrative position, and while it can still be lucrative, few see it as genteel (sorry people, but post-financial-crisis mom’s probably not going to brag to her friends about you being a stockbroker). “It used to a more prestigious job,” says Nicole Williams, founder of career firm WORKS. “Now it’s almost like you have to prove you are ethical.”

Plus, the big bucks are often harder to come by. This is thanks, in part, to the fact that a lot of what stockbrokers do can now be done online, so there’s sometimes less of a need for a full-service broker. The pay, while extremely decent, isn’t exactly going to make most stockbrokers rich either: The median salary is a little over $71,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Family doctor

While some doctors certainly make bank (for example, the median salary of an orthopedic surgeon is $435,000, according to Salary.com), family practitioners — who are among the lowest paid of all medical specialties — now face similar challenges to what lawyers do. Even though family practitioners can expect a median salary of well over six figures once they complete residency, the median amount of debt med students who borrowed had upon graduation was $180,000; nearly eight in 10 had more than $100,000 and fully 10% had more than $300,000. What’s more, once they graduate from medical school, they still have three years of residency to complete — and will likely make only about $50,000 a year during that time. And “it’s more expensive to be a physician now” thanks in part to insurance issues, including payments from insurance companies and the cost of insurance (like malpractice) required for those who want to hang up their own shingle, says Williams.

Travel agent

It used to be that companies and individuals would feel lost without the help of a travel consultant or agent to help them plan their trips, but thanks to the Internet, that’s changed. “People book online now — you don’t usually need a person to do that,” explains executive coach and career consultant Marc Dorio. That may explain why the field is rapidly drying up — and is projected to continue to well into the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that from 2012 to 2022, the number of travel agent/consultant jobs will decrease by 12%; furthermore, the pay isn’t the best (a median of $34,600 a year with the lowest 10% earning less than $20,000 a year and the top 10% not even topping a median of $60,000).

Culled from marketwatch

Bad credit can cost you a job, home, smartphone and more Kiplinger -Cameron Huddleston

A poor credit history can make it tough to borrow money. Dings on your credit report - late or missed payments, or accounts in collection - can hurt your credit score, which is a factor lenders use when determining whether to extend credit to you. The lower your credit score, the more of a risk you're considered to be. And the riskier borrower you are, the more you will pay in interest - if you can get a loan at all.
Lenders aren't the only ones who are looking at your credit score and history. In fact, you might be surprised how much of an impact bad credit can have on many aspects of your life. Here are five examples:
You might pay more for insurance. Insurance companies consider credit reports and scores when pricing coverage for auto and homeowner's insurance, says John Ulzheimer, credit expert for Credit Sesame, a Web site that offers information and advice on credit and debt. Insurers typically offer discounts for those with high scores. If you don't meet the insurer's threshold (which varies from company to company), you'll miss out on the good credit discount and pay higher rates as a result. Even worse, poor credit can lead to denial of coverage, Ulzheimer says.
Utility companies might require a deposit. Public utilities won't deny services except in extreme situations, Ulzheimer says, but they can insist on deposits. The decision to charge a deposit (or waive a deposit requirement) is largely based on a customer's credit report, he says. Remember, utilities are billing you for water, gas, electricity and other services based on the actual amount used, so they need assurances that you can be trusted to pay for what you've already consumed.
You might have trouble getting a cell phone. Wireless carriers will check your credit if you want to buy a cell phone with a service contract, says Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education for Credit.com. If your score is low, it's an indication that you haven't handled credit well - and, therefore, might not be a reliable customer. So wireless carriers might charge you a deposit (or higher deposit than what they charge customers with better credit), she says. Or they might limit your options to the most basic service or a pre-paid phone plan. You could run into a similar problem with cable TV and Internet providers, Ulzheimer says.
You might get turned down for a job. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 47% of employers consider credit history when making hiring decisions. Credit history isn't the most important factor employers weigh when deciding whether to hire someone, but it can play a role, according to the SHRM report. Employers who conduct credit checks typically do so to reduce theft or other criminal activity. But nearly 20% of the employers surveyed by SHRM said the primary reason they look at the credit histories of job candidates is to assess their overall trustworthiness.

You might have trouble finding a home. Property management companies screen prospective tenants before handing over the keys to an apartment or house, Ulzheimer says. If you have poor credit, you might have to pay a bigger deposit. Or you might have your lease application denied, he says. Home buyers need a credit score of 740 or more to get the best rates on a mortgage, Detweiler says. Not only will your rate be higher if your score is below 640, she says, but your loan options will be limited, which might put home buying out of reach.

Culled from Kiplinger

The Retirement Crisis: Statistics Everyone Should See-Eric McWhinnie

Source: TCRS

The retirement crisis in America does not discriminate against consumers based on age; it’s an equal opportunity punisher seeking out anyone not properly handling their personal finances. We may hear one generation is more doomed than the other to spend their so-called golden years in a perpetual state of poverty, but truth be told, every age group in America has its fair share of retirement problems.
Who wants to be a millionaire? A new report from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS) finds that workers of all ages think they will need to accumulate a median of $1 million to live comfortably in retirement, presenting a wall of worry to savers. While this figure is merely guesswork by many of the respondents, there is a legitimate foundation of concern when taking a closer inspection at how workers are building their nest eggs. Let’s take a look at how five age brackets are handling retirement planning these days.

Twenty-somethings:

Young workers may not be as helpless as previously thought. Impressively, 67% of twenty-somethings are already saving for retirement through an employer-sponsored retirement plan or outside of work, and they started saving at a median age of only 22. In fact, 68% expect these accounts to serve as their primary source of income.
However, this demographic faces financial challenges not commonly seen in other age groups. Four out of five of twenty-somethings are concerned Social Security will not be available by the time they retire. Furthermore, 34% say paying off student loans or credit cards is their greatest financial priority right now. Making matters worse, the aftermath of the Great Recession still haunts retirement portfolios. Nearly a quarter of twenty-somethings who are saving for retirement are invested mostly in bonds, money market funds, cash, and other risk adverse investments. Due to inflation, being too conservative with money is a real threat to retirement aspirations.

Source: iStock

Thirty-somethings:

With the Great Recession in the rear-view mirror, 43% of thirty-somethings say they have either fully recovered or were not impacted by the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression. Nearly eight out of 10 are saving for retirement, and started placing money aside for their future self at a median age of 25. Three out of 10 who participate in a retirement plan are saving at least 10% of their annual pay.
This group may be feeling too confident, though. The report finds that 52% of thirty-somethings believe they are building a large enough retirement nest egg, but 57% have only “guessed” how much they will truly need in retirement, and 68% agree they don’t know as much as they should about retirement investing.
“Thirty-something workers are now well into their careers, albeit with the major disruption of the Great Recession. The good news is many are saving for retirement,” said Catherine Collinson, president of TCRS, in a press statement. “For those who are not yet saving, now is the time for them to get started. For those who are saving, now is the time to save even more and expand their efforts to include building knowledge and planning.”

Source: Thinkstock

Forty-somethings:

If you haven’t started saving for retirement by now, time is running out for a multi-decade savings period. On the positive side, 76% of forty-somethings are saving for retirement, and 82% who are offered a 401(k) or similar plan participate in it. Nonetheless, this is the age group where life catches up to you if you’re not careful. “Forty-something workers endured the Great Recession and are in their sandwich years, which can include a delicate balancing act of work, kids and possibly aging parents, and they are feeling financially frazzled,” said Collinson.
Only 10% of workers in their forties are “very confident” they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle, while 27% have not yet begun to recover or believe they will never recover from the recession. Despite the majority of forty-somethings saving for retirement, they are only saving a median of 7% of their annual pay. Almost a quarter have taken a loan or early withdrawal from a retirement plan. These figures help explain why 3 in 5 forty-somethings also expect to work past age 65 or don’t plan to retire at all.

Source: Thinkstock

Fifty-somethings:

The time is now or never to boost your retirement savings. With catch-up contributions available to people at least 50 years old, 37% of fifty-somethings say saving for retirement is their greatest financial priority. Furthermore, 83% who are offered a 401(k) or similar plan participate in the plan, while 61% are also saving outside of an employer plan. Three in 10 workers are contributing more than 10% of their annual pay.
Age brings wisdom, which brings the stark reality of how retirement will play out. Four in 10 fifty-somethings expect their standard of living to decrease when they retire, and only 45% agree they are building a large enough nest egg. In order to compensate for the savings shortfall, 59% plan to work past age 65 or plan to work until they die, a dangerous strategy considering many workers are not able to stay in the workforce because of health issues.

Source: Thinkstock

Sixty-somethings:

Retirement outcomes are now a reality. More than half of respondents still plan to continue working after they retire, mostly to collect income and health benefits. Four in 10 sixty-somethings are envisioning a phased transition into retirement that involves shifting from full-time to part-time or working in a different capacity. “Workers in their sixties and older have cast aside long-held societal notions about fully retiring at age 65. They are literally transforming retirement as they retire,” said Collinson.
Even at this stage, only 15% of respondents have a written retirement strategy. This may be caused by the large role Social Security plays. Almost half of sixty-somethings expect Social Security to be their primary source of income when they retire. However, a lack of financial knowledge and planning may still hinder the retirement experience. Just 29% of respondents claim to know a “great deal” about Social Security retirement benefits. Overall, the median amount saved in all household retirement accounts by sixty-somethings is $172,000.

Culled wallstreetcheatsheet