Here's what Beyoncé haters get wrong

                                                                         JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC

Beyoncé’s show was rich in symbolism that haters and the wrong-headed willfully misunderstood.

It may be time for America to tweak its fundamental tagline because "The land of the free, the home of the brave," no longer fits.

In the face of the mounting criticism of Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance on Sunday, it sure seems like America has become "The land of the Amnesia Patients."

On the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (its original name), Beyoncé crashed Coldplay's rainbow-lit stage to deliver a message:

People of color are tired of being killed; tired of being shortchanged; tired of having their feelings being mocked by the very demographic that continues to hold them back.

The picked-out afros, the all-black attire, the militant garb (and song to match) had some viewers asking why the NFL allowed Beyoncé to make the radical chic.

How quickly we all have forgotten the pain this country has inflicted on people of color and continues to do so today.

The land of the shortened memories empowered police to sic dogs on innocent people and spray them down with powerful water hoses simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.The land of the shortened memories empowered police to sic dogs on innocent people and spray them down with powerful water hoses simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This great America barred its deep-complexioned citizens from riding in the front of the bus and using the same water fountain as others — among countless other outlandish inequities and indecencies.

FIVE CLUES THAT BEYONCE'S NEW ALBUM IS DROPPING ANY MINUTE

The revolutionary group born in Oakland, Calif., in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, provided demands for the improvement of life for black people, a “radical” list that included:

1. Freedom

2. Full employment for black people

3. Decent housing

4. Education

5. End police brutality

Beyoncé and other public figures have remained silent on this issue for far too long. But now that she has a child who could easily become the next hashtag victim, Mrs. Carter has chosen to speak up.

And for that, she’s being called a racist and anti-police. But ignoring the points of her halftime show and the video for her new song, “Formation,” is its own form of racism. And racism comes from fear of the unknown — which should be expected in a country where even something as simple as Black History Month lessons in schools is under fire.

People fear what they don’t know. And they don’t want to learn, so the fear grows.

It is a grave misconception that Black Panthers promoted the killings of police, just as it is so that Black Lives Matter means every other life doesn't.

Black pride — the message Beyoncé was trying to convey — means being proud of who your are, what you look like and where you come from.

Black people — with our full lips, kinky hair, and dark skin — have been called ugly, ignorant and uneducated for so long, that there wasn’t a better stage for this type of moment.

The symbolism of Queen Bey’s efforts missed some people — and that’s because the message wasn’t for them.

Economist Urges Federal Government to Invest On ICT To Boost Economy

                                      Children ICT training class (Photo: Internet)

A U.S-based economist, Ms Munat Roberts, urged the Federal Government to invest on Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially in the education sector to boost the economy.

Roberts made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

She said that children between the ages of 8 and 17 had not been given priority in government’s programmes to explore the benefits of ICTs.

The economist, who is also the Chairperson, West Coast Economic Summit (WCES), said the organisation would soon organise a junior technology innovation camp for children abroad.

She said they children will be trained for two weeks in ICTs related programmes such as a Robotic Engineering, Apples Programme and development of Apples for their phones.

She added that It is going to be a campus-based experience and with that they will start a foundation for young children training in the area of technology.

Roberts lamented on lack of such programmes in Nigeria for that age bracket. The focus has been on older people and no space for the younger ones.

She urged the government to support the Small Medium Enterprise as drivers of the economy, and also educate prospective investors on the requirements of investing in the country.

She, however, called on the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council to educate investors on “One-Stop-Shop’’ to provide them with information on modalities of doing business in the country.

Meanwhile, Roberts has commended the Federal Government for the implementation of the new electricity tariff.

With NTA

Minister of Information And Culture Hails Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption

                Lai Muhammed And Presidential Advisory Committee

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has hailed the role being played by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, led by renowned Professor of Law and civil rights Activist Itse Sagay, in the country’s anti-corruption battle.

”Bodies like yours, the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, are critical to the success of the fight,” the Minister said while receiving members of the Committee at his office in Abuja on Tuesday. ”We have no doubt that you will continue to advise the administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.”

Alhaji Mohammed said the visit by members of the Committee could not have come at a better time, ”considering that we are presently running a National Sensitization Campaign Against Corruption”.

He acknowledged the huge support that the ministry had received – and has continued to receive – from the committee since the launch of the campaign, saying it had gone a long way in contributing to the modest achievement we have made since the launch.

”I can say, without equivocating, that since the launch of the sensitization campaign against corruption, we have succeeded in getting more and more Nigerians talking about corruption. Not everyone has joined the campaign, but we see the increased national debate on corruption as a positive development, because the more people are aware of the evils of corruption, the more the likelihood for them to support the government’s battle against corruption,” the Minister said

He said a recent poll by the Governance Accountability Initiative for Nigeria (GAIN) has shown that the support among Nigerians for the anti-corruption war is very high, with 76% of respondents expressing support for the initiative, while also showing that in terms of areas of concern among Nigerians, the anti-corruption fight is next only to insecurity.

”These results tally with what we have found out in our various engagements since we launched the National Sensitization Campaign,” Alhaji Mohammed said, while commending the media for the major role they have played in disseminating necessary information about the campaign to the people, and also for providing feedback to the government.

He said while some of those who have picked issues with the strategy adopted by the government to sensitize Nigerians may have done so genuinely, perhaps because they have not taken the time to understand the strategy, others are only criticising the anti-graft campaign just to shoot it down.

”A key strategy we have adopted in our campaign is to strip corruption of its previous abstract status by putting a face to it. In other words, we are emphasizing and highlighting the cost of corruption to the lives of Nigerians.

”When we revealed that 55 people allegedly stole a total of 1.34 trillion Naira between 2006 and 2013 – a figure that has been independently confirmed by a Civil Society Organization, Media Rights Agenda (even though with an extended timeline), our intention was not to villify anyone but to show to Nigerians how funds that could have been used to provide infrastructure and upgrade educational and health facilities, for example, have been looted,” the Minister explained.

He assured that the government would continue to vigorously pursue the anti-corruption fight in accordance with the rule of law, adding: ”We will not relent, not now that the fight has gained momentum among Nigerians and attracted global support.”

Earlier, Prof. Sagay said the visit was to give the Committee the opportunity to dialogue with the Minister, whom he described as proactive, courageous, intelligent and knowledgeable, and his team, especially because the parastatals under the Ministry of Information and Culture have a vital role to play in the fight against corruption.

”Parastatals like the NTA, FRCN, NOA and VON are critical in educating the public and increasing the level of consciousness (about the evils of corruption),” he said.

The Committee head urged Nigerians to buy into the anti-corruption struggle, saying by doing so, they are laying the groundwork for their children to live in an atmosphere of stability and to have the opportunity to achieve their God-given potentials.

Federal Government’s Effort In Top Gear To Secure List Of Properties Owned By Nigerians In UAE – Min. Foreign Affairs

                        Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, on Tuesday, said efforts were in top gear to secure list of Nigerians who owned choice properties in the United Arab Emirate (UAE) from proceeds of fraud.

Onyeama said this while briefing the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs during the budget defence of the ministry in Abuja.

He added that the Federal Government was already in talks with the UAE government to get the list of properties owned by Nigerians in that country.

Speaking on money laundering and the role of Nigeria’s foreign missions, he disclosed that the ministry was engaged in recovery of some money laundered in the U.S.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Monsurat Sumonu, had expressed concern over the working gap between the National Assembly (NASS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She called for better working relationship between NASS and the ministry to enable them to work to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

With NTA

KANYE WEST GETS BACKLASH FOR DEFENDING BILL COSBY

American rapper Kanye West has received angry backlash on Twitter for defending Bill Cosby. 

West declared his support for the comedian who is accused of sexually assaulting more than 50 women, in a tweet on Tuesday. 

The post has caused angry backlash from both critics and fans who say they have lost all respect for the hip - hop mogul.

Cosby who has for years denied allegations of assault by dozens of women, was charged in December last year with sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 after plying her with drugs and alcohol.

The charges, filed days before the statute of limitations on the alleged crime was to expire, are the only criminal charges the entertainer faces. 

He has been implicated in allegations of attacks dating back to the 1960s.