Seven Things You Should Know Before Buying A Power Bank

For the new generation of mobile users, staying online and connected is a priority. With mobiles and tablets becoming feature heavy and app loaded, they tend to draw more juice out of the battery, draining out faster.
Portable battery backup devices are trending as the obvious solution to the problem of draining batteries.

While purchasing a portable charger is as easy as shipping it on one of the popular shopping portals, buying a correctly priced portable charger is going to take an additional research from you before you make that purchase.
Most battery backup manufacturers keep their products competitively priced, but you will find quite a few power banks that are way above their market value.

Here are 7 things you should know before buying a portable charger -

1. Power Capacity:

A battery backup bank's price primarily depends on the number of mAh capacity it holds. The price of a portable charger increases as the capacity of the unit increases. Higher capacity portable chargers of 12000 mAh or more are capable to charging tablets as well, apart from charging mobile phones multiple times. Portable power banks of capacity between 3200 mAh to 6000 mAh cost lesser, up to #5,000 per unit, and are smaller in size.

2. Batteries:

The type of battery used also determines the price. Few manufacturers use premium Li-Ion batteries that increase the lifespan and number of charge cycles. Premium batteries increase the price slightly. Other battery types like Nickel Cadmium and Nickel Metal Hydride cost lesser in comparison to Lithium Ion batteries.

3. Frame and Casing:

The pricing of portable chargers increases as the quality of the frame improves. Aluminum cases are light and easy to carry and cost more. Durable and industry grade frames increase manufacturing cost which in turn reflects on the MSRP of the power bank.

4. Add-on Features:

Additional features like current charge LCD display, LED flashlights, built in hotspot, stickiness that allows the power bank to stick to the mobile device while you are talking, etc. are good to have, but these add to the price of the portable power bank.

5. Number of output Ports:

The lower capacity battery banks have a single port. All portable chargers with 10000 mAh or more have at the least 2 output ports which allows you to charge multiple devices parallelly. The numerous ports also increase the price of a portable charger. You will notice that the price of a power bank with a single USB port is lesser than a power bank with 2 USB ports.

6. AC Adapter:

Most battery banks do not come with an AC Adapter in the kit. Manufacturers exclude the adapter to make the power bank prices more competitive. If you don't already have an AC adapter, you will need to purchase it separately.

7. Accessories:

Generally, accessories like charging cable, Apple lightning adapters and travel pouches come along with the battery banks and you will not need to spend more on these accessories.
Make a well balanced decision based on the features that you prefer the portable charger to have and it's price.

Research and compare the prices of portable chargers of similar mAh capacities before you purchase one.

Source=>> http://www.maxnaija.com/2015/05/7-things-you-should-know-before-buying.html

Distinction Between Niger Delta, South South And "Niger Delta"

Overtime people have used the term Niger Delta and South South interchangeably. I took my time to do extensive research and I consider it wise to share with the public.

Niger Delta

The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River at the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. Historically and cartographically, the Niger Delta region consist of present day Rivers and Bayelsa states and Warri in (Delta state). These areas/states collectively is sometimes called Oil Rivers, as it was then the British Oil Rivers Protectorate established in 1884. The area was called Oil Rivers Protectorate because it was a major producer of palm oil. The area would be later part of the larger Niger Coast Protectorate after it was expanded in 1893 with Calabar as administrative office.

South South

The "South South" is an artificial geo-political zone created in 1995 by Gen Sani Abacha, and consist of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross river, Akwa Ibom and Edo states. IBB had created six zones for "effective allocation of resources"

Historically, the "South South" has never been a single administrative entity. Let me explain...

Edo and Delta states

Though Warri (previously known as Delta Province) is/was part of the Niger Delta, the British in 1939 created the Western Region as a subset of Southern Nigeria and included Benin and Delta provinces in the region. The MidWest referendum of 1963 led to the creation of MidWest which included the Benin and Delta provinces from the Western Region after years/decades of agitation started by Benin Kings Oba Iweka II(in 1924) and Oba Akenzua II, Omo-Osiagie, Dennis Osadebe, Dalton Asemota, Okotie-Eboh etc and backed by super majority of Benin-Delta people. However, agitation by the "Niger-Deltans" within Bendel state for the creation of Warri State for the Niger Deltans(old Warri province), as well as call by the ANIOMAs for the Creation of ANIOMA state from the old Benin province led to the creation of Edo and Delta states in 1991.
(IBB forced Warri and ANIOMA people into one "Delta" state)

Akwa-Ibom, Cross river, Rivers and Bayelsa states

The four states were part of the Eastern Region in 1954 along with the present day 5 South Eastern States. Rivers and Bayelsa later formed "Rivers" State in 1967, while Akwa Ibom and Cross River became South Eastern state(later renamed Cross river state in 1976). Akwa Ibom state and Bayelsa state were splitted from Cross river(1987) and Rivers (1996) respectively.

Official "Niger Delta" States
President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000 "expanded" Niger Delta to include SW Ondo state, SE Imo and Abia states , and SS Akwa Ibom, Edo and Cross river states. Thus, official Niger Delta states are the aforementioned plus the historical and cartographical Niger Delta (Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states). All 8 states are the oil producing states in Nigeria.

Summary:

1. The Niger-Deltans in the "Real Sense" are people in the present day Rivers and Bayelsa states (old Rivers province), and Warri in the present day Delta state (old Warri/Delta province).

2. The “official” Niger Delta is an expression for the oil producing states of Ondo, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Cross River, Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states. It is not exclusive to South South.

3. "South South" consist of 4 old Eastern states (Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross river and Akwa Ibom) and the old Midwest (Edo and Delta).

4. No single ethnic group can speak for "South South", as historical interests differs. For instance,
I) In Delta state, the Itsekiris are majorly pro-Yorubas. They majorly voted against Midwest region(preferring to be with the Yoruba Western region), and opposed the creation of Warri state. The Akoko-edos in Edo state are also pro-Yoruba and also opposed the creation of Midwest region.

III) The Binis, Esans, Ijaws, Igbos etc of Edo and Delta states have always lived harmonously since the fall of Benin Kingdom in 1897, formed alliances and supported each others interests. In fact, it was an Igboman(Anioma) Denis Osadebe that proposed Benin city to be the capital of MidWest/Bendel in 1963.

5. There is ethnic Igbo population in Delta (ANIOMA) and Rivers states. There is Ijaw ethnic population in Edo(Toru-Ibe Ijaws), Akwa Ibom (Eastern Andonis/Ibolo) and Ondo (Arogbo Ijaws) in addition to those in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states.

6. While the term "Niger Deltans" refers to people from Rivers, Bayelsa and Warri, the term "South Southners" refers to people that falls into the six states within the South South.

I hope we find this piece educating and Informative.

God Bless Us All

References:

dailyindependentnig.com/2014/01/ethnic-groups-geo-political-regions-nigeria/

www.african-volunteer.net/niger_delta.html

www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ng_orp.html

www.vanguardngr.com/2011/02/the-true-story-of-delta-state-creation-by-otobo-akpeki-tosanwumi/

http://www.waado.org/nigerdelta/ethnichistories/
EgharevbaLectures/Fifth-Omoigui.htm

How To Become Emotionally Strong

Experiencing emotions is a normal part of human living and there is nothing inherently bad about having emotions but allowing yourself to be ruled by emotions is bad. For this reason, emotional strength and maturity is essential.
Emotional maturity is the ability to control your emotions and take full responsibility for your life along with its opportunities and dramas.
Emotional maturity is something that we must develop in our lives by knowing how to respond to situations in a mature and responsible manner. It is a quality worth working towards if you aren’t already there.
No one is perfect. We are all in the process of improving ourselves.

Here are things you can practice to become more emotionally mature and strong.

1. Don’t let negativity get the best of you.
Your brain is a radio transmitter. It broadcasts thoughts, directions and vibrations into your life – you get to choose the station it’s tuned to.
Emotionally strong people understand this and tune out negativity to make room for positivity. Focus on the positives, and soon the negatives become harder to see.

2. Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself.
Emotionally strong people don’t sit around feeling sorry about their circumstances or how others have treated them. Instead, they take responsibility for their role in life, work on changing what can be changed, and keep in mind that life isn’t always easy or fair. In the end, happiness is not the absence of problems, but simply the ability to deal well with them. So look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Because it’s not what the world takes away from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left.

3. Don’t think you need more to be happy.
Know that happiness is a mindset of appreciation. In other words, happiness doesn’t start when “this, that or the other thing” is resolved. Happiness is what happens now when you appreciate what you have.

4. Don’t compare your journey to everyone else’s.
Social comparison is the thief of happiness. Do YOUR best and don’t compare your progress with that of others. They aren’t YOU. We all need our own time to travel our own distance. Emotionally strong people know this is the truth, and they live by it.

5. Don’t envy and resent other people’s success.
Learn to genuinely appreciate and celebrate other people’s success. Don’t grow envious or feel cheated when others achieve something you are trying to achieve. Instead, recognize that success comes with hard work, and be willing to work hard for your own chance at success. True confidence has no room for envy and resentment. When you know you are great, you have no reason to hate.

6. Don’t expect everything to be easy.
Don’t view failures and delays as reasons to give up. Instead, use failure as an opportunity to grow and improve. Be willing to keep trying until you get it right. Whether you are working on improving your health or getting a new business off the ground, don’t expect immediate results.
Instead, apply your efforts and skills to the best of your ability and understand that real change takes time.

7. Don’t say, “I can’t.”
As Henry Ford puts it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” This is true. If you really want to do something, you can and you will find a way. If you don’t, you will surely find a long list of excuses. So stop saying “I wish” and start saying “I will.” Turn your “can’ts” into “cans” and your dreams into plans.

8. Don’t let fleeting temptations distract you from your dreams.
Don’t let the temptations of today distract you from what you deserve. Stay emotionally strong. Do what you have to do now so you can do what you want to do later.

9. Don’t get impatient and settle.
Good things don’t come to those who wait. Good things come to those who are patient… while working hard for what they want most in life. If you know what you want, if you can see it, feel it and move toward it in some small way every single day… it has to happen. Be patient and keep working. That’s what emotionally strong people do.

10. Don’t make the same exact mistakes over and over again.
You can’t make the same mistake twice. Because the second time you make it, it’s no longer a mistake, it’s a choice. Accept responsibility for your behavior and learn from past mistakes. As a result, you won’t keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Instead, you grow and move on to better decisions and new lessons.

11. Don’t resist change.
Don’t try to avoid change. Instead, welcome positive change into your life and be willing to be flexible. Understand that change is inevitable and believe in your abilities to adapt. Change happens for a reason. Roll with it! It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

12. Don’t waste time and energy on things you can’t control.
Instead, focus on what you can control in your life. And above all, recognize that sometimes the only thing you can control is your attitude. After all, inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow an uncontrollable event or person to control your emotions.

13. Don’t hang on every word other people say about you.
Emotionally strong people listen to their own heart and intuition, not the peanut gallery. So try not to take things other people say about you too personally. What they think and say is a reflection of them, not you. Ultimately, you can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react and who you choose to be around.

14. Don’t think everyone is out to get you.
Emotionally strong people choose to see the good in others. Because the truth is, the world is full of good people. Whoever says otherwise hasn’t looked around. So look around. Appreciate them. Connect and smile together. When you choose to see the good in others, you end up finding the good in yourself.

15. Don’t worry about pleasing everyone.
Recognize that you don’t need to please everyone all the time. Do not be afraid to say no or speak up when necessary. Strive to be compassionate and fair, but be able to handle other people being disappointed if you didn’t perfectly live up to their unfair expectations. The bottom line is, pleasing everyone is impossible.

16. Don’t think it’s too late to start over.
Let go of the idea that it’s too late to start over. Remember, it’s always better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of the one you don’t… even if it means beginning anew. Just because some things didn’t work out as you had expected, or didn’t happen as fast as you thought they would, is no excuse to give up on yourself.
Time passes one way or the other. Do what you need to do so that, at the very least, you can look back someday and say, “I gave life my best shot.”

Now it is your turn. What is your emotional strength/maturity level? Can you see yourself in the above statements and are there areas you want to improve upon? I personally have areas I need to work upon too.
It’s never too late – whether you are 18 or 81 there are chances for you to increase your emotional maturity/strength.

Feel free to leave a comment.

Credits to Angel Chernoff for some excerpts used in this post.

NGF Crises Ends As Govs Adopt Amaechi As Winner Of 2013 Election

ABUJA- GOVERNORS under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF agreed to put behind them, crises rocking the forum as they took a resolution that governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is the authentic Chairman of the forum having won the May 2013 election of the forum.

Vanguard gathered Monday that soon after the meeting took off, there was an apology to be absent from the Chairman of the other faction of NGF and governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang was taken, an indication that all decisions reached at the meeting would be binding to all.

According to the source, the Governors took a resolution that as part of moves to finally nip in the bud the lingering crises, they must first agree that Amaechi won the 2013 election and it as accepted by all and taken as a resolution.

The governors, made up of the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP are presently meeting at the Lagos/ Osun Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, just as this forms the first of its kind since 2013 when they fell out.
It will be recalled that since governor of Rivers State and Chairman, Nigeria Governor’s Forum, NGF, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was re-elected as Chairman of the Forum in May 2013 where he polled 19 votes to defeat governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, the only governor who contested with him to score 16, all has not been well with the forum.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum which was established to among others, provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas, help strengthen and promote Nigeria’s federal system and promote understanding among governors and States, is the umbrella body of all the thirty-six state governors of the federation.

As at the time of sending this report at 10.40 pm, the governors were still inside for the meeting and the following were in attendance.

In Attendance

1. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom
2. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers
3. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
4. Rauf Aregbosola of Osun
4. Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger
5. Ramallan Yero of Kaduna
6. Saidu Dankigari of Kebbi
7.Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta
8. Deputy governor of kano and governor- Elect, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
9. Kashim Shettima of Borno
10. Deputy governor of Kogi, Yomi Awoniyi
11. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi
12. Deputy governor of Nasarawa State
13. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo
14. Governor- Elect of Akwa Ibom, Emmanuel Udom
15. Deputy governor of Imo State

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/ngf-crises-ends-as-govs-adopt-amaechi-as-winner-of-2013-election/

Universal Concept Of Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS

Universal Concept Of Mental Arithmetic System is a skill development program that aims at bringing out the best in every child. This program originated in Malaysia and now is spread out across more than 60 countries and over 3 million students' word wide owing to the fact that UCMAS produces tangible results in children enhancing their creativity, concentration and confidence.
In today's competitive modern day and age it is utmost necessary to create a platform for children to enhance their brain development. UCMAS abacus mental arithmetic programs are designed to mobilize the learning imitative of children to reach faster, think deeper, understand deeper and in turn assist in the retention of the lessons taught in the school. Mental Arithmetic is a form of calculation that does not involve the use of any physical or external gadgets / instruments such as a calculator or a computer. The calculations are solely done by human mind using mental power. To achieve this, UCMAS utilizes an ancient Chinese tool called the Abacus. The children are taught to calculate using the abacus by mapping the beads to numbers in their mind and the calculations are performed by moving the beads accordingly. This way, through continuous practice, the children register the numbers as images in their right brain and eventually can perform mental mathematics at exceptional speeds without the help of the abacus and their speeds are faster than that of electronic calculators.

I watched the UCMAS Quiz on TV3 today and I was amazed at the way children of between 4-10 solves complex mathematics without using any calculator. Who has heard of this before?
Its so wonderful.
see the picture of how the children solve maths with their fingers in this link. I really wish this come to Nigeria.

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--y9B5vbhc--/saqlzwd8uegxhfmxh83z.gif

http://www.modernghana.com/news/270521/1/ucmas-quiz-starts-showing-on-gtv.html

More Reasons Why Visa Applications Are Refused

Be aware that the number one priority of Visa Officers is the Homeland Security, therefore, the first resort of the officers is to google-search every applicant's name and to see what comes up.

A lot of people have never google-searched their own names and therefore, are not aware that in this age of internet social networking, a simple entering of one's name and surname into a search engine will produce numerous results whether related or unrelated to the very person.

You might not yet be aware of what comes out of your name when it is google searched: most of the featured results are not of your own voluntary information.

Take a moment after reading this article and Google-search your own name and surname, and you may be surprised to see what comes up.

I know a Nigerian someone who entered Ireland through the UK to seek political asylum, his claimed was foiled by google search results that did not favour his pleaded case and as a result, he was asked to leave Ireland: the point is, this is a regular guy (who fits the profile of a nobody) who never thought that anything about him could make it to google search.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visa Officers are trained to look for a single reason why a visa should be refused rather than to consider it for 99 other reasons. Therefore, for those who hold the opinion that their visa applications had been unjustifiably refused for what they consider "silly" reasons such as the "three times monthly salary" issue etc.

It is true that budgeting an amount of money that is "three times your monthly income" is actually not a good reason to refuse a visa application, yet this issue usually comes into consideration when a visa applicant does not have impressive amount of money as balance. For example, if a person earns N200k monthly, and he budgets N620k for the intended trip while he presents a bank statement with a balance of N650k, he stands a very high chance to be refused for reason of the vast impact that the amount of money will have on his account as it would take him more than three salaries to recover the amount that he intends to spend for a short trip, where as, a person who earns N120k monthly with an account balance of N1.5M can easily get the visa if the application is reasonably presented.

The formula.

Before applying for a visa, look at how much you earn monthly, consider it against your account balance and compare it to the amount that you intend to spend for the trip.