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Wednesday 26 December 2012

NIGERIA: ANOTHER AFGHANISTAN?


Nigeria is a country that needs little or no introduction. A country that boasts to be the giant of Africa with over a hundred and eighty million people and obviously the most populous black nation in the world has had her ups and downs. From being an economic sleeping giant to a great tourist destination to a kidnappers' haven to the corruption capital of the world and now a terror stricken zone. Following is an incomplete list of the mayhem so far recorded in terms of terrorism:

2009 Boko Haram UprisingJuly, 2009Maiduguri, Bauchi, Potiskum, Wudil1,000+Islamic militants killed over a thousand people between 26 and 29 July; during the violence, Christians were killed for refusing to convert to Islam
2010 Jos massacre2010Jos992Religious rioting; victims were mostly Christians killed by Muslims
2011 Abuja United Nations bombingAugust 26, 2011Abuja2173 injured; Boko Haram attacked a United Nations compound
2011 Damaturu attacksNovember 4, 2011Damaturu100-150Islamic militants associated with Boko Haram attacked police stations, churches, and banks
December 2011 Nigeria clashesDecember, 2011Maiduguri and Damaturu68+Islamic militants associated with Boko Haram clashed with security forces between 22 and 23 December
December 2011 Nigeria bombingsDecember 25, 2011Madalla4573 injured; Muslim militants bombed a Catholic church during Christmas mass
January 5-6, 2012 Nigeria attacksJanuary, 2012Mubi, Yola, Gombi, and Maiduguri37+Islamic terrorists attacked churches and Christian businesses; Boko Haram claimed responsibility
January 20, 2012 Nigeria attacksJanuary 20, 2012Kano185Islamic terrorists attacked churches and Christian businesses; Boko Haram claimed responsibility
April 2012 Kaduna massacreApril 8, 2012Kaduna38Islamic terrorists bombed a church on Easter
June 2012 Kaduna church bombingsJune 17, 2012Kaduna, Wusasa, and Sabon Gari12-1980 injured; Islamic terrorists bombed three churches
July 2012 massacreJuly 7, 2012Multiple northern Nigerian villages100+Islamic militants attacked Christian villages
Deeper Life Church shootingAugust 7, 2012Okene19Islamic militants attacked a church; the pastor was among the dead
 December 25, 2012              Potiskum, Yobe   6         Gunmen attacked a church during christmas eve service

Is Nigeria going to be another Afganistan? Violence between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria is drawing the country ever closer to a religious war. The instigator of this conflict is Boko Haram, an Islamist movement whose very name means "Western education is forbidden."

The group was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. In 2004 it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan" used to attack nearby police posts killing police officers. If the Nigerian government can't stop this conflict from spiralling out of control, expect the United States to step in -- albeit with a relatively light hand -- to tip the scales against Boko Haram.

The situation in Nigeria hit a crisis point on June 17, when Boko Haram attacked three churches in Nigeria's north-central Kaduna state -- killing 21 people during services. Christians were quick to respond, and sectarian clashes ignited almost immediately. After four days of unrest, roughly 100 Nigerians lay dead.

Terrorist violence is nothing new for Boko Haram, a group that U.S. officials suspect of having links to Al Qaeda. As the U.S. State Department has noted, attacks by Boko Haram and associated militants have taken more than 1,000 lives over the past 18 months. Nor is sectarian strife new to Nigeria: The country, predominantly Muslim in the north and Christian in the south, has a history of sectarian violence in its religiously mixed middle belt. Past riots killed more than 100 people in 2002 -- again in Kaduna -- when Muslim youths protested the Miss World pageant being held in Nigeria, and they also claimed scores of lives in 2006 following Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's publication of controversial cartoons satirising the Prophet Mohammed.
Recent events show that Boko Haram's attacks are only becoming more deadly. The organisation is in the midst of a tactical evolution: Whereas Boko Haram used to employ such tactics as assassinations and massed assaults on security forces, suicide bombings now feature prominently in its arsenal, and Christian targets -- which are most frequently attacked while church services are ongoing -- have moved to the top of the group's target list.
The Nigerian government has had some successes. Boko Haram was the target of violent suppression in July 2009 when its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was summarily executed by Nigerian security forces following his capture that month, and roughly 800 members of the sect were killed, according to Nigerian military estimates. As scholar David Cook's useful study on Boko Haram details, however, the group re-emerged with a vengeance the following year. It engaged in "a high profile campaign of assassinations and attacks throughout northern Nigeria," Cook writes, and began to employ suicide attacks in the summer of 2011. Further, Cook notes, Boko Haram's attacks and threats have focused "more and more on interests that touch U.S. economic concerns in the region."
In line with Boko Haram's tactical evolution, it has frequently employed suicide bombings in its onslaught against Christian targets. Prior to the June 17 attacks, Boko Haram had perpetrated a number of other terrorist assaults on church services. On April 29, gunmen attacked services on Bayero University in the northern state of Kano, killing at least 16 people. The group also took credit for a June 3 suicide attack on a church in northeastern Nigeria that killed 15 people and wounded 40 more. The following Sunday, June 10, two church attacks rocked the cities of Jos and Biu, killing three people and wounding over 40. Once again, Boko Haram claimed responsibility. The latest attack on christmas eve 2012 has prompted Pope Benedict to use part of his Christmas message to the world on Tuesday to highlight the need for reconciliation in Nigeria, saying "savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians".

Is Nigeria going to become another Afghanistan and does the Nigerian government and people have the will to stop this reign of terror or will they need international collaboration as spearheaded by the US in Afghanistan?

Thursday 20 December 2012

IS IT REALLY DOOMSDAY ON FRIDAY THE 21ST?


NAT GEO CHANNEL SCREEN GRAB SHOWING THE PREDICTION OF DOOM

It has been widely speculated that the world is coming to an end on Friday, the 21st day of December, 2012. The National Geographic Channel had long started a count down which is displayed on the top right hand corner of your tv screen.

The Doomsday prophecy is based on an ancient calendar from the Mayan civilisation that was based in what is now Guatemala in in Central America.The calendar lasts for more than 5,000 years but comes to an end on Friday, which has prompted fears it forecasts the end of the world.


MAYAN CALENDAR
Dark comets, famine, super-volcanoes, catastrophic climate change, and a plague of cancers are just some of the ends that could fulfill the prophecy.
Some scientists strongly believe the most likely disaster that could make doomsday happen is a black comet.
Such an end would match that of the dinosaurs who after walking the planet for about 165 million years - homo sapiens has been around for a mere 200,000 years - were killed off by a 10km asteroid or comet that slammed into the planet.Dark comets have little of the ice and snow that most comets have, and a lot more dust which makes it much more difficult to spot them as they speed through Space.
The collision itself, except for those near the point of impact, would be unlikely to be fatal to the world's population but it would throw up so much dust into the atmosphere that billions of people could expect a slow death.
Huge quantities of dust would bring on an 'eternal winter' in which the sun would be obscured and crops around the world would fail, leading to mass famine.
A COMET SLAMS INTO THE EARTH

Other favourite Doomsday scenarios include a vast solar storm which will flare out from the Sun and engulf the Earth.
An alternative doom-laden theory is that a rogue black hole will swallow up the Earth, or that a quirk of galactic alignments will trigger a disastrous reversal of the Earth's magnetic field.
Among the favourites is that a rogue planet, Nibiru, which has long been inhabiting the far reaches of the solar system, beyond even Pluto, is now on a collision course with Earth.
Scientists have dismissed the theory as ridiculous not just because no one has ever managed to detect it in the outer reaches of the solar system but because if such a large object was heading this way it would have been spotted by now
Scepticism on the part of experts, however, has done little to diminish the determination of thousands of people to find a safe haven from disaster.
In France the authorities have had to bar New Age followers from travelling to Bugarach, a tiny village home to fewer than 200 people, and the 'mystical mountain' where it is located.
Doomsday fanatics have identified Bugarach as a place of safety on the grounds that aliens live hidden within the mountain and are waiting for the end of the world when they will rescue humans in the area.
'I have issued an order barring anyone from climbing the mountain. And those trying to get into the village will be stopped and asked what their business is,' said Regional prefect Eric Freysselinard.
The village and the mountain will only be re-opened to outsiders two days after the end of the world is scheduled to have taken place.

                                  THE MOUNTAIN IN BUGARACH VILLAGE, FRANCE

But just how much of all these do you believe?   



Saturday 15 December 2012

BREAKING NEWS!! A STATE GOVERNOR , 5 OTHERS PERISH AS NAVY HELICOPTER CRASHES IN NIGERIA


AZAZI AND YOKOWA (right)

A helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Navy has crashed in oil rich Bayelsa State, Southern Nigeria. On board were the Governornor of North Central Nigeria state of Kaduna, Patrick Yakowa, a  former National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi, their aides and the pilot. There were no survivors. Azazi was fired in June amid growing sectarian violence in Nigeria, but maintained close ties with the government.
    
Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, said four other bodies had been found, but he could not immediately give their identities.

Pilot of the helicopter, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba with his widow


The crash occurred at about 3:30 p.m. after the navy helicopter took off from the village of Okoroba in Bayelsa state where officials had gathered to attend the burial of the father of a presidential aide, said Commodore Kabir Aliyu. He said that the helicopter was headed for Nigeria's oil capital of Port Harcourt when it crashed in the Nembe area of Bayelsa state.

Aviation disasters remain common in Nigeria, despite efforts in recent years to improve air safety.
In October, a plane made a crash landing in central Nigeria. A state governor and five others sustained injuries but survived.
In June, a Dana Air MD-83 passenger plane crashed into a neighborhood in the commercial capital of Lagos, killing 153 people onboard and at least 10 people on the ground. It was Nigeria's worst air crash in nearly two decades.
In March, a police helicopter carrying a high-ranking police official crashed in the central Nigerian city of Jos, killing four people.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/15/3143411/helicopter-carrying-nigerian-officials.html#storylink=cpy

ONE SHOOTING TOO MANY!!



Latest Gunman: Adam Lanza, 20

Friday :14/12/12 a lone gun man Adam Lanza, 20, armed with three guns including an assault riffle, forces his way into an Elementary school in Connecticut, USA and opens fire in different directions. When he was done 20 little angels lay dead alongside the school Principal and five other staffers  and himself. He was later found to have started the massacre at home that morning by killing his mother. All three guns belonged to her.

This is just one of the numerous cases like it which occur  almost regularly around the world and the US in particular. Lets go through some of the notable ones in the US:

April 1999 - two teenage schoolboys shot and killed 12 schoolmates and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, before killing themselves.
July 1999 - a stock exchange trader in Atlanta, Georgia, killed 12 people including his wife and two children before taking his own life.  
September 1999 - a gunman opened fire at a prayer service in Fort Worth, Texas, killing six people before committing suicide.
October 2002 - a series of sniper-style shootings occurred in Washington DC, leaving 10 dead.
August 2003 - in Chicago, a laid-off worker shot and killed six of his former workmates.
November 2004 - in Birchwood, Wisconsin, a hunter killed six other hunters and wounded two others after an argument with them.
March 2005 - a man opened fire at a church service in Brookfield, Wisconsin, killing seven people.
October 2006 - a truck driver killed five schoolgirls and seriously wounded six others in a school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania before taking his own life.
April 2007 - student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people and wounded 15 others at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, before shooting himself, making it the deadliest mass shooting in the United States after 2000.
August 2007 - Three Delaware State University students were shot and killed in “execution style” by a 28-year-old and two 15-year-old boys. A fourth student was shot and stabbed.
September 2007 - A freshman student at Delaware State University shot and wounded two other students at a campus dining hall.
December 2007 - a 20-year-old man killed nine people and injured five others in a shopping center in Omaha, Nebraska.
December 2007 - a woman and her boyfriend shot dead six members of her family on Christmas Eve in Carnation, Washington.
February 2008 - a shooter who is still at large tied up and shot six women at a suburban clothing store in Chicago, leaving five of them dead and the remaining one injured.
February 2008 - a man opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, killing five students and wounding 16 others before laying down his weapon and surrendering.
July 2008 – A former student shot three people in a computer lab at South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona.
September 2008 - a mentally ill man who was released from jail one month earlier shot eight people in Alger, Washington, leaving six of them dead and the rest two wounded.
October 2008 - Several men in a car drove up to a dormitory at the University of Central Arkansas and opened fire, killing two students and injuring a third person.
December 2008 - a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit opened fire at a family Christmas party in Covina, California, then set fire on the house and killed himself. Police later found nine people dead in the debris of the house.
March 2009 - a 28-year-old laid-off worker opened fire while driving a car through several towns in Alabama, killing 10 people.
March 2009 - a heavily-armed gunman shot dead eight people, many of them elderly and sick people, in a private-owned nursing home in North Carolina.
March 2009 - six people were shot dead in a high-grade apartment building in Santa Clara, California.
April 2009 – An 18-year-old former student followed a pizza deliveryman into his old dormitory, and shot the deliveryman, a dorm monitor, and himself at Hampton University, Virginia.
April 2009 - a man shot dead 13 people at a civic center in Binghamton, New York.
July 2009 - Six people, including one student, were shot in a drive-by shooting at a community rally on the campus of Texas Southern University, Houston.
November 2009 - U.S. army psychologist Major Nidal Hasan opened fire at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas, leaving 13 dead and 42 others wounded.
February 2010 A professor opened fire 50 minutes into at a Biological Sciences Department faculty meeting at the University of Alabama, killing three colleagues and wounding three others
January 2011 - a gunman opened fire at a public gathering outside a grocery in Tuscon, Arizona, killing six people including a nine-year-old girl and wounding at least 12 others. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured with a gunshot to the head.
July 2012 - Masked gunman opens fire at midnight cinema screen of new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and injuring 58. Suspect James Holmes is arrested by police and awaiting trial.
August 2012 - Gunman kills six people at SIkh temple in Wisconsin before being shot dead by police. Suspect is named as white supremacists Wade Michael Page.

This latest massacre has sadly been recorded as the deadliest school shooting in the US! And President Obama has rightly promised the time to act is now to prevent recurrences.


The way to go is no other than to reconsider very seriously and  urgently the American gun laws and policies! Enough of the talk, time to act is NOW!



Friday 14 December 2012

HOW REAL ARE REALITY TV SHOWS?


This you can bet is a burning question on most viewers' minds when they are glued to their Tv sets watching any program on the growing list of "Reality Shows". How real can a recorded program that is not on live tv be? This is especially about the ones that focus on "private" lives of 'celebs'. From "Keeping up with the Kardashians" to "Ice loves Coco" to "The Girls of the Playboy mansion" etc the list is growing by the day. One wonders why one should spend one's very precious time watching a program that is not in the least educative or informing? You only get to see the 'actors' go shopping, make their hair, choose a new home, decide which city to move to, have arguments or agreements with their spouses, cry, laugh, sleep, eat, go to parties, go for photo shoots etc.  Where then lies the value of watching these programs?  And to think that these programs are on PAY TV! They  should be on FREE TO AIR if you ask me!

Well if you want my candid opinion I think these shows are to say the least a colossal waste of time and money. They are also very fake and should not be termed as reality tv shows. I would prefer shows like "The Survivor", "The Amazing Race" and "The American Idol" any day to the ones earlier mentioned and their likes.

And so it was with some amusement I watched one of Nollywood's actresses, Omotola, try to copy "Kimora" (or is it "Kim"?) with her "REAL ME" show. And what a poor copier she turned out to be! You could see from her narratives, forced smiles and laughter that the whole things screams FAKE!  I guess in her own case what could be interesting and considered real to some extent is to take the viewers into her home and the Egbeda (or is it Idimu?) environs instead of hotels and nice places she visits.

Or what do you guys think?

Wednesday 12 December 2012

MIKE TYSON'S ALLEGED SEX CHANGE STORY IS NOT TRUE!!



On Sunday, Zimbabwean newspaper The Standard carried reports that Mike Tyson, former heavyweight boxing champion, had undergone a sex change.
According to the website for the newspaper, Tyson had said his first menstrual cycle “would be a dream come true” and that he was changing his name to Michelle.
The article was, unsurprisingly, a hit, with 4,900 Facebook likes at the time of writing. A number of other African news sites, including Spy Ghana, soon picked up the story.
Unfortunately, the story isn't true. The Standard appears to have picked up the story from News Biscuit, a UK-based satirical site that published a story on Tyson's (not real) sex change in November. NewsBiscuit writer John O'Farrell told the BBC that the site has been getting so much traffic from Africa over the past few days that it keeps crashing.
Here's a screen-grab of the Standard's article that started it all:
Zimbabwe Standard


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-tyson-sex-change-spoof-goes-viral-2012-12#ixzz2EsGDiVaP

Sunday 2 December 2012

OH NO LORD. NOT LINDSAY LOHAN AGAIN!



Liz and Dick" star Lindsay Lohan's alcohol abuse issues have resurfaced and the troubled star has been reported to have been drinking up to two liters of vodka a day according to the Friday, Nov 30. TMZ reports.
The celebrity news site reported that sources close to Lohan have revealed that Lindsay's drinking has been out of control again for several months, with her drinking heavily on a daily basis.
Those close to Lindsay have revealed that she has become so stressed by her financial situation and the impending probation violation that she has turned to alcohol as a stress reliever.
The concerned pal claims that Lohan who's struggled with substance abuse in the past and even has a DUI conviction would often begin drinking first thing in the morning, and continues drinking throughout the day.
Reports from Thursday morning's New York City nightclub arrest have claimed that Lindsay was drinking all day and showed up at the Bieber concert already very intoxicated. She continued to drink throughout the night, and got extremely sloppy.
. .
Some of Lindsay Lohan's friends have revealed that they have given up trying to help her because when she's drunk, she is also very violent or tends to get violent, which adds to the speculations surrounding Lindsay Lohan's recent arrest for assault.

This is sincerely hoping and praying we wont have another Amy Winehouse tragedy!

Saturday 1 December 2012

STRAUSS-KAHN WILL PART WITH USD6M TO SETTLE LAWSUIT



Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has reached a preliminary agreement to settle a civil lawsuit brought against him by a hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault last year, sources familiar with the case said.
Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrives at a polling station in the second round of the 2012 French presidential elections in Sarcelles May 6, 2012. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrives at a polling station in the second round of the 2012 French presidential elections in Sarcelles May 6, 2012. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes


U.S. and France-based lawyers for Strauss-Kahn, who was once tipped to become French president, on Friday acknowledged a deal was under discussion, but said it had not yet been finalised.

They also denied as "flatly false" and "fanciful" a report that he agreed on a $6 million (3.7 million pounds) settlement.

"The parties have discussed a resolution but there has been no settlement. Mr. Strauss-Kahn will continue to defend the charges if no resolution can be reached," Strauss-Kahn's U.S. lawyers, William Taylor and Amit Mehta, said in a statement.

"Media reports that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has agreed to pay six million dollars to settle the civil case are flatly false."

French daily Le Monde, citing people close to Strauss-Kahn, said he and the maid Nafissatou Diallo would meet a judge in New York on December 7 to sign a $6 million settlement and close an affair that ended the Frenchman's International Monetary Fund career and wrecked his presidential ambitions.

"The discussions have been going on for weeks, months. The agreement should be confirmed at the start of next week," Michele Saban, a friend of Strauss-Kahn who saw him recently, told Reuters in Paris. She could not confirm the sum involved.

"We are moving towards the end of a tragedy," she said, adding that Diallo had always been open to negotiating a settlement despite reticence from her lawyers.

Le Monde said 63-year-old Strauss-Kahn planned to take out a bank loan for $3 million and would be lent the other $3 million by his wife Anne Sinclair, despite the fact the couple separated in the summer and now live on different sides of Paris.

Strauss-Kahn's Paris-based legal team declined to comment on whether a deal had been reached with Diallo, but denied Le Monde's report of the sum involved.

"Neither Dominique Strauss-Kahn nor his lawyers will comment on proceedings in the United States. That said, however, they strenuously deny the erroneous and fanciful information relayed by Le Monde," said a statement from the Paris lawyers.

The New York Times, which first reported the development, also said the pair would appear before a judge in New York next week. It said the settlement sum could not be determined.

END OF THE AFFAIR

News of the U.S. deal comes as Strauss-Kahn is awaiting a decision by a French court on December 19 on whether to call off a sex offence inquiry involving parties in Lille attended by prostitutes, where he risks trial on a charge of "aggravated pimping".

If that case is dropped and Diallo ends her civil case, Strauss-Kahn would have a freer rein to pursue his consultancy work and could even consider a tentative return to public life in France, where he has been shunned since the Diallo scandal.

Images of the then IMF chief paraded before TV cameras in handcuffs before being charged with attempted rape shocked the world and led to French media raking over smutty details of the former finance minister's private life.

"That's the end, not only of this affair, but of any potential affair because one of the reasons for signing this kind of agreement is that both parties agree that they will never again bring a lawsuit," Christopher Mesnooh, a U.S. lawyer who practices in France, said of the Diallo agreement.

"There will always be people who wonder about what happened in New York and in Lille, but from a legal standpoint if he gets all this behind him, he's a free man," he added.

Diallo alleged that Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex on May 14, 2011, in his suite at the Manhattan Sofitel.

The criminal prosecution fell apart after doubts emerged concerning Diallo's credibility as a witness and the attempted rape charges against Strauss-Kahn were eventually dropped.

Strauss-Kahn, who in May 2011 was days from entering this year's French presidential election, has maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual, although he said in a TV interview after his return to France that he regretted his "moral error".

He filed his own countersuit against the maid earlier this year, claiming that Diallo's accusations had destroyed his career and harmed his reputation.

In recent months, Strauss-Kahn has been making a comeback under-the-radar with a handful of speaking engagements at private conferences and by setting up a business consultancy firm in Paris.

Sunday 4 November 2012

HILARIOUS BUT TOUCHING VIDEO: A FOUR YEAR OLD GIRL CRIES OVER TOO MUCH OBAMA AND ROMNEY PUBLICITY!




The video, posted on YouTube by her mother on Tuesday, has garnered almost 8 million views from all over the world and countless Twitter comments from Americans brought close to tears by relentless campaigning leading up to Tuesday’s presidential vote.



'I’m tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney,' Abigael, wearing a pink ’Hello Kitty’ coat, tells her mother as tears stream down her face.
'That’s why you’re crying? Oh, it’ll be over soon Abby, OK? The election will be over soon,' her mother is heard saying on camera, as the girl hiccups and unhappily replies: 'OK'” Her distress has resonated with many Americans as the two presidential candidates hit the home stretch of a months-long, intense campaign that has seen a barrage of television and radio commercials, as well as newspaper articles.
Little Abigael was reportedly brought to tears when she heard one commercial too many on NPR on the way to the grocery store, and the public broadcaster has since apologized to her.
'Oh my goodness, do we feel bad now... On behalf of NPR and all other news outlets, we apologize to Abigael and all the many others who probably feel like her,' it said in a tongue-and-cheek blog post on its website.
'We must confess, the campaign’s gone on long enough for us, too. Let’s just keep telling ourselves: ’Only a few more days, only a few more days, only a few more days’.' Abigael has since become somewhat of a celebrity. CNN did a piece on her Thursday and the Twittersphere has united in sympathy.
'I feel ya, Abby. I’m tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney too,' one tweet said.
Several reporters have also replaced their profile pictures with her photo. 'Election day’s almost here, but if you feel like Abby, join us in solidarity,' said another tweet,

Monday 22 October 2012

THE HEADIES 2012


Saturday night at the prestigious Expo Center, Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, there was a lot of glamour and glitterati as artistes, producers, fans and corporate bodies converged for the 2012 edition of the Headies Awards, a brain child of young business mogul and entertainment impresario, Mr. Ayo Animashaun. And yours sincerely was there.

Saturday's show truly lived up to the Headies renowned billing as one of the most prestigious shows in Nigeria and indeed Africa. It was preceded the previous day by a pre-award night show titled the Veterans' Night during which notable veterans in the Nigerian music industry were honoured.



The highest number of awards for the night went (as expected) to the internationally acclaimed twins, PSQUARE, who won two awards with another one going to their brother and producer Jude okoye for directing the video of their hit song featuring Akon- Chop my money.

But perhaps the high point of the night was the live performance by one of the most outstanding budding artistes in the industry, Miss Eva Alordiah. Other artistes who performed include Davido and the E.M.E CREW led by Banky W.

Below is a full list of the awards and the winners.

Best RnB Singer - May D - SoundtrackBest Pop Single - Iyanya - Kukere
Best Rap Single - Angeli -Vector ft 9ice
Best RnB/Pop Album - P Square
Best Street Hop - Chuddy K
Best Rap Album - Ice Prince - E.L.I
Best Vocal Performance (Male) - Wande Coal - Private Trips
Best Vocal Performance (Female) - Tiwa Savage - Love Me Love Me Love Me
Best Collaboration - Sound Sultan ft Excel and Flavour - Orobo
Revelation of the Year - Wizkid
Recording of the Year - Brymo - Ara
Best Label Head - Banky W
Producer of the Year - TY Mix - Super C Season (Naeto C)
Lyricist on the Roll - Vector - Angeli
Next Rated - Davido
African Artist of the Year - Sarkodie (Ghana) Azonto
Artiste of the Year - Wizkid
Album of the Year - Psquare - The Invasion
Best Music Video (Director) - Jude Okoye - Chop My Money
Song of the Year - D'banj - Oliver Twist
Headies Hall of Fame - Femi Kuti

Thursday 11 October 2012

CHAZ B OF INSPIRATION FM SURVIVES A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT!

For ardent radio listeners especially in the Lagos Metropolis he needs no introduction. He is the voice behind a very popular adult contemporary phone-in radio program through which people are encouraged to share their experiences on different life issues and seek advice and help. The program aptly titled "Sharing Life Issues With Chaz B" comes on air week days from 7 - 8 pm on Inspiration 92.3 FM Lagos.


The man Charles Bruce Chukwuma AKA Chaz B has one of the most remarkable voices you can ever hear on radio. He was named the 'Best On Air Personality - Radio' for 2010 at the Nigeria Media Merit Awards. But sadly since the beginning of this year the man behind 'the voice' has been away from duty with the radio station offering the program's numerous listeners little or no explanations. While he was away he was relieved by another amiable radio personality, Uwana Udobang. At a time it was even rumoured he might have left the radio station for a better offer elsewhere. Oh how I now wish and pray it was the case! But alas that was not why he was away for so long. He is back and the truth is now out that he had been battling with kidney failure. Thankfully, though, he has had a successful surgery and is back to his duty post.

A group of individuals and corporate bodies tagged as "Friends of Chaz B" is now planning an event to serve as Thanksgiving for a life saved and also to set up a kind of foundation for other people with such cases. This event is scheduled to hold at the City Hall, Lagos Island on the 28th of October, 2012. We all need to help make this event happen to assist this wonderful individual and others amongst us who are passing through the same issues now or may need help in the future. It sadly does not end with the transplant. After every successful transplant the patient is now sentenced to a lifetime of drug use to prevent a relapse!  The drugs are not cheap either.

Please contact Inspiration FM to find out how to start giving now! Nothing is too small. I understand even the fees for using the venue (City Hall) has not been paid as at today.

Visit http://www.inspirationradiong.com/contact or call Chaz B on 08139009000

And remember it could be anyone tomorrow!

Sunday 7 October 2012

THE UNIPORT 4 "JUNGLE JUSTICE"




I'm not going to bother you with the gruesome details and video of the "UNIPORT 4". But the fact remains that yet another acid test has been painfully provided for the Nigerian Police to at least do the basic thing The Police do all over the world which is to fight crime and help get justice for the oppressed. The Rivers State Police command should do better than the reported "we have commenced investigations". We need to see some arrests being made and court proceedings started ASAP! This coming on the heels of the Mubi Hostel massacre is to say the least most disheartening. But at least the perpetrators of this heinous act are not faceless as the Mubi Criminals, the Aluu community know their sons and should be compelled to provide them for the law to take its full course.


Tuesday 25 September 2012

EXTRA-JUDICIAL POLICE KILLING: JUSTICE FOR LATE UGO OZUAH



Will there be justice this time?

This I am quite sure is the burning question on every good Nigerian's mind concerning the brutal murder of yet another promising Nigerian youth by the police. I am talking about the cold blooded murder of UGO OZUAH in Lagos five days after his wedding! Is this going to go the way of the others whose cases have been forgotten by the authorities? Like the persons killed during the fuel subsidy removal protests, the APO 6, and so many others!

The most disturbing part is that five days later after this most wicked and calous act, there is still no official statement from the Nigerian Police! Are the culprits in custody, free or at large? No body knows.

In case you are still wondering what the hell I'm talking about or you have not read the story before please see below:



A young man named Ugo Ozuah, who got married on the 15th of September, 2012 was shot, five days later, on the 20th of September, 2012. According to his friends and family, he was shot by drunken policemen who pulled up beside him in a pickup van. Although the Police has not released an official statement on his murder, his friends and family have been broadcasting news of his death on Blackberry and social media in a bid to get justice.



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This is the unfortunate story of my friend and brother. A young amazing guy – Ugo Ozuah. Ugo went to Kings College, Lagos and UI. He got married saturday the 15th of Sept, 2012. He was shot by the Nigerian Police 5 days later on the 20th of Sept, 2012 right in front of the UPS office on the Gbagada Express as he and his friend were flagging down a taxi cab. The police pickup truck pulled up and shot Ugo twice in his chest at close range as the bullet came out his back. He was not resisting arrest, he was not arguing with the police, he was not asked to identify himself, he just stood with a friend who came in from London to attend his wedding. These policemen in uniform were drunk, IG of police has said they were not his boys. I guess he saw them from his Abuja office. If we don’t raise our voices in unionism we may not get justice for Ugo so please keep broadcasting till someone listens and takes action. It may be your brother, sister, friend, child, parent etc tomorrow God forbid. But there has to be a process for the Police force. This unnecessary killings by people who are meant to protect us must stop. If they suspected Ugo he could have been shot in the leg, he should have been asked to identify himself. Not killed like an animal and left to die. Thank you and God bless as you broadcast.
~ Seun Ayodele-Alley

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September 20th, 2012 started like any other for many of us. It was a regular day, albeit a special one, as our Alma Mater, King’s College Lagos (KC) was celebrating its 103rd anniversary. Consequently, many Old Boys spent the day exchanging felicitations face to face, via phone calls and the internet.
Unknown to many of us, this was the last time we would only associate that date with the anniversary of the founding of our dear school, for on the day in 2012, King’s College Lagos lost Ugochukwu ‘Ugo’ Ozuah, to the cold hands of death. It wasn’t a normal death due to sickness or negligence on his part, but death in the form of an execution carried out by men of the Nigeria Police Force who randomly decided to shoot him in the chest at point-blank range.
Ozuah and the rest of our set graduated from KC in 1993. Upon graduation he went on to the University of Ibadan for his undergraduate degree. Having completed his education in the 90s, he returned to Lagos to join the work force and begin his professional life. He also had a lot to look forward to in his personal life as he got married to the love of his life exactly a week ago, Saturday the 15th of September 2012, and had just returned from his honeymoon on Wednesday, the day before his tragic death.
It was with immense shock that those of us on our set’s mailing list received a message on the morning of September 21st stating that he had been shot and killed the day before by the police. With disbelief many of us asked follow-up questions to the person who originally sent out the message, trying to ascertain if he was sure it was indeed ‘Ozuah’ (as many of us called him) who had been murdered, within an hour we had another member of our set confirm that Ozuah was indeed the one.
As details emerged, it turned out that one of our former classmates who is now based in the UK had come into Nigeria for Ozuah’s wedding. This classmate had gone to visit the new family after they returned from their honeymoon, and at 10pm had been driven to the Gbagada Expressway (in front of the UPS office) by Ozuah to catch a cab home.
As they were waiting for a taxi to pass by, a Police pickup truck with intoxicated but uniformed policemen in it pulled up about 10-15 feet from them, and a policeman fired a shot directly into Ozuah’s chest, with the bullet going right through.
The classmate who was with him immediately ran for cover, as he did not want to be shot too. By the time he returned a few minutes later, Ozuah’s bleeding body was on the ground, with a plethora of policemen, including the DPO from the Anthony Police Station gathered around it. He was late transported to a private hospital in Ikeja where he was confirmed dead, even though the Gbagada General Hospital was nearby.
Thus a young man’s life was snuffed out by a police force that was created to serve and protect him and his fellow citizens.
I’m still in shock, angry, bitter, disappointed and dejected, but I’m determined to play my part to ensure his death would not be in vain. The Nigeria Police Force must arrest and prosecute the policemen responsible for his cold-blooded murder. I’m also putting this narrative out now, so that tomorrow we won’t hear how Ugochukwu Ozuah was resisting arrest, or got shot during an armed robbery operation gone wrong, or some other ridiculous story that the NPF is notorious for concocting when they shoot innocent people down in cold blood.
I pray the Lord grants his family the fortitude to go through this terrible time, and his new bride strength as she mourns a man she had barely been married to for one week.
To Ugochukwu Ozuah, the self-styled ‘Wizard of Oz’ from our KC days, I say Floreat and adieu my brother, one day we shall meet again in a much better place.
~ Mr. Aye Dee.
His poor, poor wife! And family and friends and fellow citizens. Everyone who hears this story should feel bad and want, nay demand justice. It could be anyone, anyone at all. The country is ripe….fro some sort of revolution. With the way things are run, we might as well be living in the middle ages.

Monday 24 September 2012

TERRY RETIRES!!!



BREAKING NEWS: ENGLAND AND CHELSEA ACE DEFENDER SUDDENLY RETIRES FROM INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL!!!!!!
Chelsea captain John Terry, has announced a shock retirement from international football, with immediate effect. The England defender, is clearly not pleased with the FA’s stance on his case of race abuse with Anton Ferdinand. Terry was cleared at Westminister Magistrates Court, but the FA hearing will begin this week.

“I am today announcing my retirement from international football,” Terry, who was stripped of the England captaincy, because of the case said. “I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable.

“I now look forward to playing for Chelsea FC and challenging for domestic and European honours and I want to thank the fans and the club for their continued support.

“I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps.

“I have had great pleasure in sharing that honour with all the players that I’ve played with.

“I would like to thank them, the fans and my family for their support and encouragement during my international career.

“Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honour.

“I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision.

He concluded by saying “I want to wish Roy (Hodgson) and the team every success for the future.”

Wednesday 29 August 2012

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