Nigeria - Troubled Giant

After lurching from one military coup to another, Nigeria now has an elected leadership. But the government faces the growing challenge of preventing Africa's most populous country from breaking apart along ethnic and religious lines.

Political liberalisation ushered in by the return to civilian rule in 1999 has allowed militants from religious and ethnic groups to pursue their demands through violence.

Thousands of people have died over the past few years in communal attacks led by the al-Qaeda ally Boko Haram. Separatist aspirations have also been growing, prompting reminders of the bitter civil war over the breakaway Biafran republic in the late 1960s.

At a glance

• Politics: People's Democratic Party (PDP) has dominated since the return to civilian rule in 1999. The al-Qaeda-aligned Boko Haram armed movement is conducting an insurrection in the mainly Muslim north
• Economy: Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer; more than half of its people live in poverty
• International: Nigeria plays a prominent role in African affairs; has withdrawn troops from oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to settle border dispute with Cameroon

The imposition of Islamic law in several northern states has embedded divisions and caused thousands of Christians to flee. 

The government is striving to boost the economy, which experienced an oil boom in the 1970s and is once again benefiting from high prices on the world market. But progress has been undermined by corruption and mismanagement.

The former British colony is one of the world's largest oil producers, but the industry has produced unwanted side effects.

The trade in stolen oil has fuelled violence and corruption in the Niger delta - the home of the industry. Few Nigerians, including those in oil-producing areas, have benefited from the oil wealth.

In 2004, Niger Delta activists demanding a greater share of oil income for locals began a campaign of violence against the oil infrastructure, threatening Nigeria's most important economic lifeline.

Nigeria is keen to attract foreign investment but is hindered in this quest by security concerns as well as by a shaky infrastructure troubled by power cuts.

Nelson Mandela admitted to hospital with lung infection

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital overnight after a recurrence of a lung infection, the South African president's office said Thursday.

The Nobel laureate was admitted to hospital just before midnight Wednesday.

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family, and to keep them in their thoughts."

Madiba refers to his affectionate clan name, which is widely used in the nation.

2012: Granddaughters: He's doing well

2012: Nelson Mandela back home

Zuma's office did not say what hospital he was in, but renewed calls for his privacy.

The anti-apartheid icon was hospitalized again this month, but officials said it was only for a routine checkup.

Mandela, 94, has undergone treatment for the ailment before, including a Christmas hospital stay last year for gallstones surgery and a lung infection. He was also treated for an acute respiratory infection in 2011.

Considered the founding father of South Africa's democracy, Mandela became an international figure when he endured 27 years in prison for fighting racial segregation.

During his imprisonment, he suffered from tuberculosis, and has battled respiratory infections over the years.

He was freed in 1990. Three years later, he and then-South African President F.W. de Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1994, Mandela was elected president, serving only one term as he had promised.

Despite his rare public appearances in recent years, he retains his popularity and is considered a hero of democracy in the nation. Last year, South Africa launched a new batch of banknotes with a picture of a smiling Mandela on the front, a testament to his iconic status in the nation.

Mandela's impact extends far beyond South African borders. After he left office in 1999, he was involved in mediating conflicts from Africa to the Mideast.

PHOTOS: D'banj Parties With Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa As Big Sean Celebrates 25th Birthday

American rapper Big Sean turned 25 yesterday and was treated to a surprise birthday party by friends, family and colleagues in Beverly Hills, California.
The Entertainment master himself, D'Banj was in attendance.
View pictures below...

Woman hides drug in private parts

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Wednesday arrested a 33 years old Senegalese woman with 680 grammes of heroin and cocaine tactically hidden in her private parts at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos while attempting to board an Arik Air flight to Dakar.

The suspect, Miss Kamara Oumou claimed that she smuggled the drugs for the love she had for her Nigerian boyfriend.

Miss Oumou with Senegal international passport number 400680371 was apprehended by the officials of the anti-narcotics agency during the screening of passengers at the airport.

Speaking on the arrest, NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar said that the suspect used industrial tape in sticking three parcels of cocaine weighing 515 grammes on her waist while 6 wraps of heroin weighing 165 grammes were inserted in her private parts.

Mr. Umar said “it was a carefully concealed method but not intelligent enough to escape our detection”.
He however stressed that Miss Oumou shocked her investigators when she said that she smuggled the drugs for the love she had for her Nigerian boyfriend who she simply identified as Hakeem.

According to Mr. Umar “preliminary investigation revealed that they both met in Dakar where Hakeem is believed to have lived for 11 years. Their relationship lasted only six months before Hakeem left Dakar in December 2012. Hakeem invited Kamara to Lagos from Dakar and lodged her in a hotel where they both spent a week together.

Within this period, he made necessary arrangement for Kamara to go back with the drugs”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the NDLEA Ahmadu Giade advised members of the public to be careful of the tricks employed by drug trafficking syndicates.

“It is wrong to commit a criminal act. No reason is strong enough to engage in drug trafficking. Drug barons may claim to be in love with unsuspecting couriers. They may even present themselves as philanthropists, members of the public are advised to shun drug trafficking” Giade urged. He however said that the suspect will soon be charged to court.

Narrating her ordeals, Kamara said that it was her first time of seeing drugs.
“I have a good relationship with Hakeem until my arrest. The day he brought the drugs to the hotel room was my first time ever of seeing drugs.

He called the drugs products and that his business partners are unfaithful and he wants me to take the products to Dakar because he had trust in me.

Hakeem taught me how to pack the drugs and also took care of my travel arrangements. He said that he lives in the east but he took good care of me in the hotel in Lagos. We were to travel together to Dakar but he suddenly changed the arrangement. Hakeem travelled to Dakar a day before my trip” Kamara stated.

“How can I ask my boyfriend to pay me? I smuggled the drugs for the love I have for my Nigerian boyfriend” Kamara stated.

Wizkid to return to former music label, EME

 

If everything goes according to plan, Wizkid will soon be returning to his former music label, EME Music Group, this is according to a reliable industry source.

The source revealed that Wizkid and EME bosses have been going back and forth for the last couple of weeks through their lawyers trying to agree on new terms of them working together again.

"Wizkid leaving EME was just his way of pushing the bosses at the label to take him seriously and increase his earning percentage.

"When he joined EME he wasn't a star but then he became a mega star and was making a lot of money for the label and they still didn't increase his earning percentage so he took a walk.

"Now they are working on a new contract that will favour Wizkid," the source said.

Reports say in the new contract being drafted, EME will not take a dime from Wizkid's international deals when they start working together again

Reptiles,weeds take over Abuja National Stadium

SENATE President David Mark Tuesday warned that if Nigeria as a country must get it right in the area of Sports and compete favourably with other nations of the world, there was the urgent need for the Federal government to stop what he termed lip service to the sector and show serious commitment.




Lamenting the deplorable condition of Sports and its facilities in the country, the Senate President who cited the Abuja National Stadium as a case study in this bad state of the sector, stressed that the edifice had been taken over by reptiles and weeds due largely to lack of attention by the government.

He equally decried the way the country’s Super Eagles was starting its 2014 World Cup qualifier, warning, “It will be a major embarrassment if Nigeria fails to qualifier for the World Cup.

Senator Mark who also accused the Federal Government of being solely responsible for Nigeria’s dwindling sports development, stressed that sports administrators were running the sector purely on what he termed their selfish desires.



The Senate President spoke yesterday during debates on a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Nigerian Football Association Act Cap. N110 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Enact the Nigerian Football Federation Act 2013 to provide for football administration in Nigeria which was sponsored by Senate Committee Chairman on Sports and Social Development, Senator Ibrahim Gumba, PDP, Bauchi South.
He said, “Football unites Nigerians and we have to do what it takes to save football in the country. Government cannot fund football and not be involved and this is what FIFA doesn’t want so we need to strike a delicate balance”, he said, adding: “This Bill needs to be accelerated so that we can remove the gray areas. Government alone cannot run football”.

Mother starving kids to death

TOKYO (AFP) – A 25-year-old mother whose two young children starved to death surrounded by rubbish after she locked them in her apartment has been sentenced to 30 years in jail in Japan, reports said Wednesday.

Single mother Sanae Nakamura regularly left her daughter, 3, and one-year-old son, in the apartment in western Osaka while she spent the night at her boyfriend’s house, reports said.
She had begin leaving them alone in March 2010, the Asahi Shimbun said, adding that sometime in early June that year she stopped coming home.

But when she did eventually return later that month the two tots were dead, the paper said.
Nakamura was convicted of murder by Japan’s lower courts and sentenced to 30 years at earlier hearings, which found she had known that leaving the children without sufficient food would kill them.
The country’s supreme court on Monday upheld the sentence, the Asahi and Kyodo News reported on Wednesday.

Blackface - Tuface/Annie wedding: I was not invited

Blackface has via a tweet confirmed that indeed he had not been among the 250 guests invited for the mega wedding of the year (so far) Tuface/Annie as he had gotten no invitation from Tuface to attend the ceremonies in Dubai.
Blackface tweeted

Nope I dey Naija! I no dey go where I no dey invited! But I wish them all they wish themselves!

Blackface, Tuface

Tuface and BlackFace had been friend for years. Both met at the Institute of Management technology Enugu in 1996 shortly before Plantashun Boyz was formed with Richard Chibuzor Oj (Faze). They were cute buddies until undisclosed internal crisis forced the group to split.
Real trouble between these two however started with the noise raised over the original writer of African Queen. Tuface almost lost the shine he garnered from the success of the song after allegations of ‘unlawful usage of intellectual property’ was allegedly raised by Blackface. The matter was quickly and amicably settled but their relationship never again remained the same even after they came back briefly in 2007 to do a Plantashun Boyz re-union album titled Plan B.
Blackface has never been sighted at significant events concerning Tuface. Again probably because he has never been invited.
Tuface and Annie Idibia’s wedding held at the Sefinah Ballroom of Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai. Reception took place at an exotic Island called Royal Island Beach. Guests were conveyed in luxury boats from the wedding venue to the Island. The wedding after party took place at Nigerian owned club, Kiza Nite Club.
If you were Tuface Idibia, would you have handled this differently? Share your thoughts.

2Face A Wicked Man, Only God Will Judge You On What You Did To Us – Amina

“I never knew or comprehend that Mr 2face Innocent Idibia had this spirit of Wickedness in him.

We have been encouraging him even he was nothing till now that he felt that he has arrived.
2Face, We all bought every CD you has ever played, paid for all the shows your attended, devout our time to listen to all your songs, even when the songs may not meet out expectations, as an encouragement we continued to listen to them.
Yet you didn’t show us appreciation. 2Face, Let me ask you a question. How many Arabs has bought your CDs or listen to your any of your songs? Annie Macaulay’s Parents are not Arabs as to say your choose Arabland because of proximity to her Parents.
With your spirit of wickedness, you carry your wedding to Dubai so that Nigerian fans will not eat rice or cake or drink your mineral or even our local beer. You know for sure that most of your fans can’t afford the ticket to Dubai.
You denied your fans who bought and paid for your CDs and Shows the generational opportunity to see a glimpse of your wedding, because your are sure that WE fans are not important, Nigeria is not good enough to host a Celebrity Wedding.
Tomorrow your friends and colleagues in the entertainment Industry who are Naturally Copy-cats will join the trend of wasting our Foreign Exchange in countries that see Nigerians as no body.
Well, let me tell you, get ready to sell your next album in Dubai, perform all your new shows in Arab, with new found Arab fans, as For me, I will not buy or patronise your Music ever, again.
Though it is certain that you are so wicked to us, but we will only forgive you on two condition:-
1] Apologise to Nigerian for refusing to create History in Our Land.
2] You Must take up a Campaign to your copy-cat friends and Colleagues in the entertainment industry to learn how to Appreciate, patronise Nigeria and Thinking Nigeria, First.

By – Amina Umar

Kano Bomb Blast: No Helping Hand In Hell

Ahmad Abubakar Warawa, 58, a victim of the Monday blast in the Sabongari area of Kano, hawked caps within the premises of the park daily. “This is my second home; we are used to the people here and we have everything to be grateful to Allah for, for the patronage we are getting here”, he said before narrating how he survived the attack.
“A s usual, I was around on that fateful day.  It was at the peak of the business that I heard a blast and  the next thing was that I was surrounded by fire. I noticed that life in hell is a difficult one. Hardly could you see anyone to the rescue.  I saw people who were practically in trouble, but there was no helping hand.”
Warawa, who was badly burnt, however, was full of praises to Allah for his life.  “What I saw strengthened my faith in God, and my experience points to the fact that humans have an appointed time to die and you only die when your time is up”.
The cap vendor had his bowel ripped open by the blast.  “You can see that I have undergone a procedure and the bowel has been neatly sealed“, he said.
“I did not believe I will  live, but here I am on my sick bed with severe burns on my legs and the upper region, and my bowel ripped opened, all in the name of going out for a legitimate business to keep life going”.

KANO BOMBING—Victims of the Kano suicide bombing and some of the affected buses  as smoke billowed from the bus park.

He explained that doctors had assured him that all will be well.  “But my prayer is that we have paid a huge sacrifice to bring an end to this carnage that seems to indicate no end in sight”.
Pointing at other survivors on admission at the Murtala Muhammed Hospital, Warawa stated: “Look at  the victims of this blast, the impression you get is that you have people you can conveniently refer to as brothers but were lumped together by fate to pay a huge sacrifice”.
Another survivor receiving treatment in the hospital, Magawata Goje, 45, told Sunday Vanguard he didn’t know how he survived.  “I was inside the Lagos bound luxury bus when the blast occurred. I was seated at the rear, and it is only Allah that understands how I survived”.
Goje explained:  “I heard people saying  I was dead because I was covered with blood and I could see a lot of people in comatose position and I had to raise my hand to draw the attention of the rescuers before they attended to me”.
Yet another survivor, Emmanuel Bassey, a 40-year-old tout, narrated his encounter with the suicide bomber before he struck.
Bassey, who claimed to be attached to Ezewanta Group of Motors, stated that “the guy came in a blue Golf car.  He was dark in complexion and appeared to be in his mid 30s. He was calm during my brief interaction with him and did not look harmful.
“I asked him where he was going, and he replied, ‘I have not decided’. Then, some of my colleagues, (touts), in the garage were rushing towards him.  Suddenly he sped off, applied the brakes close to a loaded vehicle and, within a twinkle of an eye, I had a loud bang that sent me sprawling on the ground”, Bassey explained.
He revealed that four of his colleagues running after him, believing he was a prospective passenger, and to ascertain which part of the country he was going died on the spot due to the impact of the blast.
“I saw hell and thought I was going to die before some good Samaritans brought me to the hospital for medical attention”, the survivor, who suffered second degree burns, said.
Bassey lost his skin and his stomach was ripped open by the blast but had undergone some procedure and appeared to be in a stable condition.
Bassey displayed a deep hole close to his stomach and said, “I was simply not lucky on the day of carnage but, all the same, I give glory to God that I am alive but hope government will do their best to bring the perpetrators to book”.

“I Am Devastated” – Wole Soyinka Confirms Chinua Achebe’s Death

Wole Soyinka commented on Cool Fm, a private radio station in Lagos on how devasted he is on the death of talented and celebrated writer, Chinua Achebe.

According to BBC’s Fidelis Mbah of the BBC, who monitored the interview, the Nobel Laureate said: “I’m just devastated. I only heard about half an hour ago and I don’t want to say anything yet. I’m just devastated.”
Achebe, a talented and celebrated writer and author of the timeless novel, Things Fall Apart, passed on last night in a a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

photos: Tuface And Annie Wedding At Dubai

Photos: 2face & Annie Idibia Wedding Live Dubai

Irrespective of tight security and phones been switch off as a mark of respect, Reconnect still manage to get few out of first set of photos. The wedding is still currently ongoing with Basketmouth on the MIC now.
More photos later.

Prophet Timothy Obadare Is Dead

Early 1980s. The setting is Iroko, a sleepy town along old Ibadan-Oyo Road. A crusade was holding on the field of one of the primary schools there. At the centre of this was the preacher, whose words oozed with the power that commanded the attention of many people that had been attracted to the crusade ground.

After preaching fervently against iniquities and man’s wickedness against his fellow man, it was the time to battle witches and wizards. The man of God launched into a special prayer that practically shook the ground. In the process, weird sporadic cries erupted from several angles of the pitch. Some of the people making the noises, mostly women, fell down unconsciously, with some rolling on the ground with the impression that they were under the spell of some powerful spirits.
Soon, normalcy returned at the end of the prayer, but it was confession time. One after the other, some people climbed the platform on which the pastor and his interpreter stood. The fellows said various strange things, mostly indicating negative things they had done on the strength of the wicked powers they possessed.
Among other people, many pupils of Iroko Community Grammar School, who were in the congregation, would not forget in a hurry the confession made by one woman from whom they bought dried fish, ‘puff puff’ and groundnut. She said she was a witch, but she was ready to change her ways for good.
The story did not end there. The man of God noted that some of the trees that punctuated various parts of the town, including those standing by roadsides, played hosts to the contrary spirits who held their nocturnal meetings there. He ordered that such trees be felled, and the instruction was promptly carried out by residents who yearned for succor from captivity.
The man of God in question is Prophet Timothy Oluwole Obadare, the founder of World Soul-Winning Evangelical Ministry, who died on Thursday. With his passage, Nigeria has lost a veteran preacher and, one may say, a spiritual warrior, who dedicated his life to the prophetic, preaching and healing calling.
Before radio and TV evangelism became the fad in Nigeria, Obadare’s voice had for long reigned on air, and it will continue to ring in the mind of many people in years to come. Although, he could also not completely escape some controversy, many Nigerians will remember Obadare for his not submerging himself in the kind of politics that affects the credibility of some men of God.

Wizkid is in love

Wizkid is definitely in love, most celebs his age would hide the fact that they have a girlfriend because of their massive female fan base.

He wished his girl well on Twitter and then posted a photo of her on his instagram page.
Her name is Tania Omotayo Teller and they've been dating for a while.

BREAKING NEWS: Chinua Achebe is Dead!

Tragedy has befallen the land. The iroko has fallen. The Eagle On The Iroko, Prof. Chinua Achebe, is dead.

Chinua Achebe, one of the world’s most celebrated writers and author of the classic novel Things Fall Apart, is dead.
SaharaReporters learned that Achebe, who was the David and Mariana Fisher Professor of Literature at Brown University, died last night in a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Professor Achebe had been sick for some time.
He was 82, having been born on November 16, 1930, and had been in hospital in recent days.
Achebe is best known for his classical novel Things fall Apart. His last book, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, is still making waves.
More details soon...

PHOTOS: Meet The World's Youngest Father

Sean Stewart became the youngest father in Britain yesterday when his girlfriend gave birth to a healthy son. Sean is 12 and girlfriend Emma Webster id 16-year-old girlfriend
The pair, who are neighbours at Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, were 11 and 15 when Emma became pregnant. Sean and his mother moved next door to the Websters in November 1996 and he became Emma's boyfriend shortly after that. He is a 7th year at Margaret Beaufort School in the nearby village of Riseley. Emma is studying for her GCSEs - including one in child care - at Sharnbrook Upper School.
Last summer, Sean said he would stand by Emma and be there for the baby. "I was shocked at first when I was told Emma was pregnant but I am all right about it now." Emma said she thought Sean had told her he was the same age as she was
when they started going out.