Tuesday 4 June 2013
Nigerian-Born Actor to become the first black Doctor
With the announcement that Matt Smith would be leaving the role of Doctor Who at the end of the year, the hunt is on to find the twelfth Time Lord.
And so far, Nigerian-born British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has been given 7/1 odds and is the sci-fi fan sites' favourite to fill the role, not to mention becoming the first black Doctor in the show's history. Chiwetel, 35, has already stated that if the series' producers asked him to play the Time Lord, he'd tell them 'yes, of course.'
Asked by Andrew Marr in 2011 whether he'd take on the part, the actor said: 'Yes, of course. It's always good to be asked to come back to London and do great stuff not only in television but in theatre and film too.'
Skybet gave BAFTA-winner Chiwetel, the odds taking into account his stellar history on stage and screen, having starred in films like American Gangster and Love.
But Ejiofor isn't the only star rumoured to be taking on the high-profile job, with Rory Kinnear as the Ladbrokes favourite with odds of 3/1.
Russell Tovey is also a strong contender, whose name was linked to the eleventh Doctor role but obviously the Being Human star lost out to Matt Smith in 2010.
I'm Gunner move: Real striker Higuain keen on £20m switch to Arsenal
Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain has hinted at a summer move to Arsenal by saying the London club would be a perfect fit.
Higuain is on his way out of Real Madrid and Arsene Wenger’s side look to be in pole position to land the striker.
Liverpool and Spurs are also interested in the striker but Higuain says a move to The Emirates would be his first choice.
He told The Metro: ‘There have already been offers and I hope that Madrid do the best for me and themselves.
‘Arsenal? They would suit me, I’m still young and I have goals.
‘There are many possibilities. I want to go to a league where I’ll be put to the test.’
Wenger is looking to boost his strike force ahead of the new season and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is at the top of the list with Stevan Jovetic and Swansea Swansea striker Michu also on the list, but it is likely that Higuain will be the easier to get with Madrid ready to sell for around £20million.
Surround me with champions or I'm off, says Arsenal Defender Koscielny
Laurent Koscielny has rocked Arsenal by demanding Arsene Wenger shows ambition in the transfer market this summer or he will look to leave the club.
The centre back has had his best season at the Emirates since arriving from Lorient in 2010, and Bayern Munich had earlier been reported as a possible destination, with the European champions rumoured to be lining up a £15million bid.
Koscielny said he is enjoying life in north London, but became the latest in a long line of Arsenal stars to challenge the club to mount a more meaningful challenge for honours.
'I want to lift trophies and to have a winning record. I hope the club will give me the means. If this weren’t the case, I’d look elsewhere,' the France defender told Eurosport.
'I want to win titles and I hope the club has the means. It deserves it. Does the club want to keep me? That question is also there.'
Koscielny, 27, has cemented a place in the Arsenal first-team, forming a formidable partnership with Per Mertesacker and key was to the Gunners' 10-match unbeaten run which saw them claim the final Champions League qualification spot.
'I feel good at Arsenal. I’ve just come to the end of a complicated season, especially the first six months, but it’s over now,' he added.
'If the club has the means to compete with the best, I have no reason to leave. But if it fights every year for Champions League it’s hard psychologically to be under such constant pressure.
'I do not want to go anywhere. Of course I want to know another championship, but it’s complicated.'
The words, said before France's clash with Uruguay, will be a blow to Arsenal fans, who have seen Robin van Persie, Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leave in the last two summers, all highlighting the club's lack of ambition.
As the African Union turns 50, the Future Awards goes continental for season 8
The Central Working Committee for The Future Awards has announced the formal calendar of activities for The Future Awards 2013, which is the 8th season of the awards – and the formal statement comes with a big announcement!
“It has been seven years of inspiring young Nigerian leaders across the country,” said Chude Jideonwo, who is executive director of The Future Project. “We have visited 23 states with the awards, the town hall meetings, conferences amongst others and we have touched thousands of lives. That legacy will remain.
"This year however, after visiting Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia, we are excited to announce that The Future Awards will go continental for the first time – and this move is timed to coincide with the just-concluded 50th anniversary celebration of the African Union.”
This edition is hosted in partnership with the youth office of the African Union Commission, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and nominations for the awards’ biggest prize, Young Person of the Year to be Africa-based.
“We are very proud of The Future Awards because it has always been based on performance and achievement,” said Dr. Raymonde Agossou, who is Head of the Division Human Resources and Youth Development of the African Union Commission. “Those values have remained intact and should always be.”
(WATCH NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, RAYMONDE AGOSSOU TONY O. ELUMELU, ONYEKA ONWENU, FRANK NWEKE & OTHERS SPEAK ABOUT THE FUTURE AWARDS 2013 HERE: http://thefutureafrica.com/awards/videos/)
(WATCH CHUDE JIDEONWO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FUTURE PROJECT, SPEAK ABOUT THE NOMINATIONS PROCESS HERE: http://www.thefuturenigeria.com/the-future-awards-2013/)
(SEE THE FULL LIST OF 16 CATEGORIES HERE: http://thefutureafrica.com/awards/nominate/)
ACTIVITIES LEADING TO THE FUTURE AWARDS 2013 INCLUDE:
Official Announcement of The Future Awards 2013 + Young Person of the Year: The Africa Prize – Addis Ababa, May 2013
Release of Nominees List – Lagos, June 2013
The Future Business Master-Class – Lagos, June 2013
United States Consul-General hosts The Future Awards Nominees – Lagos, July 2013
Nigeria Leadership Initiative hosts The Future Awards Nominees – Lagos, July 2013
“Nominations are now on,” said Jideonwo. “Please nominate any inspiring young Nigerians between 18 and 31 in the categories above by going to the website www.thefutureafrica.com/awards
. Those without Internet access should call or SMS 08022226712. As this year’s campaign declares: Inspiration begins here!”
The event holds in August 2013. Judges will be officially unveiled in a statement next week. There will be no public voting for The Future Awards 2013.
Media Partners include Channels Television, Punch Newspapers, Silverbird TV, Nigeria Info, BellaNaija,LindaIkejiBlog, Premium Times, 360Nobs, LadunLiadiBlog and Jobberman. Official Media Partners are Africa Magic, Venture Africa, TW, Cool FM, Wazobia FM and Y!/YNaija.com.
For more information, visit @TFAAfrica on Twitter or the website www.thefutureafrica.com/awards.
To view the press release, visit http://thefutureafrica.com/awards/category/press-releases/
Babcock student loses 8 family members in car accident on their way to her graduation
One of Babcock's best graduating student, Margaret Okwuikpo, lost eight members of her family in a horrific auto accident on Friday May 31st in Port Harcourt. Margaret's father, grandmother, sisters, brothers and a cousin were on their way to her graduation ceremony, which was to take place on Sunday June 2nd, when the commercial bus they were traveling in crashed.
Margaret's mum, brother-in-law and two other people survived the accident and are being treated in the hospital.
VIDEO: 13-Year-Old Joshua Ajayi Wins N1million
A 13-year old Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant has emerged the winner of N1m prize.
Joshua Ajayi, a JSS3 Kings College Student took the hot seat yesterday and left the show a Millionaire.
Congrats.
Watch Video: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=7tFKosUlUqo
HIT VIDEO: Olorun Mi (A Tribute To The Ones We Lost) By Tiwa Savage
Just after her recent album listening party, songstress Tiwa Savage drops this new music video in memory of the ones we've lost as a nation.
From Justus Esiri, Goldie, ALUU 4, to the 153 passengers of the ill-fated Dana crash, may their souls rest in peace.
We think the video is beautiful and the song is inspiring but we'd like to read what you think. So feel free to let us know in the comment section...
Open link to watch Video:http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Xk8noPa15lg
"You Are A Woman" - Doctor confirms a 66-Year-Old Man After He Complained Of Stomach
A 66-year-old man who went to the doctors with stomach ache got a shock - when he was told he was actually a WOMAN.
Stunned doctors realised the bearded patient was actually a woman when they found that the swollen belly was actually a large cyst on her ovary.
The subject suffered from two rare genetic disorders, one of which, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, increases male hormones meaning they had a beard and a "micropenis", the Hong Kong Medical Journal reported.
The other - Turner Syndrome - affects peoples X and Y chromosomes.
The patient, who grew up as an orphan, was found to have no testes, and stopped growing after puberty at the age of 10.
Seven doctors from Hong Kong where the man lived wrote in the study: "Were it not due to the huge ovarian cyst, his intriguing medical condition might never have been exposed."
The doctors said there have been only six cases where both genetic disorders have been reported in medical literature. Turner Syndrome on its own affects only one in 2,500 to 3,000 females.
The Vietnam-born Chinese patient decided to continue "perceiving himself as having a male gender with the possible need of testosterone replacement."
Most men have a X and a Y chromosome and most women have a pair of X chromosomes.
People with Turner Syndrome tend to have only one X chromosome or are missing part of their second X chromosome.
Pastor Arrested For Allegedly Raping 14-Year-Old Boy
The police are investigating the incident of raping a 14-year-old boy by a pastor, Chukwunonso Okudiover, who has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor.
The suspect, the General Overseer of the Jesus Army of Salvation Ministry, Ama-Alim Ngugo in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo, was captured by the youth of the community when the victim complained to his family.
A member of the victim's family, Francis Ejiekwu, said the boy had complained of a chest pain and was invited by the pastor who also runs a medicine store.
Mr. Ejekwu said the pastor rubbed a liquid substance on the boy's chest after which he became unconscious.
"The pastor rubbed something on his chest and he became almost unconscious after which he raped him. When he came home he complained of pain in his anus and said he suspeced being raped," he said.
According to him, the pastor confessed to the rape when he was confronted by the youth of the community.
The Public Relations Officer of the Imo police command, Joy Elemoko, confirmed the incident, saying the case had been brought to the command headquarters.
Teenager 19, stabbed his friend to death for mocking Lionel Richie song
urned it off because it had been played at his grandfather's funeral.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Thomas then flew into a rage and killed Male in January this year.
Prosecutor Huw Evans said: 'The song had a significant effect on Thomas because it was played at his grandfather's funeral.
'Mr Male made derogatory remarks about the song and he changed the CD and called him "kiddo".
'Thomas was offended about being spoken to in this way. He hit him, picked up a knife from the kitchen and stabbed him.'
The court heard Thomas stabbed his victim 18 times across his body and face and nearly cut his ear in half.
The pair had been listening to hits compilation 'Back to Front' at the home of Mr Male, 45, in Aberdare, South Wales.
Cardiff Crown Court heard they had been drinking beers while playing the CD, which features hits such as Hello, All Night Long and Dancing on the Ceiling.
When album track Love, Oh Love came on, it was mocked by Mr Male, prompting drunken Thomas to used an 4ins kitchen knife to stab Mr Male 'multiple times'.
Afterwards, Thomas went to his sister's house and told her he had gotten into a row about a Lionel Richie CD.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Thomas was arrested shortly after the attack in January this year.
He said to officers: 'I just murdered someone. Ha ha ha! I just murdered someone and laughed about it.
'Why did I have to go and kill him for? He was taking the p*** out of my grandfather.'
Thomas, of Aberdare, pleaded guilty to murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 10 years and 10 months.
Judge Eleri Rees said drink had a 'profound effect' on his behaviour.
Latest Football Gist
1. Japan can become the 1st country to qualify for the World Cup, beside host Brazil, when they take on Australia tomorrow, needing only a draw.
2. Jakub Blaszczykowski has signed a new 5 year deal with Dortmund.
3. Palermo chief Maurizio Zamparini has admitted that he’ll appoint Gennaro Gattuso as his next Coach.
4. Mario Gotze is set to miss the start of Bayern Munich's season due to injury according to reports.
5. Liverpool will consider bidding for Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke. (Daily Mail)
6. Official: Neymar has passed the medical tests at Barcelona.
7. Chelsea and Brazil defender David Luiz moved a step closer to a move to Barcelona. (ESPN)
8. Michael Essien has confirmed he will be leaving Real Madrid this summer.
9. Jose Mourinho becomes the first full-time Chelsea manager in history to take charge of the club twice. Mourinho will be joined at Stamford Bridge by Assistant Coaches Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais. [Sky Sports]
10. Official : Atletico madrid have signed Rayo Vallecano striker Leo Baptistao.
11. Stoke's Asmir Begovic is committed to the club and is willing to sit down with Mark Hughes to discuss his future. [Sky Sports]
12. Rio Ferdinand will have a testimonial match against Sevilla in August to celebrate his career at Manchester United.
13. Japan international Keisuke Honda will leave Russian league and cup champions CSKA Moscow in the summer. (Express)
14. Ruud van Nistelrooy believes potential incoming coach Manuel Pellegrini will be a success if he finalises a deal with City.
15. Arsenal have approached Celtic about the signing of Kenya midfielder Victor Wanyama, the player’s former coach has told the Daily Mail.
16. Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge could miss the start of the 2013-14 Premier League season with an ankle injury he sustained on international duty.
17. The ref who was barged into by Leonardo, earning him a 9-month ban, has filed a police complaint after receiving death threats.
18. Denilson's agent has confirmed that the midfielder has agreed to leave Arsenal by mutual consent this summer.
19. Arsene Wenger has suggested he would be interested in making a move for Wayne Rooney should the striker be sold by MUFC this summer. [Sky Sports]
20. Official: Dani Carvajal becomes Real Madrid's first signing of the season after Real Madrid activated the €6.5m buy back clause.
Bollywood actress Jiah Khan found dead in Mumbai
Bollywood actress Jiah Khan has been found dead at her apartment in the Indian city of Mumbai, police say.
Khan's mother found her body hanging at her home, police told the BBC. No suicide note has been found, they said.
A post-mortem examination is to be carried out to establish the cause of death and police say they are seeking information from her neighbours.
The 25-year-old actress made her debut in 2007 with Amitabh Bachchan. She also acted with Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar.
"Nafisa Khan, who is known as Jiah Khan, was found hanging by her mother at around 22:45 India time [17:15GMT] ) at her residence on the first floor of Sagar Sangeet [apartment]," deputy commissioner of police Chhering Dorje said.
"Her body has been taken to the hospital where a post-mortem will be conducted to find the cause of her death," he added.
Jiah Khan was born in New York and grew up in London before moving to Mumbai for a career in Bollywood.
She acted in Nishabd, starring Bachchan, and the psychological thriller, Ghajini, which had Aamir Khan in the lead role.
Her last film was in the 2010 comedy Housefull, in which she played a supporting role.
'Too young to go'
Her death caused shock within the film industry.
"Never ever seen a debutant actress with more spunk and more spirit than Jiah when I was directing her in Nishabd," filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma wrote on Twitter.
Bachchan also took to Twitter to react on his colleague's death: "WHAT ...!!! Jiah Khan? What has happened? Is this correct? Unbelievable!!!"
Wrote fellow actress Dia Mirza: "RIP Nafisa (Jiah) Khan. You were too young and beautiful…"
Filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan tweeted: "Can't register that Jiah is no more... Worked with her in Housefull and she was so beautiful and such a good soul. Too young to go Jiah."
Jiah Khan's "official" website says she was born in New York and brought up in London. It says she went to New York to study acting.
She also featured in an advert for the animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).
Source: BBC
9ice’s Woes Deepen As Artistes Dump His Alapomeji Records
We have gathered that artistes under Alapomeji Records, which is owned by 9ice, have left the music label.
This development has compounded to the music career woes of the singer, who is struggling to get a rise into the music mainstream again after he was booted out from limelight few years ago.
The artistes; Seriki, Kayefi and Wise have all dumped Alapomeji Records. It was learnt that the artistes complained of not getting the needed supports from 9ice.
It is being rumoured that the artistes have not had much success being in the music label. 9ice could not be reached to get him speak on the issue.
Achebe a revolutionary author – Obama, Michelle Speaks
President Barack Obama of the United States of America (USA) and his wife, Michelle, have described the late Prof. Chinua Achebe as “a revolutionary author, educator and cultural ambassador.”
They stated this in a letter to the Achebe family, which was read at an event held in honour of Achebe in Washington DC last Sunday, tagged, “A Celebration of Life.” The event also featured an arts exhibition.
The letter, which was read at the event by a White House representative said, “a revolutionary author, educator and cultural ambassador, Chinua Achebe shattered the conventions of literature and shaped the collective identity of Nigerians throughout the world.
With a dream of taking on misperceptions of his homeland, he gave voice to perspectives that cultivated understanding and drew our world closer together.
His legacy will endure in the hearts of all whose lives he touched with the everlasting power of his art.” Other highlights of the event included tributes from public and private friends and dignitaries, cultural dance troupes, music, masquerades and tributes.
I am Not Dating Koro – Doris Simeon
Nollywood actress, Doris Simeon has denied having any romance with top journalist, Wale Olaleye a.k.a Koro. The beautiful screen diva who was formerly married to Movie director, Daniel Ademinokan(Stella’s Damascus new husband), added that the story revolved around falsehood.
Her publicist,Gbenga Bada had this to say;
“The story is baseless, there is no iota of truth in it. Those behind the tale have no proof. It’s even unthinkable, Wale is married with kids and Doris is not in any fresh relationship”.
Doris has also refused to release any statement about her former husband’s marriage to stella damascus. I respect her stance but it’s very evident that she is in a lot of pain.
We Published The Truth – Premium Times Journalist Defends “Lamido Sanusi Scandal”
Early this morning, Premium Times Nigeria made an exclusive report about the CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi and one of the Directors in CBN. The entire social media has since the time of the publication gone agog about the story. One of the Journalists for Premium Times tweeted this:
Here is the story Premium Times Published:
Twenty minutes to midnight on February 25, 2013, and a day before the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria was due to meet, Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi developed a craving for romance — he badly needed a kiss.
The governor, married with children, grabbed his mobile phone and typed out a message. “Maybe you should come kiss me before board meeting tomorrow”, Mr. Sanusi wrote and then squeezed the send button.
At about 9 a.m. the next day, Mrs. Maryam Yaro, a married mother of two, an assistant director and subordinate to the governor at the CBN, arrived at Sanusi’s unnamed Abuja hotel, seeking to keep the date and help address her boss’ craving for a kiss. (Insiders say board members, including those who live in Abuja, are usually lodged in hotels ahead of board meetings).
But by the time Mrs. Yaro left the hotel to return to her official desk at the CBN, the duo had also struck out an arrangement to spend the rest of the week together in Lagos.
So, in the evening of Wednesday February 27, Mrs. Yaro flew to Lagos ahead of Mr. Sanusi and checked into a hotel in the city, skipping work, at taxpayers’ expense, on Thursday February 28 and Friday, March 1.
To keep faith with Mrs. Yaro’s date, the CBN governor arrived Lagos, travelling on a chartered flight, on the night of February 28, and checked into the Federal Palace Hotel, passage and boarding all at taxpayers’ expense.
Both Mr. Sanusi and Mrs. Yaro rendezvoused in the hotel till Sunday when both of them returned to Abuja, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
“…I had such a wonderful weekend,” Mrs. Yaro confessed to the governor while aboard her Abuja-bound flight. “You have revived in me what I thought I lost long ago. I thought I lost the passion to love again,” she claimed.
“Alhamdulillahi. Love you,” Mr. Sanusi responded in a measured tone.
Insiders say repeated violation of the statutory code of conduct for public office holders such as hiring his girlfriends and mistresses without complying with public service rules, dating married and unmarried women within the bank, and flirting with them during official work hours have become defining characters of Mr. Sanusi’s governorship of the central bank.
An official of the bank spoke of how Mr. Sanusi had enthroned nepotism at the bank, arbitrarily hiring girlfriends and relatives and engaging in extramarital relationships with staff.
“This man (the CBN governor) is the most morally bankrupt governor the CBN has ever had,” the official, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, told PREMIUM TIMES. “Forget all the pretences, he is a shameless man of loose character.”
Investigations by this newspaper revealed that Mr. Lamido hired his latest mistress, Mrs. Yaro, without complying with the CBN recruitment policy that stressed, “all appointments shall be made on the basis of merit, through a fair and open selection process.”
“The principles underlying the recruitment process are those of fairness, credibility, equal employment opportunities, merit and optimization of career prospects for currently employed staff,” the bank said on its website.
But Mrs. Yaro, insiders say, was hired in July 2012 without adherence to these principles. Those who should know say Mrs. Yaro, who was a staff at the National Programme on Food Security, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, was brought into the bank as assistant director without “advert for the vacancy and after a kangaroo interview.”
When contacted, Mr. Sanusi said due process was followed in hiring Mrs. Yaro.
He said having worked for years in the ministry of agric, Mrs. Yaro came highly recommended and qualified for the job for which she was hired.
The CBN governor continued, “I have known Dr. Yaro since 1981. She was my student in Yola and she later came to ABU Zaria. We have been very good friends but this is not why NIRSAL took her. You may wish to check her CV against all the other CVs in NIRSAL. And she did go through an interview process with the NIRSAL CEO making the decision not CBN HR.
“As for the personal allegations, this is all strange to me but I have a personal policy of not responding to such allegations since in Nigeria, anything can be published on any public officer without proof. I have limited myself to what concerns official allegations and leave you to your God and your conscience on whatever else you want to publish. Thank you for telling me though.”
Mrs. Yaro however declined comments when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES.
“Be careful what you are saying,” she told one of our reporters on the telephone. “I have nothing to comment to you on anything.”
When asked if she would be willing to respond to specific questions about her trips to Lagos to keep dates with Mr. Sanusi, she simply said, “Whatever it is, I don’t know. Will you just let me be?”
But our investigations revealed that the governor’s claim was far from accurate. Through several interviews and review of records, PREMIUM TIMES was able to determine that Mrs. Yaro and Mr. Sanusi had dated each other for at least six months before she was hired.
Insiders say Mr. Sanusi repeatedly pestered the human resource department of the bank ordering it to bring Mrs. Yaro’s application to him for approval. And once the file reached his table, the governor wasted no time in treating it.
On June 25, 2012, Mr. Sanusi, who was travelling in South Africa at the time, telephoned Mrs. Yaro to break the news to her that he had approved her recruitment in what critics consider a clear conflict of interest and a violation of a provision of Nigeria’s Code of Conduct which stipulates that “a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.”
Mrs. Yaro, (whose businessman husband, Ahmed, is largely based in Kaduna but visits Abuja regularly) assumed duties at the CBN in the first week of September 2012 and was deployed to the Development Finance Department.
The department then put her in charge of the bank’s Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System For Agricultural Lending, (NIRSAL), a unit that attempts to fix the agricultural value chain, so that banks can lend with confidence to the sector and, encourages banks to lend to the agricultural value chain by offering them strong incentives and technical assistance.
Sources said Mrs. Yaro married Ahmed (or Shuaib, according to another source) six years ago after her first husband, Waisu Yaro Bodinga (then an executive director at the Nigeria Ports Authority) died in the ill-fated ADC plane crash of 2006.
The romance between Mrs. Yaro and Mr. Sanusi became even hotter after she began work at the bank, with the two lovers regularly exchanging telephone calls and text messages during work hours to profess love for each other.
At times, Mrs. Yaro would remain in her office far beyond close of work to enable her to keep appointments with the CBN governor, records show.
Sometimes, Mrs. Yaro would raise concerns about Mr. Sanusi’s other girlfriends and mistresses (such as Sutura and Rose) and how they were blocking her from getting the governor’s full attention, but the relationship continued nonetheless.
Mrs. Yaro also began to have access to confidential information known only to top management and board of the bank, insiders say.
At a point, one source said, she began to strategise to corner contracts for one Goke Akinboro, the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos-based Cellullant Limited, an information technology company. Mr. Akinboro is also described as “very close” to Mrs. Yaro.
On March 15, 2013, the CBN lovers headed to Lagos again for another weekend of fun. The initial plan was for the duo to fly to the nation’s commercial capital on Saturday, March 16, returning to Abuja on Sunday. But the trip had to be brought forward by a day after the lovers realized that the Area Council election in Abuja was holding that Saturday and that movement might be restricted.
Mrs. Yaro arrived Lagos on the night of March 15, and immediately checked into the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel on Victoria Island. Mr. Sanusi flew from Kano to Lagos via chartered jet on the bills of the Nigerian taxpayers. He arrived at about 11 p.m., stopped by his Ikoyi home, before dashing to the hotel where Mrs. Yaro was waiting in a seductive dress in Room 23. The lovers spent that night and the next day together in the hotel.
As he flew into Abuja March 17 on a chartered jet, Mr. Sanusi sent a message to Mrs. Yaro saying, “Love. Just landed in Abuja. Thank you for a wonderful weekend.” Mrs. Yaro replied, “Alhamdulillah. I had a wonderful weekend too. I am able to get the 3:15 flight on Arik Air. Love you.”
But in-between those rendezvous in Lagos, Mr. Sanusi and Mrs Yaro also found time to get together elsewhere. They were to meet on March 11, 2013, in Makurdi but somehow Mrs. Yaro could not make it to the Benue State capital. But earlier on February 14, (Valentine’s Day), the lovers had a good time together in Maiduguri. Although, the two of them travelled to the city on different missions, they somehow found a way to get together.
At a point, Mrs. Yaro voiced open frustration when Mr. Lamido delayed in taking her calls as she tried, frantically, to track him down. “I’m thinking that one Shuwa girl has snatched you away from me,” Mrs. Yaro wrote in a message. “I don’t trust them (Maiduguri girls) with you.”
A velvet-ranking figure within Nigeria’s economic and political circles, Mr. Sanusi, is generally perceived as one of the intellectual anchors and moral conscience of this administration. When his five-year term expires next year, he has indicated he would not renew his contract. Mr. Sanusi has a well-advertised ambition to become the future emir of his native Kano, where he is already a top chieftaincy holder (Dan Maje Kano). Dan Majen Kano, a historic title, which means Son of Emir-Maje, is reserved for the royal family members from the Kano Habe dynasty.
A zigzag prospect to run for the Nigerian presidency is also believed to be floating in the horizon for Mr. Sanusi.
Multiple sources at both the CBN and First Bank, where Mr. Sanusi was managing director before his appointment to the central bank, describe the governor as an “incurable womanizer.”
“This guy seems unable to resist anything in skirt, and it is unfortunate that a lot of young people look up to him as an example,” one of Mr. Sanusi’s aides in Abuja said, expressing widely held concerns in banking circles that “It is sad that he wouldn’t even let married women be.”
Mr. Sanusi, 51, appointed CBN Governor on June 3 2009, is a smart economist and award-winning banker with a background in risk management.
He holds a graduate degree in economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a diploma in Sharia and Islamic Studies from the African International University in Khartoum, Sudan. Today, Mr. Sanusi is also commonly regarded as an important voice in Islamic jurisprudence.
The Banker, the UK-based financial magazine honoured him in 2010 as global Central Bank Governor of the Year as well as African Central Bank Governor of the Year. In 2011, the TIME magazine listed Mr. Sanusi in its annual publication of 100 most influential people.
At the African Banker Awards gala dinner held Wednesday in Morocco, Mr. Sanusi also emerged the “2013 Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year.”
“There is no doubt that he is a fairly effective banker,” an official of one of Nigeria’s leading banks, who requested anonymity for fear his bank might be targeted, told PREMIUM TIMES. “But he is a man of zero morality despite his public posturing. It is really sad.
OluwaBurna's Tattoo
Being seeing tattoos on our naija celeb but I had never seen anything so graphic has this. Burna Boy had the tattoo with south south graphically spelt at the upper part of his back and shoulder.
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Stephanie Okereke shows off newly acquired rides
The Ex model, Stephanie Okereke-Linus wants us to see her cars, she posted the photos of her newly acquired wonders of the wheel
on her instagram page.
All The Photos From Yesterday Memorial Service Held In Honour of Dana Air Crash Victims
Another memorial service took place at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.
Aliko Dangote Is Africa's First $20 Billion Man - Forbes
From Forbes
Nigerian billionaire and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has become the first African entrepreneur to lay claim to a $20 billion fortune as the stock value of his largest holding, Dangote Cement, leaped just about three-fourths since March when Forbes released its annual ranking of the world’s richest people.
Aliko Dangote’s 93% stake in the cement company is now worth $19.5 billion. Add this to his controlling stakes in other publicly-listed companies like Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria and his significant shareholdings in other blue-chips like Zenith Bank, UBA Group and Dangote Flour; his extensive real estate portfolio, jets, yachts and current cash position, which includes more than $300 million in recently awarded Dangote Cement dividends, Dangote is now worth more than $20 billion.Put into context, the Nigerian billionaire is now among the top 25 richest people in the world, richer than Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, richer than India’s Lakshmi Mittal and running neck and neck with India’s Mukesh Ambani. He is catching up to such Americans as Google’s billionaire founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
The unprecedented surge in Dangote Cement’s share price is largely a market response to the company’s impressive 2013 Q1 results.
The cement manufacturer’s unaudited results for the three months ending March 31 showed that the company’s pre-tax profit rose to $339 million, representing an 80.6% increase from last year and a strong indicator of the company’s future earning potential. The results also indicate a 79.5 % rise in its earnings per share over the corresponding period last year.
Explaining the company’s share price boost in an email to Forbes, Carl Franklin, Dangote Cement’s Head of Investor Relations in the U.K said that in the first quarter of 2013, the company had a huge increase in demand across Nigeria, gas supply improved considerably and the capacity was much more ramped up.
“So Q1 was the first sign of just how profitable we can be in Nigeria. The amazing thing is that 66% of our gas-fired production in Q1 was done at 84% gas. Imagine what would happen to margins if we did the same amount at 95%. This has given investors a good sense of what we can really do when everything goes in the right direction,” Franklin said.
With a current market cap of $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement becomes the first Nigerian company to achieve a market capitalization of over $20 billion.
“It’s certainly a landmark for a Nigerian company and we’re proud to be the first to achieve it. Obviously we are focusing on building long-term and sustainable value for shareholders through our investments in Nigeria and Africa. Nigeria is a very entrepreneurial country and I can assure you that other companies will follow us in achieving this.”
Other companies might eventually achieve this, but it’s going to take a bit of time. Dangote Cement currently accounts for more than a quarter of the total market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The second largest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is currently Nigerian Breweries, West Africa’s largest manufacturer of Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The company has a market cap of $8.5 billion.
Dangote debuted on the FORBES billionaires list in 2008 with a fortune we pegged at $3.3 billion. His fortune dropped to $2.5 billion in 2009 and plunged further to $2.1 billion in 2010. His fortune surged 557% in 2011 to $13.8 billion after he took Dangote Cement public. He dropped to $11.2 billion in last year’s rankings, but rebounded at $16.1 billion this year. Since March, his fortune has jumped another 30%.
Dangote was destined to shine in business. At age 8, he apparently gave packets of sweets he had made to the house servants to sell for him. His father Mohammed Dangote was a successful businessman and an associate of his maternal uncle Alhaji Sanusi Dantata. Dantata and his brother controlled the trade in kola nuts and livestock conducted by 200 agents. Dangote started building his fortune over three decades ago after taking a loan from Sanusi Dantata. He started trading in commodities like flour, sugar and cement.
He became a billionaire by later manufacturing these items. He started making pasta, salt, sugar and flour in 1997. But he found his gold mine in cement, when he was awarded a government’s state owned cement business in 2000 and began building his own plant in 2003. He listed Dangote Cement in 2010.
Today, it is Africa’s largest cement company providing cement to Nigeria and other African countries that otherwise would likely have to pay to import much of the materials.
Dangote still likely has bigger ambitions. He told Forbes Wealth Editor Luisa Kroll at Davos in 2011 that he expected his firm to have a market cap of $60 billion within five years. At $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement still has a long way to go to live up to that dream, and while it is quite unlikely that Dangote Cement could hit a $60 billion Market Cap by 2016, don’t write it off as ‘impossible’. With Dangote, you never know.
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Joins the Nollywood Industry
The Most Beautiful Girl In
Nigeria 2012 Miss Isabella Agbor Ojong Ayuk, who celebrated her 27 birthday at Clay Night club, Abuja,
is set to feature in a movie, ‘Alok Monument, the pride within’, in a
telephone interview with Obaji Akpet of thenationonline, she spoke about
her experience as the most beautiful girl in Nigeria and her NGO
project.
Isabella days as the most beautiful girl in Nigeria is coming to an end, ‘Eh…, I really don’t know how much to prepare because SilverBird is doing all the preparations, I’m only going to come and do the handing over of the MBGN crown to the most lucky girl. So I’m just waiting for that day. But be that as it may, the 2013 edition is really going to be a spectacular one.’‘My achievement, my reign (as Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria) has been wonderful. It has opened so many doors for me. I have been able to affect the lives of the less-privileged, as well as being able to do what I have always wanted to do, like embarking on several campaigns against typhoid fever. Under that my NGO provided free typhoid vaccines to people.’
A lot of things are happening around Isabella, she is rounding up her Master’s Degree, her Venessa Manyo Foundation established in memory of my late sister that is creating self-shelter for the less-privileged and providing empowerment for widows, giving education and health support as well.
For the movie romance, ‘Yes, Alok, the pride within’movie shoot is
really going to be an interesting movie; not just interesting but
educative too because it is going to showcase a lot about where I am
personally from. That is why I am seriously involved in it. In the
movie, I’m going to play the lead role, which is … (Chuckles) I don’t
really want to comment deeply on it because I’m not in the capacity to
do so yet.’
One word to her successor who is going to be crowned the 2013 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria; ‘My advice to my successor is ‘just take it one step at a time’, take it as it is. Wearing the crown doesn’t really matter, what matters is what you are wearing it for. You just need to impact on people’s lives while you are there, don’t forget that. To Nigerians out there, to all those who love me and prayed for me, I say a big thank you. May God bless you all.’
Source: Information Nigeria
Isabella days as the most beautiful girl in Nigeria is coming to an end, ‘Eh…, I really don’t know how much to prepare because SilverBird is doing all the preparations, I’m only going to come and do the handing over of the MBGN crown to the most lucky girl. So I’m just waiting for that day. But be that as it may, the 2013 edition is really going to be a spectacular one.’‘My achievement, my reign (as Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria) has been wonderful. It has opened so many doors for me. I have been able to affect the lives of the less-privileged, as well as being able to do what I have always wanted to do, like embarking on several campaigns against typhoid fever. Under that my NGO provided free typhoid vaccines to people.’
A lot of things are happening around Isabella, she is rounding up her Master’s Degree, her Venessa Manyo Foundation established in memory of my late sister that is creating self-shelter for the less-privileged and providing empowerment for widows, giving education and health support as well.
One word to her successor who is going to be crowned the 2013 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria; ‘My advice to my successor is ‘just take it one step at a time’, take it as it is. Wearing the crown doesn’t really matter, what matters is what you are wearing it for. You just need to impact on people’s lives while you are there, don’t forget that. To Nigerians out there, to all those who love me and prayed for me, I say a big thank you. May God bless you all.’
Source: Information Nigeria
I’ve Never Kissed A Man In My Life – Babcock Graduating Student with highest CGPA
Last Sunday’s convocation of Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo,
Ogun State, was a potpourri of emotions. For some, it was expectedly
exciting. Shouts of joy, mixed with backslapping and hugging, were not
in short supply.
But while most of the graduating students had cause to rejoice and shed tears of joy, two of the graduating students and their family members, who managed to grace the occasion, were grief-stricken. But, first, they story of joy.
At the carnival-like 11th convocation, 1,359 students were awarded first degrees. Twenty got postgraduate diplomas, 71 obtained Master’s degrees in various disciplines while another set of 41 got PhD degrees in various disciplines.
The cynosure of all eyes were, however, a 20-year-old lady, Omobola Oduyoye, who emerged the best graduating student after scoring a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.92, and Nuhu Benjamin, who won the President’s Award for securing the overall best performances in leadership, academics, community and spiritual services.
Oduyoye, an indigene of Ilisan-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state, was awarded a first class degree in Public Health, while Nuhu also got a first degree in Christian Religious Studies.
Speaking with our correspondent after she received the Senior Vice-President’s Prize as the graduate with the highest overall CGPA, Oduyoye said commitment, discipline, hard work and focus – combined with what she called God’s grace – fetched her the award.
“Motivation from my parents, lecturers and course mates also helped me. Healthy competition from my course mates such as Akomolafe Damilola, who also obtained a CGPA of 4.60 , also enhanced my performance.
“I have a lot of respect for her because she is a mature married woman and a nurse. In spite of her age, she related well with us and she was very focused. Each time I looked at her, I felt like I should ask government to stop admitting fresh secondary school leavers straight into the university. They should be asked to do the A/Level or ordinary diploma programme before they enrol at the university,” she said.
Oduyoye, who aspires to become the nation’s health minister some day, noted that she would change the face of the nation’s health sector, particularly child and maternal health if given the chance.
“I’m from this town. I only lived the first six years of my life in Ghana and since then I’ve been here and I see a lot of challenges poor women and children go through daily. I want to make health delivery accessible, affordable and extremely cheap for our children and women. I will fight corruption in the health sector and ensure that our children and their mother don’t die again from preventable diseases,” she added.
This desire could explain why each time she and her colleagues had to embark on a field work, Oduyoye always ensured that children and young mothers were her target.
“Though I don’t have money to give them, I always organise seminar and workshop to train them on hygiene, oral health and how to handle preventable diseases. We at times give them off-the-counter drugs. But if God permits and I become the health minister, I’ll work hard to ensure better health service delivery for Nigerians,” she noted.
On how she handled pressure from male students and lecturers, Oduyoye, who had her primary and secondary school education at Babcock Primary School and Babcock University High School, stated that though she had so many male friends, she avoided getting intimate with them.
“I have a number of friends – including male students but I always draw a line between friendship for academic advancement and immoral relationship. I’m not abusive; neither am I a snub. But I don’t encourage any relationship that will distract me from my studies. I don’t encourage any action that can suggest to you that I’m a cheap commodity. I also ensure that I don’t go alone anywhere or follow anybody to dark corners even if she is a girl like me.
“It may sound funny to you, I have never kissed anyone in my life and I have not been kissed by anybody. I thank God for the grace He gives me to achieve this because I know that some people will say it is not easy but with God all things are possible,” the 20-year-old fresh graduate added.
Oduyoye advised young girls to abstain from s*x, face their studies and respect people and honour God. But the lady, whose father is a lecturer in the Business Administration Department at Babcock, has a word for the management of the institution.
She stated, “They should relax the rules. Specifically, I don’t see any reason why a female student should not keep long hairs. Do you know it is so bad that security men on campus can stop a student and cut off her hair? This is not good. After all, undergraduates are no longer in the secondary school.”
Oduyoye however urged the university to sustain its dress code, though she wants students to be forced into engaging in physical activities. This, she said, is based on the result of a research she did in her final year.
“I did a project on the effect of physical inactivity among Babcock University students and my findings revealed that many of us were not physically active and this has implication for our academics, health and general wellbeing. The university should therefore invest more in sports and possibly compel everybody to participate in sports.
“They should also reduce the sale of fatty foods such as hamburger, doughnut, eggroll and meat-pie on campus. The scriptural and inspirational write ups on billboards in open spaces on campus are good but they should add educational health tips too,” she noted.
The former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, was
honoured with the honoraris causa of the institution for his
distinguished public service works. He gave a lecture where he advised
African leaders to work for the development of their people.
He also challenged the graduating students never to emulate corrupt leaders but to be passionate and committed to their vision.
Earlier, Makinde had told the gathering, including the Chancellor, BU, Pastor Gilbert Wari; the institution’s Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Oyeleke Owolabi; representative of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; and vice-chancellors of some Nigerian universities, that as is the tradition with the citadel, none of the graduating students had Third Class degree.
It was learnt that students whose CGPA was within the third class degree were given automatic extra year. According to Makinde, the institution is committed to its mission to produce graduates that have competence, character and commitment.
He told the gathering that all the programmes on offer in the institution had been accredited by the NUC. He also commended philanthropists, including Chief Kessignton Adebutu, Dr. Alex Otti and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for their contributions towards the development of the university.
… as another graduating student loses 8 family members
Margaret Okwuikpo, who graduated with a second class upper degree in Nursing, was one of the two that could not help shedding bitter tears at the Babcock’s graduation. The lady had lost eight family members in a road crash on Friday, two days to her graduation.
It was learnt that 11 people, including Okwuikpo’s parents, brothers and sisters and her sister-in-law, had an accident shortly after they left Port-Harcourt for the convocation in Ilisan-Remo.
“Eight of the occupants of the vehicle, including Okwuikpo’s parents, her brother and his wife and their eight-month-old baby, died on the spot,” a source close to the family told our correspondent.
A man, who claimed to be Okwuikpo’s relations, said he could not talk to the press. The lady herself was not stable when our correspondent attempted to speak to her.
The correspondent’s telephone call to the university source, with a view to speaking with Okwuikpo, yielded no fruit, as she was said to have left for Port Harcourt on Monday morning.
However, another graduating student, simply identified as Tochi, also lost her father in the same accident.
Another university source, who claimed that Tochi’s brother works at Babcock, said he (the brother) was also too devastated to speak on the issue.
In the course of the ceremony, before it was the turn of the graduating students of her department to mount the rostrum to shake hands with the institution’s principal officers, led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Makinde, Okwuikpo had controlled her emotions. But she soon started crying and collapsed on the podium as soon as she walked towards Makinde, Her friend and course mate, Rabiu Sakirat, who was right beside her, could only help in wiping off her tears.
Those who did not know what the matter was were confused.
“Why is she weeping?” a woman beside our correspondent asked rhetorically.
“Perhaps, she remembered her relation who might have been part of those who died in the ill-fated Dana crash a year ago,” another man, who had come to celebrate with her niece, said.
But silence fell upon the hitherto cheerful crowd when it was learnt that the grieving lady had lost her parents two days to her convocation. The institution’s Sports Complex, venue of the convocation, suddenly became a temporary hall of mourning. Parents, students and well wishers shared in the lady’s low moment, with some putting their hands on their heads while others just sighed.
Like a pastor, Makinde rose to the occasion, held Okuikpo’s hands and consoled her. Tochi and her mother were also called to the rostrum where they were prayed for. But efforts to speak with the mourning families were unsuccessful as a man who identified himself as Okuikpo’s relation said they were not in the mood to speak to the press about the sad incident.
But while most of the graduating students had cause to rejoice and shed tears of joy, two of the graduating students and their family members, who managed to grace the occasion, were grief-stricken. But, first, they story of joy.
At the carnival-like 11th convocation, 1,359 students were awarded first degrees. Twenty got postgraduate diplomas, 71 obtained Master’s degrees in various disciplines while another set of 41 got PhD degrees in various disciplines.
The cynosure of all eyes were, however, a 20-year-old lady, Omobola Oduyoye, who emerged the best graduating student after scoring a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.92, and Nuhu Benjamin, who won the President’s Award for securing the overall best performances in leadership, academics, community and spiritual services.
Oduyoye, an indigene of Ilisan-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state, was awarded a first class degree in Public Health, while Nuhu also got a first degree in Christian Religious Studies.
Speaking with our correspondent after she received the Senior Vice-President’s Prize as the graduate with the highest overall CGPA, Oduyoye said commitment, discipline, hard work and focus – combined with what she called God’s grace – fetched her the award.
“Motivation from my parents, lecturers and course mates also helped me. Healthy competition from my course mates such as Akomolafe Damilola, who also obtained a CGPA of 4.60 , also enhanced my performance.
“I have a lot of respect for her because she is a mature married woman and a nurse. In spite of her age, she related well with us and she was very focused. Each time I looked at her, I felt like I should ask government to stop admitting fresh secondary school leavers straight into the university. They should be asked to do the A/Level or ordinary diploma programme before they enrol at the university,” she said.
Oduyoye, who aspires to become the nation’s health minister some day, noted that she would change the face of the nation’s health sector, particularly child and maternal health if given the chance.
“I’m from this town. I only lived the first six years of my life in Ghana and since then I’ve been here and I see a lot of challenges poor women and children go through daily. I want to make health delivery accessible, affordable and extremely cheap for our children and women. I will fight corruption in the health sector and ensure that our children and their mother don’t die again from preventable diseases,” she added.
This desire could explain why each time she and her colleagues had to embark on a field work, Oduyoye always ensured that children and young mothers were her target.
“Though I don’t have money to give them, I always organise seminar and workshop to train them on hygiene, oral health and how to handle preventable diseases. We at times give them off-the-counter drugs. But if God permits and I become the health minister, I’ll work hard to ensure better health service delivery for Nigerians,” she noted.
On how she handled pressure from male students and lecturers, Oduyoye, who had her primary and secondary school education at Babcock Primary School and Babcock University High School, stated that though she had so many male friends, she avoided getting intimate with them.
“I have a number of friends – including male students but I always draw a line between friendship for academic advancement and immoral relationship. I’m not abusive; neither am I a snub. But I don’t encourage any relationship that will distract me from my studies. I don’t encourage any action that can suggest to you that I’m a cheap commodity. I also ensure that I don’t go alone anywhere or follow anybody to dark corners even if she is a girl like me.
“It may sound funny to you, I have never kissed anyone in my life and I have not been kissed by anybody. I thank God for the grace He gives me to achieve this because I know that some people will say it is not easy but with God all things are possible,” the 20-year-old fresh graduate added.
Oduyoye advised young girls to abstain from s*x, face their studies and respect people and honour God. But the lady, whose father is a lecturer in the Business Administration Department at Babcock, has a word for the management of the institution.
She stated, “They should relax the rules. Specifically, I don’t see any reason why a female student should not keep long hairs. Do you know it is so bad that security men on campus can stop a student and cut off her hair? This is not good. After all, undergraduates are no longer in the secondary school.”
Oduyoye however urged the university to sustain its dress code, though she wants students to be forced into engaging in physical activities. This, she said, is based on the result of a research she did in her final year.
“I did a project on the effect of physical inactivity among Babcock University students and my findings revealed that many of us were not physically active and this has implication for our academics, health and general wellbeing. The university should therefore invest more in sports and possibly compel everybody to participate in sports.
“They should also reduce the sale of fatty foods such as hamburger, doughnut, eggroll and meat-pie on campus. The scriptural and inspirational write ups on billboards in open spaces on campus are good but they should add educational health tips too,” she noted.
He also challenged the graduating students never to emulate corrupt leaders but to be passionate and committed to their vision.
Earlier, Makinde had told the gathering, including the Chancellor, BU, Pastor Gilbert Wari; the institution’s Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Oyeleke Owolabi; representative of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; and vice-chancellors of some Nigerian universities, that as is the tradition with the citadel, none of the graduating students had Third Class degree.
It was learnt that students whose CGPA was within the third class degree were given automatic extra year. According to Makinde, the institution is committed to its mission to produce graduates that have competence, character and commitment.
He told the gathering that all the programmes on offer in the institution had been accredited by the NUC. He also commended philanthropists, including Chief Kessignton Adebutu, Dr. Alex Otti and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for their contributions towards the development of the university.
… as another graduating student loses 8 family members
Margaret Okwuikpo, who graduated with a second class upper degree in Nursing, was one of the two that could not help shedding bitter tears at the Babcock’s graduation. The lady had lost eight family members in a road crash on Friday, two days to her graduation.
It was learnt that 11 people, including Okwuikpo’s parents, brothers and sisters and her sister-in-law, had an accident shortly after they left Port-Harcourt for the convocation in Ilisan-Remo.
“Eight of the occupants of the vehicle, including Okwuikpo’s parents, her brother and his wife and their eight-month-old baby, died on the spot,” a source close to the family told our correspondent.
A man, who claimed to be Okwuikpo’s relations, said he could not talk to the press. The lady herself was not stable when our correspondent attempted to speak to her.
The correspondent’s telephone call to the university source, with a view to speaking with Okwuikpo, yielded no fruit, as she was said to have left for Port Harcourt on Monday morning.
However, another graduating student, simply identified as Tochi, also lost her father in the same accident.
Another university source, who claimed that Tochi’s brother works at Babcock, said he (the brother) was also too devastated to speak on the issue.
In the course of the ceremony, before it was the turn of the graduating students of her department to mount the rostrum to shake hands with the institution’s principal officers, led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Makinde, Okwuikpo had controlled her emotions. But she soon started crying and collapsed on the podium as soon as she walked towards Makinde, Her friend and course mate, Rabiu Sakirat, who was right beside her, could only help in wiping off her tears.
Those who did not know what the matter was were confused.
“Why is she weeping?” a woman beside our correspondent asked rhetorically.
“Perhaps, she remembered her relation who might have been part of those who died in the ill-fated Dana crash a year ago,” another man, who had come to celebrate with her niece, said.
But silence fell upon the hitherto cheerful crowd when it was learnt that the grieving lady had lost her parents two days to her convocation. The institution’s Sports Complex, venue of the convocation, suddenly became a temporary hall of mourning. Parents, students and well wishers shared in the lady’s low moment, with some putting their hands on their heads while others just sighed.
Like a pastor, Makinde rose to the occasion, held Okuikpo’s hands and consoled her. Tochi and her mother were also called to the rostrum where they were prayed for. But efforts to speak with the mourning families were unsuccessful as a man who identified himself as Okuikpo’s relation said they were not in the mood to speak to the press about the sad incident.
Amir Khan speaks out about his wedding to Faryal Makhdoom..
Boxing champ Amir Khan has revealed he wanted to marry before he 'lost his looks' in a fight.
The 26-year-old tied the knot with US student Faryal Makhdoom in a lengthy ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York at the weekend.
And in an interview with Hello! magazine, which has also published the official photographs, he said he is a 'changed man'.
The Bolton-born champion married the 21-year-old political science student in a week-long, elaborate Islamic ceremony.
He joked: 'I had to get in there and tie the knot quickly, before I got beaten up in too many fights and lose my looks.'
Khan, who beat rival Julio Diaz in the ring just weeks ago, also revealed the pair are ready to start a family: 'I've lived the young life, I've done everything I've wanted to do. Now is the right time to settle down and start my own family.'
The sportsman also said that his married status means he won't be out on the town much with friends.
He said: 'I've
got to look after Faryal, so I won't be going out as much partying with
my friends. I don't want that any more - I want to do the family
thing.'
The
boxer - pictured with his new bride wearing elaborately stitched red
and gold robes - told the magazine: 'I think I'll change as a person
when I'm married and it'll be a big plus for me, I'll be able to be more
focused on my job too.'
The new Mrs Khan also spoke of her joy, and about her forthcoming move to Bolton in the feature, spread across 16 pages.
She said: 'I'm so happy to be with the man I love and to spend the rest of my life with him - it's a new chapter in my life.'
The couple's big day was reported to have cost $1million, according to the New York Post, with a second bash planned in Amir's native Britain in a week.
Taking to Twitter following the ceremony, Faryal wrote: 'Mrs. Khan.
'Last night was like a dream, truly amazing. Thanks to everyone that participated, really meant a lot x Now ready for the UK wedding!!❤.'
The couple, who got engaged in January 2012, are expected to have an even bigger wedding in Amir's hometown of Bolton, with a reported 4,000 guests attending.
Amir and Faryal have had a long-distance romance over the past 18 months, but she will now move to Bolton.
Following their engagement in January 2012, they held a star-studded engagement party for 1,000 people at the Reebok Stadium.
The full interview appears in the new edition of Hello! magazine, which is out now.
Source: Hello Magazine
The 26-year-old tied the knot with US student Faryal Makhdoom in a lengthy ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York at the weekend.
And in an interview with Hello! magazine, which has also published the official photographs, he said he is a 'changed man'.
Newlyweds: Amir Khan and his new wife Faryal Makhdoom speak out about their nuptials in the new issue of Hello! magazine
He joked: 'I had to get in there and tie the knot quickly, before I got beaten up in too many fights and lose my looks.'
Khan, who beat rival Julio Diaz in the ring just weeks ago, also revealed the pair are ready to start a family: 'I've lived the young life, I've done everything I've wanted to do. Now is the right time to settle down and start my own family.'
The sportsman also said that his married status means he won't be out on the town much with friends.
Happy girl: Farayal thanked her friends and family for making their wedding special and delighted in calling herself Mrs Khan
The full interview and wedding pics are in the new issue of the magazine, on sale now
The new Mrs Khan also spoke of her joy, and about her forthcoming move to Bolton in the feature, spread across 16 pages.
She said: 'I'm so happy to be with the man I love and to spend the rest of my life with him - it's a new chapter in my life.'
The couple's big day was reported to have cost $1million, according to the New York Post, with a second bash planned in Amir's native Britain in a week.
Taking to Twitter following the ceremony, Faryal wrote: 'Mrs. Khan.
'Last night was like a dream, truly amazing. Thanks to everyone that participated, really meant a lot x Now ready for the UK wedding!!❤.'
The couple, who got engaged in January 2012, are expected to have an even bigger wedding in Amir's hometown of Bolton, with a reported 4,000 guests attending.
Amir and Faryal have had a long-distance romance over the past 18 months, but she will now move to Bolton.
Following their engagement in January 2012, they held a star-studded engagement party for 1,000 people at the Reebok Stadium.
The full interview appears in the new edition of Hello! magazine, which is out now.
Source: Hello Magazine
[Pictures] Who Looks Better?:Aishwarya Rai and Halle Berry in Gowns
Aishwarya Rai in Roberto Cavalli (Photo : Facebook/Aishwarya Rai Bachchan)
Halle Berry was seen wearing a black and silver Versace gown at the Oscars this year, in February, before her baby bump started showing, as per Huffington Post.
The gown was long-sleeved and full-length, just like Aishwarya Rai's shimmery blue Roberto Cavalli number that she wore to the Life Ball in Vienna
Halle Berry in Versace
Both actresses covered up in these clingy gowns, preferring to show their shape rather than skin. And what a shape it is!
Halle Berry's cleavage was impressive and the vertical stripes of her gown gave her a long, lean look.
Aishwarya Rai, on the other hand, showed off an hourglass shape in this mermaid-style gown.
As for who looked better, we definitely think that at least as far as these two outfits go, Aishwarya Rai is the winner since the shimmery blue of her gown is more eye-catching than the silver and black shimmer of Berry's.
However, if you compare the one-shoulder looks that the two actresses wore this year, Halle Berry does emerge the winner since her figure looks pretty amazing in the pink Versace gown (as per Huffington Post) as opposed to Aishwarya Rai's elegant red carpet moment in Armani Privé.
Berry in Versace
Aishwarya Rai in Armani Prive
Although Halle Berry works in Hollywood and Aishwarya Rai in Bollywood (with a few English films thrown in), it seems as though people are very interested in comparing these two actresses.
In a poll conducted by Yuku, 58% people voted that Aishwarya Rai was more attractive while 36% were in favor of Berry.
We also reported recently that Halle Berry said Aishwarya Rai looked "pretty in a sari" which we thought was quite an understatement since Aishwarya Rai has occasionally managed to take our breath away in her traditional Indian outfits.
EXCLUSIVE: Arsene Wenger on Michu Move
Michu is emerging as a contender to
become Arsenal’s new attacking spearhead, despite Arsene Wenger’s
admission that he is interested in Wayne Rooney.
The Gunners manager has put a new first-choice centre-forward at the top of his summer shopping list, with Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and Rooney all high on it.
But Sportsmail can reveal a shock move for Swansea’s prolific striker has been discussed by Wenger and his scouting team.
The Spaniard enjoyed an excellent debut Premier League season, scoring 22 goals after his £2million move from Rayo Vallecano.
His impressive displays at the start of last season prompted Arsenal into an extensive scouting mission on the 27-year-old.
And Arsenal, who are also set to sign Michu’s team-mate Ashley Williams, have a concrete interest in the striker.
The club, who also retain a long-term interest in Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, are exploring numerous striking options ahead of next season as they look to land a new world-class centre-forward.
Source: Sportsmail
The Gunners manager has put a new first-choice centre-forward at the top of his summer shopping list, with Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and Rooney all high on it.
But Sportsmail can reveal a shock move for Swansea’s prolific striker has been discussed by Wenger and his scouting team.
Target: Wenger has discussed a move for prolific Swansea striker Michu (centre)
His impressive displays at the start of last season prompted Arsenal into an extensive scouting mission on the 27-year-old.
And Arsenal, who are also set to sign Michu’s team-mate Ashley Williams, have a concrete interest in the striker.
The club, who also retain a long-term interest in Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, are exploring numerous striking options ahead of next season as they look to land a new world-class centre-forward.
On fire: Michu scored 22 goals for Swansea during his debut Premier League season
Source: Sportsmail
'TOO SEXY for Saudi Arabian' The Deported Emirati Omar Borkan Al Gala Looks a Little Dangerous! [PICTURES]
Omar Borkan Al Gala looks a little dangerous (Photo : Facebook/Omar Borkan Al Gala)
Omar Borkan Al Gala achieved immediate fame when reports emerged that he had been deported from Saudi Arabia for being "too handsome." Apparently, Saudi officials were afraid that he would lead Saudi women astray! Of late, Al Gala has moved to Canada where he is pursuing a modeling career.
Gala opted not to reveal any details of what happened in Saudi Arabia, saying, "Whatever happened in Saudi is going to stay in Saudi for now," as per ArabianBusiness.com.
However, he is working on a short film which will reveal the truth to his fans.
Islawmix now reports that Al Gala wasn't deported for being too handsome but was merely told to leave the premises when he started dancing inappropriately with women.
Either way, an incident which might have been unpleasant when it occurred has now made Al Gala famous and brought in more modeling and acting offers than before
In these great pics, Al Gala shows off his new buzz cut and lean physique. It looks like this native of the United Arab Emirates can carry off both a sophisticated, urbane look as well as a more casual, artless look.
Here, we see him in low-slung pants, tee, linen jacket, fedora and shades, a great ensemble which is perfect for when you need to dress up during the day without looking too formal.
Omar Borkan Al Gala dresses up for daytime
Al Gala lends a touch of sophistication to the black tank with shades and well-sculpted facial hair.
Al Gala goes casual
In the photo of him without his shirt, he looks lean and a little dangerous with the scarf tied around his neck
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