Monday, 3 September 2012

Nollywood a business to watch


Nollywood a business to watch


CULTURAL ENHANCER: Emperor, the biggest Nigerian video dealer, in his Hilbrow shop; posters advertise the latest Nollywood releases. Pic: Katherine Muick. 19/09/05. © SUNDAY TIMES.

The Nollywood film Blackberry Babes 2 was released yesterday. What is remarkable about the film, besides its unusual name, is that it shows how mobile phones have become so culturally integrated into our culture.

Popular Nollywood actor Oganiru arrested for allegedly killing his wife







Popular  Nollywood actor Oganiru arrested for allegedly killing his wife
Rich Oganiru
Police authorities in Abuja Friday confirmed to Saturday Vanguardthat notable Nollywood actor, Mr. Rich Oganiru was arrested and is being investigated in connection with the alleged killing of his wife (name with-held).

According to the source, Oganiru was arrested following a petition by family and relations of the wife who claimed that she was poisoned by the actor who had allegedly perfected the act to do away with her in order to acquire her wealth said to be stupendous.

The wife was said to have been hospitalised for three months for an undisclosed ailment in an Abuja hospital with the Nollywood actor abandoning her until the last day she was to be discharged, before Oganiru came to the hospital to take her home.

On getting home, she died that same day. Police sources however told Saturday Vanguard that though investigation into the death and alleged murder of the wife was still ongoing, Mr. Oganiru has been granted bail.

When Saturday Vanguard sought to know why the Police would grant a murder suspect bail, the source disclosed that though there was evidence to show the actor did not treat his wife well regarding her well being, there was nothing to show the actor had a hand in her death.

The source pointed out that both forensic and medical examinations were performed on the corpse of the deceased and that the posthumous examination showed she did not die as a result of poison.

Miss Nigerian Entertainment @ UKIP - during Beauty Eurasia 2012 Sun, 09/02/2012 - 12:08 publisher Miss Nigerian Entertainment Queen of Tourism with her entourage paid courtesy visit to Cosmetic UKIP during Beauty Eurasia 2012, in Istanbul Turkey. Cosmetic UKIP, producers of popular health and beauty products such as IMAJ SHAMPOO, IMAJ BALSAM, IMAJ SHAMPOO CONDITIONER, IMAJ SHOWER GEL, IMAJ HAIR CARE MASK, IMAJ HAND AND BODY LOTION, IMAJ HAIR GEL, and IMAJ ULTRA FIX AND SHINE........


Miss Nigerian Entertainment @ UKIP - during Beauty Eurasia 2012

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Miss Nigerian Entertainment Queen of Tourism with her entourage paid courtesy visit to Cosmetic UKIP during Beauty Eurasia 2012, in Istanbul Turkey.
Cosmetic UKIP, producers of popular health and beauty products such as IMAJ SHAMPOO, IMAJ BALSAM, IMAJ SHAMPOO CONDITIONER, IMAJ SHOWER GEL, IMAJ HAIR CARE MASK, IMAJ HAND AND BODY LOTION, IMAJ HAIR GEL, and IMAJ ULTRA FIX AND SHINE........

Short biography for 9ice




Award winning Nigerian Artist 9ice, (born Abolore Akande on the 17th of January 1980s) known for his versatility, proverbial lyrics and unique style started his singing and writing career at the age of fourteen. Justifiable tagged “the hit maker”, 9ice conveys with his music, a new ethnic flavor and eclectic style that is uniquely his. Years of studying the industry and refining his skills, has helped him develop his musical ideology and style.

His powerful use of the Yoruba language and his lyrical abilities sets him apart from most artists in his genre and in his opinion is what makes him 9ice. This unique style, evident on all of his song some of which include his hit song Gongo Aso, Street Credibility, Party Rider, Little Money, Ganja Man, Talent dey waste as well as on collaborations like the song 'Ruggedy Baba' a hit track he did with Nigeria’s Ruggedman, and Le Fenu So, which he did with Lord of Ajasa, often leaves many listeners astonished at the magic of the delivery and the rhythmic harmony. 9ice, whose hit single “Gongo Aso” from his sophomore album also titled Gongo Aso has become a sort of national anthem in his home country, aspires to raise his game, push the creative envelope and transcend music stereotypes.

He is working hard to build a solid, outstanding body of work that hopefully will outlive him. He aims in all ways to become a reference point for Nigerian artistes anywhere. Reminiscent of the likes of Fela, Youssour Ndour and Angelique Kidjo, he hopes to someday become a cultural ambassador with his music.

He believes consistency, originality as well as old-fashioned hard work are the keys to achieving all these. His award credits include 2009 Hip Hop World Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the year as well as 2008 MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Best African Act, 2008 MTV Africa Music Awards Best Hip Hop Artist, 2008 Dynamix Awards Artist the Year, 2009 Future Awards Musician of the Year and many more. His music credits include collaborations with RuggedMan on the chart topping ‘RuggedyBaba’, the powerful social commentary ‘Make dem talk’ recorded with 2Shotz, as well as tracks from his first album “the Certificate”, and hit songs from his sophomore album “ Gongo Aso”, some of which include, Gongo Aso, Street Credibility, Pamurogo, Photocopy, to name a few.

Some of his social recognitions include, Nigerian Youth Merit Award, Youth Ambasador for Peace and more. His musical influences range from Wyclef Jean to the Miliki Maestro, Ebenezer Obey. 9ice is without a doubt leaving his mark in the Afro hip-hop circle and worldwide.
He currently has two albums to his name and is currently working on his third album titled “Tradition”. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..

Yar’Adua’s associates unite, plan for 2015


Yar’Adua’s associates unite, plan for 2015

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...as PDP blasts Buhari
Prominent politicians, including chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, Alhaji Lawal Kaita and Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, met last week to resuscitate the Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, and to plan ahead of the 2015 general elections.
The meeting, tagged “A reunion/rejuvenation meeting” of the PDM, and which was held at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, was to provide a forum for the reunion of old members of the movement and also bring on-board new members.
The group also presented a road map for its immediate future activities, among which is a proposed national summit on “The state of the nation” scheduled to hold in the last quarter of 2012.
The movement resolved to rekindle the spirit of national unity, promotion of peace and good governance among its members.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting stated that delegates from all the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were in attendance.
Also present at the meeting were key leaders, including Chief Bode Ajewole, Mr. Godie Ikechi, Sen. Abubakar Mahdi, Murtala Shehu Yar’Adua, Dr. Etim Amba, Alhaji A. A. Matawallen Hadeija, Chief Ejiofor Onyia, Hon. Dubem Onyia, Dame Titi Ajanaku, Alhaji Bashiru Yusuf Ibrahim, Prince Tonye Princewill and Otunba Oluponle Ebo.
The statement noted that the PDM was a national “consciousness movement,” pioneered by the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua for promotion of the core ideals of democracy; sustenance of and support for peaceful co-existence among the diverse groups in the country; bridge building among the diverse segments of the country; promotion of good governance and sustainable development of Nigeria.
Goodwill messages were presented by eminent members of the movement from all the geo-political zones.
Representatives of women and youths also delivered goodwill messages at the meeting. Contributions from the floor were also received on the way to strengthen the movement.
Tributes were paid to the late Yar’Adua, the founder of the movement, for the supreme sacrifice he made in furtherance of unity and democracy in Nigeria as well as to other departed leaders of the movement.
A source told National Mirror that the meeting was convened to resuscitate the once vibrant and revered political machinery of the late Yar’Adua ahead of the coming general elections.
The source said that the new PDM was being anchored on the vibrancy and resourcefulness of younger politicians within the group to enhance the movement’s reinvigoration, complete re-engineering and to make it more acceptable to Nigerians.
Sources said that Chief Bode Ajewole and Godie Ikechi, the group’s new chairman and secretary, might be assisted by PDM leaders including one-time Foreign Affairs Minister of State and a PDP chieftain from Enugu State, Chief Dubem Onyia; son of the late Musa Yar’Adua and PDM founder, wife of the former Adamawa State governor, Alhaji Murtala Yar’Adua; Mrs. Zainab Boni Haruna, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf and Prince Tonye Princewill in the task of repositioning PDM.
Meanwhile, PDP yesterday expressed shock at what it dubbed “continued incitement of the people” allegedly by former Head of State and the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in the 2011 general election, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), asking him not to think that Nigerians had forgotten how he dealt with them when he ruled the country.
The ruling party asked him to show statesmanship in his assessment of the contributions of the PDP-led government to the cause of democracy and good governance, stressing that under Buhari’s watch, several people were incarcerated in prison for simply expressing their views, as Buhari is doing today without being hounded.
PDP expressed worry that Buhari could be telling lies and deceiving people just to score political points and advance his “selfish interests.” The party challenged any political party or alliance, to produce Buhari at the next presidential election and face another “shameful defeat.”
In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said that political differences notwithstanding, it expected Buhari, as an elder statesman and a former Head of State, to acknowledge the significant progress that Nigeria has made in internalising democratic culture since the return of democracy in 1999.
Metuh said: “There is still room for improvement no doubt, but Nigeria under the PDP has recorded tremendous gains in terms of advancing the rule of law and the fundamental rights of Nigerians, indeed, in other indices of good governance which democracy is usually expected to guarantee.”
“We recall that while on a visit to Kano last week, General Buhari had said of the PDP-led Federal Government: ‘under normal circumstances we are supposed to work strictly within the provisions of the constitution, but this is Nigeria and nothing is perfect and the only thing they have not tampered with between 1999 to date in Nigeria is the Holy Koran’.
“We are shocked that an elder statesman could paint such an ugly picture, a tissue of lies, of his dear nation just to advance his political fortunes.
“We shudder that a former Head of State under whose watch freedom of expression landed many Nigerians in detention on account of his obnoxious decrees, and who now enjoys such freedom, is utterly ungrateful to the efforts of our great party in advancing the cause of democracy.
“General Buhari, the evangelist of the rule of law, Nigerians wishes to know if unlawful incitement of the populace to violence and attack on the institutions of democracy is part of the rule of law?
“Is the imposition that marked the congresses of the CPC in 2011, which is still hunting the party till date an act in rule of law?
“We wish to advise General Buhari to concentrate on giving Nigerians his alternative ideas and plan of action to what the PDP has at present or even engage us in a public debate on the values of good governance.
“We pray that his party or whatever alliance they are negotiating presents Buhari once more as a presidential candidate so that Nigerians will make their choice.
“However, we wish to remind the former Head of State that Nigerians are not fools and that they know what Nigeria was yesterday especially under regimes like his and what obtains today.
“There is no doubt that even the blind can distinguish between the daylight it is today and the deep dark night it was hitherto,” PDP stressed.
The PDP spokesman asked the leadership of CPC to approach it (PDP) for details if they do not understand the true meaning and principles of good and quality leadership and rule of law.
“Today, criticisms, even destructive ones are hurled at the PDP-led Federal Government and no one is harassed because we uphold the inalienable rights of the people, which is at the heart of democracy. We throw our doors open to criticism so that we accommodate alternative views.
“Today, the PDP loses elections and winners are sworn in and we do not use our incumbency at the centre to truncate the democratic wishes of the people.
“However, in the states held by the opposition parties, local elections are massively rigged as witnessed recently in Lagos and Ogun states and where we defy the odds to emerge victorious like in Imo State, machinery of government is used to frustrate the expressed wish of the people.
“The rule of law if we must state further is that in our drive for transparency and accountability, some leaders of our party have been caught by the long arm of the law and we never obstructed the course of justice.
“Do we need to add that the PDP-led Federal Government does have preference to the rule of law and that is why we enacted the Freedom of Information Act so that every Nigerian will not be in the dark as to how the nation is run, and so that they can be armed to demand for what is right.”
“Must we also tell the leadership of the CPC that in our congresses and convention, deference to the rule of law is the word.
“And that notwithstanding our size, we successfully manage dissenting views and establish strong leadership not dogged by factions like the CPC,” Metuh added.

How Buhari failed Nigerians, by PDP




Buhari
THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the weekend considered the place of former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in the polity and arrived at this verdict: He has failed Nigerians and inflicted pain on them.
The PDP took this position against the backdrop of a statement credited to Buhari that the only thing that the PDP government had not tampered with was the Holy Koran.
In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, the party expressed shock that Buhari could make such a statement despite huge efforts being made by the PDP government to transform the country.
The party said: “There is still room for improvement no doubt, but Nigeria under the PDP has recorded tremendous gains in terms of advancing the rule of law and the fundamental rights of Nigerians, indeed, in other indices of good governance which democracy is usually expected to guarantee.

“We are shocked that an elder statesman could paint such an ugly picture, laced with tissue of lies, of his dear nation just to advance his political fortunes. We shudder that a former head of state under whose watch freedom of expression landed many Nigerians in detention on account of his obnoxious decrees, and who now enjoys such freedom, is utterly ungrateful to the efforts of our great party in advancing the cause of democracy.
“If the CPC leadership does not understand what the rule of law is, let’s oblige them with little details.


“Today, criticisms, even destructive ones are hurled at the PDP-led Federal Government and no one is harassed because we uphold the inalienable rights of the people which are at the heart of democracy .We throw our doors open to criticism so that we accommodate alternative views.

“Today, the PDP loses elections and winners are sworn-in and we do not use our incumbency at the centre to truncate the democratic wishes of the people. However, in the states held by the opposition parties, local elections are massively rigged as witnessed recently in Lagos and Ogun states and where we defy the odds to emerge victorious like in Imo State, machinery of government is used to frustrate the expressed wish of the people.

“The rule of law if we must state further is that in our drive for transparency and accountability, some leaders of our party have been caught by the long arm of the law and we never obstructed the course of justice.
“Do we need to add that the PDP-led Federal Government does have deference to the rule of law and that is why we enacted the Freedom of Information Act so that every Nigerian will not be in the dark as to how the nation is run, and so that they can be armed to demand for what is right?”
PDP also said that it had demonstrated rule of law in congresses and national conventions.

“Must we also tell the leadership of the CPC that in our congresses and convention, deference to the rule of law is the word? And that notwithstanding our size, we successfully manage dissenting views and establish strong leadership not dogged by factions like the CPC?
“And for Gen. Buhari, the evangelist of rule of law, Nigerians wish to know if unlawful incitement of the populace to violence and attack on the institutions of democracy are part of the rule of law?
“Is the imposition that marked the congresses of the CPC in 2011 which is still hunting the party till date an act in rule of law?

“We wish to advise Gen. Buhari to concentrate in giving Nigerians his alternative ideas and plan of action to what the PDP has at present or even engage us in a public debate on the values of good governance. We pray that his party or whatever alliance they are negotiating presents Buhari once more as a presidential candidate so that Nigerians will make their choice”, the statement added.
It was alleged that while on a visit to Kano State last week, Buhari attacked the PDP, saying: “Under normal circumstances, we are supposed to work strictly within the provisions of the constitution, but this is Nigeria and nothing is perfect and the only thing they have not tampered with from 1999   to date in Nigeria is the Holy Koran.”

N5.6bn oil pipeline monitoring contract: Ex-militant leaders feud



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Faction challenges sharing formula
AT a time the Federal government is fiddling with the methodology to adopt in tackling the menace of the Boko Haram insurgency in the country, an uprising is rearing its ugly head among the ex-militant leaders in Niger Delta. The burning issue at stake is the recent “largesse” extended to the ex-militant leaders by the Federal Government. It involved a N5.6billion contract awarded to the ex-leaders of the Niger Delta militant groups for monitoring of oil pipe-lines in the sub-region.
Among those believed to have benefited from the N5.6 billion contract are Tompolo,  Ateke Tom, the former leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Asari Dokubo, and General Bollof.
But there are strong indications that the lump sum of money has become “a torn in the flesh,” for the affected leaders.
National Daily investigations showed that most ofthe ex-militant leaders, who were part of the struggle for the emancipation of the Niger Delta people might have been denied access from being part of the money.
As a result, dependable sources said, “they are threatening that there will be no peace in Niger Delta unless the leaders of the ex-militant groups give them their own package.”
Specifically, a section of the ex-militant leaders “are at a loss as to the method and how the money was shared.”
A spokesman of the group, Mr Gabriel Asabuja, raised the alarm during an exclusive interview with National Daily in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Asabuja, who is second in command to Alhaji Asari Dokubo, who is one of the beneficiary of the contract award said it was basically for the purpose of “preventing vandalization of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta Region.”
He regretted that there was still incessant oil bunkering in the Niger Delta  because, “there is no job created by the federal government.”
As a result, he said, “kidnapping and bunkering are the present day bunkering in Niger Delta.”
As if justifying such a resort, he said, “we do not want to continue in wasting lives of the people, hence we have preferred bunkering and kidnapping as means of living because of unemployment in the country.”
On the issue of Boko Haram, Asabuja, who is a strong member  of the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)urged the operatives “to stay clear from  President Goodluck Jonathan and allow him to complete his tenure, whether he is doing well or not.”
Any threat to the life of the President, he said, “may compel us to go back and pick our guns because days are gone when guns are only at the Norths, but now guns are all over the country, and if they need peace, Niger Delta Youth will give them peace but where they want war, we will give them war.”
Meanwhile, stake holders in the South South regions of the country believe that, “only the families of those that were murdered during the hostility period in the region should be compensated by the federal government and not those who were terror to the cooperate existence of Nigeria.”
Similarly, observers are of the view that the action taken by the federal government to appease the leaders of the Niger Delta militant groups may go a long way to escalate another level of unrest in the Niger Delta Region and will bring another threats to investors who may like to invest in the oil and gas industries which is the main stay of the Niger Delta economy.