All Posts (300)

Sort by

rome_1892081c.jpgItalians are fleeing Rome todayover fears a giant earthquake is coming following a seismologist's 1915 prediction that "the big one" will strike on May 11, 2011.

 

 

Businesses have reported requests from one in five people to have time off work and many are also keeping children away from school and heading to the beach or country for the day. Romans are taking it so seriously that local newspapers have even been publishing survival guides with tips of what to do – if – the ground starts to tremble. The panic has been fanned by Facebook, Twitter and text messages around a prediction by Raffaele Bendani, a seismologist who forecast in 1915 that a "big one" would hit Rome on Wednesday.
He is also said to have predicted other earthquakes which hit Italy during the last hundred years before his death in 1979.
Massimo La Rocca, headmaster of a school in the Trastevere district, said: "We have had quite a few parents calling in and saying they will not be sending their children in.

 

"I've told them the school will remain open and there is nothing to be scared about but they are adamant – although this is not a justifiable absence for a pupil."

A barman named Massimo said: "People have been talking about this for the last week. I know dozens who are taking the day off – I'm going to sleep in the camper van with the wife to be on the safe side."

Bendandi believed movement of plates and therefore earthquakes were the result of the combined movements of the planets, the moon and the sun and perfectly predictable.

In 1923 he predicted a quake would hit central Italy on January 2 the following year – he was wrong by two days.

For his work Bendandi was even given a knighthood by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini – and ordered not to make any more predictions on pain of exile as officials feared he would create immense panic.

However seismologists have been quick to step in and say his theories are without any scientific proof and despite his claims earthquakes are completely unpredictable.

Seismologist Alessandro Amato, who works at the Italy's National Geophysical and Volcanology Institute, said:"There is absolutely no evidence to say that an earthquake will hit Rome on 11th May and we have told that to the hundreds of people who have called.

"There is a possibility that on the day in question the country as a whole will have an average of 30 or so tremors but that is perfectly normal and the figure we expect.

"It is not scientifically possible to predict the exact date that an earthquake will occur and that's why we are holding these open days at the Institute to better inform people."

An estimated 20 million people live at risk from earthquakes in Italy, which is also home to some of the most active volcanoes in Europe.

The Eurasian and African plates meet along a line which runs through North Africa and crosses the Mediterranean near south Italy and Greece. As a result, two main fault lines cut across the Italian peninsula. Memories are still vivid of an earthquake in the central Italian city of L'Aquilam which lies to the north of Rome, in 2009, which killed 300 people.

 

Read more…

Kunle Falayi and Temitayo Famutimi

A suspect, Ganiyu Ibiyemi, was on Monday arraigned at an Ebute Metta Magistrates' Court, Lagos, for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl (name withheld).

 
 advertisement
 
Ibiyemi, 36, who claimed to be an employee of the Lagos Mainland Local Government, Lagos, is said to be a neighbour of the girl's parents.
The charge against him reads in part that Ibiyemi "unlawfully and forcibly had carnal knowledge of the girl on the 6th of May, 2011, and consequently committed an offence punishable under Section 218 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State, 2003."
The Prosecutor, Cpl. Emmanuel Ajayi, said Ibiyemi, who had a daughter that was of the same age as the girl, invited the victim to his room and was playing with her and at a point asked the girl to kiss him.
He said the primary one pupil got scared and wanted to run out of the room when the suspect grabbed and raped her.
PUNCH METRO gathered that the girl subsequently reported her experience with the suspect to her parents.
Although the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge, in his purported statement cited by our correspondent, he said he only "fingered" the girl.
His lawyer, Mr. Ali Abbah, applied for his bail, a move, which the prosecutor did not object.
The Magistrate, Mrs. M.O. Olajuwon, who stood in for Magistrate Kemi Doja-Ojo, granted Ibiyemi N100,000 bail with two sureties in like sum.
Olajuwon said the sureties must show evidence of tax payment for two years and must have verifiable addresses.
The case was however adjourned till May 25, 2011.
Meanwhile, a 40 year-old-man, Mr. Temenu Olumuyiwa, was on Monday arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrates' Court, Lagos Island, for allegedly conspiring with others still at large to steal six Toyota Hilux vehicles belonging to Papyrus Industries Limited, Ikoyi, Lagos, on April 2, 2011.
PUNCH METRO gathered that Olumuyiwa was an administrative officer in the company, which was jointly established by a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Kola Talabi, who both died of natural causes in February and June 2010 respectively.
The firm engages in transport services and basically deals in conveyance of goods and persons.
It was learnt that the six missing vehicles were moved away from the premises of the firm in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on April 2.
The charge sheet reads in part, "that you Temenu Olumuyiwa and others still at large on April 2, 2011 at about 10:00 hours at Papyrus Industries Limited, Ikoyi, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial district did conspire to commit felony to wit stealing and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap 17, Vol. II Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003."
The second count charge also stated that, "Temenu Olumuyiwa and others still at large on the same date and time did steal six Toyota Hilux vehicles with the following registration numbers: AP 801 YEN, AP 802 YEN, AP 803 YEN, AP 804 YEN, AP 483 YEN, AP 444 YEN, all valued at N18m properties of Papyrus Industries Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 17,Vol II Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria."
The suspect pleaded not guilty when his plea was taken. The Magistrate, Mrs. M.A Ladipo, granted him N1m bail and two sureties in like sum.
She added that the sureties must be relatives of the accused and adjourned the case till May 16 for further hearing.
Read more…
15 first class graduates of various universities get car gift each at Daniel Olukoya Academic Award of Excellence Reward for hardwork, diligence... advertisement IT was no mean feat to have a First Class, the highest division in the results of their respective university degree examinations. That meant they were truly the best among equals. Yet, none of the15 First Class graduates who were honoured during the second Dr. Daniel Kayode Olukoya Academic Award of Excellence and Foundation Laying Ceremony of the Prayer City Deliverance Stadium/International Conference Centre took personal credit for the achievements. At the ceremony which took place during the Power Must Change Hands Prayer Programme at Prayer City along Lagos-Ibadan expressway over the weekend, and during which they each got a car-gift courtesy of the Dr. Daniel Kayode Olukoya Academic Award of Excellence , they gave all the credit for their sterling performances to God Almighty. Among the beneficiaries were Adeolapo Tabitha Adebayo, a graduate of Griffith College, Dublin, who graduated with First Class in Accounting and Finance; Adeyeri Toluwani, a graduate of Management and Accounting with First Class from Obafemi Awolowo University, Omolara Isiolaotan of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, who made First Class in Economics, Nneji Stephen Obiajulu, who passed out from Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State with First Class in Computer Engineering, Agbani Ibechukwudi, from Obafemi Awolowo University with First Class in Accounting and Akindipe Dayo Akinfemi from University of Lagos who graduated in Chemical Engineering with First Class. In her comments to The Guardian, Adeolapo Adebayo, who wants to pursue a career in Audit and Risk or Finance attributed her First Class result to assistance from God. "Yes, it is good to work hard, but without God, labourers will always labour in vain because it is God who gives the increase. It is God and nothing else." Another beneficiary, Yewande Abraham, said she was able to achieve the feat through God's favour and his blessings upon her life. "Through hard work, determination and prayers, I was able to scale through . My advice to others is that whatever their hands find to do, they should do it well and with all their heart. "As they commit their ways unto God, He will see them through to the desire of their heart," she said. Oluniran Gideon Ayokunle of University of Ibadan also attributed his success to the grace of God. "I was able to make it through the grace of God. It is not all about the energy you put in to succeed, but also about being diligent in academics and serving God as I always tell my fellow students. "Youths should be closer to God with whom all things are possible," he said. A parent of one of the beneficiaries, the Onirokora of Irokora Ekiti, His Royal Majesty, Oba Joel Ajayi Olanibuwa, and the father of Adenuga Olanibuwa, said he felt elated and happy about his son's achievement. "It is the proof that God is truly the rewarder of those that diligently seek Him and this is the reward of seeking God in all that one does. "He is always faithful and would do his part whenever people commit themselves to Him. No one can achieve anything without His support. "I thank God for what He has done, not only for my son, but also for all that are honoured and I also thank the leadership of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries for the encouragement given to youths as this would go a long way to encourage others to tow the line of faithfulness and diligence and also know, more importantly, that it is when you serve God that you get the best because God is the best rewarder of those that serve Him including the youths. The General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Dr. Olukoya said "the role of education in the nation is very vital in nation-building and that accounts for the reason to always encourage our youth, as leaders of tomorrow, to be their best in their various disciplines. "These days, when the nation's educational system is being watered down by majority of academic pursuers, who prefer to cut corners and have certificates they did not labour for, which has become a concern for those who know what this means, it has become imperative to acknowledge and appreciate the few of them who distinct themselves and choose to tread the path of honour, not only to be faithful and work hard and put in their best to justify their certificates but also go the extra mile to exemplify themselves by attaining first class honours. "As a church, fully informed of the role of quality education and desperate to obliterate the imbibed wrong notion by a lot of youths that it is the certificate that is important and not how you obtain same, we will not relent in our effort to boost the morale of those who stand themselves out to serve as role models among their contemporaries and those that are coming behind them. "It is for this reason we honour these 15 graduates with First Class honours in their various disciplines with a car each, to let them know that they are appreciated and to also serve as a driving force to those coming behind them to emulate them," he said. During the ceremony of the handing over of the cars, Mrs. Shade Olukoya congratulated the recipients and encouraged them to keep on moving, while assuring them that somebody was watching them and ready to contribute more to their achievement and should therefore, continue to remain unique as those who have carved a niche for themselves. She prayed for them to have a pleasurable time with their cars and God's protection over them at all times. The Press Secretary to the Governor of Lagos State and also a member of the Church, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, referred to the winners of the award as deserved winners, who were diligent in their studies and works of the Lord. "They truly worked hard in their academics but also had time for God who sustained them and made each and everyone of them to excel. "This is the day of their honour as God has rewarded them and is using this avenue to gear up all other students, especially those who come behind them, that it pays to work hard and at the same time have time for God even as a student.
Read more…

LAGOS-A Yaba Magistrate court has been told how a fake lawyer, Samuel Oladipupo Jibode allegedly duped a 75 years old man, Mr. Monsuru Adeyemi, of N10 million under the pretense of selling a property to him. advertisement In his testimony to the court weekend, Mr. Adeyemi, said Jibode hid his personality and used another prominent lawyer's name, Mr. David Olufemi, to swindle him of N10 million.

He told the presiding Magistrate A. O. Isaac that when the accused approached him, he had the inclination that the proposal for the purchase of the building may not afterall be genuine, but the moment he, the accused person, mentioned the name of the lawyer to him, he released the money. Under cross-examination by counsel representing the accused person, Mr. Adeyemi said on 14 May 2010, the agent, Mr, Ojo, and himself, one Mr. Oluyewola, the landlord of the building, Mr. Jegede, and two of Jegede's children went to Mr. Jibode's office at Oyingbo to pay the agreed sum of N10 million. He added that he was to pay a balance of N2 million after all the process have been completed. He told the court:

 

"I told him not to gamble with me. This is my retirement benefit from my pension from flour mill. I want to buy this house so that at my old age I will not suffer to train my children in school. "I complained about the Deed of Assignment which he prepared because there was no seal on it. Lawyer Jibode asked me not to worry. He called me three days latter on phone and told me that the landlord has been strangled to death by an unknown person." "I rushed down only to discovered that he has park out of his office and his phone numbers were no more reachable."

Read more…

jpeg&STREAMOID=qhi_27FNXTHd1TqtFSpnnC6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxRqlB37slIkyP1R2WtTyj5onW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-&width=234

Our apologies it was actually 5million naira each ! 

10 X 5 = 50million Naira That is chicken change for the Federal Govt . How much are they spending to rehabilaitate Niger Delta Militants ... So many questions .

 

Only a few people could hold back their tears yesterday as President Goodluck Jonathan met with 10 families of the National Youth Service Corps members who were murdered in the post-election violence that engulfed Bauchi State last month.

Heartbreaking was the sight of the wife of one of the slain corps members from Bayelsa State, Tessy Adohe, who came with three of the four children — an eight-month-old baby and two older ones — she had with her late husband, Elliot Adohe.

“I appreciate the fact that no amount of recognition can adequately compensate for the deep void that their passing has created in your individual families,” Mr Jonathan said while directing that each family be given N5million, and that any unemployed graduate who was a direct sibling of a murdered corp member be given employment in the federal civil service.

The dead include Adewumi Paul from Ekiti State; Okeoma Okechukwu Chibudom and Ukazeone Amsalem Chukwunonyere from Imo State; Olawale Tosin and Akonye Ibrahim Sule from Kogi State; Ebenezer Ayotunde and Kehinde Jelili from Osun State; Anyanwu Agnes and Okpokiri Obina from Imo state; and Adohe Elliot, Bayelsa State.

Ismaila Tsiga, the director-general of the National Youth Service Corps, led the families to Aso Villa, Abuja, where the President received them.

‘Uncommon patriotism’

Mr Jonathan praised the corps members’ efforts which ensured the success of the 2011 elections and the “wide international acclaim which the exercise has received”. He said that all this was “due in large part to the uncommon patriotism and diligence exhibited by the members of the National Youth Service Corps”.

He vowed that his administration would bring the perpetrators of the post-election violence to book.

“Your sons and daughters may be gone, but they have not died in vain. You can take some solace in the fact that they are today national heroes of whom every patriotic Nigerian is immensely proud,” Mr Jonathan said. “Our administration holds them in the highest esteem, and we are determined to ensure that their names are permanently immortalized as an enduring source of inspiration to us all.”

Cold-hearted officials

Awuchewu Okpokiri, on behalf of the bereaved families, berated the NYSC management for the manner in which their children’s deaths was broken to them. Mr Okpokiri claimed that some parents were not informed of their childrens’ deaths until nearly a week had passed.

“We should have been told of what had happened but this was not so. A lot of us did not know [about] the deaths of these children until April 24, something that happened on the 18th,” he said.

Mr Okpokiri also advocated for the review of the scheme in “all ramifications”.

He, however, thanked the president for the compensation while adding that it would not be meaningful “until the perpetrators of this heinous act are brought to book”.

“A lot of the police stations in most of these areas are nothing to write home about and that means that security for our people, our common man in the area is not there. And that means anything can happen at any time,” Mr Okpokiri also said.

Again, sloppiness was alleged in the manner in which the families were invited to the event.

“Some of us from some states were sponsored by the NYSC to come here while some of us had to transport themselves to this place. They approached the NYSC and they didn’t give them any help and they had to come here on their own. I don’t think that is good enough,” Mr Okpokiri told the president.

He added that he hoped that their childrens’ sacrifice would be “the last sacrifice for the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria and for the unification of Nigeria”.

The president later assured them that they would all be taken care of.

‘Nigeria is not CPC’s bootcamp’

In response to a report published in a national daily yesterday, where the Congress for Progressive Change’s (CPC) Mr Malami was quoted to have likened the post-election violence to “the anger of of the people of the Western region in 1965 and the people of Ondo state in 1983 against the use of federal might to dislodge opposition governments in the South West in favour of the ruling parties at the federal level with concocted results”, Mr Jonathan deplored such insensitivity.

“This attempt by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to justify the unfortunate carnage and bloodletting is vexatious in the extreme,” Mr Jonathan said. “It amounts to rubbing salt on the raw wounds of families who lost dear ones, and those who were maimed and lost valuable property to the carnage.”

In the statement signed by the president, he said Mr Malami’s comments amounted to “an open admission that the party’s supporters were indeed behind the violence, and that the party may well have planned it all”.

Mr Jonathan warned that “Nigeria is not CPC’s bootcamp”.

In the wake of the post-election violence, some people were arrested but there have been no reports of serious investigations or arraignments in court.

Read more…

My experience of reading for pleasure

12166310293?profile=originalMy first novel, A Heart to Mend, was published in 2009, and with the positive reviews came the interviewers. My second, A Love Rekindled, out in March 2011 has also started getting some attention, and one of the more common question remains, “When did you start writing?”

The easy answer is that I started writing as a child but what I think is more important is when I started reading. Without that, I might not be a writer today, much less an author. I could stop writing today, in fact I did stop writing at some periods in my life, but I doubt I could stop reading.

Yes, I am a writer and author today but first, I was a reader.

I have to confess that for me there’s just something about books and the written word as a means to take me outside myself while still remaining very personal. The writer takes me to a new place, either physically or emotionally and plumbs my depths. I was a quiet child and even when surrounded by my siblings and other people, I would often find myself lost in my own thoughts. I loved daydreaming and the books I read were like the epitome of this fantasizing. It’s like an imagination that comes true because it’s been written down. It became so easy to travel to distant, sometimes imaginary lands, meet new people, and experience new cultures.

This was an ‘aha’ moment. I knew I would never stop. It was also around this time that I started writing down my own stories, I wrote of children’s adventures I wished I had. A few years after this, I happened on romantic fiction through Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Ahhh Jane Eyre… Charlotte Bronte was an amazing storyteller. Not only was the plot in the story as tight as a drum, the romance was so sweet. What an emotional rollercoaster. The build-up of their love was soft and touching, there were twists to keep you turning the page. I ended up reading the book several times in the following years.

Hundreds of novels have passed through my hands in the years since, and among them are authors that I will never forget. They reached right into my ribcage and squeezed, sometimes hard enough to make my eyes leak.They include Bertha M. Clay, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, Elechi Amadi , Sidney Sheldon, Buchi Emecheta, Harold Robbins, Judith Krantz, Helen Ovbiagele and Barbara Delinsky among others too numerous to mention. They educated me; shaped me, entertained me, and they pierced my heart. Beautifully written, and masterfully crafted, books by these authors had me sobbing at different stages.

I had another ‘aha’ moment. I wanted to write these sorts of books. It became sealed when I read the inspirational romance penned by Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love. I won’t try to describe this book to you. You just have to experience it yourself. I began writing again after that, just before the millennium. And I was writing romance. A Heart to Mend began life from a novella I wrote back then. I wouldn’t compare it to any I have listed but I’m also not ashamed of it. I hope to write more novels and know that they will be better than A Heart to Mend. I also hope that others will one day list my novels when talking about books they’ve read.

So yes, there is something amazing about writing and being able to hold a book you’ve authored. But what fewer writers talk about is reading that book and being captivated by your own story. We rarely talk about being lost in the pages of a good book, of reading throughout the night and having to prop open our eyes with toothpicks the next day, of spending minutes crying or simply thinking after reading a scene in a novel. This is what makes reading so indispensable to me, they can be simply for enjoyment but they also have the ability to change a life, an opinion, a belief, a worldview. So while I write to be authored, I mostly write to be read and to read.
Read more…

Whitney Houston back in rehab

Spokesperson confirms that Houston has entered an out-patient programme for drug and alcohol treatment
Whitney-Houston-007.jpg
Whitney Houston, pictured here performing in Beverly Hills in February, has entered an outpatient programme for drug and alcohol treatment. Photograph: Mark J Terrill/AP

Whitney Houston has returned to rehab, her representatives have revealed.

 

The soul diva has entered an outpatient programme for drug and alcohol treatment according to Kristen Foster, her spokesperson. "Whitney voluntarily entered the programme to support her long-standing recovery process," said Foster.

 

No further comment was made, and it is not known where Houston is being treated or how long she will remain there.

 

Houston's drug issues are well documented. However, when she returned in 2009 with an acclaimed new album, I Look to You, she declared herself healthy and clean.

 

The album spawned the hit single Million Dollar Bill, but the accompanying tour proved a troubled affair, with some fans complaining about the quality of Whitney's voice and performance. When three concerts in the UK were cancelled due to illness, she shrugged off suggestions she was using again as "ridiculous," telling People magazine: "I don't even read it, I don't even respond."

 

Whether this latest episode is a relapse or merely a setback, only time will tell. Houston recently performed onstage with Chaka Khan during a Prince concert in Los Angeles.

Read more…

Outrage at screening of dying Princess Diana photo: Cannes documentary to show graphic picture for first time

 

 

A shocking paparazzi photograph of a dying Princess Diana is to be screened for the first time in a documentary about her fatal crash.

Unlawful Killing, which will be shown at Cannes this week, is backed by the actor Keith Allen and Mohammed Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana.

The 90-minute film will include a graphic black and white close-up of Diana taken moments after the Mercedes carrying the couple crashed in a Paris underpass.

article-1385357-0BFAB6CA00000578-157_468x365.jpg?width=468

Crash: A photographer is first to reach Diana's smashed up Mercedes in 1997. The public have never seen close-up images of her dying

The distressing image, Diana’s blonde hair and features clearly visible, has never been publicly seen in this country.

It will be shown around the world but not in the UK, prompting Allen to say: ‘Pity, because at a time when the sugar rush of the Royal Wedding has been sending republicans into a diabetic coma, it could act as a welcome antidote.’

Similar pictures shown to the Diana inquest jury had her face heavily pixellated.

News that Allen, father of pop star Lily, is using the full photograph outraged close friends of the late Princess of Wales.

article-0-0107E970000004B0-45_233x708.jpg?width=233

Icon: Diana's fame has meant that her death has been the subject of intense scrutiny. An inquest - held a decade later - found she was unlawfully killed

Rosa Monckton, who went on holiday with Diana a few weeks before she died, said: ‘If this is true this is absolutely disgusting.

‘The fact people are trying to make money – which is all that they are doing now – out of her death is quite frankly ... words fail me.’

A spokesman for St James’s Palace declined to comment but royal sources said Diana's sons would be sickened by the news.

One said: ‘They rather hope people would treat this with the contempt it deserves.’

He suggested that William and Harry would not be drawn into commenting for fear of giving Allen the oxygen of publicity.

Sources told the Daily Mail that the princes will never publicly comment about their mother because they view the issue as ‘the most intensely personal and private aspect of their very public lives’.

Allen’s film is due to be screened amid a blaze of publicity at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday and Mr Fayed is reported to be travelling to the south of France to help with the launch.

In 2008, after a six-month inquest which heard evidence from 250 witnesses and cost taxpayers an estimated £12million, a jury concluded that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed as a direct result of grossly negligent driving by drunk chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died in the crash.

The actions of photographers following the car were also cited.

Mr Fayed has accused Prince Philip of masterminding the 1997 crash in which Diana and Dodi died and even suggested that Prince Charles was involved.

He alleged the death plot took place to stop Diana marrying his Muslim son.

During the 2008 Diana inquest, the former Harrods owner described the royals as ‘that Dracula family’.

The photograph of Diana forms part of the trailer to Allen’s documentary on the film’s official website available in the UK.

article-0-000455B100000578-729_224x368.jpg?width=224
article-0-0041A4DB000004B0-743_224x368.jpg?width=224

Backers: The film, Unlawful Killing, is being supported by Mohammed Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana, and left-wing activist and actor Keith Allen, right

article-0-0BF9F81D00000578-962_468x312.jpg?width=468

Getting ready: A screen is prepared on the beach for the 64th Cannes Film Festival in France, which is where the Diana documentary will be shown

The website proclaims: ‘Unlawful Killing is the story of the deaths of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.

‘It reveals a cover-up by the British Establishment culminating in a six-month inquest. Keith Allen’s ground-breaking documentary recreates key moments from the inquest and demonstrates how vital evidence of foul play was hidden from public scrutiny, how the royal family were exempted from giving evidence and how journalists, particularly those working for the BBC, systematically misreported the events and in particular, the verdict itself.

‘This is the story of how the world was deceived.’

Allen, in a piece for the Guardian newspaper last weekend, said: ‘My “inquest of the inquest” film contains footage of Diana recalling how the royals wanted her consigned to a mental institution, and the coroner repeatedly questioning the sanity of anyone who wondered if the crash was more than an accident.’

He said he asked every major UK broadcaster to commission a TV documentary about the inquest but they all refused.

article-0-018E2284000004B0-581_468x499.jpg?width=468

Mourned: The gates of Kensington Palace adorned with tributes in 1997

He said Unlawful Killing was ‘not about a conspiracy before the crash, but a conspiracy after the crash. A conspiracy organised not by a single arch-fiend, but collectively by the British establishment’.

He said the film was being premiered in Cannes ‘because British lawyers insisted on 87 cuts before any UK release.

'So rather than butcher the film, we’re showing in France, then the U.S., and everywhere except the UK.’

A spokesman for the filmmakers said: ‘The picture has been published in full before, in many parts of the world. We acquired the image from an Italian magazine, which had already published it in full. It is also widely available on the web.

‘We are therefore not publishing anything that the rest of the world has not already seen elsewhere.’

A spokesman for Mr Fayed said: ‘He was not aware that any photograph taken of any occupant of the car was going to be in this film.

‘He is appalled by that and will be taking all necessary steps to make sure it is not in the film.’

article-1385357-0BFAC0FD00000578-582_468x350.jpg?width=468

 

 



Read more…

jpeg&STREAMOID=qBLLQEMO0ITtYVEPMLk31S6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxQLWjsE$n8_oeTa5op55obAnW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-&width=234The Nigerian naira eased against the U.S dollar on the interbank market on Monday after the Central Bank sold dollars at a higher rate than last week at its foreign exchange auction.

The naira closed at 155.85 to the dollar on the interbank market compared to 155.15 at Friday’s close, although the sale of $400 million by state-owned energy company NNPC helped prevent it from slipping further.

“We have NNPC funds in the market, about $400 million, but those who received the dollars are not selling, possibly covering their short positions with the funds,” one dealer said.

Traders said some of the banks were holding onto the funds in view of the closing gap between the central bank’s official rate and the interbank rate.

The central bank sold $300 million at 153.18 to the dollar at its latest bi-weekly forex auction on Monday, short of the $352.54 million demanded and compared to $350 million sold at 153.02 a dollar at the previous auction last Wednesday.

A one percent commission charged at the forex auction meant dollars effectively cost 154.71, narrowing the gap with the interbank rate.

NNPC is the largest supplier of foreign exchange to the interbank market with its large monthly dollar sales usually providing support for the local currency.

Some analysts said continued weakness in foreign reserves compared to year-ago levels were continuing to put pressure on the naira.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $32.66 billion by May 5 from $34.55 billion a month earlier and remain significantly lower than a year ago. They stood at $40.12 billion by May 5, 2010.

Dealers said the naira could weaken further in the coming days unless the central bank moves to reassure the market that it will continue to support the naira at current levels.

REUTERS

Read more…

Cost of cement Rises

jpeg&STREAMOID=roJD6geOVo5aLnaw1WaGSy6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxTXZ1fVZMPUjfSJxoQ4UcJCnW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-&width=234Stakeholders in the cement industry have expressed concern over the increasing prices of the product across the country in the last four months.

Some have attributed the situation to problems of inadequate supply, high transportation cost and policy somersault.

A survey conducted by the News Agency Nigeria (NAN) across the country showed that prices of the different brands of cement have gone up by an average of 44 percent in the past four months.

A bag of cement, which was sold for an average of N1, 500 in December 2010 is now on the average of N2, 500.

The cost of cement has now become a sensitive issue like that of petroleum products and food items.

The major brands of cement in the country are: Ashaka, Ibeto, Burham, Bua, Elephant and Dangote.

They are manufactured in different locations across the country although dealers said the Dangote brand is the most popular as it is more readily available in the market.

Abdulkadir Ibrahim, a civil servant in Kano, described the rising prices of cement as “painful and incredible.”

“I am just building a corner shop near my house and it is taking me years to actualise it because of high prices of cement.

“I used to buy a bag of Dangote cement for N1, 800 just four months ago, but now it costs N2, 350. Government must do something about this,” Ibrahim said.

Aliyu Mahmood, a businessman in Kano, also bemoaned the high and unstable prices of cement across the country.

Supply deficit

“If I buy a bag of Ashaka cement for N2, 150 today, tomorrow they will increase the price to N2, 250 because of the scarcity. This is traumatic,” Mr Mahmood, who is building a duplex in Kano, said.

The survey showed that the rising prices are often market induced because of supply deficit.

NAN reports that cement dealers in Akure, Ondo State, have confirmed the scarcity of all the brands which, they said, had in turn affected the prices.

Funso Omotola, a dealer on Idanre Road, Akure, told NAN that price of Elephant brand of cement rose to as high as N2, 750 in late March due to short supply and high demand for the product.

Stakeholders alleged that some cement manufacturers were taking advantage of the supply gap to increase prices arbitrarily.

An official of Ashaka Cement depot in Kaduna, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that a bag was sold for N1, 500 in November last year, but since then, the depot had not received any supply.

Some dealers have also blamed high transportation cost for the recent hike in prices of cement.

Abdullrasaq Usman, a cement distributor at Kaduna North Railway Station, told NAN that it used to cost them N80, 000 to transport 600 bags of cement from Obajana in Kogi State to Kaduna.

Mr Usman said it now cost N300, 000 to transport same quantity to Kaduna due to the scarcity of diesel.

“The cost of a trailer load containing 600 bags of cement is N912,000 while transportation cost is N300,000, which makes the unit price N2,020 from the manufactures,” he said.

Price fluctuations

Dele Ade-Ojo, an engineer and Head of Works Department at a local government secretariat in Akure told NAN that fluctuations in the prices of cement has greatly affected construction works in the council.

To accommodate the high cost of cement, the engineer said he had to come up with so many cost variations on projects he was handling.

A report from Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) and Renaissance Capital on cement situation in Nigeria confirmed that there was a supply deficit which local producers had not been able to meet despite investments in new plants.

“The high costs of doing business in Nigeria and other factors have helped to keep capacity utilisation at an industry average of 68 percent over the last five years,” CMAN said.

Read more…
The reported directive to estate agents operating in Lagos by the state government to stop the collection of agency fees is generating controversy. AKINPELU DADA writes that despite official denial, agents say the pronouncement may affect the property market negatively. 

A house in Lagos

 advertisement 

  

The controversy trailing the report that the Lagos State Government had directed that the collection of agency and agreement fees from prospective tenants by estate agents deepened on Friday. 
While the state's Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Supo Shasore, who was widely reported to have given the directive by the media last week, denied ever saying so, different bodies representing agents and legal practitioners said that such a directive would be difficult to implement. 
Shasore had been quoted by many media outfits as describing as criminal, the practice by agents who demanded for agency and agreement fees from prospective tenants before offering them accommodation as there was no law in the state that supported such. 
He reportedly said this during his ministry's press briefing to commemorate the fourth year anniversary of Governor Babatunde Fashola administration, where he also said that a new law in the works had forbidden the collection of rents for more than six months in advance. 
The commissioner, who acknowledged that though the demand for accommodation had outstripped supply, was also quoted as saying that there was no justification for any estate agent or landlord to charge agency or agreement fees from tenants before being allowed to move into any rented apartment. 
He said that the state's Tenancy Bill, which aims at regulating the activities of estate agents, was at its third reading in the state House of Assembly. He expressed the hope that it would be passed into law before the expiration of the tenure of the present legislature. 
However, those who engage in estate agency have taken up issues with the commissioner, and indeed the state government, for the directive, saying it was not carefully thought out. 
But when contacted through his mobile telephone line, Shasore denied ever saying that the collection of agency fees by estate agents was illegal and criminal, adding that there was no law to base such a directive on. 
He, however, confirmed that the Tenancy Bill made provision for landlords to only collect six months' advance rent, instead of the current practice of collecting rents of, at least, two years in advance. 
While reacting to the purported directive, the President, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Mr. Bode Adediji, told our correspondent on the telephone that the body was studying the situation and would react appropriately after its council meeting scheduled for the weekend in Abuja. 
The Chairman, Lagos State Branch, NIESV, Mr. Elias Ovesuor, told our correspondent that the directive was not acceptable to the body and that a committee had been mandated to liaise with the state House of Assembly over the matter. 
A Lagos-based property lawyer, Mr. Kazeem Bello, said that the government could not effectively regulate a market in which it was not a big player, adding that the general law of agency stipulated that the agent must get a fee for his efforts from his principal, who required his services. 
He said, "If a tenant asks an agent to get an apartment for him, the tenant is the principal. The landlord will pay the letting agent. I can't claim a fee from a landlord who has not given me an instruction." 
The Patron, Institute of Estate Agents of Nigeria, Chief Olu Shonoiki, who runs an estate agency firm, Olu Shonoiki & Co, said that the government was only playing to the gallery since it was generally accepted in the British system that Nigeria copied that the agent must get his fee from the source of instruction. 
According to him, if implemented, the directive will make it more difficult for prospective tenants to secure accommodation in the state. 
All the respondents also faulted the provision for payment of six months' rent in advance as contained in the Tenancy Bill, saying how much would be paid and for how long were a function of demand for and supply of accommodation. 
Despite Shasore's denial, the governor had in 2009 given an insight into his administration's thought on the issue of agency fee when he requested to know the criteria for its determination from the NIESV President, who visited him with members of his council. 
"You need to help us to let us know the basis of these charges," Fashola had said in response to a request by Adediji for support to enforce the Estate Agent Enactment, which seeks to stamp out quacks parading themselves as estate agents. 
The governor had said then, "The charges are not regular. They range from five to 20 per cent and these charges put housing beyond the reach of the poor." 
Fashola also condemned the high advance rent being demanded by some property owners and advised the members of the institution to embrace lower charges and the collection of six months' rent, or at mos,t one year's rent, as a social service to complement government's effort in creating a dynamic economy.
Read more…
Indications from various political climes have wondered why former Lagos state governor and leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu would want to make the next four years difficult for the re-elected Governor of the state, Babatunde  Fashola, should he (Fashola) decides not to obey the revered “political godfather”.

 

 

Huhuonline.com understands that some clandestine measures have recently been put in place by Tinubu to close-mark Fashola in case of any likely breach of agreement between two of them, despite the fact that Fashola’s return to governance is seen as a reward for hard work and benevolence.

 

 

According to our source close to the leadership of the party, this near drift may have been a diligent strategy by Tinubu to further sustain his leadership posture in ACN, considering the party’s successes in the South West during the recent general elections and meant to forestall a situation where Governor Fashola would not be out of the control of the former governor, Tinubu as he is said to have started the repositioning of his loyalists around the seat of power.

 

 

Part of Tinubu’s plans is in retaining the current Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, for the next four years. It is revealed that Ikuforiji who was told to move from his Epe Constituency to Ikeja so as to retain the position which has been zoned to Ikeja had suddenly become the party’s favourite after he was successfully used to fight Governor Fashola in favour of Tinubu last year.

 

 

Another factor that has played itself out in the power play in the governance of Lagos state is daring determination of the former governor to ensure that all the office holders who supported Fashola during the crisis were thrown out of out of office. A dependable source confirmed that this was the reason why the current Deputy Governor, Princess Adebisi Sosan was replaced by the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Joke Orelope-Adefulire.

 

 

“The issue of bringing in Tinubu’s men came as an agreement between Fashola and the former governor. This happened when Fashola led a high powered delegation to Abibatu Mogaji, Tinubu’s mother. Tinubu, who does not like disobeying his mother, decided that the only way he would forgive the governor and allow him a second term was to ensure that all those he would work with come from him.

 

 

“This was why the former governor made sure that only his loyalists won at the House of Assembly seats in the recently held elections. All those who supported the governor were not given another chance just as all his supporters at the National Assembly were sent packing,” one of our sources said.

 

 

According to the source, another move by Tinubu is to make sure that he continues to have a firm grip on the governor, and also following his declaration that all those who were the asked to move to the Labour Party in order to contest various political offices would not be allowed to come back to the party fold.

 

 

Political pundits have however observed that the new move to shut the door against ACN members who decamped to another party on decoy is also a way of ending their political careers in the state.

 

 

Huhuonline.com understands that a list of all members of the state executive council who supported the governor during the period he had issues with his “godfather” have been compiled. These set of commissioners and political office holders would be replaced by others who sources said are still being put together.

 

 

Tinubu, according to our source have repeatedly vowed that the task of selecting and appointing Commissioners and other senior political office holders would now become the responsibility of the party instead of the governor. According to him, it would afford the party the opportunity to compensate those who assisted the governor and the party to achieve success in the last election.

 

 

Huhuonline.com also learnt that the courtesy call on the former governor by the newly elected lawmakers in the state, led by the Speaker was meant to cement the party’s bid to drum it into the ears of the lawmakers that it is Ikuforiji that the party wanted for the position.

 

 

“At the meeting, Tinubu advised the lawmakers to do the job for which they were elected or face the wrath of the party and those who voted them into offices.

 

 

“While thanking Tinubu for giving them the opportunity to become elected public office holders, the Speaker had reiterated that the lawmakers were “Tinubu’s foot-soldiers” and would continue to remain so as long as the party remained.

 

 

“The courtesy call was not really what people think it was. It was an opportunity for Asiwaju to task the lawmakers on the duties the party expected them to perform in the next four years.

 

 

“He also told them that Ikuforiji was his chosen candidate for the position of the Speaker and asked all those who had been expressing interest in the position to rescind their interests and support the party’s choice,” our source revealed.
Read more…
But for the delay and bureaucratic bottlenecks of the South Africa Embassy in Lagos, Nollywood stars, Rita Dominic and Ini Edo would have been returning from Madiba’s country. 
South Africa, which is fast becoming notorious for its visas, was said to have delayed processing of visas for the stars until last minutes despite pleas that they were heading for the country to attend the World Economic Forum, which Oando sponsored and Managing Director of Mnet, Biola Alabi, was the moderator. 

The actresses alongside Desmond Elliot were billed to attend the Economic Forum, but only Desmond made it because he already had a visa. Rita and Ini waited almost in vain, but got their passports back on Wednesday, same day the Nollywood Night of the World Economic Forum was to hold, and by then it was too late as there was no fligh to Johannesburg. Thus, the two Nollywood stars missed the event.
Read more…

quote:"I will only compete with people I was born with at the same time same day same year and by the same mum"

 

12166204052?profile=original12166208267?profile=original9jabook TuesDay  Feed

follow us on twitter

friend us onfacebook

 

 

Going Going .....

YOUR   M.O.N.E.Y      B.A.C.K     A.N.Y T.I.M.E ! Own a facebook like site 9jabook.com investments start from just 100 naira !  see list of those who have PAID .http://bit.ly/hARciM

 

 Newsblogs:

 

12166309467?profile=originalMeet Genevieve "Junior" Like Mother Like Daughter ?: I didn’t know I was pregnant for seven months    http://bit.ly/lV5dhV

Tinubu's Plan to Fashi Fashola or just frustrate him.Lion of bourdillon Roars Again..  http://bit.ly/moMxam

 

South Africa embassy stops Rita Dominic & Ini Edo
Boko Haram rejects Amnesty    http://bit.ly/m9QCDi
  
Hold Jonathan responsible –CPC http://bit.ly/lC7wXQ
images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6RYROSCbFiiADixrbVGFJtFc8nk1uwLoqxT8WPpLOIbqNdQFMjEwgqD4t&width=123Sex In the City: Weaning yourself off excessive sex ,Diary of a Divorced City Girl 
Obesity may lower levels of sexual satisfaction, especially for women, a new study shows.   http://bit.ly/lSOnyU

 

 

Full face transplant patient makes 1st appearance (VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED)  http://bit.ly/jJJOvF

 
2 Children found dead in mother’s freezer 
 
Just How Dangerous Is Sitting All Day ? The Tech Geeks now say so too ! 
 
Android Nabs Third Of Smartphone Market, BlackBerry Plummets [REPORT] 
 
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wife Maria Shriver announce separation after 25 Years ! 
 
jpeg&STREAMOID=2hL8$Nr1s7o2NPs2PEteES6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxTUuwVw5uR2x4a0_BzbqD7PnW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-&width=123Man commits suicide over HIV status 
 
US woman to reveal 18-year kidnap ordeal in book.:    A California woman kidnapped as a schoolgirl and repeatedl... 
 
Religion Still Leads Facebook Page Engagement maybe the Web ! people just wanna know ! 
 

 

Read more…
Genevieve[1].jpg

Ever since movie star actress Genevieve Nnaji made an entrance into the Nollywoodscene, she has successfully managed to keep her private life in the dark.

Well, just a few hours ago, a picture of Genevieve and a young lady who bears a striking resemblance with the actress popped up on Social Networking site Twitter. Many claim that the unknown lady is Genny’s daughter which she had over a decade and a half years ago.

By mere looking at the photo above, you can make the assertions yourself…

The identity of the girl’s father remains unknown as Ms Nnaji has successfully kept that part of her life private desipte years of media intrusion. Photo below right 


  
She did not have the so-called ‘normal’ childhood. Her teenage life12166309467?profile=original was truncated. She became pregnant at 17. Much was not expected from the little girl who did not follow the ‘golden rule’ of right upbringing (from secondary school, university and to career), however, against all odds, Genevieve Nnaji has broken, recreated and became the rule for many and is now a success story.
In an interview she granted Treasure Magazine, Genevieve shared the story of her life. The Mbaise, Imo State-born actress didn’t grow up in the East. She is what you call the typical Lagos girl. Speaking on her childhood, she said: “I grew up in Lagos basically; my family is here in Lagos. I went to Methodist Girls High School, Yaba, Lagos. My mum is a teacher and my dad is a retired banker. Okay, I’m from a family of 10, eight kids, mummy and daddy. I left school in 97, went to UNILAG to do Creative Arts (part time); it was difficult keeping up because of doing movies, so I decided to drop and continue with the movie until I’m ready.”


That is not all, she grew up with strong Catholic background, a church she claimed impacted conscience into her, and it was that conscience the made her take a stand against abortion when she became pregnant as a teenager. Speaking on her child and pregnancy, she said: “Yes, I have a child. I was pretty young though. What happened? What I learnt was that no matter how much I try to control myself and be preserved and everything, sh*t still happens to me. So, I think what is meant to be will be.


You can only try to avoid it or prolong it, but it will be. The truth is, if it hadn’t happened I won’t be here now, because it had a way of shifting my life. So, it is like falling to one side and trying to make the best out of it. I probably would not be here. It happened and the best I did was not to dwell on it. It affected me in a way, but I didn’t dwell on it. I just felt it was not about the downfall, but how to pick up yourself that makes you a strong person, and not everybody would understand. And there is this thing I keep telling myself; life is once. So, life starts and ends with you. You live once, try to make the best of it. Don’t let people discourage you, people are going to talk, they are going to judge, but truth is, people who talk the most are those who do the worse. If you are not important, people won’t talk about you. Be yourself, be happy.”


The pregnancy was seven months gone before Genny’s Catholic mum discovered it. Genny said, “She couldn’t believe it, ‘how can she be pregnant when she was very careful’.” A test confirmed it, her parents were disappointed but stood their ground against abortion. “I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t even know till I was about four months. It was there, but I was still in shock. I didn’t believe it. The only time I actually believed it was when I saw it in a scan. Seven months! And I saw it’s in there and I said, “Okay, it’s true!” I was like, “Oh, it’s like some disease....” I think I was pretty much hard on myself then than my parents or people. I was harder on myself, really. My parents reacted the way any parent would react – disappointed. I didn’t know. My mother discovered it for me. I didn’t know anything really. She discovered it for me and it was too late, we couldn’t do anything and we’re Catholics and I’m glad I didn’t do anything funny really.”


Speaking further, she said: “Getting rid of the pregnancy was an alternative then, but it was too late, because not until I was four months before we discovered it and so it was not what we could do, and my dad was like, ‘it’s a child for Christ’s sake. God knows why he wants to bring that child into life”. We are Catholics and it’s just that conscience, you do wrong once and doing another would not make the first right. So, you either correct your mistake by doing the right thing. If I was pregnant, and then have an abortion, it would have been like murder after fornication! So, that was basically wrong.


“I’m sure everywoman knows the feeling of pregnancy, but for the young girl – it is difficult for me to say now, because I have grown much older – but I know at that time it was, let me see... Anyway, I’d just wake up every morning hoping to wake up from a dream... but you know it doesn’t happen so. It’s more like giving me hope that ‘no, it wasn’t...’ I was like looking forward to sleeping and waking up, then it wasn’t getting any better anyway.”


Were her parents at fault? No, Genny took responsibility, “Mine had nothing to do with it, it was a different case entirely, which I wouldn’t want to go into. My parents did their jobs and I did my own job of listening and everything. My parents were fantastic. I got the best of home training. It’s none of my parents’ fault. I was close to mum and Dad and they told me everything I needed to know, okay. But what happened had to happen, somehow. So, I didn’t think it had to do with my parents, although some people could suffer from not getting enough education from their parents, but I think my mum did her part as a mother. Yes, she did.”


On the lesson life taught her, she said: “Like I said before, I have learnt that life is the way you live it. It is not about theory, no lecturer can tell you what life is. Life is what you make of it. Life is what you want it to be, basically. For somebody like me, if I say I want this now and I work towards it, nothing is going to keep me away from that, I’m going to get it. Even if it means me drawing up my account, I want that, and I’m happy. I always think of today and not tomorrow. It is not like, ‘Oh, my children in the future...’ whatever I do right now, I believe I’ll dig into it. Yes, I will try to be considerate later... but life is too short, you go now and whatever you’ve achieved other people will enjoy it.


“I think it is doing what you love doing, that’s what life is basically all about. Be happy; whatever you do let it be worth doing well. Don’t do things because other people expect you to do it. Please yourself, but don’t be selfish about it. You know it’s not like when you enjoy killing; that’s not what I mean. Whatever your direction, if your father wants you to be a doctor and you want to be a musician, follow your dreams! At the end of the day, if you have a gift for it... (go for it).”


All in all, Genny has come of age and done well for herself. She is a role model, not just to teeming aspiring actresses but to those who had a truncated/pause in the journey of their dreams, but are trying to pick up the pieces. And as icing on the cake, the beautiful actress is on the verge of inking a document that would see her pair with a Hollywood star in a multi-million naira movie. Happy birthday to Africa’s queen of the tube!e has risen to become one of the very few iconic movie figures in Africa. Cable News Network (CNN) even dubbed her Julia Roberts of Africa.
Read more…

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6RYROSCbFiiADixrbVGFJtFc8nk1uwLoqxT8WPpLOIbqNdQFMjEwgqD4t Some women's sexual escapades often sound stranger than fiction. Why does a particular woman seek sex all of the time, with different men losing all sense of shame? Abibat's reason was because she thought she was fat and unattractive. advertisement The only way she could have men interested in her was to spread her thighs at the drop of a hat! "Even as a teenager, boys never asked me out – or even talked to me.

I was 15 when I lost my virginity. I'd been so easy with the man next door who furtively asked me to get him a bottle of soft drink. "When I took the drink to him, he asked me in and quickly shut the door. He simply took me to the bedroom, groped me and we had sex. All along, I thought that if I offered him sex, he would be my boyfriend. After we had sex, he didn't even look at me as he hussled me out of the house.

Then there was the secondary school teacher who often had sex with me in the classroom. The more sex I had, the more dejected I felt. Why was I doing it? Because I felt that sex was the most my flabby body could offer a man. It was sordid and degrading but I was desperate. Inevitably, I got pregnant at 19. The father, a 23 year old articled clerk hung around for a while then found another girl when our son was four months old. "In spite of that, my need for sex never went away. When I met Sesan, the man I eventually married, it was because he said he preferred his women fat and was in love with me.

Did I love him? Who knows? He loved me, that's what mattered. I was happy with him for a while, especially since he was a good father to my son. But I got a job as a junior clerk in a big firm and a whole shop of men became opened to me. The supervisor was the first. After office hours, with my bottom pressed against the cold filing cabinets, I let him have sex with me. and he was always grateful – letting me off early and writing glowing appraisals but I felt guilty for betraying my husband. But my guilt wasn't strong enough to stop me. "At the firm's end-of-year party, one of the young officers danced with me as he inched me towards the toilets. I was very tipsy as he clamped his lips on mine, tongue rammed down my throat. I flirted back by parting my thighs. One of his hands started fumbling with my skirt and the other with his flies. Then we were having sex, right there, as members of staff danced on the floor! Months later, I found out I was pregnant. I was in a panic. My husband and I hadn't made love in months.

So that night,' I seduced him. Then, a few weeks later, I broke the news that we were having a baby. He'd often hinted he would love us to have a baby as soon as possible. "Adoring, gullible man, he swallowed it! "'But he soon realized he was not the father when our daughter was born. She didn't look like either of us. I would have gotten away with it but for my reputation. He had a show-down with me and I confessed. He beat the day light out of me, but I took it as the punishment I deserved. He then threw me out of our flat. After I found a room I could afford, I continued with my escapades. I was still fat, a mother of two without any partner helping, I relied heavily on -gifts from my men. Most of the time, sex was in their cars or in grubby toilets in night clubs.

Once in a while, I even brought them to my pocky room. As the number of men I'd slept with grew, I became really depressed. What kind of woman was I? How could I produce something as beautiful as my children when I led such a sordid life. "It was at this juncture that I decided to turn my life around. I gave my life a long once-over and I decided I needed to lose weight first. It wasn't easy but I kept at it. I joined an exercise class in a stadium close to the house and was happy when the weights fell off. With the money I still had stashed away, I went to a computer class and got a good job as a receptionist.

"To celebrate, I combed all the 'bend – down' boutiques I knew and 'got myself very .. flattering clothes. So when men started complimenting my new look, I didn't think they were laughing at the flabby me, my confidence was enjoying a great boost. But best of all, I didn't have that craving for sex, that need to degrade myself for the thrills of getting a man. I learnt if a man admired me, I didn't need to give him anything in return – just my buddy personality. "By the time I met my current husband, I was a different woman entirely. He was a widower and he knew of my two children. And for the first time in my life, I didn't spread my legs to keep him. We started meeting as just friends as I realized my bed hopping days were over. I'd transformed -myself, weaned myself off sordid, meaningless sex and discovered the person I wanted to be.

 

I didn't need men to love me. now that I was slimmer, I could love myself. "When my ex-husband learnt of the new one, he was very bitter and accused me of using him. I had to explain to him the demon I was living with, that I could scarcely be called a wife when I was married to him. I apologized for hurting him but I had to move on. Thank God my second marriage is all I'd prayed for and more. We live in a decent flat with my two children and the two others I had with my husband. I'm certainly not proud of my past. There are days when I think back to the person I was, those awful encounters with these faceless men, and the tears flow. But for the sake of my kids, husband – and most of all me, I'm going to keep looking to the future. I'm making the most of every second of my new life ….. "

Read more…

Boko Haram rejects Amnesty

The members of the Yusufiyya sect popularly known as Boko Haram said that they will not accept the amnesty, which the Governor Elect Alhaji Kashim Shettima promised to offer them.

The spokesman of the sect who gave his name as Abu Dardam in a BBC Hausa programme monitored in Maiduguri, stressed that their reason of not accepting the amnesty is that they don’t recognise democracy as a form of  government.

The group also faulted the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, saying that justice can only be found in the Holy Quran, that is Shariya system of government.

Reacting the Borno state Commissioner of Home Affairs Information and Culture Mr. Hyeladi Inuwa Bwala, appealed to the group to see reason and embrace dialogue with a view to restore lasting peace in Borno state.

He said most wars and crisis in the world were settled mostly through dialogue, and therefore called on the group to see wisdom in the amnesty offer and come to  a round table for dialogue.
Read more…
TWO children of a woman (names withheld), working at the Central Hospital Agbor, in Delta State have been found dead in their mother’s giant deep freezer.

The names of the children were given as Harrison and Favour. Favour was a five year old girl and Harrisson , a 7 year old boy who were pupils of Community Day Care/Primary School Agbor.

Vanguard gathered that their mother had allegedly locked up the kids in her one-bedroom apartment and went to the market only to return and found the kids stone dead in the freezer.

The woman who is said to be a single parent is alleging a foul play, noting that blood was reportedly found trickling from both the mouth and nose of the children.

According to her “when I returned from the slaughter, I went straight to where I kept the key but to my greatest surprise, the key was no where to be found”.

State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Charles Muka told Vanguard, Sunday, that “we (police) are investigating. No arrest has been made; the woman locked the kids inside(her apartment) and took the keys away”
Read more…

Google’s Android now holds more than a third of the U.S. smartphone market share, eclipsing both RIM’s BlackBerry OS and Apple’s iOS with a growing lead, comScore reports.

Measuring more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers through its MobiLens service from December 2010 to March 2011, ComScorefound that Android now holds 34.7% — a solid increase from 31.2% in January, which was when Android jumped ahead of RIM as the top smartphone platform in the U.S. for the first time.

Apple held its own, growing from 25% in December 2010 to 25.5% in March 2011. It seems most of Android’s growth was at the expense of RIM, which dropped from 31.6% to 27.1% in that same period.

 

Screen-shot-2011-05-09-at-9.26.05-PM.png

 

 

 

Microsoft and Palm, which hold the fourth and the fifth place on the list, also lost a fair share of subscribers, dropping to 7.5% and 2.8%, respectively.

On the mobile equipment manufacturer front, very little has changed. Motorola dropped from 16.7% to 15.8% from December 2010 to March 2011, and the only company that experienced significant growth in this period was Apple, which grew from 6.8% to 7.9%, largely due to the iPhone launching on Verizon in February.

Read more…

capt.42680fa1d1764993b96454b9434312a4-42680fa1d1764993b96454b9434312a4-0.jpg?x=213&y=178&xc=1&yc=1&wc=409&hc=342&q=85&sig=PdTmzkngcDHs8UdlC8JMJg--LOS ANGELES – Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, announced Monday that they are separating.

The statement, issued by a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the two were working on the future of their relationship while living apart and would continue to parent their four children together.

"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," the two said in a prepared statement. "After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together."

It was not clear from the statement if either remained at their estate in Brentwood, or who the children were with. Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said he wouldn't answer questions beyond what was said in Monday's statement.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, finished his seven-year run as governor in January and has been traveling to deliver speeches and pursuing entertainment projects. He tweeted frequently during his travels to such faraway places as Brazil, Nigeria and France.

Shriver was not mentioned in his Twitter updates from the road.

Shriver, also active on social networks, posted three updates on her Twitter page on the day of their 25th wedding anniversary on April 26, but did not mention the milestone.

About a month before the wedding anniversary, Shriver wrote on her Facebook page that she was going through a transition in her life.

"As you know, transitions are not easy. I'd love to get your advice on how you've handled transitions in your own life," she wrote.

During Schwarzenegger's time as governor, Shriver and the couple's children never moved to Sacramento, preferring their secluded canyon estate a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Schwarzenegger never settled in Sacramento, choosing instead to commute by private jet between his home and the state capitol.

Shriver, a member of the Kennedy political dynasty and the daughter of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, left her job as an NBC News correspondent after Schwarzenegger took office.

As the state's first lady, she ran an annual women's conference that attracted a long list of business, political and entertainment luminaries, along with an audience of thousands. She also was credited with overhauling the California Museum in downtown Sacramento and, with Schwarzenegger, starting the California Hall of Fame.

The separation announcement comes months after the death of Shriver's father, Peace Corps founder and former vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, in January.

Read more…

Blog Topics by Tags

  • in (506)
  • to (479)
  • of (339)
  • ! (213)
  • as (166)
  • is (157)
  • a (156)

Monthly Archives