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Ex Plantashun Boiz member, Faze has featured his former band mates 2face and Blackface on a track Best of the Best.The song which was produced by Spankie will be included in his forthcoming album titled Relate due for release next month.

A few months back Faze had dropped singles Relate and Gear one as a build up to his album release. The Plantashun Boiz was one of Nigeria’s foremost boy band who held sway in the 1990’s.They have been dubbed as the foundation of modern-day Nigerian music; serving as the bridge between the older and newer generations..

Provabs drops new single

Provabs follows up his previous single - Hope. Aina Olasubomi Anthony a.k.a PROVABS is a song writer and rapper who has infused rap into different genres of music, ranging from classical to hardcore, hiphop and jazz. Having collaborated with several artists like Jedi, Ige, Dekunle Fuji, Contemporary urban Gospel artist, Provabs is set to launch out on his own and he does that with a brand new single titled Bless Me (Dey Go). The single is a follow up to his previous single Ko Si and Swagger.

Tyler Perry tests box office draw with ‘Colored Girls’

Filmmaker Tyler Perry has had no trouble claiming financial success when audiences flock to his comedies, but this week his box office pull will be tested with the dark drama, ‘For Colored Girls’. Currently America’s most successful African American film director who often attaches his name to movies adapted from his own stage plays, Perry has raked in more than $450 million at box offices, mostly in the United States. But his new movie, ‘For Colored Girls’, opening on Friday, is far removed from the comedic fare for which he first gained fame, including ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman’ and ‘Madea’s Family Reunion’. ‘For Colored Girls’ tackles issues such as abuse and abortion, and is adapted from poet and playwright Ntozake Shange’s,

‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf’. “This was the most intimidating work I have ever taken on,” Perry told reporters in a recent news conference. “I walked away from it many times.” Yet the intertwining stories of nine women facing trials in their everyday lives kept pulling him back, and for his adaptation, Perry has updated the 1970s-era play with a film presentation of modern black women living in New York City who face troubling dilemmas and decisions.

Helping the movie’s box office potential is its long roster of high-profile female actors and performers, including Janet Jackson,

Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton and Macy Gray. But Carl DiOrio, a box office analyst for The Hollywood Reporter, said while pre-release interest was “high”, the actresses alone were not enough to guarantee popularity. “It’s a solid cast but the cast itself won’t necessarily drive the opening. If there is a star in the mix it’s Tyler Perry,” he said. “There is no doubt that he delivers a fan base. (But) because of the turn into much grittier fare that he takes with this film, it remains to be seen how it plays over subsequent weekends.”

The film is projected to make Perry’s usual opening haul of around $20 million based on tracking surveys, said DiOrio, but the long-term box office was unclear as “it’s hard to market this like a typical Tyler Perry movie.” Adding to that are questions over whether Perry can handle translating Shange’s poetic monologues and capture her feminist sensibilities. Early critical reaction has been mixed.

“While Perry’s craft has slowly but surely improved with each successive film, this latest project seems to fall beyond his reach,” said Variety in its review. Shange, who met with Perry several times to discuss his script, has said she is “75 percent” happy with the screen adaptation, after becoming used to various adaptations.

“This is an opportunity for her work to be presented to a much wider audience,” her associate Claude Sloan told Reuters. “She looks at that as a benefit, but she has trepidation as any artist would at being at the hands of another artist.” Perry, who produced, directed and wrote the film told reporters he was satisfied with the end result: “I did the best work I could do at this time in my life.”

Taylor Swift pays tribute to fans for record sales Country-pop singer

Taylor Swift thanked her fans on Wednesday for buying more than one million copies of her new album ‘Speak Now’, making it the biggest first week seller in five years. “I... Can’t... Believe... This... You guys have absolutely lit up my world. Thank you,” Swift said in Twitter message. Official Nielsen SoundScan figures showed that ‘Speak Now’ sold 1,047,000 copies in the United States during the week ended October 31.

It was the biggest sales week for an album since rapper 50 Cent’s 2005 album ‘The Massacre’ sold 1,141,000. The critically well-praised album --the third from the 20 year-old singer-songwriter --also notched up the second-largest sales week of any country album since 1991.

The bumper numbers, helped by a massive promotional push including TV appearances, advance digital releases of some of the new songs and free concerts by Swift, came after years of music industry gloom over declining album sales and piracy. Swift, who won four Grammys earlier this year, has carved out a distinctive niche over the past two years for songs that address adolescent heart-break and the social perils of high-school. Her album ‘Fearless’ was the biggest selling record of 2009.

In ‘Speak Now’, she delivers a forthright commentary on several men who have broken or messed with her heart. The album includes songs widely believed to refer to singer John Mayer, pop star Joe Jonas, rapper Kanye West, ‘Twilight’ actor Taylor Lautner, and music industry critics who slammed her shaky vocal performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

Nashville music industry writer David Ross, editor of MusicRow, said Swift’s success flies in the face of conventional wisdom about the dire state of the recording industry. “Unlike many of the top-charting female artists of today, Ms Swift eschews tabloid behaviour and asks fans to focus on her music,” Ross said on Wednesday. “In some universal way, her life contests connect with similar moments that have brushed the fabric of others as well,” Ross added.

HAVING LUNCH WITH GOD

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer (iron brew in SA context) and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied! "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

Have lunch with God ....... bring chips.

Send this to people who have touched your life in a special way. Let them know how important they are.

I did!!!!

You may be going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have shown how stem cells, together with other cells, repair damaged tissue in the mouse spinal cord. The results are of potential significance to the development of therapies for spinal cord injury.

There is hope that damage to the spinal cord and brain will one day be treatable using stem cells (i.e. immature cells that can develop into different cell types). Stem cell-like cells have been found in most parts of the adult human nervous system, although it is still unclear how much they contribute to the formation of new, functioning cells in adult individuals.

A joint study by Professor Jonas FrisA©n’s research group at Karolinska Institutet and their colleagues from France and Japan, and published in Cell Stem Cell, shows how stem cells and several other cell types contribute to the formation of new spinal cord cells in mice and how this changes dramatically after trauma. The research group has identified a type of stem cell, called an ependymal cell, in the spinal cord. They show that these cells are inactive in the healthy spinal cord, and that the cell formation that takes place does so mainly through the division of more mature cells. When the spinal cord is injured, however, these stem cells are activated to become the dominant source of new cells.

The stem cells then give rise to cells that form scar tissue and to a type of support cell that is an important component of spinal cord functionality. The scientists also show that a certain family of mature cells known as astrocytes produce large numbers of scar-forming cells after injury.

“The stem cells have a certain positive effect following injury, but not enough for spinal cord functionality to be restored,” says Jonas FrisA©n. “One interesting question now is whether pharmaceutical compounds can be identified to stimulate the cells to form more support cells in order to improve functional recovery after a spinal trauma.”

Publication: “Origin of new glial cells in the intact and injured adult spinal cord”, Fanie BarnabA©-Heider, Christian GA¶ritz, Hanna SabelstrA¶m, Hirohide Takebayashi, Frank W. Pfrieger, Konstantinos Meletis & Jonas FrisA©n, Cell Stem Cell, print issue 8 October 2010.

(Extracted from http://www.breakthroughdigest.com )

Garlic has “significant” potential for preventing cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is a leading cause of death in people with diabetes, scientists have concluded in a new study. Their report, which also explains why people with diabetes are at high risk for diabetic cardiomyopathy, appears in ACS’ bi-weeklyJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Wei-Wen Kuo and colleagues note that people with diabetes have at least twice the risk of death from heart disease as others, with heart disease accounting for 80 percent of all diabetes-related deaths. They are especially vulnerable to a form of heart disease termed diabetic cardiomyopathy, which inflames and weakens the heart’s muscle tissue. Kuo’s group had hints from past studies that garlic might protect against heart disease in general and also help control the abnormally high blood sugar levels that occur in diabetes. But they realized that few studies had been done specifically on garlic’s effects on diabetic cardiomyopathy.

The scientists fed either garlic oil or corn oil to laboratory rats with diabetes. Animals given garlic oil experienced beneficial changes associated with protection against heart damage. The changes appeared to be associated with the potent antioxidant properties of garlic oil, the scientists say, adding that they identified more than 20 substances in garlic oil that may contribute to the effect. “In conclusion, garlic oil possesses significant potential for protecting hearts from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy,” the report notes.

Article extracted from ; http://www.breakthroughdigest.com

SINGAPORE — A Qantas Airways jet was forced to make an emergency landing after an engine appeared to explode Thursday — showering debris onto houses and a shopping mall below — shortly after take-off from Singapore.

Qantas said the Airbus A380 — which had stopped off en route from London, U.K., to Sydney, Australia — suffered a "significant engine failure" and grounded its fleet of six A380s.

The carrier said there had not been any explosion and landed safely with no injuries. Australian officials said no one on board was injured.

However, passengers among the 459 people on board variously reported hearing a "massive bang" or a "loud boom," with one describing the incident as "the scariest thing I had seen." The giant jet was forced to return to Singapore to make an emergency landing.

Witnesses on the western Indonesian island of Batam, near Singapore, reported hearing a large blast and seeing pieces of debris — including panels painted white and red — falling onto houses and a nearby shopping mall...

Pictures of metal, some the size of a door, were shown on Indonesia's MetroTV broadcaster, with people milling around.

"I heard a big explosion at around 9:15 a.m. and saw a commercial passenger plane flying low in the distance with smoke on one of its wings," Rusdi, a local resident, told MetroTV. "The debris started falling on my house."

'Like a shotgun'
The A380 has four engines and passengers said while the incident was frightening, the plane coped remarkably well...

"I just heard this massive bang, like a shotgun going off," Tyler Wooster told Australia's Network Nine television. "Part of the skin had peeled off and you could see the foam underneath, pieces of broken wires sticking out."

"My whole body just went to jelly and I didn't know what was going to happen as we were going down, if we were going to be OK," he added.

"I was sitting over the wing, where the No. 2 engine is. I was looking out of the window on the tarmac as we took off," Ulf Waschbusch, another passenger, told Reuters.

"Five minutes after take-off there was a loud boom, small pieces flying around (outside), it was the scariest thing I had seen. The plane was surprisingly stable all through. There was no panic," he said.

Christopher Lee told Australia's ABC radio the passengers heard a bang, and reported rattling in the cabin.

"Some of the passengers then alerted cabin staff that there was an explosion, there was smoke ... We circled in a holding pattern above Singapore for about an hour," he said. Passengers were kept informed at all times, he said.

Rosemary Hegardy, 60, of Sydney, told The Associated Press that she heard two bangs and saw yellow flames from her window.

"There was flames — yellow flames came out, and debris came off. ... You could see black things shooting through the smoke, like bits of debris," she said.

Investigation pending
The plane circled Singapore to burn fuel before making an emergency landing. Passengers evacuated andwere in Singapore's Changi airport. A Reuters reporter said the plane was surrounded on the ground by emergency vehicles, but there was no sign of smoke or fire.

Thursday's incident was one of most serious for the A380, the world's biggest passenger jet, in its three years of commercial flight.

Qantas said it was grounding its A380 fleet pending a full investigation.

A Qantas statement said the double-decker plane experienced an "engine issue" soon after taking off from Singapore for Sydney. It made a safe emergency landing in Singapore at 11:45 a.m. local time with 433 passengers and 26 crew on board, the statement said.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce told a news conference in Sydney that the suspension would remain in place until Qantas was satisfied that it was safe for its A380s to fly.

"We will suspend those A380 services until we are completely confident that Qantas safety requirements have been met," Joyce said.

"The A380 is a fantastic aircraft. This issue of an engine failure is one we have not seen before. We are obviously taking this very seriously, because it was a significant engine failure," he added.

Separately, Singapore's Changi airport said in a statement that flight QF 32 left for Sydney at 9:56 a.m., and "for technical reasons the aircraft turned back to Changi," landing safely one hour and 50 minutes later.

Qantas spokeswoman Emma Kearns in Sydney, Australia, said there were no reports of injuries or an explosion on board.

Did volcanic ash affect engine?
When asked if the engine trouble was related to ash hurled from the Mount Merapi volcano, which has been erupting since last week, Kearns said she had no further details.

There was confusion Tuesday at Okegbala, Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State as four year old Akin Akinola’s body was found hanging in his home with residents wondering what went wrong..

It was gathered that the mother of the boy, Mrs. Nike Akinola, had gone to the market earlier that day to buy fruits for sale at the Adeyemi College of Education, leaving the boy and her other children behind under the care of a lady.

Akin, a Primary 1 pupil of St Agnes Primary School, Okegbala, Ondo, was said to be later found hanging in his mother’s room. The boy, according to sources, did not go to school that day because he wanted to change his old school uniform. It was gathered that Akinola was said to have earlier that day bought a sachet of milk from a nearby shop. When he got home, he was said to have entered his mother’s room and did not come out until some people were said to have entered the room where they discovered his body hanging. An alarm was raised to attract other residents to the scene. Police Public Relations Officer for Ondo State Command Mr Aremu Adeniran vowed to uncover those behind the incident. He said some suspects had already been arrested over the incident by state CID. The house has in the meantime been sealed off by the police...

In a related development, five year old Feranmi Oloyede was also found hanging on a tree at the back of his home at Moferere in Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti in Ekiti State Friday.

The St Louis Nursery and Primary School, Ikere-Ekiti primary one pupil was said to be playing with a rope tied to a tree branch, having climbed a table under the tree. The leg slipped and he got hanged, reports said.

More than 64 million Nigerians, constituting 46 per cent of the country’s 140 million population, are illiterate and cannot contribute to socio-economic development of the country.

The Board Chairman of the National Commission for Mass, Adult and Non-formal Education (NCME), Paschal Bafyau, said this yesterday when the Senate Committee on Education visited the commission’s headquarters yesterday.

Bafyau told the lawmakers who were on oversight visit that it was necessary for government to give an accelerated impetus in its annual budget to the commission in order to eliminate the problem.

He also said the commission needs a total of 200, 000 facilitators who will reach the target of at least 150,000 illiterates in each state of the federation...

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Alhaji Jibril Yusuf Paiko, said they were financially incapacitated to effectively meet their statutory mandate of ensuring Nigerians are educated at both formal an non formal sectors.

He also said apart from Lagos and FCT, other state governments have been failing to settle the N7,000 allowances to the facilitators, calling on the federal government to intervene by calling on governors to accomplish their promises.

Reacting, the Chairman Senate Committee on Education, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (PDP, Kebbi) said they were at the commission in order to ascertain whether they have received the monies appropriated to them in 2009 and 2010 and to assess the level of implementation as well as constraints the commission was facing.

The National Assembly yesterday brought an end to the controversy over whether past military heads of the federal government should be entitled to pension by approving what amounts to an enhanced pension package for the men through the joint passage of the ‘Remuneration for former presidents, Heads of State, Heads of federal legislative Houses and Chief Justice of the Federation Bill 2010 (SB 153)'..

Currently, the Constitution provides pension for only the president and the vice president, which, according to the 1999 Constitution, will be equivalent to the salary of the incumbent president. However, the new law introduces the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Senate president and his deputy, and the Speaker and his deputy, into the league of past leaders to benefit from the pension.

Past leaders to benefit from the act include Yakubu Gowon, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdusalami Abubakar.

The law, however, restricts anybody who has held two offices that are eligible for the perk to only one - the highest of those offices which s/he has held in order of national precedence. Thus, Olusegun Obasanjo will have to choose whether he would want his pension to be paid as former military ruler or as a democratically elected president...

Initially excluded

Military heads of government were initially excluded when the Senate passed its own version of the bill, with the senators saying the enhanced pension scheme was meant to honour only democratic leaders. The thrust of the bill had been to ensure that only democratically elected former presidents are entitled to benefit from the pension package for former presidents.

"This is to discourage other unconstitutional means of getting into power. The only way recognised by the Constitution is through ballot, and not the barrel of a gun," David Mark, the Senate president, had said at the passage of the Senate version of the bill in March this year.

Members of the House of Representatives, however, were of the opinion that this group of past leaders should be included. The past leaders were grouped under the name of ‘Heads of the government of the Federation' in section 4 of the Act that was passed by the Reps.

The clean copy of the Harmonised Bill, approved yesterday and soon to be forwarded to the president for signing into law, supports the House version by listing the retired soldiers as qualified for the new package.

The Senate president, who was himself a retired soldier, and would benefit from the law as Senate president, expressed his gratitude to his current colleagues for passing the law.

Happy days for past leaders

Only past leaders who were impeached are excluded by the law from earning pensions.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the benefits stated in this bill shall not apply to persons removed from any of the offices referred to in this bill by the process of impeachment," the bill stated.

It further states that these past leaders shall be paid an amount recommended from time to time by the Revenue and Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission and approved by the National Assembly as upkeep allowance, in addition to the pension entitlement contained in the 1999 Constitution. This upkeep entitlement is expected to be reviewed (upwards) from time to time, but subject to the approval of the National Assembly.

There is also a provision in the bill which entitles the family of deceased ex-presidents and vice presidents to an annual payment for upkeep of his spouse(s) and education of his children up to university level. However, this spousal upkeep allowance will cease the moment the last spouse of the deceased passes on.

Re-presented

This legislation - excluding the past military leaders - had been passed by the last session of the National Assembly and presented to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo for assent. He, however, did not sign the act into law. The bill was, therefore, re-presented to the current session of the National Assembly for passage and representation to the president.

NEXT had, on January 4, reported the plan by the Senate to review the pay of all former leaders. In the initial plan, the former leaders' package would have been increased from N250 million proposed in the 2010 budget to about N2 billion.

Chairman of the House of Representatives committee on appropriation, Ayo Adeseun, said the money was meant to take care of the former leaders' pension, medicare, yearly vacation abroad, offices, and general maintenance. Allocations for former leaders' welfare began in 2005, when a total of N140 million was set aside for them in that year's budget. Subsequently, the following allocations were made - N105 million (2006), N24 million (2008), and N250 million (2009).

However, no allocation was made in the 2007 budget, although it might have been integrated into another item under the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Until 2008, when the allocation was brought under the office of the SGF, it was treated under the Presidency or State House.

GET STOCKED FOR STUCK !

It's hard to have fun when you're feeling stuck.

Stuck shows up differently for each of us.

For some it's having a dream but not knowing how to get it.

For others, it's not having a dream and feeling empty.

It can be waiting for your superhero to show (and they're taking their time)

Or it can be feeling responsible for everyone - and feeling exhausted.

However you get stuck -- and we all get stuck from time to time, it's part of being human -- it has this as its essence:

You only have one way to see the situation ... and you don't like what you see.

So where are you feeling stuck right now?

Not sure? Here are some clues...

==> Where do you feel in a rut?

==> Where do you feel lots of "shoulds" and "musts"?

==> Where do you feel there's no choice?

==> What makes you grit your teeth in frustration?

==> What are you tolerating?

So what can you do about it?

Funny enough, just articulating and acknowledging the situation where you're feeling stuck is often enough to get things moving.

When you finally get what's hanging you up it often doesn't feel quite so big, quite so overwhelming, quite as daunting.

So look at the situation head on.

No more sideways glances or head in the sand.

Get specific and detailed - go on, wade right into it.

Write it down...

Turn it from a "stuck-ness"... and into a challenge you're willing to take on and to change.

So... Where are you stuck?

(And in a couple of days we'll look at what you can do about it)

9ija here's to your life of fun, inspiration & action.

Barely two weeks after the country received and outlook downgrade by Fitch Ratings, Standard and Poor’s, another international rating agency has given the country a pass mark with a ‘B+/B’ Ratings affirmed on resilient economy. It also gave the country a stable outlook, despite what it called ‘high political risk’.

In the report published yesterday, S&P stated, “We consider that the ratings on Nigeria are constrained by high political risk, but supported by a strong balance sheet. We are affirming the ‘B+/B’ global scale ratings and the ‘ngA+/ngA-1’ Nigeria national scale ratings.” The report says Nigeria’s outlook is stable, “reflecting our expectation that Nigeria will maintain its strong external and fiscal balance sheet, and that budgetary performance will gradually improve over the next few years.”

Elections accentuate risk..

The report added that political risk in Nigeria may be exacerbated by the forthcoming presidential elections.

“The affirmation reflects our view that Nigeria’s economic performance and external liquidity has been better than we previously expected, although its fiscal performance has been weaker and political risk could heighten in the run-up to the 2011 presidential elections,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Christian Esters.

It noted that Nigeria remains a low-income country, with GDP per capita estimated at $1.32 billion in 2010. Nevertheless, Nigeria has a strong fiscal debt position, despite the sharp deterioration in budgetary performance since 2009. “We estimate that Nigeria’s general government debt will increase to above 16 per cent of GDP by year-end 2010, which is still a comparatively low level.”

Comfortable external liquidity

The report said Nigeria also benefits from comfortable external liquidity, with continuous current account surpluses. “For 2010, we expect a surplus of approximately 14 per cent of GDP, and gross external financing needs at a low 54 per cent of current account receipts and usable reserves.”

The ratings firm said the stable outlook reflects expectation that Nigeria will maintain its strong external and fiscal balance sheet, and that budgetary performance will gradually improve over the next few years. “We also expect that tensions surrounding the forthcoming April 2011 presidential elections could increase political uncertainty and destabilise the country for some time after the elections,” said Mr Esters.

Finance minister, Olusegun Aganga had rejected the Fitch ratings report on the ground that it did not reflect the effort by government to address the concerns raised. Fitch cited the depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA), the decline in foreign exchange reserves and their own concern that the reform agenda of the current administration which they found to be very positive may not be implemented before the elections; the following as the major reasons for the revision of the outlook.

Mr Aganga said, “We do consider the decision to adjust the outlook downwards unduly punitive and disagree with it given the numerous positive features of the country’s economy and ongoing reforms.” He said government has taken a number of measures which include the proposed establishment of a Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund and urgent steps which are being taken to address the infrastructure deficit particularly in the power sector as outlined in the Power Roadmap that was unveiled by the President in August.

A female advocate for members of the disability community will soon be chosen in the first ever ‘Miss Wheelchair Nigeria Pageant’.

The event, which originated in the United States of America in 1972, will debut for the first time in Africa with the aim of selecting an intelligent and worthy advocate for people living with disabilities in Nigeria. According to Cosmas Okoli, the President of Mobility Aid and Appliances Research and Development Centre (MAARDEC), organisers of the pageant, the criteria for selecting the winner would not be focused on beauty like most other pageants but would seek for a woman with good communication skills who can serve as a brand for people with disabilities...

‘No bikini contests’

“Miss Wheelchair Nigeria Pageant is not a beauty pageant in the sense that there is no emphasis on the physical appearance of the contestants,” he said. “There are no bikini contests and the contestants will be judged on their achievements since the onset of their disabilities, their projection and communication skills, and their abilities to successfully advocate for over 20 million Nigerians with disabilities. It is likely that the winner would be very beautiful but that is not one of our criteria.”

According to him, while the actual worth of prizes to be given to the winner is not yet known due to insufficient financial sponsors, the winner of the pageant would go home with a brand new car and other attractive prizes. “The Miss Wheelchair Nigeria Pageant 2010 title holder will receive a handsome prize and will be branded and equipped to carry out some specific assignments including to ensure at least 500 persons with disabilities are gainfully employed,” he said.

The criteria

The choice of using a physically challenged person for their advocacy, he added, was necessary to adequately project their cause. “In any advocacy it is best to use those that are mostly affected,” he said. “Who is best to talk about marginalisation other than those who are marginalised? Women on wheelchair suffer the most and so we decided it was best to start with Miss Wheelchair. As women with disabilities, they also suffer the stereotype associated with disabilities.”

According to the organisers, the contestants must be women aged between 18 and 50 by May 2010. They may also be married, single, divorced or separated. They may have children, grandchildren, great grandchildren or no children at all. There will be zonal competitions to select state representatives at the grand finale to be held on December 4 in Lagos.

The supporters

Azeez Olanrewaju, the Senior Special Assistant to chairman of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, while speaking at the press conference yesterday, said the council was committed to the pageant and the disability centre. “Our local government is very proud and honoured to partner with the president of MAARDEC and to associate ourselves with this model event,” he said. “Pageantry is a medium to market and market is the window of brands. By this novel initiative, I must say that MAARDEC is on a course to history. We shall portray this event in the glory it requires. All necessary support shall be given to this event.”

Mr Okoli, who also announced his intentions to run for a senatorial position in the coming elections, said that it was unfair that there are no people with disabilities in political positions in the country. This he said has contributed to the marginalisation against members of the disability community and building of public facilities such as roads and banks in such a way that is inaccessible to people with disabilities. “If a non-profit organisation can make its structure accessible, why can’t the government? It is very painful that we are pursuing the Millennium Development Goals without people with disabilities,” he said. “A society is judged by its ability to take care of the weakest members of the society. If you build a society for the rich and powerful, you have not built a society because everybody would not be rich and powerful.”

The special assistant on public affairs to the 87 years old Anthony Enahoro, Olawale Okuniyi, has assured Nigerians that the elder statesman is alive and recuperating.

Mr. Enahoro's failing health created anxiety in the public domain on Monday.

"Chief Anthony Enahoro is still very much alive," Mr. Okuniyi said. He acknowledged that Mr. Enahoro, accompanied by his eldest son, Ken, was rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital at about 1.30pm on Monday when his health deteriorated.

According to him, he is under close medical observations of his doctors at the UBTH.

"His health is currently stabilising in Benin, the Edo State capital, after an initial relapse occasioned by stress and old age," he said...

He explained that the statesman had been under close medical guidance for some time due to weakness associated with old age.

Mr. Okuniyi further expressed appreciation to well-wishers, associates, and the general public as well as the international community, on behalf of the Enahoro family, for their concern and prayers.