Chief Imam dies at 130, leaves 290 grandchildren, 200 great grandchildren behind (Guardian)
Leaving 26 children, 290 grandchildren and more than 200 great-grandchildren behind, the Chief Imam of Kafanchan Central Mosque, Sheikh Adam Tahir, has died at the age of 130 years.
Deputy Chief Imam of Kafanchan, Alhaji Muhammad Kassim, said Sheikh Adam died on Wednesday evening in an illness.
Kassim said the late Imam would be greatly missed by Muslim faithful as he was a role model to all.
In a condolence message, the Emir of Jema’a, Alhaji Muhammad Isa Muhammad II, described the death of the imam as a huge loss to the emirate and to the people of southern parts of Kaduna State.
Muhammadu prayed God for the repose of the deceased’s soul. Read more
Man seeks divorce over wife’s refusal to cook for daughter (Punch)
A 76-year-old man, Mr. Samuel Akande, on Thursday, dragged his wife, Gift, before an Iyana-Ipaja Customary Court, for allegedly refusing to cook for his daughter when she visited.
Akande, who resides in Idimu in Lagos, told the court that he had been married to Gift, 37, for thirteen years.
He also accused his wife of adultery, denying him sex, and being ill-tempered who frequently fights with him and their tenant.
”My wife does not listen to me. She does not stay at home. She frequents churches. Read more
Why we should take the issue of security seriously in Lagos – Balogun (Sun)
The Executive Secretary/CEO Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF),Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun has explained the reason the issue of security should be taken seriously in the state.
Mr. Balogun noted that the issue of security was very critical with Lagos being a mega city with a daily influx of migrants from other parts of the country and beyond the borders.
According to him the pressure on state infrastructure is huge with a higher probability of robbery and violent crimes, not to mention, the increasing issue of drug-related crimes amongst the youths.
The LSSTF boss, who spoke yesterday, during a visit to the Corporate office of Sterling Bank Plc where he and his management team were hosted by the Managing Director/CEO of the Bank . Mr. Abubakar Suleiman said :”‘LSSTF has been effective in facilitating safety and
security in the state due to its transparency and accountability of showing donors that their monies are being expended judiciously in the procurement of vehicles, logistics and training for the security agencies in the State”. Read more
Fire guts Lagos law school, 5 hospitalised (Vanguard)
At least five persons were hospitalized following a fire outbreak on Wednesday night which gutted the Lagos campus of Law School, located at Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident led to commotion among occupants who ran in different directions for dear lives.
An eye witness, simply identified as Segun, narrated that the fire, suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault, started at 10 pm from the first floor of the 5-story building hostel, accommodating about 1500 law graduates on the Lagos campus.
“The fire came with a big bang. There was a stampede in the hostel. I saw a student jump out from the first floor where the fire started near the reading room. Other students ran out of their rooms in panic. Read more
FUDMA’s ASUU joins nationwide strike (ThisDay)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) in Katsina State has joined the ongoing nationwide one-month warning strike after holding its Wednesday’s congress under a tree in the varsity’s premises.
The FUDMA Chairman of the union, Dr. Jibrin Nuhu Shagari, in a message sent to THISDAY, said the union held its congress under the tree following efforts by the management of the institution to prevent its members from holding the meeting.
The union, after its two-day National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), began the four-week warning strike to protest the non-implementation of a 2009 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with the federal government.
Shagari, in the message, said: “We like to inform the general public that ASUU in FUDMA had their congress under the tree and affirmed the national directive on the rollover strike despite the management efforts to truncate the congress. Read more
FG bars ministries, agencies from using Gmail, Yahoo Mail, others (Channels)
The Federal Government has ordered ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to stop the usage of generic internet domains for official communication. This followed the approval of the ‘National Policy on the Government, Second Level Domain’.
Communications and Digital Economy Minister, Isa Patami, issued the order during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to him, the development means the MDAs and federal public institutions are to migrate from the generic domain in their websites and their emails to the government’s second-level domain under government top-level domain.
“This policy has been approved, and it focuses more on mandating federal public institutions, ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs) and all institutions as long as they are for government; they should migrate from using generic domains in their websites and their emails to our second-level domain under government top-level domain,” he said. Read more
Police Service Commission suspends Kyari’s accomplices (DailyTrust)
The Police Service Commission, on Thursday, ordered the immediate suspension of two officers who were working directly under the embattled ‘super cop’, Abba Kyari before the arrest of the trio.
The two officers, who are suspended from exercising their powers and functions in their respective offices include Sunday Ubua, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and James Bawa, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).
The officers were working under the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, in the Intelligence Response Team of the Force Investigation and Intelligence Department. They were also alleged to be involved in the current cocaine seizure saga that led to the indictment of Kyari.
The commission’s decision was contained in a letter to the Inspector-General of Police, dated 16th February 2022 and signed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Commissioner 1 in the PSC, Justice Clara B. Ogunbiyi on behalf of the Chairman of the commission, Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police. Read more
Amotekun arrests truck with 63 northerners, motorcycles in Ondo (Tribune)
Men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, have intercepted a truck in Iju in Akure North Local Government Area of the state, with about 63 men from the northern part of the country hiding inside.
Apart from the men, the truck was also loaded with cows, rams and motorcycles while the men hid within the animals and the motorcycles.
It was gathered that the men claimed to have left Gigawa town in Gombe state and heading to Lagos before they were stopped and apprehended by the officials of state security outfit.
The driver of the vehicle, Salisu Ahmed, with registration number ‘Kano AB 234 BDJ’ said that they were heading towards Lagos but could not explain why the men were hiding inside the vehicle. Read more
6th birthday: Tonto Dikeh gifts son piece of land in Scotland (Punch)
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has gifted her son, Andre, a piece of land in Scotland as the latter turned six on Thursday.
The mother-of-one took to her Instagram page to share the proof of land ownership which she purchased in her son’s name on Sunday, February 13, 2022.
In the caption, the actress wrote, “Planning your future has been the most important event for me. For this year, I got my baby @kingandre_dikeh a piece of Scotland’s real estate and his deeds came with a title as ‘LORD’ and a tree planted in his honour and name. I am so proud of how far we have come as a team.”
She also appreciated veteran American rapper, Snoop Dogg, for helping her secure the investment. Read more
Robert Pattinson reveals girlfriend Suki Waterhouse cried while watching The Batman (Metro)
Robert Pattinson’s The Batman is one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year, and even his girlfriend had an emotional reaction to it.
The Twilight actor will make his debut as Bruce Wayne in the long-awaited Matt Reeves-directed blockbuster, which is set to arrive in March.
However, he admits he was ‘absolutely terrified’ before watching the finished product in a private screening.
Chatting on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 35-year-old said he saw the movie three days ago with partner Suki Waterhouse, director Matt and his family.
‘I was absolutely terrified. I haven’t been this scared to release a movie in such a long time and I haven’t released a movie in a really long time,’ Robert said. Read more
Let’s tap into what Nigerians have, rather than compete with them – Kelvyn Boy (MyJoy)
Ghanaian Afrobeat musician Kelvyn Boy has urged Ghanaian musicians to tap into Nigerian sounds rather than try to compete with them.
In an interview with Andy Dosty on Daybreak Hitz, he mentioned that Nigerian music should be welcomed. “They tap all the time and I feel like we are now tapping as well instead of competing”, he added.
According to the ‘Toffee’ singer, Ghanaian music has chalked success and musicians must appreciate their efforts in making music brewed in Ghana one of Africa’s pride.
“I don’t believe in competing. This is not the right time to complain. We want to be number one, while we know that Nigerians currently hold that spot. We should be okay with being number two and work properly on it.” Read more
Women dominate Berlin film festival as Alcarràs wins Golden Bear (Guardian)
Catalan-language drama Alcarràs won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival as the headline awards were dominated by women. Two of the three best film prizes went to films from female directors, while both acting awards, which are gender-neutral, went to women, as did the best director award.
Alcarràs, directed by Carla Simón, came away with the festival’s top prize: a drama set in the Catalan countryside, it follows the difficulties of a farming family after their landowner decides to replace their peach trees with solar panels. It is the second feature from Simon, after the well received Summer 1993, released in 2017.
The third place jury prize went to acclaimed Mexican drama Robe of Gems, a debut feature from director Natalia López Gallardo, who previously worked as an editor on Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light and Post Tenebras Lux. Separating them was South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, who’s The Novelist’s Film took the second place grand jury prize.
Berlin introduced gender-neutral acting awards in 2021 and, as previously, both went to women. Best lead performance was won byMeltem Kaptan for her portrayal of a mother who takes on the US justice system to get her son released from Guantánamo Bay in Rabiye Kurnaz Vs
George W Bush, while best supporting performance went to Laura Basuki for her role in Indonesian drama Nana. Read more
Questlove talks the Roots creating the band’s 1st album since 2014 (AllHipHop)
Supporters of the legendary Roots crew can expect a new studio LP. The upcoming album will be the Hip Hop band’s first body of work since 2014’s …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson spoke to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, and the veteran drummer confirmed The Roots are headed back to the studio. While members of the group are involved in other outside projects, listeners can expect more music to drop in the coming months.
“It’s been nine years and Black Thought, right now, is doing genius levels of… he just basically wrote one of the greatest plays… it’s mind-blowing,” stated Questlove. The 51-year-old Philadelphian added, “It opens in two weeks on Broadway. Once I finish this go-round, he finishes his play. We’re pretty much 80% done.”
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter’s Black No More musical is an adaptation of George S. Schuyler’s novel Black No More: Being an Account of the Strange and Wonderful Workings of Science in the Land of the Free, AD 1933-1940. Black Thought also created the score for Black No More. Read more
New York rappers meet with Mayor Eric Adams after he labels drill music “alarming” (NME)
A group of New York rappers have met with the city’s mayor Eric Adams after he recently spoke out against “alarming” drill music.
Adams, who took office last month as the 110th mayor of New York City, said last week that he wanted to sit down with social media companies to “state that you have a civic and corporate responsibility” in regards to promoting drill music.
“You know, I mean, we pulled Trump off Twitter because of what he was spewing, yet we are allowing music – displaying guns, violence – we’re allowing it to stay on these sites,” he added.
On Tuesday (February 15), Adams met with the likes of Fivio Foreign, Maino, B-Lovee, Slow Bucks and Bleezy to discuss public safety in the city and the gun violence that is impacting the hip-hop community (via ABC News). Read more
Saudi Arabia: 28,000 women apply for 30 train driver jobs (BBC)
A rail company recruiting 30 female train drivers in Saudi Arabia says it has received 28,000 applications.
The successful candidates will drive high-speed trains between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina after a year of training.
It is the first time such roles have been advertised for women in the conservative Muslim kingdom.
For decades, Saudi Arabia had one of the world’s lowest female workforce participation rates.
But in recent years the government has made efforts to increase the number of women in work as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to diversify the oil-dependent economy. Read more
Osaka Asian film festival unveils biggest ever programme (Variety)
The Osaka Asian Film Festival has unveiled its biggest ever program – a total of 76 films – to unspool next month (March 10-20, 2022).
Its competition section includes the acclaimed Korean debut film “Aloners,” which offers an exacting critique of the alienating effects upon life of modern capitalist economies; Hong Kong biopic “Anita”; the world premiere of “Angry Son,” which combines LGBT and mixed race themes in a heartwarming comedy; Kong Dashan’s new take on “Journey to the West,” as a ragtag group of people on a UFO hunt; “Mama’s Affair,” the second film by Kearen Pang, whose 2017 debut “29+1” won Osaka’s audience award, “No Land’s Man” from Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and festival circuit hit “Barbarian Invasion.”
The spotlight section includes ten titles. Among them are “The Ground Beneath her Feet” from Bangladesh’s Mohammad Rabby Mridha; “A Room of Her Own” from China’s Xie Yiran; and Carlo Francisco Manatad “Whether the Weather is Fine.”
The largest component section is the twenty-title Indie Forum, a platform for Japanese indie films that allow the winner to claim the Japan Cuts Award. Read more
Ahmed Musa donates N2m to ’96 Olympic gold medalist Obiekwu (Nation)
Nigerians have hailed Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa for donating N2 million to 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Kingsley Obiekwu.
Obiekwu, a member of the Atlanta ’96 Olympics Gold medal-winning Dream Team, had recently opened up on his financial struggles, especially how he uses his only car for commercial transport to sustain his family.
The 47-year-old former defender fondly referred to as “Shagari”, played for Rangers International FC, Enugu and Udoji United.
Confirming the donation, several associates of the former CSKA Moscow forward announced the development on Twitter. Read more
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s Champions League tie is only at half-time and reveals Diogo Jota injury worry (Sky)
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s Champions League tie against Inter Milan is “only at half-time” after a 2-0 win at the San Siro, and revealed an injury concern for Diogo Jota.
Liverpool faced a tough trip to Italy in the first leg of their last-16 match, but late goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah saw them take control of the tie.
As Klopp admits himself, it was not Liverpool’s best performance as Inter Milan tested them throughout, but the visitors’ European experience won through late on.
However, the only downside of the victory was an ankle injury for Jota, who has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season, and was replaced by Firmino at half-time. Read more
Karim Adeyemi tipped to be at centre of transfer war after star showing vs Bayern (Mirror)
Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi put in a stellar performance during his team’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening.
The European minnows almost recorded a famous victory against the German giants after Chukwubuike Adamu scored the opening goal in the first half.
Kingsley Coman spared Bayern’s blushes with a late equaliser and, even though he didn’t score, Adeyemi was praised for his glittering display in Austria.
“He was the star,” former England manager Glenn Hoddle told BT Sport. Read more
Rafael Nadal travels to Acapulco for his first tournament since historic AO (TennisWorld)
Rafael Nadal will play his first tournament as a 21-time Major champion at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco next week, flying to Mexico on Wednesday night. The three-time Acapulco champion joins Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in a rock-solid draw, hoping to continue where he left in Melbourne and improve his 1-0 score in 2022.
Two years ago, Rafa conquered Acapulco without losing a set, defeating Taylor Fritz in the title clash and facing much more dangerous rivals at this year’s campaign. The 35-year-old played only two matches in the second part of 2021, struggling with a foot injury and calling it a season in August.
In September, the Spaniard underwent a minor procedure and returned to the practice court a few weeks later, working hard on his game and hoping for a fresh start in 2022.
In December, Rafa lost both matches at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi and dealt with the coronavirus once he returned to Spain. Read more
Masi removed as F1 race director over Abu Dhabi GP management (France24)
Michael Masi has been removed as Formula One race director over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year which led to Max Verstappen being controversially crowned world champion.
Masi was heavily criticised for the sequence of events that led to Verstappen passing Lewis Hamilton to deprive the Briton of a record eighth title.
“Michael Masi, who accomplished a very challenging job for three years as Formula 1 race director following Charlie Whiting, will be offered a new position within the FIA,” read a statement by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas will act alternatively as Race Director, assisted by Herbie Blash as permanent senior advisor.” Read more
Djokovic vaccine row: ‘It’s his choice’ – Jabeur (BBC)
Africa’s leading tennis player Ons Jabeur has defended Novak Djokovic’s choice to not have the Covid-19 vaccine – but says she hopes he changes his mind.
Djokovic, the men’s world number one, told the BBC in an exclusive interview that missing competitions such as the French Open over his vaccination status, was a price he is “willing to pay”.
Tunisian star Jabeur says Djokovic has every right to make such decisions.
“It’s his choice. He follows a certain diet with food and whatever he puts in his body [is up to him],” Jabeur told the BBC from Dubai where she is playing this week. Read more
After disastrous performance, Kamila Valieva falls to fourth, Russian teammate wins gold (USAToday)
In a story full of shocking twists, this might be the one nobody saw coming.
With a disastrous performance in her long program Thursday night, Russian teenager and heavy gold-medal favorite Kamila Valieva dropped out of first place and all the way out of medal contention, finishing fourth.
It was, in short, a meltdown.
Valieva, 15, made mistakes on her first four jumps, then fell on an attempted quad toe loop moments later. She ended up finishing fourth in the long program, dropping below compatriots Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, who ended up taking gold and silver respectively, and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, who won bronze. Read more