Nigerians abandon elaborate kids birthday parties as prices spike up (Vanguard)
Elaborate children’s birthday parties are fun filled events any kid would not want to miss. Filled with excitement and anxiety of showing off their latest outfits, they look forward to these days with pleasure.
In modern day Nigeria, an average family organises children’s birthday party, especially that of a child in its first year, with so much grandeur like a burial ceremony starting with the making of two to three cakes, buying of drinks, cooking of delicacies, and renting of canopies and chairs.
This doesn’t end here. Some individuals even go to the extent of printing invitation cards, hiring a musician or DJ and sharing kids’ party pack fillers in bags with the picture of the celebrant boldly printed on them.
These birthday parties are organised in compounds with large spaces, in schools, on streets, or in amusement parks. They are graced with the attendance of many children from neighboring streets putting on shirts with the picture of the celebrant on it. These shirts are sold at affordable prices to enable invitees to buy them. Read more
Cop kills 2, injure others at Lagos party (Nation)
Two persons were Sunday night killed and two others injured after a drunk policeman on illegal duty offered gun salutes to celebrate a businessman’s birthday.
It was gathered that the incident occurred at La Silva Bar, Gowon Estate, Egbeda in Alimosho around 9pm.
The policeman, who allegedly fled the scene after realising what he had done, was said to have been invited by the celebrant identified as Ifeanyi alias Asiwaju of Computer Village.
A Twitter user, @themannaman, who shared gory videos of the incident, claimed that the policeman wanted to shoot into the air while other guests were spraying money on the celebrant but fired at them instead. Read more
Lagos traders protest N600m loss to Ponzi scheme (Punch)
A businesswoman, Chinyere Emeka-Atu, has been accused of defrauding traders and market women of over N600m in Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the woman used her company, Family Food Support Association, to gather unsuspecting members of the public, including petty traders, to part away with N9,000 every month to get a higher return on their investments.
The victims were said to have been promised a return of N200,000 cash and N90,000 worth of foodstuffs after nine months of investments in the association’s scheme.
However, for proper coordination, the businesswoman reportedly created about 39 groups headed by an independent leader under the association. Read more
Weapons Delay: Blame Military Conduct Not Kukah, NEF Tells Presidency (Tribune)
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has told the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to reassess the way it wages the war against insurgency and terrorism so as to avoid what gave rise to delay in weapons procurement from Western countries.
It maintained that rather than blame the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah or the northern elders group, the administration should ensure that the military operations satisfy the basic standards demanded by the weapon suppliers.
Speaking in a television interview monitored in Abuja on Monday, the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of the forum, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who made these assertions, faulted the Presidency over the way it responds to criticisms.
He spoke against the backdrop of the Presidency’s blame of the clergyman and opponents of government for the perception of the United States government of poor Christianity and Islam relations in Nigeria, which had led to delays in the supply of fighter.Read more
itel Partners Amatem Softgel To End Malaria In Agboyi-Ketu (Independent)
itel Nigeria and Amatem Softgel on Monday joined the rest of the world to commemorate global efforts to bring an end to malaria, especially among African children and pregnant women.
More than 3.3 billion people in 106 counties across the world are at risk of malaria, and according to the World Malaria Report 2020, Nigeria alone accounts for 27% of the malaria burden and 23% of malaria deaths worldwide, and children under the age of 5 remain the most vulnerable individuals to the disease.
Recognised for its outstanding services to Nigerians through its Love Always On CSR Initiative, itel has shown its continuous interest in impacting lives in the low-income communities surrounding it over the years.
So, it is no surprise that the mobile phone, home appliances, accessories, and laptops manufacturer partnered with Amatem Softgel, a leading anti-malaria drug.
This they did to fulfil this year’s World Malaria theme of “Harnessing innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives”. Read more
FRSC urges motorists to be more cautions as the rains set in (Guardian)
The Enugu State sector of the FRSC on Monday urged motorists to be more cautious on the roads as the rains set it in.
Its Sector Commander in the state, Mr Joseph Toby, said in Enugu that motorists would need to apply a great sense of judgment during the rains as the roads would be slippery and visibility would be poor.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that motorists should also apply what he called “common sense’’ speed to avoid road crashes.
Toby explained “common sense’’ speed as the speed determined by the driver on a slippery road, taking into cognisance poor visibility and roadworthiness of his or her vehicle. Read more
ASUU Strike: OOU Alumni to train 5,000 students in copywriting skills (Independent)
Alumni of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) Ago Iwoye, Miss Elizabeth Odunsanya on Monday said that she has concluded plans to train no fewer than 5,000 students in copywriting.
Odunsanya who graduated from OOU a few years ago said that she intended to give back to her peers during the ongoing strike embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The copywriter explained that the conference is being put together to include keynote speakers.
According to her, the essence of the conference is the transfer of knowledge and skills in copywriting to as many as 5,000 beneficiaries across Nigeria. Read more
Centre unveils photobook on 30 inspiring Nigerian women (Leadership)
A 132-page photo book that highlights and celebrates the resilience, grit and courage of 30 women and their life-changing journey is set to be published.
A member of the governing council of grooming centre, and chairperson of the stories of impact committee, Ms. Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, said the photobook titled: “Stories of Impact: Real Women, Real Lives, Real Growth”, will be formally launched on April 28, 2022 in Lagos.
Jonathan-Ichaver said “Grooming Centre is impacting well over 700,000 families across Nigeria through its microfinance programme. This is really what NGOs are about. This is what entities like grooming centre are about.
“Starting from Ejigbo in a small apartment and growing to what they have become today within 15 years is amazing. But more amazing is the way they have touched the lives of different market women, traders, artisans, small businesses and all kinds with some starting as low as N15,000 in the past,” she said. Read more
Nigeria gets 9 million doses of cholera vaccine to curb spread (Guardian)
The Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) has approved about 9million doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) for Nigeria to implement two campaigns in 14 LGAs in 9 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, to mitigate the risk of an upsurge of cholera cases during rain season.
The World Health Organisation country representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Molumbo, who disclosed this at the WHO training on the integration of the OCV in emergency and preventative contexts observed that Nigeria degraded its biggest cholera outbreak which commenced in 2021 with over 100,000 suspected cases reported, stressed the need for the early allocation and shipment of the vaccines to ensure vaccinations are done out sooner than later to stop the outbreak from becoming big epidemic.
Molumbo stated that the challenges identified during 2021 annual GTFCC stakeholder meeting, including poor quality reactive and preventative OCV campaign requests, lack of OCV use as an outbreak response in some settings, inadequate monitoring and evaluation of OCV campaigns need to be urgently addressed.
“WHO is cognizant of the need to implement quality campaigns and the operational challenges in different contexts. Nigeria has demonstrated capacity to implement campaigns in difficult settings, including security challenges as experienced in the 2 LGAs in Zamfara as well as addressed and improved Campaign data quality, through the use of real-time reporting by vaccination teams using hand mobile phones,” Molumbo said. Read more
Evidence some Ukrainian women raped before being killed, say doctors (Guardian)
Forensic doctors carrying out postmortem examinations on bodies in mass graves north of Kyiv say they have found evidence some women were raped before being killed by Russian forces.
“We already have a few cases which suggest that these women had been raped before being shot to death,” said Vladyslav Pirovskyi, a Ukrainian forensic doctor who with a team of coroners has carried out dozens of autopsies on residents from Bucha, Irpin and Borodianka who died during Russia’s month-long occupation of the area.
“We can’t give more details as my colleagues are still collecting the data and we still have hundreds of bodies to examine,” he said.
Pirovskyi’s team has been examining about 15 bodies a day, many of them mutilated. “There are many burnt bodies, and heavily disfigured bodies that are just impossible to identify,” he said. “The face could be smashed into pieces, you can’t put it back together, sometimes there’s no head at all.” Read more
World’s oldest person dies in Japan at 119 (Punch)
A Japanese woman certified as the world’s oldest person has died at the age of 119, local officials said Monday.
Kane Tanaka was born January 2, 1903, in the southwestern Fukuoka region of Japan, the same year the Wright brothers flew for the first time and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Tanaka was in relatively good health until recently and lived at a nursing home, where she enjoyed board games, solving maths problems, soda and chocolate.
In her younger years, Tanaka ran various businesses including a noodle shop and a rice cake store. She married Hideo Tanaka a century ago in 1922, giving birth to four children and adopting a fifth. Read more
Idris Elba opens up about selling pot to Dave Chappelle and gigs he worked before getting famous (CinemaBlend)
It’s no secret that the acting business is a hard one to break into. Hopeful performers take all kinds of odd jobs while going on auditions and trying to find their big break. When you look at someone as accomplished as Idris Elba, it’s hard to imagine the 2018 Sexiest Man Alive, who fans have clamored for years to see as James Bond, ever struggling for work. But sure enough, when the actor first came to the United States, he said he had all kinds of jobs to make ends meet — including selling pot to comedian Dave Chappelle.
Idris Elba spoke to the Jess Cagle Podcast about his current projects — including Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in which he voices the (sexy?) animated character Knuckles — but when the conversation circled back to the start of Elba’s career, he spoke about how he had trouble finding acting work in the U.S. for about four years after leaving London, and he picked up any number of jobs, including, he said, some he wasn’t proud of. When asked to specify what those things might have included, the actor divulged the host:
“I used to sell weed… It wasn’t [legal] back then. I did that for a little to help pay the way. I DJ’d quite a bit. I was a doorman at Caroline’s Comedy Club, which is fascinating when I meet the comedians that you kind of remember the tall, English guy with the funny accent and the little hair. David Chappelle remembers me, because he used to buy weed from me. … But yeah, I did all kinds of things, to be honest.”
Well isn’t Idris Elba just a regular Samson? Not everybody can claim to have sold pot to the Half-Baked star himself. Elba has been nominated for four Golden Globes and five Primetime Emmys, and Dave Chappelle knows him as his weed guy. That’s pretty special. It’s like the old saying goes — always be nice to your doorman and your dealer, because they might turn out to be Idris Elba (and if that’s not an old saying, it should be.) Read more
Special tribute concert will celebrate 50 years of legendary Manchester band (MEN)
A series of tribute concerts will be held in Stockport this summer, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of Manchester’s most influential bands, 10cc. The concerts will take place at Garrick Theatre on Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25.
Some of the band’s best loved songs will be performed by tribute band 50cc, which is made up of Sean Macreavy, Paul McNulty, Matt Buckley, Paul Roberts, Owen Johnstone and Eric Baumgartner. While multi-instrumentalist Eric is coming over from Atalanta especially for the gig, the rest of the band are UK-based.
The 50cc concerts will form the centrepiece of a weekend of celebrations for 10cc’s fiftieth anniversary. There will also be a walking tour of Stockport, which will stop off at the Strawberry Gallery at Stockport Museum and Strawberry Studios. Stockport’s popular Foodie Friday is also getting in on the action and will feature a special 10cc theme on Friday, June 24.
Commenting on the tribute concert, Paul McNulty said: “As well as being huge 10cc fans, Sean and I are musicians, so it naturally followed that we’d want to acknowledge the band’s 50th anniversary in some sort of musical way. We’d performed a special gig at The Edge Theatre & Arts Centre in Chorlton in 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road, which was a big success so we thought it would be a great idea to do something similar for the 50th anniversary of 10cc. Read more
Roger Daltrey says the music industry has been “stolen” from artists (NME)
Roger Daltrey has said he believes that the music industry has been “stolen” from artists.
During a recent interview with The Independent, the frontman of The Who claimed that the band’s 2019 album ‘WHO’ left him £10,000 out of pocket. “Musicians cannot earn a living in the record industry anymore,” Daltrey told the publication.
“That is ridiculous, and they’re being robbed blind by streaming and the record companies, because the old deals with record companies that existed in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, they’re still working on the same percentage breaks.”
He continued: “And of course, they don’t do any work. They just press a button and it goes out on digital, whereas before they had to manufacture, they had to distribute, they had to do all that stuff. They’re doing bugger all and taking all the money, and the musicians are getting nothing. Read more
Michel Hazanavicius’s Cannes-premiering film ‘Z’ Renamed following outcry by Ukrainian Institute (Variety)
Michel Hazanavicius’s zombie comedy “Z (Comme Z),” which is set to open the Cannes Film Festival next month, has been renamed “Coupé” in France.
The decision to change the movie’s French title follows a letter from the Ukrainian Institute to the director and the Cannes Film Festival, as revealed by Variety, pointing out that “Z” is a pro-war symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and had been used in pro-Russian demonstrations across Europe.
The letter from the Ukrainian org, which was signed by its managing director Volodymyr Sheiko, said that changing the film’s title would be a “gesture against the barbarity, violence and terror of the Russian army.”
In a statement on Monday, Hazanavicius said he will rename the movie “due to the symbolic charge that the letter Z has gained … and following the plea by Ukrainian filmmakers. Read more
Peaky Blinders star Anya Taylor-Joy “wants to” shave head for Mad Max prequel (DigitalSpy)
Anya Taylor-Joy may kiss her hair goodbye to play a younger Imperator Furiosa for the hotly-anticipated Mad Max prequel.
The Queen’s Gambit and Peaky Blinders star is said to be so committed to the character that she’s willing to shave her head, just like Charlize Theron did when originating the role in 2015.
Fury Road’s Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan, who will work on Furiosa next, revealed Taylor-Joy “wants to” shave her head, but Miller isn’t exactly on board with the idea.
“She wants to, but George doesn’t want her to,” Beavan told Variety. “So I don’t know whether she will or not.” Read more
Our league needs to be stronger — Soname (Independent)
Proprietor of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club, Remo Stars FC, Kunle Soname, has called on all stakeholders to join hands together for the development of the league rather than seeking elective positions in the running of the country’s football.
In a chat with sports journalists at the weekend, the football administrator said what is important to him now is the growth and development of the league from the grassroots and not seeking the position of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president.
“I cannot run for the office of the NFF president. It’s only in places like Nigeria that the NFF is more flamboyant than the league itself. What we need to address is the league itself, once that is riped every other thing will fall in place.
“So for me all these talks about becoming NFF president is just a waste of time, until we settle the issue of structured football in Nigeria as in NPFL, NNL and all the leagues, the NFF is just a waste of time. Read more
Milan approach Manchester City star Mahrez after qualification (FootballItalia)
French sources claim Milan will celebrate Champions League qualification by trying to sign Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City.
The Rossoneri secured their spot in the tournament thanks to last night’s stoppage-time 2-1 win away to Lazio, which guaranteed a top four finish.
That means fresh investment, along with the advanced negotiations to sell some or all of the club to Bahrain sovereign fund Investcorp.
According to Footmercato, Milan have set their sights on Mahrez to reinforce the attacking front and bring valuable experience to the side. Read more
Chelsea bidders forced to agree on 10-year condition ahead of final decision being made (Mirror)
The three groups in the running to take over Chelsea Football Club from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich have been asked to provide guarantees that they will remain in control for a decade by the merchant bank overseeing the sale.
As first reported by Sky News, Raine Group have communicated to the shortlisted consortia that the majority shareholder from the preferred bid will retain ownership until at least 2032 to protect the club from further upheaval. It is expected to be a legally binding condition of the club’s sale.
Raine and the club’s board, primarily chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia, have been evaluating the three final bids since a March 14 deadline. One source close to a bid told Mirror Football last week that a decision was expected to be communicated early this week.
However, that is now set to be delayed with the bidders since being asked for additional information and assurances. There is, however, a hard deadline of May 31, the date the government’s special operating licence expires. Read more
WTA eye China in 2023 if Peng case settled (WestAustralian)
The head of the WTA has said the women’s tour hopes to return to China in 2023, having pulled events from the country this year due to concern over the safety of Chinese player Peng Shuai.
WTA chief Steve Simon confirmed there will be no events in China in 2022 but said the tour is ready to return next year if a resolution to the issue can be found that suits all parties.
Peng disappeared from the public eye late last year after making sexual harassment claims against a former high ranking politician on social media.
The post was soon deleted, any reference censored, and Peng later said she did not make the allegations. She met with International Olympic Committee president Thomas around the Beijing Winter Games in February but concerns around her well-being have remained. Read more
Dillian Whyte brands Tyson Fury’s knockout “illegal” and calls for rematch (DailyStar)
Dillian Whyte has fumed at Tyson Fury’s knock out, after the Gypsy King appeared to shove Whyte over during their bout on Saturday evening.
Whyte, who was challenging for Fury’s WBC Heavyweight Title, was downed in the sixth after a brutal uppercut from Fury. However, after the punch Fury looked to shove Whyte down to the canvas as the official started his count.
The Body Snatcher managed to beat the count, but after he stumbled on his way back to the corner the clash was called off. Whyte has now fumed at the knock out, and he has claimed he only stumbled to the corner because he hit his head on the canvas.
Whyte fumed on Sky Sports: “The uppercut landed; I was buzzed but as I was trying to gather my senses he shoved me and I fell over and hit my head on the canvas which is illegal. Read more
Herb Jones refuses Chris Paul help as Suns-Pelicans series is getting ugly (NYPost)
It was a tough night for Chris Paul in Sunday’s 118-103 Game 4 loss to the Pelicans.
After getting chippy with Herb Jones throughout the game, Paul went to offer the Pelicans rookie a hand when knocked down in the fourth quarter — and Jones wasn’t having it.
He sat on the ground and made a face while dismissing the Suns veteran’s hand, and waited for his Pelicans teammates to help him up.
Just a few minutes before that, Paul was called for a flagrant-1 foul on Jones, after the rookie stole a pass and went in for a layup. Paul swatted Jones’ arm on the way to the basket, and fans inside Smoothie King Center roared with boos. Read more