Super Eagles Now 42nd Spot In Latest FIFA Rankings

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are now 42nd in the latest FIFA rankings.

Although they missed the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria rose up by just one position ahead of Guinea.

AFCON 2015 finalists Ghana moved up 12 places to 25th with 864 points, while newly-crowned champions Ivory Coast rose eight places to 20th position.

In the overall table, Germany continue to lead the rest of the world, while the top five places is completed by Argentina, Colombia, Belgium. and Netherlands.

The next FIFA rankings will be made public on March 12.

Sexy Mama! Meet Actress Juliet Ibrahim's HOT 50-year-old Mum

Juliet Ibrahim's mum turned 50 yesterday and the Ghanaian actress shared some blazing hot pictures of her momma, who is also a grandmother to her 4-year-old son.

She's in really good shape for a 50-year-old.
Take a look...

Stella Damasus and lover, Daniel Ademinokan hosted by Grenadian Ambassador to the UN

Nollywood actress, Stella Damasus and her controversial lover Daniel Ademinokan recently visited the United Nations building in New York. 

The couple were hosted by Ambassador Denis G. Antoine the Grenadian Ambassador to the UN.

Daniel posted the pictures and captioned it with, “At the United Nations building in New York. Focused. Driven.#BigThingsHappening #Genius #Gifted #BeyondFilmmaking” 

See more pics after the cut. ...

Video: President Jonathan's Media Chat In Abuja

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday had a media chat with selected members of the press in Abuja.

Issues discussed during the chat include the postponement of the 2015 elections, rumours about Attahiru Jega’s dismissal, tackling the Boko Haram insurgency and more.

Watch the interview

Prof. Osinbajo kindly assists President Jonathan definition corruption(Read)

APC vice-presidential candidate, Prof Yemi Osibanjo not impressed with Goodluck Jonathan's response at thr presidential media chat which held last night. 

While talking about corruption, Goodluck Jonathan said “I didn’t say stealing is good, I only said stealing isn’t corruption. ”

In  a swift reaction, Yemi Osinbajo took to his Facebook page to state exactly what corruption is as opposed to President Jonathan’s definition.

He wrote: “Corruption is defined as ‘dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery’. The definition is simple and we all know what it is, yet Mr. President has spent the last several minutes of his media chat explaining to Nigerians what it is, suggesting we are all somehow confused about this.

“The GEJ presidency has failed Nigerians. The facts are undeniable. ‪#‎ChangeWillCome‬”

Checkout Top 30 quotes from Pres. Goodluck Jonathan’s Media Chat

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, hosted a media chat with a selected number of pressmen.

The chat which is organised to foster an avenue to give answers to pertinent questions on national issues.

Pres. Jonathan who faced a panel comprising of top media personalities, Adesuwa Onyenekwe, Deji Badmus, Ibanga Isine and Ibrahim Sheme, assured that the upcoming election will be free and fair.

“If the elections are conducted and I lose, I will go home… the poll will free and fair,” he said.

Read the top 30 tweets from Jonathan below:

1. I eat Chicken not Turkey – Jonathan

2. I didn’t say stealing is good, I only said stealing isn’t corruption.

3. Those quoting me as saying that ‘stealing is not corruption’ have not said that the President said stealing is good. Thieves should be treated as thieves. Do not use the word ‘corruption’ to cover so many things.

4. Now that we are working with Chad, I believe that in the next few weeks the story of the Chibok girls will get better.

5. I am not God, but I am more hopeful now than before in terms of combing the whole areas.

6.  We are working with our neighbours and we will comb the whole of that area. Just give us some time.

7. I did not go dancing after kidnap of Chibok Girls.

8. Most presidents will tell you that it is more difficult for the 2nd election (re-election).

9. If INEC conducts this election poorly, it is on my head.

10. I have not told anybody that I want to remove Jega. I have never said so.

11. A number of people tell me the messages from my team are confusing.

12. One  thing about politics, leadership generally, you have a nos of people who support you but you don’t know what they say.

13.  There is no hiding place for the Boko Haram again,  As we are talking, only Madagali is remaining (under Boko Haram).

14. In Yobe, two local governments are affected and in the next couple of weeks we will take them over.

15. In Borno State, we have 10 to 12 LGs under Boko Haram. The issue of security is beyond Boko Haram.

16. Politicians are instigating some young people to act in ways not expected.

17. Several countries of the world have one problem or the other

18. The issue of PVC interests me most. Before 2011 Nigerians were not talking about Voter’s Card.

19. I was already in my village when INEC announced the postponement. I don’t decide date for election, INEC must work with security agencies.

20. Election is like any tournament, FIFA says March, later say April or May. The winning team will still win. No big deal.

21. I was not consulted about the postponement and I don’t want to be consulted.

22. It is quite unfortunate that there is a lot of wrong information in the system, especially in the social media & normal media.

23. People say I mean well for this country, its true because people close to me know I have passion for Nigeria.

24 .Anybody who wants to hold the office of the president and thinks he’s more important than the nations, it’s not right.

25. We must not put money where people can take it, like we did with in agriculture with fertiliser.

26. Boko Haram is faceless. When the Niger Delta militants were pressing their needs they met with the president.

27. APC started their campaign before me. They visited like 4 states before PDP started.

28. I don’t have the time for social media.

29. I appointed INEC chairman and the RECs and I know that they will do the job.

30. I want a situation where every Nigerian must vote.

Singer, Paul Play Files N200m Lawsuit Against Etisalat Over Copyright Infringement

Singer, Paul Play is dragging Etisalat and Optima Media Group for using his hit song Mosorire for two consecutive years without his permission. The lawsuit which is for N200 Million was filed at a Lagos High Court for use of the song on Nigerian Idols in 2012 and 2013 where a contestant was made to reproduce his song and sing during their programme without his express permission as the owner of the song.

The court paper in part reads;

“I am the copyright owner of the work named and tagged “Mosorire”, contained in my repertoire, exclusively for the jurisdiction of Nigeria and the authority or permission to exploit such work can only be obtained from me. However, the defendants being an organiser of a television reality show tagged, “Nigerian Idol” caused the use, adaptation and deployment of my said work titled, “Mosorire” on the said show without my consent, and which was broadcast to several millions of television viewers throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the rest of Africa for 2012 and 2013 editions.”

Paul Play is no stranger to lawsuits as in February 2013 he sued another telecommunications company, MTN for N500 M for unlawful use of his song in Project Fame.

Paul Play said that as a singer and composer, he was entitled to an annual fee of N100m on the track. He said for having made use of his song without reaching out to him for permission, the defendants, Etisalat and Optima media group had made him lose some money while according to him, they “made gains and improved on their own brand image.”. No date has been fixed for the hearing.

Full transcript of Buhari’s interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour (READ)

Last night APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) was on Christiane Amanpour’s CNN show about the time President Goodluck Jonathan was having a chat with journalists at a special media meeting in Abuja.

Buhari spoke about the ongoing political situation, his thoughts about Obasanjo’s endorsement and how he’ll fight corruption and Boko Haram if he becomes president.

Here’s a full transcript of the interview:

Amanpour: General, welcome to the programme.

Can I ask you first your reaction to the delay in this election by six weeks and to what you just heard President Jonathan say that they will make inroads into much more security within the next six weeks?

Buhari: Well, my reaction is that of disappointment, because the presentation made by INEC was that they were ready to conduct the election on the date they fixed a year ago, and for them to be forced virtually by the military that they cannot guarantee the safety of their workers, they have to concede to the demand of the military [for an] additional six weeks.

Now since those six weeks are within the constitutional time allowed, this was why we came and asked our supporters to remain calm and resolute and obey the laws.

Amanpour: Okay General, let me ask you because you’re a former military general: You were ruling the country briefly. Why is it that the Nigerian military today cannot take on Boko Haram and have failed to combat that terrorist organisation?

Buhari: Well this has been made much more clear when the National Assembly attempted to conduct a hearing after the soldiers were giving interviews to foreign media about being sent to the front without proper weapons. The National Assembly attempted to conduct a hearing by getting the budgets approved by the National Assembly over the last three years and inviting the service chiefs to come and tell them [why the] weapons were not procured and sent to the soldiers — and competent leadership. And that hearing was scuttled.

So in short, it’s the misapplication or misappropriation of the resources provided by the government for weapons. That’s why the Nigerian military was unable to defeat Boko Haram.

Amanpour: General, you today just got a huge endorsement from a former ally of President Jonathan. That is the former president Obasanjo. How do you react to that, I mean what would that do for your campaign?

Buhari: Well it would certainly bring more supporters to us and more confidence again to us from those who were sitting on the fence, because General Obasanjo is highly respected and as far as Nigerians [issues are] concerned, there’s no serious issue that can be discussed without people seeking for his opinion and listening to it.

Amanpour: Can I now ask you about yourself because headlines around the world are portraying this election as a choice between a failed president and a former dictator — and you’re the former dictator according to these headlines.

You know, people say — and they remember — that you expelled 700,00 migrants years ago thinking that would create jobs, that you’ve banned political meetings and free speech, that you’ve detained thousands of people, secret tribunals, executing people for crimes that were not capital offences. Have you changed or is this what the Nigerian people have to look forward to?

Buhari: Well all those things you mentioned, with a degree of accuracy of actually what happened, was then under a military administration, and when that military adminstration came under my leadership, we — the military — suspended the part of the constitution that we felt would be difficult for us to operate under those circumstances. So I think I’m being judged harshly as an individual that what happened during the military administration can be extended under a multiparty democracy system.

Amanpour: Okay so now you say you’re a democrat. What do you think you can do to combat Boko Haram and to combat the galloping corruption in your country?

Buhari: Well, Boko Haram, we know how it started. Certainly the Nigerian military that built our reputation internationally for effectiveness, it’s a great embarrassment to them and to the country that they haven’t been able to secure [Nigeria’s] territory of an area of 14 local governments out of 774 local governments.

I believed this problem will not be too difficult for [our] APC government because we know the Nigerian military is competent. It’s a question of making sure the money voted for equipment and training [is] properly utilised.

Amanpour: About corruption, there’s so many complaints from many people around your country about massive corruption they say. Can you face up against them? Are you committed to rooting out corruption?

Buhari: We have to, because there are serious citizens of this country that say unless Nigeria kills corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. And that’s best illustrated by another hearing conducted by the National Assembly on pension fund, electricity and then the corruption in the petroleum industry from where the country derives over 90% in external revenue.

The National Assembly conducted a hearing here in Abuja and in the six geopolitical zones of the country, then they took the recommendation to the executive. And it’s been collecting dust for the past 18 months.

Amanpour: Alright, General Muhammadu Buhari, opposition candidate in Nigeria. Thank you very much for joining us from Abuja tonight.

Obasanjo’s endorsement will convince more Nigerians to vote for me – Buhari

APC presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari has described his endorsement by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo as a boost to his ambition. And that it will convince more Nigerians to vote for him during the presidential election. 

Buhari said this on Wednesday night during an interview with CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, Christine Amanpour.

Recall that Obasanjo had on Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya during an interview with the Financial Times of London at the launch of his controversial autobiography entitled, ‘My Watch,’ threw his weight behind Buhari’s candidacy.

Asked by Amanpour what he thought of Obasano’s endorsement, Buhari said, “It would certainly bring more supporters to us and more confidence again to us for those who are sitting on the fence.”

This, he said, was “because General Obasanjo is highly respected and as far as the Nigerian nation is concerned, there is no serious issue that can be discussed without people seeking his opinion and listening to it.”

Obanikoro drags SaharaReporters, Premium Times & Punch to court over Ekiti election-rigging audio

Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro has sued online newspapers Sahara Reporters and Premium Times for defamation of character. Joined in the suit are The Punch Newspapers Ltd, and journalists Omoyele Sowore, Publisher of Sahara Reporters and Festus Owete, General Editor at Premium Times.

Last week, the defendants published an audio recording purporting to be Obanikoro, in a conversation with other individuals to rig the Ekiti State gubernatorial elections of 2014. Obanikoro has since denied the allegation

In the suit which was filed at the Lagos State High Court Ikeja yesterday, 10th February 2015, Senator Obanikoro is claiming damages to the tune of N1 billion.

According to the suit filed on his behalf by Dr. Yemi Oke of MJS Partners, Senator Obanikoro is seeking;

“1.) An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from publishing or causing to be published either directly or indirectly, defamatory, damaging, offensive or degrading statements, articles and/or materials against the claimant, 2.) An order directing the defendant to jointly or severally pay to the claimant the sum of N1 billion being damages for harm caused to his political, professional, business, social and institutional reputation as a result of the defamation by willful and scandalous publication of false statements by the defendants, 3.) An order directing the defendants to retract the false and damaging publication by a letter of apology directed to claimant and published on the same media through which the defamatory publication was circulated and 4.) An order of court for the cost of this suit against the defendants.”

Simultaneously, Obanikoro has engaged Tacopina & Seigel to handle the same case against Sahara Reporters in New York, United States of America.

Actress, Adaora Ukoh covers House of Maliq magazine

Plus-size Nollywood actress, Adaora Ukoh is the cover star for February 2015 issue of House of Maliq magazine,  alongside model, Sandra Benebe. See more pics after the cut...

Military Troops Storm Sambisa Forest To Flush Out Boko Haram

Reports says that a detachment of the Nigerian military has commenced an operation in the dreaded Sambisa Forest to flush out members of the Boko Haram insurgents.

The operation is meant to flush out Boko Haram sect in a bid to make the North East safe for the general elections.

Nigerian Air Force pilots, it was learnt, started the raid on Sambisa forest on Monday.

A source told The Punch that: “The military has started the operation in the Sambisa Forest; the operation started on Monday.

“For now, there is no specific cases of arrest, we don’t have that information now. The Air Force has been operating in the area since Monday. It is after that that the ground troops who are on red alert would move in.

Sambisa Forest is believed to be the hideout of the insurgents and was also used as the holding place of the over 200 schoolgirls, kidnapped from Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno, on April 14, 2014.

FG plans to redevelop National Theatre into Entertainment City

The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed plans to completely renovate and restructure the National Teathre, Iganmu, Lagos, and completely transform the large, under-utilized area of land around the

iconic theatre.

In a short video released on YouTube tagged: ‘The Nigeria Entertainment City,‘ the government says a Public-Private Partnership model is being deployed to actualise this massive project which will see the current theatre mainbowl fully upgraded, and the adjoining land around it developed into complimentary facilities which will be known as the ‘Nigeria Entertainment City’.

Facilities in the entertainment city will include a 5-Star Hotel, ultra-modern office buildings, a multi-level car park, shopping and retail facilities, and an amusement park.

According to the video, the objective of this project is to make the edifice economically viable, create a one-of-its-kind park in Africa, and make it a tourist attraction which will inevitably rub off positively on the country’s economy as a whole.

Photos: Basketmouth Arrives London For His Comedy Show

Popular rib-cracker, Basketmouth have arrived London for his annual comedy show billed to hold on Valentine's day. 

See more pics after the cut....

Kim Kardashian: My Sex Tape Didn't Make Me Famous But....(Read)

Reality TV star, Kim Kardashian in a recent chat with model, Cara Delevingne, 22, said she’s fed up of people suggesting she doesn’t deserve her success because of her lack of talent.

“When someone asks me, ‘What do you do?’ under my breath I want to say, ‘Ask my f**king bank account what I do.’ But I would never say that to someone’s face. We’ve had more episodes than ‘I Love Lucy!’ And I’m proud that we give so many people jobs.

“Like when they ask, ‘What do you do?’ I mean, what an uneducated question! And I just want to help change the perception that being on a reality show is such a negative thing.”

The 34-year-old mother of one doesn’t think the explicit video she made with ex-boyfriend, Ray J in 2003 made her famous and wishes she could show her critics her enormous bank balance.

“If I do have one regret in life that’s it. Maybe that’s how some people heard about me but I didn’t launch my career off of that. That was 12 years ago, no 13 years ago now, so I just try to move on and put it in the past because I think that everyone in life does things they’re not proud of but you can’t sit and dwell on them forever,”she stated.

Badluck Jonathan? See The Al Jazeera Article On GEJ That's Got Everyone Talking

The article is an opinion piece by Solomon Ayele Dersso, a legal academic and analyst of African affairs who regularly writes on African issues. He is head of the Peace and Security Council Report at the Institute for Security Studies, Addis Ababa office. Click here to read the  article titled Badluck Jonathan. 

So Al Jazeera did this to our president. Hope they won't be sanctioned?

Court affirms Jonathan’s eligibility for 2015 election

Remember the man who dragged President Jonathan to court seeking to disqualify him? Well, the President has won the case.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking the disqualification of President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2015 presidential election.

The suit was based on the argument that Mr. Jonathan had taken the oath of office twice, and was by law ineligible for a third, should he win.

Mr. Jonathan took the oath as president when he took over from the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010, and again when he won his election in 2011.

In a ruling Wednesday, the court quashed the case and awarded N50,000 cost to the president, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Photos: President Jonathan Takes Campaign To MTV Base

Ahead of the upcoming general elections, MTV Base and STV has taped a special pre-election programme with President Goodluck Jonathan and young Nigerian voters to discuss the burning issues facing youth in Nigeria.

Taped at Aso Villa in Abuja,"Choose or Lose: President Goodluck Jonathan" is hosted by Oreka Godis, and premieres on Friday February 13, 2015 at 6pm on MTV Base and STV.

The campaign, which utilises MTV Base's TV, digital and social media platforms, features celebrities as well as members of the public as they underline the important message of youth participation in the electoral process.

Some of the notable personalities that have already lent their voices to the campaign include: Ben Murray-Bruce, 2Face, Banky W, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Sound Sultan, Emmanuel Ikubese, Davido, Falz, Reminisce, Emma Nyra, Solid Star, Oreka Godis, Omalicha, Yemi Alade, Omojuwa and Stanley Azuakola.

Obasanjo Openly Endorses Buhari; Gives Reasons

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has finally expressed his support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Obasanjo, who is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, declared his support for Buhari during an interview with the Financial Times at the launch of his controversial autobiography titled, ‘My Watch’, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The circumstances he (Buhari) will be working under if he wins the elections are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature – he knows that. He is smart enough. He is educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”

Obasanjo said he believes in Buhari’s capability to effectively tackle corruption and insecurity, adding that he would restore the morale of the military which, he said, was needed in the fight against terrorism.

He also accused President Goodluck Jonathan of betraying the armed forces by allowing corruption to scuttle their operations. 

“It is a question of leadership – political and military. I think you need to ask Jonathan how he let the army go to this extent. Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation was not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; andwelfare was bad.”

Obasanjo also reacted to the postponement of the general elections by INEC.

“Well, I don’t want to comment on that postponement yet because I was not in Nigeria. I was actually in Munich over the last weekend. But when I get home I will be fully educated about what transpired and how it transpired. In fact it was because I had a previous appointment, that is why I could not attend the meeting of national council of state, which took place I think on Thursday. So it will not be right of me to be talking about a thing I could get on the ground, for instance the statement made by chairman of INEC.”

“I sincerely hope that the President is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup. I hope we can avoid it,” he said.

 

OMG! You Need To See What They Did To Kanye West

Wao! Whoever did this, is wicked. LOL

Bobby Brown Slams False Report That Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina Will Share Same Death Date

While Bobbi Kristina remains on life support, conflicting stories have surfaced regarding her fate. 

Following numerous reports that the family of Bobbi Kristina would take her off life support on the third anniversary of her mother's death so they can share same death date, her father, Bobby brown has released a statement rubbishing such reports.

"God is hearing our prayers," Bobby toldABC News in a statement. "We continue to request privacy in this matter. We thank everyone that supported the vigil for Bobbi Kristina."

"We support the candlelight vigil for Bobbi Kristina. The Brown family is amazed by the love and support from all that attended," legal counsel for Bobby Brown told The Insider With Yahoo on Tuesday. "However the false reports that continue to appear in print and on the internet are egregious, false and will be dealt with at an appropriate time. In particular, the false reporting of TMZ, The National Enquirer,The Atlanta Journal Constitution and theDaily Mail (UK) citing, police sources, family sources and Bobby Brown himself, will receive my attention. The desire to be 'first' has clouded the judgment of many reporters as they forgo accuracy. This is a criminal investigation and the integrity of that process requires silence. We continue to request privacy in this matter. We thank everyone that supported the vigil for Bobbi Kristina. God is hearing our prayers."

WAEC Clears The Air On Buhari's Certificate

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) took an advertorial in the Guardian Newspaper concerning the Bugari certificate saga. The message was from the Ghana National Office which was in response to a civil society, MoveOnNigeria and the Council said they do not keep records of candidates in a central location but in the candidates’ individual countries.

They reiterated that any of such enquiries should be forwarded to the Nigerian National Office as the exam Buhari wrote was in Katsina, Nigeria

Nigeria’s postponed election is an embarrassment of bad choices - Chimamanda Adichie

Read Chimamanda Adichie' views on postponement of general elections below.

Last week, Victor, a carpenter, came to my Lagos home to fix a broken chair. I asked him whom he preferred as Nigeria’s next president: the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, or his challenger, Muhammadu Buhari.

“I don’t have a voter’s card, but if I did, I would vote for somebody I don’t like,” he said. “I don’t like Buhari. But Jonathan is not performing.”

Victor sounded like many people I know: utterly unenthusiastic about the two major candidates in our upcoming election.

Were Nigerians to vote on likeability alone, Jonathan would win. He is mild-mannered and genially unsophisticated, with a conventional sense of humor. Buhari has a severe, ascetic air about him, a rigid uprightness; it is easy to imagine him in 1984, leading a military government whose soldiers routinely beat up civil servants. Neither candidate is articulate. Jonathan is given to rambling; his unscripted speeches leave listeners vaguely confused. Buhari is thick-tongued, his words difficult to decipher. In public appearances, he seems uncomfortable not only with the melodrama of campaigning but also with the very idea of it. To be a democratic candidate is to implore and persuade, and his demeanor suggests a man who is not at ease with amiable consensus. Still, he is no stranger to campaigns. This is his third run as a presidential candidate; the last time, in 2011, he lost to Jonathan. 

This time, Buhari’s prospects are better. Jonathan is widely perceived as ineffectual, and the clearest example, which has eclipsed his entire presidency, is his response to Boko Haram. Such a barbaric Islamist insurgency would challenge any government. But while Boko Haram bombed and butchered, Jonathan seemed frozen in a confused, tone-deaf inaction. Conflicting stories emerged of an ill-equipped army, of a corrupt military leadership, of northern elites sponsoring Boko Haram, and even of the government itself sponsoring Boko Haram. 

Jonathan floated to power, unprepared, on a serendipitous cloud. He was a deputy governor of Bayelsa state who became governor when his corrupt boss was forced to quit. Chosen as vice president because powerbrokers considered him the most harmless option from southern Nigeria, he became president when his northern boss died in office. Nigerians gave him their goodwill—he seemed refreshingly unassuming—but there were powerful forces who wanted him out, largely because he was a southerner, and it was supposed to be the north’s ‘turn’ to occupy the presidential office.

And so the provincial outsider suddenly thrust onto the throne, blinking in the chaotic glare of competing interests, surrounded by a small band of sycophants, startled by the hostility of his traducers, became paranoid. He was slow to act, distrustful and diffident. His mildness came across as cluelessness. His response to criticism calcified to a single theme: His enemies were out to get him. When the Chibok girls were kidnapped, he and his team seemed at first to believe that it was a fraud organized by his enemies to embarrass him. His politics of defensiveness made it difficult to sell his genuine successes, such as his focus on the long-neglected agricultural sector and infrastructure projects. His spokespeople alleged endless conspiracy theories, compared him to Jesus Christ, and generally kept him entombed in his own sense of victimhood.

 The delusions of Buhari’s spokespeople are better packaged, and obviously free of incumbency’s crippling weight. They blame Jonathan for everything that is wrong with Nigeria, even the most multifarious, ancient knots. They dismiss references to Buhari’s past military leadership, and couch their willful refusal in the language of ‘change,’ as though Buhari, by representing change from Jonathan, has also taken on an a historical saintliness.

I remember the Buhari years as a blur of bleakness. I remember my mother bringing home sad rations of tinned milk, otherwise known as “essential commodities”—the consequences of Buhari’s economic policy. I remember air thick with fear, civil servants made to do frog jumps for being late to work, journalists imprisoned, Nigerians flogged for not standing in line, a political vision that cast citizens as recalcitrant beasts to be whipped into shape.

Buhari’s greatest source of appeal is that he is widely perceived as non-corrupt. Nigerians have been told how little money he has, how spare his lifestyle is. But to sell the idea of an incorruptible candidate who will fight corruption is to rely on the disingenuous trope that Buhari is not his party. Like Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress is stained with corruption, and its patrons have a checkered history of exploitative participation in governance. Buhari’s team is counting on the strength of his perceived personal integrity: his image as a good guy forced by realpolitik to hold hands with the bad guys, who will be shaken off after his victory.

 In my ancestral home state of Anambra, where Jonathan is generally liked, the stronger force at play is a distrust of Buhari, partly borne of memories of his military rule, and partly borne of his reputation, among some Christians, as a Muslim fundamentalist. When I asked a relative whom she would vote for, she said, “Jonathan of course. Am I crazy to vote for Buhari so that Nigeria will become a sharia country?”

Nigeria has predictable voting patterns, as all democratic countries do. Buhari can expect support from large swaths of the core north, and Jonathan from southern states. Region and religion are potent forces here. Vice presidents are carefully picked with these factors in mind: Buhari’s is a southwestern Christian and Jonathan’s is a northern Muslim. But it is not so simple. There are non-northerners who would ordinarily balk at voting for a ‘northerner’ but who support Buhari because he can presumably fight corruption. There are northern supporters of Jonathan who are not part of the region’s Christian minorities.

 Last week, I was indifferent about the elections, tired of television commercials and contrived controversies. There were rumors that the election, which was scheduled for February 14, would be postponed, but there always are; our political space is a lair of conspiracies. I was uninterested in the apocalyptic predictions. Nigeria was not imploding. We had crossed this crossroads before, we were merely electing a president in an election bereft of inspiration. And the existence of a real opposition party that might very well win was a sign of progress in our young democracy.

 Then, on Saturday, the elections were delayed for six weeks. Nigeria’s security agencies, we were told, would not be available to secure the elections because they would be fighting Boko Haram and needed at least another month and a half to do so. (Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram for five years, and military leaders recently claimed to be ready for the elections

Even if the reason were not so absurd, Nigerians are politically astute enough to know that the postponement has nothing to do with security. It is a flailing act of desperation from an incumbent terrified of losing. There are fears of further postponements, of ploys to illegally extend Jonathan’s term. In a country with the specter of a military coup always hanging over it, the consequences could be dangerous. My indifference has turned to anger. What a staggeringly self-serving act of contempt for Nigerians. It has cast, at least for the next six weeks, the darkest possible shroud over our democracy: uncertainty. 

 

 

 

Media Take Out calls Dencia a Nicki Minaj wannabe (READ)

MediaTakeOut refered to Dencia as Nicki Minaj wannabe. According to the site, Dencia reportedly spent over N19million trying to look like award winning singer/rapper, Nicki Minaj.
Well, we can't really blame them, Dencia dresses like Nicki, same blond hair, and does things like her.
The Cameroonian-Nigerian singer turned entrepreneur was said to have spent it on weaves, implants, butt shots and bleaching products just so she can look like Nicki Minaj.

According to MTO; ‘Two years ago, West African singer Dencia was a brown skinned thin beauty – with a great voice. Well she changed that ALL UP. First she BLEACHED HER SKIN – and opened up a new LINE OF SKIN PRODUCTS, called Whitenicious. She’s now undergone MASSIVE reconstructive BREAST and BOOTY surgeries – in an attempt to “look like Nicki Nimaj.” What do you think . . . did she accomplish her goal. She looks very FRAUDULENT to us . . .but we know how some of y’all LIKE ISH LIKE THAT!!!’

Dencia has been mistaken for Nicki on few occasions at International events.

What do u think?