New year, New Cause. Stella Damasus stands up for women forced into silence

The actress and activist has taken up a new cause in 2015. To stand up and enlighten those who can't stand up for themselves. I support this wholeheartedly. Domestic violence should never be tolerated.

Our resolutions for Naija celebs in 2015 - by Etcetera

In his first article in the new year, singer turned columnist Etcetera comes for 2face (yes, 2face, asks him to get a vocal coach...imagine!), Omotola, Tonto, Stephanie Okerere and others. Read below...

Every January, resolutions are made with conviction, only to be dropped like a hot akara sometime before February as unattainable, or just plain boring. All through last year, we watched our celebrities and critiqued their behaviour. Maybe we shouldn’t have. Maybe we should let them make their own mistakes. Or maybe we should assess celebrity behaviour in 2014 and determine which celebrities could use some suggestions for their New Year’s Resolutions to make 2015 a great year. And that’s just what we’ve done. So Don Jazzy, Cossy, Omosexy and others, listen up.

Afro Candy: We already know what you look like with a pubic haircut. Now can you please get into character as a porn-star. We’ve had enough of the teasers. It is becoming boring already. We want the real deal in 2015. Give us a hit movie that will make headlines and put you on magazine covers. Bare your fangs, shake that floppy ass and make the teenage boys happy.

Cossy: Our advice is twofold: first of all, it’s clearly time to invest in some bra. This should be the year to get those boobs cupped and wrapped up. Secondly, change your hustle. Your personality could be revealing in a talk show: put your mind to it, I am sure great offers will come in.

Baba Suwe: Egbon, we love you and we will always love to see you in as many movies as possible. But are we ever going to see you act without the black paint on your face?

Mr. Ibu: A lot of people make resolutions to lose weight, get strong and buff, quit smoking or drinking in order to become healthier. Is this the year that Mr. Ibu finally hits the gym for a six-pack form?

Pete Edochie: Since the death of Amaleze “The Cat,” one question that has been asked over and over again is when our beloved Pete Edochie is going to shave his beards. Just in case the chief decides to visit a salon this year, please someone should quickly remove the kolanuts and palmwine keg from the table. Yes, you may have to hide those wrappers and hats if we are ever going to see the chief in suit anytime before rapture. We’ll also love to see him play other roles than His Royal Highness, Chief Ohazurumba 1 of Ohaji Egbema Kingdom that he has been playing since the days of “Things Fall Apart.” Sir, we know you can do it.

Don Jazzy: The experimental singing was good for last year but 2015 should be the year of the vocalist. And bros, you have hidden under the shade for too long. The hot babes are crying and the queue is getting too long. Will 2015 finally reveal “Mrs. Don Jazzy?”

Tuface: Your album last year was good but it also revealed the fact that you have lost your vocal strength. It won’t be a bad idea to engage the services of a voice coach in 2015.

Dbanj: Last year wasn’t a good year for you musically. The songs didn’t come out well, especially the collaborations. I’ll suggest you take a total break from music in 2015 and get re-inspired.

Omawunmi: You have found the right spot between Highlife, Pop and RnB. You pitched your tent perfectly well in our hearts in 2014. Whatever inspired those beautiful songs is worth holding on to.

Waje: Awww we love you. Your voice is like the sound of the morning spring. But ermmm please leave the skimpy dresses to the peperempes.

Jim Iyke: No matter what people say about him, naija movie scene has been boring without him and the drama that comes with him. Jim, we will be happy to see you back in the spotlight this year, making movies and reminding us that you’re a fine actor. It would be nice to see you star in your own movie, maybe with Nadia.

Miss Sindodo: After a long spell away, you bounced back in 2014 and we are glad about your “amazing” recovery. But your black knuckles and over-bleached skin call for immediate attention this 2015.

One movie we will love to see made in Nollywood this year is “How Stella Snatched My Husband” starring Doris and produced by Daniel.

Halima Abubakar: Acting shouldn’t be a do or die affair. Try other professions or better still, take a professional course in acting.

Omosexy: Everyone says you are arrogant. This should be the year to make a better impression.

Stephanie Okereke: When are we going to finally start seeing your movies for real and not just seeing them “Through The Glass?”

Olisa: You have held the crown as the oldest bachelor for too long. It is time to hand over.

Tonto: What do you really do? It is becoming more difficult to tell these days. It’s a tough industry, we know. But we’re begging you: please stop jumping from one thing to another. Getting into character as a role model does require a bit of focus.

Happy new year everyone!

GEJ can't fight corruption even if he's given 60 years to rule" - APC

The opposition party APC has responded to president Jonathan's plan to institute anti-corruption programmes is re-elected next month, saying that even if he's given 60 more years, he can't fight corruption, because 'a corrupt government can never fight corruption.'

The APC said this in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

"Mr. President said he wants to put in place the institutions to tackle corruption before taking on the cankerworm that has almost destroyed the fabric of our society. Pray, whatever happened to the EFCC and the ICPC? Were they not institutions specifically created for the purpose of tackling corruption, but which the Jonathan administration chose to castrate? There is no better way to say this: Pres. Jonathan lacks the political will to tackle corruption, and he will not tackle it if he spends 60 years in office.”

"A President who has spent the last six years trying to diagnose the main problems facing the country will apparently need another four years to plan how to tackle the challenges. By then, all of us would have been buried under the rubble of corruption and our country would have been decimated by insecurity. It is therefore time for Nigerians to vote in a President who will hit the ground running, a President who will tackle the problems of corruption and insecurity headlong, without giving excuses for
failure.”

Kanye West no longer interested in having sex with his wife?

This pic above sef, e get as e bi. Kim shared it on instagram last night and wrote goodnight. Kanye looks a little uninterested. Anyway, back to the subject matter, there are reports (probably untrue) that Kanye has lost interest in sexing his wife on a regular basis & Kim has ordered him into sex therapy

From The National Enquirer

"Kim Kardashian has ordered Kanye West into sex therapy because he’s lost his libido! Kim is so offended that Kanye’s not as hot for her as he used to be. He’s so focused on his work that he’s barely spending any time with her,” said a family source. “And when they are together all he wants to do is sleep or play with North. “Rejected Kim, whose stress about her troubled marriage has prompted a serious psoriasis flare-up, signed them up for therapy classes to get the spark back into their relationship.”

Eric Arubayi shares pic of newborn son & nude belly shot of his wife

The West African Idol runner-up, who welcomed son Jayden with wife Chinonso recently, shared a pic of his wife's pregnant belly and another adorable pic of their newly born son. Pic of their son after the cut...

Chief Obafemi Awolowo's widow endorses Osinbajo - APC

Lol. Looks like some GEJ supporters are jumping ship. Weeks after the Presidency specially released a statement congratulating Mrs H.I.D Awolowo and promised to participate in the celebration of her landmark 100th birthday in 2015, Premium Times is reporting that she has endorsed Osinbajo of the opposition party.

'“I am very grateful this morning to see that Yemi Osinbajo is going to higher ground and it is my prayer that he will get there. I urge you all to support his aspiration. God will take you there,” she reportedly said.

The call came when Prof. Osinbajo paid a visit to the matriarch at her Ikenne home. Mrs. Awolowo expressed gratitude to God over the choice of Osinbajo as the running mate of Buhari and sought the support of the people of Ikenne in particular and Nigerians in general to make the dream come true.

40 boys & young men reportedly abducted by Boko Haram in Borno

According to journalist Ibrahim Shehu who works with the BBC World Service, about 40 boys and young men were abducted on New Year's eve by suspected Islamist militants in Borno state.

My goodness! Baby plays with massive python (photos)

34 year old snake handler, Jamie Guarino, filmed his 14 month old daughter, Alyssa, playing with their family pet, a 10 year old 13ft Burmese python called Nay-Nay. This Python is one of the five largest snakes in the world. The snake handler said he filmed the video with his baby girl at their home in Michigan to educate people about snakes and how harmless they can be. Someone should please come get this child. See more pics after the cut...

 Jamie...

Photo credit: Got the screengrab from a Telegraph UK video...

Forbes: Africa's Most Successful Women: Mo Abudu

Africa’s Most Successful Women introduces you to the most outstanding African women who are making giant strides in business, politics, technology, entrepreneurship and leadership on the continent and elsewhere around the world. Article below written by Mfonobong Nsehe for Forbes

Mo Abudu, a 50 year-old Nigerian media entrepreneur and talk show host, is the founder of Ebony Life TV, a fast-growing black African multi-broadcast entertainment network, which showcases informative and entertaining programmes that portray Africa at its best. Abudu, who has been described by international news outlets as ‘Africa’s Africa’, is keen in her resolve to rewrite Africa’s story. And it’s time you took notice. In a recent email interview, she recounts her entrepreneurial journey and reflects on the lessons she has learned along the way.

You are the host of ‘Moments with Mo’, one of the most successful syndicated talk shows on African regional television. And now you run an African television network. Walk me through your journey as a media entrepreneur
My passion to help change the narrative about Africa began to grow as far back as when I was a teenager living in the UK, schooling in Tunbridge Wells in Kent, a town that had just a few blacks at the time. As I have said many times in the past, here, I had to learn to stand up for myself, to defend my identity and my race in an environment where you continually got asked the most ridiculous and mind-boggling questions like “Do you guys live in trees and holes in Africa?” “Do you guys dance around fires?” “What do you eat for breakfast?” Very ignorant questions. Those sort of questions could either make or break your spirit but I was very determined that I was going to stay strong. This kind of afro-pessimism simply fuelled a burning, deep-seated desire in my subconscious to one day help to rewrite the African story; to get people to talk about the issues that affect our society and to tell the African narrative in a contemporary and interesting way; to change the perception the world had of us; to let the world know that in spite of our challenges as a developing continent, Africans are not a bunch of savages but mostly a breed of gifted and remarkable people. So, after my education and a flourishing modelling career in the UK, I returned to Nigeria in my late twenties. My children had reached their teens; I had begun enjoying a successful career as Head of Human Resources and Administration for oil giant, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (ExxonMobil). I always say that this experience at ExxonMobil was the best thing that happened to me at that time because the job gave me an invaluable understanding of corporate structure and business discipline, which would eventually prove very useful in my future business endeavours, to include the Protea Hotel Oakwood Park, of which I remain a shareholder and director; Vic Lawrence & Associates, now one of Nigeria’s leading outsourcing firms, where I also remain founder, and so on. However, as successful as all these business ventures have thankfully been, nothing perhaps has given me the most fulfilment as the prospect of exploiting the media as a tool to affect global perceptions about Africa. So, with no TV experience whatsoever, I had approached DStv back then with the Moments with Mo proposal which I had hoped would persuade them to see that it was time Africans had a talk show that projected all that was positive, progressive and celebratory about the continent. I had seen a gap in the market for talk shows that were quintessentially African on the DStv bouquet. I had observed that there were talk shows on NTA, and other Nigerian channels but there wasn’t a single Pan-African talk show at the time. I did not get a positive response from DStv as I was told they were not looking for a Pan-African talk show on the platform at the time. But interestingly, in response to the need for local content on the platform, the window of opportunity soonopened for us and that was how, in 2006, Moments with Mo was born out of the vision to build and project a new, stronger, more independent and more confident Africa; an Africa that speaks for itself; that celebrates its people and achievements and solves its own problems.Ihad taken about 5 pilots of my talk show to them back then but they were all rejected and eventually, one was accepted. And even at that point, I was told they were not going to commission, that they were only going to license, which means they would buy the content from you at an agreed price. So I was told to go and look for sponsors, which I did, and the rest, as they say, is history.


Why did you choose to then start EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first global black entertainment network, and describe the transition from talk show host to head of a television company, navigating a teething media business sector with no prior experience?
The irony was that as far back as 2006 when I first approached DStv with the proposition that Africa was ripe for its own Oprah Winfrey or Ellen DeGeneres show, I was at the same time already requesting for a global TV channel opportunity. At the same time I was exploring channel possibilities with SKY in the UK. I have always reckoned that the vision to project Africa in a different, more positive light, needed a big platform and this was what spurred me to start thinking of establishing EbonyLifeTV. Looking back now and considering how ambitious the dream was and all we had to surmount to arrive at where we are now, one has to admit that God’s appointed time is always the best. I think, for the media however, the sector may have been run by people who are very passionate about the sector rather than people who are business managers, suffice to say it is crucially important to understand the business of the media. You have to be very passionate about what you do and at the same time, be a business manager, which includes having a solid business plan.I don’t think the financial sector in Nigeria understands our sector, I can tell you this because we spent a long time at strategy sessions with expatriate financial consultants who really understood media businessto help identify what the revenue streams in TV are because in every business, there has to be a way to make money. It’s not just about the passion to sell Africa’s story, if you want it to generate money, there’s got to be something bankable in it. Sometimes, you may not have all the expertise required to make what you dream of in terms of profitability,you then have to find someone that is business savvy enough to show you how this business works. He will also tell you how long it is going to take for you to break even, especially if the business is media. Media is one of those businesses that take off very slowly, so you know that borrowing money at a high interest rate to run the media business is not the way to go. Gaining this understanding was key in getting EbonyLife TV off the ground and running till today.


How would you describe EbonyLife TV and the kind of programming it provides?
EbonyLife TV creates content that speaks to the continent’s most important demographic, the custodians of the present and of the future, the youth aged 18 to 34. We believe no one is speaking to this key demographic of the continent the way we do. This is a demographic that is extremely passionate and confident; tremendously creative and global-minded. It is one that craves a platform for self-definition and self-expression; one that sees a different Africa, an Africa that tells its own story through the showcasing of the continent’s best talents, from lifestyle and entertainment to fashion and music, education, information, love and relationships. So, with the mantra “Live the EbonyLife”, our channel is proud to be broadcasting premium, original and exclusively African programming which is both inspirational and aspirational, celebrating style and success while motivating the audience to dream and dream big. Our programming is one that leaves the viewer with a cool, glossy, polished and sophisticated experience, from reality to talk; drama to entertainment and comedy. Through our programming, we also avail companies amazing brand integration and placement opportunities like never before. We believe it is very vital to give African brands, big and small, the opportunity to be seen on a global scale, showing the world that African brands can compete with the world’s best.

What lessons have you learned in business?
I have learned that information is power. The media business in Nigeria and indeed, Africa is grossly underestimated and the windows of opportunity need to be further explored. A lot of people do not understand the power of the information. One needs to be armed with information in order to successfully navigate any venture. Information is your compass. If you know better, you will do better. Before deciding to enter into any venture, one must, to the best of their ability have explored possibilities for growth, foreseen challenges, made projections, thought exhaustively through every inch and breadth of the venture and researched what other people have done to succeed and where they failed.

What advice do you have for those who desire to follow your entrepreneurial footsteps?
Anyone who wishes to be an entrepreneur must know that bright ideas are great, however, they are not even half of the work; execution is everything. Yes, as the saying goes, ‘there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come’, but when that time comes, you must be prepared to bleed sweat, tears and blood to bring your ideas to life. For women, never ever see your gender as a handicap. Never think yourself inferior. Be ready to do twice the work for half the usual reward. When the door isn’t opened, kick down the door. Take the regular harassment and other obstacles women face in stride. In fact, be prepared for them. Be prepared to be told off, to be told you are not good enough, to go unrewarded for even doing the same work your male counterpart has done. Work with your passion, let it consume and drive you. Do not be distracted. On down days, it will keep you going. Also, surround yourself with like minds. In fact, you should exhaustively curate those who will go along with you on your journey. I can’t say that enough.

Rev. Fr Mbaka insists that GEJ must go...weeks after he praised and prayed for GEJ and mama peace!

Very popular Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka is currently under serious fire. Let me explain what's going on. In early November, First Lady Patience Jonathan was in Enugu to attend the 2014 Adoration Thanksgiving And Bazaar event where Fr. Mbaka prayed for her, prayed for President Jonathan and said 'GEJ has done well, despite distraction and that he must come back in 2015. You can find the video here. Fast forward to January 1st and he's singing a different tune. He's now saying 'GEJ must go!" Screaming 'we want change'. 

"When the Goodluck met the Yar'adua, the Yar'adua had badluck and died. Before we knew it, when the Goodluck met our oil, our oil had bad luck and poured away. Before we knew it, Goodluck met our naira, our naira had a bad luck. Where are we going in this country, shall we continue to experience the bad luck?" He said on Jan. 1st

You can watch the video - here. So what changed between Nov. 9th 2014 and January 1st?

See what a man did to his uncle after he found him raping his girlfriend

This is what happened to a South Carolina man after he was caught red-handed allegedly raping his nephew’s girlfriend in a bedroom at a home in Conway, South Carolina on Thursday January 1st.

The nephew, whose identity is being kept from the media, reportedly found 52-year-old William Mattson (pictured above) on top of his girlfriend and he responded by beating the heck out of him. You can see the result of the brutal beat down in the suspect’s mugshot.

The man then pushed his uncle out of the house and called police. Mattson was arrested but the nephew was not charged over the incident. The police said he was “acting in defense for the victim.”

The uncle is now facing charges related to the alleged sexual assault.

Plane Crash in Western Kentucky Kills Four, 7-Year-old Survives

  

(CNN) -- A small plane went down in western Kentucky Friday evening, killing four people, according to Sgt. Dean Patterson with the Kentucky State Police.

A 7-year-old girl was the only survivor. She was taken to a local hospital with "non-life threatening injuries," Patterson said.

A resident in the area called 911 after the girl walked up to his house, telling him she had been in a plane crash.

"FAA air traffic controllers lost contact with a Piper PA-34 aircraft ... shortly after the pilot reported engine problems, and told air traffic controllers that he was diverting to the Kentucky Dam State Airport," said FAA Communications Manager Kathleen Bergen.

The twin-engine aircraft, which can seat up to six people, was found in Lyon County, about 30 miles east of Paducah, and less than 10 miles from the airport.

The Kentucky State Police say the plane was en route to Mount Vernon, Illinois, from Key West, Florida.