50 Famous People Who Failed at Their First Attempt at Career Success

50 Famously Successful People Who Failed at First Not everyone who’s on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others. Next time you’re feeling down about your failuresin college or in a career, keep these fifty famous people in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success.

Business Gurus

These businessmen and the companies they founded are today known around the world, but as these stories show, their beginnings weren’t always smooth.

Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn’t an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and lefthim broke five time before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
R. H. Macy: Most people are familiar with this large department store chain, but Macy didn’t always have it easy. Macy started seven failed business before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.
F. W. Woolworth: Some may not know this name today,but Woolworth was once one of the biggest names in department stores in the U.S. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a dry goods store
and was not allowed to wait on customers because his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so.
Soichiro Honda: The billion-dollar business that is Honda began with a series of failures and fortunate turns of luck. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job after interviewing for a job as an engineer, leaving him jobless for quite some time. He started making
scooters of his own at home, and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business.
Akio Morita: You may not have heard of Morita butyou’ve undoubtedly heard of his company, Sony. Sony’s first product was a rice cooker that unfortunately didn’t cook rice so much as burn it, selling less than 100 units. This first setback didn’t stop Morita and his partners as they pushed forward to create a multi-billion dollar company.
Bill Gates: Gates didn’t seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn’t work, Gates’ later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft.
Harland David Sanders: Perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times
before a restaurant accepted it.
Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked
imagination and had no good ideas.” After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for succes that worked.

Scientists and Thinkers

These people are often regarded as some of the greatest minds of our century, but they often had to face great obstacles, the ridicule of their peers and the animosity of society.

Albert Einstein: Most of us take Einstein’s name as synonymous with genius, but he didn’t always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics.
Charles Darwin: In his early years, Darwin gave up on having a medical career and was often chastised by his father for being lazy and too dreamy. Darwin himself wrote, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.” Perhaps they judged too soon, as Darwin today is well-known for his scientific studies.
Robert Goddard: Goddard today is hailed for his research and experimentation with liquid-fueled rockets, but during his lifetime his ideas were often rejected and mocked by his scientific peers who thought they were outrageous and impossible. Today rockets and space travel don’t seem far-fetched at all, due largely in part to the work of this scientist who worked against the feelings of the time.
Isaac Newton: Newton was undoubtedly a genius when it came to math, but he had some failings early on. He never did particularly well in school and when put in charge of running the family farm, he failed miserably, so poorly in fact that an uncle took charge and sent him off to Cambridge where he finally blossomed into the scholar we know today.
Socrates: Despite leaving no written records behind, Socrates is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the Classical era. Because of his new ideas, in his own time he was called “an immoral corrupter of youth” and was sentenced to death. Socrates didn’t let this stop him and kept right on, teaching up until he was forced to poison himself.
Robert Sternberg: This big name in psychology received a C in his first college introductory psychology class with his teacher telling him that, “there was already a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Sternberg showed him, however, graduating from Stanford with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa and eventually becoming the President of the American Psychological Association.

Inventors

These inventors changed the face of the modern world, but not without a few failed prototypes along the way.

Thomas Edison: In his early years, teachers told Edison he was “too stupid to learn anything.” Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 10,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked.
Orville and Wilbur Wright: These brothers battled depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane that could get airborne and stay there.

Public Figures

From politicians to talk show hosts, these figures had a few failures before they came out on top.

Winston Churchill: This Nobel Prize-winning, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom wasn’t always as well regarded as he is today. Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After school he faced many years of political failures, as he was defeated in
every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62.
Abraham Lincoln: While today he is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln’s life wasn’t so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you’re not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn’t stop
failing there, however. He started numerous failed business and was defeated in numerous runs he made for public office.
Oprah Winfrey: Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, however, enduring a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career
setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for tv.”
Harry S. Truman: This WWI vet, Senator, Vice President and eventual President eventually found success in his life, but not without a few missteps along the way. Truman started a store that sold silk shirts and other clothing–seemingly a success at first–only go bankrupt a few years later.
Dick Cheney: This recent Vice President and businessman made his way to the White House but managed to flunk out of Yale University, not once, but twice. Former President George W. Bush joked with Cheney
about this fact, stating, “So now we know –if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president.”

Hollywood Types

These faces ought to be familiar from the big screen, but these actors, actresses and directors saw their fair share of rejection and failure before they made it big.

Jerry Seinfeld: Just about everybody knows who Seinfeld is, but the first time the young comedian walked on stage at a comedy club, he looked out at the audience, froze and was eventually jeered and booed off of the stage. Seinfeld knew he could do it, so he went back the next
night, completed his set to laughter and applause, and the rest is history.
Fred Astaire: In his first screen test, the testing directorof MGM noted that Astaire, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Astaire went on to become an incredibly successful actor, singer and dancer and kept that note in his Beverly Hills home to remind him of where he came from.
Sidney Poitier: After his first audition, Poitier was told by the casting director, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” Poitier vowed to show him that he could make it, going on to win an Oscar and become one of the most
well-regarded actors in the business.
Jeanne Moreau: As a young actress just starting out, this French actress was told by a casting director that she was simply not pretty enough to make it in films. He couldn’t have been more wrong as Moreau when on to star in nearly 100 films and win numerous awards for her
performances.
Charlie Chaplin: It’s hard to imagine film without the iconic Charlie Chaplin, but his act was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because they felt it was a little too nonsensical to ever sell.
Lucille Ball: During her career, Ball had thirteen Emmy nominations and four wins, also earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors. Before starring in I Love Lucy, Ball was widely regarded as
a failed actress and a B movie star. Even her drama instructors didn’t feel she could make it, telling her to try another profession. She, of course, proved them all wrong.
Harrison Ford: In his first film, Ford was told by the movie execs that he simply didn’t have what it takes to be a star. Today, with numerous hits under his belt, iconic portrayals of characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and a career that stretches decades, Ford can proudly show that he does, in fact, have what it takes.
Marilyn Monroe: While Monroe’s star burned out early, she did have a period of great success in her life. Despite a rough upbringing and being told by modeling agents that she should instead consider being a secretary, Monroe became a pin-up, model and actress that still strikes a
chord with people today.
Oliver Stone: This Oscar-winning filmmaker began his first novel while at Yale, a project that eventually caused him to fail out of school. This would turn out to be a poor decision as the the text was rejected by publishers and was not published until 1998, at which time it was not well- received. After dropping out of school, Stone moved to Vietnam to teach English, later enlisting in the army and fighting in the war, a battle that earning two Purple Hearts and helped him find the inspiration for his later work that often center around war.

Writers and Artists

We’ve all heard about starving artists and struggling writers, but these stories show that sometimes all that work really does pay off with success in the long run.

Vincent Van Gogh: During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting, sometimes starving to complete his over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions.
Emily Dickinson: Recluse and poet Emily Dickinson is a commonly read and loved writer. Yet in her lifetime she was all but ignored, having fewer than a dozen poems published out of her almost 1,800 completed works.
Theodor Seuss Giesel: Today nearly every child has read The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham, yet 27 different publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
Charles Schultz: Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip has had enduring fame, yet this cartoonist had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Even after high school, Schultz didn’t have it easy, applying and being rejected for a position working with Walt Disney.
Steven Spielberg: While today Spielberg’s name is synonymous with big budget, he was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA.
Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the
distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time.
Zane Grey: Incredibly popular in the early 20th century, this adventure book writer began his career as a dentist, something he quickly began to hate. So, he began to write, only to see rejection after rejection for his works, being told eventually that he had no business being a writer and
should given up. It took him years, but at 40, Zane finally got his first work published, leaving him with almost 90 books to his name and selling over 50 million copies worldwide.
J. K. Rowling: Rowling may be rolling in a lot of Harry Potter dough today, but before she published the series of novels she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. Rowling went from depending
on welfare to survive to being one of the richest women in the world in a span of only five years through her hard work and determination.
Monet: Today Monet’s work sells for millions of dollars and hangs in some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Yet during his own time, it was mocked and rejected by the artistic elite, the Paris Salon. Monet kept at his impressionist style, which caught on and in many ways was a starting point for some major changes to art that ushered in the modern era.
Jack London: This well-known American author wasn’t always such a success. While he would go on to publish popular novels like White Fang and The Call of the Wild, his first story received six hundred rejection slips before finally being accepted.
Louisa May Alcott: Most people are familiar with Alcott’s most famous work, Little Women. Yet Alcott faced a bit of a battle to get her work out there and was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family to make
ends meet. It was her letters back home during her experience as a nurse in the Civil War that gave her the first big break she needed.

Musicians

While their music is some of the best selling, best loved and most popular around the world today, these musicians show that it takes a whole lot of determination to achieve success.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart began composing at the age of five, writing over 600 pieces of music that today are lauded as some of the best ever created. Yet during his lifetime, Mozart didn’t have such an easy time,
and was often restless, leading to his dismissal from a position as a court musician in Salzberg. He struggled to keep the support of the aristocracy and died with little to his name.
Elvis Presley: As one of the best-selling artists of all time, Elvis has become a household name even years after his death. But back in 1954, Elvis was still a nobody, and Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after just one performance telling him, “You ain’t going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck.”
Igor Stravinsky: In 1913 when Stravinsky debuted his now famous Rite of Spring, audiences rioted, running the composer out of town. Yet it was this very work that changed the way composers in the 19th century thought about music and cemented his place in musical history.
The Beatles: Few people can deny the lasting power of this super group, still popular with listeners around the world today. Yet when they were just starting out, a recording company told them no. They were told “we don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out,” two
things the rest of the world couldn’t have disagreed with more.
Ludwig van Beethoven: In his formative years, young Beethoven was incredibly awkward on the violin and was often so busy working on his own compositions that he neglected to practice. Despite his love of composing, his teachers felt he was hopeless at it and would never succeed with the violin or in composing. Beethoven kept plugging along, however, and composed some of the best-loved symphonies of all time–five of them while he was completely deaf.

Athletes

While some athletes rocket to fame, others endure a path fraught with a little more adversity, like those listed here.

Michael Jordan: Most people wouldn’t believe that a man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Luckily, Jordan didn’t let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Stan Smith: This tennis player was rejected from even being a lowly ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because event organizers felt he was too clumsy and uncoordinated. Smith went on to prove them wrong,
showcasing his not-so-clumsy skills by winning Wimbledon, U. S. Open and eight Davis Cups.
Babe Ruth: You probably know Babe Ruth because of his home run record (714 during his career), but along with all those home runs came a pretty hefty amount of strikeouts as well (1,330 in all). In fact, for decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he simply said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
Tom Landry: As the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Landry brought the team two Super Bowl victories, five NFC Championship victories and holds the records for the record for the most career wins. He also has the distinction of having one of the worst first seasons on record (winning
no games) and winning five or fewer over the next four seasons.

The common sense point here is simple. Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their career success. They set high goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them. They also react positively to the people and events in their lives – especially the negative people and events. In this post, I told the stories of 50 well known people who ended up being wildly successful and well known. Let them be an example for you the next time you feel like giving up.

That’s my take on career success and not giving up. What’s yours? Do you have any people to add to this list? If so, please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.

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Marlon James wins the Man Booker prize 2015

(L-R) British author Sunjeev Sahota, Nigerian author Chigozie
Obioma, US author Hanya Yanagihara, US author Anne Tyle,
British author Tom McCarthy and Jamaican author Marlon James.
Photograph: Niklas Halle'N/AFP/Getty Images

Jamaican author Marlon James has won the Man Booker Prize for his novel inspired by the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the 1970s.

Michael Wood, chair of the judges, described A Brief History of Seven Killings as the “most exciting” book on the shortlist. The 680-page epic was “full of surprises” as well as being “very violent” and “full of swearing”.

James was announced the £50,000 winner on Tuesday night at London’s Guildhall.

He is the first Jamaican author to win the Man Booker Prize. Receiving the award, he said a huge part of the novel had been inspired by reggae music.

“The reggae singers Bob Marley and Peter Tosh were the first to recognise that the voice coming out our mouths was a legitimate voice for fiction and poetry.”

The 44-year-old author was presented with his prize by the Duchess of Cornwall.

He admitted it was “so surreal” to win and dedicated the award to his late father who had shaped his “literary sensibilities”.

Set across three decades, the novel uses the true story of the attempt on the life of reggae star Marley to explore the turbulent world of Jamaican gangs and politics.

Wood said the judges had come to a unanimous decision in less than two hours.

He praised the book’s “many voices” – it contains more than 75 characters – which “went from Jamaican slang to Biblical heights”. He said: “One of the pleasures of reading it is that you turn the page and you’re not quite sure who the next narrator will be.”

But he acknowledged that some of the content might be too much for some readers.

“Someone said to me they like to give Booker winners to their mother to read, but this might be a little difficult.” Wood admitted his own mother wouldn’t have got beyond the first few pages on the basis of the swearing.

“A lot of it is very very funny,” he added. “It is not an easy read. It is a big book. There is some tough stuff and there is a lot of swearing but it is not a difficult book to approach.”

In his novel’s acknowledgements, Marlon James himself thanks his family but adds: “This time around maybe my mother should stay away from part four of the book”.

‘Visceral and uncompromising’ This is the second year the Man Booker prize has been open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality.

James, who currently lives in Minneapolis, US, can expect a dramatic boost in sales following his win. After A Brief History of Seven Killings was named on the Booker shortlist last month sales tripled to more than 1,000 copies a week, according to Nielsen Book Research.

“It’s a visceral and uncompromising novel that sheds a stark light on a profoundly disturbing chapter of Jamaica’s history, but it’s also an ingeniously structured feat of storytelling that draws the reader in with its eye-catching use of language,” said Jonathan Ruppin, web editor at Foyles bookshops.

“For booksellers, it’s truly heartening to see such ambition and originality recognised and rewarded, and readers have already been embracing it with great enthusiasm.”

Australian author Richard Flanagan won last year’s prize for his wartime novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Man Booker 2015 shortlist

This year’s Man Booker shortlist featured two authors from the UK, two from the US and one each from Jamaica and Nigeria.
* Marlon James (Jamaica), A Brief History of Seven Killings
* Tom McCarthy (UK), Satin Island
* Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), The Fishermen
* Sunjeev Sahota (UK), The Year of the Runaways
* Anne Tyler (US), A Spool of Blue Thread
* Hanya Yanagihara (US), A Little Life

Source: BBC News

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Be a creator, not an imitator

By Dale Schlundt, M.A.

“I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.”
— Muriel Strode, 1903

“There is no research stating it is harmful, but I wouldn’t.” These are the words of my wife’s OBGYN when I asked him about spraying insect poison and its potential effects on my unborn son at the time. A very scholarly way of saying, “I don’t know”. And you know what, there is nothing wrong with that reply. It reaffirmed two points for me. The first being I’ll throw out the poison and well, bugs, “Welcome”.

The second is it reaffirms a simple truth that we all need to be reminded of at times, there is a purpose for everyone in this society. There is an opportunity to differentiate ourselves in our profession by fulfilling a gap. A need to find the missing piece, if you will.

Everyone at some point in their lives feels that their work is insignificant. The feeling that what I am doing is not unique, there will be no lasting effect. I have received that response from editors on articles I have written. I recall one that sent me a few responses from the editorial team, “great points, but nothing new here”.

It still hurts. Of course, there have been those more impressed then not. Nevertheless, what I strive for is to create something needed, both in my writings and my profession. Perhaps not even something new, only a new way of viewing the old.

I pose the question to you, what is the difference between the individuals discussing immigration reform seeking their party’s presidential nomination? They are all arguing for the same relative concept with small variations. Legalized immigration as opposed to a lack of control over the flow of those crossing the border. However, what does every political candidate tell you they can do? “I can do it better.” You know, perhaps so. Why not? Why else are we listening if they are all the same?

That being said, why would we believe an individual we’ve never met and discount our own abilities to create something the world needs? This is due to the fact that we have been taught to be inheritors. To inherit information, rules, culture, and so on, without adding to them. If you think about any time while you were in school, regardless of what level, how many times did your educators ask for your opinion as opposed to giving their own? When you left your institution of education, did your employer focus on making an asset of what makes you unique or did they promote
conformity in all regards? We are not taught how and when to be pragmatic. When to challenge the status quo.

The Jamestown Rediscovery Project is the perfect example of the opportunities for which I am suggesting we should allstrive to find. 2012 was another intriguing year, the project found the remains of a young girl who had been cannibalized. Not a common practice in our first successful
English colony, this incident is something we already knew of through primary sources.

Though let’s keep in mind, anyone can write anything, just take a look at Twitter. Yet, now we have corroborated that evidence so what we considered as semi-truth or potential fact, has now a much higher probability of being so. Our understanding of 400 year old history changing because there are those who do not simply accept the status quo, but felt they can both learn from as well as add to the knowledge of our world.

Every profession needs these minds. No doubt there will be a M.D. that one days tells a patient, “There is now evidence suggesting certain bug poisons are harmful to fetuses, so do not spray.” The patient thinks, “I am so glad I asked and thankful there are pioneers who push prenatal health forward.” Do not only inherit your world, create it.

Source: Motivateus

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Life is really short

Okay, today has been quite strange and educating in some way. It was actually the first time I lost a patient and it followed a road traffic accident.

The 60-yr-old man was knocked down by a car near his house, sustained closed left femoral fracture, and was rushed to a greatly limited private centre before being referred to UBTH.

However, before he could get here, he bled so much into the left thigh. Compartment syndrome set in, and hypovolemic shock followed soon afterwards.

As a member of the trauma team on call, I stood beside him, giving the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation as I was instructed, sweat pouring down my face. The other emergency protocols continued, while the man’s wife and son kept weeping outside.

A few minutes later, the man became as white as wool and passed on afterwards. I was reluctant to accept the obvious, but soon I was asked to stop the CPR.

His wife and son said he was fine and dandy just minutes before the accident, and an hour or so later he was dead, right in front of me. I have never felt so helpless through out my medical training.

However, the man’s situation reminded me of just how limited the efforts of even the most experienced doctors can be in the face of gravest medical difficulties. There is only such more doctors can do. We are all human after all.

Funny enough, I knew that one day I would experience this here, but I never wanted it to be so soon. I guess I have to deal with the momentary depression and move on.

Life is really short.

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TODAY ON ETHNOLOGY: THE INUIT OR NATIVE AMERICANS

Formerly known as Eskimos, the Inuit people live in the far northern areas of Alaska , Canada, Siberia, and Greenland. They originally made their home along the Alaskan coast, but migrated to other areas. Everything about the lives of the Inuit is influenced by the cold tundra climate in which they live.

What kind of homes did they live in?

The typical materials for making homes such as wood and mud are hard to find in the frozen tundra of the Arctic. The Inuit learned to make warm homes out of snow and ice for the winter. During the summer they would make homes from animal skin stretched over a frame made from driftwood or whalebones. The Inuit word for home is “igloo”.

What was their clothing like?

The Inuit needed thick and warm clothing to survive the cold weather. They used animal skins and furs to stay warm. They made shirts, pants,
boots, hats, and big jackets called anoraks from caribou and seal skin. They would line their clothes with furs from animals like polar bears, rabbits, and foxes.

What did the Inuit people eat?

The Inuit people were unable to farm and grow their own food in the harsh
desert of the tundra. They mostly lived off of meat from hunting animals. They used harpoons to hunt seals, walruses, and the bowhead whale. They also ate fish and foraged for wild berries. A high percentage of their
food was fatty, which gave them energy in the cold weather.

Inuit men in Nome, Alaska play drums and sing as another man
dances

How did they hunt whales?

In order to hunt larger prey like walruses and whales, the Inuit hunters would gather in a large group. To hunt a whale, typically at least 20 hunters would gather on a large boat armed with a number of harpoons. They would attach a number of seal-skin balloons filled with air to the
harpoons. This way the whale could not dive deep into the water when it was first speared. Each time that the whale would come to the surface for
air, the hunters would harpoon it again. Once the whale died, they would tie it to the boat and tow it back to shore.

It would sometimes take a number of men a long time to catch and kill a whale, but it was well worth it. The Inuit used all parts of the whale including the meat, blubber, skin, oil, and bones. A large whale could feed
a small community for a year.

Transportation

Despite the harsh landscape of the Arctic, the Inuit still found ways to
travel long distances. On land and ice they used dogsleds called qamutik. They bred strong sled dogs from wolves and dogs to pull the sleds which were made from whale bones and wood. These dogs became the huskykdog breed.

On the water, the Inuit used different kinds of boats for different activities. For hunting they used small single-passenger boats called kayaks. They
also built larger, faster boats called umiaqs that were used for transporting people, dogs, and goods.

This Inuit wedding party poses outside of Saint Michael's
Church in Alaska.

Interesting facts about the Inuit

A member of the Inuit people is called an Inuk.
The warm soft boots worn by the Inuit are called mukluks or kamik.
In order to mark areas and to keep from getting lost, paths were marked with a pile of stones called an inuksuk.
Nearly ninety percent of the Inuit in Western Alaska died from disease after they came into contact with Europeans in the 1800s.
Inuit women were responsible for sewing, cooking, and raising the children. The men provided food by hunting and fishing.
The Inuit had no formal marriage ceremony or ritual.
After hunting, they would perform rituals and sing songs in honor of the animal’s spirit.

Source: Ducksters.com

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Jumpstart a Change Initiative With These Simple Steps

By Matt Thomas

Are you rolling out a change or new initiative in your company? Don’t even think about starting a change process without completing these steps.

Start with a plan
Any change you want to get rolling, whether it is a change in strategy, policy or when changing systems, must come with a well thought out plan.

If you don’t have a plan before beginning the change process, the expenses for your change effort will increase rapidly. Chances are, you will also find that your efforts will not be accepted among your staff and may ultimately fail.

Get everyone involved
The key ingredient to change effort success is your team. You want as much brainpower behind a new initiative as possible.

If you want people to accept a new initiative, you must make sure they are involved in the planning, decision making and implementation. By keeping your staff involved, you will ensure they support your efforts.

Why is getting your staff’s acceptance important for change to occur? If your staff does not support new methods, they will stick to old practices, rendering your change effort useless.

Continually reinforce why the change is important
Not only do you need to get your staff to embrace change through keeping them involved, you also need to communicate to them why the change is so important.

If your staff fails to understand this simple fact, they will never see the importance of your new strategy, and cling to old practices.

Implement change
Now comes the hard part. This is where behavior, practices or systems must actually be changed. You must stick to your plan, keep your staff involved and actively working so the implementation is a success.

Expect hiccups
Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Chances are, you will run into problems during the beginning stages after a new initiative has been rolled out.

A system may not work as expected, a new strategy is proving more costly, or employees might not be adhering to new policies. Whatever the issues are, you will be at a severe disadvantage if you don’t plan for these setbacks.

Brainstorm possible issues that could arise and plan for contingencies.
Any other best practices for change implementation?

Source: Entre-propel.com

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Entry opens for Etisalat Flash Fiction Category – time to win big through writing!

Submissions open for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature Flash Fiction Category between September 21 to October 19, 2015. The flash fiction category of the annual Etisalat Prize for Literature is designed to celebrate
unpublished writers across the African continent and challenge budding writers to create compelling stories.

The Prize is open to all unpublished writers of African citizenship but can be resident anywhere in the world. All entries must be submitted online via the Etisalat Nigeria website, http://prize.etisalat.com.ng/flash/ and should not exceed 300 words.

Follow us on twitter @etisalatreads and like our Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/etisalatreads to keep up with happenings around the competition.

Time to win big in writing

The judging panel for the Flash Fiction Category consists of personalities who have established relationship with the African writing space spanning book clubs, poets, writers and critics.

The selected judges, Toni Kan, Hawa Jande Golakai, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Monica Cheru will bring their experience to bear on this year’s Etisalat Prize for Literature Flash Fiction Category.

The winning author will be rewarded with a cash prize of £1,000, a high-end device and the promotion of their published e-books, while two runners up will each receive £500 cash prize and a high-end device. Tanzanian writer and poet, Neema Komba, won the 2014 edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature Flash Fiction Category.

Source: prize.etisalat.com/ng

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Saraba Manuscript Project – another short story competition

There is a growing interest in literature published and discussed within African countries. Saraba Magazine, a leading literary publishing outfit based in Nigeria, has been at the forefront of this conversation by championing the work of emerging writers. The Saraba Manuscript Project will consolidate this mission.

Nigerian writers resident in Nigeria or elsewhere in the world are invited to submit completed fiction or non-fiction manuscripts. Please note that each writer is expected to submit only one manuscript for either the fiction or non-fiction category. The contest will produce a shortlist of ten writers,
five in each category. All shortlisted manuscripts will initially be published as e-books and audio-books. In addition, Saraba Literary Trust will look to partner with one of the foremost literary publishers in Nigeria to publish the winning manuscripts from each category.

After publication, the shortlisted works will be promoted over the period of a year across major cities in Nigeria. Readings will be held at cultural centers and on university campuses. An intensive online campaign will also follow, which will feature collaborative social media interaction.

The prize includes an award of N100,000 to the winning manuscripts in the fiction and the non-fiction categories. All shortlisted entrants will receive a publishing deal from Saraba, including N100,000 advance against royalties.

Selection Process

The judging process will be anonymous. Until the winners are announced, only the administrators of the prize will have access to the names of the writers.

A long list will be selected by the editors of the magazine. The selected manuscripts will be reviewed by the judges who will pick a shortlist of ten, and the eventual winner.

A schedule for publication will be developed after the winners are announced, as well as a timeline for promotional events. Only e-books and audio books are to be published immediately; print books will be published at the pace of the partnering publishers.

A rigorous publicity campaign—via social media and online news outlets—will follow to promote the tours and published manuscripts.

The judges include Noo Saro-Wiwa, Rotimi Babatunde,
Eghosa Imasuen, Uzor Mazim Uzoatu, and Azafi
Omoluabi-Ogosi .

Eligibility and Submission Guidelines

The Manuscript Project will target Nigerian writers, who are at least 18 years of age. Nigerians living abroad are welcome to enter for the prize. Fiction is broadly defined, but we are looking for work with literary merit—the story, simply, must be good and well written.

Non-fiction will be judged based on innovation in form. We want to see projects that test the boundaries of literary nonfiction. Submissions to the prize might span memoir, biography, or history. Each manuscript should range between 20,000 and 40,000 words.

All submissions must reach us by December 15, 2015. Only electronic submissions uploaded to our online submission manager will be accepted. The onlinesubmission manager manager will be open during the submission window only (August 3 – December 15, 2015).

Submissions should follow these formatting guidelines: twelve-point font (including chapter titles), double-spaced text, numbered pages. Note that we only accept PDF or Word files (.doc and .docx). When submitting, select “Saraba Manuscript Prize” as the submission category.

Include the title of your manuscript in the first page. Please include the following in the submission form: a cover letter containing a biographical statement and brief description of your manuscript. Include details of previous publications, such as links to websites with your work, or the full citation of your work in a print publication. Only one document is required to be attached. We will not accept multiple submissions.

Notification for submissions

All entrants will receive an email response after the winner has been chosen. We cannot answer any questions about the status of manuscripts.

The winners will be notified directly, and public announcement will be made on our website. All decisions are final, and the judges cannot comment on individual submissions.

For questions, or to request additional information, please write info@sarabamag.com.

Source: manuscript.sarabamag.com

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BIOGRAPHY: Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur . He is best known as one of five co-founders of the social networking website Facebook. Zuckerberg is the chairman and chief executive of Facebook, Inc. His personal wealth, as of July 2015, is estimated to be $38.6 billion . Zuckerberg receives a one-dollar salary as CEO of Facebook.

Together with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin , Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz , and Chris Hughes , he launched Facebook from Harvard University ‘s dormitory rooms. The group then introduced Facebook onto other campuses nationwide and moved to Palo Alto, California shortly afterwards. In 2007, at the age of 23, Zuckerberg became a billionaire as a result of
Facebook’s success.

Early life

Zuckerberg was born in 1984 in White Plains, New York . He is the son of dentist Edward Zuckerberg and psychiatrist Karen Kempner. He and his three sisters, Randi, Donna, and Arielle, were brought up in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a small Westchester County village about 10 miles (16 km) north of New York City. Zuckerberg was raised Jewish and had his bar mitzvah when he turned 13. [Afterward, he became an atheist.

Zuckerberg began using computers and writing software in middle school. His father taught him Atari BASIC Programming in the 1990s, and later hired software developer David Newman to tutor him privately.

By the time he began classes at Harvard, Zuckerberg had already achieved a “reputation as a programming prodigy”, notes Vargas. He studied psychology and computer science as well as belonging to Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity, and Kirkland House.

In his sophomore year , he wrote a program he called CourseMatch, which allowed users to make class selection decisions based on the choices of other students and also to help them form study groups. A short time later, he created a different program he initially called Facemash that let students select the best looking person from a choice of photos.

The site went up over a weekend; but by Monday morning, the college shut it down because its popularity had overwhelmed one of Harvard’s network switches and prevented students from accessing the Internet. In addition, many students complained that their photos were being used without permission.

Zuckerberg apologized publicly, and the student paper ran articles stating that his site was “completely improper.” The following semester, in January 2004, Zuckerberg began writing code for a new website. On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched “Thefacebook”, originally located at
thefacebook.com.

Six days after the site launched, three Harvard seniors, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra , accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com, while he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the
Harvard Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation in response.

Following the official launch of the Facebook social media platform, the three filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg that resulted in a settlement. The agreed settlement was for 1.2 million Facebook shares that were worth US$300 million at Facebook’s IPO. Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard in his sophomore year to complete his project.

Facebook

Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room on February 4, 2004. An earlier inspiration for Facebook may have come from Phillips Exeter Academy , the prep school from which Zuckerberg graduated in 2002. It published its own student directory, “The Photo Address Book”, which students referred to as “The Facebook”. Such photo directories were an important part of the student social experience at many private schools. With them, students were able to list attributes such as their class years, their friends, and their telephone numbers.

Once at college, Zuckerberg’s Facebook started off as just a”Harvard thing” until Zuckerberg decided to spread it to other schools, enlisting the help of roommate Dustin Moskovitz . They began with Columbia, New York University , Stanford , Dartmouth , Cornell , Penn , Brown , and Yale .

The other success stories of Facebook can only be imagined.

Hard work pays, my friends. Go out there and work your socks off.

Source: Wikipedia

#JustBelieve

Follow Instructions

Brian G. Jett — Kentucky

Do you face problems in life? Are you making the most of the talents God has given you? Are you in awe of those who succeed beyond your wildest dreams? How did they attain their stature? Why are they so fortunate in their accomplishments? Are they truly that much smarter than you? Do they work that much harder than you? What gives them this edge over your
abilities?

As I look back on my nearly 75 years of living, I realize that everyone has their own unique problems.

I’ve come a long way from living in a home with no indoor plumbing during the Great Depression. Who would have thought that I would get a college degree, when neither of my parents had a high school diploma? I’ve overcome ten malignant tumors over a 12 year period, in my battle with bladder cancer. I started as a teller and rose to become president of the local bank. I’ve achieved many personal goals.

So, I’ve learned to look for the answers when I’m confronted with problems. There are ways to solve most problems. Most of the problems
we face can be overcome, if we’ll only follow instructions. There are instructions for making an apple pie, for changing the oil filter in your car, for using your I-pod, and most any other thing you can think of.

If you follow the instructions, you get the desired results. Unfortunately, your birth certificate, diploma, degree, or marriage license doesn’t come with directions. There are other helps, if you’ll just look around.

Others have been in your place and can be good mentors. You can also find do it yourself books, which can be helpful. But, what I like to tell people about; even talking to God has a set of instructions. The Bible tells us; you need to ask for what you want and to believe that you will receive it. The trouble with most people is; they’ve don’t read the instructions, hence, they never believe.

You can control your destiny and have the life you long for. You can achieve great things and accomplish your goals. It’s knowing just what directions you will follow. Serve God and your fellowman. Be a workman that is not ashamed.

Remember, it does take work, courage, and your talents, but God will give you directions, every step of the way. May God bless you as you serve Him.

Source: Motivateus

#JustBelieve

Who will decide your destiny?

By Aeryk Resch

Do we all walk our own set, predetermined path in life?

Has everything that’s happened to us so far in this life happened as it should?

Do our conscious choices mean anything? Or does it matter because the outcome is already written in the stars? Is it?

Are there truly infinite possibilities or does everything we do, every choice we make, lead to one inevitable outcome?

Has the future already been written and we’re simply walking the Yellowbrick road? Or is “Destiny” something else entirely?

Is it our destiny to forge our own ending? Are we playing an open-ended game and all of our choices influencing an outcome unwritten and unheard-of? Are we meant to blaze our own trail through the old, dried brush of monotony?

Do each of us have the ability to burn brighter than any of our predecessors?

I believe we do. But then what is it that so often stops us from doing just that?

Is it the fear of failure?

Are we afraid that we are incapable of greatness?

Or are you afraid of judgment and criticism?

No, no, don’t fear. And don’t begrudge them for that either. Those people who look down their noses at you simply have not found a way to overcome their own fears.

On the surface, they may seem unaccepting and judgmental. That’s because they themselves are afraid. But when they go home and lay in bed, a million and one thoughts going through their mind; thoughts of fear, of doubt, and insecurity.

At that moment they will remember you. They will remember the passion that burned in your eyes. They will remember the light that seemed to radiate from your very soul.

It is in that moment you will have change someone’s life forever. It is in that moment that they, like you, will realize that ” destiny “, is written by your hand.

Motivateus

#JustBelieve

FAMOUS SPEECHES IN HISTORY: The Gettysburg Address – Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln delivering The Gettysburg Address

Ever heard of one of the finest speeches in history?

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lincoln had been invited to give a “few appropriate remarks” during a ceremony to dedicate a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. Despite its brevity – two minutes – and the fact that it earned little attention at the time, the Gettysburg Address is considered one of Lincoln’s greatest speeches.

The speech

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or
detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have
thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

Abrahamloncolnonline
Loc.gov.rr

We are committed to educating and motivating you…

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TODAY ON ETHNOLOGY: THE ASHANTI OF GHANA

Today we will be taking a look at one of the most famous African ethnic groups: the Ashanti people of Ghana. I really love reading about them. Enjoy.

The tribe
The Ashanti tribe, located in central Ghana is the largest tribe of the region. The people of this tribe live in the West African Rainforest nearly 150 miles away from the west coast. Ashanti is the major indigenous tribe of the Akans (Ashanti and Fanti) of Ghana; Ghana basically is a new country, a little more than 50 years old, as it was previously known as the Gold Coast.

Most of the modern province of Ghana was dominated by the Ashanti tribe from 1670 to 1902. Ashanti those days was the largest and most powerful of the states established in the forest province of southern Ghana by the people known as ‘Akans’. Akans were very rich in gold and this was the main reason why they were able to form a state. Even today, Ashanti is the largest tribe in Ghana, which is politically separated into four major parts.

Ashanti lies in the centre and the capital is Kumasi. The population of Ashanti is about 1 million and it covers 9400 square miles of the area.

Ashanti History
Ashanti emerged as the dominant power in 1670, it conquered the left, right and central tribes declaring monopoly on the routes to the coasts.
Kumasi, the capital, became the practical urban centre with services and facilities like those of Europe those days. Due to this, Ashanti became
one of the trade centres for the Europeans.

Starting from Portuguese, slowly British, French, Dutch and other Europeans built forts all over the coasts and shared trades like Gold, Raw materials, Slaves etc. with the Ashanti.

But then came the time of 19th century when trade of the slaves was completely abolished, and this was the major reason for the Ashanti kingdom’s downfall. Till that time, British took over the Gold Coast. Due to this, several wars were fought between the two powers, which resulted in the British capture over the capital Kumasi in 1874. They slowly took over the main gold coasts and captured the Ashanti. The Gold coast became a
British colony.

Ashanti People
The Ashanti people were always fierce fighters. They always believed in their slogan: “If I go forward, I will die. If I step backward, I’ll die. It is
better to move forward and die.” Ashanti tribe used to signal the War with drum strokes which were so loud that the voices were heard over miles crossing the dense forests. Ashanti People have an orthodox way of shaking hands; they hold their left hand out while shaking hands.

According to this orthodox trend, left hand is meant to hold shields and the right hand for sword and spear. So to show trust in someone, the left hand is freed by keeping the shield aside. They still follow the same trend to shake hands.

Ashanti people have a strong belief that their soul is their father’s spirit and the blood and the flesh comes from mother. And therefore they are said to be closer to their maternal side. Ashanti live in a joint family where the head of the family is the eldest brother, elected by elders in the family.

He is than followed and obeyed by everyone and becomes the head of the family of the house head. The family lives in huts surrounded by the
courtyard fence.

Ashanti Culture and Religion
The Ashanti religion is the combination of spiritual and supernatural beliefs. They believe that plants, trees and animals have soul. They also believe in forest monsters, witches and fairies. They practice a variety of religious beliefs depending on ancestors, abosom or higher gods, and ‘Nyame’, the foremost Being of Ashanti.

They also practice different ceremonies for birth, death, marriage and puberty. The Ashanti follow the culture of celebrating various ceremonies, Their funerals are celebrated for several days in the presence of whole village. The presence of each and every villager is very important in the ceremonies.

The golden stool is like a divine to the Ashanti. Even today the Ashanti tribe lives in the tradition of the Golden Stool. They protect the Golden Stool very carefully. Since its arrival, it has never touched the ground and no one has ever sat on it. It is kept in a very tight security as it has always
been considered sacred by Ashanti.

The Ashanti’s are also known as the experts in a wide range of specialised crafts. These crafts include wood carving, weaving, the renown kente cloths, metallurgy and ceramics. Among these crafts, only pottery making is meant for a female, the others are strictly meant for male specialists.
Even in the making of pottery, only male specialists are allowed to design the pottery and pipes. Many selected Ashanti crafts available for purchase at the African Crafts Market.

Buzzghana

#JustBelieve

The Choices We Make

By Eduardo Dominguez

Positive Or Negative Thinking?

“If you are not happy with your life or whatever happens in it, discipline your disappointments; it is not external but a result of our internal way we view, believe, and do things in the world.”

The choices we make determine the quality of our lives, and whatever is happening in our lives, we use it to succeed or to fail, either it is good or bad, and it is mostly determined by our attitude.

Everything is mental; everything is a personal choice and a total responsibility of each one of us. Our attitude is the reason to do the necessary changes or the reason to blame others for our poor performances, for our mistakes or for our ignorance in certain topics.

At the end, the quality of our lives is up to each one of us. The formula is simple and factual: When we choose to focus in negativity it is what we attract, and when we choose to focus in positivity it is what we attract. It is time to be honest with ourselves; nobody can make us miserable or happy, successful of failures but our attitude – the positive or negative way we
choose to view the world.

The moment we take responsibility for our life, our life will definitely change. Take action now; there is no such thing as the perfect time or right moment.

Choose to be happy, nothing is more important than feeling good. Life is too short – VERY, VERY SHORT. Don’t let the opportunities and blessings of life fly from your hands.

Wishing you a fulfilled life.

Motivateus

#JustBelieve

SELF CONFIDENCE

Self-confidence is a vital tool for success. It is a weapon to combat obstacles and challenges in our life. Lack of this, we fail miserably.

So here is another interesting short piece by Srinivas Vissapragada Assistant Professor, K L University Business School Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Human beings are bestowed with a great gift of god that is “self-confidence”. It is not available in commercial market. Man can himself build up this confidence but compelling it can’t enhance it. Self-confidence can be improved through greater ambition and always trying to excel in performance. When you fail, take it as a challenge and try to succeed in your
next attempt.

Modern Life has paved the way to vigorous competition. So, “Self-confidence is the key to survive in this fierce competitive world”. It is a strong driving force and plays a pivotal role to achieve our higher ambitions. Without dogged determination and self-confidence, your sheer affords are futile, and we lead a dull and miserable life.

Unambiguously, self-confidence is an energy booster. With a lack of confidence, even deft hands and highly skilled personnel will also miserably fail in their attempts. So, harness the power of self-confidence to reach higher level in the life map.

Obviously, whenever people fail in their endeavors, they invite stress and go into frustration. Stress destroys memory cells and thinking capacity. But people with high level of self- confidence will never feel stress even in utter failure. So, lever up your confidence level.

In frustration, you may lose your minimum common sense. Hence, it shows a negative impact on your spirit and enthusiasm. Life is after all full of ups and downs. So, you need self- confidence to face all types of mental pains and show your peerless performance in your domains.

Failures, misfits and faults are common in everyone’s life. Try to be the same in all circumstances. Even in the worse situation, never give up your confidence because self- confidence is a highly motivating factor and produces ever- lasting inspiration.

Self-confidence is an inner felling of a person. It is a psychological process to enrich our confidence levels. We can infuse self-confidence by regular interaction with wise people and cultivating positive thinking. Nothing can be achieved without self-confidence.

It is true that there is a positive correlation between success and self-confidence. If you have more confidence, your success rate will increase. See, an infant baby tries to stand up and walk but fails. Even in many failures the baby doesn’t lose confidence. Finally the baby knows how to stand and walk without parents support. It could be possible through self-
confidence.

In this fierce competitive world, students have many academic challenges to survive so they need confidence to achieve their goals. Confidence is one’s own capabilities, combined with sincere efforts, which help them to reach unthinkable heights. A man with all core competencies but lack of confidence will fail in all his endeavors.

If you put all your strenuous efforts without self-confidence, you may not succeed. So, impact of confidence is much on your efforts and results. Self-confidence is a natural medicine, which cures your inferiority complex. Solve all your problems and crisis with self-confidence. So, be confident, it makes you efficient.

Source: Motivateus

#JustBelieve

DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF?

Here is another inspiring article by Srinivas Vissapragada
Assistant Professor, K L University Business School Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Self belief

Behind all success stories there is only one simple secret, that is “Belief “. It generates extra energies to accomplish hard tasks and to get rare distinction.

Belief is hidden strength and one’s own power. Without firm belief in you, all your intellectual capabilities will be futile. Your belief can raise you above discouraging circumstance, disappointing and ridicule. Unfortunately, many youngsters lack this and hence their performance is miserable in various situations.

The simple word ‘Belief ” creates wonders and see its greatness in you.

A few years ago a college student, who was struggling to build his career, appeared for his professional examination. He attempted his first paper excellently but he imagined that he performed badly.

Keeping this in mind, he lost concentration for the rest of the subjects and in turn, didn’t write the other subjects well. Later on, the results came out that the paper he thought was poorly written had secured top marks in the college but in the other subjects, he failed. Why did this happen? The reason is simple: lack of belief in himself.

To become successful, your task is to fuel your mind with positive thoughts only. Under no circumstances should you deposit negative thoughts in your mind bank.

Negative emotions are the real enemies which ruin your career . They are the obstacle for your progress. So, don’t underestimate your talents and try to overcome all weaknesses. Once a negative thought grips you, it has a tendency to breed itself and produces an endless chain of similar weak thoughts. In such a situation your self confidence is under great pressure.
You have to believe that your worth is great and tell yourself you can do everything. So, your foremost duty is “like yourself and know your power”.

Undesirable criticism can be most demoralizing and it induces in a person a poor estimate of his own powers and inhibits his efforts. Remember , don’t allow people’s negative criticism to take hold of you and make you its victim.

But most of us think small and become small. To like yourself means to like your body, your brain and your situation without any grumbling and
comparisons with others.

A confident person is sure of his capabilities and doesn’t need to trot them out. Most students postpone their work due to lack of belief in them. This will seriously affect their future career. A combination of belief and self confidence makes impossible things possible.

So, believe in your hidden strengths and talents. It is a very great achievement indeed!

Source: Motivateus

Kayçée Amaefule™

TIME IS GOD, NOT GOLD

Today, I am going to be sharing with you all an article on time management. Yes, I know you have read and heard of it a billion times, but trust me each fresh view helps even better.

Gotta be busy for another few days. You guessed right – academic demands.

Off to the article then.

This article was written by Srinivas Vissapragada
Assistant Professor, K L University Business School Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Time Management

“Past time never found”- Benjamin Franklin

Time is the most precious resource on earth. It is the most valuable thing people have. It is perishable, it is irreplaceable, and it cannot be stored. People compare time with gold but it is a wrong notion. The value of gold fluctuates from time to time but the value of time will never fluctuate. Even 1000 years ago, a day consisted of 24 hours per, 60 minutes per hour and 60 seconds per minutes. Still in the 21st century, a day consists of 24 hours. There is no change in the value of time. There is no precious asset on earth rarer than time. Hence, don’t compare time with gold.

“If we lose gold we can earn back, if we lose money we can get it back, if we lose our health we can recover it. But once we lost our time, it lost forever.”

Every person has 24 hours per day.

Why do few people succeed in their pursuits and others fail? Successful people utilize time in a more effective manner than unsuccessful people. They priorities activities and allocate time on the basis of importance. Time can only be reallocated from activities of lower value to activities of higher value. All work and accomplishments require time.

Due to our fast paced modern life, most people are unable to priorities their activities and are confused. Hence, they do unimportant things first and important things next. To get success in life, people should evaluate their activities in the light of what is really important to them. They must master their time rather than becoming a slave to the constant flow of
events and demands on their time.

They must organize their life to achieve balance, harmony, and inner peace. Lack of harmony with time and activities leads to chaos in life. Your ability to think and priorities activities is the most valuable trait for the smoothest flow of life.

“Wise time management is inseparable from high quality life.”

It is a fact that life means time and time means life. God has given us this wonderful life to life happily and achieve life goals but not brood over failures. Time is absolutely essential to develop important relationships in life. Life itself is time and hence life without time has no value.

We all grow in time, live in time and ultimately, perish in time. There may not be an exact definition of time, but we all know what it is and its great value in human life. A man has a lot of wants. We all want fame, success, money, happiness, love, relationship etc. There is no end to our desires.

However, only a few are successful, prosperous and happy. These few are the ones who realized the value of time. They made the best use of their time and attained an enviable position in society. People, who made effective usage of time at their disposal, got the best from time.

Never curse time for not giving you riches; we have to extract riches from time. But those who forget the value of time may find to their utter dismay that it will be harsh on them later. Man may neglect time and misuse it but time doesn’t wait. It may be a fantasy that time may take revenge on us so utilize this precious recourse carefully.

Time will never forget us though we may forget it. Time reciprocates. If we use it in a wise manner it gives us happiness otherwise it pushes people into troubles.

Source: Motivateus

Kayçée Amaefule™

Do It Now (4)

Work all the time you work

During one of these sacred time blocks, do nothing but the activity that’s right in front of you. Don’t check email or online forums or do web surfing. If you have this temptation, then unplug your Internet connection while you work. Turn off your phone, or simply refuse to answer it. Go to the bathroom before you start, and make sure you won’t get hungry for a while. Don’t get out of your chair at all. Don’t talk to anyone during this time.

Decide what it is you should be doing, and then do nothing but that. If you happen to manage others, periodically ask them what their #1 task is, and make sure they’re doing nothing but that. If you see someone answering email, then it should be the most important thing for that person to be doing at that particular time. If not, then relatively speaking, that person is just wasting time.

If you need a break, then take a real break and do nothing else. Don’t semi-work during a break if you feel you need rest and restoration. Checking email or web surfing is not a break. When you take a break, close your eyes and do some deep breathing, listen to relaxing music and zone out for a while, take a 20-minute nap, or eat some fresh fruit. Rest until you feel capable of doing productive work again. When you need rest, rest. When you should be working, work.

Work with either 100% concentration, or don’t work at all. It’s perfectly fine to take as much down time as you want. Just don’t allow your down time to creep into your work time.

Multitask
The amount of new knowledge in certain fields is increasing so rapidly that everything you know about your line of work is probably becoming obsolete. The only solution is to keep absorbing new
knowledge as rapidly as possible. Many of the skills I use in my business today didn’t even exist five years ago. The best way I know to keep up is to multitask whenever possible by reading and listening
to audio programs.

When watching TV, read a computer magazine during commercials. If you’re a male, read while shaving. I use an electric shaver and read during the 2-3 minutes it takes me to shave each day. This allows me to get through about two extra articles a week — that’s 100 extra articles a year. This habit is really easy to start.

Just grab a couple magazines, or print out some articles you wouldn’t otherwise have time to read, and put them in your bathroom. Whenever you go out, carry at least one folded up article with you. If you ever have to wait in line, such as at the post office or the grocery store, pull out the article and read it. You will be amazed at how much extra knowledge you can absorb just by reading during other non-mental activities.

Listen to educational audio programs whenever you can. When you drive your car, always be listening to an audio program. One of the best ways to save time is to learn directly from people who already have the skills you want to master. Audio programs often contain more practical material than what you would learn by taking classes at a university. Whereas people with degrees in marketing or business have been taught by college professors, you can learn about these subjects from millionaires
and billionaires who’ve learned what works in the real world.

Multitasking was perhaps the most important low-level skill that allowed me to go through college in three semesters. My average weekday involved about seven or eight hours of classes. But on
Tuesdays during my final semester, I had classes back to back from 9am until 10pm. Because I was taking about a dozen classes each semester, I would have several tests and projects due just about every week. I had no time to study outside of class because most of that time was used for my job.

So I simply had to learn everything the first time it came up. If a teacher wrote out something on the board, I would memorize it then and there; I couldn’t afford to learn things later and risk falling behind.

During my slower classes, I would do homework, work out algorithms for my programming job, or refine my schedule. You can probably find numerous opportunities for multitasking. Whenever you do something physical, such as driving, cooking, shopping, or walking, keep your mind going by listening to audio tapes or reading.

The idea of multitasking may seem to contradict the previous piece of advice to work all the time you work. But whereas the previous tip refers to high intensity work where you must concentrate all your mental resources in order to do the best job you can, this tip addresses low intensity work where you have plenty of capacity to do other things at the same time, like standing in line, cooking dinner, flying on a plane, or walking from point A to point B.

Multitasking shouldn’t be used where it will significantly degrade your performance on a crucial task, but it should be intelligently used to take advantage of excess capacity. Take real breaks when you need them, but don’t waste time in a state of partial effort. It’s more efficient to cycle between working flat out and then resting completely.

Multitasking allows you to take your productivity to a new level. You might think it would be draining, but many people find it has the opposite effect. For me it was tremendously energizing to be getting so much done. The harder you work, the greater your capacity for work, and the more restorative your rest will be.

Experiment
Everyone is different, so what works for you may well be different than what works for everyone else. You may work best in the morning or late at night. Take advantage of your own strengths, and find ways to compensate for your weaknesses.

Experiment with listening to music while you work. I use the free WinAMP player, which can stream commercial-free radio directly to my computer all day long with a variety of channels to choose from. I find that classical and new age music, especially Mozart, is terrific for web development work.

But for most routine tasks, listening to fast-paced techno/trance music helps me work a lot faster. I don’t exactly know why, but I’m twice as productive when listening to really fast music as compared to listening to no music. On the other hand, music with vocals is detrimental to my productivity because it’s too distracting. And when I really need to focus deeply, I’ll listen to no music at all.

Try a simple experiment for yourself, and see if certain forms of music can
increase your productivity. For me the difference was dramatic.

Whenever you come up with a wacky new idea for increasing your productivity, test it and see what effect it has. Don’t dismiss any idea unless you’ve actually tried it. Partial successes are more common than complete failures, so each new experiment will help you refine your time management practices.

Even the ongoing practice of conducting experiments will help condition you to be more productive.

Cultivate your enthusiasm
The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek entheos , which means literally, “the god within.” I really like that definition. I doubt it’s possible to master the art of time management if you aren’t gushingly enthusiastic about what you’re going to do with your time. Go after what really inspires you. Don’t chase money.

Chase your passion. If you aren’t enthusiastic about your work, then you’re wasting your life. Switch to something else. Consider a new career altogether. Don’t beat yourself up if your current career has become stale. Remember that failure is your friend. Listen to that god within you, and switch to something that excites you once again. The worst waste of time is doing something that doesn’t make you happy. Your work should serve your life, not the other way around.

If you’re like most people, you can get yourself motivated every once in a while, but then you get caught up and sink back down to a lower level of productivity, and you find it hard to continue with a project. How easy is it to start a new project when your motivation level is high? And how difficult is it to continue once your enthusiasm fades?

Since most people are negative to one degree or another, you’ll naturally lose your positive charge over time unless you actively cultivate your enthusiasm as a resource. I don’t believe in pushing myself to do something I really don’t want to do. If I’m not motivated, then getting myself to sit down and work productively is nearly impossible, and the work is almost painful. When you’re highly motivated though, work feels like play.

While in college I could not afford to let my enthusiasm fade, or I’d be dead. I quickly learned that I needed to make a conscious effort to reinforce my enthusiasm on a daily basis. I always had my Walkman cassette player with me (there were no portable MP3 players back then), and while walking from one class to the next, I would listen to time management and motivational tapes. I also listened
to them while jogging every morning.

I kept my motivation level high by reinforcing my enthusiasm almost hourly. Even though I was being told by others that I would surely fail, these tapes were the stronger influence because I never went more than a few hours without plugging back in.

If your enthusiasm level is high, you can work so much more productively and even enjoy the normally tedious parts of your work. I’ve always found that whenever I want to take my business to a new level, I must take my thoughts to a new level first. When your thinking changes, then your actions will change, and your results will follow. Unless you’re a naturally hyper person, your enthusiasm is going to need daily reinforcement.

I recommend either listening to motivational tapes or reading inspiring
books or articles for at least fifteen minutes every day. Whenever I’ve stopped doing this, I’ve found that self-doubt always returns, and my productivity drops off. It’s truly amazing how constantly feeding your mind with positive material can maintain your enthusiasm indefinitely. And if you multitask, you can get this benefit without investing any extra time into it.

Eat and exercise for optimal energy
During the summer before my last semester in college (1993), I became a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and I noticed a decent boost in my energy and especially in my ability to concentrate. Four years later (1997) I became a complete vegan (no animal products at all), and this yielded an even bigger boost.

For details on why I made this change, see the article Why Vegan? What you eat can have a profound effect on your productivity. Animal products take significantly more time and energy to digest than plant foods, and when your body must divert extra energy to digestion, it means you have less energy available for productive mental work.

Effectively your work will seem harder while you’re digesting meals containing animal products, and you’ll be more inclined to succumb to distractions. So if you find yourself having a hard time focusing on mentally intense work after lunch, your diet may very well be the culprit. Even Benjamin Franklin credited eating lightly at lunch time as being a significant factor in his productivity. While his colleagues were sluggish and sleepy in the afternoon, he could continue to work productively the rest of the day.

Regular exercise is also necessary to maintain high energy and mental clarity. In college I would go running for 30 minutes first thing every morning before breakfast. And of course I’d be listening to motivational and educational tapes at the same time. This daily renewal kept me in good physical condition and helped me maintain my ideal weight.

Furthermore, my class schedule kept me zigzagging around campus each day to attend all my classes, and I’d usually have to carry a 20-30 pound backpack full of textbooks with me. So even though I spent most of my weekdays sitting in classrooms, I still got plenty of daily exercise.
If you want to master time management, it makes sense to hone your best time management tool of all — your physical body.

Through diet and exercise you can build your capacity for sustained
concentrated effort, so even the most difficult work will seem easier.
If you currently find yourself overweight, take a trip to a local gym or a sporting goods store, and find a dumbbell (or two) that weighs as much as the excess fat you’re carrying around.

Pick it up and walk around with it for a while. Become aware that this is what you’re carrying around with you every day. Imagine how much lighter and easier everything would be if you could permanently put that weight
down.

Carrying some extra weight for training purposes is one thing, but if that weight is in the form of body fat, then you’re never able to put it down and enjoy the benefits of that training. Make a committed decision to shed those extra pounds, and enjoy the lifelong benefits of living in a more efficient physical vehicle.

Maintain balance
I don’t think it’s easy to sustain long-term productivity, health, and happiness if your life is totally unbalanced. To excel in one area, you can’t let other areas lag behind and pull you down. While in college I made an effort to take off a full day each week to have a personal life. I exercised, went to parties, attended club meetings, played computer games and pool, and even had time to vacation in Las Vegas during my final semester.

The high turnover rates at the end of “death march” projects are caused by a lack of balance. To focus exclusively on your primary work at the expense of every other area of your life will only hurt you in the long run. Maintain balance by paying attention to every area of your life. As you grow in your career, be sure that your personal life grows as well.

Probably my biggest regret about going through college in three semesters is that I never had a girlfriend during this time. While I had plenty of good friends (both male and female), got involved in clubs, and enjoyed fun social activities every week, I didn’t have enough time to pursue an intimate relationship on top of everything else.

I remember one instance where a girl I knew was clearly interested in pursuing a relationship with me, and she started machinating to spend more time alone with me, but I couldn’t take the bait because I just didn’t have time for dating. I wouldn’t have made a very good boyfriend at the time.

If I had to do it all over again, I think my college experience would have been even better if I’d stretched it to four or five semesters and allowed myself time for a girlfriend. It would have been great to have someone else to share my life with, not to mention all the other benefits of intimacy.

At least I had plenty of time for dating after graduating. Within a few months I had a steady girlfriend, and four years later we were married. She and I actually went to the same college at the same time, but we
never happened to meet while we were there, although it turned out we had a few mutual acquaintances.

I believe the main goal of time management is to give you the power to make your life as juicy as you want it to be. By getting clear about what you want and then developing a collection of habits that allow you to efficiently achieve your goals, you’ll enjoy a much richer, more fulfilling life than you would otherwise.

When I look back on my college days from more than a decade in the future, I feel a sense of gratitude for the whole experience. I set an enormous stretch goal and grew tremendously as a person in the pursuit of that goal. It was one of the best times of my life.

If you wish to become more productive, then do so with the intention of improving the totality of your life from top to bottom. The reason to master time management is to take your good life and transform it into an exceptional one. Time management is not about self-sacrifice, self-denial, and doing more of what you dislike. It’s about embracing more of what you already love.

Source: Stevepavlina

Kayçée Amaefule™

Do It Now (3)

Ehem clears throat here is the third part of the Do It Now series by Steve Pavlina.

Do it now!

W. Clement Stone, who built an insurance empire worth hundreds of millions dollars, would make all his employees recite the phrase, “Do it now!” again and again at the start of each workday. Whenever you feel the tendency towards laziness taking over and you remember something you should be doing, stop and say out loud, “Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!” I often set this text as my screen saver.

There is a tremendous cost in putting things off because you will mentally revisit them again and again, which can add up to an enormous amount of wasted time. Thinking and planning are important, but action is far more important. You don’t get paid for your thoughts and plans — you only get paid for your results. When in doubt, act boldly, as if it were impossible to fail. In essence, it is.

It is absolutely imperative that you develop the habit of making decisions as soon as possible. I use a 60-second rule for almost every decision I have to make, no matter how big or important. Once I have all the data to make a decision, I start a timer and give myself only 60 seconds to make a firm decision. I’ll even flip a coin if I have to. When I was in college, I couldn’t afford to waste time thinking about assignments or worrying about when to do them. I simply picked one and went to work on it. And today when I need to decide which article to write next, I just pick a topic and begin writing. I believe this is why I never experience writer’s block.

Writer’s block means you’re stuck in the state of thinking about what to write instead of actually writing. I don’t waste time thinking about writing
because I’m too busy writing. This is probably why I’ve been able to write hundreds of original articles very easily. Every article I write spawns ideas for at least two more, so my ideas list only increases over time. I cannot imagine ever running out of original content.

Too often people delay making decisions when there is no advantage to be found in that delay. Usually delaying a decision will only have negative consequences, so even if you’re faced with ambiguity, just bite the bullet and make a decision. If it turns out to be the wrong one, you’ll know it soon enough.

Many people probably spend more than 60 seconds just deciding what they’ll eat for dinner. If I can’t decide what to eat, I just grab an apple or a couple bananas and start eating, and sometimes I’m full of fruit before I figure out what I really would like to eat. So my brain knows that if it wants something other than fruit, it had better decide quickly. If you can speed up the pace of making decisions, you can
spend the rest of your time on action.

One study showed that the best managers in the world tend to have an extremely high tolerance for ambiguity. In other words, they are able to act boldly on partial and/or conflicting data. Many industries today have accelerated to such a rapid pace that by the time you have perfect data with which to make any decision, the opportunity is probably long gone. Where you have no data to fall back on, rely on your own personal experience and intuition. If a decision can be made right away, make the decision as soon as it comes up. If you can’t make a decision right away, set aside a time where you will consider the options and make the decision.

Pour the bulk of your time into action, not deciding. The state of indecision is a major time waster. Don’t spend more than 60 seconds in that
state if you can avoid it. Make a firm, immediate decision, and move from uncertainty to certainty to action. Let the world tell you when you’re wrong, and you’ll soon build enough experience to make accurate, intelligent decisions.

Triage ruthlessly
Get rid of everything that wastes your time. Use the trash can liberally. Apply the rule, “When in doubt, throw it out.” Cancel useless magazine subscriptions. If you have a magazine that is more than two
months old and you still haven’t read it, throw it away; it’s probably not worth reading.

Realize that nothing is free if it costs you time. Before you sign up for any new free service or subscription, ask how much it will cost you in terms of time. Every activity has an opportunity cost. Ask, “Is this activity
worth what I am sacrificing for it?”

In college I was downright brutal when it came to triage. I once told a professor that I decided not to do one of his assigned computer science projects because I felt it wasn’t a good use of my time. The project required about 10-20 hours of tedious grunt work that wasn’t going to teach me anything I didn’t already know.

Also, this project was only worth 10% of my grade in that class, and since I was previously acing the class anyway, the only real negative consequence would be that I’d end up with an A- in the course instead of an A. I told the professor I felt that was a fair trade-off and that I would accept the A-. I didn’t try to negotiate with him for special treatment. So my official grade in the class was an A-, but I personally gave myself an A+ for putting those 10-20 hours to much better use.

Ask yourself this question: “Would I have ever gotten started with this project, relationship, career, etc. if I had to do it all over again, knowing what I now know?” If your answer is no, then get out as soon as possible. This is called zero-based thinking. I know a lot of people that have a limiting belief that says, “Always finish what you start.” They spend years climbing ladders only to realize when they reach the top that the ladder was leaning against the wrong building. Remember that failure is your
friend.

So if a certain decision you’ve made in the past is no longer producing results that serve you, then be ruthless and dump it, so you can move onto something better. There is no honor in dedicating your life to the pursuit of a goal which no longer inspires you. This is another situation where you must practice integrity in the moment of choice. You must constantly re-assess your present situation to accurately decide what to do next. Whatever you’ve decided in the past is largely irrelevant if you would not renew that decision today.

Identify and recover wasted time. Instead of watching a one-hour TV show, tape it and watch it in 45 minutes by fast-forwarding through
the commercials. Don’t spend a half hour typing a lengthy email when you could accomplish the same thing with a 10-minute phone call. Batch your errands together and do them all at once.

During the summer between my second and third semesters, I found an apartment across the street from campus that was slightly closer to the engineering building than my on-campus dorm room.

So I moved out of the dorms and into that apartment, which saved me some walking/biking time every day. I was also moving from a two-bedroom dorm which I shared with two roommates into a smaller single-person studio apartment. This new apartment was much more efficient. For example, I could work on programming assignments while cooking dinner because my desk was only a few steps from the stove.

Trying to cut out time-wasting habits is a common starting point for people who desire to become more efficient, but I think this is a mistake. Optimizing your personal habits should only come later.

Clarity of purpose must come first. If you don’t have clarity, then your attempts to install more efficient habits and to break inefficient habits will only fizzle. You won’t have a strong enough reason to put your time to good use, so it will be easy to quit when things get tough. You need a big, attractive goal to stay motivated. The reason to shave 15 minutes off a task is that you’re overflowing with motivation to put that 15 minutes to better use.

For example, you might have a career you sort of like, but most likely it’s not so compelling that you’ll care enough about saving an extra 15 minutes here and there, even if your total savings might amount
to a few hours each day.

But if you’ve taken the time to develop a sense of purpose that reaches deep into your soul, you’ll be automatically motivated to put your time to better use. If you get the highest level of your life in order (purpose, meaning, spiritual beliefs), the lower levels will tend to self-
optimize (habits, practices, actions).

Apply the 80-20 rule
Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule states that 20% of a task’s effort accounts for 80% of the value of that task. This also means that 80% of a task only yields 20% of the value of that task. In college I was ruthless in my application of this principle. Some weeks I ditched as many as 40% of my classes because sitting through a lecture was often not the most effective way for me to learn. And I already noted that I would simply refuse to do an assignment if I determined it was not worth my time.

There was one math class that I only showed up to twice because I could learn from the text book much more quickly than from the lectures. I only showed up for the midterm and final. I would pop my head in at the beginning of each class to drop off my homework and then again at the end of each class to write down the next assignment. I actually got the highest grade in that class, but the teacher probably had no idea who I was. The other students were playing by the rules, not realizing they were
free to make their own rules.

Find out what parts of your life belong in the crucial 20%, and focus your efforts there. Be absolutely ruthless in refusing to spend time where it simply cannot give you optimal results. Invest your time where it has the potential to pay off big.

Guard thy time
To work effectively you need uninterrupted blocks of time in which you can complete meaningful work. When you know for certain that you won’t be interrupted, your productivity is much, much higher. When you sit down to work on a particularly intense task, dedicate blocks of time to the task during which you will not do anything else. I’ve found that a minimum of 90 minutes is ideal for a single block.

You may need to negotiate with the other people in your life to create these uninterrupted blocks of time. If necessary, warn others in advance not to interrupt you for a certain period of time. Threaten them with acts of violence if you must. In school I would lock my bedroom door when I needed to work, so my roommates would know not to disturb me. While each individual bedroom in the two-bedroom dorm suites was designed for two people (four people per suite), I paid a bit extra to have a bedroom all to myself.

This way I always had my own private room to work. When I had time to be social, I’d leave the door open, sometimes playing computer games with one of my roommates. If you happen to work in a high interruption environment that’s negatively affecting your productivity, change that
environment at all costs. Some people have told me that giving their boss a copy of this article helped convince him/her to take steps to reduce unnecessary interruptions.

While for some people it’s helpful to block off a specific period of time for a task, I find that I work best with long, open-ended stretches of uninterrupted time. I’ll often allocate a starting time for a task but usually not a specific finishing time. Whenever possible I just allow myself to stick with a task as long as I can, until I eventually succumb to hunger or other bodily needs.

I will frequently work 6+ hours straight on a project without taking a break. While frequent breaks are often recommended to increase productivity, I feel that suggestion may be an artifact of industrial age research on poorly motivated workers and not as applicable to high-motivation, purpose-driven creative work. I find it’s best for me to maintain momentum until I can barely continue instead of chopping a task into smaller chunks
where there’s a risk of succumbing to distractions along the way.

The state of flow, where you are totally absorbed in a task and lose all sense of time, takes about 15 minutes to enter. Every time you get interrupted, it can take you another 15 minutes to get back to that
state. Once you enter the state of flow, guard it with your life. That is the state in which you will go through enormous amounts of work and experience total connection with the task. When I’m in this
state, I have no sense of past or future. I simply feel like I’m one with my work.

While sometimes I suffer from the problem of the task expanding to fill the allotted time (aka Parkinson’s Law), I often find that it’s worth the risk. For example, when I do optimization work on my web site, I’ll frequently think of new optimization ideas while I work, and I’ll usually go ahead and
implement those new ideas immediately. I find it more efficient to act on those ideas at the moment of conception instead of scheduling them to be done at a later time.

To be continued later…

Source: Motivateus

Kayçée Amaefule™

Do It Now (2)

So I just came back from church now, and I thought I should share the second part of the series with you.

It’s a motivating piece by Steve Pavlina as usual.

Read and enjoy!

Do It Now (2)

Be flexible
There’s a key difference between knowing your destination and knowing the path you will take to get there. A typical commercial airplane is off course 90% of the time, yet it almost always arrives at its destination because it knows exactly where it’s going and makes constant corrections along the way.

You cannot know the exact path to your goal in advance. I believe that the real purpose of planning is simply so that you remain convinced that a possible path exists. We’ve all heard the statistic that 80%
of new businesses fail in their first five years, but a far more interesting statistic is that nearly all of the businesses that succeeded did not do so in the original way they had intended. If you look at successful businesses that started with business plans, you will commonly find that their original
plans failed miserably and that they only succeeded by trying something else.

It is said that no business plan survives contact with the marketplace. I like to generalize this to say that no plan survives contact with the real world.

Renowned author and business consultant Stephen Covey often uses the expression, “integrity in the moment of choice.” What that means is that you should not follow your plans blindly without conscious awareness of your goals. For instance, let’s say you’re following your plans nicely — so far so good — and then an unforeseen opportunity arises. Do you stick to your original plan, thereby missing the opportunity, or do you stop and go after the opportunity, thereby throwing yourself off schedule? This is where you have to stop and reconnect with your goals to decide which is the better course.

No plan should be followed blindly. As soon as you gain new knowledge that could invalidate the plan, you must exercise integrity in the moment of choice. Sometimes you can reach your goals faster by taking advantage of shortcuts that arise unexpectedly. Other times you should stick to your
original plans and avoid minor distractions that would take you further from your goals.

Be tight on your goals but flexible on your plans. I believe that having a clear goal is far more important than having a clear plan. In school I was very clear about my end goal — graduate college in only three semesters — but my plans were in a constant state of flux. Every day I would be informed of new assignments, projects, or tests, and I had to adapt to this ever-changing sea of activity. If I tried to make a long-term plan for each semester, it would have been rendered useless within 24 hours.

Use single handling.

Instead of using some elaborate organizing system, I stuck with a very basic pen and paper to-do list. My only organizing tool was a notepad where I wrote down all my assignments and their deadlines. I
didn’t worry about doing any advance scheduling or prioritizing. I would simply scan the list to select the most pressing item which fit the time I had available. Then I’d complete it, and cross it off the list.

If I had a 10-hour term paper to write, I would do the whole thing at once instead of breaking it into smaller tasks. I’d usually do large projects on weekends. I’d go to the library in the morning, do the necessary research, and then go back to my dorm room and continue working until the final text was rolling off my printer. If I needed to take a break, I would take a break. It didn’t matter how big the project was supposed to be or how many weeks the professor allowed for it. Once I began an assignment, I would stay with it until it was 100% complete and ready to be turned in.

This simple practice saved me a significant amount of time. First, it allowed me to concentrate deeply on each assignment and to work very efficiently while I worked. A lot of time is lost in task switching
because you have to re-load the context for each new task. Single handling minimizes time lost in task switching.

In fact, when possible I would batch up my assignments within a certain subject area and then do them all at once before switching subjects. So I’d do all my math homework in a row until it was all done. Then I’d do all my programming assignments. Then I’d do my general education homework. In this manner I would put my brain into math-mode, programming-mode, writing-mode, or art-mode and remain in that single mode for as long as possible.

Secondly, I believe this habit helped me remain relaxed and unstressed because my mind wasn’t cluttered with so many to-do items. It was always just one thing at a time. I could forget about anything that was outside the current context.

Failure is your friend.

Most people seem to have an innate fear of failure, but failure is really your best friend. People who succeed also fail a great deal because they make a lot of attempts. The great baseball player Babe Ruth held the home run record and the strikeout record at the same time.

Those who have the most successes also have the most failures. There is nothing wrong or shameful in failing. The only regret lies in never making the attempt. So don’t be afraid to experiment in your attempts to increase
productivity. Sometimes the quickest way to find out if something will work is to jump right in and do it. You can always make adjustments along the way. It’s the ready-fire-aim approach, and surprisingly, it works a lot better than the more common ready-aim-fire approach. The reason is that
after you’ve “fired” once, you have some actual data with which to adjust your aim.

Too many people get bogged down in planning and thinking and never get to the point of action. How many potentially great ideas have you passed up because you got stuck in the state of analysis paralysis (i.e. ready-
aim-aim-aim-aim-aim…)?

During college I tried a lot of crazy ideas that I thought might save me time. I continued reading time management material and applying what I learned, but I also devised some original ideas. Most of my own ideas were flops, but some of them worked. I was willing to fail again and again for the off chanceI might stumble upon something that gave me an extra boost.

Understand that failure is not the opposite of success. Failure is an essential part of success. Once you succeed, no one will remember your failures anyway. Microsoft wasn’t Bill Gates’ and Paul Allen’s first business venture. Who remembers that their original Traf-o-Data business was a flop? The actor Jim Carey was booed off many a stage while a young comedian. We have electric light bulbs because Thomas Edison refused to give up even after 10,000 failed experiments. If the word “failure” is anathema to you, then reframe it: You either succeed, or you have a learning experience.

Letting go of the fear of failure will serve you well. If you’re excited about achieving a particular goal, but you’re afraid you might not be able to pull it off, jump on it and do it anyway. Even if you fail in your attempt, you’ll learn something valuable and can make a better attempt next time. If you look at
people who are successful in business today, you will commonly see that many of them had a string of dismal failures before finally hitting on something that worked, myself included.

And I think most of these people will agree that those early failure experiences were an essential contributing factor in their future successes. My advice to anyone starting a new business is to begin pumping out products or devising services and don’t worry much about whether they’ll be hits. They probably won’t be.

But you’ll learn a lot more by doing than you ever will by thinking.

To be continued later…

Source: Motivateus

Kayçée Amaefule™

Do It Now (1)

Hello besties,

How are you all?

Tonight I will be sharing with you all a four-part article that will help you avoid procrastination.

It was written by Steve Pavlina.

Enjoy.

Do It Now (1)

When going to college many years ago, I decided to challenge myself by setting a goal to see if I could graduate in only three semesters, taking the same classes that people would normally take over a four-year period. This article explains in detail all the time management techniques I used to successfully pull this off.

In order to accomplish this goal, I determined I’d have to take 30-40 units per semester, when the average student took 12-15 units. It became immediately obvious that I’d have to manage my time extremely well if I wanted to pull this off. I began reading everything I could find on time management and putting what I learned into practice.

I accomplished my goal by graduating with two Bachelor of Science degrees (computer science and mathematics) in just three semesters without attending summer school. I slept seven to eight hours a night, took care of my routine chores (shopping, cooking, etc), had a social life, and exercised for 30 minutes every morning. In my final semester, Ieven held a full time job (40 hours a week) as a game programmer and served as the Vice Chair of the local Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) chapter while taking 37 units of mostly senior-level computer science and math courses.

My classmates would add up all the hours they expected each
task to take and concluded that my weeks must have consisted of about 250 hours. I graduated with a 3.9 GPA and also received a special award given to the top computer science student each year. One of my professors later told me that they had an easy time selecting the award recipient once it became clear to them what I was doing.

I wasn’t considered a gifted child, and this was the first time I had ever done anything like this. I didn’t have any personal mentors helping me, I didn’t know of anyone who’d done anything like this before, and I can’t recall a single person encouraging me to do it. In fact, most people were highly discouraging of the idea when I told them about it. This was simply something I decided to do for myself. If you want a better understanding of where I was at this time in my life and why I decided to attempt such a crazy thing, you might enjoy reading The Meaning of Life: Intro , which includes the full background story and more details about my motivation for doing this.

It took a lot of convincing to get the computer science department chair to approve my extra units every semester, and my classmates often assumed I was either cheating or that I had a twin or that I was just mentally unstable (I get accused of that last one pretty much every week, so maybe there’s some truth to it). Most of the time I kept quiet about what I was doing, but if someone asked me how many units I was taking, I didn’t deny it. I was perhaps the only student at the university with a two-
page class schedule, so it was easy to prove I was telling the truth if anyone pressed me, but rarely did I ever do so.

I didn’t tell you this story to impress you but rather to make you curious as to how I did it. I pulled this off by applying time management concepts that most people simply didn’t know but that were readily available in books and audio programs at the time (1992-93). The time management habits I learned in college have served me very well in building my business, so I want to share them with you in the hopes that you’ll find them equally valuable. They allowed me to shave years off my schooling while
also giving me about $30,000 to start my business (all earned in my final semester as a game programmer, mostly from royalties). Without further ado, here’s the best of what I’ve learned about mastering time management:

Clarity is key.

The first step is to know exactly what you want. In a Tae Kwon Do studio where I used to train, there’s a huge sign on the wall that says, “Your goal is to become a black belt.” This helps remind each student why s/he is going through such difficult training. When you work for yourself, it’s easy to spend a whole day at your desk and accomplish nothing of value. This almost always happens when you aren’t really clear about what it is you’re trying to do.

In the moments when you regain your awareness, ask yourself, “What exactly is it that I’m trying to accomplish here?” You must know your
destination with as much clarity as possible. Make your goals specific, and put them in writing. Your goals must be so clear that it would be possible for a stranger to look at your situation objectively and give you an absolute “yes” or “no” response as to whether you’ve accomplished each goal or not.

If you cannot define your destination precisely, how will you know when you’ve arrived? The key period I’ve found useful for defining and working on specific goals is ninety days, or the length of one season. In that period of time, you can make dramatic and measurable changes if you set
crystal clear goals. Take a moment to stop and write down a snapshot description of how you want your life to be ninety days from now. What will your monthly income be? How much will you weigh? Who will your friends be? Where will you be in your career? What will your relationship be like? What will your web site look like? Be specific. Absolute clarity will give you the edge that will keep you on course.

Just as an airplane on autopilot must make constant corrections to stay on course, you must periodically re-target your goals. Reconnect with your clear, written goals by re-reading them every morning. Post them on your walls, especially your financial goals. Years ago (during the mid-90s), I went around my apartment putting up signs in every room that said “$5,000 / month.” That was my monthly business income goal at the time. Because I knew exactly what I wanted, I achieved that goal within a few weeks. I continued setting specific income goals, even amidst occasional setbacks, and I found this process very effective. It wasn’t just that it helped me focus on what I wanted — perhaps even more important is that it made it easy for me to disregard those things that weren’t on the path to
my goal. For example, if you set a goal to earn $10,000/month, this can help you stop doing those things that will only earn you $5000/month.

If you aren’t yet at the point of clarity, then make that your first goal. It’s a big waste of time to go through life being unclear about what you want. Most people wallow way too long in the state of “I don’t know what to do.” They wait for some external force to provide them with clarity, never realizing that clarity is self-created. The universe is waiting on you, not the other way around, and it’s going to keep waiting until you finally make up your mind.

Waiting for clarity is like being a sculptor staring at a piece of marble, waiting for the statue within to cast off the unneeded pieces. Do not wait for clarity to spontaneously materialize — grab a chisel and get busy!

To be continued…

Source: Motivateus

Kayçée Amaefule™

Too Many Days At A Time

Author unknown

There are two days in every week about which we should not
worry. Two days which should be kept free from fear and
apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its
faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed
forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot
bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we
performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday
is gone!!

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its
possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor
performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow’s sun will rise, whether in splendor or behind a mask
of clouds. But it will rise. Until it does we have no stake in
tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day: today.

Any man can fight the battles of just one day. It is when you
and I add the burdens of two awful eternities – yesterday and
tomorrow, that we break down.

It is not necessarily the experience of today that disturbs one’s
peace of mind. It is oftentime the bitterness for something
which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may
bring.

Let us therefore live one day at a time.

Motivateus

Kayçée Amaefule™

5 Things You Should Learn from a Business Failure

By Matt Thomas

So your business has failed, huh? It seems as if all hope has been sucked down the drain.

What do you do? Learn! Learn from your mistakes so you wont make the same missteps in the future and instead become a better leader and entrepreneur.

Here are some very important points you should take note of after a business failure so you can emerge from the rubble as a stronger and more savvy business owner.

In what areas did you spend too much time and/or money?

It is important to examine where you allocated most of your resources. Allotting most of your time and money to an area of your business that wont yield positive returns is an inefficient practice and should be curtailed in the future.

Perhaps you spent too much time on designing an IT infrastructure? Maybe you spend too much money on office furniture and supplies and not enough on advertising? You might have even spent too much time
researching.

While I can’t emphasize enough the importance of research, doing too much of it may be counterproductive–it may discourage you from taking any risks and may lead you spending too much time and money into preparation and not enough on action.

Either way, evaluating areas that prove to be a money/time drain for you and your business is important and will allow you to invest your resources in more efficient and effective areas of your business in the future.

In what areas did you spend too little time and/or money?

Similar to the last point, perhaps you underfunded certain areas of your business with little of your time and/or money. Look at all the vital areas of your business. Sales is a top priority regardless, but some other areas might be more important to certain businesses while insignificant to others.

For example, if you are a web design company, chances are you will need to spend more money on web design and graphic software as well as more powerful computers than a interior design firm will.

Therefore, consider all areas of your business that added value to your product and determine if these areas were receiving enough support. For some businesses, this may be fairly obvious, while for others this might require some thinking. The important thing to remember is that you are trying to determine the optimal funding that each area of your business requires so that your operations will be as efficient and effective as possible in the future.

What strengths of yours were utilized while this business was running? Which were underutilized?

Are you naturally a good manager? Salesman? Leader? Visionary? Wherever your strengths lie, leverage them! Especially in the early stages when you need these strengths the most. If your business failed, you should determine whether or not you used your strengths to your best advantage.

Take this one step further and make sure to determine what your strengths actually are. Maybe you thought you were good at something but your performance in this area proves otherwise. Knowing what strengths of yours to leverage and what weaknesses either need improving or avoiding are very important skills a leader should have. Knowing this will allow you to produce for your next business more effectively.

What weaknesses of yours, as an entrepreneur need improving?

Do your leadership skills need some work? Maybe you need to become a better listener? Or perhaps you have hang-ups on certain little things that aren’t as important as you think they are.

Whatever your weaknesses are, it is important that you locate them and either improve upon them or ensure someone else handles them. Again, delegating something according to skill (even to yourself) is an important ability for any leader or manager to have.

What particularly missed the mark? Was it targeted customers? Bad branding? Bad product? What could you do to improve this in the future?

Try to pinpoint the exact reason why your business missed the mark. Perhaps it is fairly obvious, perhaps not. However, knowing this will allow you to, in the future address these problems more effectively, more
quickly and allow you to notice them before they actually arrive.

Does anyone else have any important lessons from business failures that they would like to share?

Entre-propel

Kayçée™

Quote of the week

Word!!

Kayçée©

The Broken Vow (2)

CHAPTER TWO

Sometimes I couldn’t help but marvel at how I failed it all.

I couldn’t say I was not warned. Of course I was. My mother warned me countlessly, and for the most part I listened – or thought I did.

Right from when I was five, Mother had always reminded me of how unique the girl child was. We were not like the boys, she always said. We were special.

My poor background did not help things either. Mother’s tough childhood meant she always wanted me to be different. I was a girl, a special type of humanity. I was to avoid the boys, she often said. They were dangerous, and would ruin my life.

As a child, I didn’t understand it, but later it started to sink in. I think it was largely due to the brutality of Chief Segun Ajayi, the 73-year-old man my mother was forced to marry at fifteen.

Though I was eight years old when he died, just about the same period my mother became totally blind due to his countless blows to her eyes, his wickedness towards her had left an ugly impression in me.

Mother had me when she was thirteen, and though she got pregnant four times for Chief Ajayi, she lost them all. Therefore I had no sibling; the closest I ever had were step brothers and sisters and they all were much older than me.

Therefore, growing up with a blind mother who suffered so much in the hands of a man made me averse to the male folk. I detested them.

My mother, Ifeoma, was born into a poor family. According to her, my grandma had died of a heart condition when Mother was nine; and my grandpa, Ike, a poor mechanic, got married to a brutal woman called Ijendu.

When my mother was eleven, grandpa died and Ijendu’s wickedness towards her multiplied. Even though she had dreams of becoming a counsellor, everything evaporated when Ijendu forced her into hawking on the rowdy streets of Onitsha, where she was raped.

The pregnancy and its accompanying shame subjected Mother to so much humiliation. When she finally had me, Ijendu, in a bid to offset a paltry debt of N2,500, forced her to marry Chief Segun Ajayi, a rich Yoruba businessman who lived in Onitsha at the time with his four wives, and who was old enough to be her grandfather.

Chief Ajayi later relocated to his hometown, Akure, Ondo State; and though he had a mansion, Mother and I were given a cubicle at the back of the huge compound.

I was seven when Mother got completely blind, and one year later, Chief Ajayi died of cancer. Even at that tender age, I was glad he was dead because to me he was no use being alive.

A few months after Chief Ajayi’s death, his family forced us out of the house, and we settled in a slum.

As I grew older, my intelligence increased. In my primary six class, I took the overall first position at the Common Entrance Examinations throughout the state, and my performance earned me a scholarship into any secondary school of my choice, as 6 well as up till the university level if my outstanding performances continued.

Mother was ecstatic when I broke the news to her. She kept dancing and singing her favourite Igbo song: “Onye nwere nwa ka onye nwere ego,” which means, “He that has a child is better than the wealthy.” It was her usual song, especially in her regular moments of depression. She said that having me was the best thing that ever happened to her. My presence in her life always relieved her pains and dried her tears.

The joy I gave her at my birth was the reason she named me Nwakego, which means: “A child is better than riches.” And thus my name became Nwakego Ike.

Since life gave her no happiness, she believed my success in the future would give her a beautiful crown.

She kept encouraging me to work hard, be prayerful, and in everything, avoid boys. In Africa where many died due to poverty, education was one’s ticket to a better life; and like she always said, boys would tear that ticket.

I knew I had to do that at all cost.

My resolve shaped my aspiration. There was only one profession I craved: to become a lawyer, and by extension, a women and child rights activist. That way, I would be able to protect women like my mother and thousands of children from abuse.

It was a goal I would live and die for, and I vowed to myself and to Mother to give everything to the cause.

To be continued later…

“Impossibility is nothing. Just believe!”

The Broken Vow (1)

CHAPTER ONE

When danger is imminent, sometimes even the cocks refuse to crow.

He had been caught between two worlds. It was a typical case of choosing the lesser of two evils, but a situation that, nonetheless, left him feeling trapped.

To him, this was by far the most trying period of his medical career. He and Governor Femi Alakija had been close friends for thirty years, and in that time he had never refused the governor anything. If he refused this, the ambitious and nice man would be destroyed; but what if he obliged? Would he ever forgive himself?

Even as a brilliant surgeon he was jittery. Not for the procedure he was about to perform, but for its morality. Yes, it was said that doctors were often on the edge of morality in their profession, but this was as tough as it had ever got. He had contemplated this thought a thousand times in the last few days, and came to the conclusion that maybe this was the safer option.

Everything was set in the operating room of his hospital for what was supposed to be a simple procedure. The young girl, a mere sixteen-year-old, had been fully anaesthetized and her thighs were already thrown wide apart on the operating table, below the huge glare of the surgical lights.

Dr Kolade Adesanya knew what he needed to do, though he had never performed it throughout his career. He would have to dilate the little girl’s cervix, and, using a curette, he would gently scrape the lining of her uterus and remove the tissue, the embryo, which was fast growing. His choice method was overkill for such a ridiculously simple procedure, but he did not mind. He also knew that he would be haunted by this for many days to come, but he chose not to think of it.

He glanced at the petite nurse monitoring the young girl’s vitals on a screen, and as the continuous beeping sound of the girl’s steady heart rate continued, the nurse gave him a nod signaling he should proceed. He replied with a curt nod, and then did the same with the anesthesiologist, a lanky middle age man, who also gave him a nod.

It was time to proceed. Dr Adesanya glanced at the gallery, where the young girl’s boyfriend and his powerful mother looked on, apparently eager to see the process over with. He clasped his two hands, muttered a prayer, and demanded for the dilator.

The procedure was almost over. Dr Adesanya had succeeded in scraping off nearly the entire new growth in the girl’s uterus, and so far the continuous beep of the monitor indicated her vitals were stable. Given the simplicity of the procedure, he couldn’t say he was expecting any problems. Once he was done, she would be off the anesthetic and a full recovery would be expected.

Suddenly, the monitor started to beep loudly. The little nurse was alarmed. What the hell was happening? It took Dr Adesanya a second to realize the girl’s ventricles were fibrillating. He did not need to be told the consequences: within a few seconds the girl would die if he did nothing.

Instantly, he grabbed the paddles from their cart, ordered the nurse to charge them to a specific degree, and then poised to slam them on the girl’s chest.

Then the operating room doors crashed open, someone stormed in, and the muzzle of a pistol pointed to his forehead.

“Drop it,” the person said.

Dr Adesanya froze.

[This is an excerpt from my short story entry for the 2014 Common Wealth Short Story Competition]

“Impossibility is nothing. Just believe!”

Prayers for Nigeria

Let me use this medium to call on Nigerians irrespective of their religious, political and social affiliations to always pray effectively to the Almighty God to grant Nigeria God-fearing leaders through whom He will bring about good governance and social justice, peace and prosperity to the nation.

Nigerians should also pray specially that God should get rid of all diabolical and terrorist take-all tendencies, for the sake of the masses and we should believe that our prayers are already answered. Nigerian leaders have failed the masses, hence, the tension in the land.

As the new administration begins the real job now, all Nigerians must join hands to move the country forward, irrespective of our differences. We should trust God and discuss the way forward.

Everything happening in the country today indicates that there are so many things wrong with this country hence the need for our politicians and rulers to put aside their inordinate ambitions and work for the interest of the nation.

Rev. Oladipupo Funmilade-Joel,
President, TWOREM International, Lagos State,

Source: Punch

“Impossibility is nothing. Just believe!”

Keep Writing…

Keep writing, and never ever stop. There’s nothing sweeter on earth than being the lord of your story.

Happy Sunday, my friends.

Impossibility is extinct…

The 2015 presidential elections: what exactly awaits Nigeria?

The 2015 election: What should Nigerians expect?

As the year 2014 came to an end last week, Nigerians were quick to say goodbye to what had, for so many, been a not-so-fantastic year.

The arrival of the new year, 2015, plenty people hope, will herald unprecedented positive changes in so many areas of their lives.

The lack of nostalgia for last year was as much felt personally for most people as it was nationally.

Personal woes aside, 2014 served up what was at best a dish of unimaginable national horrors, which left a lot of Nigerians wondering where exactly the country was headed.

Besides the regular feast of bomb explosions, perhaps the most shocking disaster – even to the international community – was the April 14 abduction of over 200 secondary school girls in Chibok town, north-eastern Nigeria by Boko Haram.

The global whirlwind the abduction generated – and still generates though to a far reduced extent right now – coupled with the Presidency’s inability to rescue the girls nine months on, chopped off a huge segment of the President’s integrity in the eyes of so many Nigerians.

Even the President’s incapability to effectively tackle terrorism across the country, which has resulted in countless deaths and displacements in the North-East, means the masses are not so confident in their leader anymore.

The political opposition, APC, like expected, has successfully milked the situation to discredit the present government and present their presidential candidate as the God-sent Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), who has countlessly promised to deliver the nation from its present terrors, if elected.

However, this will be the fourth attempt of the 72-year-old former military head of state at the Presidency. And being a core Muslim with an overwhelming, if not fanatical, support in the North, his failure once again at the polls, especially when it happens against a backdrop of any perceived electoral malpractice, pundits predict, could trigger an avalanche of post-election violence that might pose serious questions for the unity of Nigeria.

Therefore, as the February 14 presidential election looms and the traditional mudslinging between the incumbent’s PDP and APC continues, one could not help but ponder how the rest of this new year could pan out.

With the polity now well overheated and even its smouldering embers fanned by very influential Nigerians, even priests now involved, the questions, therefore, couldn’t have been better posed: Could 2015 finally be the year where a radical change occurs up there at Aso Rock Villa, which, we hope, would trickle down to the masses; or would this new year witness another ugly episode in the chequered history of our country right after the elections?

Be that as it may, fact is: Nigeria today needs a dramatic turn-around in fortunes. The crash in oil prices, the naira devaluation, the unabating terrorism, etc. call for a total re-evaluation, if not overhaul, of the current hierarchy. However, doubts remain whether the opposition are capable of effecting the much-needed transformation, should they be voted into power.

President Jonathan has not done very badly, in my opinion, but the continuing downward trend in fortunes, which, sadly, has been used by his detractors to criticise his government, means he probably may not have a second chance to fix the nation.

Regardless of all the huffing and puffing by the APC, I still expect the President to win re-election for a second term; but, just like other millions of Nigerians, I hope he gets it right this time – should he win.

This does not mean it would be a landslide victory for the PDP. As a matter of fact, even with the hugely significant regional political affiliations, I expect a keen contest.

But, like all other Nigerians, I hope and pray that, regardless of whatever shenanigans that might be at work, the post-election period does not push the country further towards the precipice.

Otherwise this new year could turn out to be a lot worse than the previous one.

Now that is what nobody wants, at least not me!

(First published: 6 January 2015)

The futility of life: personal musings

Some say life is good and fair, others say it’s terrible.

But if there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s that life is anything but fair.

It’s not just because of its dynamics and non-observation of fair
play, but also because its dreaded opposite, death, holds as much
partiality, too.

Everyday many of us struggle to better our lives; but out there plenty
more had been unfairly denied the opportunity to enter the track.
Others were brutally hacked off before they could make an impact.
Yes, it’s the inevitable end to every man, the ineluctable transition to
a different world.

I understand.

It’s largely random, though some can accelerate theirs by a terribly
lifestyle.

I understand.

It robs young and promising people of their future, wrecks the
dreams of many, and strips the world of plenty good people while
allowing evil to fester.

True, but I can never understand it.

I haven’t stopped wondering why, though. The only explanation I
could give myself is that it is part of life’s terrible dynamics.

Even at my young age, I’ve lost more friends that I can remember.
Many of them were not just more intelligent than me, but they were
also better-looking and more successful.

They had been cut short in their prime, with the world at their feet,
awaiting them.

I can never understand why.

I can never understand why the likes of Echezona Fredrick Izuorah –
a 25-year-old friend of mine with a masters degree and huge
dreams – and my 15-year-old cousin Nzube Scott would have to die
so fatally, so painfully, and … so young.

Chai!

I can never understand why my favourite aunt Adaobi Okelo (née
Ejimakor), my young uncle Ikechukwu Nwadike, and a host of other
young and vibrant people around the world who lose their lives daily
would have to encounter such disastrous fate.

Echezona Fredrick Izuorah, may your soul rest in peace.

Before you say God knows best, I have to say that yeah, I know that.
He always does, He knows best, and perhaps we cannot question
Him.

However, it takes nothing away from the impartiality and
callousness of sudden death.

More than five years since I suddenly lost Aunt Adaobi, I can’t say I
have totally recovered from it. I have come to accept it, but when I
consider the life she led, as well as the wonderful lives of other
seemingly-better-but-now-dead friends, I sometimes shudder at the
futility of our struggles here on Earth.

Other times, in my most depressing moments, I consider the odds
that I would not end up in a coffin soon enough, you know, just like
my other dead colleagues. After all, death is the ultimate leveller,
right?

God forbid, you say? Yeah, I hear you, and I can’t say I want that for
myself, either.

As a medical student, I have seen way too many cadavers – corpses,
if you like. I have even dissected and prodded through every part of
them down to their intestines.

And whenever I try to imagine the beauty of their lives moments
before they were destined for the prosection table, awaiting my
surgical blade, I could only shake my head with contempt.

Life couldn’t appear more ephemeral, but the reality of sudden death,
to me, makes every moment I breathe invaluable.

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of life.

I guess the Biblical teachings about leading a holy and godly life
couldn’t have been more accurate.

Now that’s up to me to pursue, because one minute one might be
alive, the next they’re dead.

Just like dodo.

Oh, the futility of life!

‘How Soyinka & I set up Pyrates Confraternity’ – 82 yr old Prof. Awe reveals

The Pyrates Confraternity, which later metamorphosed into cultism
in universities was founded by seven prominent Nigerians back in
their days as undergraduate students at the University of Ibadan in
1953. It was the brain child of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka,
who got 6 of his friends – Nat Oyelola, Sylvanus Egbuche, Pius
Olehi, AIG Imokhuede, Ralph Okwara and Prof. Bolanle Awe,
involved. Prof. Awe, who is now a pastor at Fullness of Christ
Evangelical Ministry (FOCEM) in Ibadan explains how it all
started…

The idea was conceived by Wole himself, at least I know he
was the one who talked to me. I don’t know who spoke to the
other five members but we actually assembled at Teeder
Hall, the second hall to be completed after Melamby. We
assembled in the basement and just made merry in the
evening. We were just out to be different and I saw it to be
fun. None of us envisaged that we were laying the foundation
of a virulent cult in that 1953/54 session, though the
association insisted that it was in 1952 hence they
celebrated their 50 years in 2002. At that basement we had
something to drink, nothing potent, we went around the
campus in unusual ways, we were well known and there was
nothing like secret oath, nothing spiritual about it all.

You earlier said people doubted your new life because of what you
have dipped your hands into. What were these things?
I am one of those who founded Pyrates Confraternity (PC) and I
am one of those who maintained that though PC which
transformed to National Association of Seadogs (NAS) truly
dissociated itself from PC on campuses, it can not really separate
itself from it. This was the basis of the attack of Prof. Wole
Soyinka on me at their 50th anniversary where he gave an 18-
page lecture, where substantial part of it was an attack on me and
my ministry. That only showed me that his camp noted that
someone has left them. In fact, I have just finished writing a reply
to him on that.

My attitude is that whatever we may say today, it was the idea of
PC that gave rise to these virulent cults. Even though we were not
violent when we started it and we didn’t call it cult, but the cult
culture began after when we started. Today, they still recognise
we the founders as the Magnificent 7! The NAS does not want to
agree with that. Though they decreed that no PC should not exist
on campuses, but we all know that they still do. The fact is if they
say they have no link to the ones on the campuses, I’ll be prepared
to accept that but to say they don’t exist on campuses, I disagreed
and we parted ways on that.

At the time you started, what was the criteria used to recruit
members

It was solely based on friendship. My own interpretation was that
at the appropriate time, Satan hijacked what we started since we
didn’t know where we were going.

What were the creed of the association?

I wrote it somewhere I can not locate now. I think they were to
abolish convention, revive the age of chivalry (where you show
deference to the weaker sex) etc. In any case I can’t remember
anything that we did to promote those creeds. The motto was;
Orders Is Orders. Also, Wole did not stay long enough because he
left a year after for Leeds, because he wanted to study English
honours which was not available as a course in Ibadan then. I
think Ralph Opara took over from him as the head. But I stayed till
1956 when I left for Britain. Three of us Wole, me and Pius Olehie,
who formed the PC, were from the same class in Government
College, Ibadan while Ralph Opara was a year before us.

So when would you say Pyrates Confraternity became virulent?

I think by the 1980s. The thing is that at the beginning, there was
only PC and so many people struggled to be a member because it
was a prestigious thing. When I returned from Britain, some
students who wanted to become members needed a lecturer to
sponsor their membership, those who came to me got my nod.
Up till about 1972, PC was the only association, but when there
was schism over one of them who violated the law and he was not
ready to subject himself to discipline, he left and started a rival
organisation and that was how the Buccaneers Confraternity
started. About the same time, Eye Confraternity started. You must
not also forget that violence was become rife in the society. This
began in Ibadan with Operation Wetie around 1964/ 65. Things
became intolerable until the coup in 1967.

Violence became the order of the day and it crept into PC by the
time, I had become disenchanted with the club and was ready to
leave. Some of the PC members had their vision beclouded by
violence and the old PC decided to form National Association of
Seadogs and went ahead to register it at the Corporate Affairs.
They said PC should no longer exist on campuses but there is a
difference between saying and establishing it.

So the whole thing between Wole and I was the inability to
establish what they proposed, and so other groups began to spring
up in various universities using the name Pyrates Confraternity
because nobody has any right on the name. This is the problem
between Wole and I.

At what point did you renounce your membership?

I must say that I did not officially renounce until I became a
Christian. I kept being less and less active because I kept seeing it
as an activity for children and younger people. But when I became
born-again and established this ministry, I consciously went to
God and confess that we were the people who started this thing,
which has become something we did not envisage. I asked Him to
forgive me and forgive the rest of us and I confessed on behalf of
others too. That is the only time I’ll say I renounced it. It was a
private thing.

Have you done that publicly?

No, I have not bothered but I’ve told all who are concerned that
I’m no longer one of them. At any public opportunity, I always say
it and they know that I am no longer one of them. If Wole could
take the trouble to attack me in an 18-page report, then I know it
has registered that I am no longer one of them.

Did they make any effort to ask you why you were leaving?

No, we did not bond ourselves to be members forever. I think when
they found out that I stopped turning up for their meetings that
must have convinced them that I was no longer interested. But I
didn’t make any statement concerning them until I started this
ministry and got involved in the University as chairman of Anti-
cultism Campaign Committee.

Did you take the cultism to a higher level like joining the Ogboni,
as people believe it happens?

As I said, I was only active in it between 1953 and 1957after which
I left for Britain. When I came back in 1960, I was on the staff of
the University and was just an adviser to them. I didn’t know what
they did at their services (meetings) I didn’t know when the oath
taking, etc started or if it was actually done. However, I know it is
done today. This is what the Seadogs pretend not to know.

Have you spoken about Christ to Wole Soyinka?

I have not but I will certainly welcome the opportunity. The only
problem I envisage is that unless God softens Wole’s heart, it
might be difficult to speak with him on Christ.

Interview with Elife

Meet the woman with the biggest boobs in the world

I’m sure you’ve heard about this lady at some point. She holds the
Guinness Book of World Records’ for the largest breast in the
world. African-American Annie Hawkins-Turner (aka Norma Stitz)
has an under breast measurement of 109.22 cm (43 inches) and
an around chest-over-nipple measurement of 177.8 cm (70
inches).

She currently wears a US size 52I bra, the largest made, but by
American bra estimation, these measurements would put her in a
48V bra, which is not manufactured. The mother of two is a
website entrepreneur and a fetish model.

Meet the ‘free-sperm donors’ who have actual sex with strangers desperate to conceive by ‘natural insemination

As sperm bank prices increase, women are now turning directly to
men, who are free-sperm donors – who offer the traditional
insemination, meaning actual sex…to impregnate prospective
mums.

From UK Daily Mail

‘Joe’ is married, has three teenage children, is a successful
internet entrepreneur and when he can, jets off around the
country to have sex with women in secret as a ‘free sperm
donor’.

Though he is unwilling to reveal his true identity for fear of
his wife finding out, Joe describes his home life as ‘Clark
Kent’ and revels in his ‘Superman’ style alter-ego, offering
his services to women through ‘natural insemination’.
Estimating that he has fathered more than 30 children
through his seven-year ‘career’,

Joe is part of a small but growing trend online for women to cut
through the red-tape and cost of traditional sperm banks to
become pregnant.

Offering their services on the Internet for free, donors are
contacted by women who want to become mothers ‘the natural
way’, believing that having sexual intercourse is the most efficient
method to conceive.

After meeting online and going through a vetting process, Joe will
arrange either to ship his sperm for a more traditional artificial
insemination, or will arrange to fly to see the women and donate
‘directly’ through sex.

Talking to ABC News’ 20/20, Joe said he has slept with more than
100 women as a free sperm donor, but claims he is discerning.
‘I’m not having intercourse with these women when there’s no
chance of pregnancy,’ said Joe to ABC News, without explaining
exactly how he would know that.

Confirming that his wife and children are clueless about his
double life, Joe says that he is fulfilling his own dreams through
natural insemination.

‘I have a Clark Kent life. Then, I have the Superman life,’ Joe said
to ABC News. ‘People might want to have millions of dollars in the
bank, and then, you know, some of us might want to have dozens
of children out there.

As well as helping a woman to have the child she wants, Joe gets
to add his progeny to the world.

‘I’m unable to have as many children as I want in my relationship,
and that would be unreasonable to ask a woman to give birth to 30
children,’ said Joe to ABC News.

Asked when he will stop, or what his goal is through natural
insemination, Joe seemed to aim high.

‘The World Health Organization said I can get up to 2,500, but I
don’t think that will happen in my lifetime. The other donors I know
who have a lot [of children] are up there around the 100 range. I’m
standing on the shoulders of giants,’ said Joe to ABC News.

‘I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have another descendant
out there,’ Joe said. ‘It’s not the road. It’s how we get there, if we
actually get there.’

Another free sperm donor who did wish to be identified was 23-
year-old Kyle Gordy. (pictured above)

He is currently working towards his master’s degree in accounting
and like Joe, offers women the chance to get pregnant by having
sex with him.

‘I don’t do any drugs. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t drink
caffeine. I eat only sperm-friendly food: wheat, brown rice … fruit
and vegetables,’ said Gordy to 20/20.

During the course of his interview, Kyle was very complimentary
about his family tree and genes.

‘Right now I’m attending university. Both siblings are engineers.
The nuclear engineer is my twin. My grandpa was a scientist,’ said
Gordy.

On his Facebook page which advertises him as a sperm donor,
Gordy has posted pictures of himself now and as a child along
with his IQ.

Gordy told ABC News that he is not just looking to have sex with
women, but to genuinely help them to have a child.
‘I’m passing on my legacy and giving these people kids,’ said
Gordy.

To date, Gordy has fathered one child and another one of his
recipients, 44-year-old Serena, drove two hours to his home to be
naturally inseminated.

Serena, whose identity has been concealed by 20/20 said that she
has longed for a child.

‘Always, since I was a very young child, and sometimes career and
life just gets in the way,’ the insurance broker told 20/20. ‘Then
oops, I’m 38. Oops, I’m 40.’

Another important facet of free sperm donors is simply that, no
cost.

Serena said that she was unable to afford sperm bank fees. Some
charge upwards of $1,000 for one vial.

She said that after searching the Internet for alternatives, she
settled on free sperm donors and natural insemination.

‘I felt that there’s maybe no other alternative for me. My clock is
obviously ticking loud and louder every day,’ she said to 20/20.

Nigerian military reclaim seized Chibok community

24 hours after Boko Haram men captured Chibok town in Borno
state, soldiers from the 7th Division of the Nigerian army
yesterday reclaimed the community after a long gun battle that
started yesterday morning.

An indigene of Chibok who spoke with Leadership , said a large
deployment of soldiers were seen moving in from the direction of
Damboa on Saturday morning and engaged the sect members in a
gun battle, eventually overpowering them.

“We saw large number of trucks filled with uniformed
personnel moving towards Chibok; initially, we were scared
but later realised they were soldiers as they did not harass
us like the Boko Haram gunmen usually do” the source said
Confirming the recent development, a top military officer who
spoke anonymously said.

“We have taken back Chibok town from the insurgents after
some few hours of engagement with them. We have since
sent them parking from the town; it is now safe for people to
return to their homes”.

Photo: World’s tallest man meets the world’s shortest man

The world’s tallest and shortest man in the Guinness Book of World
Records, met each other for the first time on Thursday November
13 at an event in London.

The tallest man, 31 year-old Sultan Kosen from Turkey, a part-
time farmer, is 8 feet 3 inches tall and can reach a basketball hoop
without jumping. He became the world’s tallest living man in 2009.
He also holds the record for largest hands on a living person. His
hands measure 11.2 inches from the wrist to the tip of his middle
finger.

The shortest man, 74 year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi, from
Nepal, is just 21½ inches tall and is the shortest adult human ever
verified by Guinness World Records. He works as a weaver who
also helps look after buffaloes & cows in his remote mountain
village of Reemkholi. He weighs just 32 pounds.

The occasion the unique men met was the 10th annual Guinness
World Records Day, which celebrates record-setting achievements
around the globe.

Team UNIBEN wins international award for vehicle innovation

Abeg we are good jor!

Students of Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, called
Team UNIBEN, broke grounds in an international competition –
Shell Eco Marathon in Europe and South Africa in Oct. 2014 and
won a distinguishing award for ‘most innovative vehicle design’
throughout Africa with its made in Nigeria car called Ecocruise.

Shell Eco Marathon is a global competition that challanges
students to build, test and drive fuel efficient vehicles. In other
words, all the cars built are set to race and the vehicle that goes
the farthest on the least amount of fuel automatically wins.

Team UNIBEN has previously also broken a record when they
attended the Shell eco-marathon Europe in may 2014 with its first
made in Nigeria car Tuketuke, making it the first team from Sub
Saharan Africa to participate in the Shell eco-marathon. These
two cars were handmade by these students alone in the
workshop.

Tuketuke has innovative features like automatic windscreen wiper,
button actuated gears, fingerprint access, ankara interior and
fibreglass body. Both cars won all 10 technical and safety
inspections, which I might add, are world standard, that qualified
them to race on the track.

They are currently taking yet another challenge to build two cars
that will participate in another shell eco-marathon in the
Netherlands next year.

Students involved include: Osas Omijie, Festus ibidapo, adekola
adeyemi, abdulmalik tajliad, Daniel okwoka, justice Oyemike,
emmanuel Ajari, eloghosa iyamu, James itoro, Jennifer orji, Anne
monye, Michael olukoya,and Victor adegboye, 13 students in total
supervised by Professor Akii Ibhadode (Winner, NLNG Award for
Science, 2010).

FG to extradite killer of UK-based actor

The Nigeria Police Force says the Federal Government is set to
extradite a murder suspect, Jeffrey Okafor, to the United Kingdom
where he has been declared wanted for the murder of a UK-based
child actor, Carl Asiedu.

Okafor and others who have since been arrested allegedly stabbed
19-year-old Asiedu to death on August 1, 2009 outside a UK
nightclub.

Okafor was later caught on CCTV boarding a plane to Nigeria days
after committing the alleged act.

The family of the deceased subsequently made an emotional
appeal for information as the police offered a reward of £10,000
(N2.6m).

The suspect continued to evade authorities for about five years but
was arrested on September 23, 2014 in Asaba, the Delta State
capital.
A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel
Ojukwu on Wednesday in Abuja, said the Inspector General of
Police, Suleiman Abba, commended the Police Intelligence
Operatives for the arrest of the suspect.

Pic: Bar man stabbed in Lagos for staring at customer’s girlfriend

A barman, Simeon Tenebe, who works in a hotel around Ojodu,
Lagos was badly injured during an unprovoked attack by a
customer who stabbed him with a bottle because he was allegedly
starring at the customer and his girlfriend who he came to drink
with.

According to Punch, Kelvin Friday and his girlfriend, were hanging
out in the hotel around 6pm on October 21, when it happened. The
victim, claimed he was thinking about something he had discussed
with his sister earlier in the day when the customer came up to
him, saying that he was rudely starring at them and smashed his
head with the bottle of beer he was drinking…

The customer, Kelvin initially complained of Simeon’s customer
service when they first stepped into the hotel. Kelvin later then
complained Simeon was rudely starring and challenged him to
fight at which point he attacked with a bottle, seriously. His
girlfriend fled the scene when Simeon started bleeding.

Kelvin Friday has since been arrested and has been charged
before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court for assault

Scores feared dead after Bomb explosion in Yobe today

Many were killed today November 3rd after a suicide bomber
detonated a bomb targeted at members of the Shiite group, the
Islamic Brotherhood of Nigeria, who were on procession at Faydia
Islamic School located near the old market in Pokiskum, Yobe
state. Reports say the Muslim faithfuls were celebrating Ashura
day, which is the new month of the Islamic Calendar, when the
bomb went off. The bomber was among the worshipers when the
bomb went off.

Security operatives have since condoned off the scene of the
incident.

MONDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, 34, could move to Major League
Soccer side New York Cosmos if he fails to sign a new deal at
Anfield. (Metro)

Liverpool target Fabian Schar
played in Basel’s recent
Champions League win over
the Reds

Arsenal’s hopes of signing Basel defender Fabian Schar have been
boosted after the 22-year-old admitted he is ready to leave the
Swiss club. (Daily Express)

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have been put on alert
with 15-year-old West Ham starlet Reece Oxford no closer to
agreeing a permanent deal at Upton Park. (Sky Sports)

Tottenham will make a concerted effort to sign out-of-favour
Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri, 23, in January. (Goal.com)

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester City could replace manager Manuel Pellegrini with
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone if the club decide to sack the
61-year-old at the end of the season. (Metro)

Former Manchester United boss David Moyes is in contention to
take charge of Spanish side Real Sociedad after they parted
company with coach Jagoba Arrasate. (Mirror)

Pellegrini says City should have had three penalties during
Sunday’s win over Manchester United, bemoaning the performance
of referee Michael Oliver as “unbelievable”. (Telegraph)

But City goalkeeper Joe Hart was fortunate to escape unpunished
after he appeared to square up to Michael Oliver during the
Manchester derby. (Daily Mail)

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson has told West Brom striker Saido
Berahino to “keep his mouth shut” after he accused Foxes defender
Marcin Wasilewski of elbowing him. (Mirror)

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is backing in-form winger Stewart
Downing for an England recall. (Daily Star)

Manchester City have sold out Etihad Stadium for Wednesday
evening’s vital Champions League encounter with CSKA Moscow
by offering fans two seats for the price of one. (Guardian)

Germany coach Joachim Low is set to beat Real Madrid manager
Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini to the
Fifa Coach of the Year award. (The Sun – subscription required)

Hull City midfielder Stephen Quinn has backed Tigers keeper Eldin
Jakupovic to bounce back from his error against Southampton.
(Sky Sports)

Manchester City midfielder James Milner believes the pressure on
unbeaten Chelsea could play into City’s hands in the Premier
League title race. (Talksport)

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson says the Reds need to show
more creativity after their 1-0 loss to Newcastle on Saturday.
(Liverpool Echo)

New Birmingham boss Gary Rowett says he is not concerned about
relegation and is focused on leading the Blues up the
Championship table. (Birmingham Mail)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Everton goalkeeper Tim
Howard tweeted this photo
from Leon Osman’s
testimonial dinner

Joey Barton took to Twitter to defend the controversial
performance of referee Michael Oliver in the Manchester derby,
saying he “got the big calls right”.

QPR defender Rio Ferdinand tweeted that it “hurt” to see former
Manchester United assistant Brian Kidd celebrating Sergio
Aguero’s goal in his current role as assistant at Manchester City.

AND FINALLY

Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff says he is “open to
offers” from football clubs after saving a penalty from James
Corden during a half-time challenge at the Manchester derby.
(Daily Mail)

Manchester United defender Paddy McNair, 19, has enjoyed such a
meteoric rise to first-team action that he didn’t even have a
Wikipedia page until last month. (Daily Star)

Source: bbcsport.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

By Irish Blessing

Cossy Orjiakor o! Parties bra-less at Halloween party. (pics)

She partied with friends at a Halloween party at Caliente night club last night…and put her massive boobs on display.

We don’t know yet when Chibok girls will be released – Minister of Interior

Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, in a meeting this
weekend, ruled out any specific date for the release of abducted
Chibok girls but noted that their release was priority on
government agenda.

“The true picture in Nigeria as far as insurgency in the North-
East is concerned is that the war on Nigeria by the terrorists
is still on. And, of course, from the onset of this crisis,
government had indicated tackling the insurgency on three
fronts: point of engagement, point of consultation and point
of containment. And so, consultations definitely will
continue: And don’t forget that because of the prolonged
nature of the insurgency, a lot of activities are going on, both
at the level of government and the level of the insurgents.

“So now, the insurgents are divided into various sectors
especially with the death of their leader, Shekau. (But I
thought Shekau resurfaced in a video just recently? someone
asked) the minister ignore and continued.

“However, at the moment, our foreign partners and
collaborators are helping and collaborating with Nigeria to
arrive at a peaceful resolution of the matter and to bring the
insurgency to an end. And one of the issues on the table in
arriving to an end to the crisis is the release of the Chibok
girls. It is one issue at stake as part of the resolution of the
crisis.But for anybody to put a date on the release of the
Chibok girls, that person is just being speculative, but we
will certainly get there soon”.

You’ll never guess which country Googles gay porn the most…

This has got nothing to do with me o…lol. I will post it exactly as
I saw it on Pink News . So we dey Google gay porn like this for
Nigeria? Choi!

A surprising country has topped Google’s rankings for
searching for pictures of gay sex. Anti-gay laws and strong
social stigma appear to be doing nothing to abate the
curiosity of everyday people – with Kenya’s searches for gay
sex outranking those of all Western countries.

Kenya tops the Google trends rankings for both ‘gay sex
pics‘ and ‘gay porn pics’, with an extraordinarily high search
index.
South Africa came second, followed by Nigeria and Pakistan,
with the US & UK ranking a distant seventh and eighth.

92% of the Kenyan population agree that homosexuality is
‘unacceptable’, while having sex “against the order of
nature” in the country can carry a prison sentence of up to 21
years.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill would introduce harsh
punishments for homosexuality, with life imprisonment or the
death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’.

Photo: IBB returns from Germany after 2 months

Former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida (IBB), who left Nigeria on Sept. 6, arrived the country
yesterday November 1st after undergoing surgery in a German
hospital.

IBB arrived at the Minna airport by 2.50 pm in a chartered flight
and was received by Mohammed and Halima, his children, as well
as some government officials, his close friends and associates. He
was dressed in blue kaftan with gray stripes, left the airport for his
hilltop house, Minna in a BMW car and arrived at 3:15 pm into the
waiting hands of four of his grand children. Continue…

In a short interview with journalists, when asked if the pressure
will not be too much for him with 2015 politicking, IBB said that he
had been following the political developments in Nigeria while in
Germany, and added that, “I missed all of you that welcomed me,
especially my local champions (journalists). I look forward to all
of you, to seat and chat with you and talk about politics as we
always do. For now, I want to rest.”

52yr old woman arrested for allegedly operating baby factory in Imo

Officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, NSCDC,
Imo state command have arrested a 52 year old woman, Mrs
Esther Akunmadu (pictured above), for allegedly operating a baby
factory in the Umutueke community in Imo state.

Parading her before newsmen, the state NSCDC deputy
commandant, Ade Micheal, said the woman was arrested following
a tip off from members of the community, a claim the accused
woman denied

“She said she is a retired midwife and she runs a maternity
home that has no name and no certificate.” he said.

A search carried out at the supposed maternity home which she
opened about a year ago revealed she had four women and two
one-week old babies in the premises. The NSCDC boss alleged
that the woman bribed his men with N100,000 which they collected
but presented before newsmen.

When interrogated, a distraught Mrs Akunmadu who spoke in
pidgin English denied running a baby factory but admitted bribing
the officials with N100,000. She said the day the men came to raid
her maternity home, she was about going to the market to buy
biscuits and sweets which she also sells and that when she saw
the seriousness of the NSCDC officials, she gave them the money
so that they could leave her alone and not drag her into any
trouble.

When interrogated, one of the young girls found at her supposed
maternity home, said her mother actually brought her to Mrs
Akunmadu for treatment until she delivers her baby but does not
know if there was any other agreement between her mother and
the accused woman as she had only stayed barely a week at the
maternity home.

In a related development, the Anambra state police command
arrested and paraded a couple pictured above, that specialize in
stealing new born babies at various hospitals in the state.

Parading the couple before newsmen at the state command
headquarters in Awka the state capital on Saturday Nov 1st, the
state Commissioner of Police, Hassan Karma said the couple who
are in their early twenties collaborate with some hospital nurses
to steal the new born babies from their mothers while they are still
in hospital.

Photo credit: Screen-grab from Channels TV news

Thugs kill okada rider, flee with his hand

Some cultists believed to be loyal to a political party invaded
Adifase Street, Bariga, Lagos and hacked a motorcyclist, Segun
Atupa, to death.

Not done, the hoodlums severed the 28-year-old victim’s hand
and fled with it.

The murder came less than two weeks after political thugs killed
two youths and beheaded one of them in the Fadeyi area of the
state.

Residents told PUNCH Metro that the thugs had returned from a
rally before carrying out the attack.
Our correspondent learnt that Atupa was attacked in the area
around 8pm on October 24.

He was said to have been ambushed and hacked with machetes
repeatedly by the hoodlums while going about his evening
business.
Our correspondent also learnt that the hoodlums dumped Atupa’s
body beside a canal on the street as they left.

Source: punchng.com

Cute pics: Beyonce and Blue Ivy dress as Michael Jackson and JanetJackson

This was a Halloween costume of Beyonce and her daughter Blue Ivy. So cute.

SUNDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, 25, says he has no intention of
making a £90m move to Manchester United. (Daily Star Sunday)

Reported Liverpool target
Pedro played in Spain’s 2010
World Cup final victory

Liverpool are ready to outbid Arsenal in the race to sign Barcelona
winger Pedro, 27, in the January transfer window. (Metro)

The Reds are also set to replace Simon Mignolet with Fiorentina
goalkeeper Neto, 25, in January. (Daily Star Sunday)

Heerenveen midfielder Daley Sinkgraven, 19, has dealt a blow to
Manchester United’s hopes of signing him after revealing he would
prefer to remain in his native country, with Ajax a possible
destination. (IB Times)

Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote, 28, could be in line for a £12m
January move to Rafa Benitez’s Napoli. (The Sun on Sunday –
subscription required)

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has pleaded with skipper
Steven Gerrard, 34, to extend his contract at Anfield. (The Sun on
Sunday – subscription required)

And Rodgers has criticised the decision to exclude former Liverpool
striker Luis Suarez from the Ballon D’Or shortlist. (Sunday
Express)

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and Manchester United
defender Marcos Rojo have become embroiled in a row over
Aguero’s girlfriend ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby. (Sunday
Mirror)

And Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has stoked the local
rivalry further by claiming that Manchester City are still “years
behind” United. (Observer)

Formula 1 giants Red Bull are in talks to buy Leeds United from
Massimo Cellino. (Mail on Sunday)

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has revealed team-mate Alexis
Sanchez’s training secret – no rest days. (Talksport)

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman admits he is “surprised” at
how well the club’s new signings have adapted to the Premier
League. (Sky Sports)

Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo, 29, currently on loan at
Valencia, has hit out at his treatment by manager Manuel
Pellegrini. (Manchester Evening News)

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has laughed off claims by
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce that he is too set in his ways.
(Liverpool Echo)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Joey Barton was unable to get a ticket to watch his club QPR take
on Chelsea, but ended up enjoying his second-choice match of
Brentford v Derby, which he described on Twitter as “a terrific
game of football”.

Peter Crouch’s wife Abbey Clancy shared a picture of the lanky
Stoke striker dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween.

AND FINALLY

Injured Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been nominated in the
British Fashion Awards. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard accidentally referred to the Blues’
League Cup opponents Shrewsbury Town as ‘Strawberry Town’
during an interview with the club’s in-house TV channel. (Daily
Star)

Source: bbcsport.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we’ll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain.”

By Gordon Hinckley

Shocking pic of ISIS supporter making a baby kick the severed head of a Syrian soldier

T he toddler’s father is believed to be an avid Islamic State
supporter and is carrying the baby while smiling with delight as he
watches his innocent child kick the severed head of a Syrian
soldier. Unbelievable!

Canada suspends visas for residents of Ebola-hit African countries

In a bid to also stop the spread of Ebola into its borders, the
Canadian government today October 31st announced its
suspension of visa applications for travelers from Ebola-hit
countries.

Below is the statement released today by Canada’s health
minister, Rona Ambrose

“Our number one priority is to protect Canadians. We
continue to work with domestic and international partners to
aid efforts to respond to the outbreak in West Africa, while
strengthening our domestic preparedness here at home.”

The Canadian immigration minister, Chris Alexander said
Canadian immigration authorities will not process any visa
application for individuals who have been in any Ebola-affected
nation ‘within three months prior to the date of the application.’

“Canada has been a leader in the international efforts to
respond to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The
precautionary measures announced today build on actions
we have taken to protect the health and safety of Canadians
here at home.” he said.

SATURDAY: EUROPEAN FOOTBALL RESULTS

FT Newcastle United 1 – 0 Liverpool
FT Arsenal 3 – 0 Burnley
FT Chelsea 2 – 1 Queens Park Rangers
FT Everton 0 – 0 Swansea City
FT Hull City 0 – 1 Southampton
FT Leicester City 0 – 1 West Bromwich Albion
FT Stoke City 2 – 2 West Ham United

FT Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 – 0 Birmingham City
FT Blackburn Rovers 3 – 1 Reading
FT Blackpool 0 – 2 Ipswich Town
FT Brentford 2 – 1 Derby County
FT Cardiff City 3 – 1 Leeds United
FT Huddersfield Town 3 – 0 Nottingham Forest
FT Rotherham United 0 – 3 Middlesbrough
FT Watford 3 – 1 Millwall
FT Wigan Athletic 3 – 3 Fulham
FT Charlton Athletic 1 – 1 Sheffield Wednesday
FT AFC Bournemouth 3 – 2 Brighton & Hove Albion

FT SSC Napoli 2 – 0 Roma
FT Empoli 0 – 2 Juventus
FT Parma 2 – 0 Inter
FT Granada 0 – 4 Real Madrid
FT Atletico Madrid 4 – 2 Cordoba
FT Barcelona 0 – 1 Celta Vigo
FT Real Sociedad 0 – 1 Malaga

FT Hamburger SV 1 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen
FT Hannover 96 1 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
FT Mainz 05 1 – 2 Werder Bremen
FT VfB Stuttgart 0 – 4 Wolfsburg
FT Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Borussia Dortmund

FT Lorient 1 – 2 Paris Saint Germain
FT Guingamp 1 – 0 Bastia
FT Lille 1 – 1 Saint Etienne
FT Metz 3 – 2 Caen
FT Montpellier 2 – 0 Evian Thonon Gaillard
FT Nice 1 – 3 Lyon

Cute pic: Seun Kuti and his family take a stroll in Sweden

Seun Kuti says he doesn’t believe in marriage but see him, he
looks like a man in love…awww. The Afro-beat artist is pictured
with his girlfriend Yetunde and their daughter Adara as they took a
stroll on the streets of Gothenburg, in Sweden where he had a
concert this week. Cute family!

Flavour releases another nude pic

Can someone pls tell me what is wrong with Flavour, if any?

Na waa for all this nude pics o!

Would you like to study Beyonce or Rihanna as a course in the university?

Come April 2015, students at the University of Texas, Austin will
be adding a new course that will focus on Rihanna and Beyonce.
This new course, Beyonce Feminism, Rihanna Womanism, will not
be available until Spring 2015, but the University has already
released some details about the curriculum.

According to the University, “They will not be simply listening to
Beyoncé and Rihanna for fun or even comparing the roles of
Beyoncé and Rihanna in popular culture, rather, students will be
studying how the lyrics, music videos, and actions of these women
express various aspects of black feminism such as violence,
economic opportunity, sexuality, standards of beauty, and creative
self-expression.”

The course, according to its listing, “Hopes for students to
understand the role black feminism plays in culture as well as
everyday”.

A number of colleges have already made similar moves;
including Georgetown University which offers a sociology course
based on Jay-Z, Harvard University which offers a course on
Tupac Shakur and Rutgers University which already offers its own
Beyonce course titled “Politicizing Beyonce.”

Exclusive photos: Kcee acquires customized 2014 Cadillac Escalade

Music star Kcee just added to his fleet of cars a 2014 fully pimped
gold colored Cadillac Escalade

God must surely bless all our efforts o! Amen!

Chinedu Ubachukwu wins Gulder Ultimate Search Season 11

Chinedu Ubachukwu has emerged winner of the 11th edition of
Gulder Ultimate Search.

Chinedu beat the two other finalists Cosy Joe & Afolabi Emmanuel
to the ultimate prize by being the only person to complete the final
task of retrieving the General’s War Helmet. This victory came
after the 24-year-old graduate of Petroleum & Gas at University of
Port Harcourt successfully navigated his way through the forest
and managed to row his canoe across the heavy currents of
Aguleri River.

The other two warriors failed in their bids to get to the mysterious
destination across the waters.

With this achievement, the native of Anambra State will exchange
the treasure for a whopping N10million and a brand new SUV.
As soon as Chinedu located & retrieved the General’s War Helmet,
anchorman Chidi Mokeme inducted him into the exclusive Order of
Heroes as the 11th “Ultimate Man”.

The other finalists will get cash prizes for the positions they
finished in.

On the other hand, Otto Canon has won the Viewers’ Choice
award, thus becoming the proud owner of a brand new SUV in
addition to the prize money he gets for being the 3rd runner up.
Samantha Appi, the Last Woman Standing also gets a reward of a
brand new 2014 Urban Ford Ecosport SUV in addition to the prize
money for being a contestant on the show.

The Winner’s Party will take place at Women Development Centre,
Awka on the 1st of November 2014 at 5pm.

To get an invite, follow the conversation on social media
#GUSTheMission

The reality show began with a total of 14 contestants, 7 of whom
are male: Iwuoha Ikenna, 24, from Imo State; Nwagboso Joshua,
27 from Abia State; Emedike Ikenna, 28, from Anambra State; Nne
Cosy Joe, 28, Rivers State; Ubachukwu Chinedu, 24, from Anambra
State; Otto Canon Chimenem, 25, from Rivers State; and Afolabi
Emmanuel Olusegun, 29, from Lagos State.

The 7 female contestants are: Iroh Noela, 25, from Imo State; Appi
Samantha, 25, from Bayelsa State; Erijakpor Loretta, 30, from
Delta State; Robinson Sharon, 26, from Delta State; Eriata
Blessing Ese, 21, from Edo State; Addoh Evi, 22, from Delta State
and Nwagbagiro Sandra, 25, from Anambra State.

President Jonathan picks PDP re-election form

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday picked the Peoples
Democratic Party nomination form to contest the 2015 presidential
election on the PDP platform even as the party offered automatic
second term tickets to all its incumbent governors.

The President, who spoke while picking his nomination form at the
party’s national headquarters in Abuja, said he would still have
bought the nomination form without the endorsement given to him
by the national leadership of the PDP.

President Jonathan was endorsed as the sole presidential
candidate of the party by the NEC and other organs of the party.
When two other presidential aspirants stormed the party with their
supporters on Tuesday with their bank tellers and receipts from
the party, the leadership of the ruling party refused to sell the
nomination forms to them.

The two aspirants are, Dr. Abdul-Jhalil Tafawa-Balewa and Prof.
Akasoba Duke-Abiola.

However, the President said that he remained grateful for the
gesture, which he said, was the first in the history of the party.

President Jonathan said, “I could have still picked the form if they
did not give me. But giving me the right of first refusal has
attracted more people than ordinarily it would have had.
“Your Excellency, our chairman, thank you and extend our
appreciation to other great members of our party, especially
members of the NEC who unanimously endorsed that decision.”

Boy attacked by dogs in stable condition – LASUTH

The management of the Lagos State University Teaching, Hospital,
Ikeja has denied allegations of abandoning four-year-old
Omonigho Abraham, who was attacked by two dogs.

However, in a swift reaction, Omonigho’s father, Odia, argued that
the hospital authorities were lying as the doctors had neglected
his son until PUNCH Metro’ s report was published.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Wale Oke,
said the victim was going through a healing process which should
not be misconstrued by his relatives that his condition was
deteriorating.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Thursday that Omonigho’s father,
Mr. Odia, had expressed anxiety over his son’s condition.

Odia had said Omonigho’s head was giving off an offensive odour,
because he had been abandoned by the medical personnel in
LASUTH for two weeks.

He had also alleged that the hospital was still asking him to buy
drugs, which forced him into seeking support from members of the
public.

But Oke said Omonigho had not been abandoned and his condition
was stable.

He said, “The boy was brought here about 34 days ago. He had
been bitten by dogs. He had sustained severe injuries to his scalp.

“By the time he was brought here, we saw the injury was extensive
and that he had some dead tissues. Because of the extent of the
damage, we had to stop the bleeding, remove the dead tissues and
administer antibiotics to the boy for the healing process to begin.
It is after this (granulation), that you can develop a plan to cover
the scalp.”

President Jonathan returns Keshi as Eagles coach

Stephen Keshi is set to return as the coach of Nigeria barely two
weeks after he was relieved of his position by the Nigeria Football
Federation. The PUNCH learnt on authority that Keshi is returning
on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan.

A person with detailed information of happenings at the NFF
Secretariat told our correspondent on Thursday that it was only a
matter of time before the official announcement would be made by
the Federation.

He said, “It is not a question of if he is truly coming back to the
Eagles but a matter of when he is resuming and how much he is
going to earn.

“This is not an FA decision; this was passed down directly to them
from far above and the message was not passed through a third
party in the name of special adviser but a direct mouth to ear
briefing.”

It was learnt that the NFF was told what to do when the President
met with the Federation president Amaju Pinnick and Chris Giwa
who was in court against the election of Pinnick. Giwa had to
discontinue with the case at the Jos court on Thursday as part of
the agreement/decisions reached at the Presidential Villa.

The court case and the protracted wrangling had set Nigeria before
the world football ruling body with FIFA threatening to suspend the
country. Friday (today) was set as deadline before the President
who also received the Super Falcons on Wednesday intervened.

Keshi was dodgy with reporters when asked about his possible
return. “Well I am just hearing it from you.
But if the President of my country asked me to return, who am I to
refuse,” he told Africanfootball.com.

Even though he refused to confirm or deny, he was at the sports
ministry on Thursday where he held a lengthy meeting with the
sports minister, Dr. Tammy Danagogo. Details of the meeting were
not immediately obtained but it was learnt that it was the first
move towards returning Keshi to the position.

The NFF also sent a confusing press release on Thursday
explaining that caretaker coach Shaibu Amodu was pleading with
the NFF to take back Keshi.

The release claimed Amodu wrote a letter dated October 27 to that
effect. The letter was however not made available to the media.

Keshi was asked to move on by the NFF two weeks ago following a
string of poor results with the national team. The Eagles are on the
brink of missing Morocco 2015 African Nations Cup unless they
are able to beat Congo in Pointe Noire and also beat South Africa
in Uyo, Nigeria to create a possibility of scaling through to the
finals.

Source: punchng.com

I go to beer parlour every Friday – Ayo Fayose

Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has said he
patronises drinking joints every Friday in order to get close to the
‘common man’ in the state.

The governor said this in Abuja on Thursday while defending the
concept of “stomach infrastructure” introduced by his government.
He told journalists that it would be wrong to assume that stomach
infrastructure meant only sharing of food and money to the people.

Fayose said, “I also go to beer parlour on Fridays to stay with the
common men there. Governance is not church; it is about diverse
characters and you must relate with them as such.

“Christmas is coming, why do people go out of their ways to be
shopping or doing other things if it is not just to make people
merry?

“So, I’m grooming chicken, buying rice, yams, plantain, and the
rest of them. I am sure if I give them to families during the festive
period, they will be happy. So, stomach infrastructure is a way of
life.”

Source: punchng.com

FRIDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are on the trail of 23-year-old Ghana striker
Abdul Majeed Waris, according to his Turkish club Trabzonspor.
(Daily Mail)

Crystal Palace and QPR both want Tottenham defender Benoit
Assou-Ekotto, 30, but are not prepared to meet his £40,000-a-
week wages. (Daily Mirror)

QPR winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, 33, has rejected opportunities
to go on loan and will fight for his place at Loftus Road. The former
England international has not made a Premier League appearance
this season. (Talksport)

Fulham owner Shahid Khan is prepared to hand newly-appointed
manager Kit Symons transfer funds in January as he aims for the
club to bounce back into the Premier League at the first attempt.
(Daily Express)

Italian club Napoli have rejected suggestions that they will make a
move for Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli, 24, in January. (Daily
Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has criticised former
team-mate Paul Scholes by claiming the midfielder was too lazy to
do TV interviews as a player. (Daily Express)

Friday’s Daily Star front page
Everton striker Samuel Eto’o, 33, has already earned himself a new
Everton contract, after inspiring his team-mates with his winning
mentality. (Daily Mirror)

The Football Association has collected about £350,000 in fines
from social-media-related offences in the past three years, with
the governing body investigating 121 cases. (Guardian)

American baseball tycoons are circling Premier League clubs and
are set to launch a batch of takeover raids. (Sun – subscription
required)

Police are on red alert at the prospect of drones flying overhead
during Sunday’s Manchester derby. (Daily Mail)

Spain manager Vicente del Bosque will not back down over picking
Chelsea striker Diego Costa, 26, for next month’s internationals
against Belarus and Germany. (Daily Telegraph)

West Brom manager Alan Irvine has admitted the club are taking
steps to ensure the heightened attention on top-scorer Saido
Berahino does not go to the 21-year-old England Under-21
striker’s head. (Daily Star)

Friday’s Daily Mail back
page

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, 61, is heading for the sack,
according to former Blues forward Rodney Marsh. City are without a
win in three games, losing their last two. (Talksport)

West Ham signings Enner Valencia, Cheikhou Kouyate, Mauro
Zarate and Diafra Sakho could be handed a Christmas break by
manager Sam Allardyce in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the injury
crisis that hampered the Hammers last season. (Daily Express)

Arsenal can win the Premier League this season if they sign Real
Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, in January, claims former
Gunners winger Perry Groves. (London Evening Standard)

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will begin a major restructuring of
the club’s scouting and recruitment procedures after their poor
start to the Barclays Premier League season. (Daily Mail)

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is set to leave in-form striker
Harry Kane, 21, sweating until the last minute to find out whether
he has earned his first Premier League start of the season against
Aston Villa on Sunday. (Daily Telegraph)

Liverpool and England winger Raheem Sterling, 19, is ranked the
best under-21 prospect in Europe. (Bleacher Report UK)

QPR boss Harry Redknapp will consider involving midfielder Adel
Taarabt at Chelsea on Saturday after burying the hatchet with the
25-year-old following their row over his weight. (Sky Sports)

Redknapp admits he would like to stop his players using Twitter
after defender Rio Ferdinand was banned for three games for a
message he posted on the social media site. (getwestlondon.co.uk)

Garry Monk has asked a fan who posted advice on how the
Swansea boss can improve to his home address to send any future
correspondence directly to the club. (Daily Star)

Fifa has apologised for an embarrassing mistake after its video
launching the logo for the 2018 World Cup showed the disputed
Crimean peninsula as part of Russia. (Guardian)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil: No, this is neither a red carpet nor
a magic carpet. It is just the place where I’m working for my
comeback.

The German FA announced earlier this month that the 26-year-old
playmaker’s recovery from a partial rupture of the outer band of the
left knee joint would take up to 12 weeks.

Mesut Ozil discovered a
problem with his knee after
joining up with the Germany
squad for international duty
earlier this month

Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge: Feeling good right now,
closer to full fitness each day.

Sturridge, 25, is recovering from a calf strain he sustained having
only just recovered from a thigh strain picked up on England duty in
September.

Swansea City manager Garry Monk: Positive news, no FA charge
& Federico Fernandez red card rescinded. Glad common sense
prevailed.

Monk will not face any further action from the Football Association
following his post-match comments after the defeat by Stoke
earlier this month. In addition, Fernandez has had his ban for a red
card against Liverpool rescinded.

AND FINALLY

Aston Villa assistant manager Roy Keane, 43, is set to make an
appearance on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! (Daily Star)

Liverpool defender Jose Enrique, 28, and 20-year-old midfielder
Suso cheered up Mario Balotelli by singing a rendition of the
striker’s ‘Mario Magnifico’ chant and sending it to the 24-year-old.
(Daily Mail)

Source: bbcsport.com

THURSDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal are keen to sign 30-year-old Juventus full-back Stephan
Lichtsteiner. (Talksport)

Injury forced Marco Reus to
miss the World Cup with
Germany

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is planning on signing
Southampton’s 25-year-old £20m-rated England striker Jay
Rodriguez. (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool are in pole position to sign Germany midfielder Marco
Reus, 25, after talks over a new contract at Borussia Dortmund
collapsed. (Metro)

Arsenal are looking to sign Spartak Moscow midfielder Romulo, 24,
this January, with manager Arsene Wenger preparing to offer the
Russian club £9.5m plus striker Yaya Sanogo on loan. (Daily
Express)

Manchester City have joined Premier League rivals Arsenal,
Chelsea and Manchester United in the competition to sign Real
Madrid’s 27-year-old midfielder Sami Khedira. (Shoot)

Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham are interested in 25-
year-old Bayer Leverkusen defender Omer Toprak. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Some of Rio Ferdinand’s Queens Park Rangers team-mates will
welcome his three-match FA ban over an offensive Twitter post as
they are understood to believe the Hoops’ side is stronger without
the former England captain. (Daily Mirror)

Daniel Sturridge defends “misunderstood” fellow Liverpool striker
Mario Balotelli. (Talksport)

Midfielder Lewis Macleod, 20, has the right attributes to become
captain of Rangers. (Herald Scotland)

Cardiff midfielder Peter Whittingham, 30, still divides opinion more
than any other player, writes Paul Abbandonato. (Wales Online)

Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini backs Sunderland’s Vito
Mannone to bounce back from his latest goalkeeping howler.
(Northern Echo)

Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside plays down talk of an
imminent takeover after a Thai consortium claimed to be in
discussions over a £40m deal. (Guardian)

Referee chiefs Mike Riley and Howard Webb will travel to the
Netherlands next month to see if video replays could work in the
Premier League. (Sun – subscription required)

Women players are paid less not because of sexism, writes
Matthew Syed. (Times – subscription required)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Southampton right-back Nathaniel Clyne: Buzzing with the win
tonight on to the next round

Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski: Wishing my bro and Arsenal
legend Robert Pires a happy birthday.

Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon: Gutted to come off with slight
hammy issue but should be ok in no time, buzzing to lead the team
out and go through to the next round.

Tottenham defeated Brighton to reach the League Cup last eight.
Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot: What a result!! What a
performance the best support ever!! But to top it all Ryan Taylor is
back!

Midfielder Taylor made his first start in two years in the 2-0 League
Cup win at Manchester City, having been out with injury.

AND FINALLY

A Belgian referee has been criticised after awarding Genk a goal in
their league match – despite the ball clearly hitting the bar. (Metro)

Leicester striker Leonardo Ulloa watched former club Brighton take
on Tottenham – from the away end at White Hart Lane. (Daily Mail)

Source: bbcsport.com/football

Husband caught on camera handing over cash to hitman he hired to kill his bride

I’m sure most of you are familiar with this case…but let me give
you a bit of the background. In 2010, newlywed British national
Shrien Dewani and his 28 year old wife Anni Dewani were in South
Africa for their honeymoon and while riding in a taxi in Cape Town
on Nov. 13th, Anni was shot dead by two men who hijacked the
taxi. The men involved in the murder were later caught and they
shockingly confessed that the new husband had hired them to
attack them in the car and kill his wife.

The wealthy businessman who had since left South Africa back to
the UK, was extradited back to South Africa to face murder
charges. Of course Shrien denied having a hand in his wife’s death
but today a footage of him handing money to the hitman he
allegedly hired to kill his bride, taxi driver, Zola Tongo, who is
serving 18 years in prison for his role, was played at his murder
trial.

The poor woman didn’t know her husband was planning to have
her murdered.

Photos: Hot couple Kim K and Kanye West enjoy basketball date

Kim Kardashian & Kanye West looked hot and happy as they
attended the LA Lakers game against the Houston Rockets last
night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. See more photos after
the cut…

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Here is the secret of inspiration: Tell yourself that thousands and tens of thousands of people, not very intelligent and certainly no more intelligent than the rest of us, have mastered problems as difficult as those that now baffle you.”

By William Feather

Meditate on this and improve on yourself.

Hilarious! Nigerian Superstars as Diseases… by Chris Ogunlowo

I saw this article on thenet.ng written by Chris Ogunlowo and I
found it so hilarious that I had to share it here. It’s famous
Nigerians as diseases. Enjoy below…

Wizkid Syndrome: A chronic tendency to create catchy and
repetitive hits to a loyal fan base with a boyish charm that
induces envy from peers and late-bloomers, which also hides
the fact, that one is approaching quarter-life.
Davidotis: A psychiatric condition whereby a sufferer
survives speculations of whether genuine talent or one’s
father’s wealth is the source of one’s success, alongside a
pervading comparison with an equally talented whiz-kid.
Tuface Syndrome: A rare syndrome that occurs when prodigious
talent meets prodigious baby-making ability but with a legendary
status, strong social equity and a staying power that keep a whole
industry in awe.
D’banj Obsessive Disorder: A disease characterized by the
feeling that one’s best days are firmly behind and, as a result, one
looks for outlets to compensate for fading stardom and income,
including taking relief in farming.
Dangotiosis: A condition marked by an obsession with
Dangote‘s wealth, only curable by a decision to mind one’s own
business.
Lindapilepsy: A strong and strange resentment that occurs
when news of Linda Ikeji’s wealth arises, which is commonly
observed among struggling publicists, jealous digital marketers,
hungry journalists, and retired or rival bloggers.
Iyanyamariasis: The abnormal ability of a cell to spot errors in
its former ways before proceeding to create a trademark style that
takes waist gyrations to nerve-racking heights with performances
worthy of Mr. Universe Pageantry.
Tontolitis : The debilitating ability to sustain fame in an erratic
way as it was acquired while still smiling to the bank.
PSquarisasis: When two malignant cells take the understanding
of a market to unprecedented heights resulting in a dominance
previously thought impossible and doing it with a discernible Igbo
accent.
Don Jazzy Disorder: A disorder that makes an organ produce
back-to-back hits and maintain a social equity that can
embarrass pastors and politicians, including a social media
addiction and an idiosyncratic singing style that impresses.
Kceeosis: A cell’s ability to confuse celebrity with a right to
make embarrassing wardrobe choices and a knack for coming out
even more horrendous than a previous time despite public outcry
and bile from popular bloggers.
Jenniferiasis: The ability of an organ to exhibit behavior that
would ordinarily be considered razz to a point where the lines
between acting and reality are blurred but compensated with
popular adulation and brand endorsements.
MIplasia: A type of dwarfism that compensates the lack of
bone growth with incredible rhyming prowess and a persona
capable of inducing endless admiration and beef from hustling
rappers.
Ice Prince Cerebral Cramps: A disorder that causes
exaggerated hip-hop postures, a rigid conformity to infantile end-
rhymes that turn rap songs into mainstream classics and also
results in multiple awards than most “serious” rappers.
Mode Complex: An affliction that causes an artist to be the
default reference for prodigious & clever wordplay that, sadly, does
not correlate with the amount of albums sold or account balance, a
living proof of the saying: ‘grammar no be money’.
Dakolomentality: A rare psychotic disorder that inflicts a
sufferer with unlimited guttural talent but indistinctive brand
positioning & packaging.
Olamide Palsy: A malignant tumor that involves a blatant
display of one’s ethnicity and background combined with traits
mostly reserved for touts but interestingly made into a premium
musical package that surprises earlier sufferers of the same tumor
who faded into obscurity.
Phynognomy: A severe condition similar to Olamide Palsy but
with an Igbo flair and an ability to turn what would have been a
bad hair day for most into a phenomenal signature look.
Bella Naija Syndrome: An affliction whereby the Nigerian
national man-hour is spent keeping track of who wore what to
where until one wakes up to the reality of a wasted lifetime.
Kedike Syndrome: A syndrome that causes a sufferer to endure
a clean image despite the presence of a latent sexuality which
experts guess might lead to a Rihanna Crisis or, in the extreme, a
psychiatric condition of Miley Cyrus proportions….

Photos: actor Osita Iheme ‘Paw Paw’ tries his hands on golfing

The comic act is learning how to golf and shared photos from his
practice on his instagram page.

Nigerian dad sues US school after daughter is banned over Ebola fears

A Nigerian father (pictured above) has sued a school in the US,
Connecticut elementary school, saying his 7-year-old daughter
was discriminated against and banned from school for 21 days
based on irrational fears of Ebola because she attended a wedding
in Nigeria.

From Reuters

Stephen Opayemi filed the lawsuit in federal court in New
Haven, Connecticut. He asked a judge to order the schools in
Milford, Connecticut, to immediately permit his daughter to
return to her third-grade class.

Opayemi’s daughter has not experienced any symptoms
associated with Ebola and her health is fine, but parents and
teachers were concerned she could transmit Ebola to other
children, the lawsuit says.

“We’re hoping this will get her back into school as soon as
possible,” the girl’s mother, Ikeolapo Opayemi, said in a brief
interview at their home.

Although the mother declined to discuss details of the
lawsuit, citing the advice of the family’s attorney, she said
they had lived in Milford for more than six years. Asked if she
was surprised by the school system’s actions, she nodded in
agreement.

Nigeria had 20 Ebola cases and eight deaths this year before
the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-
free on Oct. 19. The epidemic is centered in three other West
African countries, where about 5,000 people have died:
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Connecticut third-grader, Ikeoluwa Opayemi, traveled to
and from Lagos, Nigeria, between Oct. 2 and Oct. 13,
according to the lawsuit. Her father, a native of Nigeria, also
went.

Jonathan Berchem, the Milford city attorney, said he had not
seen the suit and could not comment on it. Elizabeth Feser,
the school superintendent, did not return a call requesting
comment but said in an email she had not been served with
the suit.

African communities in the United States have reported an
increasing amount of ostracism since the Ebola epidemic
began. At least two speeches by Liberians have been
canceled by U.S. universities, and a college in Texas refused
admission to Nigerian students over worries about the virus.
A neighbor of the Opayemi family, Prashant Batil, said his 6-
year-old plays often with Ikeoluwa and that he believed the
school system was overreacting.

“The parents are extremely responsible people, and if they
say she does not have Ebola, I would have no reluctance for
my daughter to play with her,” Batil said in an interview.

Opayemi’s suit was filed under the Americans with
Disabilities Act. The law prohibits discrimination based on
someone having a physical or mental impairment, or on the
belief that someone has such an impairment.

Milford officials refused the father’s offer to have both himself
and his daughter screened for Ebola, the suit says.
According to the suit, a city health official said in an Oct. 15
meeting that the risk of the girl infecting anyone was minor
but that she ought to be quarantined because of rumors,
panic and the climate of the school.

City and school officials told Ikeoluwa not to return to school
until Nov. 3, the suit says.

The case is Ikeoluwa Opayemi v. Milford Public Schools and
City of Milford, U.S. District Court for the District of
Connecticut, No. 3:14-cv-01597.

Source: Reuters

WEDNESDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Chelsea are considering a £24m January bid for Barcelona
defender Gerard Pique, 27, as a replacement for captain John
Terry, 33. (Daily Star)

Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino expects Harry Kane to
have a long future at White Hart Lane, despite rumours linking the
21-year-old with a move from the club. (London Evening Standard)

Gareth Bale could be available to Manchester United for £90m as
his Real Madrid team-mate Isco’s good recent form has edged the
25-year-old Welshman out of the European champions’ first team.
United attempted to buy Bale when the attacker left Tottenham for
the Bernabeu in a world-record move in 2013. (Daily Star)

Gareth Bale won the Spanish
league and cup double and
the Champions League in his
first season with Real Madrid

Manchester United could bring former Arsenal and Chelsea left-
back Ashley Cole back to the Premier League from Roma. The 33-
year-old is keen on a return to England and would give teenager
Luke Shaw competition in the United defence. (Daily Express)

Aston Villa are considering making an offer to local rivals Wolves
for winger Bakary Sako in an attempt to add some much-needed
attacking edge. The 26-year-old Mali international has scored
seven goals this season, while Villa have managed just four. (Daily
Mirror)

Nottingham Forest have made a move to sign Hull City’s out-of-
favour forward Tom Ince, 22, on an emergency loan deal. (Hull
Daily Mail)

Arsenal have stolen a march on Bayern Munich in the race to sign
17-year-old Benfica midfielder Goncalo Guedes, who is also being
tracked by AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund. (Daily Express)

OTHER GOSSIP

Hull manager Steve Bruce has been linked with the vacant
managerial role at Championship side Fulham. (Daily Mirror)

Wednesday’s Sun back page

Adel Taarabt was left out of QPR’s under-21 fixture against
Swansea. The 25-year-old midfielder has been involved in a public
row with Harry Redknapp over his fitness but was due to play in the
match at the club’s Harlington training ground in west London.
(Daily Express)

The average yearly wage of a League Two manager is £50,000,
compared with the £3m average of a manager in the Premier
League. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to see more of
his players challenging to win the Ballon d’Or in future.
(Independent)

Goalkeeper Vito Mannone, 26, faces the axe for Sunderland’s visit
to Crystal Palace on Monday night. (The Sun – subscription
required)

Former France coach Raymond Domenech has described Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho as a translator with an over-inflated
opinion of himself. (Daily Telegraph)

Referee Mark Clattenburg has been dropped from Premier League
duty this weekend after he broke protocol to attend an Ed Sheeran
concert. (Daily Mail)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Mario Balotelli celebrated ending his Liverpool goal drought
against Swansea on Tuesday night by tweeting: “Finally!”

Anders Lindegaard was
reportedly the only
Manchester United squad
member not to watch El
Clasico with his team-mates

Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard took to Twitter
to poke fun at reports he did not join his team-mates in watching
Real Madrid’s match against Barcelona on Saturday.

AND FINALLY

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski is set to make his acting debut.
The 29-year-old is set for a role in German comedy Macho Man.
(Metro)

A Uruguayan newspaper has claimed that Luis Suarez’s Barcelona
team-mates did not help him on his debut against Real Madrid. El
Observador noted that Lionel Messi did not pass to the former
Liverpool striker at any stage during the match. (Daily Star)

Stoke City have told Ryan Shawcross not to man-mark at set-
pieces as they fear the 27-year-old defender is being targeted by
referees for his ‘grappling’. (Daily Mail)

Al Ahly midfielder Walid Soliman has been banned for four months
by the Egyptian FA for untucking a referee’s shirt after being
booked. (Fox Soccer)

Source: bbcsport.com/football

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“As for myself, I always willingly acknowledge my own self as the principal cause of every good and of every evil which may befall me; therefore I have always found myself capable of being my own pupil, and ready to love my teacher.”

By Giacomo Casanova

Think about this.

“I’m not bothered that people think I am arrogant” – Wizkid

In a new interview with Encomium mag, Wizkid said he doesn’t
care if people think he is arrogant, that he doesn’t love everybody
and so doesn’t expect everybody to love him.

Asked if it bothers him that people think he’s arrogant, Wizkid said;

“Bother me? Never! I am not bothered. Honestly I don’t hear
people saying it because anytime I go out, I show my fans
great love. I do my thing. I don’t have problem with that
because I don’t love everybody as well. So I don’t expect
everybody to love me too. That’s life” Continue…

Asked if he is terrible person, Wizkid said;

“Terrible? Everyone has opinion about people. But when they
say Wizkid is terrible, you need to ask them, “Why is Wizkid
a terrible person? What did he do? For four years, I was
making music with Samklef, everyone knew his house. I was
going up and down, shouting, Samklef Nor Ni. That’s me, I
am just trying to be a good person. Whereas everyone cannot
like you and everyone cannot hate you” he said.

Asked if fame has in anyway changed him, Wizkid said:

“No, fame has not changed Wizkid. The only thing fame has
changed in Wizkid is that I added some accessories. I have
got nice chains, watches, and nice clothes. Asides that, I am
still Wizkid. I no tall, still same height”

He also reacted to his recent controversy with singer Saeon,
“Oh really? She’s bitter about it. I didn’t see the allegation
but I gave her hit song. I no try? I did my part. I was in the
studio with her, gave her hit song. I no try. That’s not even
how much I charge for collaboration, I charge N10 million. I
collected N1.5 million from her because of love. I was busy, I
didn’t want to do it” he said.

Asked about the comment that he doesn’t charge those he loves,
Wizkid said;

“Yeah I don’t charge people I love. I said so but when
someone is on your neck everyday for a collaboration and
she offers you money, won’t you collect it? If you fail to
collect it, they start calling you terrible person. I am just
trying to be a good guy”

On his fashion sense, Wizkid said;

“Fresh! Am I not looking fresh? I have always loved chains a
lot. For me, I also see chains as investment because they ar
gold and diamond. You can always sell anything gold and
diamond. It is like an investment for me”.

On why he loves to flaunt his accessories on social media, Wizkid
said;

“You know now. I didn’t have accessories when I started my
career. Did you see me wearing bling-bling when I did Hola
at your boi? No! I hustled to get money to buy them and there
is no crime if I show it or flaunt it to my fans because they
gave me money to buy them” he said.

On where he invests his money, Wizkid said;

“I will say property but most importantly Jewelry. Do you
know how much I can sell this chain on my neck when I get
broke, God forbid? It’s money and to me it’s investment. I
don’t spend money on foolish things. I spend moderately.
Besides I am a grown man. I have problems too. I have a
child I am taking care of. I have responsibilities, believe it or
not” he said.

Asked if he is expecting another child, Wizkid said;

“Expecting wetin? Did I tell you I am expecting a child? Yes I
didn’t tell you guys when I was expecting my first child
because people wanted to kill me but Honestly, nothing like
that I am not expecting any child now”

Asked if he is getting married anytime soon, Wizkid hissed and
said “Wedding? No!”

Woman stripped to the waist after being caught stealing by shop owner

A female shoplifter was stripped to her waist by a merciless store
owner after she was caught stealing in her store. The shoplifter, 28
year old Yu Chung, went into the store in China’s Zhejiang
province to buy clothes and stuffed some into her bag without
paying for them.

The angry store owner, 39 year old Mei Hsueh, who caught her red
handed, descended on her, removed her top to prevent her from
running away, then removed her bra and pushed her outside of her
store. Of course a crowd gathered to watch, some took photos and
shared them online…

“This thief was trying to steal my clothes to I took off some
of hers. She’ll think twice before she does that again. It was
meant to be a warning to all those thieves out there to show
them that not all shops are a pushover.” The store owner said
The police was eventually called and Yu was taken away. She has
been charged with theft but no action was taken against the shop
owner.

Policemen watched my husband’s colleagues kill him – Wife

The wife of a vigilante has accused policemen attached to the
Sapele Police Division, Delta State, of aiding the thugs who killed
her 36-year-old husband.

The widow, Mrs. Esther Ifi, said the six-man gang had tortured her
late husband, Mr. Jimoh Ifi, to a coma in the presence of the
policemen around 8pm on July 16, 2014.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the gang had attacked the deceased for
failing to remit a sum of N500 to the head of the vigilante group,
Mr. Felix Ipemu. The sum, it was learnt, was given to the victim by
a man who visited their joint in the Igbeku Community when the
chairman was not around.

Our correspondent gathered that the leader of the group, who also
doubled as the youth leader in the community, reportedly ordered
his boys to unleash terror on Jimoh for being disloyal to the
group.

Esther told PUNCH Metro that after falling into a coma, her
husband was taken to the police station by the policemen.
The father of four was said to have died in police custody the
following night.

Esther said the suspected assailants were being sponsored by a
politician in the state. It was also alleged that the alleged sponsor
had made entreaties to the deceased’s family to ‘settle’ the
matter.

Narrating her ordeal, the widow said life had been difficult for the
family since her husband was murdered.

She said, “It has been difficult for me to fend for the children since
the gang killed my husband. They attacked him three times that
very day. He was relaxing at home around 8pm when they
attacked him again. Even though the police saw the gang beating
him, they did not do anything.

“Instead, they bundled him inside their van and took him to the
station. His brother and I begged them to release him, but they
refused. It was the following day that we learnt he was dead. Just
because of N500, they snatched my joy from me.”

Source: punch.ng

Police arraign teenager for allegedly raping salesgirl

A teenager, Chisomu Ovu, has been arraigned before a Tinubu
Magistrate’s Court for allegedly defiling a salesgirl.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the alleged crime happened on October
22 when the salesgirl (name withheld), said to be in her mid teens,
went to buy goods at a shop in the Ebute Ero Market, Lagos State.
Our correspondent gathered that 18-year-old Ovu allegedly lured
the victim to a store inside the shop to pack cartons of soap she
had bought and overpowered her. The defendant, it was learnt,
grabbed the salesgirl by the neck while he had carnal knowledge of
her.

The incident was said to have been reported to the police by the
girl’s boss, Funmilayo Agnes.

Source: punch.ng.com

Fraudsters get 21 years jail for N30m scam

A Federal High Court sitting in Kano state on Tuesday, convicted
and sentenced two men, Mohammed Mansur and Mohammed
Auwal, to 21 years imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to three
counts of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences
preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.

The commission said in a statement on Tuesday by its
spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, that the convicts were arraigned
on July 9, 2013 for conspiracy and an attempt to defraud one
Alhaji Auwal Ayagi under the guise of procuring plots of land from
him for Visafone Communications Limited.

According to the charge, they had claimed to be agents of Visafone
Communications Limited, located at Zoo Road, Kano outlet, and
had been assigned by their company to help purchase plots of land
from the complainant.

The deal was to be worth N30m, for which the duo demanded that
10 per cent be paid into their bank accounts as commission. Upon
arraignment they pleaded not guilty but, in the course of trial, after
the prosecution had called one witness, the two men dramatically
changed their plea and owned up to their crime.

Source: punch.ng.com

Homeless man sleeps on refuse for three days

Shop owners and residents along Bariga Road, Bajulaiye, Somolu,
Lagos have been trying to locate the family of a homeless old man
who has been sleeping on a refuse dump in the area since
Saturday.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the aged man, whose name had yet to be
known, had been lying beside a dump on Bajulaiye canal, Somolu
since Saturday afternoon.

When our correspondent visited the area on Tuesday morning, the
old man looked gaunt and his hands shivered from what appeared
to be the effect of hunger and weakness.

Some shop owners in the area said nobody knew the family or
residence of the aged man, adding that they had called the state
emergency numbers to come and remove the man.

One of them, who gave his name simply as Oluyomi, said “The old
man has been sleeping beside the dump since Saturday afternoon.
He does not speak Yoruba. His language sounds like Igbo. We
don’t know his name or house around here. But now, he cannot
even speak again.

“We called the emergency number, 767, and we informed them.
But we have yet to see any ambulance coming for him. If the man
is not quickly attended to, he may die as he has lain here for three
days now.”

Source: punch.ng

Ronaldo wins three La Liga awards

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named La Liga’s best
player among a hat-trick of awards he won at the Spanish top
flight’s annual gala.

It is the first time Ronaldo, 29, has beaten Barcelona’s Lionel Messi
to La Liga’s top prize.

The Portuguese also won prizes for the league’s best striker and
best goal, for his back-heel against Valencia.

“It is a very good moment in my career,” Ronaldo said, later
tweeting he was “happy and proud”.

The accolade comes as Ronaldo was also named on the shortlist
for the 2014 Ballon d’Or, the award given to the world’s best
player.

Argentina forward Messi, who also figures on the Ballon d’Or
shortlist, had won all five previous La Liga best player awards
since the prize was launched in the 2008-09 season.

Ronaldo finished top scorer in La Liga in 2013-14 with 31 goals,
but was unable to fire Real Madrid to the title, with city rivals
Atletico winning the league.

However, Real dominated the individual awards at the La Liga gala,
with Sergio Ramos being named best defender and Luka Modric
winning the prize for best defensive midfielder.

Source: bbcsport.com/football

Australia bans travel flight from West Africa over fear of Ebola

The Australian government today announced a travel ban on all
flights from West African countries, including Guinea, Sierra Leone
and Liberia. Thankfully, Nigeria is not included.

Making the announcement, the Australia’s Minister of Immigration,
Scott Morrison said under the new travel ban, no new visas would
be issued to intending travelers from these countries and that all
temporary visas would be cancelled, this is all i a bid to stop the
spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

He also said all passengers with permanent visas that have to
travel to Australia from these countries will be subjected to 21
days of isolation in their countries of departure and upon arrival in
Australia will be subjected to all kinds of test. He also announced
the suspension of all its West African and Humanitarian
programmes.

Photos: woman reportedly delivers baby boy after 5-year pregnancy

An Abuja-based woman, Mrs Adenike Kolawole, (pictured left)
who was barren for 27 years, has reportedly given birth to a baby
boy after carrying a 5-year pregnancy. Is that even possible?

According to PM News , Mrs Adenike gave birth on Sunday October
26th at Evangelical Church of Cherubim and Seraphim located at
Pipeline Road, Mafon area, Ejigbo, Lagos during the church’s
Sunday service.

Narrating her story to PM news, Mrs Kolawole said she suffered
miscarriage in the early period of her marriage and afterwards
found it difficult to conceive again. She said she had sought
medical help both spiritual and orthodox but none provided any
remedy. She said she finally took in five years ago but even in her
pregnant state, she was still having her menstrual cycle. She said
all through the years she was pregnant with her baby boy, herself
and her husband suffered rejection from family
and friends.

“I was rejected by my relations, my husband’s family who
did not give me the chance of bearing a child. My only
consolation was my faith in God,” she said.

She said on the day she gave birth to her son, she was in church
for their Sunday service when she noticed her water broke and
within minutes, her baby was out.

Her excited husband, Kayode said he did not believe his wife was
pregnant all these years because he had waited in vain. He said he
was grateful to God for what he had done and thanked the well
wishers for their support.

Source: PM News

Gunmen kill Julius Berger worker, abduct another

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Friday killed a German
construction worker with Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, and abducted
his colleague while on their way to Ogbere in the Ijebu East Local
Government Area of Ogun State.

The victims were said to be on their way to their quarry and were
without their usual escorts, when the incident happened.
It was learnt that the deceased German national, whose name had
yet to be known, was a sub-contractor.

A source told our correspondent that the driver of the vehicle in
which the Germans were travelling in, was trying to make a U-turn
when they suddenly ran into the abductors, who fired bullets at
their car.

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command,
Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the police were on the trail of the
abductors.

He said, “The hoodlums accosted the expatriates on the way to
their quarry. They hid in the bush and as soon as they sighted
their vehicle coming, they opened fire on them.

“One of the expatriates was hit by the bullet, in the process, his
colleague was also abducted. The one that was hit by the bullet
was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.”

Source: punch.ng.com

Boko Haram raped, beat us – Abducted girls

He soon began to threaten me with a knife to have sex with him
and when I refused, he brought out his gun, warning that he would
kill me if I shouted.

“Then he began to rape me every night … I had never had sex
before; it was very painful and I cried bitterly because I was
bleeding afterwards.”

These were the words of a 15-year-old girl, who was abducted by
Boko Haram and forcibly married to one of its commanders in a
camp in the Sambisa Forest, Borno State.

The girl, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, was
abducted in 2013 but she escaped after four weeks in captivity.
The teenager is one of the five girls that personally recounted their
ordeals in the publication which was made public on Monday. She
said that after her marriage to the commander who was in his
early 30s, she was ordered to live with him in cave.

The experiences of three others who suffered sexual violence
were narrated by witnesses in the 63-page HRW report titled,
Those Terrible Weeks in Their Camp: Boko Haram Violence against
Women and Girls in North-East Nigeria.’

Source: punch.ng

Wow photos: Wealthy Africans spending almost £4million-a-week on London property

According to a new report, super wealthy Africans are spending
almost £4million on London property every week as they snap up
some of the most exclusive investments in the capital, this is
according to Real Estate agents in the UK.

More than £600million has been spent in London by Africans
within the last three years and its on the increase. The wealthy
buyers are from Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and
Senegal, UK Daily Mail reports.

Nigerians are the biggest spenders, with wealthy nationals
forking out £250million on London homes in the last three
years. A mixture of traditional reasons combined with
increased terrorism and the outbreak of Ebola is said to be
behind the dramatic influx of African money to the capital.

Chaii! God, You must bless our efforts o!

Photos: Man allegedly shot by police in Delta State

25 year old Moses Onianwa (pictured above in hospital) who
works with Oshimili North LGA, was allegedly shot by policemen
attached to Ibusa Police Station in Delta State this past Saturday.
According to his friends, Moses was in company of three other friends and were monitoring the last Saturday Local Government Area elections when police allegedly pursued and shot at them somewhere around Asaba.

“Two of the boys ran while 2 others stayed back with the
driver of the vehicle, Christopher, 29, who was beaten black
and blue. Unfortunately, Moses, out of fright took off but was
immediately shot thrice. The two legs were battered and his
shoulder was shot at too. He is currently dying at FMC
Asaba.

“The D.P.O had quickly transferred the other one case to
State C.I.D. with cooked -up allegation of armed robbery
with possession of fire-arms planted in the car,” a friend who didn’t
want to be named said.

May God help us all.

Dear ladies, don’t ignore your twitter dms o, it might be your future husband sending you a message…

Lol. Yes na! This beautiful lady met this dashing man on
twitter…after replying a Direct Message from him…and they’ve
been together for a year now. It can happen for you too…:-)

Nick Cannon donates his $2m diamond- encrusted shoes to charity

You remember the $2.2million diamond-encrusted loafers Nick
Cannon wore to the grand finale of America’s Got Talent in
September? Well, he has donated it to a children’s hospital. The
actor and TV host donated the foot wear to the St Mary’s Hospital
for Children in Queens, New York.

The shoes will be auctioned off at a later date and the hospital will
keep all the money made from selling it. Nick says he’s happy to
donate the shoes.

“I want to keep this children’s hospital going. It’s one of the
oldest children hospitals in New York. You got there and it
puts everything into perspective. You see all that they are
going through and that they can still have a smile on their
faces. I get so much out of it. I’m glad to do this” Nick said.

Photo: Uche Jombo rocks baby bump to movie premiere

Uche is expecting her first child with husband Kenney Rodriquez.
She showed off her growing baby bump at The Other Side movie
premiere in Houston last night.

I am happy for her, though.

FIFA gives Nigeria Monday deadline

For the umpteenth time this year the world football governing
body, FIFA, has given Nigeria a deadline to avoid suspension from
international football.

Confederation of African Football President, Issa Hayatou, has
warned that Nigeria is in danger of being banned by FIFA by
Monday (today) after a court sacked the recently elected Nigeria
Football Federation Executive Committee. Indeed, it was explained
that the Super Falcons were allowed to play the AWC final match
against Cameroon on Saturday after a plea was made to FIFA
executives led by Sepp Blatter.

Last Thursday, the Federal High Court sitting in Jos gave a ruling
setting aside the NFF elections of September 30 in Warri which had
ushered in the new Exco. The court ruling has angered FIFA
officials who had warned that the country would be banned if there
were any further interference from any civil court on purely football
matters.

Gunmen kill 300-level UNIBEN student on campus

There was pandemonium at the Ugbowo Campus of the University
of Benin on Friday when a 300-level student of the Department of
Chemistry, Gbenedio Ejyroghene, was gruesomely murdered by
unknown gunmen.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Ejyroghene, popularly called “Kazito,”
was taking part in a jeans carnival organised for final-year
students of the Faculty of Physical Sciences at the 1000-Lecture
Theatre field of the faculty when he was shot in the head by the
assailants around 7pm.

A source in the institution, who pleaded anonymity, told our
correspondent that the late chemistry student was on probation
until his death and was often spotted in the final-year class of the
department.

He said, “He was in 300 level and was on probation. But he was
not always in his class.

“A final-year jeans carnival was being held on that day for the
faculty and students were having fun. So, he joined them.
Suddenly, we heard a gunshot.

“We didn’t even know that he was the one that was shot. It was
later that we saw him on the ground.”

The Public Relations Officer of the institution, Harris Osarenren,
who confirmed the incident, said that the remains of the deceased
had been deposited at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
He also disclosed that the case had been reported to the Ugbowo
Police State while investigation had commenced.

He said,“The incident which took place at the Ugbowo Campus of
the University has been reported at the Ugbowo Police Station,
while the body has been deposited at the University of Benin
Teaching Hospital, Benin City.

“Investigation is on-going by the Nigeria Police Force to unravel
the circumstances surrounding his death.”

Source: punch.ng.com

Oscar & Reeva never had sex before he killed her”- her mum claims

Late model Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June Steenkamp said
Reeva confided in her before she was shot dead on Val’s day 2013
that she’d never had sex with Oscar Pistorius.

June made this revelation in her yet to be released book titled
“Reeva: a Mother’s Story”. In an extract from the book in Times
Magazine, June wrote that Reeva told her that although they spent
nights together, they didn’t have sex because she ‘was scared to
take the relationship to that level’.

“She had confided to me that she hadn’t slept with him.
They’d shared a bed, but she was scared to take the
relationship to that level. She wouldn’t want to sleep with
Oscar if she wasn’t sure. I believe their relationship was
coming to an end. In her heart of hearts, she didn’t think it
was making either of them happy.” June wrote. Continue…
Speaking about Oscar, June wrote.

“To look at him now, he’s a pathetic figure. He looks
haunted. He’s already been punished in a way.
“Whatever is in his head is in his head forever. He will have
to live with that.”

“It was Reeva’s bad luck that she met him, because sooner
or later he would have killed someone. I do believe that.”
June also wrote that she didn’t believe Oscar’s version.

“He said pulling the trigger was ‘an accident’. What? Four
times an accident? He said Reeva did not scream, but she
would definitely have screamed. I know my daughter as she
was very vocal.

“There is no doubt in our minds that something went horribly
wrong, something upset her so terribly that she hid behind a
locked door with two mobile phones.”

She also talked about how she and Reeva’s father are dealing with
their grief.

“Both of us are haunted by the same nightmare. The vision of
Reeva suffering this terrible trauma. Her terror and
helplessness. Her yells for help piercing the silent night air.
Barry agonises over what was going through her mind.
‘Where is anyone? Who is going to save me?’

About Oscar’s apology she said.

“Why decide to say sorry to me in a televised trial in front of
the whole world? I was unmoved by his apology.

“I felt if I appeared to be sorry for him at this stage of his trial
on the charge of premeditated murder, it would in the eyes of
others lessen the awfulness of what he had done.”

“He was in the box trying to save his own skin after he had
killed my daughter and I was sitting in that courtroom
wanting to hear the factual truth, not to see emotions cloud
the truth.”

“We’re not looking for vengeance or for him to get hurt;
we’re just happy because he’s going to be punished for what
he’s done.

“He may come out early on good behaviour, but by the time
he’s served that time, it will have taught him that he can’t go
around doing things like that.” June wrote.

Iranian woman hanged for killing ‘man who tried to rape her’

27 year old Reyhaney Jabbari (pictured above), was executed on October 25th by hanging in Iran 7 years after she killed a man that she claimed had attempted to rape her. Reyhaney was sentenced to death in 2009 for the stabbing death of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former intelligence officer.

A court ruled that she killed Morteza on purpose because she had bought the knife two days before she stabbed him in the back with it. In her defence, Reyhaney said she’d stabbed the man out of self defence. The court overruled her claims and sentenced her to death, a ruling which was upheld by Iran’s Supreme court.

The execution was carried out today after the victim’s family refused to pardon Reyhaney or accept money from her family. Many human rights bodies including Amnesty International had over the years called on Iran’s judiciary to halt the execution but they went ahead with it. Her mother confirmed it, saying Reyhaney was hanged in a Tehran prison very early on Saturday morning.

PHOTO: President Jonathan arrives Israel for a pilgrimage in a blue suit

See our handsome presido! He’s pictured above rocking a blue
suit as he arrived at Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv in Israel yesterday
Saturday October 24th. He’s there for the 2014 Pilgrimage.

SUNDAY: FOOTBALL LATEST SCORES

FT Burnley 1 – 3 Everton
FT Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 2 Newcastle United
FT Manchester United 1 – 1 Chelsea
FT ChievoVerona 1 – 2 Genoa
FT Juventus 2 – 0 Palermo
FT Udinese 2 – 0 Atalanta
FT Cesena 0 – 1 Inter
FT Lazio 2 – 1 Torino
FT SSC Napoli 6 – 2 Hellas Verona
FT AC Milan 1 – 1 Fiorentina
FT Malaga 4 – 0 Rayo Vallecano
FT Espanyol 0 – 0 Deportivo La Coruna
FT Sevilla 2 – 1 Villarreal
FT Getafe 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid

MONDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

TRANSFER GOSSIP
Arsenal are moving closer to a deal for Barcelona playmaker Pedro,
27, after he handed in a transfer request at the Nou Camp. (Daily
Express)

Barcelona playmaker Pedro
has been capped 46 times by
Spain

The Gunners also remain keen to bring West Ham defender Winston
Reid, 26, to the Emirates Stadium in January. (Daily Mirror)

However, Arsenal are set to miss out on Andre-Pierre Gignac with
the 28-year-old France striker close to agreeing an extension with
Marseille. (Metro)

Manchester United will attempt to prise Wales forward Gareth Bale,
25, away from Real Madrid and offer 26-year-old Mexico striker
Javier Hernandez to sweeten the deal. (Caughtoffside)

Bayern Munich are in discussions to sign 32-year-old former
Brighton and Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
(Daily Mail)

United States captain Clint Dempsey, 31, is ready to make a
Premier League loan return from MLS outfit Seattle Sounders in
January, with Aston Villa, QPR and Stoke all interested in the
midfielder. (Daily Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

In an extract from his new book former Liverpool striker Luis
Suarez maintains his use of the word “negro” in his row with ex-
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra was misunderstood by
people who do not speak Spanish. (Guardian)

Robin van Persie’s late
equaliser against Chelsea
dominates the back of the
Daily Star

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claims Daniel Sturridge, 25,
will never become one of the best strikers in Europe unless he can
overcome his constant injury problems. (Daily Express)

American businessman Josh Harris’ proposed takeover of Crystal
Palace will enter its final stages this week, with a deal close to
completion. (Daily Mail)

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet says there is a culture of mistakes at
club which he has been unable to halt in his year at the helm.
(Sunderland Echo)

Striker Robin van Persie rescued Manchester United with last-ditch
goal, but then got called “stupid” by Red Devils boss Louis Van
Gaal for getting booked for his celebration. (Daily Star)

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has responded
claims he left an ageing squad at Old Trafford by insisting that it
was an “insult” to suggest he left the club in anything other than
rude health. (Guardian)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Newcastle gave an insight into what the club’s players use to
prepare for matches with a Vine on their Twitter account of a
table full of items including cereal bars, chewing gum, toilet roll,
vapour rub and a carton of apple juice.

AND FINALLY

Aston Villa starlet Jack Grealish says he is proud to be known as a
home grown talent after it transpired his club became the first in
the Premier League to own an allotment. (Daily Mail)

Source: bbcsport.com

Sudanese ambassador to Nigeria dies in Abuja

The Sudanese ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Tagelsir Ali, has died.
The Media Advisor to the Sudanese embassy in Nigeria, Mr
Mohammed Abdulrahman, who confirmed his death told the News
Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that Dr Ali died in the early hours of Friday
October 24th at the National Hospital, Abuja, where he was being
treated for malaria.

“He had malaria. There were some complications and he
passed away around 1 a.m. early this morning. There is a
Presidential jet coming by 5 p.m. to take the remains to
Sudan for burial. He was 66 years old. He loved working in
Nigeria and had zeal to develop the bilateral relationship
between Sudan and Nigeria and was able to stretch himself
very well,” Abdulrahman said. May his soul rest in peace.
Amen.

SEXY PHOTOS: Chika Ike takes the fun to Istanbul

Actress Chika Ike is done with Dubai and has taken the fun to
Istanbul. Lol.

Make she flex shaa.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

By Bruce Lee

This is so touching…

PHOTO: Wife kills husband in Ebonyi State

25 year old Blessing Onyibe Nwogbagami, (pictured above) has
been arrested by men of the Ebonyi state Police command for
killing her husband, Mr Onwe Nwogbagami, near their home at
Ojegbe Amike Ugbodo, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

The mother of one attacked her husband with a cutlass while he
was sleeping at an uncompleted building on October 13th.

Explaining why she killed her husband, Blessing told Sunday Sun
“My husband was fond of chasing me with cutlass whenever
we have misunderstanding. Whenever he brings out his
cutlass, I will run out of the house for him. On that particular
day, October 13, I had a misunderstanding with him and
immediately he picked up his cutlass and chased me out of
the house. Later he went to an uncompleted building to
sleep. Then I said to myself before my husband will kill me,
let me kill him first. While he was asleep I went to where he
kept his cutlass and killed him. Then I ran to my husband’s
village and told the kinsmen that I killed my husband.” she
said.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police in-charge of the State
Criminal Investigation Department, Mrs. Justina Ogbodo, said
Blessing will be charged to court while the baby will be handed to
the state welfare board.

What kind of story is this one na?

Boko Haram kills four Nigerian refugees in Cameroon

Four Nigerians taking refuge in a village in the far north of
Cameroon have been killed by members of Boko Haram in an
attack that took place on Friday October 24th.

According to a statement made available today to AFP, the
Cameroonian Ministry of Defence said the sect members attacked
“the village of Glawi, killing four Nigerian refugees and wounding
one Camerounian, before being pushed back by defence forces
which pursued them”.

The ministry also said two groups of Boko Haram members had
also tried to enter another border village with Nigeria but they were
“immediately intercepted and neutralised by our defence forces
who destroyed three 4×4 vehicles equipped with machine guns,
killing 27 assailants,”.

39 members of the sect were confirmed dead after the various
attack.

South African footballer shot dead

South Africa’s football captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has
died after being shot, South African police say.

The incident reportedly happened at Meyiwa’s girlfriend’s house in
Vosloorus, south of Johannesburg.

The 27-year-old played for Orlando Pirates and had played in
South Africa’s last four Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

On Saturday, he was in action for his club, when they progressed to
the semi-finals of the South African League Cup.
Orlando Pirates beat Ajax Cape Town 4-1.

Source: bbcsport.com

SATURDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert says the club have the option to
sign Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley, 25, on a
permanent deal in January. (Guardian)

Chelsea and Manchester United target Juan Cuadrado, a 26-year-
old winger, is just “details away” from signing a new deal with
Fiorentina. (Daily Express)

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal refuses to rule out the
possibility of signing ex-Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, 32, a
free agent who has been training with the Red Devils. (Daily
Express)

Van Gaal has identified Zenit St Petersburg’s Argentina defender
Ezequiel Garay, 28, as the player to shore up Manchester United’s
struggling back four. (Daily Mirror)

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, has dropped his wage
demands to £80,000-a-week in order to ensure he seals his
proposed transfer to Arsenal. (Metro)

OTHER GOSSIP

Moses (left) was heavily
criticised by Swansea after
he earned a penalty against
them

Tottenham midfielder Erik Lamela, 22, hopes his wonder ‘rabona’
goal against Asteras in the Europa League on Thursday can kick-
start his career at White Hart Lane. (Daily Mail)

Stoke City forward Victor Moses, 23, has received an apology from
BBC Match of the Day 2 pundit John Hartson after the ex-Wales
striker branded him a “cheat”. (Times – subscription required)

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says his reputation as a long-ball
manager is an “excuse” created by managers he has beaten. (Daily
Telegraph)

West Brom manager Alan Irvine may ask former Arsenal striker Ian
Wright to help with the development of 21-year-old forward Saido
Berahino. (Daily Mail)

Hull City manager Steve Bruce says he is glad he did not listen to
the “horror stories” about Hatem Ben Arfa when he signed the 27-
year-old French midfielder on loan from Newcastle. (Hull Daily
Mail)

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, 33, who has yet to
feature in the first team this season because of an ankle injury,
gave manager Louis van Gaal a boost by playing 64 minutes of an
Under-21 match against West Ham on Friday. (Manchester Evening
News)

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet was unhappy at having to start the
season with only six senior defenders in his squad. (Northern
Echo)

Rio Ferdinand joined QPR on
a free transfer in July after 12
years at Manchester United

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had ruled out bringing in a
specialist defensive coach, and insists he will continue to give 24-
year-old striker Mario Balotelli opportunities in the first team.
(Guardian)

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand, 35, is considering retiring
from football at the end of the season. (Independent)

Ferdinand has also hinted his next career move after playing will
be a leap into management. (Sun – subscription required)

Crystal Palace have denied rumours of an imminent takeover by US
billionaire Joshua Harris. (Daily Mirror)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Charlie Austin – it could be
you!

A couple of Premier League footballers spent Friday night watching
their former clubs on their laptops. Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski
cheered on FC Koln’s 1-0 win over Werder Bremen in the
Bundesliga, but Hull City’s David Meyler saw Cork City lose to
Dundalk in their League of Ireland title decider.

Charlie Austin, 25, may be on Premier League wages, but the QPR
striker still bought two tickets for Friday’s Euromillions lottery.
Tim Howard posted a picture of a children’s team in New Jersey
wearing false beards in tribute to the 35-year-old Everton and
United States goalkeeper. “Not a bad looking group!” he tweeted.

AND FINALLY

Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero admits he knew enough
swear words at the age of 10 to shout at Michael Owen when the
England striker scored against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, but
says he later idolised the former Liverpool striker. (Daily Mirror)

Torquay United mascot Gilbert the Gull has been accused of
challenging some of the club’s supporters to a fight. (Daily Mail)

Photo: Baby born in Ibadan clutching holy Qur’an

For those who believe in things like this… Nigerian Tribune is
reporting that a baby was born recently in Oyo state clutching a
pocket-size Qur’an (pictured above).

The baby, who has since been named Ismail, was born in a church
at the Oniyanrin area of Ibadan in September, the reports states.

A renowned Islamic preacher who the newspaper spoke with said
the woman who delivered the baby threw away the object she
found in the baby’s hand thinking it was something devilish, only
for them to later find out it was a pocket-size Qur’an which
contained all the 114 chapters in the holy book. It was wrapped in
a thread. The preacher said although the Qur’an was small, the
lettering inside was readable.

The child’s parent who were not practicing any faith prior to the
birth of Ismail, now say they will revert to Islam as this was a sign
directly from Allah.

They also said since the news broke, their residence have become
a mecca or sort as Ibadan people troop there to have a glimpse of
the little boy.

Hmm. I find it hard to believe, though.

Ebola crisis: ‘Many exposed’ to infected Mali girl

The authorities in Mali have confirmed the death of the country’s
first Ebola patient, a two-year-old girl.

The World Health Organisation said the toddler had travelled
hundreds of kilometres by bus from Guinea through Mali showing
symptoms of the disease.

More than 40 people known to have come into contact with her
have been quarantined.

The girl was being treated in the western town of Kayes, after
arriving at a hospital on Wednesday.

The child had travelled more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from
Guinea through the capital, Bamako, to Kayes.

“The child’s symptomatic state during the bus journey is especially
concerning, as it presented multiple opportunities for exposures,
including high-risk exposures, involving many people,” the WHO
said.
The girl’s mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the child was
then brought by relatives to Mali.

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have seen most of the 4,800 Ebola
deaths.

Source: bbcnews.com/africa

Enyeama wants Nations Cup cancelled

Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama hopes the 2015 Africa Cup of
Nations is cancelled to help stop the spread of the deadly Ebola
virus.

Hosts Morocco have asked the Confederation of African Football to
postpone the 17 January to 8 February event but the organisers
have refused.

Enyeama said: “I really hope it doesn’t happen. It is risky, in Africa
everyone is hugging you and shaking your hand.

“But if Caf says it will happen I will play – if Nigeria qualify.”
Moroccan officials are set to meet with Caf on 3 November to
discuss their request to postpone the tournament.

The Ebola virus has already claimed more than 4,500 lives since
the outbreak in west Africa in March and Moroccan youth and
sports minister Mohamed Ouzzine fears a big sporting event with
large gatherings of people could lead to many more cases.

Source: bbcsport.com/fooball

CHIBOK GIRLS: FG, Boko Haram, to meet in Chad again

The Federal Government and the Boko Haram Islamic sect will on
Monday meet in Chad to further discuss the release of the over
200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State in April 2014.

This came a week after a botched ceasefire agreement reached by
the Federal government and the sect.

The peace talk between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram
sect, which is being mediated by the Chadian government, had
been called into question since it was announced by the military
last week following the refusal of both parties to respect the
ceasefire deal.

Boko Haram has yet to comment on the ceasefire and its fighters
have continued to attack villages in the North-East.

Source: punch.ng

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

By Vince Lombardi

Building collapse: T.B. Joshua, contractor face coroner Nov 5

The founder and General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All
Nations, Pastor T.B. Joshua, has been slated to appear before the
coroner investigating the cause of the church’s building that
collapsed on September 12, 2014.

Joshua will be appearing on November 5, 2014 alongside the
contractor handling the collapsed six-storey building. No fewer
than 115 died in the collapsed building.

The coroner, Magistrate O.A. Komolafe, during the sitting of the
court on Friday, stated that the appearance of the church’s founder
was important to the findings of the court.

Though counsel to the church, Mr. Jude Nnadi, said Joshua’s
appearance would not be necessary because he was not an
eyewitness to the incident, Komolafe insisted that he must appear.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.

By Dale Carnegie

This is so true. Think about it, folks.

Bombers, herdsmen kill 36 in Bauchi, Nassarawa

At least 36 people have been killed in three separate attacks by
gunmen and suspected cattle rustlers in Bauchi and Nasarawa
states.

Fifteen of them were victims of twin bomb blasts in a crowded
motor park along Kano Road in Azare, Bauchi State on Wednesday
evening.

The blasts happened shortly after information filtered into the
town that a man identified simply as Matthew was killed at about
9pm same day in Fur, Bogoro Local Government Area of the state.
The attackers were said to have taken away Matthew’s head and
one leg.

Although the state police command put the death toll at five, an
eyewitness told our correspondent that he counted 15 bodies at
the scenes of the blasts.

FRIDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool have ditched plans to sign Spanish goalkeeper Victor
Valdes, 32, who is now training with Manchester United. (Liverpool
Echo)

Valdes’ arrival at Old Trafford in January on a permanent deal
could signal the departure of Danish goalkeeper Anders
Lindegaard. (Daily Express)

Ignazio Abate will be a free
agent next summer after
failing to agree a new
contract at AC Milan

Liverpool are, however, keeping tabs on AC Milan full-back Ignazio
Abate, 27, as a potential replacement for Glen Johnson. (Daily
Mirror)

Real Madrid are keen to complete the permanent signing of Javier
Hernandez, 26, from Manchester United, but the Spanish giants
want the Red Devils to lower their £17m asking price. (Daily
Express)

Petr Cech, 32, is in line for shock move to Turkish side Besiktas
after losing his first-team place at Stamford Bridge. (Talksport)

West Bromwich Albion are keeping an eye on £2m-rated
Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie, 25, as a target in the January
transfer window. (The Sun – subscription required)

OTHER GOSSIP

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben says there is “not even one
per cent” of him thinking about a move back to England and a
Premier League club. (Daily Telegraph)

The Sun’s back page

Luka Modric, 29, says he and his Real Madrid team-mates eased
off in the second half of their Champions League win over Liverpool
to save themselves for Saturday’s El Clasico against Barcelona.
(Daily Mail)

Per Mertesacker, 30, blames the players’ attitude in training for
Arsenal’s struggles in the Premier League and the Champions
League. (Daily Telegraph)

West Ham United striker Andy Carroll could be in line for a long-
awaited return to action in just two weeks after tearing ankle
ligaments in July. (Daily Mirror)

However, Hammers manager Sam Allardyce is no nearer being
handed a new contract at Upton Park despite his side’s rise to the
top four of the Premier League. (Daily Star)

Former Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer says the club risks
slipping through the divisions like Wolves if they sack manager
Alan Pardew. (Chronicle)

Stoke boss Mark Hughes fears Victor Moses, 23, could become a
marked man with officials after Swansea counterpart Garry Monk
accused the midfielder of diving. (Daily Express)

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet says Vito Mannone, 26, will keep his
place for this weekend’s clash against Arsenal despite the Italian
goalkeeper conceding eight goals against Southampton.
(Sunderland Echo)

Daily Mirror back page

Poyet says he could have been sacked if he had overseen an 8-0
defeat in any other country. (Daily Mail)

Brendan Rodgers says £16m striker Mario Balotelli, 24, may never
be good enough for Liverpool. (The Sun – subscription required)

Frank Lampard will be able to extend his stay at Manchester City
further when parent club New York City hold a pre-season training
camp in England at the new Etihad Campus facility . (Daily Mail)

Fulham owner Shahid Khan will fly in from America next week to
appoint his new manager, with caretaker Kit Symons the leading
contender. (Daily Telegraph)

Nottingham Forest’s bid for promotion could be hit by a transfer
embargo by the Football League in connection with sanctions over
Financial Fair Play. (The Times – subscription required)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Mesut Ozil has been ruled
out until the end of 2014 with
a knee ligament injury

Derby County and England goalkeeper Jack Butland, 21, was not
too impressed by Harry Kane’s performance when the Tottenham
striker replaced Hugo Lloris in goal after the Frenchman’s red card
against Asteras Tripolis. “I’m so glad @hkane28 knows how to hit
the back of the net – fair play for giving it a go lad!” he tweeted.

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil, 26, is back in the gym as he looks
to keep up his fitness levels following his knee ligament injury.

AND FINALLY

Erik Lamela, who scored a wonder goal on Thursday for Spurs, is
no stranger to scoring a goal with a ‘rabona’ as a video of him
playing for River Plate’s youth team several years ago has
revealed. (Daily Mirror)

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown says so many players asked
to swap shirts with Thierry Henry that the club threatened to make
him pay for the ones he gave away. (Daily Mail)

Source: bbcsport.com/football

Court nullifies NFF election, sacks chairman and his executives

A Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau state today October
23rd nullified the September 30th general election of the Nigerian
Football Federation, NFF, which saw Mr Amaju Pinnick elected as
the President of the NFF.

Delivering his judgement in the case brought against the NFF
leadership by some unhappy members of the association, Justice
Ambrose Allagoa insisted that his court ruling must be obeyed by
the affected parties. He stated that an order he gave earlier on
September 19th where he restrained the members from holding the
election congress was disobeyed, that this one must be respected.

“I have set aside all the proceedings and decisions of the
Warri Extra Ordinary meeting of the 20th September and the
Elective Congress of 30th September which were direct
contravention of the orders of this court as granted on the
19th September. Nobody should foist on the court a
complete case of hopelessness so that the principles of law
and justice can be upheld. Its not enough to say that the
order of court was wrongly made, no matter how unorthodox,
its subsisting orders, unless set aside, remains law and
must be respected” he said.

Meanwhile the NFF leadership say they will appeal the judgement.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to donate $100m to tackle Ebola

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, 61, who is worth about
$17billion, announced today October 23rd that he will donate $100
million to the fight against Ebola, which has killed thousands of
people all around the world. This donation makes him the largest
individual donor in the Ebola crisis so far.

“Everybody feels called sometimes to really pursue a certain
thing that resonates with them, and this has resonated with
me. We’re up against an extremely tough opponent here. The
exponential nature of the growth of this disease is really a
challenge – we’ve already seen in the U.S. where one case
quickly became two.” Allen told NY Times.

Lolz. Check out this throwback pic of Goodluck and Patience Jonathan

This was their university days…she was a student, he was a
lecturer.

Lolz.

First case of Ebola recorded in New York

A US doctor based in New York who recently returned from
treating Ebola patients in Guinea has become the first person in the
city to test positive for Ebola. 33 year old Dr. Craig Allen Spencer
(pictured above) had been working with Doctors Without Borders in
Guinea, and returned to NYC on October 17th. He tested positive to
the virus the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan New York yesterday
October 23rd.

He and three other people he had contact with in recent days,
including his girlfriend have been placed in isolation at the
Bellevue hospital. He’s officially the 4th person to test positive on
American soil.

Nigerian man arrested after jumping White House fence

A Nigerian man based in Maryland, Dominic Adesanya, (pictured
above) has been arrested after jumping the White House Fence.
According to police reports, around 7.15pm yesterday Wednesday
October 22nd, Adesanya, 23, climbed the fence on the North Lawn
of the building and got about 20 yards past the fence before he
was taken down by Secret Service and dogs.

He’s currently in police custody but is being treated in a hospital
for injuries he sustained during the encounter. He was attacked by
K.9 dogs.

The White House was on a lock-down for about two hours after
Adesanya jumped the fence. President Obama was said to be in
the White House at the time of the incident. Police also said
Adesanya was not armed…but he’s still in big trouble.

According to his Facebook profile, he attended Stevenson
University for business administration and management and
Hartford Community College for an associate of science, along with
partially business administration and management.

His father spoke with ABC 2 and said Adesanya had been arrested
at the White House before and that the family had tried to get him
help.

His jump comes weeks after a similar incident happened,
prompting the resignation of the director of Secret Service, Julia
Pierson on October 1st. In September, a 42 year old man named
Omar Gonzalez also jumped the fence and got in the East room
before he was arrested. Guess there will be more copycats. The
Secret Service need to pay more attention.

Bomb blast kills five, injures several others in a bus station in Bauchi

There was a bomb explosion at a bus station in Azare town in
Bauchi state late last night, which killed at least five people and
wounded at least 10 people. It was a suicide bomber, suspected to
be a member of Boko Haram.

There’s a very gory pic of the suicide bomber’s remains…who
wants to see it?

Patience Jonathan resigns as ‘Super’ permanent sec of Bayelsa State

Dame Patience Jonathan has resigned her appointment as ‘Super’
Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa state Civil service, a position
conferred on her in July 2012 by the Governor of the state, Dickson
Seriake. Seriake said he gave the appointment to Mama Peace
based on her good service to the state and nation.

A source in the state Ministry of Education who pleaded anonymity
with The Nation confirmed the First Lady’s voluntary resignation
and said her resignation may likely not be unconnected to her
deepening rift with the state governor.

” The whole thing is political. It appears Madam Peace is not
happy with the governor. With her resignation, the battle line
has been drawn. I feel the President’s wife resigned to
enable her to have the moral right to slug it out with Dickson
ahead of the governorship poll in the state. Let no one
deceive you, the whole thing is politics. After all, she is 57
and the retirement age is 60.” he said.

The source also said that all her terminal benefits are been
processed at the moment.

THURSDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Spurs will rival neighbours Arsenal in the chase for Birmingham
winger Demarai Gray, 18. (The Sun, subscription only)

Jan Vertonghen joined
Tottenham from Ajax in 2012

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has no intention of selling
defender Jan Vertonghen, 27. (Talksport)

Stuttgart defender Antonio Rudiger, 21, has dealt a blow to
Chelsea’s hopes of signing him by revealing he is an Arsenal fan.
(Metro)

Newcastle United’s board members say there is “no guarantee”
that they will sign a striker in the January transfer window.
(Newcastle Chronicle)

Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt, now at Turkish side Fenerbahce,
is a target for Southampton in the January transfer window. (Daily
Star)

Lukas Podolski has hinted he may leave Arsenal. The 29-year-old
German forward is frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities.
(Daily Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

The Sun back page

The mystery over Diego Costa’s condition has deepened after it
emerged the Chelsea striker was forced to spend time in hospital
after returning from international duty with Spain. (Daily Telegraph)

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says the current side are as good as
the team who won the Premier League title in 2004-05.
(Independent)

Blues manager Jose Mourinho has identified Cesc Fabregas as the
player to succeed John Terry as the club’s next captain. (Daily
Express)

The cost of renovating the Olympic Stadium before West Ham’s
2016 move will rise by £35.9m but the extra funding will not be
paid for by either the Hammers or the taxpayer. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City will ask Uefa to reimburse their fans who lost
money when they were not allowed to attend Tuesday’s match with
CSKA Moscow. (The Guardian)

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has come out in support of his players’
off-field behaviour after goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska was allegedly
attacked during a night out in Glasgow. (Daily Record)

Tony Pulis says he would have been interested in the Cardiff City
manager’s job had he been approached but has thrown his backing
behind new boss Russell Slade. (Western Mail)

Gary Rowett has admitted to being “flattered” by an approach from
Birmingham City to be the Championship club’s new manager and
says he is likely to accept the job if he impresses at interview. (The
Times, subscription only)

Daily Mail back page

Norwich striker Cameron Jerome had to be stopped from storming
into the Leeds dressing room after accusing Giuseppe Bellusci of
racially abusing him on Tuesday night. (Daily Star)

Pablo Zabaleta says his Manchester City side do not deserve to go
through to the Champions League knockout stage after they were
held to a draw by CSKA Moscow. (Daily Mirror)

European football will give England midfielder Ross Barkley, 20, a
vital lesson in tactics, according to Everton boss Roberto Martinez.
(Liverpool Echo)

Marina Granovskaia established herself as the most powerful
woman in football by taking control of Chelsea’s football operations
after the departure of chief executive Ron Gourlay. (Times,
subscription only)

Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and his wife are
reportedly under investigation for tax evasion. (Daily Express)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Former Liverpool favourite Michael Owen tweeted the Reds
should stick with striker Mario Balotelli despite the Italian’s poor
performance against Real Madrid.

After goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski gave Arsenal a
last-gasp victory over Anderlecht, midfielder Aaron Ramsey
tweeted: “What a finish to the game! Good to get back to winning
ways. Happy to get 90 under my belt. Buzzing for Gibbo and Poldi,
great finishes!”

AND FINALLY

A dad in Manchester is auctioning his baby son’s future football
allegiance on eBay – and the winning bidder gets to choose
whether he supports City or United. (Manchester Evening News)

Source: bbcsport.com/football

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Nearly every man who develops an idea works at it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged.”

By Thomas A. Edison

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: LATEST RESULTS

FT Atletico Madrid 5 – 0 Malmo FF
FT Olympiakos 1 – 0 Juventus
FT Liverpool 0 – 3 Real Madrid
FT PFC Ludogorets Razgrad 1 – 0 Basel
FT Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 0 Zenit St. Petersburg
FT Monaco 0 – 0 Benfica
FT Anderlecht 1 – 2 Arsenal
FT Galatasaray 0 – 4 Borussia Dortmund

University of Zimbabwe condemned for imposing a kissing ban

A student kissing ban imposed by the University of Zimbabwe is
“nonsensical”, a student representative has told the BBC.

A circular from the university authorities said those “caught in an
intimate position” on the Harare campus would be disciplined.
“In this age to say I’m no longer allowed to kiss or hug someone…
is unreasonable,” Tsitsi Mazikana said.

The university has not commented on the students’ objections to
the ruling.

It was issued at the beginning of the new academic year as part of
a list of “misconducts that attract immediate eviction from halls of
residence”.

Hmm. No be small thing o!

Source: bbcnews.com

Multiple gunmen open fire inside parliament building in Ottawa, Canada

Multiple gunmen stormed the Canadian Parliament complex and
the National War Memorial in Ottawa around 10am this morning
Wednesday October 22nd and started shooting at people. One
soldier was killed (at the Canadian war memorial). According to
eye witnesses, a gunman came down from a car, walked up to the
soldier and shot him dead. One of the shooters was later killed by
police.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had to be evacuated from
the government building, which is currently on lock down. Schools
and the US embassy are also on lock down in Ottawa. No one/
group has claimed responsibility for what’s going on there right
now. Read the full story from CNN after the cut…

From CNN

Wednesday morning’s gunfire in the main Canadian
Parliament building started in the foyer, and a second round
of shooting happened about a minute later in a hallway or
near the entrance to the Parliament’s library, Ottawa
journalist Josh Wingrove told CNN.

He said several officers had weapons drawn, and most of the
dozens of shots that he heard appeared to have been fired by
officers at the gunman.

When the shooting ended, a person was lying motionless on
the ground near the library entrance, Wingrove said.

There were “numerous gunmen” Wednesday morning at the
Canada War Memorial shooting, said Marc Soucy of the
Ottawa Police Service. Authorities are working to figure out if
there were two or three gunmen, he said. Only one person
was shot, Soucy said.

There were “several shooting incidents in downtown Ottawa”
on Wednesday morning, police said on Twitter. “Incidents
occurred at National War Memorial, near the Rideau Centre
and Parliament Hill.” All Ottawa police buildings remain on
lockdown and are closed to the public, police also said on
Twitter.

There were two soldiers standing guard at the war memorial
in Ottawa near Parliament, and a gunman shot one of them, a
witness told CNN on Wednesday. Peter Henderson, a
journalist, said other soldiers doing drills nearby ran to help
the fallen soldier. Henderson said he knew the person shot
was a soldier because of the ceremonial uniform the soldier
was wearing.

GRAPHIC PICS: Man cut into pieces at Ibadan railway crossing line

This horrific scene happened around 5.30pm today at the railway
crossing area in Bodija Ojurin in Ibadan. A man was found dead
cut in two on the railway tracks. No one saw what happened, but
they suspect he was crushed by a train.

Okada rider kills policeman for seizing bike

A police corporal, Joseph Ebosele, has been confirmed dead at a
Lagos hospital after he was hit with an iron rod by a motorcyclist,
Bakare Lukman, in the Meiran area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that around 11pm on October 11, 2014,
policemen on patrol arrested Lukman for contravening the traffic
law which prohibits the movement of commercial motorcycles after
10pm.

It was learnt that after seizing Lukman’s bike, the team leader of
the policemen handed it over to Ebosele to ride to the station.
Our correspondent learnt that a furious Lukman reportedly
escaped police custody, caught up with Ebosele and attacked him
with an iron rod.

A source told our correspondent that the 35-year-old deceased
and his colleagues were responding to a distress call when the
incident occurred.

He said, “The policemen were in their station when they received a
distress call. They went there and were returning when they
sighted Lukman riding the bike around 12 midnight.

“They queried him and when he could not give a satisfactory
answer, they decided to confiscate the motorcycle. They also
arrested him, but he escaped along the way.

“Lukman then waylaid them. He attacked the police corporal on
the head, with an iron rod and rode away on the bike.”
He said the other policemen noticed that their colleague was
nowhere to be found and decided to trace him.

They were said to have met him unconscious and rushed him to
the hospital where he was confirmed dead.

Source: punch.ng

No date yet for Chibok girls’ release – Presidency

The Presidency has distanced itself from reports that it fixed a
date in conjunction with Boko Haram for the release of the
abducted Chibok girls.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr.
Doyin Okupe, stated that the reports were “mischievous rumours”
aimed at discrediting the government.

According to Okupe, the Federal Government chose neither October
20 nor any other date with the Islamist sect, in the widely
publicised ceasefire deal.

“Nobody said the (Chibok) girls would be released on Monday
(October 20). It was a mischievous rumour to set government up,”
Okupe wrote on Twitter while fending off criticisms of the Federal
Government on the botched ceasefire deal.

The presidential aide, however, expressed optimism that the
collapsed deal would sail through but maintained silence on the
fate of the Chibok girls.

Source: punch.ng

Bill to end HND discrimination passes second reading

A bill for an Act to abolish and prohibit dichotomy and
discrimination between first degree and the Higher National
Diploma certificates in the same profession and field scaled the
second reading on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by the member representing Ondo Central
Senatorial District, Ayo Akinyelure, specifically seeks to end the
ongoing controversy over wage disparity and gross discrimination
against HND holders in the public and private sectors.

He said, “The aftermath of continuing injustices, disparity and
discriminations meted out to products of polytechnics in Nigeria is
threatening to derail the nation’s core policy thrust of evolving a
technological and scientifically-based and self-reliant society in
the nearest future.

“As I speak, thousands of would-be polytechnic and technology
students are contemplating or have decided to opt for university
education because of perceived and real discrimination against
HND graduates.

“If this contemplation occurs, there is bound to be a vacuum
created in our labour market in this regard and dire consequences
are bound to follow this trend.

“Over the years, several entreaties have been put forth to the
Federal Civil Service authorities to put a stop to certain glaring
wage disparities and discrimination against the HND holders, and
all these have been to no avail.”

Source: punch.ng

Boko Haram abduct 60 women in Adamawa

Sixty women were reportedly abducted by suspected members of
the deadly Boko Haram sect at Waga Mangoro and Garta villages,
both in troubled Adamawa State during a fresh attack.

Forty of the women were said to have been abducted in Waga
Mangoro and the other 20 were forcefully taken away from Grata.

Some of the fleeing residents from the area, who called journalists
in Yola on the telephone lamented that scores of insurgents riding
motorcycles and driving vans had invaded their towns.

The fleeing residents while lamenting the capture of the two towns,
said they were able to sneak out of the captured towns on
Tuesday, but disclosed that their villages were ravaged on
Saturday.
One of those that was about to flee the area, Tizhe Kwada told
journalists that the area had been under the control of the
insurgents for about two months now.

Source: punch.ng

I am not in politics to compete – Desmond Ellliot

Over 1000 youths gathered at the Eagles square, Surulere on
Sunday Oct. 20th to interact with actor, Desmond Elliot and to
endorse his candidature for the APC constituency seat ticket at the
Lagos State House of Assembly Representing Surulere
constituency one.

Speaking after the event with journalists, Desmond Elliot said:

“I have plans of taking this above legislative work, I believe
80% of the youths should have access to tertiary education
and still earn a living, so we have a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with the National Open University on
admissions and to grant the students work permit. There is
also an empowerment program for the youths which will
come up soon; we also have plans for the elderly ones with
an insurance scheme”.

The actor who graduated from LASU promised wave of change
and said he’s assured of winning Surulere for APC as soon as he
gets the ticket to run.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: LATEST RESULTS AND TODAY’S GAMES

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

FT CSKA Moscow 2 – 2 Manchester City
FT Roma 1 – 7 Bayern Munich
FT APOEL Nicosia 0 – 1 Paris Saint Germain
FT Barcelona 3 – 1 Ajax
FT Chelsea 6 – 0 Maribor
FT Schalke 04 4 – 3 Sporting CP
FT BATE Borisov 0 – 7 Shakhtar Donetsk
FT FC Porto 2 – 1 Athletic Bilbao

TODAY’S GAMES

19:45 Atletico Madrid ? – ? Malmo FF
19:45 Olympiakos ? – ? Juventus
19:45 Liverpool ? – ? Real Madrid
19:45 PFC Ludogorets Razgrad ? – ? Basel
19:45 Bayer Leverkusen ? – ? Zenit St. Petersburg
19:45 Monaco ? – ? Benfica
19:45 Anderlecht ? – ? Arsenal
19:45 Galatasaray ? – ? Borussia Dortmund

WEDNESDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City have earmarked Arsenal’s record signing Mesut
Ozil, 26, as the man to replace unsettled playmaker Yaya Toure.
(Metro)

Manchester United could renew their interest in midfielder Fredy
Guarin after Inter Milan put the 28-year-old up for sale. (Daily
Star)

Bundesliga side Schalke are poised for a shock January move for
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, who is currently on loan at AC
Milan. Schalke boss Roberto di Matteo is keen to work with the 30-
year-old again after his time in charge of the Blues. (Bild)

Arsenal and Chelsea’s hopes of signing Barcelona’s teenage
attacker Munir El Haddadi are fading with the Spain international,
19, set to commit his future to the Nou Camp. (Daily Express)

Tottenham are resigned to selling goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, 27, and
have already lined up Toulouse’s 24-year-old stopper Ali
Ahamada, rated at £9m, as a replacement. (Fichajes.net)

OTHER GOSSIP

Arsenal will try to recruit current Real Madrid boss and former
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti if Arsene Wenger accepts a
lucrative offer to take charge of Monaco at the end of the season.
(Daily Express)

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has warned Liverpool fans
that booing former Manchester United attacker Cristiano Ronaldo
could backfire in the team’s Champions League meeting tonight.
(Sun – subscription required)

QPR could fine manager Harry Redknapp for his part in a public
falling out with playmaker Adel Taarabt, 25. (Daily Telegraph)

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is “finished” according to former
QPR, Manchester City and England star Rodney Marsh. (Talksport)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

After West Brom’s ill-fated jibe at Manchester United midfielder
Marouane Felliani on Monday evening, Bayern Munich poked fun at
the Baggies by writing a similar tweet about their French winger
Franck Ribery.

Closer to home, Wolves also riffed on their local rivals’ social
media pain, adapting West Brom’s infamous tweet during their 2-0
win over Middlesbrough…

…only for the Baggies to shoot back with a reference to the
division’s difference between the two clubs’ standings in English
football.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has posed for a snapshot in
front of Liverpool’s famous This is Anfield sign.

Carlo Ancelotti will lead Real
Madrid into Champions
League action against
Liverpool on Wednesday

AND FINALLY

Kieron Dyer has revealed that a withering assessment of Lee
Bowyer’s playing ability started their infamous fist-fight when
Newcastle lost at home to Aston Villa in 2005. (Newcastle Evening
Chronicle)

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mates were drenched
by torrential rain as they attempted to warm-up at Anfield ahead of
training on Tuesday. (Liverpool Echo)

Source: bbcsport.com/football

Would you like a ‘coke’ bottle figure?

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don’t you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–You may succeed with another blow, Success is failure turned inside out–The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.”

By Unknown

This quote keeps me going.

Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy, meet Manchester University students

Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy, Dr Sid and other Mavin artists met with
students of Salford and Manchester University yesterday October
20th ahead of their UK concert tonight at the Ritz in Manchester.

No be small thing o!

Hehehe! Check out this throwback pic of Governor Rotimi Amechi

This probably was before things got a lot better.

May God bless our hustles. Amen.

Mercy Johnson Okojie names newborn son Henry

Actress Mercy Johnson is yet to release a photo of herself and her
new born son but has revealed the name herself and husband
chose for their new bundle of joy. His name is Henry, which means
ruler.

Hopefully, we will get the pic of mum and son sometime this week.
Mercy welcomed Henry on Wednesday 15th of October. The couple
already have a daughter, Purity.

Congrats to her.

Donald Trump calls Oscar Pistorius trial judge a moron

Outspoken US billionaire businessman Donald Trump is one of the
millions of people around the world who feel Oscar Pistorius got a
light sentence today in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva.
And trust Donald to speak his mind. He called judge Masipa a
moron for giving Oscar just five years.

What are your thoughts?

Oscar Pistorius given five years in prison

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been given five years in
jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa also gave Pistorius a three-year
suspended sentence for a firearms charge.

The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were happy with
the sentence and relieved the case was over. The defence said it
expected Pistorius to serve about 10 months in prison.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of
murder.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the
defence had argued for community service and house arrest.

Source: bbcnews.com

List Of The Top 10 Most Influential Women In Nollywood

Check out the list of the most influential women in
Nollywood. The list was compiled by iCampus
magazine and they set out the criteria used in
generating their most influential list as follows;
“the kind of money being generated in the
industry, from investment, endorsement, volume of
work (directly owned), popularity, brand value,
and influence among the powers-that-be in politics,
business and industry.” The list is not in any
particular kind of order….

Uche Jombo

With over 16 movies, no actress in Nigeria can
boast of heavy movie catalogue like Uche Jombo.
There is also no other actress that commands the
kind of reverence Uche does among fellow
actresses and actors, most especially the young
ones. The general saying is, Uche now has power
to make star of a starlet, and only a handful of
people will fall into that category in Nollywood.
Despite being active production-wise, Uche’s face
still adorns numerous posters as lead actress. Aside
being the highest grossing actress-producer among
her colleagues, Uche has two known properties,
one in Lagos, the other in Abia, her home town
(where she is a chief). Her influence in and out of
the industry is definitely not in doubt.

Genevieve Nnaji

She might not have done any major movie of late
but there is no wishing Genevieve’s influence away
in Nollywood. Time and over again, except for
‘Doctor Bello’, she has delivered top box-office
returns for every movie she featured in. Her less
appearance in movies has been atoned for with
appearances on website and blogosphere. She is
one of the two most popular figures in Nollywood
and has evolved into an influential and stylish
brand with cult following. Aside delivering back to
back box office returns (Ije, Weekend Getaway
(despite negative reviews), Tango With Me, Mirror
Boy, and most recently, Half of a Yellow Sun).

Genny as she’s popularly called is the most
‘endorsed’ celebrity by corporate Nigeria. She has
been reported to rake in millions most bank MDs
will only dream about and has extensive
investment in real estate. Aside all these, Genny
has been reported to be the most stylish of the
Nollywood top three; true or false, we can’t say but
what is not in doubt is her popularity, influence
and closeness to people in the corridors of power.

Rita Dominic

Long before many people left Asaba behind, Rita
Dominic did. She was sure she has a way to evolve
into something bigger. She did. She became known
for style, selected few movies and went on to
produce the smash hit, ‘The Meeting’ which
reaffirmed her place as one of the leading women
in Nollywood. Her human relations skill is almost
next to none. Except for Monalisa, there is not a
celebrity who won’t listen and take action if Rita
calls. So entrenched is her influence that the
president sent a representative to attend the
premiere of her movie in Lagos.

Ini Edo

Love or hate the Akwa Ibom born actress, Ini is a
financial war-chest of sort. Her brand value might
not be at par with some Nollywood leading ladies
but you can’t count top five richest actresses in
Nollywood and her name won’t make the list.

Aside being busy in both ‘old’ and ‘new’ Nollywood
commanding figures between a million and N1.5
million, she has extensive and wide real estate
investment that will make some realtors green with
envy. Aside being close to powers-that-be in Akwa
Ibom, Ini has invested in movie production as well.
Aside her movies getting bought by online
platforms, DSTV, marketers in Diaspora, her DVD
market do good return on investment. And she’s
beginning to exert her influence as executive
producer, something only few actresses could lay
claim to.

Mercy Johnson

If Genevieve Nnaji (who coincidentally is the
mentor of Mercy Johnson) has delivered back-to-
back return on investment (ROI) for movies in the
cinemas, Mercy Johnson must have tripled that
figure in the ‘downstream sector’ of Nollywood;
Asaba, Enugu, Aba, Lagos, Alaba, and African
countries. At a point in Nollywood, Mercy is what
determines the trend of movies to be shot. If she
acts comic role and the movie becomes popular, all
other producers follow suit. If she acts corporate
executive with her accentuating curve, that will
then become the movie trend.

MJ is still the higest paid actress in that part of Nollywood with the
figure as much as N2million to N2.5million per
movie. The closest challengers are Ini Edo (N1
million-N1.5million) and Chika Ike (N800 000).
When she went on maternity leave for months,
many producers shut down till she returned;
Mercy is the market and the market is Mercy. As
she prepares to become a more prominent figure in
New Nollywood, let’s hope she can emulate her
mentor and rule box office as well.

Blessing Effiong Egbe

She may not be very popular, as a matter of fact
many Nollywood starlets are more famous but
what Mrs. Egbe, the director and producer of Lekki
Wives lacks in fame she makes up for in influence
and money. Only few Nollywood producers could
claim to generate as much as she does in influence
especially among the upcoming and established
stars that want to star in her hugely popular
series.

As at last check, Lekki Wives season 1 to 3 have
sold over a million copies and a television platform
bought the right to air for a year for about N50
million. Tell me about money and influence, there
you have it.

Kate Henshaw

No other actress in contemporary era has
transcended generation and evolved to give
younger generation stiff competition like Kate
Henshaw. She was in the generation of Regina
Askia and Liz Benson, moved on to give Omotola
and Genevieve a ride for their youthfulness, and
now rolling with generation of Kemi ‘Lala’
Akindoju to rock live stage. Despite being over 40,
Kate is truly ageless (an appellation first used for
her by the publisher of iCampus). Not only is she
laying claim to Nollywood stake, she is one of the
few old faces adorning live stage and charting new
course for that part of Nollywood. She has the ears
of the Governor and has been wearing the toga of
ambassador for several corporate companies long
before some of these present ambassadors joined
Nollywood. If you doubt Kate’s influence ask the
handlers of Onga seasoning, the kind of attention
she has brought to the cooking seasoning and they
will give you reasons her contract keeps getting
renewed.

Omoni Oboli

Omoni is about the only A-list celebrity who has
defied the norms in the industry. With less than
30 movies to her credit she rubs shoulder with
who-is-who in the industry. Her rise to began after
playing the lead roles in ‘Figurine’ and ‘Anchor
Baby’ between 2010/2011. She generated
conversation and ever since, people have not
stopped talking about her. She is one of the few
that went to the prestigious New York Film
Academy to study directing and has so far shot
three movies of her own, expending over a total
sum of N60 million. Now, Omoni has the power to
make a star out of a starlet. Her recent movie,
‘Being Mrs Elliot’ impressed from onset with the
President, His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan
hosting private guests at the Aso Rock to premiere
it. The movie went on to make good impression at
the box office and furthering consolidating Omoni’s
place as one of the box-office queen.

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde

It is impossible to tell the story of true Nollywood
super stars without Omotola. She crisscrosses the
Nollywood stage like a person born to be a star.
She has been a star since 18, and almost two
decades after, Omos*xy is still a star. With
enviable career profile that include movies like Ije,
Prostitute, Last Flight to Abuja, Blood in the
Lagoon, and a TV soap she produced and directed,
Omotola has more than earned her place. She has
led more charitable causes than any other celeb,
even as far as other African countries. So huge was
Omotola’s influence that reputable Time Magazine
named her as one of the world most influential
persons. Talk about continental influence.

Emem Isong

Emem Isong is not an actress but her fame and
most especially her influence far exceed most of
the established faces. She has established herself
as the foremost female movie producer in
Nollywood both in the days of Asaba and in the
new Nollywood, she boldly tell friends and
acquaintances that she has never lost money in
movie business. She gave a lot of our established
stars first lead and till date she’s still giving leads,
making movies, selling movies and raking in
millions. She added the director-ship title to her
many titles and from the look of things, Emem
might still add more.

Stephanie Okereke

Stephanie was the first actress to break box office
record in Nigerian cinema. Despite appearing less
in movies, Stephanie’s fame over the years hasn’t
waned. She runs a periodic film school in
conjunction with New York Film Academy and has
trained thousands of young people making
revolutionary films. Many of them still give her
kudos for bringing ‘New York’ so to speak to
Nigeria at a far lesser price. And if you don’t
know, Stephanie has the ears of Mr. President, you
are definitely a ‘late-comer’.

Source: stargist.com

CELEBIO: Chibuzo Azubuike Nelson, aka, Phyno

Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike also known as Phyno is
the undisputed ‘Man of The Year’. The talented
Igbo rapper who started out as a producer has
risen to become one of Nigeria’s biggest music acts
today.

He is popular for hit tracks including “Ghost
Mode”, “Man of the Year”,”Alobam”, “Parcel” and
“O Set”. A decade of hard work and passion has
helped transform the “Ghost Mode and Obago”
rapper/producer teleporting him from underground
hype to a household name in Nigeria and beyond
its shores.

EARLY DAYS

Phyno, who hails from Anambra
State was born on 9th October 1986 and bred in
Enugu State. He is the fourth child out of 5
children. He got the name Phyno, which is actually
short for phenomenal, from a high school friend by
the name of Emeka.

Phyno started nursing his dream of doing music
during his secondary school days. He initially
wanted to become a pilot, but was later informed
that he could be a doctor. While he was in high
school, he got himself thoroughly acquainted with
the drums and piano. He also learned to create his
own version of every recording he heard.

For his tertiary education, Phyno attended the
Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu
where he studied Public Administration. During his
second year, he started making a few bucks from
music.

CAREER AS A RAPPER AND PRODUCER

Phyno has long been producing for the likes of
Flavour, Timaya, Ruggedman, Bracket,2Shotz, J
Martins and Mr. Raw, however, he only started
rapping in 2010 after moving down to Lagos and
taking the advice of Ill Bliss to get into the booth
and try his hands at rapping.

In 2012, Phyno started recording songs for his
debut studio album, No Guts No Glory, in 2012
which didn’t drop until early 2014. The album
featured guest appearances from Stormrex,
Omawumi, Olamide, Efa, P-Square, Timaya, Flavour
N’abania, Mr. Raw, M.I, Ice Prince and Runtown.

Most of the songs in the album were recorded in
Igbo and Nigerian Pidgin. “Ghost Mode” which was
released in September 2012 served as the album’s
lead single. The song featured Yoruba rap
superstar, Olamide and it went on to top numerous
charts across the country. Other songs from the
album including Man of the Year, Alobam and
Parcel were also well received apart from the
video for Man of the Year (Obago) which was
banned from being aired in September 2013 by the
Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

AWARDS AND BEING A GUINESS AMBASSADOR

Phyno won Best Collabo at both the 2012 The
Headies Awards and 2013 Nigeria Entertainment
Awards with his hit song, Ghost Mode. In total, he
has earned 15 nominations and won 4 awards at
several awards ceremonies he has been part of
including Channel O Music Video Awards, City
People Entertainment Awards, Nigeria
Entertainment Awards, African Muzik Magazine
Awards, Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA and
The Headies.

In August 2014, a Thisday news story reported that
Phyno had become an ambassador of Guinness
Nigeria’s Made of Black campaign alongside
Olamide and Eva Alordiah. The super star
performed at the launch of the campaign and he
was also present in the television commercial as
well as online adverts.

MEDIA SCANDALS
Phyno was once rumoured to have impregnated a
young lady by the name of Rita Edmond but he
denied this in an interview with Punch newspapers
in 2014. Another issue that got everyone talking
about Phyno in 2014 was a photograph of him
appearing to be kissing Limpopo crooner, Kcee.

The picture trended on popular social media and
people wondered whether Phyno was gay. He
however debunked those claims and blamed the
misleading picture on bad camera angling.

DISCOGRAPHY

No Guts No Glory (2014)
2 Kings [Collaboration album with Olamide] (2015)

Source: stargist.com

PHOTOS: Iyanya drives women wild at his Nottingham concert

While performing at their TripleMG/MMMG concert
in the UK, Iyanya gave such a heated performance
on stage that the ladies practically dragged him off
the stage. Iyanya always seems to have this ”effect”
on women when he is performing on stage.

Seems like some hands are going the wrong way! It is enough, ladies!

Some women shaa!

Kidnappers now withdraw ransom from ATM, police say

Nigerian kidnappers can be inventive shaa.

THE Rivers State Police Command says kidnappers in the state
have changed their mode of operation. The police said the new
method being employed by kidnappers was to first abduct their
victims and force them to reveal their ATM Personal Identification
Numbers.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said
after withdrawing the money, the kidnappers would then release
their victims.

He urged members of the public to be wary of how they carried
their ATM card.

He said, “The command wishes to bring to the notice of the general
public of the new technique employed by criminals to drain their
victims’ bank accounts by keeping them hostage and using the
victims’ ATM cards to withdraw money from their account.

“Such victim regains freedom only after his bank account has been
exhausted. Members of the public are hereby advised to exercise
caution when moving about with their ATM cards on them unless it
is most necessary.”

Source: punch.ng

Fulani heardsmen kill 31 in Taraba

The Christian Reformed Church, Nigeria, has lamented the killing
of about 30 Christians by Hausa-Fulani herdsmen in some parts of
Taraba State, despite the ceasefire agreement reached by the
Federal Government and the Boko Haram Islamic sect.

The President of CRC-N, Rev. Caleb Ahima, in a Save Our Soul
message to the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria,
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on Monday in Abuja, said time had come
for CAN “to let the Federal Government intervene in the bloodshed
in southern Taraba.”

According to him, the number of casualties was high because
security tips given to security operatives were ignored.

The cleric said, “I wish to inform the National President of CAN
about the carnage and genocide by Islamic insurgents of the
Hausa-Fulani insurgents in the Wukari Local Government Area,
beginning from February 2014

“Today (Sunday), October 19, 2014, the predominantly Christian
southern part of the state, precisely the Wukari LGA, was attacked
again. The villages of Gindin Waya and Sondi were attacked in the
morning of the Day of the Lord on which Christians gather to
worship the Lord.

“This is the third time that the Muslims have attacked Christians
on Sunday. The attack of today (Sunday) led to the death of four
persons in Gindin Waya, and 27 persons in Sondi. Among the dead
were the Pastor of the Sondi Church and his only male child. The
huge army of insurgents that attacked Sondi wore army uniform.
What is happening in Nigeria?

“Reports reaching the headquarters of the CRC-N Church in
Takum, Southern Taraba State, say that another Pastor, Nuhu
Useni, was killed by the Hausa-Fulani on his farm. His dead body
will also be brought to Wukari tomorrow for burial.”

He said, “I am appealing to the National President of CAN, Pastor
Ayodele Oritsejafor, to let the Federal Government intervene in the
bloodshed in Southern Taraba. The Hausa-Fulani North seems
determined to wipe southern Taraba off the map of this country.

What is happening? How come that one LGA has been attacked
seven times now and it seems as if the country has no good
security intelligence gathering network, or that security reports are
not being used?”

Source: punch.ng

Man abandons children in boarding school for eight years

Three children abandoned in a boarding school in Abule-Iroko in
the Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State are longing
to meet their parents who have abandoned them for eight years.

When PUNCH Metro visited Solid Model College, the children
recounted their ordeal, noting that the absence of their parents
was affecting their studies.

Seun Adepegba, 14,Seyi, 10 and Titilola, 13, had been severed
from parental love and care since infanthood. After waiting for
eight years, they seemed to have relinquished all hopes of
reuniting with their parents.

It was learnt that their tale of sorrow began in 2007 when their
father, Mr Segun Adepegba, who had been separated from their
mother, enrolled them in the boarding school because he could not
afford to take care of them.

According to the proprietor of the school, Mr Samuel Ayegbusi,
Adepegba came to enroll them in his school on September 24,
2007 with a promise to always check on them.

He said, “Mr. Adepegba told me his wife had just left him and that
he could not afford to take care of them, being a jobless man. The
children were very little. Seyi was two, while Titilola was five.

“Mr Adepegba had pleaded with me to accept them in the boarding
school. Mr Adepegba’s sister promised to bear the cost of their
upkeep. They paid an initial N150, 000 for the three children for
the first term.”

But according to the proprietor, Adepegba never kept his promise.
He said after the first term, the school expected him to come and
take his children home for holiday but he never showed up until
four years later. He said the school had expended over N7m on the
upkeep of the children since 2007.

The proprietor said efforts to reach the parents’ families had
proved abortive, adding that calls to Adepegba’s phones were not
always answered.

(Source: punch.ng)

Real’s Bale doubtful for Liverpool

Real Madrid’s world record signing Gareth Bale is a doubt for
Wednesday’s Champions League game at Liverpool.

Bale, 25, has injured an upper thigh muscle and was an unused
substitute in Saturday’s league win over Levante.

A Real statement did not disclose how long they expect the Welsh
forward to be out for, saying: “His progress will be monitored.”
Following the Group B match at Anfield, Real host Spanish rivals
Barcelona in La Liga’s El Clasico on Saturday.

Bale played the full 90 minutes for Wales in both of their recent
European Championship qualifying matches, against Bosnia-
Hercegovina on 10 October and against Cyprus in Cardiff three
days later.

Wales’ next Euro 2016 qualifying match is against Belgium on 16
November and the hope will be that Bale is fit to play a key role
again.

The former Tottenham player, who joined Real for £85.3m last year,
has played 12 matches for the Spanish side this season, scoring
five goals.

Real have won both their opening Champions League games this
season while Liverpool have won one and lost one.

(Source: bbcsport.com/football)

Man Utd rescue a 2-2 draw at West Brom

Daley Blind’s late goal salvaged a point at West Bromwich Albion
but could not end Manchester United’s winless run away from
home under Louis van Gaal.

Stephane Sessegnon’s first-time 18-yard strike put Albion ahead at
the break.

Half-time substitute Marouane Fellaini levelled with his first United
goal – a powerful shot from just inside the box.

Saido Berahino’s low finish restored the home side’s lead but
United’s Robin van Persie hit the post late on before Blind’s 20-
yard shot earned a point.

The draw means United are unbeaten in three games and have one
more point after eight games than they did last season in a
campaign which saw David Moyes sacked as manager for
underachieving.

It will come as a relief to new boss Van Gaal, who this week called
his previous request to be judged after three months in the role
“stupid”, as United continue to adapt to his philosophy.

(Source: bbcsport.com/football)

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.

By Jim Rohn

TUESDAY: LATEST FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are planning a £20m move to bring Barcelona
defender Gerard Pique back to Old Trafford. The 27-year-old
moved to the Nou Camp in 2008. (Daily Star)

United will offer Real Madrid’s 27-year-old anchorman Sami
Khedira a contract worth £5.5m a year to try and beat Chelsea and
Arsenal in the queue. (Daily Express)

Pique signed for Manchester
United in 2004 from current
club Barcelona

Defender Rio Ferdinand could be offloaded by QPR in January after
six months at Loftus Road. The former England captain, who turns
36 in November, could be replaced by Porto’s Rolando, 29, or West
Ham’s 26-year-old Winston Reid. (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool will compete with Juventus and several Spanish sides for
the signature of Porto’s 17-year-old midfielder Ruben Neves.
(Daily Mirror)

Leeds are pondering a loan move for Slovenian midfielder Josip
Ilicic, 26, who has fallen out of favour at Fiorentina.
(Tuttomercatoweb)

Former Real Madrid striker Raul, whose last club was Qatari side
Al-Saad, is set to sign a deal with North American Soccer League
side New York Cosmos. The 37-year-old will also have a role at
the club’s academy. (ESPN FC)

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that he would like to
manage in Spain one day as he prepares to face Real Madrid in the
Champions League on Wednesday. (AS)

Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett is the man most likely to fill the
vacant Birmingham City manager’s post after Lee Clark was
sacked on Monday. (The Times)

Tottenham playmaker Erik Lamela, 22, believes that Spurs can
secure a top-four Premier League finish to qualify for next
season’s Champions League despite their 4-1 weekend defeat by
champions Manchester City. (London Evening Standard)

CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa, 22, has pinpointed Manchester
City’s “very weak” defence before the teams’ meeting in the
Russian capital on Tuesday. (Manchester Evening News)

Sunderland winger Will Buckley, 24, denies his side gave up during
Saturday’s 8-0 thrashing away to Southampton. (Evening
Chronicle)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

West Brom mocked Manchester United substitute Marouane
Fellaini only for the Belgian to then score a superb equaliser just a
few minutes after his arrival into the action.

United reserve goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard was one of those to
take offence at West Brom’s tweet, saying it showed “a complete
lack of knowledge, class and respect.”

AND FINALLY

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all turned down the chance to sign
Raheem Sterling, 19, before the winger joined Liverpool from QPR
for an initial £500,000 in 2012. (Daily Express)

(Source: bbcsport.com/football)

Canadian-based Nigerian act set to release his single, Nigerian Girl

Multi-award winning Canadian based Nigerian R&B, and Hip-Hop
artist “Akin” is set to release a smash hit single “Nigerian Girl” on
October 24.

Akin whose song “Harmony” topped charts in major Canadian
radio stations said “Nigerian Girl” is his first single from his
African debut album which he is dedicating to black women in
Africa especially his homeland Nigeria.

Along with his elder brother Rasak “Ra” Busari, Akin is the co-
owner of U & I Music.

The song was produced to celebrate the beauty and true values of
the Nigerian woman. The label believes that today’s artists
sometimes portray the women folk as sex idols and objects
thereby distorting the true definition and character of the Nigerian
woman.

This, according to the 2009 Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards
winner, is one of the deciding factor to come back home in order to
redefine Nigeria to the world and make a positive contribution to
the Nigerian music scene.

The song which he co-produced with Ra and Stephen Hunt will hit
the Nigerian airwaves on October 24 2014

Fans who want to keep in touch can follow the label @UnIMOfficial
on all social media platforms or Akin @AkinMusicOfficial
Further details are available on the label’s website via
http://www.uandimusic.net

Player dies while celebrating a goal

Indian footballer Peter Biaksangzuala has died from the injuries he
suffered as he landed awkwardly while celebrating a goal.

The 23-year-old damaged his spinal cord doing a somersault after
scoring an equaliser for Bethlehem Vengthlang FC against
Chanmari West FC.

Biaksangzuala was taken to hospital and had surgery, but passed
away.

The match in which he sustained his injuries was a state level
game in the Mizoram Premier League.

A statement on the Mizoram Premier League’s official Facebook
page read: “It has been a sad day for Mizoram football and the
demise of the footballer shook his team-mates, footballers and fans
alike all over Mizoram.

“Peter was a defensive midfielder who had always been aggressive
and hard working, a true team player.
“Peter’s club Bethlehem Vengthlang FC will retire his jersey no.
21.”

(Source bbcsport.com/fooball)

Bethlehem Vengthlang FC is a club based in the north-east of India.

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