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Entertainment, Music

Chimamanda Adichie, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Yaya Toure others nominated for 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards

I know most would be wondering what Chimamanda and Yaya Toure have with this year’s MTV Africa Music Awards. Well, they got nominated in the non-music categories; it’s going to be a tough one cos we also have the likes of Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Lupita Nyong’o in the same category. Nigeria has over 15 nominations in this year’s awards.
NOMINATIONS


(1) Best Male

Anselmo Ralph (Angola)
Davido (Nigeria)
Diamond (Tanzania)
Donald (South Africa)
Wizkid (Nigeria)
(2) Best Female

 

Arielle T (Gabon)
Chidinma (Nigeria)
DJ C’ndo (South Africa)
Efya (Ghana)
Tiwa Savage (Nigeria)

(3) Best Group

Big Nuz (South Africa)
Mafikizolo (South Africa)
Mi Casa (South Africa)
P Square (Nigeria)
Sauti Sol (Kenya)
 

 

(4) Best New Act


Burna Boy (Nigeria)
Heavy K (South Africa)
Phyno (Nigeria)
Stanley Enow (Cameroon)
Uhuru (South Africa)
 

 

(5) Best Live Act


2face (Nigeria)
Fally Ipupa (DRC)
Flavour (Nigeria)
Dr Malinga (South Africa)
Zakes Bantwini (South Africa)

(6) Best Collaboration
 
Amani ft Radio and Weasel – ‘Kiboko Changu’ (Kenya/Uganda)
Diamond feat Davido – ‘Number One’ (Remix) (Tanzania/Nigeria)
Mafikizolo feat May D – ‘Happiness’ (South Africa/Nigeria)
R2bees feat Wizkid – ‘Slow Down’ (Ghana/Nigeria)
Uhuru feat DJ Buckz, Oskido, Professor, Yuri Da Cunha – ‘Y-tjukutja’ (South Africa/Angola)

(7) Artiste of the Year
 
Davido (Nigeria)
Mafikizolo (South Africa)
Mi Casa (South Africa)
P Square (Nigeria)
Uhuru (South Africa)
 

 

 

(8) Song of the Year

 

Davido- ‘Skelewu’ (Nigeria)
DJ Clock feat Beatenberg – ‘Pluto’ (Remember Me) (South Africa)
DJ Ganyani feat FB – ‘Xigubu’ (South Africa)
DJ Kent feat The Arrows –’Spin My World Around’ (South Africa)
Dr Sid feat Don Jazzy – ‘Surulere’ (Nigeria)
KCee – ‘Limpopo’ (Nigeria)
Mafikizolo feat Uhuru ‘Khona’ (South Africa)
Mi Casa- ‘Jika’ (South Africa)
P Square – ‘Personally’ (Nigeria)
Yuri Da Cunha -‘Atchu Tchu Tcha’ (Angola)
 

 

 


(9) Best Hip Hop
 
AKA (South Africa)
Ice Prince (Nigeria)
Khuli Chana (South Africa)
Olamide (Nigeria)
Sarkodie (Ghana)
(10) Best Pop

 

Danny K (South Africa)
Fuse ODG (Ghana)
Goldfish (South Africa)
LCNVL (South Africa)
Mathew Mole (South Africa)

(11) Best Alternative
 
Gangs of Ballet (South Africa)
Michael Loman (South Africa)
Nakhane Toure (South Africa)
Parlotones (South Africa)
Shortstraw (South Africa)

(12) Best Francophone
 
Arielle T (Gabon)
Espoir 2000 (Ivory Coast)
Ferre Gola (DRC)
Toofan (Togo)
Youssoupha (Congo)
(13) Best Lusophone

 

Anselmo Ralph (Angola)
JD (Angola)
Lizha James (Mozambique)
Nelson Freitas (Cape Verde)
Yuri Da Cunha (Angola)

NON MUSIC CATEGORIES
 
 
 
(14) Personality of the Year

 

Chimamanda Adiche (Nigeria)
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (Nigeria)
Trevor Noah (South Africa)
Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya)
Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire)
Transform Today by Absolut
Anisa Mpungwe (Tanzania)
Clarence Peters (Nigeria)
I See a Different You (South Africa)
Leti Arts (Ghana)
Rasty (South Africa)
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Entertainment

Short Story: Green Eyed By: Morountodun

“You’re not seeing Josh, are you?”
“Josh? Didn’t we just leave him at Ty’s place some minutes ago?”
“Yeah, it’s just…it’s weird, but I suddenly feel like you and him have a thing going on
 
“What?! We’ll, we do, actually. He’s the team leader of our dance group and I’m the only female there.
 
But surely you know that already.”
 
“No….yeah. Forget it.”
 
“You want some more spread on that slice?”
 
“Yes please, pass the Nutella.”
 
“Here.”
 
“Thanks. Peejay?”
 
“What’s it? Why’re u calling me like that?”
 
“All the delivery reports on your phone are of your messages to him. I checked.”
 
“You went through my phone?! Jeez, Temi, you know how much I value my privacy.”
 
“Sorry. Remember I asked if I could send a text to my sis on your phone last night? I was only going to see if it had been delivered this morning before u woke up, not like I set out to read your chats. Twenty texts between last night and this morning seems rather too much for comfort, considering his girlfriend is one of your best friends and how late in the night it was.”
 
“Oh, that. Yeah, we had a sort of disagreement over routine at the last rehearsal. We talked about it last night and it’s been resolved now.”
 
“Really? One would think you two weren’t talking though, with your attitude towards him when he met us at Ty’s this afternoon. You barely said hi, and then you suddenly said we had to leave.”
 
“Well, he was there to see her, not me.”
 
“And you had a problem with that, didn’t you?”
 
“What? Don’t be silly.”
 
“Look, it’s alright to admit it. I remember you had a crush on him when we all first met him, only that he was more smitten by Ty. I just hope you know nothing good can come out from you making moves on him behind her back.”
 
“Tell me you’re not for real. When we both know he’s not the only guy she’s seeing, the slimy two-timer?”
 
“Well, we’re girlfriends, and we don’t snatch each other’s boyfriends, no matter what–“
 
“‘Snatch.’ You make it seem like I’m trying to take what’s not willing to be taken.”
 
“Oh come on, the guy clearly adores Ty.”
 
“And that’s it? He’s just meant to adore and not be adored in return? That doesn’t even make sense.”
 
“When was the first time this ugly thought ever crossed your mind?”
 
“You said it yourself, I’ve always liked him.”
 
“Okay, so you’re thinking he’s going to leave her for you?”
 
“And what if he decides to?”
 
“I seriously doubt that leaving her for you since you’re available as an option is what you’d want for yourself. There are so many great untaken guys out there you could have, and you know it!”
 
 
“No, I don’t. Why does she get to have the best things all the time anyway? The money, the car, the guy…. Life doesn’t revolve around her, so I realized.”
 
“Well, you’ve got the looks and the moves, and ain’t nobody complaining about that. I can’t believe we’ve been friends with Ty since forever and you’ve been jealous of her!”
 
“Whatever.”
 
“Chill, you’ve obviously been flirting with him. I hate to think he’s been responding… Has he?”
 
“Not verbally, but we dance together and it’s all in the gentle way he holds me…the look he gives when I’ve done a great job….”
 
“Peejay.”
 
“Sooner or later, he’ll realize he loves me. I know this.”
 
“Could you just snap out of it? Usually, when a guy is into you, it’s as clear as day. You definitely won’t need a diviner, neither would you have to keep reading meanings into meaningless things. The way he holds you? You guys are in a team, he isn’t meant to scratch or attack you, is he? And everybody gets excited when you move your body, in case you haven’t noticed, simply because you’re a terrific dancer! Not to burst your bubble or anything, but Josh is a sweet guy to everyone, not only you. So whatever fantasy you have in your head, you need to head back to reality now.”
“God, Temi, what do I do now?”
 
“Take a break, definitely.”
 
“From?”
 
“Him, the dance group, her. You certainly have lots of negative feelings to purge yourself of. It should help not to have them both around you all the time, I think.”
 
“You must be thing I’m pretty messed up, right?”
 
“Far from it. You’ve made a mistake and I admire you for wanting to change for good. It’s a sign of strength.”
 
“You don’t get it, do you?”
 
“Get what?”
 
“I love him. I’m in love with Josh and I don’t ever wanna stop.”
 
“What?”

“I want him, and I’m going to have him.”
 
“You make him sound like some dress you see displayed in a shop. It takes two to tango, remember?”
 
“He’s going to. I’ll make him. He has to.”
 
“Stop it, Peejay, please. Now you sound like that crazy White girl in ‘Obsessed’.”
 
“The movie? I never saw it. How’d it end? The one with Beyoncé and Idris Elba, right?”
 
“Yeah. And you might wanna know, B had her man to herself eventually. The crazy girl died, and what a pointless death–the man was never hers in the first place
 
“What a pity. I assure you though, I’m much more determined. You just watch.”
**********************************************************************************
Morountodun is a writer and a microbiology graduate of University of Ilorin.
Twitter: @Morountosweet
*****************************************
Are you a writer? Interested in sharing your short stories on this platform? Be our guest on our Short Story Fridays segment.
Email: ololade.olatunji@yahoo/gmail.com
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Entertainment

Power of forgiveness! Killer's execution stopped last minute by victim's mother

 
This almost drew tears to my face. It is so touching! Balal was sentenced to death by hanging 7 years after he stabbed Abdollah Hosseinzadeh during a street brawl in Royan, Iran. According to he sharia law of retribution, the victim’s family were to push the chair on which he stood and perhaps watch him choke to death. But, the unexpected happened that fateful day.
Abdollah parents appeared at the last minute. The mother approached, slapped and then decided to forgive him. Her husband removed the noose off his neck. I’m sure he must have thought he was in another world. Balal’s mother who was already on the ground, stood up, walked to the grieving mother and hugged her.
 
It wasn’t that easy though, the victim’s father explained what prompted the extraordinary decision. “Three days ago my wife saw my elder son in a dream telling her that they are in a good place, and for her not to retaliate … This calmed my wife and we decided to think more until the day of the execution.”
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Entertainment

2014 World Cup: Bosnia coach also writes off Super Eagles

Now what exactly is happening? Are we that bad? No we are not bad. Bosnia coach, Safet Susic just like Argentina’s Alejandro Sabella has asked Nigeria and Iran, to forget qualifying for the second round of the 2014 World Cup which kicks off on June 12 in Brazil. He stated that Argentina and Bosnia-Hezergovina will pick the two Group F tickets after the first round matches.
He wrote on a sports website,
“We will continue attacking like we always do, I think our chances are very realistic, because at this moment, both Nigeria and Iran are not better teams than us. I fully expect that we pass into the second round. It would be unfair to the game and above all to the fans if we were to constrain such talents. After all, we are playing to score more goals than our opponents and so far it has paid off. Argentina is by far the best team in our group and they should finish first. Our target is to join them in the next round.”
Nigeria can shock the world. Yes we can and will!!!
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Entertainment

BON Winners Children's day WReading: Omoni Oboli, OC Ukeje, Rita Dominic, others to motivate 5,000 children in Rivers State.

Past winners of the Best of Nollywood awards (BON); Rita Dominic, Omoni Oboli, OC Ukeje, others will on May 27th meet, motivate and read to about 5, 000 children chosen from different primary and secondary schools across Rivers state. This according to the organizers is part of activities lined up to herald the 2014 edition of the Best of Nollywood.
The BON Children’s Day event which would be chaired by the First Lady of Rivers State, Mrs Judith Amaechi, promises to be a memorable day for the kids as it would afford them opportunity to meet, take photos and have lunch with their favourite movie stars; to participate in question and answer session and so on.
According to Seun Oloketuyi, Executive Director of the awards “May 27th is recognized across Nigeria as a day set aside to honour children. Therefore, since we have kid actors who win our awards, we thought it fit to incorporate a children-centred event in our pre-awards activities. More so, being an actor is one thing, winning awards and honours for acting is another thing entirely.
The actors we are taking to Port Harcourt are role models who enjoy huge following among children of various ages and races. Essentially, BON Winners Children’s Day Reading will see some of our past winners who inspire adulation among kids to meet with some of these kids, read to them and inspire and motivate them to reach for their dreams.”
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Entertainment

Copa del Rey: C Ronaldo spotted consoling Messi after Barca defeat

Lol! Doesn’t even look a tot like Ronaldo. Someone sent the picture to me last night and was wondering what sort of giant was beside Messi. Is it my eyes or Ronaldo looks taller. Anyways the current world best was spotted consoling his rival after barca’sCopa del rey defeat lastnight. Well, indirect mockery or “straight from the heart”? The most important thing is Madrid won.lol

According to hereisthecity.com, Jose Mourinho has been at the centre of a broken relationship between the world best players. He reportedly told Real Madrid to portray the role of ‘The Bad Guys’ because “friendships with Barcelona do not exist”. This doesn’t make them friends though!

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Entertainment

School refuses to personalise boy's Easter egg because he bears Wayne Rooney

wayne rooney, rooney, england, manchester united, man utd, man u, united, paul scholes, scholes, anderson, easter egg, boy, little boy 

His mother being a huge fan of Manchester United deemed it a good idea to name her son after her hero, Wayne Rooney. But unfortunately, this has been causing a lot of ripples in the boy’s school. 3 year-old Wayne wasn’t allowed to personalise his Easter Egg for copyright issues.

But Jo-anne Scholes, his 43 year-old was bewildered after learning about the school’s decision, “I can’t imagine Wayne Rooney would care less. It’s just nonsense anyway. Rooney is his name, does that mean he’s not allowed to have his name on anything because he shares it with a famous footballer? It’s really annoying because it turned what was meant to be a nice, personal gift into something which looked really impersonal and just a bit silly really. He’s been my favourite player for years just because of his style of play and the way he carries the team. I had a couple of nervy moments when it looked like Wayne might be off to Chelsea in the summer but thankfully he stayed where he belongs.”

 
 
 
 
Credit: Express.co.uk
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Music, Opinion

Opinion: Timaya is right, education is not meant for everyone | By: Kehinde Ajose

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein

At the recently held third leg of Star Music Trek, held in Uyo the dancehall sensation Timaya made a statement that got me thinking. This statement has somehow gotten a life of its own as it has practically gone viral and various young Nigerians have been reacting to it calling him a dullard. Timaya puts it this way: “Education is not for me, it is important, yes, but not for me. I scored 17 in JAMB, that’s when I gave up. I don’t have the brain for education but for those of you who do, please do it, its good.” he said.

Despite not being a university graduate, he has been able to discover what he is wired to do and inspiring other young Nigerians to do so. One of the greatest discoveries you can ever decipher in life is to know what God has created you for and walk the path. According to Ken Robinson: ‘Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not — because the thing they were good at school wasn’t valued, was actually stigmatized.’ Many parents have ‘Talked’ their children out of pursuing their true talents because they believe it’s not a normal thing to do (they prefer them running the rat race) .

Once upon a time, there lived a very poor couple who had a son. When the boy was born, a relative sent some expensive and elegant clothing as a present. The mother made a beautiful robe from the cloth and said, “When my son is a man, I will send him into the world with this beautiful robe.” The boy grew up and one day a rich merchant invited all the townspeople to a feast. The son came in his usual tattered clothing and no one made room for him at the table. Brokenhearted at the rejection, he went home and told his mother what had happened. To console him, she gave him the beautiful robe stored away all these years that she had made from the elegant cloth. The son returned to the feast dressed in his new finery. The rich man saw him, rushed over and bowed, and asked him to sit beside him. The son took off his elegant rob, held it over the food, and said “Eat robe, eat all you want.”

“Why are you talking to your coat?” asked the rich man. “Because when I was here before in poor clothing,” the boy replied, “no one paid attention to me. But now I come in a fancy robe and you treat me royally. It is clearly not me you invited to eat beside you, but my robe.”

The lesson of this story is clear: If you love me for my robe, you rob me of my true self. Our education system is structured in such a way that it is alien to one’s true self .How can you discover your true self while our education system is plagued with several irregularities like prolonged strike actions, lecturers who are not born to lecture but only do it to put body and soul together, an education system that cannot create opportunities for the unemployed.

Joy Bewaji puts it this way in her Facebook post: “If there’s anything I have to share with students of higher learning in this sad country, it would be- Self Development. Run your own government. Build your own institution. Schools with no laboratories, no studios, no air, no dreams. They don’t care about you.”

Imagine if Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie didn’t pursue her true talent – Writing

Imagine if Donjazzy ignored his knack to produce good music, and instead decides to be a school teacher?

– Imagine if Tara Durotoye didn’t stay true to her ability to beautify people… what would have happened to the thousands of young women who have been inspired by her giant strides, and have dared to pursue their dreams as a result of the inspiration and mentorship they draw from her ?

The education that doesn’t make you lead a productive life and create wealth for not just you, but for others should be questioned. According to Kiyosaki (1993), “the current education system is fraught with many problems. First, educators undermine the development of creative and independent thinking in students with their emphasis on the right answer. Essentially, students are discouraged from exploring complex issues when their journey for knowledge is abruptly terminated with their discovery of the one right answer.”

Consequently, the students who thrive in the school system are typically skilled in rote memorization. However, they are ill-equipped to deal with the dynamic and complex realities of our society. Instead of preparing our young people to apply their thinking to changing situations, the education system has essentially produced graduates who are dependent on their superiors and limited by their lack of creativity.

Now let’s come back to Timaya… if his music aptitude has been nurtured right from his childhood, let’s say his parents enrolled him in a music school instead of making him ‘Battle’ with JAMB, he will probably be one of the greatest musicians of our time….(not just an artiste). The crux of the matter is that it’s imperative to find your true gifting , get an education that is in harmony with it, and make a difference in your world through it.

‘Be yourself – not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be. — ‘Henry David Thoreau


Credit: ynaija.com

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Kehinde Ajose is the lead publicist at M.O.V.E MEDIA, a talent development strategist and a blogger.


Follow : @splendidkenny
Website: www.kehindeajose.com
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Entertainment

"How our friend was kidnapped, forced to make withdrawals from the ATM and later killed". Blog reader wants us to be more careful.

 
Please  let’s all be careful especially those who are always interested in buying parcels of land, following strange agents to unknown places to check out apartments or cars for sale. This is a great eye opener !!! Always ensure you transact business through a known and registered office, it’s safer. God help us all.

In memory of our friend and colleague.
On the night of Friday, the 7th of March 2014, our friend and colleague disappeared. He was with a friend in his rented apartment in Port Harcourt on that night when he received a call. After answering the call at about 8pm, he told his guest he had to dash out to meet some colleague and that he would be back shortly. That was the last time anyone saw him alive, he met with the persons but never returned. He had planned to travel to home to his family in Warri on Saturday but sadly, their expectation to see him alive and well was cut short. He never came home.
By Monday his family was fully panicked.  They checked and confirmed that there were no accidents on the PHC-WAR road and that his name was not on any manifest of the more popular transport companies. Further enquiries revealed that there had been several withdrawals from his account via his ATM card along the Eleme/Onne axis of Port Harcourt.
It was then assumed that he had been kidnapped, though there was never any call or demand for ransom.

THIRD PARTY INFORMATION

 

Fast forward three weeks to Friday 28th of March, when a guy flew in to Port Harcourt from Lagos. Apparently, he came to close a business deal. On arrival, he checked into a hotel and got in contact with a driver/mechanic whom he was familiar with and arranged for the guy to take him somewhere for a business meeting with some persons. Upon arriving at the location, they were attacked, but luckily the mechanic/driver escaped. He returned to the location a while later with police men and met the corpse of his client (the man from Lagos). Per protocol, the police searched the area and discovered the now de-composing corpse of our colleague.

 

OUR THOUGHTS

It appears there is a syndicate or gang of criminals who are using a ‘honey trap’ to lure unsuspecting people to an untimely and gruesome death. We believe based on the little facts we have that they are parading an item for sale for an unbelievable bargain price. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS OR HOW THE INITIAL CONTACT IS MADE (MOST LIKELY ONLINE), it could be anything from a high end vehicle or heavy duty equipment to real estate property, though it’s more likely to be a car/vehicle because it is unlikely our colleague would go out at night to inspect a piece of land and the fact that their last victim contacted a mechanic/driver indicates that he was likely looking for his input/opinion on the state of item he wanted to buy. AGAIN, WE DON’T KNOW THE DETAILS OF THE ‘DEAL’ BECAUSE NONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO STARTED THE DEAL SURVIVED TO TELL THE TALE.

 

Whatever it is, we believe that they are offering it at a substantial below market price, hence the interest from would be victims. After price negotiations (presumably on phone), they would arrange to meet up with their customer for inspection only to accost the person, beat and torture him/her until the person divulges the pin code to his/her ATM card(s) which they would have already taken.
They proceed to confirm the code they have forced the victim to divulge is correct by using it in any nearby ATM machine (also definitely check the balance), after which they kill the person and set-up another deal for the next weekend while they continue withdrawing from their victims account(s).
It seems logical because in the build up to the deal, it’s logical that the person would have started accumulating money in his/her account towards the purchase.

This scenario fits our colleague’s case.
They called him on Friday night of 7th March, 2014 to meet-up with them, he went, they beat him and tortured him till he gave them his pin, they confirmed it and killed him. The same scenario played out again three weeks later only this time, one of the two people escaped to raise an alarm.
Please we all need to be careful not to fall for this or any other ‘honey trap’ be it via online or any other media.
SPREAD THE WORD – THEIR NEXT WOULD BE VICTIM COULD BE SAVED BY YOUR ACTIONS!!


Lessons

 
1. Stop receiving bank alerts on your phone (Kidnappers check phones for account balances and make withdrawals from accounts after obtaining the PIN from the kidnapped individual)

 

2. If possible, maintain a separate account for ATM use (separate your salary or main account from the account that has an ATM card. Someone says she has an account she transfers funds too for weekend use. Never a lot of money in that account so the loss of the card / account would not be an issue)

 

3. Have only one ATM card on you at any point in time (especially for ladies, do not put all your “cards” in one “bag”

4. ALWAYS let people know what you are up to (or where you are going to)

5. Be very wary of “deals” that seem too good to be true
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