Olajumoke Orisaguna: The Nigerian Cinderella

Guest article BY REUBEN ABATI.

About three weeks ago, 27-year old Olajumoke Orisaguna was a complete unknown on the streets of Lagos, hawking bread.

A loaf of bread is about N100, and even with a full tray such as she carried in her first public embrace of fame, her whole ware for a day may not be more than N3,000, with daily profit between

10 Lessons to learn from the life of Olajumoke the bread seller.

Here are ten lessons below we can all learn from the bread seller turned super model narrative.

1. The race is not to the swift:
Even that timeless Christian scripture told us that ”the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong”. The rags to glory story of Olajumoke Ajaguna has confirmed the holy maxim. We all know the struggle to grace the cover of fashion magazines by aspiring models.

Happy New Month from GossipBoiz

Happy new month to all my beautiful and Handsome darlings out there reading this. I bless God for your lives, and for making you all witness this 7th glorious month of 2015. As He has started with us all, so will He be with us till the very end.

  Happy birthday in advance to all the July celebrants,  I love you all.

*please you guys shouldn't only view blog posts this month, contribute by posting comments. Your comments encourages me to source for more Infos, and deliver to you. And suggestions on how to make the blog better is very acceptable. 

If you have any difficulty posting a comment, you could let me know via any of my contacts on the page. Thanks for your continued support. Cheers! GBB* 

Senate set to probe NNPC on state of refineries

The senate on Wednesday summoned the management of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to explain the state of the nation’s refineries as well as all structures under its supervision.


In a prayer, Olusola Adeyeye (Osun-central) argued that the senate should go beyond urging the government to act, and instead hold its ministries, agencies and departments to account.


He prayed that the senate “‎summon the NNPC as soon as possible to give account of the state of the refineries and other structures under its control”.


He also urged the senate to advise the government to revamp the existing refineries and encourage the establishment of private ones.


Bukola Saraki, senate president, put the prayer to a voice vote, after which the senate agre‎ed to summon the NNPC “as soon as the relevant committee was set up”.


The senate also called on the federal government to revamp the rail system‎ to ease the pressure on the roads.


Earlier, Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) moved a motion asking the senate to urge the government to “revamp the existing refineries and make them functional”.


Ashafa cited the recent Lagos and Onitsha petrol tanker tragedies in which lives and property were lost as reasons why the railway lines must be revamped.


He observed that if the refineries‎ were functional, “all the tankers in Nigeria would not have business coming to Lagos to lift fuel as refineries in Port-Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna would have taken care of that”.


‎Contributing to the debate, Adeola Solomon Olamilekan (Lagos West), supported Ashafa’s motion and suggested that tanker drivers be instructed to only ply the roads at night to prevent accidents.


On his part, George Akume (Benue northwest) suggested that men of the Federal Road Safety Corps‎ (FRSC) should be “effectively deployed” to the roads to curb accidents caused by petrol tankers.


In his own contribution, Shehu Sani (Kaduna central) ‎ suggested the establishment of tank farms outside the cities to ease vehicular congestion.


The senate‎ subsequently asked the FRSC to train tank drivers on best road safety practices.

40 killed as Boko Haram raids Borno villages

At least 40 people have been killed by suspected Boko Haram militants who torched houses and shot people as they fled the villages of Debiro Biu and Debiro Hawul in Borno state.


Witnesses told Reuters that the attacks happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
The attackers were said to have arrived the villages on motorcycles and vehicles mounted with guns. They reportedly shot residents and looted shops.


Details of the attack did not emerge for several hours due to poor telecommunications networks in the remote villages.


“They were shooting sporadically and then they started looting shops and setting places ablaze,” said Hussaini Adamu, who fled with other villagers to hide in bushes after fleeing Debiro Biu.


The police confirmed the attacks but declined to give details.


An estimated number of 181 persons have been killed since President Muhammadu Buhari came into power over three weeks ago.


Buhari has promised to tackle insurgency and has taken some steps towards realising this objective.


The president directed the military command centre to relocate to Maiduguri, capital of Borno, which has been the hotbed of insurgency.


Buhari has also met with continental and world leaders all in a bid to bring the situation under control.


All efforts to restore normalcy to the northeastern part of the country, which has been ravaged by insecurity in the last six years, has not yielded the desired result.

Buhari misleading Nigerians, GEJ left $30bn

Abubakar Sulaiman, the immediate past minister of national planning, has faulted the claim of President Muhammadu Buhari that he inherited “virtually an empty treasury”, saying former president, Goodluck Jonathan, left about $30 billion before handing over.


Suleiman described the report as “unscientific and unfair”, asking Nigerians not to accept Buhari’s claim until there is substantive evidence to back it up.


“It will be misleading for our respected President Muhammadu Buhari and indeed the ruling APC to claim to have met an empty treasury,” he said in a statement issued late Tuesday.


“Government can’t tell us that there is no Excess Crude Account (ECA), Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) or are we saying the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and related agencies had not in the last one month been generating revenue?


“Until they are able to prove they had no receipts from these government agencies in the last one month before Nigerians can now buy into Mr. President’s claim of an empty treasury.”


Lauding the administration of Jonathan, Suleiman justified the deficit that Buhari’s predecessor left behind.


“Money made by government is meant to be spent, and this the immediate past administration did responsibly,” he said.


“Every government, even in the so-called western world, including the US which today remains one of the largest debtors nations in the world, government operates on deficit.


“Is it not on record that President Obama inherited US$3 triillion debt, a collapsed banking sector and mortgage industry, yet he never raised any alarm. None of these has happened in Nigeria under Jonathan.


“Under Jonathan, Nigeria became the largest Africa economy and 26th in the world amidst deadly security challenges and dwindling international prices of oil. In spite of all these, the FG never owed salary.


“Upon inception of Jonathan’s administration, it is on record that the price of oil at the global stage was over $100 per barrel and at the close of the administration, it dropped to $46. Yet, there wasn’t collapse of government and federal civil servants were paid as at when due.”


He advised Buhari to hit the ground running and stop giving excuses.

Buhari refuses to congratulate Saraki, Dogara.

President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to congratulate the new leaders of the national assembly, saying he would have wished they had toed the party line. 


But he reiterated his desire to work with “whoever the lawmakers elected” and asked the national assembly to now focus on the “enormous task” ahead. 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) had preferred Ahmad Lawan as senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila as speaker following a straw poll it held at the weekend. 

But Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, both endorsed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), won respectively. 

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, said the “president would rather that the process of electing the leaders as initiated and concluded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) had been  followed. Nonetheless the President took the view that a constitutional process has somewhat occurred. 

“President Buhari had said in an earlier statement that he did not have any preferred candidate for the Senate and the House of Representatives, and that he was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected. 

“That sentiment still stands. Though he would have preferred the new leaders to have emerged through the process established by the party.” 

Adesina said the stability of “our constitutional order” and overall interest of the common man were uppermost on the president’s mind “as far as the national assembly elections were concerned”. 

“The president called on all the elected representatives of the people to focus on the enormous task of bringing enduring positive change to the lives of Nigerians,” Adesina said. 

However, Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president and a national leader of APC, has congratulated the winners.

BREAKING: Lasun beats APC-anointed Monguno to house deputy speakership.

Yusuf Sulaiman Lasun, a returning lawmaker representing Irepodun/Olorunda/Orolu/Osogbo federal constituency of Osun state, has been elected deputy speaker of the federal house of representatives. 


Mohammed Tahir Monguno from Borno state had been chosen at the weekend’s mock election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as sole candidate for the post of deputy speaker of the lower chamber and Femi Gbajabiamila as sole candidate for the post of speaker. 

But Monguno could not repeat his intra-party feat at the national assembly election proper, as he polled 153 votes while Lasun polled 203 votes. 

Ahmed Lawan and George Akume, the two other ‘sole candidates’ to emerge from the APC election, also lost out on the day, seeing their prospective positions of senate president and deputy senate president go to Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, both of whom were backed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

Lasun, the newly-elected deputy speaker who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Ibadan, was chairman of Osun State Capital Territory Development Authority. 

He was first elected to the house of reps in 2011.

PDP’s Ekweremadu elected deputy senate president for the third consecutive time

Ike Ekweremadu, a Nigerian lawyer from Enugu state and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has retained his position as deputy senate president of the national assembly. 


Ekweremadu’s  challenger, Ali Ndume of the All Progressives Congress (APC), conceded the election by giving the winner a big hug long before the official announcement of votes polled. 

Ekweremadu, who has been deputy senate president since 2007, polled 54 votes while Ndume had 20. He was sworn in immediately after the announcement of the result. 

A total of 75 votes were cast, but one was voided. 

Ekweremadu’s emergence had been anticipated as PDP’s reward for helping to enthrone Bukola Saraki as senate president, against the wish of the APC leadership.

Saraki is new senate president

Bukola Saraki has been returned unopposed as the new senate president.

The former governor of Kwara state was nominated by Sani Yarima, former governor of Zamfara state. Dino Melaye, from Kogi state, seconded his nomination. 


As Abubakar Sani, the clerk of the national assembly, called for more nominations and there was none, he declared Bukola the duly elected president of the senate. 

Ahmad Lawan, the preferred candidate of the APC, was not nominated. Out of 108 senators-elect, 57 were present while 51 were absent. Only 55 senators are needed to choose a senate president. 

Some APC senators were reportedly absent owing to their meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja. 

The meeting was said to be going at the same time as the inauguration, hence their failure to nominate Lawan.

Lol. What is empirical evidence and why is it trending on Nigerian twitter?

So the word empirical evidence is the trending phrase in Nigeria now. This is after former Education minister, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili used it during her interview with Aljazeerah. Dr Ezekwesili had asked forempirical evidence when a question was put to her that her former boss Obasanjo's administration was a corrupt one. Trust Nigerians to make the phrase their own in the most hilarious manner. See the tweets after the cut...

Source: Linda ikeji Blog

Video: "If they arrest me, Nigeria will be history' - says Asari Dokubo

 

The founder of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force says Nigeria will be history if he's ever arrested again. He said the last time he was arrested, his arrest reduced Nigeria's oil production to 700 per thousand barrel, this time it will be zero. Wow! Watch the video

Happy Mothers Day, Show love to ya Mama

The best Mom who always had a smile for me. I know we may be far apart right now but I have you in my thoughts always. Happy Mothers Day Mom. I love you.
 

I would like to take this chance to greet my mom a Happy Mother's Day as I won't be there with my family this May! My silence for a while doesn't mean that I don't care. But God knows how grateful I am because you raised us three kids very well. Greetings all the way from Bukky!

 

 

Mothers are the sweetest gift from Gods to us. There is no way we can ever really thank our mother for all she does for us nevertheless we must make it a habit to keep reminding ourselves of the various sacrifices she made while raising us. Mothers' Day is the best time to say in words how much you love and care for your mum.

 

Motherhood is tough 24 hour job,no pay,no day off, sometimes it is unappreciated, but yet resignation is impossible. A mother is a woman who created by God to bring love, joy, happiness and caring into his world. I am so glad God has created a woman to be a mother, even though motherhood is a full time job, a mother's work is never done.

Make your Mother's Day bright by sending her your warmest and heartfelt messages. Come on...Don't shy. Think of some beautiful words, for we all owe our Mothers a Big Thank You Message!!

Lets share the love, Use any of the button bellow to Share this post and dont forget to Comment too. Come'on lets see what you think about your Mama.



Did this really happen at Bowen University? #GBB

Someone tweeted this photo at me and said this is how undergraduates who go late to church at Bowen University are treated. Is this so?

Nigerians complain of discrimination in Mumbai, India

Sheeba Rani has been ostracised by many friends and relatives for marrying Nigerian Sambo Davis

Africans staying in and around India's commercial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), complain of indiscriminate racism and constant police harassment, reports the BBC's Zubair Ahmed.

Nigerian Sambo Davis is married to an Indian woman and lives in Mumbai. All his documents are valid, but he was arrested by the police recently on suspicion of being a drug dealer.

He and 30 other black Africans were detained for hours before they were let off with an apology.
But the following day, Mr Davis said that he was shocked to read in local newspapers that they were "arrested for drug peddling".

"The police treat us Africans like dogs," he says. Mr Davis claims he often faces discrimination when he goes to restaurants or when he tries to rent an apartment in gated middle-class communities.

But he is nevertheless one of the lucky ones. He found a decent flat to rent, thanks to his Indian wife.

But his fellow countrymen, he says, still face discrimination: "When they go to rent flats in a normal building they are told - 'you are a black man, you are Nigerian, and you are not wanted'. This is racism."

'Hide and seek' There is no official data on how many Africans live in Mumbai, but since India's economic progress gathered momentum in recent years, many have come to work in and around the city. Unofficial estimates put their numbers at more than 5,000.

Most of them are engaged in exporting garments to Nigeria and other African countries.
Many others are students, enrolled in the region's prestigious educational institutions.

But there are also hundreds of Africans, mostly Nigerians, who live as illegal immigrants in India. They have either "lost" their passports or their visas have "expired".
Every day, these people play hide-and-seek with the police - if they are caught, they are sent to jail.
Ikeorah Junior from Lagos runs a cafe for Africans in a crowded market on Mumbai's Mohammed Ali Road.
"I don't understand why they [police] have to go from house to house to arrest the people who don't have their papers. If they don't have papers, then deport them, don't put them in jail," he says.

Ahmed Javed, who is in charge of maintaining law and order in the state of Maharashtra, says it is not that simple: "In most cases they have no passports. So, unless their nationalities are determined, they cannot be deported."

Dozens of Africans have taken up residence on Mira Road, a dusty, nondescript town just outside Mumbai.

One "illegal immigrant" there asked me for money, claiming he had not eaten for two days.
He looked worried and told me that he had been approached by drug dealers to work for them.

"I have been here for three years - my visa expired a long time ago. I want to go back home. Please help me, brother," he tells me.

In this neighbourhood, Negro or kaalia (black in Hindi) are the two words indiscriminately used to describe all black people.

"We call them Negro because they are black. They look frightening," says one woman.
"They don't find homes to rent in Mumbai, they only stay in Mira Road. Why? Because of the way they behave. They sell drugs and indulge in other illegal activities. They cannot be trusted," a local man commented, seemingly unaware of the offensive nature of his words.

'Embarrassed and ashamed' Against such a backdrop of pronounced prejudice, Sheeba Rani married Sambo Davis four years ago and the couple have two children.
Mrs Davis says her parents are enlightened Christians and they blessed them because they thought the marriage was God's wish.
But, she says, she has been ostracised by many friends, relatives and society since her marriage.
Mrs Davis is "embarrassed and ashamed" by the behaviour of the Indian people towards black Africans.

"When I used to go to a mall or if I walked with him, I always wanted him to hold my hand. But when people saw me with him, they thought I was from a bad family or even a prostitute."
Earlier, she did not understand why black people were being looked down upon, but now she says she does.
"Because our society is obsessed with white skin. If I had married a white man, I would have gained more friends and society's approval too."

Mr Davis believes that the discrimination is solely "because I am a black man".
"It's because I am from Africa, I am a Nigerian. I think Indians see us as inferior."
Yet despite the discrimination they face, nearly all Africans the BBC interviewed said they had a soft spot for their adopted country.
They say the relations between India and Africa are "rock solid". Many argued that Indians and Africans are brothers.
"We look after Indians in our countries. They have become rich there. All we want here is for Indians to understand we are not drug dealers. We are not violent. We are just like them."

Remembering Aluu4 #GBB

I forgot to do this last month. It's so easy for us to forget and move on, especially when we are not directly affected, but please let's not forget these boys. They deserve justice. The way they died is no way for any human being to die; tortured, beaten to unconsciousness then set ablaze for doing absolutely nothing other than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Their killers are yet to be prosecuted and jailed...so let's keep demanding justice for them. They were killed 5th October, 2012. Rest in peace Tekena, Ugonna, Chiadika and Lloyd.

I stumbled on this on facebook and thought I should share. LOL…..

 

I stumbled on this on facebook and thought I should share. LOL…..

Good luck Jonathan walks into a bank to cash a cheque. As he approaches the cashier he says, ‘Good morning Ma’am. Would you please cash this cheque for me?’

Cashier: ’It would be my pleasure, Sir. But could you please show me your ID?’

Jonathan: ’Truthfully, I did not bring my ID with me as I didn’t think there was any need to. [Don't you know me?] I am Jonathan, the President…’

Cashier: ’Yes sir, I know who you are. But with all the regulations and monitoring of the banks because of impostors and forgers and requirements of the CBN, I must insist on seeing some ID.’
Jonathan: ’Just ask anyone here at the bank who I am and they will tell you. Everybody knows who I am.’
Cashier: ‘I am sorry, sir, but these are the bank rules and I must follow them.’
Jonathan: ’I am urging you, please, cash this cheque.’
Cashier: ’Sir, here is an example of what we can do. One day, Tonto Dike came into the bank to cash a cheque without her ID. To prove herself, she started singing, the guard dog fainted and the computers went off. So we knew it was her and cashed the cheque.’
‘Another time, Governor Fashola came without his ID to cash a cheque. We doubted him at first but when our dispatch rider rode in on a motorbike and he screamed, ‘Arrest that bike rider,’ we cashed his cheque!’
‘So sir, what can you do to prove that it is you and only you, as President?’
Jonathan stands there thinking and thinking, and finally says, ‘Honestly, my mind is totally blank… There is nothing that comes to my mind. I can’t think of a single thing. I have absolutely no idea what to do. I just don’t have a clue.’
Cashier: ‘Very good, Sir. It is you, alright! Now we’re convinced! Do you want N500 or N1,000 notes?

Enugu State Governor's son Nnamdi Chime set to wed

Enugu State governor Sullivan Chime's son, Nnamdi, is getting ready to quit bachelorhood. He will marry his heartthrob Nneoma Atueyi next month, April 2013.

Their traditional wedding will hold on Friday April 12th at the bride's hometown of Nnewi, in Anambra State while their white wedding will hold on Saturday April 13th in Enugu. Congrats to them. Cute girl!

My boyfriend is the father of our baby

By h ChibuokeEze

A major controversy is currently threatening the peace of Alagbado, a suburb of Lagos. A man, Akeem Amodu, and his wife, Awawu Oluyide, are at daggers’ drawn over who the true father of their one-month-old baby girl is. The baby was christened on February 17 but the ceremony wasn’t held in Amodu’s house. Before the date, Awawu had packed her belongings and relocated to the home of her boyfriend with her baby. She claimed her husband was not the true dad of the baby, insisting that she had just returned the baby to the authentic father. But Amodu would have none of that. He is insisting that the baby girl is his daughter.

At Fagbenro and Abeokuta streets, Alagbado, in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, where the couple and their parents reside, the controversy rages on, as many wonder who the biological father of the innocent baby girl is. Trouble started when Amodu discovered that his wife had suddenly abandoned their matrimonial home for her boyfriend’s place. He reported the matter to the police and detectives went with him to the home of the wife’s boyfriend.

The officers then directed that Awawu and her baby should relocate to her parents’ house and remain there. They said a DNA test would be conducted on the baby when she’s nine months to determine her paternity. But Amodu said in direct contravention of the police directive, Awawu and her baby were caught on March 1, passing the night in her boyfriend’s house.

When the reporter met with Awawu recently, the young woman didn’t deny being Amodu’s wife but she maintained that her baby’s real father was her boyfriend. She said: “He is just a thief, who wants to claim what is not his. I was once his wife and in 2010, I gave birth to a baby for him but the baby later died. When I was with him, I was always having problems. He never gave me any rest of mind. That was why I packed out of his house and came to stay with my parents. I stayed with my parents for more than a year. “But he and his mother were always coming to beg me in my parents’ house, pleading that I should reconcile with him.

But during that time, I was already having a relationship with another man. I later took in for the other man. Amodu came again and I told him that I was already pregnant for another man. But he kept begging me, saying he would take care of me and the baby and that I could then give the other man his child. He said I should come back to him so that I could give him his own child too. “So, I went back to him. By that time, the man that got me pregnant was not in Lagos. But when he eventually came back, I told Amodu that the man, who owned the pregnancy had returned and wanted to have his baby.

Amodu then asked for a refund of the money he had given me for buying the baby’s things and we got it for him. “But after getting the refund, he came back with policemen a couple of days ago to harass me, claiming that the child is his.” But Amodu insisted he’s the father of the baby girl. His words: “Yes, Awawu once had a baby for me but the baby died after some time. After the death of the baby, we had a quarrel and she moved to her parents’ house. But after some time, she started coming to see my mother, begging her to talk to me so I could take her back.

When my mother asked me to settle with her, I warned my mother that Awawu was a troublesome woman but my mother begged me and I settled with her. She started coming to my place but she didn’t move in with me.” “After sometime, she told me that she had taken in for me. She never told me another man was responsible for her pregnancy. It was in May last year that she told me she had taken in for me. And I told my mother about it. By July last year, my mother took her to a doctor for pregnancy tests and it was confirmed that she was already two months pregnant.

During that time, I was always buying things for her at her parents’ place. Almost everybody knows me in her family house. We had even done some of the traditional wedding rites. “My mother is dead now. But before her death, Awawu once told my mother and I about a man she said was giving her ante-natal care, so we went to see the man to thank him. She also told me of a church where she said she would be attending for the safety of the baby but I refused. I chose a hospital for her instead.

She never told me I wasn’t responsible for the pregnancy all that time. There was even a time she met with a lady in my place. She fought seriously with the lady, accusing her of wanting to snatch her husband. “When the pregnancy was about eight months, she collected N50,000 from me to buy the necessary baby’s things but at some point, I began to smell a rat. The first two times she had a scan, she used my surname for the baby. But on the third occasion, she used her name only. And the delivery was almost due. When I asked her why she did that, she said she forgot. I wondered how she could have forgotten such an important thing.

“One day, I sent money to her as usual but she refused the money. And when I asked her why she did that, she said she didn’t need anything from me any longer. That was when she said I wasn’t the father of the baby. That was about the time she would give birth. Meanwhile, I had already prepared for the christening of the baby. I already bought many things to do the naming ceremony. That was when she refunded the money I had given her for the baby’s things. She then moved to the house of the man she said was responsible for her pregnancy.

She delivered the baby there and the baby was christened there. “But I am sure I’m the father of the baby. That is why I want everyone to know this. The police told us to wait till the baby is nine months old before we go for the DNA but I am worried because she and the baby are with the other man. And if she and the man are sleeping together, the DNA might show the man as the father of the baby. “That is why I want this matter resolved now. I am convinced that the baby is mine and I want my baby.

When we brought the police into the matter, they ordered that she and the baby should remain with her parents until the DNA test was conducted and the authentic father known. But on March 1, she took the baby to the other man’s house and passed the night there. She has been doing that in defiance to the instruction given by the police.”