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Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

House of Reps leader, Femi Gbajabiamilia distance self from Dogara/Jibrin budget padding palava

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 01:26 PM PDT

Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has released a statement denying claims that he is working with sacked chairman of the House committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin to unseat Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Gbajabiamila was in a tight race for the seat of speaker of the House of Representatives with Yakubu Dogara last year....



Gbajabiamila's statement, which he forwarded as an email only to his colleagues in the house, comes after a text message from an anonymous number was forwarded to House members indicting him in the budget padding allegations from Jibrin. Read his statement and see the text message being circulated after the cut

Femi Gbajabiamila's statement below...
"Since the budget controversy that engulfed the House about a week ago, I have pointedly maintained a dignified silence. I did this for the sake of the institution I represent and which I have laboured hard to grow and protect, knowing that whatever I say could be impactful both within the House and outside it. I was determined to keep in place the glue that holds an otherwise fragmented House, protect its integrity and at same time avoid eroding the little confidence and vestiges of hope Nigerians have in us. I am being dragged into an arena I tried very hard to stay out of only for the good of the House. The Speakership election has come and gone. The election was divisive and acrimonious but I have since worked hard to heal the wounds some of which still fester amongst members on both sides. It is my responsibility to bring all tendencies in a House I lead together and I have worked well with the Speaker and all other Principal officers in a bipartisan manner and in the interest of the institution and members. It is clear that our budget process needs radical reform and very quickly too. Yes, allegations have been made but I strongly believe judgment should not be passed based on allegations. We operate a constitutional democracy and we must at all times submit to its dictates and ethos. All parties are innocent until otherwise proven. This should be our guide. I plead with all members. The mudslinging must stop. This text message, which desperately seeks to finger me in some macabre plot to destabilize the House is a throwback and echoes our dark post Speakership election history. The resurfacing or resurgence of the faceless text messengers will not help us as a House and let me quickly add that it will fail. My strongest critics and biggest political adversaries in the House cannot deny the fact that my commitment has always been to strengthen the legislature and its processes and our democracy as a whole. I consider everyone a friend and colleague and urge that as we collectively work towards a stronger legislature and strive to deepen our democracy, we do not pull back the hands of the clock nor lose sight of the enormous responsibility placed upon us by providence as members of a critical arm of government."
Text message from anonymous telephone number
"Plot to destabilize the leadership of the House of Reps has taken a new dimension as the AGF working with Gbajabiamila, Jibrin & SGF has (sic) drafted charges to arraign and detain principal officers of the House so that the transparency group who recently met with Tinubu's wife will effect a leadership change with Gbajabiamila as Speaker and Jibrin as Deputy. This is why Jibrin did not mention Femi in his allegations. The 8th House won't be anybody's rubber stamp. We will resist them like the senate resisted them."

South East indigenes boo Chris Ngige for defending President Buhari’s appointments

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 01:20 PM PDT

At the Federal Government townhall meeting in Enugu state today August 1st, South East indigenes who attended the meeting booed the Minister of Labor and Employment and former Governor of Anambra state, Chris Ngige, when he spoke in defense of the appointments made so far by President Buhari. Many believe that all of President Buhari's appointments have been lopsided, more in favor of the Northern region of Nigeria.

According to eyewitnesses, when Ngige had mounted the podium to answer questions bothering on the recent appointments, many of the youths booed at him and chanted No! No! No!. He however made his points known that the appointments were not onesided as is being suggested.

LeToya Luckett divorces just 2 months after secetly getting married

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 01:19 PM PDT

Former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett secretly got married to relationship coach Rob Hill in January this year. Two months later, in March, she's secretly divorced him. The story is just coming out now. Below is the report from TMZ;
"LeToya Luckett, one of the 4 original members of Destiny's Child, just got a divorce ... and took careful steps to stop it from getting messy in public.
Luckett and ex-hubby Rob Hillman tied the knot back in January but split after just 2 months and change. The divorce was just finalized, and according to docs it all seems pretty cordial -- with such a short marriage there wasn't much community property to divvy up.

The one celebrity difference -- the clause about "Social media postings/public statements." It states neither will make public statements about each other or "provide photos, videos, recordings or other documents" to media outlets and blogs.

That's not typical divorce petition language, but the translation is clear: No leaked sex tapes here.
Sorry, pervs.

Photos of Fighter Jets used by the military to attack Ijaw militants in South-West

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 01:05 PM PDT

The Nigerian Military on the 28th of July, commenced the aerial bombardment of Fatola, the hideout of militants and pipeline vandals in the Arepo area of Ogun State. According to reports, the air raid against all criminal gangs in the South West, both militants and vandals, saw fighter jets fire missiles at the Iroko creeks, leaving no fewer than 100 suspected militants dead and their camps/shanties destroyed. 

In a statement released today, the Nigeria Air Force revealed that although the vandals have been displaced, operations will still be intensified to neutralize their criminal activities
 "There are strong indications based on analysis of the enclosed footage on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), as well as Strike and, Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) missions undertaken by NAF aircraft that the vandals have been sufficiently displaced from their current locations at AREPO while their criminal activities have also been heavily disrupted. The Air Force will intensify its ongoing air operations to neutralise the remnants of the vandals who might have relocated deep inside the Mangrove Forest. NAF is at present operating in 4 zones across the country to tackle various forms of internal security challenges. They include insurgency in the North East; cattle rustling, kidnapping and armed robbery in the North West; militancy in the South-South; and pipeline vandalism in the South West."

The chemistry between Rihanna and Drake though...

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 01:05 PM PDT

The two performed together over the weekend nd the chemistry they exhibited on stage was electrifying. Watch after the cut...

Niger Delta militants jettison decision to declare Niger Delta Republic today, say Jonathan appealed to them

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 12:48 PM PDT

Ijaw Militant group, the Adaka Boro Avengers (ABA), who vowed to declare the Independent Republic of Niger Delta today August 1st, have jettisoned the decision saying former President Goodluck Jonathan reached out and appealed to them to rescind on their decision. The group stated this in a statement released this evening. The statement reads in part;


"We adhere to the voice of our people, because our struggle is for the Niger Delta people and not for selfish reason. But this is not the end. More has yet to come. Our mission to cripple the economy of the Nigerian nation will not stop until the Nigerian government is ready to sit on a roundtable to dialogue and to restructure the Nigeria. We received calls from prominent leaders like Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Mrs. Ankio Briggs, Chief E. K. Clark and especially King Alfred Diete Spiff calling on the freedom fighters to abort their mission to declare Niger Delta Republic. Unless that, we will not stop until Nigeria becomes a zero economy. We are also saying this for the benefit of President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerian government to stop wasting their time with those greedy fellows that call themselves MEND because nothing good will come out of them rather than sabotage. Everything they are saying, not even one will be accomplished. We will never agree with anything they say and henceforth MEND should watch their back because we have tolerated them for a very long time. Enough is enough, since they want to set confusion in the Niger Delta we will start from them."

Mum-of-three pens candid post about having a quickie with her husband while the kids are away

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 12:44 PM PDT

Popular mummy blogger Mel Watts, known online as The Modern Mumma' penned a Facebook post describing what sex is like with three kids to look after and a horny husband to take care of, in a post which many mothers say they can relate with.


Speaking to Daily Mail she said mothers should be able to talk about sex publicly, but she didn't expect anything from the post.

'If anything I'd be happy for some wife to give her husband a high five and say "look honey I'm better than that",' she said. 

She went on to say her husband agreed to her sharing the post, and while some women loved it others felt bad for her husband.
'It's quite funny actually,' she said. 'Sometimes writing things like this either help women or give them an excuse to lash out at me. Everyone in the world has sex at one point in their life. So there a billions of different types of sex drives. Not everyone has the same, no everyone has the same needs as someone else.'

3 Niger Delta ex-militants graduate with First Class degrees from UK universities

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 12:39 PM PDT

Three former militants who studied under the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme have bagged First class honours in UK universities. Eighteen others students also obtained Second Class Upper (2:1) from various disciplines.

Nicholas Goodness and Terubein Fawei graduated from the University of Bedfordshire with first class honours in public relations, telecommunication and networking engineering respectively.
Lucky Azibanagein also graduated with first class in mechanical engineering and Robotic system from the University of Liverpool.

The Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme, Paul Boroh, congratulated the graduates for making Nigeria proud and restated President Buhari's commitment towards ensuring that the goals of the amnesty programme is achieved.

"President Buhari is ever ready to implement the blueprint upon which the amnesty programme was established. The era of impunity and phoney contracts are gone for good,"  Mr. Boroh said at an event organised by the Nigerian High Commission in the UK on Friday, July 29.

Mr. Boroh also called on other militants such as the Niger Delta Avengers to emulate the militants who "laid down their arms to embrace education that can make them indispensable to the world."
 

The New York Post releases another racy photo of Melania Trump

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 01:00 PM PDT

The New York Post has published another old nude photo of Melania Trump, taken three years before she met her husband, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

The lesbian-themed pics are from a two-day photo shoot in Manhattan in 1995, when Melania Knauss, as she was called, was 25 years old and modeling under the name "Melania K." Several were featured in Max Magazine.
The raciest of the photos shows Melania lying nude in a bed as Scandinavian model Emma Eriksson, also naked, embraces her from behind, just below her breasts, which are fully exposed.

In another photo, Eriksson wears sheer stockings, a low-cut bustier, high heels and a long robe — all designed by John Galliano — and raises a whip as if preparing to spank Melania, who pretends to recoil. Melania is more conservatively dressed in a skin-tight gown and high heels.

"I always loved women together, because I have been with a lot of women who desired the ménage à trois," said Jarl Ale de Basseville, the French fashion photographer who snapped the pictures.

"This is beauty and not porn. I am always shocked by the porn industry because they are destroying the emotion and the essence of purity and simplicity."

The shoot took place in a Chelsea apartment that doubled as a photo studio, said de Basseville, a Paris artist and fashion photographer who was briefly based in New York in the mid-'90s.

Source: The New York Post

Armed robber apprehended while trying to rob a bank customer (photo)

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 12:23 PM PDT

The Lagos state police command has arrested one Gafar Ismail with no fixed address for a case of robbery. Gafar and two others were intercepted by operatives from idimu division and IGP'S Anti Vandalism team on Okunola Street Idimu while robbing a bank customer.

The gang had targeted a customer coming out of a bank. The customer who was later identified as an Inspr of police was shot in the face in order for them to dispossess him of the money he was carrying in a bag. The sound of the shooting attracted the IGP's team and patrolmen from idimu who swiftly moved to the scene. On sighting the operatives, the robbers opened fire and the team responded which led to two of the robbers being hit by bullets. The robbers were rushed to hospital where they were confirmed dead while the victim is recovering in the hospital.

The case has been transferred to SARS of Lagos state command where investigation revealed that the suspect Gafar is on the "WANTED" list of the command for cases of okada robbery.

Meanwhile the suspect has been giving the command useful information that will aid investigation.
Items recovered from the suspects are two locally made pistols,  four live ammunitions and one bajaj motorcycle.

The command will continue to be on the trail of okada robbers in the state as it's committed to ending the activities of this hoodlums

Tonto Dikeh signs multi-million Naira contract with Isocare Company

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:58 AM PDT

The ISOCARE Company deals with business of importation of Naturessence Products (USA products) in Nigeria and for the whole of Africa. The company also produces Table Water (Healthy Choice and Isocare Water), Carbonated Soft Drinks (Koolie), Non-carbonated soft drink (Pop); Sports drink (Vigorade) and Juice in paper boxes (Sunnyside).


The Yummy Mother of one and Nollywood Actress, TONTO DIKEH just bagged New Endorsement as Brand Ambassador for ISOCARE Company. In Her words, "Signed and Sealed #NATURESSENCEUSA #AMBASSADORALERT #MULTIMILLIONCONTRACT #GOD #YOLO" Congratulations to the Queen of the screen, Tonto! Would you like to check out the NATURESSENCE USA Products?


Visit their website: www.isocare.com or www.naturessence.com
Also follow on;
Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @Naturessenceusa

What Donald Trump Would Not Do by Femi Fani-Kayode

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:52 AM PDT

Read his piece below...
Four months ago I wrote an essay titled "Mr. Trump and Islam". In that contribution I argued that Donald Trump, the American entrepeuner and billionaire presidential candidate, was unstoppable.
I said he would win the nomination as flagbearer for the Republucan Party and then, against all odds, go on to win the November presidential election against Hillary Clinton.

The first has happened and, even though many in our country would disagree with me, the second is likely to happen as well. In my view the world needs Donald Trump and consequently I am with him all the way.

During the coming election debates he should do the Nigerian people a favour and ask Hillary Clinton one question. That question is as follows.

Why did she and President Barack Obama refuse to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation until late 2014?

This was after they had slaughtered over 100,000 innocent Nigerians in the space of 4 years.

If the victims had been Americans would they have taken so long to designate them as terrorists?

Is Nigerian blood not red and do Nigerian lives not matter?

Donald Trump would never have made such a mistake or tolerated such evil.

If he had been the POTUS for the last seven years and not Barack Obama Boko Haram would have been designated a terrorist organisation five years ago.

If he had been the POTUS for the last seven years there would have been no ISIS today and Al Qaeda would have been history long ago.

If he had been the POTUS for the last seven years there would be no war in Syria today, Ghadaffi would still be alive and Libya would still have been at peace.

If he had been POTUS for the last seven years the American Ambassador and four others in Benghazi would not have been murdered, the Muslim Brotherhood would never have won an election in Egypt and Iraq and Afghanistan would be in better shape today.

If he had been POTUS for the last seven years Al Shabab would have been destroyed, Somalia would have been less dangerous, Israel would be safer and Iran would not have been handed a "sweet" nuclear arms deal on a silver plate.

Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State of America when all of these things happened or were initiated. She therefore has to bear as much responsibility for them as Barack Obama does.

Unlike Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, when it comes to foreign policy, DonaldTrump is incapable of tolerating and accepting evil from those who espouse terrorism and the cold-blooded murder of women and children as a way of life.

That is the difference between him and them. He knows what to do to the islamist terrorists and he will support any foreign government that will take a hardline against those that slaughter innocents in the name of their god.

He will crush those that wish to establish a new world caliphate in which non-muslims and moderate muslims are slaughtered or turned into slaves.

Unlike Barack Obama he will not pamper the terrorists, encourage them in some parts and treat them with kid gloves. Instead he will wage a hard, full-scale, relentless and comprehensive war against them.

He will, like Russia's Vladimir Putin, see it as a battle of the forces of light against the citadels of darkness.

He will view it as an end-time war between the sons and daughters of God and the emissaries and agents of satan.

He will decimate the ranks of the Philistines, the Amalekites, the Midianites and all the other vultures, vampires and blood-thirsty barbarians in our midst.

He will not support a Nigerian government that has a clear-cut religious and ethnic agenda, that seeks to shame and dehumanise Christians and that is attempting to restrict the spreading of the gospel of Christ.

He will not pamper and encourage a government that goes out of its way to persecute and destroy all those that it perceives as a threat and that it considers to be its enemies.

He will not encourage a government that destroys the morale of the people, reduces their standard of living, destroys the economy and squanders its resources.

He will not prop up an administration that joins an all-muslim international military coalition even though the majority of the population that it governs are christians.

He will not stand by a government whose army murdered one thousand shiite muslims, bulldozed their homes and desecrated their graves simply because they blocked a VIP from using a road.

He will not support a President who is incapable of reaching out to those that refused to vote for him even in the name of peace and national unity.

He will not encourage a government who wages a selective, vindictive and nonsensical "war against corruption" in which the enemies of state are locked up indefinately and the friends of the President and his ruling party are above the  law and untouchable.

He will not support a government that wages a so-called "war against corruption" in which only the President's perceived enemies are targetted and which is not based on any cogent evidence of any wrongdoing but rather on coercion, intimidation, extortion, threats, sensational lies, media witchunts, ridiculous and unsubstantiated allegations and heinous disinformation.

He will not support a government that refuses to protect its own people from the barbarians and terrorists known as the Fulani herdsmen and which has made no arrests after thousands of non-Fulanis have been murdered and raped by those same terrorists over the last one year.

He will not support a government that sat by silently and allowed genocide to take place in Agatu and who encouraged the state-sponsored murder of many young, defenceless and innocent  IPOB protesters in the south-east.

He will not support a government that calls in Blackwater mercenaries from Saudi Arabia to wage war against his own people and is hell bent on using his army to crush the militants and good people of the Niger Delta area.

He will not cheer for a government that violates court orders, breaches the constitutional and human rights of its own citizens and tries to intimidate the Judiciary.

He will not stand by a government that tries to humiliate and muzzle the National Assembly by destroying the Senate President and discrediting that hallowed chamber.

He will not support a government that locks up its political enemies and, despite court orders and public outrage, throws away the keys.

He will not support a government and a political party that is surreptitiously trying to push a National Grazing Reserve Bill through the House of Assembly in an attempt to grab southern and Middle Belt lands.

It is for all these reasons and much more that I am an ardent fan and supporter of Donald Trump. America needs him and so does the rest of the world.

It is time that we had someone in the White House    who is not fettered by political correctness and who has the strength of character and political will to do what has to be done to rid the world of evil.

That man is Donald Trump and despite what others may think I believe that he will make a damn good President.

Pernit me to end this contrubution with an aside.

On 29th July 2016 CNN reported that "the Nigerian government is preparing troops for a crackdown in the Niger Delta if peace talks fail".

This is sad and ominous. As United States Senator Ted Cruz once said "the light of truth is stronger than the terror of darkness".

It follows that the biggest mistake that the Buhari administtation can possibly make is to attempt to "crack down" on the Niger Delta and kill innocent civilians.

If this ever happens, for whatever reason, it will set off a chain of events that will lead to the end of Nigeria as we know it.

Nigeria will disintegrate before Buhari's very eyes if any more innocent blood is shed and if the towns, creeks and villages of the oil-producing states are shelled and reduced to rubble.

Sadly the slaughter has already started with the reported bombing and killing of over one hundred people by the Nigerian Armed Forces in the creeks of Lagos, Ondo and Ogun states on the fringes of yorubaland all in the name of fighting the Ijaw militants.
 The question is this: were those that were murdered and whose villages were subjected to what the Nigerian media has described as "massive aeriel bombing" innocent yorubas and Ijaws or were they war-mongering and pipeline-vandalising militants.

The answer to that question remains to be seen but whatever it is one thing remains clear: the cries of marginalisation and the cause of the people of the Niger Delta, and indeed that of the Igbo people of the eastern region, is rooted in truth and is manifestly  just. Their struggles and aspirations are legitimate and reasonable.

Self-detetmination is a right. It is a concept and principle that is universally accepted and that has the backing of international law.

You do not threaten to bomb those that seek to exercise that right: you treat them with respect, decency and decorum and you attempt to persuade them to stay.

This is a point that is lost on President Buhari and those around him. The bottom line is this, the Niger Delta Avengers are not Boko Haram: taking them on in the field of battle would be a monuemental error.

Violence begets nothing but violence and peaceful dialogue is the only way to appease a people that have been maligned, cheated and wounded.  A word is enough for the wise.

Consulate General of Nigeria in New York not issuing passports to Nigerians?

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:47 AM PDT

According to reports from some LIB readers present in New York, the Consulate General of Nigeria is not issuing passports to Nigerian Citizens and this has been going on for a while. The Consulate reportedly posted a notice which revealed that they would not be processing passport applications until further notice and this is due to some technical issues they are currently facing.
Even people that have paid for the passports are also not getting any good response. Hence, Nigerian Citizens have to apply for visa before coming back to their country. Is the Nigerian government aware of this? These are photos from a protest at the embassy today

Comedian, Wale Gates shares photos from his family vacation in France

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:44 AM PDT

Comedian Wale Gates is currently on holiday with his wife Lanre and daughter Mide in Nice, France. He shared the photos on his IG page. More photos after the cut...
 

Successful writer bares her mind on being single at 51

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:39 AM PDT

Christina Patterson, a successful 51-year-old writer has opened up on single life. She says she wasted so much time in her younger years agonising over being single, she could have written a voluminous bestseller in that time. She had a successful career at a young age but felt a boyfriend was the final piece to make her happy. She says she'll advise her younger self not to ruin the beautiful life she's got pining over something she doesn't have...


Writing in Daily Mail, she says that being single meant she had the time to climb the career ladder and nurture life-long friendships and those friendships, she says, are more important that romantic connections. Friends are happy to sit around with you doing nothing long after the spark has gone out of romance.

She has found love yet again but she loathes to leave single life and the freedom that comes with it. In her own words, "There are lots of ways to live a life. You just can't live all of them at once." Read the article below.

My parents met on a hill in Heidelberg. It was, they always told us, love at first sight.
My mother was 18. My father was 21. Two months after they met, my father sent my mother a telegram saying: 'Will you marry me?' My mother sent one back saying: 'Yes.' When my father died, 47 years later, he was still buying her flowers.
This is not what happened for me. I always thought it would, but it didn't. I have lived on my own since I was 26 and have been single nearly all my adult life. People often asked why and I never really knew what to say. I even bought a book called If I'm So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single?
Looking back, the answer is clearer. The steady, reliable men I met seemed boring. What made my pulse race was charming men who made me laugh. What made my heart sing, in fact, was narcissistic charmers who played the game and often didn't stick around.
In my 20s, I tried to look cheerful as I went to friends' weddings alone. I smiled at speeches. I smiled at photos of the honeymoon. I smiled when people put babies in my arms. But I didn't smile when I got home. I thought they had won the lottery and I had not.
When I hit 30, panic kicked in. I put a skull and crossbones on the invitation to my party and pretended it was just a joke about passing time.
At 40, I had just ended a relationship with another charming bad boy. And at 50? Well, if anyone had told me when I was 30 I would still be single at 50, I would probably have picked up the phone to Dignitas.
I had a party anyway. You should always mark big birthdays with a party. But it certainly wasn't the 50th birthday I'd planned.
Then last year, I found love. I had to wait until I had turned 51, but I did, at last, find love. I don't worry now about who I'm going to spend Christmas with or whether I'm going to be alone on a Saturday night. If I want to go to a gallery or for a walk in the country, I don't have to trawl through my address book to find a friend who is free.
Holidays have turned from a bit of a headache into - well, a holiday. It isn't much fun being ushered to the back of a restaurant by waiters asking if 'madam is eating on her own'.
I don't know if my relationship will last. None of us can know. I still live on my own. My home is my castle and I have no desire to fill it with someone else's stuff.
I still have the friends I've always had. I still go out a lot on my own. But for the first time, I find myself swapping the word 'I' for 'we'. To be honest, it feels a bit strange.
I stutter over that word 'we'. That's because a part of me doesn't want to let go of the rich life as a single woman I spent so many years building up.
When I think of the hours I spent moaning over bottles of chardonnay, then sauvignon, and then prosecco, about the nightmare of being single, I can feel my cheeks burn.
I could have written War And Peace in that time. I could have written the whole of Dickens.
But instead, I said one thing, again and again. If only. If only I had a boyfriend. If only I had a husband and a family and a nice little house. If only I had these things, everything would be fine.
I would have these conversations after a long day at work in a job I loved. In my 20s, I was organising literary events, having dinner with top writers.
In my 30s, I was running a national arts organisation. In my 40s, I was a newspaper columnist, interviewing Nobel laureates and senior politicians.
I went on press trips to Syria and Cambodia, Shanghai and Iran. And I still had the impulse to say to Nobel laureates and former prime ministers: poor me. I'm single. Feel my pain.
And when I wasn't working, I was seeing friends. I've always been very lucky in my friends. Friends are the people who shriek with laughter about the man you've just met on the internet who droned on about his work, drank too much, then left you to pick up the bill.
Friends are the people who scoop you up when you didn't get that promotion or when you've just been dumped. Friends are the people who come with you to a hospital appointment when a scan shows a shadow.
Or at least my friends are these people. My friends are my family. They are my cheerleaders, my necessary critics, my clan.
If I could speak to my younger self, I would tell her those friendships she has are so strong, loving and supportive they'll last longer than romantic relationships and will give her more joy, more laughter and more fun. I would tell her it might take a bit of courage, but it's better to go to parties on your own.
You make more of an effort, you meet more people and you often have better conversations.
I would tell her to relish her opportunities. When you're single, you can go where you like, do what you like, meet who you like.
You can leap on a plane and have an adventure, as I've done many times. I wouldn't recommend them all, but they were never dull.
I'd remind her that when you're single, you don't have to cook. You can't just alternate chablis and Kettle chips, but you don't have to waste time on gourmet meals for one. You can save your recipe books for dinner with friends and sparkling conversation.
When my father retired, my mother told him she married him for better or worse, not for lunch. Now I understand. Some love domestic life. I'm afraid I don't. 
I would tell my younger self to savour the energy and curiosity that drives you to seek more. If you're single, you often get more done. You have more time to devote to your career. You have more time to nurture friendships. You have more time to read, learn things, meet new people.
I used to dream of sitting at home with a box set, but there's a big world out there and you can't see all that much of it when you're curled up on the sofa.
Never feel ashamed to be on your own. Being single doesn't mean you're unlovable or weird. Millions of people are looking for a partner. A third of us live on our own.
When you're single, you have freedom. You can live life with an intensity you might later miss. The security of a good relationship is less exhausting, but when you swap freedom for security, you may - sorry, darling, if you're reading this - have a bit less fun.
What I would tell my younger self, in other words, is not to ruin the rich life she has by yearning for what she hasn't yet got. There are lots of ways to live a life. You just can't live all of them at once.

Yudala Zero Gravity unveiled!

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:28 AM PDT

To mark the first anniversary of its record breaking entry into the Nigerian e-commerce sector, the Management of Yudala, Africa's pioneer composite e-commerce outfit, has unveiled plans for an annual multi-city mega concert tagged Yudala Zero Gravity.


The first edition of Yudala Zero Gravity is expected to hold in three cities: Lagos, Abuja and Enugu, with each city set to host two concerts: a Rock Gospel concert and Contemporary Music blast featuring headline acts and the best of artistes from both genres.

On Wednesday July 27th, Yudala hosted a World Press Conference in which it announced the concept of Yudala Zero Gravity to the media. At the press conference, Yudala announced that it will offer free pass to customers to attend the Zero Gravity concerts on the basis of purchases made from August 1st 2016 on its online platform or chain of Experience Stores located nationwide, with customers also getting a chance to choose their city/cities of attendance and upgrades to VIP/VVIP with more purchases.

It was further disclosed that for non-customers of Yudala who wish to attend the Zero Gravity concerts, tickets will be on sale at Yudala online and in every Yudala Experience Store in the preferred city of attendance.

Updates on line-up of artistes and other details in the count-down to Yudala Zero Gravity will be served exclusively here on LIB.

Below are pictures from the World Press Conference…

Invest money you want to spend on oil search on agriculture- Ben Murray Bruce advises FG

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:25 AM PDT

Last month, NNPC Boss Maikanti Baru said President Buhari has given him an order to intensify the search for crude oil in the North. Senator Ben Murray-Bruce thinks more returns will be made by the Federal government if the money for oil search in the North is invested in Agriculture.

Photos/Video: Man chops off wife's hands for not conceiving after seven years of marriage

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:20 AM PDT

A 34-year-old Kenyan man allegedly chopped off the hands of his wife of seven years with a large knife because she cannot have children, in what is said to be the most atrocious cases of domestic violence.
28-year-old Jackline Mwende from Kathama Village, Masii in Machakos County, had her hands chopped off at the wrist by her husband, Stephen Ngila Thenge (right) on July 24. 
 
She is also nursing injuries on her head and neck from the gruesome attack. Relatives say the couple had been having issues and Ms Mwende wanted to leave her husband but was advised against it by "their pastor"

Ms Mwende, who spoke told the Nation Kenya at her father's Kathama home, where she now stays after her discharge from the hospital on Friday, July 29, said that before the attack, they had separated for about three months over failure to have children


"I could not understand why he was blaming me yet we had gone to hospital last year and the doctors had said he was the one with issues, which could be corrected," she said. She said her husband, a tailor at Masii town, refused to follow up on treatment.

"He moved out of our house three months ago and came back on Sunday (July 24) at around 8.30pm. When I opened the door, he said 'today is your last day' and started slashing me with the panga."

Ms Mwende called out for help but the man fled before neighbours arrived.
 
 
"They were all afraid of touching me, they thought I was dead. I was rushed to Machakos Hospital where I was given painkillers and got a blood transfusion. I was discharged on Friday."

Shocked villagers described Mr Thenge is a very "polite man". The man was arrested on Monday July 25 in Machakos town hours after he fled his home in Masii.

Ms Mwende's jobless parents are now appealing for help to take care of their child.
 
Mr Samuel Munyoki said:

"We want justice for our daughter. The person who did this should pay for it. She is now disabled and will need artificial hands to get her life together but we can't afford anything. We are poor, we can't even afford her painkillers."

Ms Mwende said she was leaving everything to God even as she expected justice from the courts. Machakos women Representative Dr Susan Musyoka condemned violence and said justice must be done.

Praiz emerges surprise judge on MTN Project Fame 9!… Oluchi ,Yusuph , Favour , and Dapo up for probation

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:15 AM PDT

Surprise! Surprise! Praiz has been unveiled as the new Judge of the MTN Project Fame.

The sensational singer and alumni of the music reality show, joins Bibie Brew and Tee-Y Mix, as one of the judges of MTN Project Fame. The soul and R n B artiste who hails from Kogi State hit the ground running as he joined the other judges to decide the fate of the fame seeking contestants.

His musical depth and prowess that qualified him to be a judge of the show, came to bear with the quality of assessment and advise he gave the contestants.
 
The weekly show got off to a great start with the 14 lucky contestants performing a selection of various genre of music. While they all got positive remarks from the Faculty members comprising Joke Silva, Ben Ogbeiwi and Dupe Ige, the journey to stardom may soon come to an end for Oluchi, Yusuph , Favour , and Dapo as the trio have been placed on probation by the judges during the first week of the weekly show.

The evening came to an exciting end with a special performance by Praiz.

Remember the power to keep the contestants on probation back in the competition lies in your hand. All you need do is simply send PF to 303 to subscribe for the super PF data bundle that gives 150MB valid for 7 days, and then send the Contestant code to 306 for fans in Nigeria and audience in Ghana to 1745.

That is not all, by making frequent subscription of the Project Fame data bundle; you stand a chance to spend a day in the Academy with the contestants.

You can join the conversation online @ www.projectfamewestafrica.com , and catch all the interesting moments in the Academy.

More photos below...

PDP wades in on alleged budget padding in House of Reps, questions the integrity of the 2016 budget

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:07 AM PDT

As the controversy surrounding the alleged budget padding by the House of Representatives continues, opposition party says revelations made so far by sacked chairman, House committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, puts the 2016 budget into question. See more of their tweets after the cut...
 

Chrissy Teigen, others slams Miss Teen USA for having all-white finalists

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:01 AM PDT


According to the organisers of Miss Teen USA, the pageant is a 'celebration of diversity'. That is not the case however as all five finalists are Caucasian, with long blonde hair and light-coloured eyes.
Model Chrissy Teigen was among those who were quick to slam the lack of diversity of the girls. See what Chrissy and other  twitter users wrote after the cut...













The contestants

Photos: Abdulmumin Jibrin at EFCC, Police HQ to drop his petition against Dogara, others

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 09:00 AM PDT

After dropping off a petition against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and others at ICPC office, Abdulmumin Jibrin proceeded to the EFCC office and the Nigeria Police headquarters where he also dropped a petition against the lawmakers. More photos after the cut...
 

Photos of Toya Wright's brothers shot dead in a drive-by yesterday

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 08:54 AM PDT

Reality star and Lil Wayne's former wife Toya Wright's brothers were shut dead in a drive-by over the weekend. Rudy and Josh Johnson were shot multiple times just after midnight on Sunday, July 31, as they sat in a car in New Orleans' 7th Ward. No one has been arrested in connection with the murder

The late brothers made appearances in the BET reality shows 'Toya: A Family Affair' and 'Tiny and Toya'. May their souls rest in peace, amen.

Photos/Video: Suspected Militants block Benin to Lagos expressway, allegedly play football to delay motorists

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 08:45 AM PDT

Some social media users are alleging that suspected militants blocked the Benin to Lagos expressway this afternoon. This reportedly happened for close to two hours and no security operative showed up to challenge them within that time. According to an eyewitness Ehiwario Jude, "the Self acclaimed militant group mounted a road block stopping vehicles from moving, with the excuse that they are playing football on the road until the government pays them." He however noted that the Nigerian Army later came to intervene. See more photos and the video from the scene, after the cut...





Photo/Video Credit: Ehiwario Jude & @TheRookyKamiz

Video: Magicity - Cha Cha ( Dir. by Mask Inx Media)

Posted: 01 Aug 2016 08:41 AM PDT

Magicity back with visuals to the new single "Cha  Cha" the song was released weeks back, which made wave. Watch the visuals for it, directed by Mask Inx Media. Enjoy.

Watch Cha Cha here:
https://youtu.be/Y6p3BrKvOLA

DOWNLOAD: https://soundcloud.com/user-270073273/magicity-cha-cha

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