Oluchi Onweagba, The Face Of Africa

Ain't she beautiful? I popped her up because she is just too good of a look. Born on August 01, 1980 in Lagos, Oluchi Onweagba has become a household name in international supermodelling. Her career as a model began when the South African television channel M-Net and the French modelling agency Elite organized the inaugural edition of beauty show. Her life, however, would change instantly and the rest would be history. Measuring 34-24-35, 128 lb and standing at 6ft 1in, Elite Model Management awarded Oluchi a three-year modelling contract to kickstart her career.

Moving to New York, her connections in modelling would catapult her to the top meeting and campaining for top-notch designers in the fashion industry. Feauturing in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit she made it three times in a row (2005, 2006 and 2007)making her the first model from her nativeland ever to market for SI Swimsuit Collection. She has also graced the covers of Vogue, ELLE, Marie Claire, Allure and other publications around the world. In addition to her haul of promotions in the international fashion industry, she played a major role in Victoria Secret's "Backstage Sexy."

Still living in New York and shuttling around the world for series of fashion shows, she married Italian designer, a long time companion, Luca Orlandis, in 2005.

You go girl! I like your style!

News Desk Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Etteh: Reps in Rowdy Session

*Adjourn in honour of Late Enwerem

*Opposition, AC insist on Speaker's probe

*Supporters say she won't step aside

ABUJA—IT was a rowdy session in the House of Representatives yesterday when Speaker Patricia Etteh decided to adjourn proceedings in honour of deceased former Senate President Evan Enwerem. This was against expectation of the institution of investigations into the alleged N628 million contract scam.
The adjournment was abrupt. MORE>>

Yar'Adua Ruling Without Clear Agenda 100 Days After - CNPP

ABUJA—The conference of Nigeria Political Parties yesterday accused President Umar Musa Yar’Adua of running a regime with no clear agenda on several burning issues facing the nation saying his first 100 days in office was characterized by inconsistency, reversal and somersault. MORE>>

The 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire (7)

As the yearly event ends on Labor Day, The African Television Channel left no stone unturned featuring Los Angeles area kids for some audition and impro at the 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire. These kids performed to a cheering crowd making the audience wanna holler. They were beautiful and energetic. It was an excellent performance.

News Desk Sunday, September 2, 2007

N628m Contract Scam: National Assembly Top Officials Disown Speaker

ALMOST one week after the embattled speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, reportedly, directed the management of the National Assembly to come out with a statement in defence of the N628million contract scam rocking the House, the top officials have practically dissociated themselves from the contract for fear of implicating themselves. MORE>>>

Voters Have Right To Protest If Shortchanged At Poll - Cardinal Arinze

Vatican cleric, Nigeria‘s Cardinal Francis Arinze on Saturday said voters in the country had a right to protest if they felt shortchanged during an election. Arinze, who heads the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Disciple of the Sacraments in the Vatican, spoke with newsmen at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Onitsha, Anambra State, on Saturday shortly after he delivered a lecture titled, ”Leadership as Service: The Nigerian Experience.” MORE>>>

Obasanjo Vs. Press: Who Is To Blame ?

The immediate former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, made a pathetic statement recently when he openly confessed (The PUNCH, 21-08-07) that reading Nigerian newspapers was not part of his business. Reason? The press, according to him, is in the habit of ”abusing” him all the time. Comparing himself with Jesus Christ, Obasanjo took solace in the fact that even Christ Himself, according to him, was also maligned and eventually ”crucified for no other reason than doing good.” MORE>>>

Why I Fell Out With Awo

Former governor of old Ondo State, Chief Akin Omoboriowo has spoken about his bitter departure from the Unity of Nigeria (UPN) and his subsequent separation from his political mentor and Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1983. MORE>>>

Ekweremadu: Nigeria Gets New Constitution Next Year

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekwerema-du at the weekend in Abakaliki said the Nat-ional Assembly has decided to initiate a constitution review process which will culminate in the passage of a new constitution for the country next year.
Addressing a special session of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly during a two-day visit to the state, Ekweremadu said the process of producing a new constitution would begin later this year with wide consultations across the six geo-political zones. MORE>>>

The Port Harcourt Situation

THE Niger delta, once also called the oil river, is an intriguing theatre of history. Its complexity resonates in the various struggles to subdue and maintain hegemony over it, as the epicenter of international trade, dating back to the fifteenth century, when it was one of the major ports of the global trade in slaves, followed by palm oil. Far less discerning Nigerians who buy into the current rhetoric by economic conjurers often imagine that “globalization” is a recent thing that began with computers and the World Wide Web. MORE>>>

Man Runs Amok, Beheads 5 Women

Great calamity has befallen the Mbaise community in Imo State where five women of the same family were beheaded at the weekend in Amukwu Onicha , Ezinihitte local government area, by a 30- year- old man, Bartholomew Uzoegbu, whose state of mental health is a subject of controversy. MORE>>>

The 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire (6)

This is not a corrupt bargain. It's not trade by barter, either. It's the 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire where tourists and shoppers of antiquity, African accessories and clothings shopped around for their basic needs. Despite a slowing economy, there was still little change to spare in exchanging goods and services.

News Desk Friday, August 31, 2007

House of Reps Crisis: Madam Speaker's Moves to Douse Tension

With the resumption of the House of Representatives next week, Speaker Patricia Olubunmi Etteh is set to confront her accusers and explain herself to members of the House. Since returning from abroad, she has made useful attempts to douse the tension already generated. This report examines the issues and concludes that whereas she may have being a victim of her own indiscretion, the opposition would not hold water. MORE>>>

GSM at Six: The Good and Ugly Side

That the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) can bark and bite was demonstrated by its recent order to the Global System of Mobile (GSM) communications companies to stop all sales promos until they had expanded their networks to accommodate the expected traffic from such activities. MORE>>>

Obasanjo Should be Probed - Ojukwu

ENUGU—PRESIDENTIAL candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, yesterday, accused former President, Chief Olusegun Oba-sanjo of ruinning the nation’s economy saying he must be made to face prosecution if the Federal Government was serious with its fight against corruption. MORE>>>

No Emergency Rule in Rivers, says Yar'Adua

President Umaru Yar’Adua on Thursday said he had no intention of declaring emergency rule in Rivers State. Yar’Adua, who spoke when an 11-member delegation of the state’s representatives in the National Assembly visited him, also vowed that the government would deal with criminal elements in the Niger Delta. MORE>>>

NLC Threatens Nationwide Strike

PRESIDENT of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, on Thursday warned that the congress would lead workers on a nationwide strike over the planned deduction of five per cent from their salaries under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). MORE>>>

In Ghana, New Cedi is Fun

When Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced his plans to redenominate the naira, Nosike Ogbuenyi travelled to Accra, Ghana, to feel the pulse of Ghanaians as their country transits from the old cedi, which exchanged 10,000 cedis to US$1, to the new cedi which is at par with the dollar. He saw a country that is gradually adjusting to the new reality. MORE>>>

The 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire (5)

The School of Scientology brought its business to the 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire perhaps to sell its ideas of a controversial stuff that was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, based on a person being an immortal spiritual being clearing itself of past painful experiences through self knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Hard to believe as it sounds too good to be true. Nevertheless, tourists and curious-minded folks still checked it out.

Orans Black Museum

I was able to take a complete tour of one of the intellectual hubs of Black African art which is almost hidden in the Santa Barbara Plaza on Marlton Avenue in Mid-City, Los Angeles. Oranz Black Museum is a world of its own and one needs to take a thorough tour of this museum of black culture in order to give props for this great idea.

It has all you can think of in the world of art, ancient history, anthropology, millions of pictures and prints rarely seen elsewhere. I was amazed and what I saw was incredible. The library of rare books, the stones collected from the Pyramid sites in Egypt, the stage, the lightings, the magnificent gallery and collections of great Black American legends who changed our lives over time.

The picture above is a BaSuka Mask with origins from Massai's of Kenya and South African Zulus. I will be taking a second tour in the coming weeks and should be chatting one-on-one with OZ as he is known by his admirers. Stick around!

News Desk Thursday, August 30, 2007

Yar'Adua Scraps NNPC

ABUJA—THE Federal Government adopted, yesterday, the Oil and Gas Industry Committee (OGIC) report recommending the restructuring of the Energy Ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as currently constituted into five agencies. The creation of the new institutional structures is aimed at creating operational autonomy and minimising undue interference. MORE>>>

Naira Redenomination: I'll Maintain Sealed Lips - Soludo

Ilorin—Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Charles Soludo yesterday said henceforth he has decided to maintain sealed lips over the controversies that surrounded the suspended CBN’s Naira re-denomination policy. MORE>>>

AG: No Court Order Can Remove Gov.

Attorney-General of the Federation and the Min-ister of Justice, Mr. Mi-chael Kasse Aondoakaa, yesterday frowned at the use of judges to get hurried court injunctions to remove governors.He said the Federal Government would not tolerate such resorts to abuse of court processes any longer. MORE>>>

Nigeria Accounts for 80% Wild Polio Virus in Africa

Nigeria accounts for 80 per cent cases of wild polio virus in Africa and 42 per cent of the global wild polio virus cases, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The WHO report stated that though the rate of wild polio virus cases has dropped in the country, the rate of elimination is slow, compared to other countries. MORE>>>

Police Nab Port Harcourt Cultist

Detectives investigating a fraud case at the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi, Lagos have blown the cover of a 28-year-old Port Harcourt-based suspected cultist, who built a multi-million naira mansion that serves as his hideout in the Ojodu area of Lagos State. MORE>>>

Group B is Toughest with United States, Sweden, North Korea and Nigeria

BEIJING: Hands down, Group B figures to be the toughest in the women's World Cup.Three of the sport's five top-ranked teams are in the group — the Untied States (No. 1), Sweden (No. 3) and North Korea (No. 5). Defending African champion Nigeria is ranked only 24, which belies its strength. MORE>>>

Nigeria's Women Football Team to Play Five Warm-Ups in Germany

The Nigerian women's soccer team, the Super Falcons, will play five friendlies during its one-week tour of Germany ahead of next month's FIFA Women's World Cup in China. An official of the team said Sunday that the tour will enable the coach Ntiero Effiom-led technical crew to select players for next month's World Cup. MORE>>>

The 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire (4)

How about some West African dishes? Yes, a West African Restaurant popped up at the 22nd Annual African Marketplace & Cultural Faire where lots of West African dishes were served. Fried plantain, baked beans, moi-moi, tuwo sinkafa, dokunu and many other varieties of West African dishes had customers and tourists indulge in finger-licking. Delicious and cool!

IPI NTOMBI, THE MUSICAL

I wasn't even sure if it was music or a group of villagers telling some kind of story in a language not familiar. I had taken the bus from Eastside heading to Lagos when busriding was fun and easy without much ado. I reached Lagos and got stuck at Ido Motor Park where buses from the Eastside called the last bus stop, that is, if you travelled afar, beyond Imo River. Sweet journey, as it was, and reaching the city, life would change dramatically. Still a hippy, and still feeling like bursting loose, the Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers way, it was indeed a long journey by bus.

Reaching my destination off Ojo Road, a two record set sitting on a table was playing on a turntable. It was Bertha Egnos "controversial musical Ipi N'Tombi" meaning where are the girls, playing and my mood twisted all of a sudden from the funk era. I wasn't really sure if that was my kind of music, but learning for the fact the Apartheid regime has caused too much pain to the black population in South Africa, I began to pay attention. I played the music over and over again and got a clue of what pain and suffering was all about.

The South African musical about a marriage ceremony for a young couple, a witchdoctor, a Boer settler and Zulu warrior "once engaged in bloody battles" led by lead singer Margaret Singana had no parallel to any musical of the day.

The album, produced by a mother/daughter team (Bertha Egnos and Gail Lakier), from the opening track of a well-rehearsed lyrical stage perfomance to the drumbeats of The Warrior, no doubt, you will be moved by the time you are done listening to every track, which of course are all masterpieces.

I have taken time to listen to all the tracks over and over again, and it's just amazing. For the record, Osibisa, remade "The Warrior" during the groups PYE years in London.

The Tracks:

1. Ipi Ntombi
2. Narration; Sesiya Hamba; Drinking Song; Thando Le Phe
3. Korbosha (Down By The River)
4. Andy's Song
5. Moriva
6. Hakelejeje
7. Narration; The Batism; Roll Up Yonder
8. Bona Noga
9. The Witchdoctor; Mother Mary
10.Narration; Nadia
11.Egoli
12.Serantebhule; Pennywhistle
13.Emdudeni; Uhlele
14.The Click
15.Narration; The Child
16.Narration; Mama Tembu's Wedding
17.Baby, Baby; Soweto By Night
18.Wishing
19.Ndoba Sathini Nina; Zimbaba
20.Baby Baby
21.Shosholoza
22.The Digger
23.Narration; Lashoni Langa
24.The Warrior
25.Bayete
26.Ipi Ntombi