De - Bliss

Shortly after the August 1983 military coup that brought a 40-year-old Muhammadu Buhari to power, he received a phone call from a top personnel in the United States Army. General Smith was the Commandant of the U.S. War College from which Buhari graduated in 1980. The school’s 1979 set had graduated its first Nigerian, General Wushishi, who was the Chief of Defence in the just ousted Shehu government. “Please, be kind to him,” General Smith said over the phone. The essence of the phone call was not just to congratulate Nigeria’s new Head of State, but to ensure that the first Nigerian to graduate from the U.S. War College would not suffer any indignity under the government of the second Nigerian to graduate from the same school. Former classmates On Wednesday, July 22, members of the U.S. War College Class of 1980 gathered at the Blair House in Washington, DC, to welcome the man they had selected as their football team referee 36 years ago. “Being referee all those years ago taugh...

A report by Daily Independent claims that the publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti state, Taiwo Olatunbosun, has made moves to settle the differences between him and the state governor, Ayodele Fayose.

A Nigerian woman named Hanna Fanni was discriminated against at a hotel in Dubai on July 8th. The hotel staff at five-star hotel Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach refused to serve her and showed her the door when she visited the hotel's popular West Beach Bistro & Sports Lounge with her black American friend. The outraged Nigerian said what they did to them reminded her of 1930s America. "They suspected us of being prostitutes and targeted us solely because of the colour of our skin. I have lived here for 10 years and have never been treated in such a disrespectful and despicable manner." Hannah said “My friend had just graduated and we were hoping to enjoy a girls’ night out at the bar but came back traumatised. First the waitress refused to serve us and then a security guard ordered us to leave the hotel. At one stage he was ready to engage with us physically which is classified as assault and sexual harassment in UAE. He kept telling us that the bar didn’t allow una...

The 31 year old mother of one took her brand new pink Jeep on a spin in LA yesterday after GETTING a company to pimp it to her taste. Another pic after the cut...

Contrary to rumour making the rounds that Emeka Ike’s wife, Emma has filed for DIVORCE after 13 years of living with the actor, the former has refuted the claims, insisting that his marriage is intact. The actor also denied being a wife beater. The buzz last week was that Emeka Ike’s wife had filed for DIVORCE and that the case will be coming up on the 22nd July. In A CHAT with Vanguard, the actor described the rumour as unfounded, blaming it on those who are envious of his marriage. According to him, “As I’m talking to you now, I have not received any DIVORCE notice. There is nothing like that happened. I have not received any letter from anybody. I am a Christian, we don’t divorce.”

Coach Sunday Oliseh has fired a warning he will only consider players who feature in the top leagues overseas and at home. Oliseh’s predecessor Stephen Keshi was known to call up players from the lower leagues overseas. But the new Eagles supremo said this must change. “If you are not playing in first division in anywhere in the world and in Nigeria, you cannot play for the Super Eagles henceforth,” Oliseh warned at a media presentation in Abuja on Wednesday. “However players coming from the under-aged teams are the only exception to this rule.” Oliseh said it is an honour to lead the Eagles now as a coach, but he alone cannot turn around the footballing fortunes of the country. “It’s a great honour to be a coach of this nation,” he said. “First of all, I am not coming as a Messiah. I am not coming as a man who can single handedly turn Nigeria to Germany. “I am coming in to do my best and give if possible 150% all the time. “The state we are now in Nigeria I think we are all not hap...

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the following appointments: 1. Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin – Chief of Defence Staff; 2. Major-General T.Y. Buratai – Chief of Army Staff 3. Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas – Chief of Naval Staff 4. Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar – Chief of Air Staff 5. Air Vice Marshal Morgan Monday Riku – Chief of Defence Intelligence 6. Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd.) – National Security Adviser The new Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Olonisakin (N/6901) hails from Ekiti State. Until his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff today, he was the Head of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command in Minna, NIGER State. The new Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Buratai hails from Borno State. Until his new appointment today, he was the Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force which has its headquarters in Ndjamena. Maj-Gen. Buratai has previously served as Commander of the Nigerian Army’s 2nd Brigade in Port Harcourt and Com...

The Catholic leader had examined the gift politely, and then handed it back to a Bolivian political aide. Bolivian President Evo Morales presents Pope Francis with a crucifix carved into a wooden hammer and sickle, in La Paz, Bolivia, on July 8, 2015. The crucifix is a replica, originally designed by Jesuit activist Luis Espinal, who was assassinated in 1980 by suspected paramilitaries during the months that preceded a military coup (L'Osservatore Romano/AP ) The classic look on Pope Francis gave him away when Bolivia’s left-wing President, Evo Morales presented him a crucifix on Thursday - a cross which displayed Jesus Christ to a hammer and sickle. According to The Guardian UK, the Catholic leader had examined the gift politely, and then handed it back to a Bolivian political aide. The hammer and sickle is a prominent symbol in Marxism, an atheist political ideology. While this particular crucifix was designed by an activist Jesuit, the Guardian says some conservative Catholics...

Nigerian Actor Emeka Ike’s Wife, Emma Files For Divorce As Marriage Crashed Over Constant Beating,Emeka Ike Is A Wife Beater, He Calls Me Witch Anytime We Fight. The wife of popular Nollywood actor Emeka Ike has finally filed for divorce from her husband of 12 years. Emma Ike says her hubby is constantly battering her. She narrated how the couple lost their school when her husband stopped her from managing it. Hear what Emma told the customary court yesterday: “It was when my husband beat me mercilessly I believed that people truly saw stars whenever they were unconscious. It was my brother who took me to the hospital where I spent two months. There was also a day I was feeding our last child with tea, my husband, out of anger took the tea and poured it on my head.” “I even persuaded his sister to bring four of her children to our school without paying a dime but instead of showing appreciation, she said I was a lavish spender and that was how I stopped being in charge of his schoo...

"It has been brought to our attention that Premium Times, a popular Nigerian online magazine, has alleged that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode wrote the following words on his Facebook page- "For rejecting Jonathan, Nigerians deserve Boko Haram". This is false and, needless to say, Chief Fani-Kayode has never and would never say such a thing or harbor such a horrendous and heartless view. "For the last few years Chief Fani-Kayode has been one of the loudest and most strident voices against Boko Haram in Nigeria and he has continuously and courageously condemned them. He has also continuously expressed his grave concerns about the barbarity and sheer evil that they have unleashed on the Nigerian people and he has constantly expressed his condolences to and support for the families whose loved ones have been murdered by them over the years. "For Premium Times or anyone else to allege that Chief Fani-Kayode wrote that the Nigerian people "deserve Boko Haram" u...

Lagos — Hundreds of Synagogue Church of All Nation (SCOAN) members have besieged the church’s premises and the Ikeja High Court in anticipation of the verdict on the deadly collapse of the church structure last year. About 120 people died after the collapse. The Coroner's Court investigating the incident is scheduled to hand over judgment today. Leader of local security group, Oudua People Congress (OPC), Dr Federick Fasehun, was also sighted this morning around the court venue of the verdict. He told our correspondent that he was in court in solidarity with TB Joshua, the controversial founder of the church. “I hope justice will be done,” he said. “I love justice and I would love justice to be done in this matter. I hope the powers that be will not allow him (TB Joshua) to be subjected to ridicule, degradation and embarrassment," he said. Our correspondent also observed that several top Nigerian actors and actresses had also besieged the Ikeja High Court premises wher...

The plant will use up 17,000 acres of land in Clay County, and for the meantime will pump spare energy into the local grid.. Reports say Facebook has announced that it’s building a fifth data center—adding to other four in Oregon, Iowa, North Carolina, and Sweden. The latest addition will be also be entirely run on renewable energy just like the others. Sources say on the new data center’s Facebook page, Facebook’s Director of Data Center Operations Ken Patchett explains that it will be “one of the most advanced, efficient, and sustainable data centers in the world.” Sources also report that the center will be cooled by outdoor air instead of air conditioning (apparently that can work, even in Texas) and be powered by a 200MW wind energy plant just 90 miles down the road. The plant will use up 17,000 acres of land in Clay County, and for the meantime will pump spare energy into the local grid as it produces more than Facbeook actually needs.

Former senate president, Ken Nnamani, has revealed that he will soon expose those behind the third term bid of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo. He decried the situation where major actors in the failed project are now beginning to feign ignorance about the project and denying their participation in the failed bid. The Obasanjo administration had tried to extend its tenure as the administration was preparing to leave office but the extension didn’t see the light of the day as it was quashed by the National Assembly then. The failed project was known as “third term”, and many politicians, including Obasanjo have since denied having a hand in the project. Nnamani was speaking at the public presentation of a book, Nigeria Fourth Republic National Assembly, written by Dr Austin Uganwa. The book chronicled how, for the first time, money exchanged hands in the Fourth Republic National Assembly in 1999 when Obasanjo moved to stop the Senate Presidency bid of Senator Chuba Okadigbo, w...

Former Super Eagles midfielder Sani Kaita has been declared missing by his Nigeria Professional Football League side, FC Ifeanyi Ubah of Nnewi. The club manager John Obu, according to News Agency of Nigeria revealed that the midfielder has not bee seen or heard from since Wednesday July 1 after a match. After a short spell with Enyimba of Aba, Kaita joined Nnewi based league club, Ifeanyi Uba in May on a 3-year-deal left. The former Kano Pillars midfielder did not report to Sunday's 1-0 victory over Shooting Stars and has now being declared missing. “What happened is, when we travelled to Port Harcourt, we were to leave immediately after the game and he was not part of those of us who left and up till now, we have not seen him," Obi is quoted to say by NAN. "I don’t need to look for him, he needs to tell me where he is. If he fails to tell me where he is, then we will report to LMC (League Management Company) of his absconding.' Kaita was part of the Nigeria U-20 ...

Nasir El-Rufai has had a stellar opening to his tenure as governor of Kaduna state. The former FCT minister has been lauded for hitting the ground running in the North-Western state. One of his acclaimed moves was reducing the number of ministries to just 13, in order to reduce the cost of governance in the state. El-Rufai today unveiled a new official Twitter account for his role as governor, to enable citizens to relate with him easier. El-Rufai, who belongs to the All Progressives Congress, has previously spoken of the poor state of the nation’s economy, saying the country faced hard times ahead if corrective measures were not taken.

On June 17th, Chadian government banned the use of full-face Muslim veil throughout the country following the twin bomb blast that killed 27 people at the country's police headquarters in N'djamena. (Read here) Yesterday, a Chadian Army Colonel refused to have his wife's removed which led to a fight. See more photos after the cut...

Music star Duncan Mighty is set to wed his fiancee Vivien on July 25th. They are pictured above with the wife of the governor of River State, Justice Eberechi Wike. The wedding theme is African Royal wedding and will be star-studded.

ABUJA — It was the end of an era, yesterday, when the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, formally handed over to Amb. Ahmed Wali as acting chairman of the electoral body. Following the handover, Jega said the future of the country and the commission were in safe hands. However, after about eight hours as acting chairman, Wali was replaced as acting chairman by President Muhammadu Buhari who designated another national commissioner, Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari as acting chairman. Jega, who was appointed five years ago by former President Goodluck Jonathan, bowed out with six national commissioners who were appointed the same day with him. The commissioners who retired with Jega yesterday were Cojl. M.K. Hammanga (Adamawa), Dr Ishmael Igbani (Rivers), Prof. Lai Olurode (Osun), Dame Gladys Nwafor (Abia), Mrs Thelma Iremiren (Delta) and Dr Nuru Yakubu (Yobe). The future is bright —Jega Speaking with newsmen shortly after he bowed ou...

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has discharged and acquitted former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, of any corruption charges. Delivering her judgment, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, said the Economic Financial Crimes Commission’s case was “feeble” and failed to provide “copious evidence” linking Fani-Kayode to money laundering. Fani-Kayode, whose trial began in 2008 was arraigned by the EFCC for allegedly laundering about N100 million while he was minister of Culture and Tourism and subsequently, aviation minister. Fani-Kayode, in a statement shortly after the verdict thanked God, and all those who made the victory possible. Statement Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted, humbled and relieved by this verdict. In the last seven years, I have been subjected to the most malicious, vicious, sinister, well-orchestrated, insidious and devastating form of political persecution and wickedness. The whole process almost destroyed my life, my family, my reputation, my health an...

There are growing concerns over the apparent determination of the president’s wife, Aisha Buhari, to transform herself into a politically powerful spouse, in defiance of her husband’s wishes. Sources hinted that even though President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered that his wife not be officially addressed as “First Lady,” adding, however, that Mrs. Buhari has been operating as one. Since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, the wives of successive Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan had operated in a politically controversial and high profile manner. Stella Obasanjo, the wife of Mr. Obasanjo, was known as a quiet power broker who reportedly demanded loyalty to herself from those who worked closely with her husband. She died on October 23, 2005 in Spain during a secretive trip to perform cosmetic surgery to enhance her physique. Mrs. Turai Yar’Adua emerged as a brooding operator who became the power behind the throne of her husband’s ...

Nigeria will probably be hit by fuel shortages in three weeks as the government doesn’t have enough money to pay for gasoline subsidies, according to the head of Seplat Petroleum Development Co Plc. “In three weeks we will be back to scarcity because we simply don’t have the money to pay for the subsidy,” Austin Avuru, chief executive officer of Lagos-based Seplat, said on Thursday at a Bloomberg conference at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Nigeria almost ground to a halt last month during the country’s worst fuel shortage in a decade due to a dispute between oil-product marketers and the outgoing government. The shortage left service stations closed, aircraft grounded, and businesses unable to operate. A lack of oil refining capacity means Nigeria subsidizes gasoline imports and suffers frequent fuel shortages even though it’s Africa’s biggest crude producer of about 2 million barrels a day. President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office on May 29, said this week his government is faci...