BEST OF NOLLWOOD (BON) AWARDS CELEBRATES NIGERIAN MOVIE STARS

Joseph Benjamin

A total of 32 awards were handed out to practitioners of the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood, at the Best Of Nollywood (BON) awards which held on Sunday night at TBS Auditorium, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. It was hosted by Nollywood actor, Nonso Diobi and former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Sylvia Nduka.

BANTU KICKS AGAINST RACISM IN GERMANY

Bantu's Born Throway team

Nigeria-German born musician, Ade Bantu and his brother, Abiodun, alongside their Afrobeat/Afropop band, Bantu, performed at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Cologne Manifesto ‘Get off your ass! Speak up!’ on November 9, 2012.

The open air concert which held at the banks of the River Rhein in Cologne, Germany attracted over 70,000 supporters and millions of TV viewers around the world.

The Project Fame judge told E-Xtra that it was an incredible experience performing in front of that number of people.

Bantu performed alongside German rock band, BAP; Turkish Ska Punk band, Athena; and Cologne folk pop band, Hohner, amongst many others.

The “Get Off You Ass! Speak Up!” movement started on November 9, 1992, when musicians and artists from Cologne, Germany, reacted to the horrific news of racist attacks and murders all over Germany with a spontaneous open air concert at Choldwigplatz. Over 100,000 people joined the protest then.

Racism has resurfaced as a major topic in Europe especially in football circles where the likes of Mikel 

Obi, Anton Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and many other players have been subjected to one form of abuse or the other in the English Premier League.

HERE IS A TRAIL OF THEIR PERFORMANCE: 

COSSY ORJIAKOR OPENS PLAYGIRL MANSION; SET TO RELEASE ALBUM

Cossy

Nollywood actress, Cossy Orjiako, is never out of the news for a long time. She recently celebrated her birthday party by releasing semi-nude pictures of herself pole-dancing to friends.

Last week, she dropped a double-impact news – She christened her new house “Playgirl Mansion” and dropped news of releasing a full-length music album of December 15.

Using her handle, @cossydiva, the actress who also acquired 12 plots of land in Abuja recently, Tweeted pictures and the menu of the mansion to her followers: Play girl mansion is now open. Pls send the left over rams …A pretty big boobs chef will make a delicacy out of em.

There were also information about the forth coming album in subsequent tweets: ‘My Album launch is Dec,15, Venue ..in the sea..Prest Boat Cruise.. life band …buffet..and lots of take home gifts. 1st class affair

If the album is anything close to what we are suspecting it would be, Cossy would simply be readmitting herself into an exclusive cast of Failed Nollywood Musicians. A list which includes herself, Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Ini Edo, Desmond Elliot, Jim Iyke and the ongoing disaster of Tonto Dikeh.

Facebook Lover Arraigned for Attempted Rape, Murder

 A 26-year-old man, who allegedly pushed down his Facebook lover from a multi-storey building over a disagreement over sex was arraigned in Lagos on Friday.

The accused,  Arthur Obiora, is facing a three-count charge of threat to life, attempted rape and attempt to cause bodily harm at  a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court.

 The prosecutor, ASP A. C. Orji, told the court that Obiora met Nkiruka Akabuogu on Facebook  (a social media network)  and invited her to a club house in Apapa where they had drinks.

The prosecutor said the pair later moved to Obiora’s house at Block 10, Flat 317, 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Orji said Obiora, who claimed to be an unemployed graduate of Igbinedion University Okada and the Centennial College, Ontario, Canada, shut all the doors in the apartment and demanded to have sex with Akabuogu.

“This was after he had smoked some wraps of Indian hemp. He tried to rape her and threatened to kill her with a bottle of beer. The girl, fearing for her life, then jumped down from the third floor of the high/rise building,” Orji said.

The prosecutor said that the incident happened at about 3a.m. on Oct. 31.

 “The girl was discovered lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood about 30 minutes later by the security men in the premises who then reported it to the police.

``The police took the girl to a hospital and after she regained consciousness, obtained her statement,’’ Orji said.

“This case highlights one of the major problems of the social media. The young lady went to visit someone she doesn’t know. She met the defendant on Facebook and they had been chatting until Oct. 30,” he said.

Orji said that the offences contravened Sections 56 (A), 260 and 404 (1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos 2011

The magistrate, Mr Martins Owumi, granted the accused bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 21-year-old Nkiruka sustained multiple injuries, including a fractured pelvis, and is undergoing treatment at the General Hospital, Marina, Lagos, following the incident.

Nkiruka, a Linguistics student of the University of Lagos, had told NAN on her hospital bed that she went clubbing with the young man she met on Facebook  a week earlier, and ended up in his family home at 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos.

She noted that the young man had earlier talked about sex on phone prior to the outing but she told him she was menstruating.

Nkiruka said that on getting to the house, the man tore her dress and tried to rape her.

According to Nkiruka, the man thereafter pushed her down from the third floor of the building because of her refusal to have sex with him.

But the mother of the young man, who was at home on the night of the incident, told NAN that she was not aware of what happened.

She claimed she slept around 10 p.m., while the disagreement between the pair started much later.

The magistrate adjourned the case to Nov. 30. 

Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

WANDE COAL TO FLOAT OWN RECORD LABEL

WANDE COAL

The news coming from the camp of Mavin Records has it that their premier artist, Wande Coal, is about floating his own record label.

The label is to be called Black Diamond Records and will have its own artists but Wande will remain a Mavin Records artist.

The formation of the label is reportedly with the blessings of Don Jazzy and it will be a similar arrangement with M.I’s Loopy Records which runs independently even when M.I is still a Chocolate City Records artist.

Don Jazzy is fully in support and it will not in any way disturb Wande’s status as a Mavin Records artist.

Inside sources claim that Wande’s desire to form his own record label goes as far back as his Mo’ Hits days when a disagreement with D’banj almost led to him leaving the label but for Don Jazzy’s intervention and promise to support him.

The time for that support has come. Wande is currently working on his sophomore album and has released a number of singles as precursors to it.

Other artists on the Marvin Records imprint are D’ Prince, Dr Sid and Tiwa Savage who is the only non-Mo’Hits member.

K-Solo Denies Wife's Baby

K-SOLO AND WIFE KIKELOMO

K-SOLO AND WIFE BIMBO

Last Friday, Kikelomo, the wife of music producer, K-Solo was delivered of a beautiful baby boy and this would have been a congratulatory message to the couple.

But as we have recently come to expect from such quarters, nothing is as good or as bad as it seems as the case maybe. This is actually the beginning of the latest saga of the long-running family opera involving these two because K-Solo has immediately denied fathering the baby.

To welcome the new baby, he posted this statement on his Facebook page:

Lil' Wayne Chills At Mother's After Double Health Scare

Lil' Wayne

Rapper Lil Wayne is reportedly coming on fine at his mother’s house after his double health scare last week.

The rapper whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jnr. made two back-to-back trips to the hospital last week after suffering from "a severe migraine and dehydration," is currently resting at his mother's home in Louisiana, TMZ reports.

"Thanx for all the prayers! I am good," the rapper tweeted last Saturday.

According to the online gossip magazine, TMZ, Lil Wayne no longer needs to be hospitalized, but his doctors are still insisting that he shouldn’t fly. He's planning on staying with family and friends at his mother's house for the time being.

The 30-year-old worried fans Friday when he suffered a health scare while he was en route to Los Angeles from Texas, where he had been hospitalized just one day before.

The rapper's private jet was forced to take an emergency landing when it became apparent that he was unwell.

Just a day before, Lil Wayne had landed himself in a Texas hospital after suffering a collapse on the private jet.

"Lil Wayne was successfully released from the hospital after being treated for a severe migraine and dehydration," a rep for the rapper told the News following the Texas incident.

"He is at home on doctor-mandated rest and will return to work soon. He appreciates all of his fans for their support and love."

Due to his dual health emergencies, however, Lil Wayne missed his scheduled court date Friday in his case against Quincy Jones III.

According to Weezy, Jones' documentary about his life is a "scandalous portrayal" and producers for the film shouldn't have had the rights to use his music.

Because the delayed trial will likely disrupt the jurors' lives, however, his legal team may be forced to present the case without him or have it be declared a mistrial.

National Sports Festival: University of Lagos Ph. D. Students Reject Eviction from their Hostels

UNILAG GATE

Some Ph.D. students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have rejected plans by the institution to evict them from campus during the National Sports Festival (NSF).

The institution has an arrangement with the organisers of the NSF to use the halls of residence to accommodate some of the athletes participating in the festival.

The festival tagged `Eko 2012’, would hold in Lagos from November 27 to December 9.

A letter by the affected students, sent to the acting vice-chancellor of the institution, expressed displeasure at the decision, saying it was, ``a clinical attempt to distract the Ph. D. students residing in the halls from attending to their research works”.

"The eviction will reduce the stability of Ph. D. students in various ramifications, especially in that many of them come from different parts of the country, far away from Lagos”.

The post-graduate students noted that vacating the halls in the middle of their research works would dislodge the psychological balance and focus needed for successful academic pursuits.

The eviction notice in question was entitled: ``Closure/Vacation of Halls of Residence’’ and dated Oct. 17. It was signed by the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof. O. O. Amund.

It said the request for an extended stay in the Erastus Akingbola and Henry Carr Halls by postgraduate students was discussed at a meeting with the hall executives in September.

``After a careful deliberation of the matter/request, it was decided that all students should vacate the halls of residence on or before Nov. 20, 2012 in preparation of the National Sports Festival as approved by the University Senate,” the notice said.

The Dean of School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof. L.O. Chukwu said he was not in a position to speak on the matter.

``It is the job of the dean of students’ affairs to comment on the matter,’’ he said.

However, Amund, said that the affected students were not bigger than the university and should not try to be confrontational by challenging a decision already taken by the institution.

``I have done Ph. D. before; so, there’s nothing new in it and they shouldn’t feel very big because they are doing it. People have done it before.

``They were given a notice of two weeks and that should be enough for them to prepare and leave the university premises. Thank you!’’ he said.

Dr Kweku Tandoh, the Secretary-General of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the festival said: `` Unilag is one of the Games’ villages of the festival.

``We requested to use the school and their Senate gave us approval to use it. They told us that they have amended their calendar to accommodate the festival.

``If we had been told that their facilities were not available, we could have made other arrangements”.

He added that it was the Lagos State Government that provided the venues for the festival, and that Unilag was one of these.

FULL REPORT OF HEADIES 2012

OMAWUMI AND M.I

The 2012 edition of Nigeria’s only remaining comprehensive music awards held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos on Saturday, October 20. It was hosted by Chocolate City rapper, M.I Abaga and past West African Idol runner-up, Omawumi Megbele.

A total of 20 awards were given out for songs and recordings by Nigerians within the period of March 2011 to February 2012. Except for one category, African Artist of the Year which went to Ghana’s Sarkodie for the song, “Azonto”.

“BRING ME BACK HOME!”- GEORGE BENSON PLEADS AND LAGBAJA’S MASK IS STILL ON

                                                     

“Bring me back home!” Those were the exact words of the legendary American musician, George Benson. In his very short stay in Nigeria, legendary American musician, George Benson has felt so much at home that he officially requested to be invited back to the country.

The ten-time Grammy Award winner was in the country to headline the third edition of Smooth 98.1 FM’s Luxury Concert which held at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday, Oct. 13.

The show also featured the masked one, Lagbaja, who was also making a belated return to a Nigerian stage. He used the opportunity to remind the Nigerian audience of the good old times when Lagos enjoyed his shows at the Motherlan’ in Opebi, Ikeja.

Lagbaja had earlier dispelled rumours of him removing his mask to a select cast of journalists. “I have not removed my mask; you can see that I’m still wearing it,” he said.

He also thanked the organisers for finding him worthy of performing alongside the American legend.

George Benson had the packed hall rocking to his vast collection of evergreen songs and before bringing the show to an end he requested to be brought back again. We hope someone takes him up on that offer.