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Baby born in Ibadan clutching holy Qur’an

A renowned Islamic preacher based in Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr Dawood Amoo, has described the birth of a baby boy clutching a pocket-size Qur’an as one of the signs of Allah.

In an interview with journalists in Ibadan, Amoo said although the development was not strange, the boy named Ismail was unique as the said mini Qur’an contained all the 114 chapters in the holy book.

The preacher testified that he was one of the earliest callers at the Owode/Academy, Ibadan residence of the parents of the baby to witness one of God’s wonders.

He said the mother, Jelilah, gave birth in a church at Oniyanrin area of the city, where the baby was seen clutching a strange object in his left hand.

“The woman, who took the delivery, thought it was one of the devilish drugs used by the mother to terminate the pregnancy, hence she threw it in the dustbin,” he explained.

Amoo said that the said object, which later turned out to be a pocket-size Qur’an, was wrapped in a thread.

He said that with the forceful removal of the object from its hand, the baby became restless and continued to clutch an empty fist.

“Following his restlessness, a local cleric advised them to go and bring what they took from the baby which later turned out to be a copy of the mini Qur’an.”

“They were all afraid to touch it until I got there and I had to remove the remaining thread on the object and to my surprise, it was a beautifully- designed pocket-size complete noble Qur’an,” Amoo Said.

He said although the Qur’an was small, the lettering inside was readable and complete from chapter one to chapter 114 of the holy book.

Expectedly, the news filtered into town and Ibadan people had since turned the residence into a mecca of sort.

Jelilah, the elated mother of the baby, said since September, when the baby was born, nobody could take the Qur’an away from him, as he would be restless until he clutched it.

The father of the baby, identified simply as Semiu, said he thanked Allah for the blessings, saying it was an indication that Allah wanted them back in the fold of Islam.

Semiu, a driver, said paucity of funds has caused his wife to put to bed at a nearby church, as they were both not practising any faith.

He said with the signs directly from Allah, “I have resolved that my wife and I will revert to Islam and be worshipping our Creator till we answer His call.”

A similar baby was born in a Lagos church in 2012 clutching a copy of the Qur’an.

2015: Jonathan is running •Sets up 35-man declaration committee

FOLLOWING the one week ultimatum issued on Wednesday by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its aspirants to pick their expression of interest and nomination forms, the presidency has set up a presidential declaration committee for the formal declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan to re-contest in 2015.

The ultimatum is not thought to have any bearing on the president, since he has already been adopted as the sole presidential candidate of the party.

Impeccable Presidency source revealed in Abuja that the decision to set up the committee was reached after a meeting presided over by President Jonathan at House 7, Presidential Villa, on Thursday.

The meeting resolved to set up the committee with representatives from the six geopolitical zones, with former acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Bello Mohammed, named as chairman of the committee.

The committee has the mandate to choose a date between November 7 and 15 for the formal declaration.

Aside Mohammed, other members of the committee are Senator Ken Nnamani (deputy chairman), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim (secretary), with Professor Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali; Julius Imagwe, Dr Baraka Sani as members.

Governors representing zones in the committee are Liyel Imoke, Cross River (South South); Theodore Orji, Abia (South East); Olusegun Mimiko, Ondo (South West); Dr Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu, Niger (North Central); Ibrahim Shema, Katsina (North West) and Ibrahim Dankwambo, Gombe (North East).

National Assembly representatives include Senator Hosea Agbola (Oyo), Senator Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna), Honourable Bitrus Kaze (Plateau) and Honourable Salmas Badru (Ogun).

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is represented by Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Dieziani Allison-Madueke; Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan; Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed.

The PDP also has official party representatives on the committee, which include the deputy national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; Benue State chapter chairman, Chief Emmanuel Egbo; national women leader, Kema Chikwe and the North West zonal chairman, Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure.

Other PDP member in the committee are Senator Stella Umo, Senator Walid Jibirn, Ibrahim Bunu, Reverend Jolly Nyame, Senator Aneta Okon, Peter Obi, Mrs Remi Adiuku Bakare and General A. B. Mamman.

The president also personally appointed Halima Alfa, Nigeria Ambassador to Netherland; Dr (Mrs) Nimota Nihinlola Akanbi, Micah Yohanna Jiba and Sam Ikon as members.

Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Youth for Jonathan, one of the groups seeking for his re-election, on Thursday, vowed to occupy the national secretariat of the party on Tuesday, should the party refuse to sell the expression of interest and nomination forms it was seeking to purchase for Jonathan.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the group, Benjamin Egbunike, said its demand to buy bank draft was turned down by Zenith Bank in Abuja, claiming that there was an instruction to that effect from the above.

Briefing newsmen on Thursday, the national coordinator of the group, Ebile Dudu, warned that “we don’t want the public to look at us as if we are protesting, but on Tuesday, we will come to the secretariat and we will not leave without the form.”

The presidency has, however, announced that President Jonathan will depart Lagos today to undertake a brief pilgrimage to Israel.

A statement issued by his spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, in Abuja, on Thursday, said Jonathan would be accompanied by the Chaplain of the Presidential Villa, Venerable Obioma Onwuzurumba and his principal aides.

It added that in addition to visiting Christian holy sites, the president would join other Nigerian pilgrims in a prayer session for the well-being and progress of the country, at an inter-denominational service in Jerusalem, on Sunday.

Fayose: Controversy trails re-allocation of eligibility cases

Conflicting signals are emanating from Ekiti State judiciary and the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the resumption of the suits by E-11, challenging the eligibility of Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, to contest the June 21 governorship election which he won.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that Justice I.O.I Ogunyemi, who was handling the suit before the disruption of proceedings on September 22, had returned the case-file to the Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola and subsequently disqualified himself from further hearing of the two suits.

In the two separate but similar cases in suits no HAD51/2014 and HAD52/2014, the plaintiffs wanted the court to hold that Fayose was not eligible to stand for the said election, having been impeached during his first term in 2006.

They contended that the provision of Section 182 (1) (h) made it compelling for Fayose to get either a presidential pardon or that of the state House of Assembly before he could stand for election within 10 years of his alleged indictment, upon which his impeachment was predicated.

It was learnt that instead of the suits being assigned to another trial judge, following Ogunyemi’s voluntary withdrawal, there were reported plans to have him back on the cases.

The Chief Judge, according to sources within the state judiciary, had not only pencilled in Ogunyemi for the fresh hearing, Nigerian Tribune was told last night that the judge had reportedly taken possession of the case files again and could announce a new hearing date soon.

Daramola and Ogunyemi reportedly predicated their fresh move on an alleged directive by the NJC that Ogunyemi must hear the suits.

They were said to have told parties in the cases, especially those who kicked against Ogunyemi’s imminent return as the trial judge, that the council’s alleged directive was verbal.

However, Nigerian Tribune’s checks at the council turned up a contrary position.

A council source denied any directive being issued to either of Daramola or Ogunyemi on the matter, with the source adding that what the council said to the Chief Judge was to open all the courts he shut down in the wake of the alleged attacks on Ogunyemi and Justice Adeyeye.

The source explained that it was not the prerogative of the council to give directives on judges that should handle certain cases, adding that the allocation of cases was purely the function of the chief judge of a state judiciary.

As of last night, checks showed that Ogunyemi was still scheduled to handle the controversial cases.

How to Target The Nigerian Market

I have always advised people to stop trying to make money online by targeting a market you don't understand. Now I want to tell you how to target the Nigerian market with you.

Nigerians are just getting used to the internet and its a huge market for internet marketing and internet business. Here are some niches that you can target in Nigeria:

a. Start selling your merchandise on Nairalist. I know an individual who sold 30 laptops in just 3 weeks on Nairalist.

b. Do you have knowledge on "how to get a UK/US Visa", "how to get your dream husband", Importing & exporting, How to pass chemistry, Canada Migration, network marketing etc. Then you can turn your knowledge to ebook and sell it. I sold 4 million naira worth of ebooks few months back based on my knowledge. If i can then you can do so too.

To start selling your own E-books too like i did, just contact me onesheya@yahoo.ca or +2347036288612 and I will design your own website, write an E-book on any topic of your choice for you and a sales letter plus free mentorship at a very cheap price.

c. Start Blogging on a specific topic that will benefit Nigerians - Linda Ikeji blogs about entertainment, Deolu Akinyemi blogs about leadership, BellaNaija blogs on fashion & hot deals etc. The above people make money from their blogs.

Let Me Help You Design a Website or blog that makes you money on a Daily Basis. Get Your Monthly Cheque With Google using a simple system which I will create for you almost free of charge. Call +2347036288612 or email me atesheya@yahoo.ca

The above are three of the many niches out there. I mentioned them to get you thinking...

To target the Nigerian market, simply think about a service that people will need, and provide it via internet. The good thing is, you don't need an office to do so, just your room alone.

DO you have any idea, simply shoot me a mail and i'll help you fine tune it for the Nigerian market.

Unemployment in Nigeria and Solutions

ntroduction

Unemployment is defined as the state of being without a paid job (Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Fifth Edition). Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking for job (International Labour Organization). It is a global issue as developed, developing, undeveloped and underdeveloped nations of the world are experiencing it. As evidence that even developed nations of the world are “combating” with unemployment, in December 2013, an estimate of 6.7 per cent Americans were unemployed.

In 2012, International Labour Organization, an organization that takes statistics of both the employed and unemployed in the world, stated that about 6% of the world population is unemployed and that the most unemployed are the youths. According to the same organization, about 73.4 million youths were unemployed in 2013. A news publication company, Vanguard online news, reported on May 19, 2014, that estimated of 60 million Nigerians are unemployed. World Bank Data in 2010 put poverty level among Nigerian citizens as 46% of the nation’s population, and this can be caused by unemployment in the country. Nigeria has population of 168.8 million in 2012 (World Bank Data).

In this essay, many strategies are developed through which unemployment in Nigeria will be reduced. There are good things about Nigeria, and as a Nigerian, I put down the solutions through which unemployment in the country will be reduced. These solutions when applied appropriately will go further to reduce some challenges in Nigeria. When these unique and original ideas, are put into action, I firmly believe that the rate of unemployment in the country will be minimized. For years, unemployment has been growing like ‘grasses’ but with these strategies, the ‘grasses’ (unemployment), will face serious dry season which hence retard (hinder) the growth.

Unemployment

An illustration of Nigerian Unemployment

Source: Uzochukwu Mike

Solutions to High Unemployment Rate in Nigeria

Under this heading, discussed are the strategies or solutions which can be employed to reduce unemployment in the country. These strategies will skyrocket good lives in the country and in return reduce unemployment. The solutions to reduce unemployment in Nigeria are:

Agricultural Mechanization and Enhancement: The reason why many citizens of Nigeria run away from agriculture as if Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is after them is because agricultural practice is stressful to them. Agricultural practices in the country are mostly manual, that is by the use of manpower. Many who even wanted to go into the practice grow cold mind when they discover that without machines there will be low agricultural output. The use of hoes and other crude equipment that have the metallic parts made throughsand casting, investment casting or forging processes wastes time but agricultural mechanization makes farming easy and less stressful.

With introduction of machines into agriculture, Nigerians will see agriculture as something interesting and start engaging in it. Advancing agriculture, like the new and improved system of farming and poultry will propel many to pick such as means of employment for them. When they make profit from the practice, they can enlarge and employ other persons to assist. Government should organize seminars where citizens will be taught on new improved system of making living from agriculture.

Support Small and Medium Enterprises: The establishments made by private individuals contribute so much to the growth of manufacturing companies in Nigeria. When the Government provide more funds to support these SMEs, more employment will be made and unemployment reduced to some extent. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can empower the youths who work in those companies. There are many types of youth empowerment that can be offered to the youth workers as they work in the establishments. With the skills acquired, the workers can establish their own company and employ others also. It is not only the youths that are empowered in the companies but also the adult workers.

According to Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Small and Medium Enterprises manufacture more than 90 per cent of the products used in Nigeria. This shows that they play important role in the country. The Government should reduce the huge amount of charge on SMEs so that they can enlarge their coast. Those who are doing well in Small and Medium Enterprises should mentor others asmentoring is important.

Youth Empowerment on Creativity and Self-Discovery: There are many creative people in Nigeria but the problem is that they do not know they are creative. When seminars are organized for the youths on what is built in them that they have not discovered, those inbuilt talents in them will “erupt”. The seminars are to be sponsored by either governments or citizens that are up-and-doing or even both. The creative attitude in many Nigerians can be developed through mentoring. People especially the youths should have mentors who will direct them in certain things about life.

Self-discovery can make citizens of Nigeria to get jobs by being self-employed. In this case, they are the managers of their own company. Self-employment is important but in some cases and it calls for self-discovery. Self-discovery in this context is about finding out what you can do apart from your area of specialization or what you studied as a profession. There are many comedians in Nigeria today who make much money and live good by making people laugh and feel happy. Also, there are many actors and actresses in the country who have made it and some are still making it notwithstanding that theater art was not what they studied in their different institutions.

Nkem Owoh is popular Nigerian actor who has made so much money irrespective of the fact that he did not study theatre art as a profession. He studied Engineering in University of Ilorin, Nigeria (sourced from Wikipedia). Also, Nkem Owoh studied Electrical Engineering in Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Nigeria. He is popularly referred to as Osuofia. He had a good self-discovery on his ability to act and that is how he found himself in movie industry today. In 2008, Nkem Owoh won the African Movie Academy Award of the year for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He acquired important skill acquisition on acting and then used it as source of income.

Retiring the Old: There are lots of people who are occupying positions in offices that are too old to be there. One of the things that cause unemployment in Nigeria is that the old men and women that are in offices who are not supposed to be there again are still occupying the positions that others are to take. When you look very well into the mouths of many, you will observe that many of them cannot even chew cooked fish not even to talk of ground meat. This is no tall story (not a joke) and cannot be treated with kids’ glove.

The retirement age of government and non-government workers should be reduced by the government so that graduates will have the positions where they will occupy. An active body should be set to investigate in different workplaces to fish-out the old who refuse to leave the positions for the younger to take charge. When the body work hard, more employment opportunities will be created for citizens of Nigeria.

Family Planning: In China for instance, due to high increase in their population, a Law was passed on the number of children each parent is to have. When family planning is introduced and passed as a Law with implementation in Nigeria, parents will not “release” babies again as if they are urinating. Because of the plan, the created job opportunities will go to some extent and results to reduction in high unemployment rate in the country.

Computer Skill Acquisition: We are in the age where computer play importantroles. The truth is that the importance of computer cannot be overemphasized. Its usefulness is found in many departments of any establishment in the world of today. In production companies, banking sector, education, and even in agriculture, computer has many roles to play.

Unemployment among Nigerian graduates would have been reduced by equipping them on computer skills when they were still undergraduates. I believe in using what you have to get what you want in the positive sense of it because many undergraduates have computers. Many students in institution of higher learning in Nigeria can be taught on how to make money by the use of their computers. This can come in form of seminars sponsored by either the government of the country or the campuses. When the students learn good skills acquisition on computer, they can develop it to be source of their income even in their institutions and after their graduation.

The means of making money from computer which have become a source of employment to many include: writing online articles and getting paid by advertising network (blogging), application design, website design and others. The joy of blogging and application design is that the worker can work from home being self-employed and then get paid per day. Again, it is free and is being managed by Google and that is why it is called Google Blogger. Blogging is simple to learn. What a blogger (one who writes online articles using blog) needs to do to start earning is to monetize his or her articles using Google adsense. He or she has toget approval from Google adsense before earning any cash from adsense. People can signup here on hubpages and start making money through writing to minimize unemployment in Nigeria. The author can be contacted on Facebook for assistance.

There are many online article writers in Nigeria that have made a lot of money from blogging. Initially, it was not easy for them but after they wrote a lot of articles online, their blogs or websites began to earn cash for them. Linda Ikeji is a young Nigerian lady and blogger who make more than 3 million naira per month in the country. She started from little but today she is popular due to hard work she put in blogging. When people are taught properly on blogging, they get employed and even make establishments where the unemployed in the society will be employed.

Seminars on Change of Mindset: There are a lot of people in tertiary institutions that are not versatile, and they have the mindset that the only place they will work are in offices that are garnished with air-conditions and other good things that help life. Others have the mindset that the places they will work are those that only relates to the area of their study.

This is one of the reasons why many male graduates are still wearing the trousers that their biological fathers discarded long time ago because of insufficient funds to purchase their own. When the mindsets of many are changed to good by teaching them in seminars to acquire some other important skills apart from their area of specialization, the unemployment rate in my country, Nigeria, will be reduced.

Industrial Development and Infrastructure: Construction of more industries in Nigeria will go a long way to reduce unemployment in Nigeria. The Government of Nigeria should give more allocation to industrial development and infrastructure whenever they are making their yearly budget.

Even if Nigerians do not know how to operate or manage the industries, some good citizens should be sent abroad to acquire the skills, come back and help the country. The skills they acquired will be developed by their headings in many industries in the country. That is the importance of training and development. That was what countries like Brazil and Indian did before they started advancing in technological development. Nigeria as a country that needs to grow in technology can still do the same.

Bridging Foreign Contractors: Another problem that we have in this country, Nigeria, is: the opportunities Nigerians have are being handed over to foreigners. Nigerian government awards lots of construction works to foreigners with the mindset that Nigerian engineers will not perform such function effectively. Not only that, the foreign contractors

travelto their countries to bring artisans to Nigeria who will also perform the less technical work instead of choosing Nigerians for the work. When foreign contractors and their co-brothers are prevented from being awarded such contracts, Nigerians will take over the jobs.

Embracing Practical in Institution: Less practical is one of the reasons why many Nigerian graduates are half-baked. They lack practical background during their study. It is a challenge in Nigerian education. When there are installations of machines and other equipment needed for their study, skills and practical knowledge will be acquired. With the acquired practical knowledge, Nigerian graduates can go into production and increase the employment rate.

Encouraging Schemes like YouWIN: YouWIN stands for Youth Enterprise with Innovative programme. It is a business plan competition initiated by the president of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan, to assist Nigerian graduates with business ideas. Any who writes an outstanding business plan is being given some fund to start-up a business or to support the already existing one. The reason for initiation of this programme is to increase employment and reduce unemployment. Establishing more of this kind of scheme by both government and individuals will go a long way to curb the menace-unemployment.

Organising Competition: It brings out the best in people. Organizing competitions among students of various institutions tends to sharpen their brains and train them on what they can do. For instance, organizing essay competitions for students train them on how to write winning essays. This can train people on how to be good news reporters and areas related to article writing which in return can fetch job for the person. In the other hand, organizing singing competitions train people on how to sing and can convert many to lifetime singers or musicians.

Skill before Tertiary Institution: Any person who gains admission into tertiary institutions without first acquiring skill or skills is like castings made through sand casting process with lots of defects in that casting. Any person that wants to enrol into any tertiary institution in Nigeria should first acquire skill on any area that can fetch money for him even before and after his graduation as Nigerian tertiary institutions are full theories with little or no practical

backup.

This should be passed as a Law and should be implemented. Any person that is interesting in gaining admission into the universities or polytechnics in Nigeria must first be equipped skilfully. He or she must present the certificate that shows that he went to training for acquisition of skill before being admitted for any study in tertiary institutions. There are many importance of training for skill acquisition for both the small, young and the adult.

According to Nigeria Statistics Bureau, NSB, over 200,000 graduates are graduated from Nigeria tertiary institutions each year. The question is: are all the graduates employable or skilful? When one pass through training for about six months before being issued admission, he/she can be employed based on the skill he/she acquired before securing admission into the institution, and even issue employment to the unemployed.

Salary Increase: When the president of USA, President Obama, was interviewed by the chairman of Cable News Network (CNN) on 30th January 2014, based on unemployment in the USA, the president said that he will raise the salary of government workers to $10.10 (ten dollars ten cents) per hour. Increasing the salaries of workers will make them generate more money and make small establishment where the unemployed will be employed.

Conclusion

Discussed are the strategies that are applicable to reduce unemployment in Nigeria. It is important to know that unemployment cannot be wiped entirely from any nation but rather can be reduced. In the introduction of this article, a little overview was made on the unemployment issue in Nigeria. In the body of this piece, the major strategies for minimizing unemployment in the country were discussed. In conclusion, with these strategies there will be effective reduction in Nigeria unemployment rate. The should seriously monitor the new Universal Basic Education of the country which encourages skill acquisition.

References

International Labour Organization (ILO) on Unemployment
National Bureau Statistics of Nigeria
Causes and Consequences of Unemployment by Emmanuel Edukugho onVanguard online News
Causes of Unemployment by Wikipedia
Unemployment in Nigeria: Causes and Solutions by Llodtruth in Nairaland
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, fifth edition, edited by Jonathan Crowther
CNN Exclusive: Obama says Walmart, Apple, others to help Jobless
Wold Development Indicators by World Bank
SMEs: The Solution to Unemployment in Nigeria by Olanrewaju Oniyitan
Unemployment in Nigeria: Causes and Solution by Lloydtruth

Tina Campbell: Forgives Husband for Multiple Infidelities and Betrayal

Trecina "Tina" Atkins-Campbell is 1/2 of the Urban Contemporary Gospel duo, Mary Mary (pictured below, on the left)

Mary May unveils the Entertainers 4 Education Alliance "I Will Graduate" Poster

What Happened?

In a June 2013 interview, Tina Campbell disclosed to Ebony Magazine about infidelity within her marriage.

She detailed her feelings about “trying to stab her husband” and cutting him with words to make him feel inferior.

In a separate interview with CNikki, the WE TV reality star suddenly had a change of heart and took full responsibility for why her husband cheated on her multiple times.

Tina later said,

“I, Tina, assume full responsibility for the issues that I contributed to the relationship. I was controlling, talked too much. And you can never be heard over me because when I wanna talk I got the floor and ain’t nobody gonna get it from me until I give it up. Real talk. That was the way it was and I have to work on myself. You know what I mean?” Campbell explained. “I was selfish. When we started having children it’s like, I forget that I have a responsibility as a wife. And I’m questioning you like, ‘Really, what you want me to do? I gotta baby!’ Even though that’s sometimes what you’re faced with, that ain’t the right spirit to do it in. And what happens is, you’re going on and you’re busy and you’ve got children and you’ve got work. And what happens is your husband is last and you don’t realize that he’s last. And if he has a problem with being last you’re like, ’Well, what am I supposed to do? You know that I’ve got a career? You know that I’ve got these babies, you’re the one that got me pregnant!”

Earlier in the season, Tina's sister, Erica Campbell, also confessed on their TV show that she too dealt with infidelity issues within her marriage.

Erica then urged her sister to do what she did when faced with infidelity (e.g. combat feelings with faith), which did not change Tina's thought process about her situation at the time.

It is evident that religion is causing most of the duo's dilemmas, in terms of, finding a healthy balance between their households and their careers in ministry/music.

The video clip, below, further illustrates Tina's ambivalence about her faith as it relates to the infidelity in her marriage.

In the clip, Tina becomes very frustrated with the perception of her as a "saint" and simply wants to be "broken" for awhile.

However, that's a nearly unacceptable notion to religious Black folks as illustrated by Erica's robotic, bible thumping reaction to her sister's serious self-disclosure.

Tina Campbell: "I'm Angry"

Top 5 High Traffic Nigerian Websites

The most popular websites in Nigeria are owned and managed by young and incredibly talented individuals who are determined to make a difference in their world. For various information such as news, gossip or just online networks for individuals to meet and network the following websites rank high as the top 5 Nigerian focused websites in the year 2013!

Nairaland

For more than 5 years Nairaland has been Nigeria’s number one website. It remains a credible source of information and news for many Nigerians especially those living abroad who want to keep in touch with the latest events happening in Nigeria.

Linda Ikeji

By web traffic Linda Ikeji ranks as Nigeria’s second most popular website. The blog owned and managed by popular Nigerian blogger and former Model Linda Ikeji is especially popular with the Nigerian female folk who troop there to access gossip, lifestyle and celebrity news.

BellaNaija

Bella Naija used to occupy number two spot but has been displaced by Linda Ikeji which incidentally had offered massive support to Linda Ikeji during its early days. Today bella Naija is Nigeria’s leading online magazine for lifestyle and fashion information.

Naij

For latest news especially human angle news and celebrity information/gossip naij is a leading Nigerian website for that purpose. But that is not all, it’s also a market place offering many Nigerians a chance to access classified adverts for a variety of products and services.

YNaija

This is Nigeria’s number 1 youth focused website which is also news oriented. YNaija has in the past offered very useful and trendy information about Nigeria that it could rightly be described as an opinion leader among the average internet savvy Nigerian youth.

This list was compiled based on the following criteria: web traffic for the year 2012/2013 and might change over time as more websites become more competitive and relevant to Nigerian internet users.

Photos: Former 90's sex symbol D'Angelo as he is now.

R&B singer D'Angelo pictured left back in 2000 when he was a sex symbol. Most ladies melted at the sight of his body...those biceps! Oh dear! He's pictured centre and right at his recent tour and it's obvious he's let himself go. Oh, D'Angelo...he's 40 now so he's not that old! Bring that body back!!

Linda Ikeji Blog Shuts Down: Charles Novia Addresses Saga

Linda Ikeji Blog – Linda Ikeji Blog Shuts Down: Charles Novia Addresses Saga - Linda Ikeji, who unarguably is the number one entertainment and gossip blogger in Nigeria, was dealt a major blow on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 when Google deleted her from their domain based on reports of plagiarism. The issue was, however, later resolved after 24 hours. And no sooner did this happen than she came online to reveal some things about her ordeal. But in the said revelation, traces of a media stunt between her and the whistle blower, Mr. Aye Dee, were noticed.

Read Charles Novia’s critique of the whole saga below:

I repeat; this Linda Ikeji and Aye Dee new twist is one big b*llshit! This is not about bringing anyone down now, as some usual suspects would allude stupidly. This is about being pragmatic and investigative, using your brains for the purpose they are meant for.

I’m not in any way taken in by the story and though I had publicly sympathised with Linda Ikeji in other posts when her blog was facing copyright issues, this new twist understandably brings certain aspects of her credibility to question and scrutiny.

Now, get where I’m coming from in this theory as an analyst and critic. I’m not a lawyer. The lawyers will have their own opinions. I am an authority in matters of body language and media histrionics both visual and written. Part of the job sniffs lies out or things which don’t just add up. And this story does not add up.

This looks like a contrived episode of ‘Scandal’ or some Hollywood TV series. A guy chats with you for years and is your pal whom you have never seen and after a while disappears from the scene, then resurfaces as The Grudge Genie in your life when you are down and says he was scorned by you, whose success he claims he orchestrated and in a show of obtuse repentance and yet another manipulation, he promises to put things back to normal. Season One.
CLICK RELATED – Linda Ikeji Blog Shutdown: Scam To Resurrect A Dying Blog By Kunle Olomofe

Many things about this story demands microscopic analysis. First, there is something fake about the chats both parties had which Linda reproduced on her blog. Secondly, couldn’t this Aye Deefella, smart as he makes himself to be, have simply initiated the chat and when Linda replied at the initial stages after introducing himself as the long lost mentor, asked for her number and personally call her on the phone to have a private conversation with her? But he went on chatting and ‘foolishly’ put himself at risk of a law suit. This is not the mistake of a stalker or a smart techie. This is a deliberate ploy, if you ask me.

The part where he says he will make her the richest woman in blogging or something like that is what raises the red flag. That by itself seems like the whole premise of this plan. Like ‘Let’s create a huge scandal which would drive the mother of all traffic to your new blog and even your old blog. Let’s move you up from number 10 on the rankings to Number 1′. This kind of tech deviant could very well plan that kind of stuff. And he needed a Jay Z/Beyonce Elevator reconstruction on a tech scale to perfect such plans.

And for those women going emotional over the aspects of the Stalking angles of the story, perhaps that is just what was intended? Knowing that almost every woman must have had issues with stalking one time or the other in their lives and that is a convenient emotional subterfuge to draw the attention away from the prodding questions everyone would normally ask.

There are a few other red flags in the whole story which I will leave out for now. But it is instructive to know that my public scrutiny of this story is as much a holding to account both Aye Dee and LindaIkeji as it is an airing of my personal angst over a saga gone South.

Perhaps I have watched too many detective movies but if that be the case, thank God I have then. It has helped in improving on my sense of investigation. And I am very sure a couple of investigative journalists will sniff out the wobbly aspects of this story till the end.

I stand by my suspicions. And not because I don’t like Linda Ikeji, who’s someone I respect for her achievements but because she is as much liable to be scrutinised in this case as she does those she writes about on her blog in the past.

The Goldfish has no hiding place.

Meanwhile, Linda Ikeji, has refuted claims of playing a media stunt to hype her blog into the number one position in the whole of Africa.

In a telephone chat with YES Magazine, she said “No, it was not a stunt. How can it be a stunt? Why would it be a stunt when the deletion made me lose a lot of money? How would I purposely take down my blog and lose money, all because of a media stunt? It only taught me a serious lesson and I’m telling you this because it is only your friends that will come after you, not strangers”.

From every indication, the Linda Ikeji blog shut down story is one of those that would not be forgotten by Nigerians in a hurry, with many throwing more light as to why the story might be fabricated by the celebrity blogger herself, to pull more traffic to her site.

Linda Ikeji Blog – Linda Ikeji Blog Shuts Down: Charles Novia Addresses Saga

Benny Ark Talks About Why He Married Ese Walter After COZA Scandal

LindaIkejiBlog – Benny Ark Talks About Why He Married Ese Walter After COZA Scandal – Ese Walter‘s scandalous confession about her affair with COZA Pastor Bimbo Fatoyimbo in 2013, no one knew it would be easy for her to find love, but surprisingly, less than a year later, she was married to popular radio personality with Cool FM, Abuja, Benny Ark.Benny Ark opened up in a chat recently on why he married Ese Walter and how people reacted to the whole marriage issue.

Ese Walter And Benny Ark

Benny Ark’s words: Amazingly, the people around us were supportive and understanding. It was some outsiders who were not privy to a whole lot of stuff that were making some kind of remarks. But the truth is, we were just friends when she told me about what happened.
I was pained and hurt because here was a man who I held in high esteem. I only told her to do what she had to do because she felt like she was enslaved by something she didn’t have control over. And when she tried to reach out for disclosure that would have led to her healing, she was treated badly by some people who sent the message that some person is untouchable.
I can tell you that she reached out not once or twice. In the end, she did what she did for her peace of mind and to encourage others who are in a similar situation.

She opened up not because she is the boldest person, she knew that she was taking a big risk. But she opened up because she is someone who has a conscience and will not stand for something wrong.
Her making that bold move endeared her to me. When she came out with the truth, I believed her, having heard the same story two or three times from other women. When she spoke out, she was attacked. But I believe that with her simple act of speaking the truth, she not only liberated herself but also other women in a similar situation.
LindaIkejiBlog – Benny Ark Says Why He Married Ese Walter After COZA Scandal

Linda ikeji

Linda Ikeji was born on September 19, 1980. An indigene of Nkwerre L.G.A. in Imo State, Nigeria. She was born into a family with a really humble background, and is the second of seven children. She was raised in a Christian catholic home as well.

At a very tender age of 10 years, Linda began a hobby of writing. The fiction she wrote were commended by her family and friends. As time went by she developed a passion for news. Different from most teenagers her age, Linda Ikeji cherished listening to news, watching newscasters and interviews, and when the chance came to study at the University in Lagos, she chose into Mass Communication.

However, to her disappointment, she was admitted to study English Language. To support herself through school and reduce burden on her family, Linda started working at age 17, doing anything from being a waitress, ushering in occasions to modeling and bar-tending. Anyway, none of these paid much back then in the late 90′s. She began the modeling career in 1998 and gave up in 2005. She was also a fashion columnist for a struggling celebrity magazine, and after two years of toiling in the news room, she gave up that too.

She came into entertainment as a determined model while studying in Unilag. Linda modeled for numerous brands, like the ‘Rose of Sharon’ label, owned by former President of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) and Nigerian billionaire and oil mogul, Folorunsho Alakija, and in some of the most fascinating fashion shows in the country back then. She was at ECOFEST and has also done some outdoor advertisements.

She said: “I’d run off from lectures to a hotel and sell beer from 1 pm until 10 pm. I did this for a few months. It wasn’t easy at all, but I had to survive”.
In the year 2004, after she had concluded her University education, she labored so hard to crack into the Journalism trade, by introducing her media company, called Black dove Communications, which was a modeling agency and events management outfit. The name Black dove was however inspired by Silverbird, which happens to be a name and also a bird. It was also inspired by the fact that her best colour is black and beloved bird is the dove.

Linda Ikeji remained within her walls of comfort zone which was modeling, so instead of being in front of the camera, she chose to be behind camera by managing an agency, signing up models, training them and getting them jobs. Although Linda claims to still have the modeling agency, but not managed by her anymore. She also commenced what she tells in her earliest blog post as her “true passion”, her magazine called, FM & B. The first issue was published in the 2006 and on realizing how expensive and stressful magazine publishing was, she only had two more editions printed.
The blogging episode started in 2006. Luckily, in that same year, Bella Naija, another very popular Nigerian blog, posted a story about Linda and for the first time, Linda started to see a new opportunity to take her writing to the world.

Linda Ikeji began blogging in full in 2007 to share stuffs that fascinated her with her readers. About five years afterward, her blog, Linda Ikeji Blog has developed into one of the most visited blogs in the country. Thousands trooped into her site on a daily basis for news, entertainment, celebrity gist, gossip and lots more.

She said: “I was receiving like 200 visits a daily and for me back then, it was a great deal, sincerely. Now I’m receiving like 50,000 visits daily from about 180 countries around the world.”
It took Linda Ifeoma Ikeji about four whole years of dedication to start making good cash from her blogging career.

She said: “I never for once even thought that I could make money from blogging. I didn’t begin blogging with the frame of mind that some day I would really make money from it. As a matter of fact, it never even crossed my mind. I never said to myself that, OK let me start blogging now and maybe in five years time, I would begin to see the dividends. I never anticipated that it would ever happen at all. In 2008, 2009, I was placing free ads on my blog, I was the one asking my blog readers to please give me their ads to place in my blog for them free of charge. Now in 2010, people began asking me about my advert rates and I was like ‘seriously?’ I didn’t even understand what it was not until I asked a few persons and they told me their own advert rates, so was how it all started for me.”
So far Linda Ikeji has purchased two brand new cars, her dream car, which is a 2008 Toyota Camry that she bought about in 2011.

She said: ‘‘I’ve been dreaming about this car ever since I saw it two years ago, and I was finally able to pay for it two days ago, after making savings for nearly four months. The most exciting part is that I have a blog to show it off. At least now some people go no say my ‘levels don change’.
She of late obtained an Infinity FX 35 SUV costing over N8 million. A very sweet child to her parents, she acquired a multi-million 5-bedroom duplex for her parents in Surulere, Lagos.
Linda Ikeji at a point started having over 1 million unique visitors each month to her blog when some really controversial stories were posted on her blog, and that brought the much awaited recognition and large income. In August 2012, Linda was described as a success and a case study for the business of blogging by Forbes Africa.

Now talking about Linda’s personal life, she is so single and searching. She is yet to find her – My ideal man must be a decent guy, God fearing, very good looking and must be able to support what I do. According to Linda, she can never date a man younger than she is, but can marry a man who doesn’t earn as much as she does. Her reasons- “How many young men out there actually make the kind of money I make? If I am waiting for a man who earns more than I do, I might perhaps be doing so for a while. There are a lot of guys who earn more than myself, but if I come across a man who earns lesser than myself, it is fine by me, as long as he has his own money. But not like a guy who has no job, no, that will never happen.”

Her blog which receives well over 50,000 visitors each day is a top shot for online advertisers and for others longing to draw web traffic to their sites. It is really funny to know that comments on Linda’s blog can be very controversial and very interesting than the post itself.
She is also a motivational writer, who has written a couple of such. According to Linda, she does not like speaking, but rather delights in writing. She believes she does her motivational talks through her blog.”

Linda’s blog is believed to gather a regular sum of N3m every month from adverts from several brands and online ad networks, and this has made her the highest earning blogger in Nigeria today. Indeed, blogging has really fetched her the popularity, and comfort she has dreamed about.
Linda Ikeji has had her own fair share of criticism, as is the case with the world of success. Lots of person’s have criticized her, saying her blog promotes big time rumors. She was once accused by popular Nigerian celebrities for snooping into their private affairs, and this she has publicly denied. Her success in the world of blogging has even propelled her sister to create her own blog. Family business…

Linda Ikeji is quite humble, unrelenting, very hardworking and a role model to lots youths today, and with very many dreaming to be successful just like her.

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Linda Ikeji Blog Shuts Down: Charles Novia Addresses Saga Linda Ikeji Blog – Linda Ikeji Blog Shuts Down: Charles Novia Addresses Saga - Linda Ikeji, who unarguably is the number one entertainment and gossip blogger in Nigeria, was dealt a major blow on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 when Google deleted her from their domain based on reports of plagiarism. The issue was, however, later ...
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Tonto Dikeh Says To Boyfriend – ”You’re Lucky To Have Me” Linda Ikeji Blog – Tonto Dikeh Says To Boyfriend – ”You’re Lucky To Have Me” – Tonto Dikeh, Nollywood’s sweetheart is reportedly dating luxury designer Michael Awolaja AKA Malivelihood and told him via her instagram page that he’s lucky to her have her as his boo.Tonto Dikeh, who turned singer is now signed to Dbanj’s ...

Emeka Ike Reveals Movie Producers Sl**p With Actresses For Roles Linda Ikeji Blog – Emeka Ike Reveals Movie Producers Sl**p With Actresses For Roles – Emeka Ike, is still not happy with the way the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria is being run by the Ibinabo Fiberesima led executive and says the body can only be compared to the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, where producers sl**p ...

Linda Ikeji Says Bloggers Are Jealous Of Her Linda Ikeji Blog – Linda Ikeji Says Bloggers Are Jealous Of Her – Linda Ikeji, the embattled female blogger, who was recently accused by a social commenter with Twitter handle – Mr Ade Dee, for stealing stories from his website and refusing to give him credits has finally spoken, after her long silence.Linda Ikeji in ...