Centenary celebration, a dance on the graves of murdered students - Atiku

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar says the centenary celebration currently going on in Abuja to mark the 100 years of Nigeria's Amalgamation is disrespectful to the memory of the recently murdered FGC students in Yobe state. His tweets above...

Meanwhile the families of late Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Chief Gani Fawehinmi have rejected the Post Humous Awards the Federal Government is to bestow on both Gani and Fela at a Centenary Awards which will hold later today at the Banquet Hall State House in Abuja. Continue...

The Fawehinmi family say nominating their father in the same category with former Military Head of State, General Gbadamosi Babangida and the recent killing of students in Yobe state are their reasons for turning down the award.

Femi Kuti who spoke  on behalf of the Kuti Family say they have not yet received any apologies from the government for the burning of the Kalakuta Republic in 1977 and also for the killing of his grandmother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and so cannot receive the award.

Other Nigerians to be awarded today include

Sir Samuel Manuwa, Professor John Edozien, Dr Moses Majekodunmi, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe, Professor Latunde Odeku, Professor­ Nelson Oyesiku and Dr. Funmi Olopade, Professor Oyin Olurin, Professor Orishejolomi­ Thomas, Chief MKO Abiola, Professor Bello Osagie, Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, Professor Ade Elebute, Dr Akinola Maja, Professor Femi Williams, Professor Ambrose Alli, Dr Dalhatu Tafida, Professor Ishaya Audu, Professor Oladele Ajose and Professor Tola Adebonojo, Chief Micheal Adenuga among others.­

Lupita talks about black beauty & Dencia's Whitenicious at BWHL

The Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon held yesterday February 28 at The Beverly Hills Hotel in LA...and Oscar nominee Lupita Nyong'o was one of those honored at the event which had Oprah, Tyler Perry, Kerry Washington, Michael Ealy and many other black Hollywood heavyweights in attendance. 

Accepting her award, Lupita gave one of the most powerful speeches about self-acceptance and loving yourself just the way you are. Her message basically is; Black is beautiful and you really don't need Dencia's Whitenicious. Yep, she mentioned Dencia in her speech. Check on it after the cut...


Lupita's acceptance speech at Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon

Thank you Alfre, for such an amazing, amazing introduction and celebration of my work. And thank you very much for inviting me to be a part of such an extraordinary community.

I am surrounded by people who have inspired me, women in particular whose presence on screen made me feel a little more seen and heard and understood. That it is Essence that holds this event celebrating our professional gains of the year is significant, a beauty magazine that recognizes the beauty that we not just possess but also produce.

I want to take this opportunity to talk about beauty, black beauty, dark beauty. I received a letter from a girl and I’d like to share just a small part of it with you: “Dear Lupita,” it reads, “I think you’re really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia’s Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.”

My heart bled a little when I read those words, I could never have guessed that my first job out of school would be so powerful in and of itself and that it would propel me to be such an image of hope in the same way that the women of The Color Purple were to me.
I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of a mirror because I wanted to see my fair face first. And every day I experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as I was the day before. I tried to negotiate with God, I told him I would stop stealing sugar cubes at night if he gave me what I wanted, I would listen to my mother’s every word and never lose my school sweater again if he just made me a little lighter. But I guess God was unimpressed with my bargaining chips because He never listened.

And when I was a teenager my self-hate grew worse, as you can imagine happens with adolescence. My mother reminded me often that she thought that I was beautiful but that was no conservation, she’s my mother, of course she’s supposed to think I am beautiful. And then…Alek Wek. A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. Even Oprah called her beautiful and that made it a fact. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me, as beautiful. My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me, when I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny.

Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty. But around me the preference for my skin prevailed, to the courters that I thought mattered I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me you can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t feed you and these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.
And what my mother meant when she said you can’t eat beauty was that you can’t rely on how you look to sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty enflames the heart and enchants the soul. It is what got Patsey in so much trouble with her master, but it is also what has kept her story alive to this day. We remember the beauty of her spirit even after the beauty of her body has faded away.

And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.

There is no shame in Black beauty.

Actress Yvonne Okoro stuns in lingerie and see-through red dress

The Nigerian/Ghanaian actress has one of the best bodies in the movie industry...

Rita Dominic and Monalisa Chinda dazzle in multi-colored outfits

The stunning actresses wore these multi-colored outfits to Sen. Florence Ita Giwa's birthday last week. Which dress would you rock?

Trends to look out for in 2014 (#frosh)

After a lot of speculations into what trends will follow through 2014. Last year, we saw some old fashion trends coming back to rock runways and people picked up the trends fast. Some of the trends that we saw last year includes red carpets favorite Great Gatsby from the 60’s movie, Monochrome, Color blocking, Pastels and more 60’s twist trends high wait skirts. Continue...

This year we expect a lot more because Trends are about the future including fashion. Even though, we go back in time to appreciate fashion trends and always reinventing them into the modern rock looks. Recently from the London Fashion Week and New York fashion week, we spotted fashion trends this year that will be different and also more refreshing from what we are used too. It will be about the colors, which have been flocking the runways during the fashion weeks.

In Nigeria, we have also seen familiar trends as the rest of the world. Nigerians are very trendy; from rocking best fashion trends on red carpets to buying the latest gadgets (Mobile phones).

JUMIA has highlighted the trends that we should look out for this year, following the recent Trend rave on Fashion and Gadgets:

Trends Meets Jumia

Dencia reacts to Lupita's speech, says she doesn't know who she is

Dencia has reacted to Lupita Nyong'o's speech at Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon where the Oscar nominated actress made reference to her skincare product, Whitenicious. (Find it here). Yesterday Dencia tweeted that she'd never heard of Lupita. See her tweets below #kushpost

Kidnappers demand N500m ransom to free Pres. Jonathan's uncle

Abductors of Inengite Nitabai, the 70-year old uncle of President Goodluck Jonathan, have demanded a N500m ransom, Sahara Reporters report.

A security source said that the abductors threatened to kill him if the family fails to produce the money. The source also said the family had constituted a committee to evaluate the demand, establish negotiations with the abductors and facilitate his release.

He said the kidnappers had also warned against the involvement of security operatives in the matter.
"The kidnappers contacted the family four days after and demanded a whopping sum of N500m. It is believed that the family of the victim has begun negotiations with the hoodlums," he said.


Tension and panic set in when the kidnappers failed to establish any contact with the family of their victim three days after he was abducted.

That development was said to have rattled the Presidency, which reportedly ordered a massive deployment of security in Otuoke, the hometown of the Jonathans, and the Niger Delta creeks.
The gunmen abducted Nitabai on Sunday after collecting about N400,000 from his wife.

Source: Sahara Reporters

WTF? Rihanna bares her bare breasts in see-through top (see photos)

Rihanna bet why? The singer bared her bare boobs in a sheer black top with nothing on underneath as she attended Balmain's Paris Fashion Week after-show party yesterday night.

 

Chris Brown & Rihanna reportedly exchanging text messages again

 

Insiders claim Chris Brown has been reaching out to Rihanna since completing his 90-day stint in rehab and her camp is terrified the volatile couple may reunite...

From Page Six

“Chris started texting Rihanna on her birthday [Feb. 20], and the two have been sending each other a flurry of texts ever since,” said a source close to the singers.

“Rihanna didn’t write back right away . . . but later that night she started getting sentimental and texted back, ‘thank you,’ and asked how he was,” our source added. “Since then, the two haven’t stopped texting each other and friends are freaked out that she’s going to start dating him again.”

Dear Rihanna please stick with Drake. He's cuter, more calm, older, less violent etc *sigh*. Continue to see photos of Rihanna and Drake out together on Tuesday night in Paris...

Photos from Omotola's surprise birthday party in Ghana

Friends threw a surprise birthday party for the sultry actress in Ghana yesterday evening. Her husband Capt. Mathew Ekeinde was secretly flown into the country to surprise her and he even helped organize the surprise party. How sweet! Continue to see more photos...

Nigeria Football Federation unveils World Cup jersey for Brazil 2014

The Nigerian Football Federation today February 27th unveiled a brand new jersey our national team would use during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The jersey, which is lemon green, will be officially launched on March 5th when the Super Eagles meet Mexico in a pre-world cup friendly which will take place in Atlanta, Georgia.

According to the Head Marketing of the NFF, Adama Idris, the jersey was designed to suit the weather condition in Brazil. See more photos after the cut...