2face Interview: Back to the Roots

Innocent (2face) Idibia has become larger than life on the Nigerian music scene. He has won almost all the awards available and has done songs with many musicians. Others only dream about. He told Deputy Editor, Charles Okogene, about his new album, fame, how it all started and the mothers of his children.

Why is your latest album titled Unstoppable?

It is simply Unstoppable because of what I said in my first album, 'who God has blessed, no man can curse' except the person himself does something to himself that will stop him or act of God like death. It is a 19-track album and I featured a couple of artistes in it. I have a song with Chaka Demus and Pliers and one with R. Kelly. The song was produced by R. Kelly, he also did the chorus. The songs are basically spiritual, feel good, love and songs devoted to praising God and thanking God for my life. I just want to start doing music, no more hording of my music, no more waiting for two years before I release an album. From now on, I might even be coming out with songs every week.

Who produced Unstoppable?

I worked with a couple of people like Ozzy, a Nigerian based in the UK. I worked with J. Sleek; Jegg, who is also a very good sound engineer. As a matter of fact, he is very talented, humble and easy to work with. I chose to work with them because they are not known and they are young.

Are you endorsing them?

Something like that; I just said 'look, let me do stuff with these boys.' I mean no disrespect to the people I worked with before, I respect them a lot, they have made their names already. I worked with them to show that there are so many other talented young guys out there. I am the executive producer of the album and it is released on Hypertek Entertainment label in collaboration with Kennis Music.

You have had your fair share of trying times like armed robbery and auto accident. Did you at any point suspect that somebody was behind it all?

Up till today I still maintain that I don't feel that anybody was behind the robbery attacks. I am saying so based on the way these things happened. It was just that I was at the right place at the wrong time.

So, in essence, you bear no grudge against those who attacked you?

I bear no grudge against them. There is little that I can say. I have forgiven them. I don't know what drove the people to do what they did. I don't know if it is sickness, I don't know if it is poverty, I don't know if the person has been to so many people for help and nobody helped and they decided to carry guns. I am not trying to justify act of robbery but the reason I have forgiven or bear no grudge is because I don't know what drove them to do that; only God knows if 'me too no dey sing, maybe I for be armed robber.' But that does not justify anybody being an armed robber.

Why did you choose to produce this album?

The only reason is growth. I am growing musically and no man is an island. But I decided to produce it so that I would have the experience and learn and say to myself 'yeah! I did this myself with the help of people.' Even the people that have been working with me did not do it all alone; there were still a whole lot of input from other people. That is way I did it too and I had a lot of advice from (Kenny Ogungbe) and D1 (Dayo Adeneye). I used all that to package the album on my own.

What is the level of collaboration you are into with Kennis Music as far as the new album is concerned?

They have been counselling me on what to do and what not to do; the album is out on Hypertek Entertainment but if you check closely, it is coming out on Kennis Music and then in terms of video production and a whole lot of other promotional stuff that we are going to do, we are going to do with Kennis Music.

Who is distributing and marketing it?

Distribution and marketing is by Happy Boys and Obaino Music.

How does it feel to be independent?

Independent in the real sense of it is that you are the one that finances the whole project; you are the one that oversees it. It is basically finance and overseeing; that is the added responsibility.

Has it not affected your traditional responsibility of making good music because in other climes, your counterparts do not finance their album production?

Definitely, there is a whole lot of pressure and stress but that is what we do; that is my work.

No doubt that you have become what one can call the face of Nigeria when it comes to music, and this has made you very busy travelling round the world. How have you been coping with that?

It has not been easy. I have had to go without sleep many nights in a roll. It is crazy, too much pressure, some fans don't want to hear that you are tired. Plenty 'wahala,' plenty pressure, but it is all good and we thank God.

In the face of the pressure that has earned you lots of fame and fortune, do you see yourself changing from Innocent Idibia we know way back in the days?

I am always Innocent Idibia and would always remain so. It is only when I am on stage that I am 2face that is the funny part of me. That is why they call me 2face because every other time you see me like now, I am Innocent Idibia.

Well, even if you don't accept it, stardom would have taken something away from you...

Yeah! Definitely, it has taken some things away from me like a whole lot of privacy. My personal life is being invaded on an hourly basis. So many things are just going on at the same time. I don't have time to rest but it is the business I am into and that is the price for fame and fortune.

When you set out did you envisage that you would be this big in such a short time?

That is a question that touches my heart because when I started, I started with Plantashun Boiz and it was like 'gbam!' Plantashun Boiz was a success all of a sudden. After that, I did my solo album when I joined Kennis Music and just in a space of how many months my album became a real success, I sold over two million copies and it was so sudden. It was unbelievable. I dreamt of making it happen but I didn't actually know that it would happen real fast. It happened real fast and I have God to thank for that.

Did you ever see yourself separating from the Plantashun Boiz?

There is no separating me from the Plantashun Boiz; anytime you mention Plantashun Boiz, the image you get is that of Blackfaze, Faze and 2face. Understand? So, there is no separating me from the group.

You have won almost all musical awards that are there to be won, which of them came when you least expected it?

I will say it is the MTV Europe Music Award African Artiste of the year. I was the first ever African (home) artiste to win an MTV Award. That was a huge success and after that, a whole lot of people have been winning it. I was like the door opener.

On that day in Portugal at that very moment what were your feeling?

I felt good. It was as if Christmas showed up early. I was proud of myself, I was proud of Nigeria and Nigerians. I was proud to be an African because what happened that day was that during my own award, the votes came not only from my fellow Nigerians but from other African countries who voted for me more than their own artistes. But now, it has turned to every country voting for their own person. Even South Africans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians voted for me more than their own artistes so there was no contest about it all.

The recent one is the World Music Awards, how did you feel about it?

Femi Kuti was the first to win it for Nigeria; after Femi Kuti I am the first person in my generation to win it, that is why I think it is another history.

How do you get the inspiration for your lyrics when others now sing rubbish?

That is where I have to thank God for the talent he has deposited in me. The only explanation is my God given talent, my education, formal and informal, my sense of humour and how I perceive the world. It is just like how Okocha (Jay Jay)' take 'sabi how to take' because football schools no dey teach the kind of Okocha's skill. E dey bodi.' That is the way I see it and all thanks go to God for that.

In what ways are you using this God given talent and your contact with the rich and powerful to reach out to the less privileged?

Right now, I just started my foundation, which I am trying to organise to get it right so that people will feel the impact. I am even researching on how foundations operate and I am getting there. In my own little way, I have done a couple of things, which I don't really want to talk about. The only reason I want people to know about my foundation is to let them know that something like this is happening, so that people can be encouraged to partner with us so that together we can touch the less privileged in our midst. The theme of my foundation is 'service to humanity.' We have done a couple of things; I have donated my talent a couple of times and put smiles on some people's faces in the cause of charity. It was just inevitable for me to have a foundation. I genuinely promise here that I am going to use it to make a whole lot of underprivileged children smile.

You have mentioned Plantashun Boiz a couple of times, take us through the musical road you have travelled to get to where you are now?

How do I put it now? I would describe it as a genuine growth from my humble beginning, peaceful innocent boy that later got exposed to a whole lot of 'uninnocent' things and became somebody out of nobody. I was born by two, very gentle people, the kindest people, the most peaceful people! I mean everybody can say things about their mum and dad but I mean, if you know my parents, you will know that I am saying the whole truth. They are the most peaceful people I know on this earth, very gentle people and I guess that is where much of my character comes from.

People brag that their parents have money, they have this, they have that but I will rather brag about the fact that I am a very peaceful and gentle guy. I want to brag about the fact that I am kindhearted, I want to brag about that fact instead of how much money I have got. That is how I am bragging about my parents right now. I realised my talent in music at a very young age. I didn't know then that I was training myself. I used to pick other people's songs and sing them as good as the original singer, try to get to the vocal height the person got to. I was doing all that until I started going for musical competition while in secondary school. I had a group, Black Universe, in secondary school. It was made up of Baba School, Demetrics and John Attah (a.k.a. Sly Dunbar) and myself then known as Inn Raps. We were mainly into reggae music then at Mounts Gabriel Secondary School. Reggae music is my root that is my soul music.

After that I went to UNIJOS (University of Jos) for one year remedial course. There I formed another group with the likes of Austin (a.k.a. AJ Bell) and Jesse Miller, a Warri guy. That was my first contact with Warri people and I fell in love with Warri people and that is why my Pidgin English is strong because of the Warri guys I met then. The name of our group then was Bad Manners. I left Jos after one year for IMT (Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu). There I hooked up with my schoolmate, Austin Amedu (a.k.a. Blackface). Then we were not a group but when we go to shows we performed together, they called us on stage together. It was in 1996 that we decided to form a group, Plantashun Boiz. Then we were average kids, we did not come from a wealthy background in terms of money but we were very wealthy in discipline, upbringing, good heart and God given talent. We were able to use our talent to raise money for our studies. We were doing all these till 1996 when Blackface's brother, Colonel Samuel Amedu, he is retired now, sent us N20, 000 to produce a demo because he had listened to us sing and he believed in us. We went to the studio and recorded 11 songs. We worked with Okey Okwu, he used his father's studio to record us in Enugu. It was after that that we decided to come to Lagos. We came to Lagos in January 1997.

That was when we decided to do music professionally; we stayed in another of Blackface's uncle's house, Captain Moses, who is also retired. We met people like Edi Lawani, Willie Workman, who was actually our first manager and he hooked us up with our first Fame Music Awards (FMA) show that we performed at. Then we met people like Cally Ikpe, he believed in us, gave us some slots in his programme, made us to feature in the montage and that gave us a lot of publicity, exposure and hype. Then we met Tony Tetuila, Eedris Abdulkareem,

I met Eedris before I met the rest of the Remedies. We got our first major break when we featured in the Rothmans Groove in the Hood tour, which was packaged by Tequila Event and which took us to a lot of states. It gave us massive experience and exposure. It was after the tour that we started doing one or two collabos with Tony Tetuila. He released his album in 1999 and it was a huge success, which rubbed off on Plantashun Boiz. Then we met Faze who officially joined the group (Plantashun Boiz) in 2000 and in the same 2000, we released our first album on Dove Records label owned by Nelson Brown. We actually met Nelson Brown when he was working with Weird MC in Even Ezra Studio, Victoria Island.

In 2003 I went solo, released my first solo album in 2004 and then like they say, everything is now in the history books. 'Na so e take happen o!'

At what point did you lose your reggae soul?

As for me, I listen to a whole lot of genres of music because my dad had a lot of albums; from Sonny Okosuns to highlife to Oliver De Coque, Jackson Five, The Temptations just name it. So, my influence was wide.

You have not answered the question as to why you did not continue with reggae.

I was getting to that point. If you genuinely listen to the way I sing, you will notice that even if I sing R 'n' B it is reggae-like. The reggae is not totally lost; it is just that it is embedded in every type of music that I do. Maybe that is responsible for my unique kind of singing because I am not trying to sound like a hardcore R 'n' B singer.

I saw the picture you took beside Bob Marley's statute when you visited Jamaica, at that moment what was going through your mind?

I wish I took that picture with him alive. That moment I was feeling as if I was standing with Bob Marley and shaking him live because he is one of the people that influenced me when it comes to lyrics. Anytime I am writing lyrics, I am like what would Bob Marley have said, how would he have put it? What would Fela say, how would he have put it?

You have done so many collaborations with both domestic and international artistes that a lot of people believe it has brought you so much fortune. How wealthy is 2face?

Right now I am comfortable. I can feed, house and cloth myself. At least, I can do all the basic things of life. As for the collaborations, like in America, you make money on royalties from the sales of the collabos but in Nigeria here, most of the time we are just doing it! I don't collect no penny from nobody. I look at it as help because sometimes I feel the people, either their personal character or their music.

How are you using your talent to encourage equally talented youth from where you come from?

I am not a tribalistic person, I am not somebody that will say everybody I will help must be Benue person. If I see a Benue person that has talent and skill, I will definitely encourage that person but it doesn't mean that if I see a talented Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo or Ijaw person that is talented I won't help. I definitely intend to go back home! Bongos Ikwe has set up a magnificent studio in Benue, I don't know what else I am even going to do there.

Any plans for a collabo with Bongos Ikwe?

I have spoken to him about it and he is very ready. He said anytime. Maybe we will even do an album, nobody knows.

Was this foundation that gave rise to 2face and Friends Tour that took you to several charity homes early this year?

The 2face and Friends idea came because I wanted to go round Nigeria and impact positively, spread a positive message through my music. That was how the whole idea came and MTN, being a responsible company was interested in it. In addition to my foundation, I also have a football club (Hypertek Football Club) which I sponsor. This is a group of young boys that I see everyday in my neighbourhood, they play good football and I decided to organise a training place, buy a few kits, one or two first aid boxes and hire one or two coaches. Now they have hope that they will make it one day in football. Nobody has contributed a penny, everything is from my pocket. But right now I really need the help of one or two people, corporate organisations to come in and support these boys. They are highly talented and there are over 50 of them.

How was it like working with R. Kelly?

The collaboration was facilitated by Toyin Subair; who actually got in contact with R. Kelly's people and eventually got in contact with R. Kelly. It was like he suggested my name to him, and R. Kelly expressed his willingness to do a song with an African artiste. He heard my song, Toyin spoke to him and he said, 'I will produce a song, do the chorus and give it to your boy to put his voice on it.' Then Toyin went ahead to arrange for a meeting between R. Kelly and I. So, I had to go down to Chicago to meet him. When we met him he was even playing basketball and we joined him. It was a fun meeting with a whole lot of other guys around. He actually gave us VIP passes to all his concerts but we were not in America all the way so we didn't attend all the shows. We only went to two of the concerts and we had backstage access. At one of the shows he called us on stage when he wanted to perform 'Step in the name of the Lord.' This was in Columbus and there were up to 15 girls on stage to do the song with him. I was really excited to meet somebody I have looked up to for so long, somebody whose musical works I respect.

Of all that you have heard people say about you or read in the media, which one do you feel terribly offended about?

There are a whole lot of stories that are just lies and nobody met me for confirmation before publication. It is just sad that we have some very lazy, unethical journalists around. It is just so sad that we have some media outfits that are only out to bring pain and sorrow to families, celebrate negativity. I am not saying they should not publish the truth even if it is bitter. The idea of messing up a whole for the offence of one person is not good. It is so sad, there are so many stories that I can't count.

What then is the relationship between you, your kids and their mothers?

I have very lovely kids; I love them dearly and I and their mothers try as much as possible to cooperate because it is not about us now, it is about the kids. 'Whether we marry o!, whether we no marry o!,' we are trying to make a positive situation out of what people perceive as a negative scenario. We are human beings, it has happened, it has happened and we do not want to start regretting that it happened; we don't want to start putting our heads down because there is no shame. I do not feel any shame in all that has happened. The only thing I feel is that there are kids who look up to me as a role model and would want to emulate me, my advice to them is 'if your power no reach, no do am.' Let them learn from my mistake. Even my fellow artistes themselves should learn from my experience. I am just like a teacher for all of them. They will become great people. I don't really care about what anybody says; I don't care about what anybody thinks. I don't care, it happened, I was living my life like that and it happened and I don't care what anybody says but let nobody follow the way I did it but if you want to, wise yourself up. Be sure you can stand it. I do not encourage anybody to have kinds from different women. For me, it has happened and I am going to positively continue like that. And I respect the women that had the courage to give birth to my children; I respect them. That is just it for me and please let's discuss something else.

Then, when are you going to marry?

Very soon, very soon but nobody knows the woman.

Source

Naija Comedy: Basket Mouth Uncensored II (Part 1 & 2)

Part 1


Part 2

Merry Christmas from SmallPickin!!

Please enjoy this small gbedu while you celebrate the holiday.

Merry Christmas from smallpickin !!!!

Xmas 2008 Gbedu !

TUFACE FEAT. R. KELLY OR R. KELLY FEAT. SHAGGY

R. kelly tell tubaba "o boy FLex na my song b dis o"...lol. Which version is better? You be the judge

Tuface feat. R. Kelly "Flex"


R. Kelly feat. Shaggy "Flex"

NEWS UPDATE: 11yr Old Girl Beheaded for Ritual

By Tega Uloho

Just few weeks to the Christmas celebration, a little girl of about 11 years old, Miss Love Balogun of Egini Town in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State has been beheaded, ostensibly for ritual purposes by her cousin, Mr. Oyovwevotu Gberhere who owned up to the crime immediately he was caught. The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday December 6, 2008. Eyewitness account stated that Mr. Oyovwevotu Gberhere, in his late twenties and father of two, had beckoned on his little cousin under the guise of sending her on an errand that fateful day when the girl, was playing with her friends in the neighborhood.

But when hours later, the grandmother with whom the poor girl lived in Egini, could not find her grandchild, she raised an alarm and a search for the little girl commenced immediately. Those with whom she was playing in the compound volunteered that Miss Love left with her cousin, Oyovwevotu some hours earlier. In no time, Mr. Oyovwevotu Gberhere was found in a church with double edged knife screaming at the top of his voice "Omiriruakpore", meaning, "it has spread all over the world".

Our source added that Mr. Oyovwevotu was shouting like a man possessed with the spirit of insanity that, "what I was asked to do, I have done it. I have fulfilled my mission", he allegedly stated severally. Those who saw him in the church later discovered a black polythene bag in the altar and as soon as the bag was opened and the little girl's head discovered inside, Oyovwevotu, the alleged killer went wild, broke loose and jumped into the nearby bush. The whole town was shocked at the discovery and the Police at Ovwian Aladja Police Station were alerted immediately. The Police responded by arresting one Mr. Agbo and Mama Marie, close relations of the deceased and killer. The Community Chairman, Mr. Henry U g h w u j o h w o v w o quickly rallied the Community youths together to search for the girl's body and Mr. Oyovwevotu but the search, we gathered yielded no results.

The following day, being Sunday, Mr. Oyovwevotu was arrested by the Community youths in far away Ayagha Town in Ughelli South LGA and was quickly handed over to the Police, who immediately ordered the self confessed killer to lead a search party for the body. At about 12 noon on Sunday, the headless body of Miss Love Balogun was recovered from the bush where Oyovwevotu, according to his confession strangled her after abusing her sexually and later chopped off the head.

Back at the station, Mr. Oyovwevotu Gberhere confessed to killing his victim for ritual purposes as he was allegedly contracted to go for the head of anyone called "LOVE". According to the killer, "I searched everywhere for one to no avail. So, when I discovered that my cousin is called Love, I decided to go for her," he was alleged to have confessed. He gave the name of 7 people who, he alleged were accomplices to the crime, including the name of the Bishop of the church where the head was discovered. As at the time of filing this report, 3 of those who were allegedly involved, including the Bishop were already arrested. Miss Love Balogun, was the first of four children of late Mr. Vono Balogun, who died as a result of industrial accident at his place of work in 2005. The mother, we were told, decided to come and drop the 4 children with his husband's kinsmen a few months ago when things became difficult for her. Those who spoke to our correspondent believed however that Mr. Oyovwevotu Gberhere had traces of madness in him and that his confessions of notable people in the area may be a result of the spirit of insanity in him. Police investigations were still on going as at the time of filing this report.

Source

NEWS UPDATE: Ghana pipeline gets first Nigerian gas

Article By Kwasi Kpodo

ACCRA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A new West African gas pipeline has begun pumping Nigerian gas to Ghana, where new gas-fired power generation should start up as early as January, companies involved in the project said.

The $620 million, 678 km (420 mile) pipeline has been built to transport natural gas from Nigeria's Niger Delta to Benin, Togo and Ghana to help ease chronic power shortages.

Ghana's Volta River Authority (VRA) power utility said in a statement late on Friday that the pipeline had been successfully filled and shut in, and the company was talking to suppliers to ensure continued flow once commissioning was completed.

VRA, which produces most of Ghana's electricity from the huge Volta dam, said on its website www.vra.com that it is increasing capacity at its Takoradi thermal plant to 660 MW from 550 MW, and switching from liquid fuel to gas to cut costs.

Frequent power cuts, especially in 2006, forced rolling blackouts across Ghana and reduced mining output from Africa's second biggest gold producer.

'This will ensure a reduction in the cost of production, as natural gas is cheaper than light crude oil that has been the source of fuel for the Takoradi plant since its construction 10 years ago,' VRA spokesman Kofi Asante Okai said in Friday's statement.

Source

NEWS UPDATE: Germans smash Nigerian human trafficking ring

Source

A human trafficking ring that moved Nigerians into Germany has been broken up, with seven persons under suspicion of organised money laundering, trafficking and tax evasion, police said Friday.

Www.earthtimes.org reports that German authorities stumbled on the group when an unemployed Nigerian with a German home was discovered in May 2007 carrying 364,000 euros in cash through Madrid Airport in Spain. He could not explain its source.

German police then checked out his friends. The report stated that federal police in Wiesbaden said they raided 21 premises around the country, but none of the suspects had been put under arrest. They were accused of improperly obtaining a large number of visas at a German embassy outside Germany, enabling Nigerians to enter Germany, where they were forced to hand back their passports to the traffickers to be used again.

The migrants adopted false names and applied for political asylum in Germany. The gang allegedly laundered the money through various accounts or by buying mechanical items to export to Nigeria.

NEWS UPDATE: AY Is Comedian Of The Year •Gets New Car, N1m

Source

Upwardly mobile comedian, Ayo Makun a.k.a. AY, says that God’s mercy in his life and career shall endure forever, having won the comedian of the year award at the maiden edition of Diamond Awards for Comedy.

AY at the weekend won the prize which included a brand new Kia automobile and N1million cash, during a well-organised ceremony held at Planet One (De Event Place), Maryland, Lagos.

Dedicating the award to his mentor and king of comedy, Ali Baba, AY who attended the event with his wife and daughter, was full of thanks to God for blessing him throughout the year.

According to him, the award which he received exactly a week after a well-attended church wedding on Saturday 29 November crowns all his achievements in the year 2008.
“This is my year of breakthroughs, I am so happy. Early this year, God blessed me with a beautiful daughter, I bought a new car, my T.V. programme made its debut, I married my wife formally in the church just last week and now, I have won the award for Comedian of the Year."
“This year is indeed a year of breakthrough for me,” he said, promising not to rest on his oars.

AY was nominated in three other categories before he finally clinched the Comedian of the Year award.

Speaking after the ceremony, adjudged the best and only credible comedy awards ever organised, initiator of the event, Ms. Ladi Gombe, said her company will continue to build structures that will make the comedy awards unbeatable, even in years to come.

She noted that the award ceremony was borne out of her passion for the genre of comedy in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
“This is for real and we shall make sure that the awards get a boost next year,” she added.

The awards continued and snowballed into an all-night party, where guests and award winners were given a treat at The Place, G.R.A., Ikeja.

NEWS UPDATE: Nigeria, Third Best in PeaceKeeping

By Tunde Sanni

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General AbdulRahman Dambazzau yesterday said the Nigerian Army has been ranked the third best peacekeeper in the world due to the military persistent contributions to peacekeeping in war-torn nations.

The COAS, who addressed men and officers of the 2nd Division of the Nigerian Army during a send forth party for him the division, said the military authority was not ready to compromise the position to indiscipline.
Dambazzau, who until his elevation on August, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the division, lamented the indiscipline, especially among the soldiers and urged them to wake up to the challenges of professionalism in the military or face the consequences.

He however blamed the level of indiscipline in the military to the faulty recruitment exercise in the past, which he said gave room for bad eggs to be enlisted in the military.

He decried the indiscipline in some soldiers who go outside the barracks, harass civilians and commit criminal acts which negate the objectives and mission of the Nigerian Army.

Dambazzau read the riot act to Senior Non-Commission Officers {SNCOs} to hold firmly the troops and platoons under their command or be sanctioned according to the military rule .

The COAS was particularly unhappy at the way some aggrieved soldiers ventilate their grievances through anonymous letters and text messages to superior officers to complain against the mismanagement of their allowances and traveling allowances.

He clarified that no senior officer could mismanage the claims and allowances as thery have been built into the salary of all respective soldiers.

His words, “some of us are being mischievous or misinformed. When the federal government increased the salary by 15 per cent, the Salary and Wages Commission had harmonized all the allowances and circulated it throughout the formations. But some soldiers started complaining that their allowances had been embezzled. This is not true”.

The COAS who described the style of complaint of the soldiers as “unmilitary act” reminded them that discipline is the bedrock of military and “without it, we can’t be able to defend the territorial integrity of the country”He reminded the soldiers of their mission to the country and pledged his determination to improve excellent civil-military relations, meet contemporary challenges through the effective utilization of available resources, high standards of training and discipline, adherence to military values, effective command and control and observance of the rule of law.

The COAS later paid a courtesy call on the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana where he thanked the monarch for his support while at the headship of the 2 Div.

Source

Wande Coal Sings Small Pickin Anthem

Jamie Foxx clowns Terrence Howard (Classic!!!)

Jamie went in hard on Terrance in this one. LMAO

NEWS UPDATE: Nigerian Economy in Trouble, FG Admits

Gbola Subair, Abuja

THE Federal Government has said that the economy faces real dangers next year. Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, made this revelation at the last meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for 2008 at the weekend.

Babalola disclosed that the road to 2009 was full of potholes. He said the bottom line was that Nigeria had a challenging time ahead, stressing that “we must be courageous to come out a better structured economy.

“With strong economies going into recession and the whole global economy falling into lower growth, decoupling Nigerian economy from the global space is a non-starter. Deepening global downturn, shrinking capital flows and tightening credit conditions will task our fiscal ingenuity in 2009,” Bablola said.

Babalola, who added that the risks to the economic outlook were real, said “we need to be realistic, pragmatic and futuristic about our policy effectiveness.”

The minister, likening the outgoing year to a chapter in a good book, said as in many books, 2008 had certainly been full of many surprises, with some interesting turns of anxiety and uncertainty.

He said the government had been through some challenging times this year, especially with dwindling oil prices and the budget, stressing further that there had been many satisfying accomplishments along the way.

According to him, the government succeeded in resolving all outstanding issues emanating from Paris Club debt exit payments.

“We also resolved and implemented the holding of FAAC meetings not later than the 16th of every month to facilitate prompt payment of salaries and immediate fund utilisation nationwide. The decision to discontinue debiting beneficiaries with bank charges by the NCS and FIRS was also made in the year,” the minister said.

Source

Video: Africa in Demand Interviews Tonestar

Shout out to Harry Baba of Tribe X Entertainment

NEWS UPDATE: Supreme Court Confirms Yar'Adua President

By Ise-Oluwa Ige And By Leon Usigbe

The Supreme Court yesterday laid to rest the dispute over the April 21, 2007 presidential poll by dismissing petitions brought before it by former military head of state, Major General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and ex Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC). The Supreme in dismissing the petitions said both lacked merit.

But Buhari in his reaction said the apex court has let down the country's judiciary. At press briefing in Abuja after the judgement, Buhari said that while he accepted the decision as a democrat, he would never agree with it, stating his determination to remain in partisan politics for the sake of the toiling masses of the country.

"The verdict is not what the world is expecting, and it will be received throughout the country with shock, anger and disbelief. The international community too will, no doubt, be shocked and scandalized that an election which they themselves held as deeply flawed, a fact conceded on several occasions by the President himself, has been upheld by the Nigerian judiciary.

"The judgement of the Supreme Court has let the judiciary down, has disappointed the country and its esteem has gone with the Nigerian public and with the international community. They have forced a giant to pass through the eye of a needle," he said.

He remarked that his team had pursued the case in the belief that they were taking the action on behalf of Nigerians with the hope that the judiciary would examine their position on merit and arrive at a judgement based on facts presented in court.

"When the Court of Appeal, in flagrant disregard for facts presented, ruled that we did not present any evidence, we painstakingly re-presented them to the Supreme Court. Although the seven justices who constituted the panel that heard the two cases yesterday differed in their opinion on the validity of the election, majority decision of the court however saved Yar'Adua's job as it upheld his election."

However, the panel of seven justices, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi which delivered judgments on the two cases yesterday agreed that the process that led to the emergence of Yar'Adua as the winner of the poll was marred with gross non compliance with the electoral laws.

The seven justices only parted way while entering their individual verdicts on whether or not to validate the election of President Yar'Adua given the substantiality of the non-compliance with the electoral laws.

Specifically, they differed on whether or not the non-compliance by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the poll with the electoral laws was substantial enough to overturn the election.

For instance, in the Buhari's case against Yar'Adua, the Supreme Court gave the verdict to Yar'Adua by a split judgment of four to three.

In simple language, four of the seven-member panel said that although the election was marred with irregularities but that the non-compliance with the electoral laws was not substantial enough to invalidate the election.

The justices who teamed up to save Yar'Adua's job were the Chief Justice of Nigeria , Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, Justice Katsina Alu, Justice Niki Tobi and Justice Dahiru Musdapher.

Justice Niki Tobi delivered the leading majority judgment that validated the presidential poll.

In the lead judgment, Justice Niki Tobi gave nine reasons why he would validate the election results as announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).

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NEWS UPDATE: Police recover N5.48m in First Bank robbery

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The timely intervention of the anti-robbery squad of the Ogun State Police Command on Friday prevented some armed robbers, who had successfully robbed a Sagamu branch of First Bank Plc, from escaping with the money.

The police, who killed the leader of the gang in a gun duel, also arrested two highways robbers, who fled after robbing people in Ibafo area.

An eyewitness account, corroborated by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Ayeni, said the robbers arrived the bank at about 8.30a.m and encountered little difficulties in gaining access to the bank’s vault.

A pastor, who was injured while scampering for safety in the ensuing confusion, told our correspondent that the 10 robbers, led by a woman, arrived the bank in a Lagos-registered commercial bus and took strategic positions before raiding the bank.

The situation turned sour for the bandits when the vigilante group in the area mobilised and engaged the robbers in a gun duel for over 30 minutes.

The robbers eventually escaped with the sacks of money, but ran into a detachment of policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

SARS had received a distress call and immediately deployed a detachment of its personnel to the town with an Armoured Personnel Carrier.

Ayeni said, “While on their way, the policemen had their sight on the reported scene of the robbery. The robbers, who had already loaded their loot into the bus, opened fire on the APC, attempting to kill the occupants. The officers engaged the robbers in a gun duel and one of the robbers, suspected to be the leader, was killed.”

He added that the policemen recovered the N5.48 million seized from the bank.

Ayeni explained that the police had to lay an ambush for the robbers to ensure that members of the public were not caught in the crossfire.

He said the money was displayed as an exhibit, while the bus used for the raid was set ablaze by the angry residents of the town. The police commissioner said the police were still on the trail of the fleeing members of the gang.

Ayeni also paraded a commercial driver and his conductor, who were pursued and arrested by members of SARS, after they fled the Ibafo end of the Lagos Ibadan Expressway where they had allegedly robbed motorists of their valuables. Operating with a Lagos-registered commercial bus, the duo were said to have blocked one end of the expressway and robbed road users.

He added that on sighting a police team, the duo sped off while the SARS team eventually caught up with them at the Sagamu intersection of the expressway, where the fleeing driver attempted to overrun the riot policemen at the check point. He explained that the police had shot the tank of the bus and hit one of the driver’s legs to demobilise the suspected robbers.

News Update: 9ice " My mother left me when I was 8 yrs old"

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Until a few years ago, multiple award winner, 9ice was your regular boy next door. He was not born with a silver spoon, neither was he offered one in the years following his birth.

9ice whose real name is Abolore Adegbola Akande may not have had a privileged childhood, but by dint of hard work and with a little bit of luck, his music career has placed him on a pedestal of fame and honour.

He is still ecstatic about his most recent laurel won at the MTV Africa Music Awards where, for the umpteenth time, he was crowned the best hip hop act clinching the award ahead of the likes of multi-platinum selling American artistes, Lil Wayne and The Game.

”The year 2008 has been a particularly rewarding one. I am humbled by the numerous awards I have received this year alone. It only goes to show that I am appreciated out there which is even more important than money to me. When I won my first award this year at the Hip-Hop awards, I did not know that the plaques would keep pouring in,” was how an elated 9ice summed up his feelings at the string of awards that have trailed his person.

The name 9ice is an unusual one, it does not show affiliation to any of the three major or the over 300 minority ethnic groups we have in Nigeria.

”I am from Oyo State. It was a name given to me when I was in school - Nigerian Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (NOIC). I was privileged to be in charge of the Computer Studies practical room and I gave my colleagues the chance to come and make use of it on Saturday and Sunday for their assignments and that is how they started calling me 9ice till the name stuck.”

For 9ice, it was tough growing up in a polygamous home. Relaying his experiences, he said, ”I spent most of my life fending for myself. Although my parents are still alive, they tried their best, but it seemed it was not good enough. My parents were there for me but their support was limited by some challenges.”

It was for this reason, and not music that he had to drop out of school. ”I was in 100 level but because I could not meet up with the financial obligations, I had to let go of my educational pursuit. It was a painful decision but I had to chart another course for my life. Thankfully, I will be going back to school in Los Angeles soon.”

Giving more insight into his background, he asks, ”Do you know my mother left me when I was 8 months old?” Ignoring your look of bewilderment, he continues, ”I did not get to meet my mother till I was 19. All that while, I thought my step mum was my mother.”

He interrupts my thought. Teeing off, he adds, ”I have a good relationship with my biological mother. You know blood is thicker than water.”

If you call him a Jack of all trades, you are not far from the truth. “I learnt air conditioning and refrigeration [repair] for three years somewhere in Anifowoshe in Ikeja and learnt bricklaying in Agbado. As I am sitting here, I can mould blocks.”

According to him, he does not shy away from his culture which explains why there is an infusion of Yoruba lyrics in his music. With his first solo song, Little Money in 2000, this would-be music star had to wait till 2005 before he and his music started gaining recognition in the Nigerian music market.

The first major break for 9ice came after a remarkable feat in 2Shotz‘s Make Dem Talk. It was not long after then that he officially released the first single, Little Money, off his Certificate album. In 2006, 9ice produced Ganja Man which was dropped in December of that year, and in no time, it became very popular within the space of a few months.

No one envisaged what he would become in the year that followed the release and success of Ganja Man. The ground breaking release in the last quarter of 2007, of Gongo Aso, proved that he is no push-over. Little wonder artistes are now lining up to do collabos with him.

”Some people said getting married will be my albatross, they said my career would crash,” he confessed. Continuing, ”Even you can testify that the reverse has been the case. I think I have won more laurels after marriage than before marriage.”

Contrary to insinuations that he was dragged to the altar because of his then fiancée‘s pregnant state, he had this to say, “I have always had this thing at the back of my mind that if I have small money, I will just marry because I can drop dead tomorrow. At least, I will have a child to carry on the family name.”

Like a single off his album, the expectant father is gearing up for fatherhood, expecting his baby to drop anytime soon. ”My wife underwent a scan and we are expecting a boy child whom we have pre-christened Zion Islam Abolore Akande.”

9ice is of the opinion that he has no reason to engage in extra marital affairs. ”Because I and my wife live thousands of miles away from each other does not give me room to frolic with ladies. It‘s not everywoman that you sleep with; some just want to be your friends. This is very unlike when we were dating when there were some subscribers, but she was my main babe.”

His first trip outside Nigeria for Mandela‘s 90th birthday tribute concert in London mid 2008, he said, was an eye opener. ”We were put in first class. I remember that the Zain guy who accompanied us helped me set and adjust my seat and they were bringing all kinds of food that I could not eat. When we got to the UK, it was too cold for me. I had to borrow a jacket. The man was just showing me around like ‘this is Wembley Stadium, Stanford Bridge,‘ like the JJC that I was. But now, I am no longer a JJC. Do you know how many times I have left these shores since then?”

From zero to hero, gone are the days when he could not afford to keep himself in school. Now he is a millionaire. ”I am comfortable. Corporate bodies pay me between 2.5 and 3 million. Individuals- 1.5 to 2 million. From colleagues like Basketmouth, Julius Agwu, we do it for free.

“My plans for 2009 are no longer under wraps,” he quipped. ”I am working on a new album that will have Asa and Akon in it. A single off the album will be released in the first week of January.”

News Update: Timaya Comes out with Album No. 2

The man who calls himself the Egeri Papa I of Bayelsa is out with his second album.

Timaya, whose first album, True Story tore its way up the music charts told Daily Independent about his sophomore album in an earlier interview, months back.

Looking at the CD, which the Dem Mama Soldier titled Gift and Grace, it is quite obvious that musician has stepped up big time. The packaging of this album is far better than that of True Story.

With 13 songs produced by K-Solo, Jeggs, Akeem D' Beat and Terry G, Timaya's new album sounds a great deal like his first CD. But the seeming similarity between the Dem Mama Soldier's albums wouldn't be a problem with fans, who love this dude's kind of music.

We only hope that Timaya's who is fast becoming Nigeria's own Akon, the man who by mere featuring him on your song, you have a hit, will enjoy success with the Gift and Grace.

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NEWS UPDATE: Rapper "The Game" Q & A in Lagos, Nigeria

Article by Admin

Tonight as Abuja plays host to the first ever MTV Afica Music Awards (MAMA), one of the artistes expected to headline the concert will be American rap artiste, Jayceon Terrell Taylor, and the one they call The Game.

The heavily tattooed musician who is on top of his game spoke to a select team of entertainment ,The Gamewriters and as captured by Ogbonna Amadi our Entertainment Editor in this interview , he shares his very interesting life story and his struggle through rough patches and finally to fame and wealth.

He began this story with his experience on his visit to Nigeria. The first time he visited Africa was when he stopped over in Kinshasa, Congo.

“I’m proud to be here in Africa. The last time I came to Africa, I spent only a day but this time I’ve spent 7-8 days already and I’m happy. When I look at the faces of the people here, they are very receptive and loving, so I’m giving the same love back to them. I love the whole company that’s been around me. No matter where I am, I’m enjoying this whole great show.”

We want to know what you feel about being nominated to perform?

I don’t really give a damn about award shows because when I look my kids and all that I’ve accomplished, I feel great. I’ve never really cared about winning any award. When my colleagues win awards I appreciate them and wish them well. To be nominated for any award is a good thing and I appreciate it but I don’t care if I wasn’t nominated. I’m a young man of 28 years, and I got two kids, my family is doing great, got a lot of houses and I am mean rich like sh-t, so no matter who wins the award, I wish him the very best. I’ve been to two places in Africa that remind me where I’m coming from and that is Kinshasa and Nigeria. Yes, when I look out on the streets of this hotel, I see kids trying to make money, doing what my friends and I did when we were young. Today, I can’t stop thanking God for uplifting me and my family to the level I find myself now, so I’m just happy.

Do you like African food?
Yes, we all are in the same spirit. The breakfast I had was good. I don’t know what they put in the egg but it’s good but I don’t really know about the food in Kinshasha, I mean their chicken is like bubble gum. All the same, me and my friends enjoyed ourselves. This people I call my friends are people who I share the same story with and anytime I’m going around the world, we go together.

How do you see African women?

Wow! African women are very beautiful but you know something, I’ve got my wife and family at home and I’m just cool with that.

In the midst of all the controversies, what is it that’s kept you strong?

In the 90’s, I never knew I could rap until 2003 when my girl friend got pregnant for my first son. Before then me and my pals were just stealing and killing on the streets. And when the pregnancy was three months, I began to think about what I would do to sustain the future of my baby. I had just six months and was running out of time. That’s when I made a demo and I had no option than to resume in the studio. Every single day, it became clearer that I just got to succeed. Every time I’m thinking about my family I’m stronger and happy. I’m African- American so I love Africa and their music. But even if I don’t know what it sounds like I don’t really care because I believe my guys here in Africa have got to make money, to be better people. So I’m cool with their music.

Is there anything that scares you in Africa?

No, nothing scares me. The only thing that scares me is thinking about not being able to provide for my family for any reason. With that in mind, I just go on and on, no stopping. I’ve not seen anything about Africa that I don’t like. Certainly there are so many things that need change in Africa, like seeing little children running around the street to make ends meet, like a mother carrying a baby on her back and another on her hand and may be having a luggage on her head at the same time. California is a big city but wasn’t built in a day. The only problem with Africa is that people are not willing to try. Generally, there’s nothing about African culture which I don’t like.

You’ve done a lot of collabos with several artistes in the West, East and South Coasts, do you think you can work with an African artiste?

Why not, if he’s good and original.

What are you guys leaving behind for us to really improve our music here?

My life story provides hope for many children out there. Five years ago I had bullets ripping all over my chest and I felt like I’m going to die but I’m alive today. Providing hope is part of what we stand for. Right now I can say that we’ve shown you the way. It’s either you follow us or you try to do it your own way, we’ll stand by you and are proud of you as long as you make it. In life you’ve got to believe in yourself and you’ll make it. I want young people to keep believing that they’ll make it because my life is an example of believing and working hard.

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news: D'banj - "I'm not ready to settle down now"

Story by Alayande Dayo

Nigeria hip-hop artiste Dapo Oyebanjo popularly known as D’Banj said he has no plan to settle down in the near future like his friends 9ice and Eldee who both married recently.

The energetic artiste said he is at the peak of his career at the moment and wants to focus on his dream of becoming the greatest African performer even though ladies always flocks around him like glue.

Report has it that "The KOKO MASTER" is presently working on his new project with Mo Hits Records and he wants to ensure "NO PIRACY"

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NEWS UPDATE: Olu Maintain romances Oyinbo?

Article by Nonye Iwuagwu

Yahoozee crooner, Olu Maintain is still the man of the moment.

He is unarguably one of the reigning musicians in the country and his hit track, Yahoozee, is still like a national anthem.

As a star, he has been linked with a lot of ladies, though he has denied them at every occasion. Yet it would seem that ladies find Olu irresistible.

In Lagos last Saturday, Olu walked into a show with a damsel who happened to be a foreigner.

All eyes were on them and, trust busybodies, they nearly tore themselves apart trying to find out who the oyinbo chick was.

While some argued that the lady was his babe, others insisted she was his manager. And the wrangling continued until the two were seated.

The oyinbo sure was cool. As Olu performed on stage, the babe danced gleeefully in support of her man.

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More in U.S. are getting away with murder

CHICAGO - Despite the rise of DNA fingerprinting and other "CSI"-style crime-fighting wizardry, more and more people in this country are getting away with murder. FBI figures obtained by The Associated Press show that the homicide clearance rate, as detectives call it, dropped from 91 percent in 1963 — the first year records were kept in the manner they are now — to 61 percent in 2007.

Law enforcement officials say the chief reason is a rise in drug- and gang-related killings, which are often impersonal and anonymous, and thus harder to solve than slayings among family members or friends. As a result, police departments are carrying an ever-growing number of "cold-case" murders on their books.

"We have killers walking among us. We have killers living in our neighborhoods," said Howard Morton, executive director of Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons. "It is a clear threat to public safety to allow these murders to go unsolved."

The clearance rate is the number of homicides solved in a year, compared with the number of killings committed that year. The solved killings can include homicides committed in previous years.

Homicides climb
The number of criminal homicides committed in the U.S. climbed from 4,566 in 1963 to 14,811 in 2007, according to the FBI. The clearance rate has been dropping pretty steadily over the past four decades, slipping under 80 percent in the early 1970s and below 70 percent in the late 1980s. In cities with populations over 1 million, the 2007 clearance rate was 59 percent, down from 89 percent in 1963.

Detectives say homicides generally become harder to solve as time goes by, as witnesses die and memories fade. Yet cold-case detectives say their units are often understaffed. And local police are getting less help for cold cases from Washington. Funding for the main federal program for such cases was cut 40 percent from 2005 to 2007.

Richard Walton, author of "Cold Case Homicides: Practical Investigative Techniques," attributed the falling clearance rate to a "significant change in crime patterns."

Indiscriminate killing
Many slayings nowadays are gang- and drug-related killings — often, drive-by shootings that involve a burst of gunfire so indiscriminate that killer and victim don't know each other.

"And that makes it difficult for investigators," Walton said. "With the gangs and the drugs, we don't have that ability to establish motive, opportunity and means."

Research suggests that in about 70 percent of homicides during the 1960s and '70s, victim and killer knew each other, Weston said. He said that figure has dropped since then, though he would not hazard a guess as to how much.

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NEWS UPDATE: Britons Saving Money With Sex

As the credit crunch bites, Britons may be turning to sex as a cheap way to pass the time, a charity says.

A YouGov survey of 2,000 adults found sex was the most popular free activity, ahead of window shopping and gossiping.

The Scots were most amorous with 43% choosing sex over other pastimes, compared with 35% in South England.

Aids charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, which published the survey, also welcomed recent figures showing an increase in condom sales.

Around one in 10 respondents to the survey, carried in November, said their favourite free activity was window shopping and 6% chose going to a museum as the cheapest way to pass the time.

But the sexes differed on their priorities, with women preferring to gossip with friends while men had sex firmly at the top of their list.

Safe sex

Publishing the results to coincide with World Aids Day, the Terrence Higgins Trust reminded people to practise safe sex and pointed out that a packet of condoms costs a fraction of the cost of a night out.


Rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are on the up so when you snuggle down with a partner, make sure you do it safely
Lisa Power, Terrence Higgins Trust

Lisa Power, head of policy, said: We're glad that people are finding ways of relieving some of their credit crunch woes, but if there's one thing it's worth forking out for, it's condoms.

"Alternatively you can get them free from family planning and sexual health clinics.

"Rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are on the up so when you snuggle down with a partner, make sure you do it safely."

Rebecca Findlay, from the Family Planning Association advised: "If anyone's having more sex at the moment whatever the reason, do think about your contraception, your condoms and any testing you might need for sexually transmitted infections.

"And you can get all of these for free on the NHS."

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