D'banj sleeps next to his Best Africa Collaboration 2014 plaque

D'banj and other stars he collaborated with won Best Africa Collaboration for Cocoa Na Chocolate at the recently held All Africa Music Award. List of nominees in his category below...
David O and Mafikizolo (Tchelete)
Diamond platnumz ft david o(number one)
Uhuru ft Dj bucks,Oskido, Professor and uri-da-cunh (Y-tjukutja)
Dbanj and Friends (cocoa Na Chocolate)
Mavins/don jazzy (dorobucci )

A New Year message to Nigeria’s youth from Muhammadu Buhari

...and here's Gen. Buhari's New Year message to Nigerian youths...

As we welcome the year 2015, I have shared a message to Nigerians in general, but I find it crucial to send another message directly to Nigeria’s youth, who are the major stakeholders of this enterprise.

The year 2014 was a challenging one for most citizens of our dear country.

We remember our compatriots who were brutishly killed or maimed by evil terrorists in 2014. I remember with a still broken heart that 219 of our children from Chibok are yet missing, let down by a country that should protect them. I remember that, even as I speak, some of our towns and villages are yet under the occupation of Boko Haram.

Yes, it is enough for you to despair. It is enough for you to wonder if your country cares about you and can protect you. But do not despair.

2015 has arrived at a time of great discomfort; but the beauty of the New Year is that we can look forward with renewed hope and the knowledge that things can and will change. 

In Nigeria’s case, we can truly look forward to the change that the elections can, and will, bring. Our country will be secure again. Our country will prosper again.

I have faith that 2015 is the year we shall begin to write a new story - a story of our youth creating jobs and expanding the frontiers of innovation and creativity everywhere from Mavin Records to the Co-Creation Hub; a story of genuine investment in our children and students be they in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka or in the Delta State University, Abraka; a country that finally makes a permanent shift from our debilitating dependence on the free-falling price of crude oil.

I have unshakeable faith that 2015 will be the year of change.

Now some of you have asked me: what exactly does ‘change’ mean?

I have taken time to explain this at different opportunities, but on this special day, let me remind you in five short statements.

Change means:

1.      A country that you can be proud of at anytime and anywhere: where corruption is tackled, where your leaders are disciplined and lead with vision and clarity; where the stories that emerge to the world from us are full of hope and progress. 

2.     A Nigeria in which neither yourselves, nor your parents, families or friends will have to fear for your safety, or for theirs.

3.     A Nigeria where citizens get the basics that any country should provide: infrastructure that works, healthcare that is affordable, even free; respect for the environment and sustainable development, education that is competitive and outcome-oriented in a knowledge-economy.

4.     A country that provides jobs for its young people, reducing unemployment to the lowest of single digits and providing safety nets so that no one is left behind.

5.     A Nigeria where entrepreneurship thrives, enterprise flourishes and the government gets out of your way so that you can create value, build the economy and aggressively expand wealth.

Are these things truly possible? Of course. That is the essence and outcome of leadership, and that is what my party and I promise you as we get into 2015.

My dear friends, this New Year, more than ever before, I am hopeful about Nigeria.

Yes, you are disappointed and you are angry, as you are entitled to, but you must never give in to the temptation to feel so weighed down by those who have failed you that you lose your hope and your energy and your passion to see change. You must never give up on Nigeria.  

Together, we can build a nation that is secure, prosperous and gives everyone a fair chance.

This is the promise that 2015 holds. That is the promise that change will bring. That is the promise that I bring to you.

Once again, I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year. 

Thank you and God bless Nigeria.

After darkness, a glorious dawn beckons for Nigeria by Bola Tinubu

Text of the New Year message to Nigerians by the National Leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu...

As we enter a New Year today, it is all too easy to give in to despair and despondency at the current state of Nigeria. The gap between our tremendous potentials as a country and our actual attainments is depressing and disheartening. For a country as endowed with human, material and natural resources as Nigeria, the level of poverty in which the vast majority of our people live is appalling and unacceptable.  The voodoo statistics of illusory growth and progress peddled by those currently in charge of Nigeria’s affairs do not reflect the dire material circumstances of millions of Nigerians.

The ever widening inequality between the wealthy minority and the impoverished majority is fueled largely by a scale of corruption and outright theft of public funds that have reached unprecedented heights in today’s Nigeria. 

All of these are responsible for the large scale manifestation of sundry forms of violence and insecurity across the country that undermines the very foundations of the Nigerian state. Yet, the growing impunity of an arrogant, imperious and complacent presidency weaken the rule of law and prevent the purposeful and responsible governance necessary to tackle Nigeria’s severe challenges.

But then, despair is a luxury we can ill afford as a country and a people at this time. Despair breeds depression and a sense of hopelessness. This can only result in a paralysis of the popular will that will benefit those who want to lull us into collective inaction, so they can perpetuate their misrule of our much abused country. 2015 will be one of the critical and momentous years in the history of Nigeria. It must be a time to renew our hope in the possibilities of our country. Hope enables us to generate the strength to take the positive action as citizens to achieve the positive change Nigeria so badly needs today.

Another Nigeria is possible. A Nigeria where focused, visionary and competent governance vigorously tackles corruption, insecurity, poverty and promotes peace, progress and prosperity for all is attainable. After the current darkness, a glorious, new dawn for Nigeria is possible. But this needed change will not occur by chance. It can only be the result of deliberate and purposeful action on the part of our people to utilise democracy and popular power to achieve national liberation and transformation. 

If not urgently addressed, the stratospheric level of hunger, deprivation and inequality in the land will inevitably provoke a violent revolution in the land. Indeed, we already have a situation difficult to distinguish from bloody revolution on our hand. It manifests in the armed robbery, kidnapping, communal conflicts, religious extremism, terrorism and ritual killings rampant in Nigeria today. We have no choice but to be active participants in the common sense democratic revolution needed to salvage our country. It is a common sense revolution that must insist that legitimate power flows from the will people duly expressed in free and fair elections. Governments must assume and remain in power only at the pleasure of the people. That is the only way that democracy can promote development by ensuring that government is responsible and accountable to the people.  

My message to our fellow country men and women is thus simple: this year must be one of eternal vigilance on the part of us all. This is the price we must pay for our democratic rights and liberties as citizens. Let us make no mistake about it. The traumatic experience of the over 200 Chibok girls who have remained in captivity for over six months shows that plaintive cries to an impotent government to ‘bring back our girls’ have become insufficient. Rather, we must utilise the power of our vote to ‘take back our country’ from the predators and scavengers in the corridors and bedrooms of power that currently hold her hostage. This calls for eternal vigilance to exercise our vote and protect out sacred mandate at the polls.

As the careless, reckless, irresponsible and highly suspicious handling of the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shown, every effort will be made to disempower voters by a sinking and desperate administration. Millions of voters across the country have been disenfranchised in the flawed process. This subtle coup against the very foundation of democracy, voters’ power, must be challenged and resisted. Flaws in the process must be corrected. All eligible citizens must be enabled to exercise their inalienable right to vote for a government of their choice. This can only be achieved through eternal vigilance and persistence by the populace in insisting that the entire electoral process must be free, fair, transparent and credible.

Nigerians face a critical choice at the polls this year. We must vote for either continuity of the present decadent order or change. Yes, many state governments across the country have performed creditably in diverse sectors despite the meager resources at their disposal compared to the Federal Government. However, the PDP-controlled Federal Government, which controls the bulk of the country’s resources, has been an abysmal failure. It has failed to provide the necessary leadership for accelerated national development commensurate with its immense resources and its phenomenal powers under the present corruption. The Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Presidency in particular has been a catastrophic disaster.

The country today has degenerated to unprecedented levels of global obloquy as a result of the prevalent repellent levels of corruption, impunity, insecurity and leadership mediocrity. The greatest need of the hour is a drastic change of direction at the national level. It is the emergence of a visionary, responsible, patriotic, purposeful and competent Federal Government that will diligently pursue the path of transparency, accountability, respect for the rule of law, true federalism and justice without which there can be no national transformation. As I wish the good people of Nigeria a happy new year, I urge us to rededicate ourselves to the realization of the positive change on which the very survival of the country depends. Eternal vigilance must be our watchword this year.  

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

Femi Kuti Celebrates First Daughter as She Turns 6

He captioned the photo above with: 

"Happy birthday to my first daughter Demilade as she turns 6 today. Wishing and always praying for the best for u. May our Creator give u wisdom and courage ,long life and prosperity with love and joy .Daddy LOVES YOU��."

See another photo he posted below..

Mr Ibu Hosts Friends to Football Match in Enugu

 

Nollywood comic star, John Okafor aka Mr. Ibu hosted some friends and colleagues who are based in Enugu state to a fun football match at Enugu stadium.

Present at the friendly match are, Chidinma and Chidiebere Aneke (Aneke Twins), Mr. Ibu’s wife and kids, actor Steve Eboh, Christabel Egbenya, Okoronkwo Solomon and fans.

See more photos below..

 

 

Vacation Turns Boxing Night for Jay Z and Beyonce in Thailand

TMZ - In what seems like a scouting trip for a possible Solange Knowles career change, Jay Z and Beyonce took in a Muay Thai fight during their vacation in Thailand.

It all went down at Patong Boxing Stadium in Phuket. There were kicks. There were punches. There was Beyonce sitting ringside while the violence unfolded ... all in a space that was roughly the size of an NYC elevator. 

FYI -- Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand ... where fighters are allowed to use their knees, elbows, feet, shins and hands to strike their opponents.

High heels are strictly prohibited.

See These Stunning Vacation Photos of Agbani Darego

 

Beautiful former Miss World, Agbani Darego just shared some stunning vacation photos from the United States. She also visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Isn't she looking gorgeous?

Continue to see more photos...

  

Obiagaeli Ezekwesili Named Y!/YNaija.com Person of the Year 2014

Surely, you know this, that as you celebrated Christmas on the 25th of December this year, perhaps safely with friends and family, a crew of citizens like you, and like us, gathered yet again on the streets of Abuja, under the aegis of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, to continue daily sit outs that have been holding for more than 200 days now.

They also marched the streets of Abuja, distributing fliers, making the same request they have made since May, while making the same simple request they started since April, irrespective of their religions, ethnicities or social status: they were demanding for the return of at least 219 girls, abducted by the evil Boko Haram sect from a federal government college in Chibok, Borno.

The Christmas day march was almost interrupted by policemen who tried to block access to certain
city areas, but the group soldiered on purposefully. Even though their numbers had depleted considerably since the period when the #BringBackOurGirls movement was loudest and trendiest, the die-hard members who continued to show up for the daily sit outs are no strangers to hostile law officers, even though they have done no wrong.

Leading the charge, keeping her eyes on the ball, and refusing to give in to distractions including the most virulent and dishonest attacks, has been Obiagaeli Ezekwesili, a national coordinator of the movement.

This uncompromising willingness to speak for the voiceless and truth to power has made Ezekwesili, 51, a natural fit for the leadership of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, where her considerable clout has helped put the missing girls on the top of the agenda for both Nigerians, our federal government whose tardiness in acknowledging the plight of the Chibok girls caused a very costly delay.

What started out as another terrorist attack by a devious group-and Nigeria has seen its fair share- soon snowballed into a global storm with serious international consequences, largely because of Ezekwesili's drive and determination to put herself in the line of fire.

Ezekwesili will certainly be loath to take this credit, but it is hers nonetheless for giving hope, and strength and clarity to an army of young Nigerians without whom many of us would have long forgotten those children.
She has shunned politics, been quick to dismiss those who would seek partisan profit from a national tragedy and in displaying an inspiring discipline has kept this single issue alive as Nigeria's longest, and most resilient public advocacy intervention.

It continues a trend that has been her life's work, galvanising citizens in the public and private sectors as well as civil society to demand better, to step up to the plate, to sieve the moment. In so doing, she has easily become the nation's Citizen-in-Chief, standing firm as its moral centre; standing sure as its stubborn conscience.

Not since the late and rare Gani Fawehinmi has the nation's most powerless had a defender most relentless.

For her incredible risk in putting her life's work, goodwill and influence on the line to speak out for a vulnerable population that is often ignored, for her refusal to maintain the status quo and become part of a complicit elite, for her passion, drive, and love for a nation that is still unable to live up to its full potential, for her anger- because sometimes it is the first element for creating change, for staking life and limb for a country that has not always appreciated her efforts and for the ability to fire up and sustain a cause even when it seems that no one is listening.

For reminding Nigerians that the value of a single life is priceless, for proving that all it truly takes to make change is one woman, and for standing tall as a model of what the Nigerian citizen – without billions of dollars or a government office – can and should be, we unreservedly, and proudly, announce Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili as the Y!/YNaija Person of the Year 2014.

And may her fight to the finish yet bring our girls home.

Fans are Criticizing Lionel Messi for His New 'Ugly' Tattoo

 

(TMZ) Football superstar Lionel Messi just revealed the secret he's been keeping underneath his shinguard -- a brand new piece of body art ... and it's not going over very well in Europe.

It's a pretty simple design ... football, jersey number, sword, some roses -- but they're killing him for it overseas.

Some major media outlets are calling "terrible," "awful" and "the worst" ... and the Barcelona star isn't getting treated any better on social media:

-- "F**k your tattoo messi why you destroy your leg with this ugly s**t tattoo why please tell him to remove."
-- "That's an ugly tatoo..."
-- "All that talent can't account for taste"

Adaeze Yobo Celebrates 5 Years of Marital Bliss with Hubby

Just few hours more and it will be five years since Adaeze and Joseph Yobo got married. They got married in the midnight of Dec 31, 2009/January 1, 2010 during the “midnight crossover” service at the El-Buba Outreach Ministries International Church in Jos, Plateau State barely three months after they met.

The two currently live in Turkey with their son Joey where Joseph Yobo last played for Fc Fenerbahçe. The retired Nigerian defender is currently without a club.

The former Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria, Adaeze shared the above photo on Instagram with the caption:
"Almost 5 years and counting #fewmorehourstogo"

Congratulations to them.

AirAsia Flight Found in The Sea...See Emotional Photos from Indonesia

   Seventh body pulled from water at crash site was wearing a life-jacket
    Pilot assisting search added that three victims were found holding hands
    Details indicate passengers knew plane was about to crash and suggests some may have been alive after impact
    Earlier two coffins - holding a woman and a boy - arrived at Juanda Airport
    Family members have been stationed there since the plane vanished from radars just 42 minutes after departing the airport on Sunday
    Next of kin have been asked for DNA samples to help identify the victims
    More victims are expected to arrive at the airport as the day progresses 
    But search for further bodies is being hampered by stormy weather
    Strong winds and currents moved floating wreckage 30 miles overnight
 

Continue to see more photos...

Indonesian military personnel carry one of two coffins with the remains of bodies recovered from the AirAsia crash site as they arrive for identification at Juanda Airport

The first bodies arrive at Juanda Airport near Surabaya in East Java province earlier today. Next of kin have been asked for DNA samples to help identify the victims

The bodies were first transported in body bags from the crash site - 100 miles off the Indonesian coast of Borneo Island - to Iskandar Military Airport near the town of Pangkalan Bun (pictured) 

 

Relatives of the AirAsia plane crash victims pray at Juanda Airport in East Java earlier this morning

A Basarnas rescue helicopter is seen behind three covered bodies recovered from the AirAsia plane as they rest on the deck of KRI Bung Tomo warship off the Java Sea, Indonesia

 

A member of the Indonesian military reacts after seeing an unidentified floating dead body from the doomed AirAsia flight 8501 during a search and rescue (SAR) mission

 

Indonesian Marines carry equipment from an air force plane during search and rescue operations

Indonesian marines unload their diving equipment as they prepare to join the search operation for the plane

 

A photograph released by Malaysia's Ministry of Defence today shows members of the Royal Malaysian Navy recovering AirAsia flight 8501's emergency slide from the Java Sea

Indonesian women take shelter under an umbrella during a candlelight vigil for the victims of flight 8501

Indonesian AirAsia stewardess Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi, who was listed as one of the seven crew members on board missing flight QZ8501

 

A plastic suitcase, un-inflated emergency and oxygen tank from doomed flight 8501 were displayed by rescue workers at Pangkalan Bun airport in Indonesia yesterday

Indonesians hold candles to pray for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 in Surabaya, Indonesia today

 

Timaya Shows Off his Massive New House, Thanks God for a Great 2014

Dem mama soldier, Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Timaya  just uploaded this photo of his new home on Instagram. It's been a great for the singer, no doubt.

Usher & Longtime Girlfriend Grace Miguel are Engaged (Photo)

According to multiple US news outlets, Atlanta entertainer Usher and his longtime girlfriend, Grace Miguel are engaged! Sources confirmed this to Lovebscott.com, adding that the couple are planning to have a low-key wedding.

Back in October, Usher opened up about his romance with Grace, who at 44 is eight years his senior. He said:

“I have an incredible partner and manager. She has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life and my career. She’s someone who has been able to support and
understand all of who I am. Not just as a dancer or as a performer or as a singer, but as a humanitarian and a businessman and as a person. 

One thing that has come from having a great partner like Grace is being able to cherish the places that I’ve gone. We see the monumental sites, go to the museums, eat in the best restaurants. I’m that guy now! In the past, I’d do what I have to do and get on the bus to the next city. Life has become a vacation.”

Well, if the story is true, then congratulations are in order for Usher and Grace.

Dr Sid Rings Closing Bell for the Nigerian Stock Exchange

Mavin Records artiste Dr Sid was today invited by the Nigerian Stock Exchange to their Year End Trade Closing Gong Ceremony where he was given the honour of ringing the closing bell. lol, see how excited Dr Sid was at the event. Good stuff! See more pics after the cut.

Jada Pinkett, 43, stuns in bikini on the cover of Shape magazine

The 43 year old mother of two posed in a bikini for the January/February cover of Shape magazine where she talked about her body, fitness regime and bedroom secrets. 

"When my husband of almost 20 years can’t take his eyes off me? That’s amazing. But the number one reason I go to the gym is because it keeps me sane… I can deal with whatever’s coming at me.'

this transgender's heartbreaking suicide note he posted hours before killing himself

17 year old transgender teen Leelah (Josh) Alcorn committed suicide on Sunday Dec. 28th by walking in front of a tractor trailer on a highway in Ohio. A few hours later, her suicide note, which she posted on her Tumblr page through scheduled publishing, went up. In the heartbreaking suicide note, she blamed her death on her religious parents who she said refused to acknowledge her gender and forbade her from transitioning into a girl. Read her suicide note below...

If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue.

Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. 

To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.

When I was 16 I realized that my parents would never come around, and that I would have to wait until I was 18 to start any sort of transitioning treatment, which absolutely broke my heart. The longer you wait, the harder it is to transition. I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn’t receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep.

I formed a sort of a “f*** you” attitude towards my parents and came out as gay at school, thinking that maybe if I eased into coming out as trans it would be less of a shock. Although the reaction from my friends was positive, my parents were pissed. They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.

So they took me out of public school, took away my laptop and phone, and forbid me of getting on any sort of social media, completely isolating me from my friends. This was probably the part of my life when I was the most depressed, and I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself. I was completely alone for 5 months. No friends, no support, no love. Just my parent’s disappointment and the cruelty of loneliness.

At the end of the school year, my parents finally came around and gave me my phone and let me back on social media. I was excited, I finally had my friends back. They were extremely excited to see me and talk to me, but only at first. Eventually they realized they didn’t actually give a s**t about me, and I felt even lonelier than I did before. The only friends I thought I had only liked me because they saw me five times a week.

After a summer of having almost no friends plus the weight of having to think about college, save money for moving out, keep my grades up, go to church each week and feel like s**t because everyone there is against everything I live for, I have decided I’ve had enough. I’m never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I’m never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I’m never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I’m never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I’m never going to find a man who loves me. I’m never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There’s no winning. There’s no way out. I’m sad enough already, I don’t need my life to get any worse. People say “it gets better” but that isn’t true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse.

That’s the gist of it, that’s why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that’s not a good enough reason for you, it’s good enough for me. As for my will, I want 100% of the things that I legally own to be sold and the money (plus my money in the bank) to be given to trans civil rights movements and support groups, I don’t give a s**t which one. The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s f***ed up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.

Goodbye,

(Leelah) Josh Alcorn

The Love Between Tosyn Bucknor and This Her White Boo

 

OAP Toysn Bucknor and this white French guy who works with Lafarge Engineering Constructions in Nigeria can make am hopeless person who lacks true love commit suicide.

They cuddle at the slightest opportunity they have, they wrap their hands around each other's waist every minute, they kiss like there is no tomorrow, they pose for selfies like their lives depend on it. I am certain some of their jealous friends on social media have started blocking them. Most recently at the Calabar festival, they became the center of attention.

Continue to see more photos...