Oseyiza Oogbodo Blog

Theresa May, UK Prime Minister The UK Minister for the Armed Forces, Mark Lancaster, visited Nigeria this week, marking the strong defence relationship between the two nations. During the visit, Lancaster saw firsthand the support the UK is providing to the Nigerian armed forces leading the fight against Boko Haram in the north east of Nigeria.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to control plague in Madagascar. "If detected in time, plague is a curable disease. Our teams ensure that all people at risk have access to safeguards and treatment," said Dr Charlotte Ndiaye, WHO Representative in Madagascar.

Zuma South Africa President, Jacob Zuma, will on Monday, October 9, 2017 officially open the 5th Ordinary Session of the 4th Pan African Parliament at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand in the Gauteng Province. The 5th Ordinary Session of the 4th Parliament will be held from October 6 to 20 October 2017 as delegates from all member states of the African Union deliberate on issues of continental interest.

The expert group meeting on ‘building research infrastructure capacity in Africa to achieve the sustainable development goals’ ended in Addis Ababa, Ethopia yesterday with participants agreeing that governments on the continent have no choice but to up expenditures on research infrastructures if Africa is to find solutions to its challenges. In his closing remarks to the meeting, Kasirim Nwuke, Chief of New Technologies and Innovation in the Economic Commission for Africa’s Special Initiatives Division, said, “The failure of our governments to allocate significant resources to STI institutions to procure research infrastructures is detrimental to our continent’s scientific and technological development without which innovation will be limited.”

UN Migration Agency Director General, William Lacy Swing, was this week honoured with an Officer of the National Order of 27th of June award by the East African nation of Djibouti. The award was presented by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti, Abdulkader Kamil. Swing accepted the prestigious award on behalf of 11,000 IOM colleagues in 500 sites and 170 countries around the world, saying, “We at IOM appreciate this symbol of recognition and support.”

Adinoyi Mursty Adinoyi, producer-presenter of the award-winning TV programme, Hitlist N Cruzin , has said that Nigeria’s problems shouldn’t prevent anyone from being successful. Using himself as an example, he said, “One of my challenges is air time. The weekly air time we use for HNC , we pay heavily for it on all the channels we are. So we have a lot of new ideas and innovations to add to HNC but we don’t have enough time to do so now.”

Peters Sensational juju musician, Yomi Peters, has revealed that the legendary musician, Fela, called him a stupid boy the last time they met. According to Peters, who is the creator of juju shuffle and co-creator of Shina Peters' afro juju, he and Obesere went to visit Fela at his Afrika Shrine and they got talking about music, marijuana and all that. And when he disclosed that he doesn't smoke marijuana yet he sings and plays instruments, Fela was sceptical.

Nasiru Bello Nasiru is the chief coach, Nigerian Table Tennis Federation, and he knows virtually all there is to know about it as a sport in Nigeria, being a former player himself and now coaching professionals, amateurs and emerging talents. So when he says something about it, it has to be respected, and according to him, it is doing very well in Nigeria.

Oyakhilome (middle), Ayeni (right) Charles Oyakhilome, CEO, Airopay, has disclosed why Airopay decided to sponsor the return of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Nigeria which returned to TV on Sunday, September 3, 2017. “Well, WWTBAM is an established brand that is viable to partner with. And it’s also a way of giving back to the society. Apparently, a winner would go home with a lot of money which would change the life of such an individual totally,” he explained.

Oshinibosi Football fans know a lot about football and Fanz Championship Africa is the perfect opportunity to translate that knowledge into cash in a competitive and entertaining TV game show. And so, CEO, Abelinis Ltd, Abiodun Oshinibosi, recently unveiled the fourth season of this new, exciting and totally locally developed football format which has multiple value points including giving football lovers a platform to express their knowledge; occupying youth with constructive engagement; developing selected host communities; and creating capital for young entrepreneurs.

Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has named the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation into its Freedom of Information (FOI) Hall of Shame for its brazen disregard for the FOI Act as evidenced by its non-compliance with virtually all aspects of it over the last six years. Ridwan Sulaimon, MRA’s Freedom of Information Programme Manager, who announced the induction in a statement in Lagos, noted that the Office of the Auditor-General is charged with auditing and reporting on the public accounts of the federation as well as those of all offices and courts of the federation.

Derks The International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary with three days of film and festivities in De Balie, the Amsterdam venue where it all began. On 18, 19, 20 and 21 November, eighteen of the world’s most influential documentary makers will introduce documentaries that have changed the way they look at the genre, and at life.

Kuti A-list Nollywood actress, Jaiye Kuti, has disclosed that she had to fight the spirit in order for her to break through as an actress. When Oseyiza Oogbodo Blog enquired from her that when she started out in acting, if she was discouraged by people saying she shouldn’t venture into it because actresses are loose people, their marriages don’t last and all that, she had a ready response.

Tekno One of the most difficult things in the music industry is to be a successful commercial music producer and artist at the same time. Even in America which has definitely the most vibrant music industry, musicians and producers, no one has made a real mark as a producer-artist. Here in Nigeria, the Akpako master, Terry G, is the only person to have achieved it. He rose to reckoning as a producer, recorded several hits himself and successfully merged the two until some four years ago when demand for his brand in both fields, especially production, dropped.

Genevieve Gone are the days when Genevieve and Omotola were Nollywood’s most prominent actresses. They were at par with each other and all the rest were below them as they were undisputed as the best, just like the football superstars Ronaldo and Messi are undisputedly above their colleagues. Without warning though, they fizzled out about four years ago, and Nollywood has not been the same since. Though Mercy Johnson tried after them to make Nollywood sparkle, so also Funke Akindele, Tonto Dike and a few others, Nollywood is still lacking the X-factor Genny and Omosexy have.

Oogbodo (left) with Boma Promising comedian, Boma, has told Oseyiza Oogbodo Blog that some of his colleagues are surprised at his success and achievements. When OOB asked him what his plan is to take over the comedy industry, he said, “Well, first off, the truth is me, myself and I as Boma, I don’t plan to take over anywhere, I just wanna take over my own space. You know, for instance, why I might not be too much out there is because I have my own plans and I have my own strategies. It’s now I want to do mainstream but the industry players know me. Clients know me. Event companies know me. But at a point, I just felt with my plan, let me just gather some grassroots fan base from weddings, corporate bodies.