Folarin Kehinde

Popular Nigerian Afrobeat star Davido and his wife Chioma have welcomed a set of twins, according to multiple reports.

The couple, who lost their son Ifeanyi in a tragic drowning accident last year, welcomed the twins on Monday night.

The news was first confirmed by Evangelist Gospel Agochukwu on Tuesday morning, who shared a screenshot of a chat he had with Davido on the official Facebook page of his church.

In the chat, Davido confirmed to the cleric that his prophecy last year had come to pass.

Recall that Agochukwu had in November 2022 revealed that God told him that Davido and Chioma would welcome twins after the death of Ifeanyi.

Both Davido and Chioma have yet to comment on the development. However, there were previous reports, months back, of Chioma being pregnant.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called for peaceful negotiations with the Nigerian government

LEADING REPORTERS gathered that the separatist group in Nigeria, on Saturday, requested a peaceful exit of Biafra from Nigeria through a United Nations-supervised referendum.

IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful said in a press statement that the group has lost over 5,000 members and properties worth over $1 billion as a result of the extreme use of force by the Nigerian security forces.

“IPOB stands for peace. We stand for dialogue, and we stand for discussions. The cardinal rule under which IPOB was formed is to lead the way to a peaceful separation of Biafra from Nigeria,” Powerful said.

The statement read, “We the global family and movement of IPOB wish to reiterate once again that IPOB remains peaceful and open for negotiations and dialogue on the peaceful exit of Biafra from Nigeria through a UN-supervised Referendum.

“IPOB’s peaceful agitation for Biafra Independence started in 2012. Never has IPOB been associated with violence or criminality in all our years of rallies and protests. Nevertheless, the Federal Government, through its security forces, has levied war against IPOB. Our members have been brutally attacked while on a peaceful protest by the Nigerian security forces at many locations in Biafra Land.

“As a result of these unwarranted attacks, many IPOB members have been murdered in cold blood, some have been permanently handicapped, some forcefully taken away by the security forces whereas some are still illegally detained in various detention facilities across Nigeria.

“Many IPOB members and sympathisers have had their houses and businesses burnt by the Nigeria security forces. IPOB has lost over 5,000 members with properties worth over $1bn as a result of the extreme use of force by the Nigeria Security Forces. Irrespective of all the provocations, IPOB has never retaliated nor have we taken up arms against the Nigerian State.

“IPOB stands for peace. We stand for dialogue, and we stand for discussions. The cardinal rule under which IPOB was formed is to lead the way to a peaceful separation of Biafra from Nigeria. Biafra and Nigeria are two different nations.

“The events from 1948 to 2023 have shown that it is practically impossible for Biafra and Nigeria to coexist as one nation. IPOB has been calling on the Nigeria State for discussions on a peaceful referendum date, but the Nigeria State always returns the peaceful call with violent suppression.

“We have always maintained that self-determination is our inalienable right according to the UN laws.”

The Federal Government has suspended N-Power programme indefinitely.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu announced the suspension during an interview with TVC News.

According to Edu, the decision to suspend the programme was birthed by several flaws within the scheme.

The Minister added that a government:s probe into how the money has been used since the program’s inception has already kick-started.

She said that some of the beneficiaries are not found in their place of assignments yet they expect monthly stipends.

Some of the beneficiaries, according to the Minister, should have left the programme since 2022 but are still on the payroll.

According to her:: “We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are so we will basically suspend the programe for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilization of fund into the N-Power program.

“We want to know how many persons are basically on the program right now, how many persons are owed, amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring the N-Power and expanding it.

“There are lots going on. We met people who are supposed to have exited the program since last year and they are still on claiming that they are still teaching.

“Sometimes we contact the school or the places where they are working and they are not there. They are not working yet they keep claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months stipends.

“About 80 percent of them are not working yet they are claiming salaries.”

Controversial singer, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has vowed to retrieve cars bought for his artists if they leave his record label, Zeh Nation, claiming the cars are the record label’s properties.

The ‘Zazu’ crooner also pointed out that his artists have not made more than N70,000 since joining his record label but he gifted them multi-million Naira cars.

In a recent Instagram live session with fans, Portable said, “Do you know how many record labels that have signed Abuga before I signed him and gave him fame? Use your brain bro. No enviousness. No ripping. Zeh Nation.

“However, I will collect all the cars I bought for Youngiduu and Abuga when they leave Zeh Nation. The cars are the record label’s properties. I’m the one promoting the record label. I’m the top artist of the record label. I’m the one making all the money for the record label.”

Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick has called out singer Davido for allegedly refusing to show up at the 19th edition of the Warri Again fest despite getting paid an excess of $94,600 (about 72 million naira).

The sports administrator said the organisers also booked a private jet for $18,000 to bring the artist to perform at the event in Warri, Delta State.

He disclosed this while addressing attendees at the event.

Speaking in Pidgin, Pinnick said, “We paid Davido $94,600 on the 6th of April. We paid $18,000 for his plane. If im say him be big boy, we go tell am say we Big pass am.

“I’m not joking. So, why he was playing his games back and forth, we decided to hunt to find another artist, Shallipopi.

“You see when people say dem big, I just dey laugh. The biggest artiste in Nigeria today, no be Burna Boy? Burna Boy is half Itsekiri. Burna Boy’s paternal grandmother is Itsekiri. So, he big pass am.

“Anybody fit big pass RMD for acting industry? Anybody fit big pass Ali Baba for comedy? Warri na back to back we get dem. Nobody fit big pass Warri.”

These days, there is so much debate on the internet that borders on university funding and why university education is no longer for every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Well-meaning individuals, who subscribed to this philosophy of increasing public university tuition fees, have maintained that those who would be unable to afford it would find, or be pushed to look for, alternatives in vocational skills or anything else, asides school.

They assert that these vocational skills are even far more beneficial than university degrees in some ways because of the sheer rise in unemployment. They have also believed that it is the panacea to this recurring and perennial ASUU strike.

This popular belief, that without university education, an individual who is armed with the requisite skills would still survive in the labour market, is held by many people as true, and I couldn’t agree more. However, university education is far beyond the acquisition of degrees and skills.

University education is not just about the certificates. It also includes development of the mind, character and intellect. Earlier this week, I was discussing with a university friend who confessed to me that the early morning classes that she attended, tyrannous deadlines that she met, different personalities in the coursemates that she has, sociolinguistics courses and many other courses that she took at the University of Ibadan have helped her to build resilience in the fashion brand she is building, as well as insights into her customers’ needs as well as improvement in customer relations.

An individual will definitely do better as a university graduate when he or she goes into fashion, baking, modelling, photography and you name it, because he or she has become more aware of his or her environment and the needs or wants of the people he or she is dealing with.

With university education, they are more likely to succeed in their vocation and will know how to develop their business better. With multiple failures in school, they will have been more prepared to deal with failures in real life situations and in their businesses. I hold this to be true and valid when the individual looks beyond university degrees and certificates while he or she is learning in school.

While it is true that there are some who had no university education and became successful in the trade; however, you will find out that some of them go back into the university to obtain some education in spite of the already achieved success.

The truth that I think many of us know remains that it is not just and only about the degrees that some of us go to school to get and one’s university education is never a waste of time even when one does not practice what one read in school.

As the University of Ibadan has always maintained, university education is geared towards finding the student worthy in character first before knowledge and learning.

What one studied in school does not necessarily have to translate to what one will eventually do in life or be successful at in the long run
I also believe that university education exposes one to what one would eventually like to do in life. At their formative years, a child in their early teens may not completely know what career they want to do until they get into a university or about to graduate, or even shortly after graduation.

Therefore, we should not establish our reason for an increase in tuition fee on the possibility that a graduate, who read law or medicine in school, ditches what she studied to go into filmmaking, modelling, or say fashion designing. I would believe that some people still desire university education because of the beauty in it.

One does not have to practice what one studied in school. The education, and this case, the formal education he or she has acquired in the university has some effect, a positive one at that, on his or her approach to societal issues and even in the way he or she handles things.

Furthermore, any discussion about increasing university tuition fees must not be driven by an ill-advised remark that university education is primarily about acquisition of degrees or certificates. It is not.

Far beyond university degrees and certificates, university education serves as a training ground for character and intellectual development. A soldier that sweats profusely during battle will bleed less in battle. This is also true about the students at higher institutions of learning.

Lastly, the discussion of increased tuition fee must also take into consideration some students from humble background whose means of getting out of low social class or position hinges on getting a university degree and by extension, university education.

University education, to many of these people, is a means to an end; a huge life changer for them, and after being equipped with the necessary values and norms of formal education at the universities, they can then contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa, has disclosed that late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad, began vomiting and developed goosebumps after he was injected three times by a nurse, Feyisayo Ogedemgbe, on September 12, 2023.

The Lagos CP disclosed this at a press briefing on Friday at the state Command headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos.

Owohunwa was giving preliminary reports of investigation conducted by the police team to unravel the circumstance that led to the death of Mohbad.

“As of today, a total of 26 witnesses have been interviewed,” the CP said.

He said those interrogated include Mohbad’s father, mother, sisters, brother, wife and manager among several others.

The CP said Mohbad was brought in dead to the hospital, and he was certified dead by doctors on duty on September 12.

According to the CP, the nurse, Feyisayo Ogedemgbe, who was invited by Mohbad’s friend, Ayobami Sodiq aka Spending, to inject the singer at his residence, administered three injections believed to have led to the chain of reactions that eventually led to the singer’s death.

“Mohbad began vomiting and developed goosebumps after the injections,” Owohunwa said.

Details later…

A mentally ill man has killed at least nine people in Adamawa State, Nigeria, before being beaten to death by an angry mob.

LEADING REPORTERS learnt that the incident happened on Wednesday evening in Libbo Ward, Kate-Gamji village, in the Sheleng Local Government Area of the state.

The man, identified as Ali Denham, was said to have embarked on a killing spree for reasons unknown to members of the community. He reportedly used a knife to stab his victims, including an elderly woman and man.

Some angry youths in the village surrounded Denham after he killed his victims, disarmed him, and beat him to death.

The remains of the deceased persons were buried on Thursday evening.

Family members of the suspected man have fled the community.