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- Lovely!! Check-out Mercy Johnson 'Sunday' family photos!!
- (MUST READ) SHOCKING FACTS About the owner(Okwudili Umenyiora) of most expensive/sophisticated mansion in Nigeria(PHOTOS)
- UNBELIEVABLE!! Meet the Woman who Dug her Grave and Sewed her Shroud!!
- SHOCKER!! ‘Vampire’ Father Eats Daughter’s Flesh Drinks blood!! (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)
- Mr. Limpopo (Kcee) Pictured shaking hands with the First Lady Patience Jonathan!!
- (MUST READ) "I De-Flowered my wife" -Comedian Holy Mallam Reveals!!
- "My Dream Is to Establish and Run A Church One Day" - Ex BBA Housemate Beverly Osu Reveals!
- "ASUU Strike Is a Blessing in disguise!" - Olawale Ojo, Project Fame Winner!!
- Gov. Fashola Agrees To Pay N12Million for Veteran Actor, Pa Kasumu's Heart disease!!
- GORGEOUS!! Check-Out Rukky Sanda, Uche Jombo, Empress Njamah & Monalisa Chinda's Outfits To Nollywood Movies Awards!!
- P-square's Peter Okoye lectures Central Bank of Nigeria Staffs!! (MUST SEE)
- (MUST READ) How Nigeria’s poor make the rich richer!!
| Lovely!! Check-out Mercy Johnson 'Sunday' family photos!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 11:04 AM PDT   | ||||
| Posted: 13 Oct 2013 10:27 AM PDT  Fast forward a few years later, and one of those fraudsters, Okwudili Umenyiora, having allegedly turned jailhouse
Front of Dilly Motors, Lekki  So this bloke waltz into the private viewing of L'ESPACE with his swag on full blast, I actually thought he was a model ( apparently there is this Nigerian/American Super Model type bloke in town), so armed with my camera, I aimed for a shot. He raised his arm up to signal he didn't want his picture taken, I smiled but wasn't prepared to let him off so I asked why not?Check out the personalized plate  Back of Mr. Dilly's Lamborghini Complete With Personalized Vanity PlateSo my question is very simple, are we back to the days of Fred Ajudua where known 419 Kingpins not only had a high public profile, but were even accorded police escorts, and were celebrated as pillars of society, worthy of emulation ? Wasn't the EFCC set up to specifically check such individuals? I mean, what's the justification in having a self-confessed and convicted fraudster being given an armed police escort? Here's one last pic of 'Mr. Dilly' , with (the supposed) Mrs. Dilly by his side and a bodyguard right behind them at the P-Square album launch.  Mr. and Mrs. Okwudili Umenyiora Incidentally, Okwudilu Umenyiora is in great company, a former elected public official, who is now a party chieftain was arrested and charged in the USA for involvement in the distribution of Heroin, only reason he didn't do jail time is because he also turned government informant. All of which begs the question, at this rate, is public office the next step for Mr. Dilly? Mr. Dilly In His Own Words: A federal jury Monday convicted a Nigerian man of two counts of bank fraud for a scam authorities say involved more than a million dollars in altered corporate checks. 1976AD | ||||
| UNBELIEVABLE!! Meet the Woman who Dug her Grave and Sewed her Shroud!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 09:43 AM PDT  Do you think many people are dying young these days than in the old days?Yes, of course. The problem is that young people are no longer doing what we did in those days. They no longer live the way we lived and eat the way we ate. For example, our parents never ate pepper milled with machines. They never put seasonings in their soup. They ate fresh fruits and fresh meat and fish. My mother never did before she died. She would not eat any soup if the ingredients were not milled on a stone. People eat too many packaged things nowadays. The luxury in which people live nowadays contributes to early death. But that does not mean I am not prepared for death. I have been ready since I clocked 70.But many old people are afraid of death. Why are you not?When I was 70 years old, I had a meeting with my children and told them I was expecting death anytime from then because even the Bible says nobody knows the time or day death will come. I have been blessed by God; I have children who have children of their own. I am not afraid of where I am going. So, why would I be afraid of death? To show I was really prepared, I held a meeting with my children and told them of my decision to find a tailor to sew me a shroud I would be interred in and dug my own grave in my yard. When the shroud was sewn, I put it on and took photographs with it.You did that? Not many people have the heart to do that. That is because they are afraid of death. And they are afraid of death because they don't know where they would be going when they die. I also do not believe in superstitions. Because I did those things does not mean I will die in the next 20 years. Since I was baptised in 1956, I have served God diligently and can say that I have never done anything to hurt someone. The way I have lived my life, I cannot be afraid of death. Your children must have kicked against the idea of the grave and shroud…Yes, of course. When I informed them, they even threatened to get the tailor who would sew the shroud arrested. But I already made my decision. If I pass away today, all they would need to do is buy a coffin.Was the decision made just because you were not afraid of death?Well, not totally. There was this couple who were my friends. Before the husband died, he had given the instruction that he wanted to be buried in his house in Lagos and had even prepared his wife's grave beside his. But seven years after he died, his wife died as well. The children exhumed the man's body and took it along with the wife's to Owo, his hometown. I did not like that idea at all. When I got back from the burial, I immediately held a meeting with my children and told them of my decision to prepare my place of burial ahead of time. I moved to my house in 1977 and retired as a matron in 1978. I was once told that this house would be my 'Goshen'. Things have happened around me in this area since then that have shown that God has given me tremendous grace. So, why should I not want to be buried here?You seem to remember dates so easily; do you keep written records like some elderly people do?It is simply God's grace. I can remember the dates of every major event that has happened since my father died in the 1940s. I know that having the ability to remember dates is a special grace God has given me. Some old people in my age group cannot even remember what happened yesterday.Can you remember any other instance where children exhumed their parents' bodies to be buried somewhere else or buried them where they did not want?None other than the one I have told you readily comes to mind. But I have heard of such things. It is not a good thing on the part of the children of such people at all. I don't know why some children cannot respect the wishes of their parents even when they are dead.But what if your children do the same?My children? They dare not. Every year end and every September during my birthday celebrations, I repeat my demands to them. I ring it in their ears so that they would not disobey me when I am dead. I have found where I want to be buried. I have prepared the place. All I ask of them is to respect that and let me be laid to rest there.And what if none of your children lives in this house after you are buried?Does a dead person know what goes on in his or her house? I care less about that. I cannot force my children to live in this particular house where I will be buried. They have all got to high places in life and are free to live their lives the way they want. When I am gone, I am gone. All I want is to be buried here. My request is not that they must come and live in this house, only that they should bury me here. Will they now exhume my body after I am buried or take my body after I am dead to Owode? That will not happen because that will show they do not respect my wishes.You said a lot of things have happened around you that have shown this place is your 'Goshen,'can you tell us some of those things?There is a house on this street, the landlord committed suicide by hanging. There are some of my neighbours, who are barely 70 years old but have become senile. The house across me over there, many different people from different tribes have lived there and the house has seen many deaths. I am not thanking God for their woes. God knows I was genuinely sympathetic when those things were happening. I see this house as my Goshen as I was told because apart from my mother who died, this house has never seen death. None of my tenants has experienced any bad incident. So, I know God planted my root here as a place of grace for me.Did you buy your parents' coffins or prepared their graves in advance?Let me first explain how my mother died. My mother had 14 children, but only five survived her. She fell ill on January 11, 1976, and I thought she was about to die. I had to go and buy a coffin and a shroud and prepared where she was to be buried even though we had not actually dug the grave. But five days later, she was up and about. She requested for fresh fish, which we prepared and she ate. She said God had healed her. So we had her coffin before she died. In May of the following year, my mother told me she needed to 'go home'. But I said no way, you have to carry your grandchild before you go anywhere. She then said she would wait a little longer but that she was already seeing her dead relations.The morning my first child gave birth, she named the child. She said whatever other name the child was given, the name she had given the baby must come first. She suddenly went quiet but we revived her. She then prayed for everyone. She died a couple of days later. But my father's coffin or grave was not prepared ahead. My father died in August 1948 at the age of 73. I was 15 at the time. Punch. | ||||
| SHOCKER!! ‘Vampire’ Father Eats Daughter’s Flesh Drinks blood!! (GRAPHIC PHOTOS) Posted: 13 Oct 2013 09:33 AM PDT  Police called the grisly incident that occurred on Wednesday at a settlement near Lae "an act of cannibalism". The PNG Post Courier cited local Councillor John Kenny, who was one of the first on the scene, as saying the three-year-old child and her mother were visiting the father when he grabbed the girl and ran off into nearby bushes. Kenny said the man allegedly held the toddler close to him, bit deep into her neck, ate the flesh and sucked her blood. Two boys who were climbing a coconut tree nearby saw him and ran quickly to raise the alarm. "He was just laughing at the boys and continued eating the flesh and sucking the blood," Kenny told the newspaper. "The boys were scared and ran quickly to alert the people." When people arrived to investigate the man reportedly dumped the body in the bushes and ran away before being caught and turned over to police. PNG is a sprawling nation where black magic, sorcery and cannibalism sometimes occur.  There have been several other recent cases linked to cults, witchcraft and cannibalism, with a man in 2011 reportedly found eating his screaming, newborn son during a sorcery initiation ceremony. JakartaGlobe | ||||
| Mr. Limpopo (Kcee) Pictured shaking hands with the First Lady Patience Jonathan!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 08:58 AM PDT | ||||
| (MUST READ) "I De-Flowered my wife" -Comedian Holy Mallam Reveals!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 08:45 AM PDT  Comedian, Ajibola Adebayo, alias Holy Mallam, and his wife, Ijeoma, share the story of their eight-year-old union How did you meet? Ijeoma: I had seen him perform before and I was impressed with his style of presentation. The day we met, he hosted a show organised by my friend. When it was time for him to leave, he could not because someone was blocking his car. During the brief period he waited to move his car, we got talking and he gave me his call card. When I got home that night, I decided to call him since he did not have my number. I felt it would be nice to have a comedian as a friend. This was in May 2004. We have been married for eight years. Holy Mallam: I was in a hurry to leave the venue of the show in order to go and see a lady I was interested in at the time. When Ijeoma called me that night, I was in the lady's house. After her call and subsequent calls from me, we became friends and I eventually left the lady for her. How did he propose? Ijeoma: It was not spectacular, no ceremony. One day we were in the car and he said, 'if we should get married right now your children would be Yoruba. After a week, he just came and thrust a ring into my hand and I just collected it. Unfortunately it was too big for my fingers and he had to return it to the shop. Why did you leave that other lady? Holy Mallam: I was still talking to her, trying to get her to agree for us to date but she was giving me too many conditions. The process was taking too long. When you met were you involved with another man? Ijeoma: No. I was not Were you a virgin at the time he met you? Holy Mallam: She was. Are you joking? Holy Mallam: No. I am serious. I had already told God that I wanted to marry a virgin. Is he your first lover? Ijeoma: Yes. Why? You had gone through secondary school, the university and then went for national youth service.. Ijeoma: I just think it is God. I gave my life to Christ when I was in Junior Secondary School. Another thing was that I am a very shy person. I dreaded the thought of going to bed with a man, telling myself that I may not be able to face him in the morning. I had male friends but our relationships did not last more than one month because along the line, the man would want intimacy as a proof of love. Then, our fellowship coordinator always cautioned us to keep ourselves pure. He would tell us that if we disobeyed God, we would get pregnant. Somebody else also told me that if a man married me as a virgin, he would appreciate me so much and give me whatever I wanted. Was it after the wedding that you had sex with him for the first time? Ijeoma: Yes. It was three days after the wedding because I was too scared. But on a Monday, my husband said, 'we can't continue like this. I have paid and have done everything.' Holy Mallam: It was a very big wedding. Over 1000 guests attended and I was too tired on the night of the wedding to do anything. That was a good excuse for her. Did you have to read about how to deflower a lady? Holy mallam: No. Ijeoma: I read it up on the internet and was able to guide him. You are part Hausa and Yoruba, why did you marry an Igbo lady? Holy Mallam: My mother is from Niger State but she was born and brought up in Lagos and she speaks Yoruba fluently. I love Nigeria and I have always loved Ibo soup. But that was not why I married her. I think our union was destined. You have three children; did you plan for the number? Ijeoma: Before we got married, we had decided to have three children but when the second child came and we realised it was a boy, we changed our minds and decided to stop having children. Holy Mallam: We had an agreement with God that we were going to have three children. Our first was a girl and then, we had a boy. When the boy came, we decided to play smart and stop. Then, my wife was working on her weight. In fact, I spent a lot of money on that and I always took her to Victoria Garden City, where the gym is and I spent over two hundred thousand naira and the results were amazing. Ijeoma: I got the ideal weight I desired but suddenly found out that I was pregnant again! I cried but we thank God the boy came. He just completes the family. How do you hang out as a couple away from the kids? Ijeoma: Before the kids came, we were inseparable. Now, we try to carve out time to be together because my love language is spending quality time together. Holy Mallam: We were always together, even when she was pregnant with the first child. As a marriage counsellor, what impact does that have on your marriage? Ijeoma: It has helped a lot because I was naive of so many things. Being the first child of the family, my position has always been that of a leader and it affected the way I related with my husband. I was manifesting some controlling tendencies unintentionally but God called me to order. Holy Mallam: We have a monthly programme for couples. I am usually part of her audience and whenever she speaks during those seminars, the familiarity that exists between us as a couple disappears. I pay attention to her as if she was somebody else. I learn a lot during those gatherings and what I learn, I try to practise at home. What will happen if you discover your husband has cheated on you? Ijeoma: I don't know if he would ever cheat because I am free with his phone. One day, when I asked him to tell me what would prevent him from cheating on me, he just said, 'the fact that I fear God.' That settled the matter for me. I always tell God to keep him for me and I would be foolish to assume that it can never happen. The devil is out for Christians. He does not go to club houses and he does not drink. He may not meet some of those girls but what about the ones inside the church? Holy Mallam: There is no superman anywhere. Anything that we want to achieve can only be made possible by the grace of God. I meet a lot of ladies, some even ask me to sign autographs on their breasts. As a Christian, I don't respond to such gestures. I always carry my wife on my mind. I know that I will always go home to her at the end of the day. What pet name do you have for each other? Ijeoma: Honey. Holy Mallam: The children call me 'honey' and call her mummy. | ||||
| "My Dream Is to Establish and Run A Church One Day" - Ex BBA Housemate Beverly Osu Reveals! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 08:19 AM PDT  According to Punch She Revealed that: "I attended Daughters of Divine Love Convent, Enugu State. I thought I would be a reverend sister but I abandoned the vision when I dropped out in my fifth year. I finished my secondary education in a secular institution before moving to Babcock University. I could not finish from Babcock because I had some personal issues. Again, I dropped and enrolled at the National Open University..It affected me in a very spiritual way. In as much as I know worldly things, I still fear God and have faith in Him. The reason why I wanted to become a nun was because I was raised in a Catholic home. I just felt it was the best thing for me to do at that time. I used to see myself as a messenger of God. Even though I did not become a nun, I still remain faithful to God. Part of my dreams is to establish a church and do a lot of charity work" | ||||
| "ASUU Strike Is a Blessing in disguise!" - Olawale Ojo, Project Fame Winner!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 08:02 AM PDT  Olawale Ayodele Ojo, winner of the MTN Project Fame (Season 6), in a recent interview With PMNEWS about his experience in the competition and other issues If you didn't envisage winning the competition, what was your plan when you registered to participate at the auditions?I came up to register when ASUU was on strike, and this was my first time to participate in a music competition. I didn't really come with too much determination, but anywhere I find myself, I always try to give my best in all I do. So, when I got into the academy, I didn't have a choice than to give my best for everything. So ASUU strike actually pushed you to Project Fame? Yes, but I believe that is how God wants it to be. The strike is a blessing in disguise for me. Who is Olawale? I am a normal guy and like I said, I am into sales and repairs of phones and laptops, and I do that in school just to make some money. But I love music so much. I play the piano, drums and I sing in my church choir. I was the music director of my church choir for two years before I left for school. Basically, that's just me. My life has just been music and business. I just try to add value to myself. Tell us more about your experience as a phone and laptop repairer? I started as a lover of gadgets because I know much about gadgets. Like some people will call me pimp. I use to pimp their phones. It was expensive then to put some media applications like Bible on phones. It was a luxury then, and that was what I was actually doing. I later graduated into selling phones. I started knowing the problems that are peculiar with some phones and how to fix them. I didn't really go for any special training though. I am not saying that I am very good at repairs, I do it basically based on the experience I have with phones. How lucrative was the business, and did you sponsor yourself to school with it? I didn't sponsor myself to school, my parents did that. But there are some extra money needed in school that you can't ask your parents; that was the type of money I was making. At times, I feel like taking some responsibilities myself, so I need to get extra cash. As a millionaire now, how do you intend to cope with your colleagues in school when the ASUU strike is over? Will there be any pressure on you? I think the only change is that I meet a lot of people and people know me now. I wasn't this popular, but now I am popular. I think that is just the difference. I am still Olawale. The only thing different is just that I am now popular and I have to be more conscious of my career now because I have to work more on my songs. I have to make sure I don't disappoint my fans out there. The work has changed. Project Fame had produced five previous winners before you. What are your plans to rank among the most successful ones? Basically, I am sure that those that have won it before didn't achieve that because of what they did, but that is God's plan for them, and I believe that God's time is the best; if you come out at the wrong time, then you might just crash. I am putting everything to God and I will just play my part, work hard and make sure I write good songs. But everything depends on God. He knows when He needs me to come out, when people needs to know me. My music will not be a do-or-die affair. I didn't bring myself to the Project Fame academy, God did, and He is able to sustain me. You sound very religious… I won't say that I'm too religious, but at the same time, I believe so much in God. Looking at my journey from the beginning of the competition to the end, it has been God. I was almost evicted at a point. You started from the church as a choir coordinator, and now you are a winner of the project fame. Are you going to play gospel or secular music? I'm not doing gospel music, and my personal composition at the Project Fame finals wasn't gospel music. I believe that God created love and dance, which is not bad for us. I don't believe that everything should be gospel; music should be either positive or negative. Even if a secular song has a message of love, it is good, but there are some music that don't deliver love, and I wouldn't go into such music. Before the Project Fame competition, how well did you study the Nigerian music industry? I am very observant and listen a lot. I don't really listen to Nigerian music, but at a point, I realised that my culture is important, so I started listening to it. I actually wanted to know what they do that make people scream and shout their names, understand their kind of music and know the type that sells. For a song to sell, it has to have African trade mark on it, either you put Yoruba language or you put pidgin English. WizKid, 2Face, P-Square and others put something of these languages into their music; that is one major thing I have discovered. With that, their music flows in a way that even a roadside mechanic can get your message and enjoy it. That is music that both the rich and poor can listen to. Despite having a good music background before coming to the Project Fame, what have you learnt in the academy? I have learnt to have confidence in myself. I sing in church but have not been in this kind of platform before. Project Fame is my very first experience, the first time I will appear on TV. At a point, I became nervous. The first time I came on stage, it was written all over me that this guy is scared, but the Faculty members worked on me. I really appreciate them. They helped me manage those weaknesses and now, I'm more confident on stage and believe in myself, despite the fact that I have a small stature. While the competition lasted, was there any other contestant you had feelings for? None. You were never close to any of them? One thing is that throughout the competition, I made sure I wasn't too close to one person. Samuel was my birthday mate; Roland's bed was beside my bed. As for Immaculate, I learnt from her. But I didn't really have a favourite. Since you emerged winner, have you spoken to your girlfriend on phone? I don't have a girl friend. Why? Nothing, I'm still young. How old are you? I'm just 25. That is not too young to have a girlfriend I see myself as a young boy. Look at me, do I look like someone that can maintain a girlfriend? But you're now a millionaire. Your level has changed? It's not about the level, I'm still Olawale and I don't look like someone that can maintain a girlfriend. | ||||
| Gov. Fashola Agrees To Pay N12Million for Veteran Actor, Pa Kasumu's Heart disease!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 07:41 AM PDT  Babatunde Raji Fashola is said to have come to the aid of Veteran actor, Kayode Dosumu popularly known as Pa Kasumu who is suffering from a heart related disease. The aliment is now affecting his sight and needs nothing less than N12million to undergo a full treatment.. According to a source all hopes of veteran actor, Kayode Dosumu to get the needed money for his medical treatment. News getting to us indicates that the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Rajo Fashola has reportedly agreed to foot his total medical bill. Further reports says that the governor has reportedly contacted the ailing actor and will now be responsible for the payment of the N12million needed for the actor's treatment. It will be recalled that in December 2012, Governor Fashola also donated N4.5million to complete Nollywood actress, Ngozi Nwosu's N6million medical surgery fee abroad. The actress has since returned from the surgery and has been spotted on a movie location afterwards. | ||||
| Posted: 13 Oct 2013 07:24 AM PDT | ||||
| P-square's Peter Okoye lectures Central Bank of Nigeria Staffs!! (MUST SEE) Posted: 13 Oct 2013 07:18 AM PDT  He was invited to motivate the new employees, and also share the success story of P-Square and how they manage their finances.    | ||||
| (MUST READ) How Nigeria’s poor make the rich richer!! Posted: 13 Oct 2013 06:50 AM PDT  As early as 7am on any day, Abdullahi Shuwa, pushes out the cart he uses to supply water around a neighbourhood in Ikeja, Lagos. The 24-year-old man pushes the cart with 10 empty 25-litre kegs to a borehole where the landlord of the house allows him to fill them at N10 each. Shuwa is a native of Niger State but speaks Yoruba fluently. "I came to Lagos a long time ago. I got married here," he told Saturday PUNCH. If one is to consider the enthusiasm with which Shuwa carries out his daily routine of pushing his heavily-laden cart around the neighbourhood in search of customers, one may conclude that he makes a lot of money from the business. But it is not so. "The problem with this area is that most people have boreholes in their houses and don't need our services. But the houses that patronise us are too few for all of us who supply water in this area to make much money," the cart pusher said. Shuwa said there were eight other water suppliers patronising the same streets as he did. He buys the water at N100 (10 kegs at N10 each) and sells each load for N200 (each keg at N20). When asked where he lived and if he could afford accommodation with what he makes every day, Shuwa told Saturday PUNCH, "I live with some of my colleagues (also Northerners) in a room in Ogba. We try to contribute money at the end of every week, which we save for our rent. "We are five in the room and we contribute N200 every week so that we will be able to save enough money for the rent at the end of the year." Asked how he accommodates his family as a married man, Shuwa said for the sake of convenience, he had relocated his wife, whom is yet to have a child, to Abeokuta, Ogun State. The most surprising thing about Shuwa is that even though he is a struggling young man who makes little from doing a very strenuous business, he is an ardent fan of Chelsea FC and never misses the club's matches. "They call me Aboki Chelsea on my street and I love the name. Many of my friends (Northerners) don't watch football but I will rather not eat than not watch Chelsea play. I pay to watch club matches like two or three times a week," he said. He added that he paid about N100 per match at viewing centres, which is a sizeable fraction of the profit he gets from his water supply business everyday. But he pays as much as N200 on days when major matches are shown. It will be difficult to explain to Shuwa that part of the money he pays out of his meager income invariably finds its way into the pocket of the millionaire footballers he watches all the time. How can he understand that though he remains poor and cannot afford a decent apartment, his 'Widow's Mite' and that of many other people like him, make it possible for Chelsea to pay Mikel Obi, a fellow Nigerian, $440,000 (about N68m) a month. Shuwa said he could not afford to go to a hospital when he was ill but tried to buy drugs when he could. The only leisure he can afford is a pack of cigarette he occasionally smokes and the club football he ardently follows. The life of Shuwa is a world apart from that of his fellow Nigerian, Obi, whom he is unknowingly making richer. This cart pusher is not the only one on this pedestal. Samson Oyeleke, 25, has never considered staying home on weekends when European league matches are played, particularly, the English Premier League. At such times, Oyeleke's home tentatively shifts to his favourite football viewing centre at Agege. Depending on the fixtures, up to five matches can be shown live at the centre and Oyeleke never likes to miss any live match. So he pays N70 for each game, which is often jerked up to N100 when two big teams face each other. According to Oyeleke, the atmosphere of viewing football matches at the centre he often calls 'stadium' is great. Although Oyeleke's habit has been difficult to sustain, considering his income, yet he has remained stuck with it. Oyeleke, a Chelsea FC fan, has no fixed job; his small income comes from assisting his parents, both of whom are vendors. On days when business is good, Oyeleke can make up to N500. On other days, however, particularly when there is rainfall, he hardly makes any money. Oyeleke said that on such days, his parents don't require his service since business was usually 'slow'. Still, Oyeleke insisted that he had managed to sustain his habit of not missing important premier league matches in spite of the economic challenges. He said, "There are some people who don't even have any work, but they pay to watch the foreign leagues. Sometimes, I watch up to five matches on a Saturday, but the cost doesn't really matter because it helps me too. "There is no money, no work due to the unemployment situation in the country. So football gives me something to look forward to and a reason to leave home. When I'm hungry and I'm watching football, I won't feel the hunger until after the match. When I'm at home, I tend to quarrel with my parents, but by going out to watch football, it saves all of us the troubles. If not for football, maybe a lot of youths will be depressed today, but somehow, football keeps us sane." But that's not the only attraction, these days, many football lovers have also taken to organised betting on the outcomes of European league fixtures. An unemployed youth, Segun Olawale, said he watched football to keep up with the performances of club sides in order to make informed predictions. Olawale is trained as a carpenter, but he has yet to set up due to financial challenges. So far, Olawale has been living on dole-outs from friends and relatives. But in addition, Olawale said he recently started betting on the outcome of matches at a registered betting company. He said, "Sometimes, I'm so broke that I can't even afford to watch matches, but the moment someone gives me some money, I don't hesitate to spend it on a football match. If I decide to stay at home, what will I be doing there? I prefer to go out and watch football. It's lively, and you are able to talk to people, argue and even stand a chance to win some money if your predictions are right." Isiaka Mohammed is a cobbler who earns about N1,000 day, but he doesn't work each time his favourite team, Arsenal FC, has a game. Mohammed said he had not missed an Arsenal FC game in over two years and that his wife and child were already familiar with his schedule. Although, Mohammed knows about the huge financial worth of some of his football heroes, he said it made no difference to him that he was making them richer. He said, "My family knows where I will be every Saturday and understands it. I know that the footballers earn thousands of dollars per week, but it really doesn't matter once I get my satisfaction too. When they don't play well, I curse them, but I don't really care if I'm able to get value for my money. "When I was in Bauchi, I also used to play for a club, Black Rose. So If I had made it from football, this is how some people would also be watching me today. So it doesn't matter, that is life." According to Mohammed, if he is left with his last N50 note and has to choose between watching his favourite Arsenal FC and buying biscuits for his hungry daughter, his hungry daughter will win the contest, but barely. "Well, I will give the money to my daughter but I will be very reluctant," he said. Some football fans can barely afford three square meals per day, but will still go as far as paying N1,000 to purchase club jerseys. John Ibiloye, sits in his tiny shop on a street in Agege, nodding his head rhythmically to the music playing on a small CD player beside his work table. The watch repairer's daily routine is basically opening his shop, putting on the CD and waiting for the occasional customers who may come in to change a dead watch battery, repair a ramshackle wall clock or change the strap on a wrist watch. "I'll change one watch battery for N100 or N150 depending on the quality of battery you want. Some last longer than others, which is why the price is different," he told Saturday PUNCH. On the profitability of his business, Ibiloye said some days, he doesn't get a customer at all. He said watch repair is not the kind of business one expects customers to troop in everyday, "But how do you cope? How do you take care of the family with this kind of business," one of our correspondents asked him. Ibiloye replied, "Well, God is in control. But it is not easy at all. I have three children and two of them go to school. The third one is a tailoring apprentice. "I get up to five customers sometimes coming for services ranging from repair and changing of watch straps and battery. Sometimes I make N500, sometimes N1,000. You can imagine how much I am left with if I have to deduct the rent, the council dues and others. "The day my daughter fell sick and I took her to the General Hospital at Ifako Ijaiye was the day I told my wife she needed to start working too. She is now a petty trader. That was the day I realised that the profit of my business was not enough for us to feed, let alone take my children to the hospital when they are ill. "If I change your watch battery and you pay N200, I'll make N100 from that. It is not because I am greedy but because I need to cover the loss I incur sometimes. There are times that the batteries expire after long storage at home. If I insert the battery in your wrist watch and it doesn't work, I'll change it and that's my loss." Ibiloye said when he deducts cost of repairs, there are days he makes up to N300 in profit but some days he does not make more than N150. However, as gloomy as the picture Ibiloye paints is, one thing he cannot do without is Fuji music. Music from popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Alabi, popularly called Pasuma, was playing on his CD player. "You love Pasuma obiviously." To this, he replied, "I like K1 (Wasiu Ayinde) and Pasuma very much. I don't think there is any of their records I don't buy. Listening to Fuji music is my way of 'killing depression." But Ibiloye in comparison to Pasuma is poor whom some refer to as the richest Fuji musician in Nigeria. Even though the singer's exact net worth is not known, he is rich enough to build a N150m-mansion in 2011; a result of his large and loyal fan base made up of mostly area boys and commercial bus drivers. He also owns numerous posh cars and other houses, thanks to loyal but poor fans like Ibiloye. Interestingly, however, many of these celebrities who become millionaires today were once individuals who could barely afford a square meal per day. Through a stroke of luck, they broke the yoke of poverty and have become affluent through hardwork rewarded by patronage of those at the bottom rung of the social ladder in the society. Mikel Obi was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and neither was Pasuma. Bus conductors are also individuals who make millionaire musicians richer in spite of their own poverty. For another struggling Nigerian, a street trader, whom Saturday PUNCH spoke with, life will not be interesting without having a chance of watching movies. The young lady, Khadijat Ojikutu, said her addiction was Nollywood movies, especially those in the Yoruba language. When this correspondent first sighted her on Tuesday around a motor park in Ogba, Lagos, where she usually vends bread and butter, she was browsing a collection of Nollywood movie DVDs displayed on the cart of a CD vendor. "I usually buy Yoruba movies when I realise that my profit for the day is enough for me to buy the CDs," she said. Asked whom her favourite Nollywood movie star was, she said, Odunlade Adekola. "I also like Jim Iyke. I watch Nigerian English movies too once in a while," Ojikutu wearing a pair of worn-out slippers, said. A pyramid-shaped load of bread and plastics of Blue Band margarine covered with transparent nylon was balanced on the head of the young woman as she explained that what she was getting from her trade was not as much as the energy she expended on it. "You are funny. How often do I go to the hospital? What happens to herbs? You think everybody can afford to walk into the hospital for treatment every time they fall sick? How much do I make from this business?" she said when our correspondent asked if she doesn't fall sick often because of her stressful street trading business. She said she made as much as N400 in profit everyday, out of which she had to save for accommodation, clothing and feeding. Ironically, people like Ojikutu live in the slums of Agege while the millionaires whom her love for movies make richer, live in highbrow places like Lekki and Ikoyi. However, many experts have argued that the insecurity in the society cannot be divorced from the widening gulf between the rich and the poor in the society. This is why one cannot underestimate the impact the socio-economic disparity between the haves and have-nots will have on the stability of the country. The harsh economic reality in Nigeria is such that the middle class is gradually vanishing, some economists have argued. The gulf between the rich and the poor in the society is widening day-by-day, lending credence to the Biblical saying that the rich will become richer while the poor will become poorer. The reality is grim for many people in Nigeria. They see affluence flashing before their eyes everyday, but do not have the wherewithal to break out of their economic condition. In a city like Lagos, this is more evident as hardly can one stay on a major road for a minute and not see a multi-million naira worth of vehicle pass by. It is no longer news that a sizeable population of Nigeria lives in poverty. According to a 2006 United Nations Human Development Index, 70.8 per cent of Nigeria's population lives on less than $1 (N150) per day, ranking Nigeria 159 out of 177 countries. The National Bureau of Statistics, in 2010, said that 60.9 per cent of Nigerians were living in "absolute poverty". Most of these people, ironically, are the ones who enrich the millionaires like footballers, musicians and movie stars. A sociologist and consumer behaviour analyst, Monday Ashibogwu, said the poor have always made the rich richer by their habits. He said, "Paying for football games, buying records, cigarettes, beer, playing draughts are some of the ways by which the poor make the rich richer. In the case of football, the players cannot even be classified as the rich, they are just the celebrities. The rich are the club owners who pay salaries to the footballers. Also for records, the record labels are the ones making all the money." Ashibogwu described claims by the poor to be deriving some sort of satisfaction from habits that affect their income as a case of "perception rather than the reality." "The question is: Is it what they really need? You can't blame the capitalist for being a capitalist, but there must be rules that guide people," he said.Punch |
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