Ochade's Blog.. Welcome!

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has reacted angrily after a group of Nigerians butchered a whale that washed ashore in Bayelsa State.   In his words,   'I thought that I had seen it all but this one really shocked me and brought tears to my eyes. I wept for the poor whale, whom I have decided to name Rotimi, and I wept for Nigerians. If you are a whale please do not make the mistake of washing up on a Nigerian beach! You will be hacked to pieces with machetes by a group of hungry and angry youths, they will carve out all your meat and they will eat you to the bone'.

Rights group, Amnesty International, has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to proscribe the Shi’ite group, Islamic Movement of Nigeria. In a statement released today, Amnesty International described the proscription as an attempt to cover up the massacre of over 350 Shi’ites in Kaduna State in 2015 as well as the murder of several others in subsequent protests that occurred.

Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ has crossed the billion-dollar mark after less than 3 weeks in theaters.   The live-action remake of the 1994 movie features Beyonce, Donald Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor in lead roles. The movie joins ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Captain Marvel’ and ‘Aladdin’ as the fourth Disney title to surpass one billion dollars in global ticket sales in 2019.

President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed State Governments for the Almajiri system of education ( a form of Qur’anic learning peculiar to some northern states) . Buhari stated this when he received members of the Progressives in Academics at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday. According to the President, it was wrong to blame the Federal Government for the way and manner the system is currently being managed.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, appointed Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch, aged 39, as Children and Families Minister, as part of his government reshuffle. Badenoch is a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Saffron Walden. She was born in Wimbledon, London to Nigerian parents. Her childhood was spent in Lagos and the United States. She moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 16. She has been the MP for Saffron Walden since 2017 after replacing Nadhim Zawahi.

The Lagos State Government has allayed the fears of motorists over the planned four-month repair works on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, saying that adequate measures have been put in place by the present administration to effectively manage the impending traffic situation. The Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Transportation, Taiwo Olufemi Salaam, stated that in the project brief made available to the State Government, the repair works will narrow both Lagos and Sagamu bound traffic into two lanes on both carriageways respectively and is planned for two months each for inward and outward traffic from the State.  

The federal government has officially proscribed the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi'ites led by detained Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. This was announced in a press conference by the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu on Tuesday in Abuja. According to the police boss, beginning from today July 30th, anyone associated with the group or furthering its agenda will be treated as a terrorist and an enemy of the state.

Brazilian authorities investigating rape allegations against footballer  Neymar  have closed the case over lack of evidence. The Sao Paulo attorney general’s office said the police decision will be sent to prosecutors on Tuesday, which will have 15 days to evaluate the case. A final decision on the case will be made by a judge.

The personal details of about 106 million individuals across the US and Canada were stolen in a hack targeting financial services firm Capital One, the company has revealed.   The announcement came after the alleged hacker was arrested on Monday. According to Capital One, the data included names, addresses and phone numbers of people who applied for its credit card products, but the hacker did not gain access to credit card account numbers.

Nicki Minaj, 36,  and her boyfriend  Kenneth Petty, 40,  have taken a bold step in their relationship. According to TMZ, the rapper and her boyfriend took a trip to the  Beverly Hills Courthouse  to get their marriage license on Monday, July 29), 2019 Witnesses say they saw Nicki and Petty at the marriage license bureau window. The couple tried to keep a low profile inside the courthouse as they waited in line at a window that read, “Marriage licenses and ceremony Appts. ONLY.” Nicki was wearing a baseball cap over her knee-length bright red hair. Petty paid for the license before they left.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has inaugurated a committee to probe contracts awarded by the administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi. The inaugurated 10-man committee, headed by the Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Oyo State chapter, Mr. Damola Falade-Fatila, is to review contracts and projects awarded by the Ajimobi’s government between 2017 and 2019.

Boram Ki, a six-year-old YouTuber has proven there is no age limit to securing the bag. She recently purchased a five-storey property worth 9.5 billion Korean won with its equivalent being eight million dollars.  According to CNN reports, the youngster boasts of over 30 million subscribers, across her two youtube channels - One for Toy reviews, while the other a blog. 

A British woman who alleged she was raped in Cyprus has been arrested on suspicion of making a false allegation, according to news agencies. The 12 Israelis arrested over the alleged attack, which was said to have taken place on 17 July in Ayia Napa, have all been released.

Burna Boy’s newly released album, ‘African Giant’ has bagged the number one spot on Apple Music in more than ten countries in the world. The album which is less than a week old, released last Friday, 26th July, 2019, is doing good in numbers as it stands. It was one of the most anticipated albums from an African artiste.

Tyler Perry has revealed that the first 28 years of his life was miserable and he was so tired of life to the extent that he was suicidal but kept on working and pressing till he was successful.  The actor and filmmaker revealed this as he  shared an inspiring story about his life.  In his words;

Japanese Company; Sony just introduced its new “Wearable Body Air Conditioner”. The new Sony Wearable Air Conditioner is of the same size as a SmartPhone, but smaller. One of the best features of the Wearable Air Conditioner is that it has a Cooling and Warming feature, as it cools you down when you’re feeling hot and warms you up when you feel cold.

The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the contracts awarded and payments made to contractors by the Federal Government towards reviving the power sector. According to a motion unanimously adopted by the House at the plenary on Thursday, the probe will cover the $16bn spent by the President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration between 1999 and 2007.

The Federal Government has disclosed that m ost marriages conducted in religious houses in Nigeria could be deemed illegal as most worship centres conducting marriages in the country lack the license to do so under the statutory Marriage Act. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Georgina E. Ehuriah stated this yesterday in Abuja while speaking at a one-day stakeholders’ conference on the conduct of statutory marriages in accordance with the Marriage Act cap, M6, LFN 2004 as amended.

Nigeria  has made progress in the latest FIFA Ranking after moving 12 places up in the world. In the latest ranking published by FIFA on Thursday, Nigeria climbed to 33rd in the world from 45th in the June 2019 ranking and also maintained its 3rd position in the continent.

World's youngest billionaire & make-up mogul,  Kylie Jenner  is the highest-paid star on Instagram as it has been revealed she charges up to $1.2 million per post on her page.  In the 2019 Instagram Rich List, which was unveiled this month by Hopper HQ, the 21-year-old mother-of-one is estimated to charge $1,266,000 per post on average, which is an increase of 27 percent from last year, when it was revealed that from $1 million per post on average.

Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has accused the UK authorities of being too slow with the prosecution of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum. Speaking on Wednesday while receiving a team of International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Magu said the case has festered for the past four years with no positive result.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has banned anyone from singing the national anthem unless he is present, according to a government minister. Information Minister Michael Makuei told AFP news on Monday that different leaders and institutions were playing the anthem at whim, which was an abuse of the national tune, written shortly before independence in 2011.

Facebook will pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine to resolve a US government probe into its privacy practices. The social media giant has also agreed to restructure its approach to privacy from the corporate board-level down, the US Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

Newly elected UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has addressed the British people in his first speech and has pledged to make Brexit happen in October. In his words; "We aren't going to wait 99 days because the British people have had enough of waiting. My job is to serve you, the people. The people are our bosses. My job is to make your streets safer, and we're going to begin with another 20,000 new police on the streets," Boris Johnson says, in a combative and confident first statement as Prime Minister.  

An antiretroviral drug "dolutegravir", commonly known as DTG, has been certified safe for use by pregnant women and those in their reproductive years by the World Health Organisation (WHO).   Though initial research linked the drug with neural tube defects (NTDs) in infants born to women using dolutegravir at the time of conception, recent studies have shown that it is far more tolerable than the older drug efavirenz, which patients have reported causes depression and hallucinations in the first few months and could lead to people not staying on treatment. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has sworn in Justice Tanko Muhammad as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN. Tanko’s swearing in took place at the State House, Abuja today. Tanko took over from Justice Walter Onnoghen who retired after he was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari over false asset declaration.

Here is a list of  ex-ministers who served in President Muhammadu Buhari‘s first term but failed to make the list of nominees for the second term.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will get N714m ($2m) from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for participating and coming third at the recently concluded  2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in  Egypt. Nigeria finished third after beating  Tunisia  1-0 in the third-place game to win the bronze medal for a record eighth time in AFCON history. 

Relationship expert and psychologist,  Joro Olumofin  has made an appeal to ladies to establish themselves before considering getting married. According to him, women who do not have up to N1m in assets or in their accounts, shouldn’t be thinking about marriage.  Read his full post below;

R. Kelly 's crisis manager,  Darrell Johnson  has announced he's stepping down from his position and would no longer work for the embattled singer.  "I step down as crisis manager for personal reasons. Mr. Kelly is in good hands with Mr. Greenberg," Johnson said, referring to  Steve Greenberg , the criminal defense attorney who heads Kelly's legal team in Chicago.  

President Muhammadu Buhari has submitted his list of cabinet nominees to the upper house of parliament, the Senate, on Tuesday, giving lawmakers a chance to vote on them just days before they leave for a two-month break. The 42 names on the list include:

Mr Boris Johnson has been announced the winner of the leadership contest in the Conservative Party effectively becoming the next UK Prime Minister. The result of the contest was announced at the QEII Conference centre, he had 92153 votes to defeat Jeremy Hunt who had 46656 votes.

University Of Abuja Governing Council reinstated a former SUG President Igwe Ude Umanta, who  was unjustly expelled 12 years ago for leading a protest due to lack of water. He has been recalled to complete his 400 level exam. See the letter below;

A Nigerian writer, speaker and activist Olutimehin Adegbeye,  has alleged that the man behind the Big Brother Naija 2019 voice, Andre Blaze Henshaw, sexually assaulted her. Olutimehin made the claim on her personal Twitter account @OhTimehin while also disclosing the person behind the voice as Andre Blaze Henshaw.

According  to reports from TMZ, Eddie Murphy is reportedly set for a huge payday from Netflix who are eager to sign him to their comedy roster.  The 58-year old actor is eager to return to his stand-up comedy roots and is negotiating a deal worth about $70 million ( £ 56 million) for an undisclosed number of specials.

Prof Wole Soyinka has said that Nigeria is currently raising a generation of illiterates.  He made the remark when he spoke at the launch of InnoCreativa Youth Hub 2030 and project logo by Creative Youth Community Development Initiative (CYCDI) held at The Civic Centre, Lagos Making particular reference to Internet trolls, the Nobel laureate said the nation is raising a generation that is the first to comment on the internet on issues they are deeply ignorant about. In his words,

Nigerian forward, Odion Ighalo has also retired from Super Eagles, just like Mikel Obi. He announced his retirement following the Super Eagle’s third placed victory over Tunisia. Odion, who is the highest goal scorer in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, informed coach Gernot Rohr of his decision before leaving to join his club in China immediately after the game.

Yesterday, Wizkid’s manager and the mother of his third child, Jada Pollock accused him of domestic violence in a post shared on her Instagram stories. Read  here  ... However the mother of one, took to her Instagram  stories this afternoon to debunk the reports that made rounds online, claiming her account has hacked. See her post below;

Nigeria Football Federation chairman, Amaju Pinnick, has been removed as vice president of  Confederation of African Football (CAF) and replaced by South Africa's Danny Jordaan. The action was taken at CAF’s exco committee meeting taking place after the conclusion of Thursday’s congress, according to BBC’s Osasu Obayiuwana, who did not detail the reason.

S uper Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi has retired from international football. The former Chelsea and Middlesbrough midfielder made the announcement today after leading the Nigerian team to a bronze medal finish at the 2019 African Cup of Nations. He took to his Instagram page to announce the news.