ELUMELU, DANGOTE NOMINATED FOR FORBES AFRICA PERSON OF THE YEAR 2012

Former Managing Director, United Bank for Africa Plc, Tony Elumelu, and chairman of Dangote Group,  Aliko Dangote,  have been selected along with three other individuals for the 2012 edition of the Forbes Africa Person of the year award. The other persons are Dr. James Mwangi, Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Equity Bank Limited, Kenya; Joyce Banda, President of Malawi and Stephen Saad, Co-founder, Aspen Pharmacare.

According to Forbes Africa, they were all nominated by its readers because of their impact on African business in the past year and the award would go to the individual who has had the most influence on events of the year gone by. 

Voting closes on Thursday, November 1, 2012, and the winner will be revealed in an event to be held in Nigeria.

POPE NAMES CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ABUJA, JOHN ONAIYEKAN, CARDINAL

Pope Benedict has pronounced John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, a Cardinal. The surprise announcement was made yesterday. Archbishop Onaiyekan is now Nigeria's  fourth Cardinal after Francis Arinze and Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, Dominic Ekandem.

Big congrats!

DEAD MAN STUNS FAMILY BY WALKING INTO HIS OWN FUNERAL

The dead man                                                                                    Mr Araujo, who is very much alive 

What will you do if you are at a burial and the person being buried shows up at his own funeral? lol, I can imagine most of you will pick race.

A family gathering to mourn the death of a relative were shocked to tears and fainting when the deceased man in question walked into his own funeral on Tuesday.  In a bizarre case of mistaken identity, news of car washer Gilberto Araujo's murder had been relayed to the family by local police in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday. 

So it's true that God created us in twos, the resemblance is uncanny. Pls continue to read the rest of the story...

P DIDDY INJURED IN CAR CRASH

Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs was involved in a car accident yesterday. He was lying injured on the ground as he recovered after his chauffeur-driven Cadillac Escalade collided with a Lexus RX vehicle. The accident occured at the Beverly Hills hotel in Los Angeles. Diddy sustained minor injuries  and he insisted on not going to hospital but would obtain his own medical treatment. 

The windscreen was smashed and the front of the car caved in. The airbags were activated and parts of the vehicle littered the ground. It is unclear who was at fault for the accident. More pics after the cut...

POLICE ARREST TWO OF THREE STUDENTS WHO KIDNAPPED, RAPED AND MURDERED COLLEAGUE

The arrested suspects

Two students of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, Henry Edewo, 21 and Emmanuel Isikhuime, have been arrested by the Police for kidnapping, raping and murdering a female student,  Mercy Peter, 21, also a student of the institution. They kidnapped her on 29 July, 2012 and killed her four days later after raping her severally then buried her in a shallow grave in a forest at Ugbor village, Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

After killing her, they continued to demand for ransom from her parents who didn't know their daughter was already dead.

State Police Public Relations Officer, Anthony Airhuoyo, said the police made a breakthrough in the case on October 17 when two of the suspects were arrested and a third suspect, whose name was given as Charles, was still on the run. The suspects took the police to the spot where they buried Mercy and her corpse was exhumed. 

What will make a human being take the life of another? Is the problem with the upbringing or influence from associations? How do we rid our society of  criminal minds? Pls share your thoughts.

LAGOSIANS TREK AS OKADA BAN, FUEL SCARCITY INTENSIFIES

The restriction of okada on some routes and the worsening fuel scarcity in Lagos State has left Lagosians stranded with a lot of people walking  to their destinations yesterday. There was also a lot of traffic due to queues in filling stations and sallah rush.  Lagos-Ibadan Expressway towards Seven-Up, Yaba, Iyana Ipaja, Ikorodu Road, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Oba Akran Avenue, Oba Ogunnusi Road in Ogba among others witnessed serious traffic snarl.

A lot people have been affected by the ban on okada as  buses do not ply some routes leaving such people stranded. It has also encouraged commercial bus drivers to cash in on the situation to hike their fares from between 50 to 100 per cent.

The decision of the Lagos State government's decision to ban okada is being questioned by the residents of the state. It doesn't seem to be in the best interest of the people.

PRESIDENT OF BENIN'S NIECE, DOCTOR TRIED TO POISON HIM

President Boni Yayi

Benin authorities arrested the niece and personal doctor of President Boni Yayi, claiming they had tried to poison him at the behest of an angered businessman, the country’s state prosecutor said. Doctor Ibrahim Mama Cisse, the president’s niece Zouberath Kora, and former trade minister Soumanou Moudjaidou were arrested on Sunday, while cotton magnate Patrice Talon the suspected ringleader of the poison plot is on the run, Justin Gbenameto state prosecutor told reporters on Wednesday.

TEACHER FLOGS 12-YEAR-OLD STUDENT TO DEATH IN ANAMBRA

A 12-year-old student of a secondary school in Awka, Anambra State, Miss Chidimma Ukachukwu, has died after she was flogged by her teacher for failing to do her homework. The incident happened last week Thursday.

The girl fainted after being flogged severally by a female teacher and was subsequently rushed to an undisclosed hospital, where she died. She was buried yesterday in Awka. The girl’s father, Mr. Simeon Ukachukwu, confirmed the incident, saying it was a sad development. He added that it was an act of God.

Dear God! How is this an act of God? It is and act of wickedness. RIP little girl.

MAY D PEFORMS P SQUARE'S SONGS AT FELABRATION

Barely two months after he was dropped by Square Records, May D dared to perform Psquare's songs at the Felabration 2012 which held recently at the new Afrika Shrine. He performed , 'Chop my Money' which he featured in and ‘Do as I do‘ which features Tiwa Savage and himself.  He didn’t just perform his own cameo verses off the Psquare songs but the entire songs. May D  who read about the label's decision to drop him in the media, went ahead to open his own record label, Confam Entertainment.

I foresee trouble o.

BABY WITH THE 'MASKED' FACE

14-month old Chinese baby, Kangkang, was born with a condition called a transverse facial cleft, meaning the baby has a second face. During the pregnancy, all signs pointed to a normal, healthy baby for the mother,Yi Xilian, but once Kangkang was born, the condition was discovered. The poor child looks like he’s literally wearing a mask, due to a massive cleft that extends almost all the way up to his ears. 

Unfortunately, the condition is very expensive to treat, as Yi learned when she took Kangkang at 20-days old to a hospital in Changsha. It will cost around 80,000 to 100,000 dollars to correct the defect.

DONALD TRUMP TO REVEAL DOCUMENTS SHOWING THE OBAMAS' DIVORCE PAPERS

Billionaire real estate tycoon, Donald Trump called TMZ live on Monday saying he was going to make an announcement on Wednesday (today) regarding President Barrack Obama that is "very big" and could “possibly” influence the Presidential race.  The bombshell is believed to be secret divorce papers that were filed by Michelle Obama and the President.

The Celebrity Apprentice host said he will reveal he has documents that show the First Lady and Barack Obama considered splitting up at one point during their 20 years of marriage.

If it is true, is it big enough a deal to influence voters' decision? More than half of the couple I know have considered divorce at one point or the other in their marriages but are still together. No biggie. They are just looking for cheap ways to destroy Barrack's chances at a second shot at the white house. *hiss*

KIM VS TAMARA IN GREEN FROCK, WHO WORE IT BETTER?

Kim Kardashian wore this green velvet wrap dress to host Midori's Makeover Parlous at Fred Segal last month while Tamara Ecclestone wore hers to the Skyfall movie premier in London yesterday night. Who rocked it better?

WIZKID, TREY SONGZ, KENDRICK LAMAR, OTHERS FOR BBC RADIO 1XTRA LIVE CONCERT

Wizkid has been selected as one of the headliners for the BBC 1xtra Live concert, along with big acts like Trey Songs and Kendrick Lamar. The concert is scheduled to hold on November 12, 2012 at Brixton Academy in London.

The award winning singer is really having a great year,  this gig is coming just days after he walked away with the awards for Artiste of the year and Revelation of the year, at the Headies 2012 held last Saturday.

COMEDIAN ELENU'S ROMANTIC AND PUBLIC PROPOSAL TO GIRLFRIEND

Comedian, Akinlami Babatunde Julius, popularly known as Elenu made a public proposal to his girlfriend of three years, Chinwe Anyanwu, a graduate of International studies and diplomacy at Benson Idahosa University, Benin, on Sunday October 21st at Federal Palace Hotel.

He took her to what she thought was dinner with friends, but when the waiter brought her plate to the table, Elenu had a ring ready with the words 'will you marry me' written in her plate. Of course, she said yes!

How sweet and romantic. Congrats!

BOMB SCARE ON ARIK FLIGHT

Passengers and crew of an Abuja-bound aircraft flight 5N MJE belonging to Arik Air which took off from Maiduguri were thrown into panic yesterday when a passenger  behaving in a strange manner stood up and   screamed Allahu Akbar(God is great) midair. The passenger identified as Aminu Galadima a native of Minna, Niger State, was quickly rushed  and searched by the other passengers to check if he had a bomb strapped to  his body, luckily no explosives or weapons whatsoever were found on him.

The pilot of the aircraft  immediately radio the Air Traffic Control and airport security operatives. The Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation on Media, Mr. Joe Obi, confirmed the incident saying the passenger in question went through the necessary security checks at the airport and did not raise any suspicion until he started shouting midair. 

The plane landed safely at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 12.53pm another security check was conducted on the passenger and nothing incriminating was found on him. A further security search was conducted on the operating aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 NG, and no trace of bomb or explosives  was  found. The aircraft went back to service immediately. The suspect was handed over to the SSS at about 14.45pm for interrogation and later released after police ascertained that he is an interior decorator with a history of mental illness. Mr Galadima was released after investigators were satisfied that he had no intentions of blowing up the plane and also had no ties to any terrorist group.

It is becoming increasingly terrifying to fly these days, God help us all.