Psquare Now Signed to Universal Music Record

Psquare Now Signed to Universal Music Record

Good news for the popular and successful duo in the music industry, i'm talking about P-Square. Earlier today, Peter Okoye, one part of the team tweeted about being signed to Universal Music Group. Universal Music Group (UMG) is a multinational music company. It is the largest of the "big four" record companies by its leading market share and its multitude of global operations.

Wole Soyinka opposes Unilag renaming 

This is one gift horse which, contrary to traditional saying, must be inspected thoroughly in the mouth.
Primary from all of us must be a plea to the MKO Abiola family not to misconstrue the protests against the naming of the University of Lagos after their heroic patriarch. Issues must be separated and understood in their appropriate contexts.  The family will acknowledge that, among the loudest opposing voices to Jonathan’s gift horse, are those who have clamoured tirelessly that MKO Abiola, the Nigerian nation’s president-elect, be honoured nationally, and in a befitting manner.

Next is my confession to considerable shock that President Goodluck Jonathan did not even think it fit to consult or inform the administrators of the university, including Council and Senate, of his intention to re-name their university for any reason, however laudable. This arbitrariness, this act of disrespect, was a barely tolerated aberration of military governance. It is totally deplorable in what is supposed to be a civilian order.

After that comes the bad-mouthing of MKO Abiola and the Nigerian electorate by President Jonathan who referred to MKO as the “presumed winner” of a historic election. While applauding the president for finally taking the bull by the horn and rendering  honour unto whom honour is due, the particularities of this gesture have made it dubious, suspect, and tainted. You do not honour someone while detracting from his or her record of achievement. MKO Abiola was not a presumed winner, but the President-elect of a nation, and thus universally acknowledged.

It is sad, very sad, that after his predecessor who, for eight full years of presidency, could not even bear to utter the name of a man who made his own incumbency possible, along comes someone who takes back with the left hand what the right has offered.  However, there is hope. Legalists have claimed that there is a legal flaw to the entire process. The university, solidly backed by other tertiary institutions nation-wide, should immediately proceed to the courts of law and demand a ‘stay of execution’. That should give President Jonathan time to re-consider and perhaps shift his focus to the nation’s capital for institutions begging for rituals of re-naming. After all, it is on record that the House of Assembly did once resolve that the Abuja stadium be named after the man already bestowed the unique title of  “Pillar of African Sports”. He deserved that, and a lot more. What he did not deserve is to be, albeit posthumously, the centre of a fully avoidable acrimony, one that has now resulted in the shutting down one of the institutions of learning to whose cause, the cause of learning, President-elect MKO Abiola also made unparalleled private contributions.

Let me end by stressing that my position remains the same as it was when the University of Ife was re-named Obafemi Awolowo University. I deplored it at the time, deplore it till today, have never come to terms with it, and still hope that some day in the not too distant future, that crime against the culture of institutional autonomy will be rectified. Let us not compound the aberrations of the past with provocations in an era that should propel us towards a belated new Age of Enlightenment.
Wole Soyinka

FG Insists that University of Lagos would be Moshood Abiola University – What Next for UNILAG Students?

With the Federal Government’s announcement yesterday that there would be no going back on the decision to rename University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University, what’s next for the students and stakeholders of the institution?

The Federal Government through the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku has said that it will not revert its decision of renaming University of Lagos after Chief M.K.O Abiola. Despite protests from the students and staff of the institution, Maku said there would be no going back on the decision to rename University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University in honour of the late winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Addressing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja yesterday, the Minister said the President’s proclamation was in response to the outcry of concerned Nigerians who have been clamoring for the immortalization of late Abiola. He called on Nigerians not to allow the protests by some students to overshadow the significance of the president’s decision to immortalize Abiola.

“Yes sometimes government decisions get reactions from the populace, we do not as an administration see this as a disapproval. We just see it as a normal way in every democracy that when you make major decisions definitely sometimes you have public reaction but we should not allow the protest to overshadow the national significance of what Mr. President has done.”

He added that the decision has been long overdue and that today, Abiola can turn in his grave and say this nation for whom I made a supreme sacrifice for political development has recognized my contributions.

“It is our hope that reason will prevail and that the decision to honor one of our nations’s icons and heroes will be appreciated by all Nigerians including our youths and students who are the future leaders of this country” he said.

With this hard held stance of the Federal Government against the reversal of the President’s decision, it is wondered whether the protests are not just in vain.

The University was shut down yesterday following protests by students, staff and alumni of the institution. They blocked major roads in Lagos including the Third Mainland Bridge, calling on the Federal Government to reverse the announcement made by President Goodluck Jonathan on Democracy Day. Their resistance, along with that of other individuals and groups in the country have emphasized that most Nigerians are not in agreement with the President’s announcement.

What options do the students and stakeholders of University of Lagos then have? Do they just accept the new name or continue fighting against the name change? Are there any legal means they can use to oppose the name change? What next?

Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years in prison

Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years in prison

Liberia's former president Charles Taylor was this morning sentenced to 50 years in prison for war crimes at an international war crimes court, in The Hague.

Taylor was found guilty last month of 11 counts of aiding and abetting was crimes and crimes against humanity by supporting rebels between 1996 and 2002 in return for conflict diamonds. He was convicted of offenses including murder, rape, sexual slavery, recruiting child soldiers, enforced amputations and pillage.

Victor Olisa, 52 year-old Nigerian, takes up his Appointment as the First Black Police Commander in London

The 52-year-old, who lives in Surrey with his physiotherapist wife and two teenage children was born in Warri, Delta state and is one of the three chief superintendents from black minority ethnic background working for the Metropolitan Police.

Chief Superintendent Olisa took over as borough commander from Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer last week and is tasked with overseeing all policing matters in the area.

He started his career in Surrey Police in 1982 before transferring to the City of London Police in 1990 as detective inspector in the Fraud Squad.

After a spell working at the Home Office, he transferred to the Met in 2006 as Southwark’s superintendent. Before moving to Bexley, he was found taking the lead on the Met’s Stop and Search Team.

Olisa may be Bexley’s first black borough commander, but he considers himself first and foremost a police officer.

“I consider myself first and foremost a police officer. If (being black) is an advantage, then brilliant; If it’s a disadvantage, I will have to deal with that, I can’t hide it. Policing runs in the family and I have always wanted to be a police officer and ethnicity does not affect that. ”

The new top cop says his priorities will be primarily safety driven. “Safety stands out without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not restricted to any particular group- I want safety for young people so they can attend school in peace and for elderly people.”

He added: “I also want to work with partners – churches, businesses and the private and public sector – to provide a service to residents and visitors. I want to make people’s lives the best we can.”

Olisa said a lot was being done to address racism within the force, adding that it was the responsibility of the force to correct wrongs and not an institution for people with racist views.

“I am impeccably against anyone who uses racist language or behaves in a racist manner. This will not be allowed under my watch.

“I believe that everyone should be treated with dignity wherever they come from,’’ he said.

Well done Victor Olisa!

President Goodluck Jonathan Renames University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University

The Democracy Day broadcast by President Goodluck Jonathan this morning has unveiled new changes in the country, part of which is the renaming of the University of Lagos after late Chief M.K.O Abiola.

President Jonathan announced that the name University of Lagos would be changed to Moshood Abiola University. In honour of Abiola, he said, “The Federal Government has decided that late Chief MKO Abiola should be honoured. In honour of Chief MKO Abiola, the University of Lagos is renamed the Moshood Abiola University.”

He said Nigeria’s democratic experience in the last 13 years had been a mixed bag, giving the assurance, however, that the nation would not disintegrate

As an alumna of this great institution, this news doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe it’s because I’m hearing of it for the first time, maybe it will grow on me. I’m so used to the name ‘Unilag’. How are we going to call it now ‘MAU’, ‘MU’…. It just doesn’t sound right.

But maybe it’s just my ears. How about you. What do you think about the name change?

Charly Boy threatens to sue over gay and illuminati rumours

Charly Boy threatens to sue over gay and illuminati rumours

 

I'm sure some of you read the story online, it went viral a few days ago. The news paper claimed that Mr Oputa opened up to them in an interview that he was gay and the head of Illuminati in Nigeria. How ridiculous! Well, now he's planning to sue. 

Ukranian fans aren't best pleased with Euro 2012 being hosted in their countries!

'F*** Euro 2012' - The protests, fury & disaffection that threaten to overshadow this summer’s tournament in Poland & Ukraine

Euro 2012 will be unlike any event that Poland has ever hosted: investment, which has exceeded €20 billion [£16bn], is unprecedented in a country where indoor plumbing is seen as a luxury, rather than the norm. As a result, Wloch feels that locals will be apprehensive ahead of the big kick-off.

“The Poles have no experience with such mass events and are bracing themselves for the arrival of hundreds of thousands of tourists,” she continued. “Generally, there is an atmosphere of moderate anticipation.”

Even among the nation’s football fraternity, the mood is not one of eagerness. One dissenting supporter, who preferred to remain anonymous, revealed that, during the final day of the Polish domestic season, fans in the stands staged a protest against the summer tournament and the financially-driven nature of the modern game. 

He said: “In the last round of the Polish Extraklasa, fans from all teams agreed to present banners with the same strong, clear message: ‘Against mod€rn football. F*** Euro 2012.'"

Local football fans are not the only naysayers. Many activists have joined together in an attempt to ensure their grievances are heard. In particular, Ukrainian organisation FEMEN has made headlines for its controversial protests.

Founded in 2008 by students in Kiev, FEMEN has made it its mission to combat the city’s rampant human trafficking and prostitution problem.

The year before the group’s creation, more than 23 million foreigners visited the Ukrainian capital, a 22% increase on the previous year, with the rise attributed to the growing sex industry. Indeed, four years ago, police estimated that as many as 12,000 prostitutes worked in the country as a whole.

Never ones to shy away from controversy, FEMEN first shot to prominence as a result of their topless protests against sex tourism. In May alone, activists twice failed in attempts to snatch the Euro 2012 trophy.

And while she refused to reveal exact details of her plans, leader Anna Hutsol has pledged that her army of more than 300 will make its collective voice heard during the tournament, both in Ukraine and in Poland. 

The group only recently declared itself “neo-feminist,” and is widely denounced by the feminist community and Ukrainian academics.

“FEMEN is more an example of scandalous celebrities than of intellectual and critical social activism,” said Oleg Demkiv, associate professor of sociology at Lviv University.

However, sex trafficking is not the only gripe that feminists in Eastern Europe have against the upcoming tournament. Many are opposed to the financial and cultural investment in an event that they feel will be only appreciated by half the population.

Justin Bieber in a fight 

Seeing their Memorial Day weekend movie date turn sour, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were at the center of an undesirable spectacle in Calabasas, California on Sunday (May 27).

After catching a film at the Calabasas Commons' theaters, the young couple hit the exits to find a pack of paparazzi situated outside - something that's quite the norm for the teen superstars.

Unfortunately, a fed up Bieber ended up boiling over after one shutterbug got "too close" - with an altercation ensuing as Gomez tried desperately to calm her "Boyfriend" singing beau's nerves.

With Justin making a mad dash to his nearby van and loading inside with his lady following the fracas, the couple sped away just moments before police and paramedics arrived to the scene.

 "Los Angeles County paramedics arrived at the Calabasas Commons with the Fire Department and Police arriving moments later following Justin's altercation with a paparazzo. Justin's bodyguard [also] arrived while the photographer received medical attention for an apparent strike to the face."

The insider adds that the shutterbug filed a report with the cops, though there's no official word just yet as to how the incident is going to be handled moving forward. Updates will be made as they become available.

Below are pictures from Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's movie date/run-in with the paparazzi (May 27).