Nigerians spend N160bn annually on education in Ghana — Babalakin

The Chairman, Committee of Pro-
chancellors of Nigeria, Dr. Wale
Babalakin, has said that there is
high cash flight of about N160bn
from Nigeria to Ghana annually
as the cost of university
education of about 75,000
Nigerian students schooling in
Ghana.
Babalakin stated that Nigerians
also spend huge amounts for the
education of their children or
wards in other countries
including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Malaysia.
He stated that Nigeria’s budget for education in 2011 was not up to N160bn
indicating that Nigerians spent more in Ghanaian universities in 2011 than the
Federal Government spent on education the same year.
Speaking during the first Leading Light award presentation of the University of
Ilorin Alumni Association in Ilorin on Friday, Babalakin said 75,000 students is the
size of about three Nigerian universities.
He also recalled that in 1975, four Nigerian universities were rated among the top
20 in Africa but today the leading university of the country is not within the best 10
in Africa.
Babalakin, who was the chaired the occasion, said university education in Nigeria
was at a crossroad and called on intellectuals to fashion out strategies to overcome
the challenges facing the sector.
He added that there was the need to grant universities more autonomy to enhance
their operational efficiency. He also called on other stakeholders to complement
government’s investments in education.
“Let us show that we love Nigeria. Let us reform education substantially. If we have
educated society, most of the ills of the society will reduce dramatically. It has been
shown that there is a direct relationship between the quality of education and the
welfare of the society. If you create a well educated society, you end up creating a
lovely society and you end up creating a society of great value” he said.
The guest lecture, Prof. Olufemi Durosaro said universities are under great pressure
to ensure they operate on world-class standard.
Durosaro said it implies greater needs in the areas of funds, personnel and other
facilities and urged stakeholders in education, particularly the alumni of institutions
to find a way of intervening to help in the development of their alma mater.
He also said universities in Nigeria should strive to become centres of excellence in
order to produce employable graduates who can think critically, reflectively, discern
between doubts and dogma, facts and fallacies.

I'm A Born Again Christian: Cossy Orjiakor

Many people who have misconception about this controversial actress will not believe that she is a good Christian.


Though, some wonder how she attends church services without creating commotion with her mammals gland. Anyway, the tinny voice actress has disclosed that she prays to God as a christian and she attends church like a normal human being.

"Prayer is a personal thing with God. I tell God what is on my mind. All have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. I go to church you know; I am a born again Anglican." She said.

But as controversial as she is, she has suffered a lot of misconceptions from people mostly her colleagues, most of these are what she is aware of.


Her comment about that is simply that, "I have bad press publicity about the kind of clothes I wear and all that. There was a time I attended this old school party and I dressed the old school way. The press then wrote that this is how Cossy Orjiakor is, she is looking ugly, and maybe she was on cocaine and all that. How could I go to an old school party looking new school? That day, I even had nice Brazillian weave-on on and I had to weave it any how so that I will look old school. I think they just like talking about me." She told us.

Jim Iyke's Fiancée, Keturah Hamilton Denies Birth Of Baby With Jim Iyke

‘Nollywood bad boy’ and top actor, Jim
Iyke has repeatedly said he is a victim
of bad press and he has said time and
time again that there are haters
everywhere trying to pull down his
good image.
Recently, the said haters, smelled
blood and went for the kill when a
picture of his supposed fiancée,
Jamaican model, Ketura Hamilton, was
posted on Facebook with a baby
purported to have been delivered by
the model, setting adrift a rumor that
the model has dumped Jim and had a
baby for another man.
But extra probing into the issue
suggests strongly that the relationship
between Jim Iyke and his Jamaican
model is as healthy as it can get. The
reaction that came from the camp of
the model after a probing question
reads “Jim Iyke’s girlfriend, Ketura has
not had a baby”.
“On the contrary, the model has only
recently completed a fashion shoot for
P. Diddy. However, the baby she
referred to on her facebook is actually
her god daughter recently delivered by
former Nollywood producer Chinny who
is now based in US and is a close friend
of Ketura and Jim” added the
spokesperson for Ketura.
Ketura and Jim Iyke have been going
on with their relationship for years now
and friends of the two love-birds are
feverishly awaiting the announcement
of a wedding date. “Yes, it is true. I
have found the woman of my dreams
and we are in love in all totality. She is
the embodiment of all that I have been
looking for; a tall, pretty, exotic and
supremely intelligent woman.” Jim once
said of Ketura in an interview.
The two made headlines some two
years ago when Keturah threw for Jim a
surprise birthday party at the rooftop
lounge at Hotel Indigo in Manhattan

Akon, Hakeem Kae-Kazim to feature in Jetta Amata’s new movie “BLACK NOVEMBER” Wyclef Jean, Akon, Hakeem Kae- Kazim to feature in Jetta Amata’s new movie “BLACK NOVEMBER”

Wyclef Jean and Akon, two international
music stars with African ties made an
appearance in Jeta Amata’s latest film,
Black November. The two music stars
joined the cast of the movie in the last
phase of shooting, which took place in
Los Angeles, California.
The movie is about the Niger Delta
struggle and also features actors like
Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Mbong Amata,
Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Sarah
Wayne Callies, Enyinna Nwigwe, Anne
Heche and more.

Cossy Orjiakor gives it to randy fans

It is hard to ignore Nollywood actress
and singer, Cossy Orjiakor.
But the voluptuous actress, who
embraced controversy with her half
nude performances in Fuji artiste
Obesere’s, music video, Apple Juice,
seems to easily forget just how hard it
is for some men to ignore her.
Bored and feeling ‘a little
mischievous’, the actress made some
of her 9,663 Twitter fans pay for her
‘memory lapse’ by tweeting explicit
pictures of herself and asking them not
to get carried away.
“Make me your attendant tonight. I will
gladly play my roles,” she tweeted
along with the pictures which showed a
generous view of her ample bosoms
and backside.
Probably taking her tweet seriously, it
wasn’t long before some men reached
out to her, offering her ‘crazy’ roles, in
their attempts to make their fantasies
of her a reality. And “mischievous”
Cossy had to get back on Twitter to
demand respect for her privacy.
She tweeted, “That I follow you does
not mean I am sexually attracted to
you. So, if you DM (Direct Message) me
about how good you are in handling
boobs, I will block you. #warning.”
But this is not the first time Cossy has
been forced to ask fans to respect her
privacy on the social networks. The
actress, who started acting around
2000, had sometime last year taken to
Facebook to warn some women to keep
their husbands away from her.
“Wives, please hold your husbands. If
you are married to, or you’re a
girlfriend to Oyi Vitus Obunike or
Oraniaka Patrick, please tell these old
men to leave me alone. If you are not
satisfying them sexually then go for
some training. My inbox is filled with
their messages. Now they are turning
nasty. It’s not by force. Get a life, I’m
living mine, delete yourselves or let me
be,” her damning posts read.
Despite hardly ever featuring in movies
of late, the tiny-voiced actress who
released a suggestive video titled, You
Want Me, last year, has managed to
stay in the public consciousness by
coming up with different controversies
and stunts on Twitter, Facebook and on
the pages of newspaper, on a regular
basis.
Petite Orjiakor, who launched a career
in Nollywood around 2000, appears to
have a penchant for suggestive roles.
However, her appearance in the
movie, Itohan, released in 2009,
caused a stir. In the film, Cossy
allegedly had sex with a dog in a scene
which apparently did not go down well
with the public.
In defence, she said the film was
produced by Chico Ejiro in 2002 and
that she was a victim of blackmail and
only posed with a dog in a make-
believe scene.
“Even if I am offered one billion dollars
to pose nude, I would think twice about
it, not to talk of sleeping with a dog,”
she said.
Despite the bad press and negative
publicity, the actress can be likened to
an open book. She has shared pictures
of her parents and tastefully furnished
apartment in Lekki on Twitter, declared
that she was sex-starved and parted
ways with her boyfriend after he failed
to buy her a Range Rover sport car.
With most of these controversies or
alleged attempts to invade her privacy
starting as a result of her raunchy
posts or self-uploaded pictures, one is
tempted to wonder how long it would
take for our dear Cossy to realise that it
is hard to violate your own privacy and
demand respect for your privacy.

Nigerian entertainers become philanthropists

A wind of change appears to be
blowing in the entertainment industry.
But it is in the form of a drive by
celebrities to reach out to the less
privileged and put smiles on their faces
through philanthropic gestures.
Recently, Jude Okoye of P-Square doled
out N1m to a brain tumour patient,
Ibezim Osemeke, who was in dire need
of N3.7m for an operation in India.
In another development, Rukky Sanda
and Tonto Dikeh each donated N1m to
Funmi Lawal, a graduate of the
University of Lagos, who has cancer
and needed N4m to get adequate
medical care.
A day before the two beautiful
actresses made their donations, Don
Jazzy made a personal donation of N2m
to Lawal.
Also, K1 De Ultimate, extended a
helping hand to a top Fuji artiste
Olubayo Ajani, aka Ojuyobo, who has
been on admission for a heart related
ailment in a private hospital in Lagos.
K1 donated N1m to Ojuyobo.
Davido donated N1m to a breast cancer
patient, Debby Osarere, who needs
over N6m for treatment. Osarere also
got N1m from Solidstar and his records
label, Achievas Entertainment. Halima
Abubakar contributed N100,000,
Ruggedman and other entertainers also
supporting the cause.
A former winner of the Big Brother
Africa reality show, Uti Nwachuckwu,
hosted 67 widows in Lagos and gave
out gifts, ranging from provisions and
clothing materials to cash.
In other instances, it is increasingly
becoming common for artistes to
donate food items, educational
materials, clothes, shoes, toiletries, and
cash to charity in various parts of
Lagos. Unknown to many, school
children and residents of the Iju-Ishaga
area of Lagos will not forget Terry G in a
hurry for his donations and for single-
handedly providing boreholes for them.

Under-20 women’s world cup: Falconets’ lose to Japan

Football fans on Saturday in Abuja described the Falconets’ loss to Japan in the third place match of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup as unfortunate.
The U-20 Women national team lost 2-1 to the host in the third place match played on Saturday at the Tokyo stadium, Japan.

Media Officer of the U-15 national men’s team, Bunmi Haruna, described the game as a good one with many things to be learnt.

“It was a very good game, although we lost to the host, I think we have lots of positives to take away. Players like Desire Oparanozie, Asisat Oshoola, Blessing Edoho, Ngozi Okobi, Francisca Ordega, Esther Sunday and Josephine Chukwunoye should easily graduate into the Super Falcons team. I think it will make falcons team even stronger; we also need to start planning for future. The NFA needs to start a programme to discover true young talents from the schools like they are doing with the male U-15 national team,” he said.

Steven Keshi Promised to Quit if Eagles Fail to Qualify for Nations Cup

Shortly after the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the Super Eagles’ camp in Abuja, ahead of their qualifying game against Liberia, the Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has said he will quit his job if he fails to qualify the country to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

It will be recalled the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup and coach Samson Siasia was sacked as a result when he failed to resign. However, Keshi has vowed he will not be asked to go should his team again fail at the last hurdle to reach the Nations Cup tournament proper. According to him, “If I fail, I won’t wait to be asked to go. I will throw in the towel and move on.

“But God forbid that we get to a stage where we do not qualify. My boys are focussed and I am sure they also want to be in South Africa after they failed to get to the last competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea… But football can be unpredictable and that is why we have to redouble our efforts to ensure we qualify.”

Manchester United defender Phil Jones is facing up to eight weeks on the sidelines after having surgery on a knee injury

Manchester United defender Phil Jones is facing up to eight weeks on the sidelines after having surgery on a knee injury, the club has announced.
Jones, 20, has yet to make an appearance this season after hurting his back during pre-season and suffered this latest injury in training.
"Phil Jones has had surgery on a knee meniscus tear sustained in training," said a United spokesman.
"It will require six to eight weeks of rehabilitation."
Jones, whose last competitive appearance for United was against Sunderland on the final day of last season, is understood to have suffered his latest injury in training earlier this week.
The England international was sent for a scan on his right knee which has confirmed he requires an extensive period of rehabilitation.
Jones was believed to be close to returning following back spasms when he damaged his knee.
The injury is likely to rule Jones out of three Champions League group games against Galatasaray [home] on 19 September, CFR Cluj-Napoca [away] on 2 October and the 23 October game away to Sporting Braga.
In addition, he will up to six Premier League games including United's trip to Liverpool on 23 September and the away match at Chelsea on 28 October.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson will hope the former Blackburn player will be available for Arsenal's visit to Old Trafford on 3 November.

Jonathan begins three-day working visit to Malawi, Botswana

President Goodluck Jonathan will on Monday begin a three-day working visit to Malawi and Botswana.
A statement on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan would be accompanied on the visit by Governors Adams Oshiomhole of Edo and Sule Lamido of Jigawa.

Others on the entourage include Senator Sahabi Yau; Mr. Jones  Oyereri; the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Mohammed Sada; Minister  of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke; and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed.

Abati said the visit was in furtherance of the present administration’s diplomatic initiative aimed at enhancing economic and socio-political relations with other African nations.

At Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, Abati said Jonathan would confer with President Joyce Banda, participate in a Nigeria-Malawi Business Forum and launch Malawi’s National Cassava Project.
He said the President would also meet with Nigerians living in that country before proceeding to Gaborone, Botswana on Tuesday for scheduled talks with President Seretse Khama Ian Khama.
While in Botswana, Abati said, Jonathan would participate in a Nigeria-Botswana Business Seminar, tour the Jwaneng Mine and Diamond Trading Company and interact with Nigerians living in that country.
The President is due to return to Abuja on Wednesday.

England's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign opened in emphatic fashion

England's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign opened in emphatic fashion as Moldova were outclassed in Chisinau.
Roy Hodgson's side were three goals up at the interval as Frank Lampard scored an early penalty and headed a second before Jermain Defoe was on target.
England were kept waiting until 16 minutes from time before James Milner added a fourth, while Leighton Baines also scored his first international goal after his free-kick took a massive deflection.
It was a victory that was every bit as emphatic as the 5-0 scoreline suggests.
Manchester United's Tom Cleverley impressed on his first competitive start and Lampard demonstrated his continued worth at international level in a performance that was little more than a stroll once England swiftly exerted their obvious authority.
The display and result must be placed in the context that was it was against a side that looked every bit their Fifa world ranking of 141 - but England completed the job with efficiency to record their biggest away win in 19 years.
Hodgson may actually feel England could have scored even more but this was the perfect first step on the road to Rio in 2014 and the ideal platform for the second qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday.
Cleverley was a central figure as England took the lead inside three minutes. He saw his shot handled by Moldovan defender Simion Bulgaru and Lampard drilled home the penalty in trademark fashion.
The action was all heading one way and the Moldova keeper was having an adventurous evening. Defoe turned an effort wide at the near post before forcing a fine low save from Stanislav Namasco, who also rescued his own handling error by blocking Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
England were graphically illustrating the huge gulf in class between the sides and it was no surprise when Lampard added the second just before the half hour. Steven Gerrard found his Liverpool team-mate Glen Johnson and Lampard arrived in the area with perfect timing to glide a header beyond Namasco.
If Moldova harboured even the slightest hopes of pulling off a comeback that would have bordered on miraculous given their lack of quality, they were snuffed out 13 minutes before the break when Oxlade-Chamberlain picked his way through midfield before releasing Defoe for a finish that should have been dealt with more convincingly by Namasco at his near post.
Moldova did give England's under-employed keeper Joe Hart a worrying moment when Igor Armas sent a free header wide but otherwise it was an easy night.
Gerrard was replaced by Michael Carrick at the start of the second half and a sloppy passage of play followed in which England struggled to recapture the momentum and rhythm of their earlier work.
Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck were introduced for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Defoe - and both were involved in the build-up which led to Milner's powerful, low finish after 74 minutes.
As Moldova understandably tired after a night of ball chasing, Everton left-back Baines scored his first international goal as his deflected free-kick totally wrong-footed Namasco.
John Terry then limped off injured with what looked an ankle problem which may make him doubtful to face Ukraine.
It was the final act of a painful evening for Moldova in Chisinau and a highly satisfactory one for England.

Julius Agwu stranded in the US as Air Nigeria shuts down

Julius Agwu at the recently held ‘Ghana Meets Naija Concert’ in London
Comedian Julius Agwu is lamenting about his current situation – he is trapped in the US, no thanks to Jimoh Ibrahim and the recently defunt Air Nigeria.
Agwu says he flew with Air Nigeria from Nigeria to London for his ‘Crack Ya Ribs‘ show which was held on August 26, 2012 at the plush Lighthouse Hall, Camberwell but cannot return to Nigeria now because the airline has abruptly shut down services.
The owner of the airline, Jimoh Ibrahim, had on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 announced a one-year suspension of all activities of the airline and terminated the employment of all its staff, sparing only 50.
The usually lively comedian took to micro-blogging website Twitter to complain bitterly;
Is it a Crime to support nigerian bizness, we flew AirNig to Lond, now we can’t return cos #JimohIbrahimOFR ordered a closure GEJ #WHY?☹’, @JuliusAgwu1 tweeted.
‘#JimohIbrahimOFR #JimohIbrahimOFR #JimohIbrahimOFR #JimohIbrahimOFR #JimohIbrahimOFR GEJ#WHY?????’, he continued
Agwu then asked for the suspension to commence after his return to the country. ‘#JimohIbrahimOFR… Postpone ur closure until after our return o!!!! #NaijaBizness‘.
The on-going ‘Crack Ya Ribs’ show is however going on smoothly; after staging concerts in London and New York, Agwu and his crew will be going live on stage in Houston on Saturday, September 8, 2012.