Best graduating student of UNIPORT gets N250 prize money

Miss Joy Omubo, the best graduating student of the University of Port Harcourt in the 2014/2015 academic year, was honoured with a N250 prize money at the 31st convocation which held from the 17-25th of March 2017 at the university's convocation grounds.

The money, comprising of a single N200 and N50 notes, was enclosed in an addressed brown envelope addressed thus:

Miss Joy Omubo
Best Graduating Student
Paedriatic Association of Nigeria.


The prize was donated by the Paedriatic Association of Nigeria.

The prizing has come under criticism as it is coming at a time when the winner of Big Brother Naija is going home with N25m cash prize and a  Kia Sorento SUV. It is said to be worth less than 50 cents when converted to the dollar.

The prize money is exactly ratioed 1;100000, or 1/10,000th of the taking for the BBNaija winner.

BIG BROTHER NAIJA: NOW THAT THE SCALES ARE OFF

                                         BIG BROTHER NAIJA: NOW THAT THE SCALES ARE OFF

Don’t be scared of what will come out next. I am not a killjoy. I am not going to criticize anything or anybody. As a matter of fact, I want to begin by congratulating Efe Ejeba, the Warri-born artiste whose life has taken a drastic positive turn like the Biblical Jabez. He is now healthier and richer by 25 million naira, the exact amount that can fund two hundred clean cookstove small cottage industries.


Like I said, I am here to share in your joy; both the budding artiste and the sponsors of the reality TV show. I am here to shake hands and clink glasses with both Efe, his runners-up, and the organizers of the event. Efe, for rising by stroke of a mixture of luck and personality to be the owner of a luxury sport utlity vehicle he would not have dreamed of owning at least until the next fifteen to twenty years, supposing he had a job before the show, with the current rate of progress in Nigeria at the moment, and to the sponsors, for their ability to detect our impulsive irrationality and duffel away the lion share of our resources.  Cheers, everyone.


Now, the show is over. Now, the craze has ebbed. Now, our senses ought to have returned. Now, the scales must have fallen off our eyes. Efe, congratulations. You tried. God has picked your call, as they say. You can quietly go make a decent life out of that money, and be sure your generation never experiences the squalor that moulded you.  PayPorte, GoTV and the rest, to the conference room. We need to talk. Its gentleman talk, a roundtable tete-a-tete between civilized individuals.
I have no problem with the idea of gathering unmarried men and women in a house for three months to expose their nakedness and have unlicensed sex and lie and brag and demean what Africa and her values hold sacrosanct. I have no problem with the idea of making celebrities of people who do next to nothing but being themselves, as you put it. Its business to you, for all intents and purposes. It has been a jolly good ride, and the raking has been more than worth the investment. There were a record 26 million votes for the various contestants in the final week alone, approximately one-tenth of the population of our dear country, apart from the rapt and frenzied viewership your channels enjoyed, and the money made from the shortcode messaging. But this is neither love, nor war, and there are a number of things we can do, to make all fair.


In physics we were taught that equilibrium is maintained when two forces acting in opposing directions, equal in magnitude, balance out. Now that the hue and cry about the show is over, and as you are preparing your balance sheets and smacking lips over this delicious lick, remember that the system isn’t in equilibrium yet.


There are thousands of writers, of which I am one, who could do a lot with the platform that bodies like yours could provide in shaping the world intellectually. The only competition i know currently running in Nigeria for writers (I stand to be corrected) is the NLNG Prize for Literature. You would do well to look into ways of providing the same platform for intellectuals; it wasn’t so hard for you to do that for entertainers, your brand of entertainers. Intellectuals are human beings too; they have swagger too, a swagger made of what legacy they can leave for the next generation; a swagger made of something other than a cute painted face and eye-popping body parts peeking out of scandalous dresses. Intellectuals can also represent brands; it’s not a sin. There are inventors and scientists who only need a tenth of the money you gave to Efe alone, not the money you made, to wow the world.  If you don’t provide them the same lease of fresh air you handed to those individuals in that house, for which they will stand to become brand ambassadors whether they won or not, remember the system is not yet in equilibrium, and you haven’t been fair to it. If you could run a concurrent programme like the YOUWin programme with a fraction of the amount Efe made, imagine how many Efes will emerge, and how much you will weigh on the scales of posterity.


Like I said in my opening sentence, I am not after criticism of anyone or anyone’s business model, nor am I dictating how to run your business. But the spread has to be even, and the dividends fair on all sides. Only then can there be equilibrium. It’s a live-and-let-live society. The entertainers have their share. We are only asking after our mite.

Ogbonna Nnaemeka Henry.
ogbonnaemekahenry@gmail.com

Agbani Darego becomes Mrs Danjuma

In a quiet affair that held in Morroco, Northern Africa, 2001 Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Agbani Darego, has tied the nuptials with Ishaya Danjuma, son of top flight business mogul and chairman of the Victim Support Fund (VSF).

Agbani shared a subtle message pointing to that fact on her Instagram page.


Agbani is best known as the first native African to win Miss World when she clinched the crown in 2001 at the age of 18 after she became the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria that same year. A graduate of Psychology from New York University, Agbani became the first Nigerian to place among the top 10 semi-finalists, finishing seventh overall. She has judged numerous pageants, and fashion and modeling competitions including Miss World 2014, Miss England 2002, Mr. Scotland 2002, and Elite Model Look Nigeria 2012 and 2014.

See how far the "based on logistics" mantra has gone

The victory of the Delta State born Efe in the Big Brother Naija reality TV show and everything around it will surely create ripples for a long time to come.

The Presidency was not left out of the frenzy as well. see the tweet of  Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity:

Oba of Benin houses tortoises

In a smooth mix of tradition and environment conservation, the Oba of Benin has recently become host to two tortoises.

The tortoises, whose age was put at 117 years, was gifted him when he visited traditional rulers in the  Edo North senatorial district of the state.

He was warmly received by the Otaru of Auchi, His Royal Highness, Aliyu Momoh, Ikelebe III.

He urged the traditional rulers in the area to support his initiative on youth empowerment and job creation.

He stressed the need to key into the agricultural policies of the state government, by making land available to investors and encouraging the youths to embrace agriculture to boost food production.

Oba Ewuare II said, “The state government is partnering investors to provide incentives for investors to boost agriculture and create employment.


“Encourage your youths to take advantage of this initiative.

“We are taking steps to restore sanity to our villages and towns by stamping out activities of community development associations. Their activities have been criminalised. Support this crusade and stamp them out of your domains.”

Oba Ewuare II, who said Edo North would continue to be blessed with good weather, expressed optimism that the people would be rewarded with good harvest this year.

In his remark, the Otaru of Auchi pledged the support of other traditional rulers in Edo North for the Benin monarch.

He also urged the Oba to lead the advocacy for the roles of traditional rulers to be captured or specified in the country’s constitution.

Efe carts home BBNaija prize money

Much touted BBNaija housemate, Efe, has emerged winner of the reality TV show.

He emerged best housemate after continent wide audience and viewers gave him the needed votes to beat the four other contestants Debbie-Rise, Bisola, Marvis and T-Boss.

Efe is now 25 million naira richer, by the reason of his victory.

Congrats to him!