Saudi Arabia is imprisoning our relatives, while Mike Pompeo and the U.S. cozy up to the king

Last summer, when the American rapper A$AP was tried in a Swedish court on assault charges, President Donald Trump dispatched his special envoy for hostage affairs to Sweden.

This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has traveled to Saudi Arabia, where our family members are just some of the U.S. citizens and relatives of U.S. citizens being held by the government on spurious charges, denied due process and even tortured. Why is there no sign the hostage envoy is accompanying Pompeo on his trip to Riyadh?

We join Republican and Democratic members of Congress who have urged Pompeo to raise the case of Saudi American physician Walid Fitaihi who — after a brutal detention — has been barred, along with his family, from leaving the kingdom until after his trial on vague charges relating to his obtaining of U.S. citizenship and alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. But we want pressure and attention to be brought to our loved ones, as well |||READ MORE …

Mixed Reactions Trail Proposed Commission For Repentant Insurgents

Prominent Nigerians and youth groups have expressed mixed feelings over the plan by the Senate to pass a bill seeking the establishment of a special commission for the rehabilitation of repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

The bill, which passed its first reading in the Senate on Thursday, was sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Geidam (APC, Yobe East).

In the bill titled: “National Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation, De-radicalisation and Integration of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria Bill,” Geidam, a former governor of Yobe State, asked the Senate to endorse the agency to, among others, provide, recreational facilities and fine arts programmes for the repentant insurgents. He argued that the commission would maintain open lines of communication to gain a greater understanding of both the immediate needs for combating Boko Hararn as well as a tool for counter-radicalisation in the future.” |||READ MORE …

I was hypnotized, almost used for money rituals by my boyfriend — Teenager

Her stricken scream of help me rented the air at the early hours of Tuesday,  jolting residents of Mechanic Village in Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa, Isolo area of Lagos, from sleep. But none went out to know the cause because it was too late to do so.

Her piercing cries gradually subsided,, with a man’s voice ordering her to get out of the house.

By morning, her personal effects were seen littered in front of a barbing saloon which served as home for her and  her 28-year-old boyfriend |||READ MORE …

Arese Ugwu’s smart money franchise is coming to the small screen

First there were the teasers on Instagram, then the unofficial unveilings of the cast, and now we are getting an official statement. Arese Ugwu, financial expert and author of viral sensation The Smart Money Woman Guide is finally taking the memorable characters in her financial literary self-help book and bringing them to life on the small screen. This is momentous for many reasons.

Arese gets the honour of being the first Nigerian to adapt a best selling non-fiction novel into a made for TV series, and with that she retains intellectual property on both projects and gets to expand the power of her franchise beyond the literary industry. The potentials are endless for Smart Money Woman and the television series will provide the fuel for her recently released sequel to Smart Money Woman, unsurprisingly called The Smart Money Tribe |||READ MORE …

Living Together Before Marriage: What You Need to Know About Cohabiting

With the exception of marriage, there are few bigger steps in a relationship than the day you and your partner decide to move in together. When/if that day comes depends a lot on the two of you as individuals, as well as what you’re comfortable with.

For some, tying the knot (or at least being engaged) is a prerequisite for living together. Others believe the opposite to be true, hardly imagining a trip down the aisle without first previewing what life would be like existing under the same roof day in and day out.

Contemporary research on cohabitation suggests that more and more people are starting to fall under the latter category. While it was once considered taboo for unmarried couples to live together, it’s become a growing trend that transcends generational divides |||READ MORE …

CAF: Landmines buried in the sand!

From atop my little observatory, high up in the hills of Wasimi Orile, I am looking down at African football and, particularly, at the Confederation of African Football, CAF.

The organization is hardly recognizable from what we thought was a shambolic mess that Issa Hayatou left at the time he was justifiably ousted in a palace coup by some courageous federation Presidents. Almost two years down the line, that ‘mess’ is now smelling like roses!

 CAF has become less than a shadow of itself. Some of us who were most vociferous and vehement in our call for a halt to Issa’s perpetual stay in office should actually now go back and apologise to the gentleman in Yaounde, where he must be gleefully grinning to himself now |||READ MORE …

Nigeria Will Never Make Progress Without Education – Helen Prest

My early years were spent in England. I was fortunate to have a sound primary education. I loved school and excelled at it. It is only when I became a full-fledged adult that I came to understand how important a good primary education is to your thought process and the ability to build your knowledge base going forward.

I realised that most of my views and values were formed in my early years and what I was taught in primary school. My attitude to hygiene for instance. I distinctly remember being taught that cleanliness was next to godliness. I also remember that it was in primary school I formed my voracious love for reading. I remember that literacy and the acquisition of reading and writing skills were taken very seriously.

We were drilled endlessly in a fun way though, with games and songs. I can’t remember ever doing a serious exam in primary school. It was mostly small tests to see whether you understood and were able to recall what you were being taught |||READ MORE …

A message to the North: The South is getting fed up!

I have a story to tell the North. I hope it receives it in good faith. I love the North. So I have decided to tell the North how his brother the South truly feels. The South loves the north but the South is getting fed up.

The truth may taste bitter but it sets free. I will throw away political correctness and let the North know how the South feels because the North has to sit up and shape up.

The South is getting fed up |||READ MORE …

Warren on Bloomberg: 'How many other women are out there?'

LAS VEGAS — Elizabeth Warren said Friday night that Michael Bloomberg's decision to release three women from non-disclosure agreements with his company is not enough and she asked "how many other women are out there?"

"If there truly are only three women, then why won't he sign a general release? Think through that," Warren told NBC News in a phone interview. "Bloomberg and his company should issue a blanket waiver so anyone who wants to come forward can come forward — with or without Michael Bloomberg's prior permission."

"We're still left wondering: How many other women are out there that Michael Bloomberg hasn't given permission to?" she added, keeping up an attack she first made on the rival presidential candidate at the debate on Wednesday here |||READ MORE …

Mobile Data, new cancer In Nigeria

Mobile data they say, is life. The internet has become an incredibly crucial part of our day to day life. Facebook Twitter, Instagram, etc, all boil down to the internet. Electronic Banking, electronic mail, e-commerce, etc, are all dependent on this same internet. Need I say more? Nah! I bet you discern how incredibly important this ingenious invention by the US is.

The Internet has tremendously added to the ease at which we live our lives today. Having been initially intended to be used for defense purposes, as at the time of its conception, the Internet has grown to become a crucial part of our daily lives.

This digitally crucial invention doesn’t come free, or cheap – especially in Nigeria. “If I were this important, I should be as expensive as I can get”, I bet the internet would say if it was human |||READ MORE …

Abuja Young Lady Vicky Ella Says No Man Can Withstand Her For 30 Seconds

Trending on social media since last week is the story about an Abuja lady “Vicky Ella” reportedly claiming “No Man Can Withstand Her For 30 Seconds”! You bet? Well, we are concerned at this point with readers’ comments on the issue |||READ MORE …

The 34 Best Sex Toys for Men

There's never been a better time to own a male sex toy.

We're living and fornicating in a day and age where new research and developments are letting sex toy creators build a better world for our future orgasms.

As technology continues to improve our lives, it's also being featured in the latest sex devices we are able to bring into the bedroom (or use for our own personal pleasure). To put it into perspective, think about the cell phone you owned years ago |||READ MORE …

BYAZHIN - KUBWA ROAD IN 2013

Kubwa is a fast growing satellite town in Abuja, Nigeria.  But then we have a flash back of the "Byazhin - Kubwa Road, the state of the road as we saw it back then in 2013". This road particularly, links the very popular and densely populated "Byazhin - Across". While we cant wait to locate, capture and bring you the "Current State" of this road, we urge you to get acquainted with its "past" before we bring you its "present" |||READ MORE …

What Buhari doesn’t want to hear about roads — Fashola

Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, is obsessed with how to rehabilitate all the federal highways in Nigeria and build new ones to make all parts of Nigeria accessible and reduce the pains that Nigerians encounter as a result of deplorable roads. However, while the desire to achieve that target remains very strong, the resources to do so remains limited, thereby making it difficult for the attainment of set target in road delivery. In this interview, the Minister expresses optimism that with improved funding from other sources that the government is now exploring, the construction and delivery of more roads across Nigeria will be achieved in line with the agenda of the administration.

Given the funding situation of Nigeria you appear handicapped and cannot therefore determine the deadline within which any federal road will be completed because your ministry cannot fund such roads.

I will like to see things from the positive side. When you look at what we started with in 2015 when we were inaugurated as ministers, we inherited a budget from the outgoing administration, so the amount of money in that year’s budget for all the Nigerian roads was just N19 billion. Now we have roads costing N40billion, N80 billion, $2 billion and the fact that we can even start those kinds of roads means that we are making progress |||READ MORE …

Golden Couple Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar ‘Do It Every Night’ — Do You?

The survival rate of any couple in Hollywood is painstakingly low. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries filed for divorce 72 days after strolling down the aisle. Pam Anderson and new hubby Jon Peters? Yep, dunzo after a mere 12 days. That’s why people go bananas over any celebrity pairing that continues to go the distance year after year — like Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, for example.

Tying the knot back in 2002, the real life Fred and Daphne are clearly doing something right when it comes to maintaining a healthy and happy relationship. And while the two have never spoken publicly about their sex life, a new Cascade spot is letting viewers at home in on the supposed secret to their everlasting love: They “do it every night.”

“When they pitched us the campaign, Sarah and I both started laughing,” Prinze Jr. tells AskMen. “We really thought it was charming, slick and smart. We live in Southern California, and all you hear every single day is conserve your water. We're in a drought, we're coughing dust." |||READ MORE …

Privilege corrupts everything in Nigeria, even getting an I.D card

Yesterday, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) put up this post announcing that Nigerian born British boxer Anthony Joshua had recently registered for his national identity number and card. This post was shared partly for publicity and partly for social media engagement, and Anthony Joshua has been a gracious participant, doing something similar for the presidency when he visited President Buhari after he reclaimed his heavy weight titles |||READ MORE …

Corruption Case: Pinnick, Sanusi Win In Court Again

Honourable Justice Peter O. Affen, presiding at the FCT High Court, on Thursday finally declined to add the names of President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick and the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi to a case of financial misappropriation brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In his judgment, Justice Affen refused the amendment sought by the EFCC to include Pinnick and Sanusi to a trial involving three members of staff of the NFF (two of whom are no longer with the federation) with regards to the utilisation of $8.4million grant from world football –governing body, FIFA, and which began in 2018 |||READ MORE …

Bulls And Zach LaVine To Host Hornets At United Center

Bulls and Zach LaVine to host Hornets At United Center. The Hornets are coming off a 115-108 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite not having such a great season, Jalen McDaniels showed a significant improvement in his last game, performing above his average with 6 rebounds.

The Bulls will want to move on from a 114-126 loss to the Washington Wizards, a game in which Cristiano Felicio has been great this season averaging 2 offensive rebounds but had an underwhelming performance with 2 points (1-of-3 from the field), 4 offensive rebounds and 7 rebounds. Tomas Satoransky was solid with 19 points (7-of-12 FG) and 8 assists |||READ MORE …

Woman killed in New Orleans during Mardi Gras parade after being hit by float

A Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans turned deadly when a woman was killed after being run over by a parade float.

The woman, whose name has not been released by police, was struck by a float from The Mystic Krewe of Nyx parade at the intersection of Magazine and Valence street around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday night, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

After the woman was fatally struck, floats in front of the incident continued along the route, while other floats were diverted, with police saying most people chose to stop marching after the accident |||READ MORE …

Morgan Stanley to Buy E-Trade for $13 Billion

The move will give one of Wall Street’s powerful blue-chip firms control of a major presence in the world of online brokerages.

Morgan Stanley announced on Thursday that it would buy E-Trade, the online discount brokerage, for about $13 billion, in the biggest takeover by a major American lender since the 2008 global financial crisis.

The deal would give Morgan Stanley — long known as one of Wall Street’s most blue-chip names, whose asset management business caters to the wealthy — a big share of the market for online trading, an additional 5.2 million customer accounts and $360 billion in assets |||READ MORE …