ONYEKA ONWENU APPOINTED NCWD CEO

 

President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed a renowned Nigerian singer, actress and politician Onyeka Onwenu as the Executive Director (Chief Executive Officer) of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Abuja.

Onyeka Onwenu, an indigene of Onitsha, Anambra State, was born on May 17, 1961. She is a famous singer, an award-winning actress, the former chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts.

It is expected that she will assume duties immediately.

"I WANTED TO BE A REVEREND SISTER BEFORE BBA" - Beverly Osu Reveals

 

Beverly Osu's Childhood and adult pictures

Big Brother Africa 2013 finalist, Beverly Osu who represented Nigeria and became one of the most talked-about housemate has now revealed that being controversial has never been her goal.

In a recent interview at Abuja, she talks about life before the house and what her future plans her.

 

Read Excerpts:

Life before Big Brother:

Before Big Brother, I was into entertainment. Big Brother Africa was just a platform for me to do what I wanted to do. Before now, I wanted to be an actress, I wanted to be a reverend sister, but things did not just work out the way I planned it.

Being a controversial housemate:
Going to the house, I didn't have any plan or strategy. I just went in there. While in the house, I used to be blunt every time, it used to be me living my normal life. The controversial side, I don't know because I used to be a very sweet person.

On how she was never up for eviction:

I didn't do anything. I know that people picked my name but I wasn't bothered because I also got to pick one or two people. I knew when Natasha or anybody else picked me for eviction but I understood it was just a game. However, I was generally liked in the house because I'm a people's person.

 
On her relationship with Angelo

 

 Me and Angelo were so business minded people, we think alike, we do a lot of things together. We have projects we are working on together so, it was much like we went to BBA as individuals but we didn't come there to mark time. And now, we have a platform we have to use. 

 

 

 Now, he is in his country but when there is something to do, we will go together. It is not that we won't have our time but it's more of the business because we all came for something in our lives and since we have gotten the opportunity, we should use it right.

Her future plans:
School, my career-acting, so many things in next year let me feel I'm not sure what to say next because my voice is Ok.

WHY NIGERIA WAS EXCLUDED FROM 2015 DV LOTTERY – U.S Envoy

 

The United States Consul-General, Mr. Jeffery Hawkins, on Thursday September 19 2013, gave reasons why Nigeria was excluded from the 2015 Diversity-Visa-Programme registration.

Hawkins told journalists at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, that Nigeria was among other countries that had in the last five years, sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the country through the programme.

"As at today, Nigerians have graduated from being under-represented to being a fully well represented group in the U.S.

"There is therefore no longer any need to encourage Nigerians to apply to travel to the U.S. through the Diversity-Visa-Programme. "Already there are too many Nigerians in the U.S. that have benefited from this programme,'' he said.

The envoy explained that the diversity visa was created to promote countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. Hawkins said that Nigeria and other affected countries had already exceeded their quota in the last five years.

He, however, stressed that the U.S. authorities would continue to give preference to Nigerians travelling to U.S for visits, business transactions, studies and professional engagements. "All other types of immigration from Nigeria to the U.S, apart from the diversity visa, would continue unabated.

"Also, let me say that the ban has nothing to do with our relations with Nigeria now, and in the years ahead,'' the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the envoy as saying to journalists. He also dismissed insinuations making the rounds that the move was to reduce the number of Nigerians travelling to the U.S.

The U.S official also said that the development had "nothing to do with insecurity, activities of Boko Haram and other forms of upheaval in Nigeria." It would be recalled that the U.S. Department of State, banned Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador and Haiti from participating in the 2015 Diversity-Visa-Programme.

Other affected countries are: India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

REVEALED: You Will Not Believe What Goes On In Motor Parks At Nights

In major cities and towns across the country, villages strategically located along highways, there are up to more than 3000 motor parks and joints in which travellers eat, drink and smoke without mandatory closing time, from morning through the night till day break.

Licensing authorities at any level of government are not in place to regulate and control the establishment and activities of these kiosks, stores, drinking palours, joints, restaurants, open spaces with tables and chairs mounted to sell alcohol- all within a few blocks in some cases, around the neighbourhood or vicinity.

In the Lagos metropolis for example, these motor parks for both intra and inter-state travelling can be found at Ojota, Maza-Maza, Mile 2, Mile 12, Jibowu, Ojuelegba, Oshodi, Iyana-Iba, Iyana-Ipaja, Agege, Oworo, Sango-Otta, Abule-Egba and Ikotun.

Others are at Lekki, Obalende, CMS, Owode, Ikorodu, Epe, Volks, Ajah and other places with high concentration of people across Nigeria.

At most of these motor-parks and major bus stops, operators of the drinking spots are usually women and young girls. All sorts of alcoholic drinks are sold. From soft drinks to beer, stout, wines, brandy, gordon gin, chelsea, Bertola, illicit gin locally known as "ogogoro" in various components.

Cigarettes of different brands including Indian hemp (marijuana), cocaine, heroin are also not left out. Majority of the customers are bus and taxi drivers, tricycle operators, conductors, motor-cyle riders and Agberos when they want to cool down after running up and down extorting money from private commercial transporters.

In addition, there are numerous travellers, day and night, boarding buses to different destinations in the East, West, South and North, and even to neigbbouring countries in the sub-West African region.

Some people preferred night travels in spite of the danger involved as armed robbers could disguise as genuine passengers only to pull out guns while on the journey. Armed robbers may operate on the highway, shooting and dispossessing passengers of their goods, luggage and money.

Before the journey commenced, travellers often waited for the night buses to load which could depart between 10pm and 12 midnight. They will relax at these joints to drink and eat before departure time.

Some of these inter-state bus drivers often consumed excessive liquor before hitting the road on a trip that could last for five, eight, twelve hours and above.

According to a traveller at Maza-Maza park going to Abuja, a lot of accidents are caused by reckless druken drivers. "There are no government guidelines on alcohol consumption especially for commercial drivers in this country. The Police should crack down on the patrons and the bars around motor parks who sell alcohol indiscriminately.

"We don't have restrictive time for sale of drinks and it's particularly wrong for drivers to be under the influence of alcohol while driving. By this, they are putting the lives of passengers in grave danger."

Reports have showed that thousands of Nigerians die annually on road accidents due to reckless driving. Moreover the government itself seems to lack a coherent alcohol policy.

Investigation by Saturday Vanguard showed that many people are against unlimited sale and use of alcohol by commercial transport operators, preferring a ban outright of alcohol sale in motor parks. The government has not found a way out of this to address the growing concern from the public on this issue. "We are building a big problem ahead if we don't really find a workable solution to alcohol-related road accidents in our country", said Mr. Kennedy Tosin, a textile dealer, a frequent traveller.

"A minority of dealers in alcoholic drinks at motor parks are responsible for the carnage on our highways. A staggered closing hours for sale of drinks to commercial drivers will reduce the number of accidents on the roads. Varied hours can help and consumption pegged at tolerable limit," he suggested.

According to Tosin, "if you allow people to drink more, they will drink more and that could lead to more antisocial behaviour, crime and more abuse of alcohol."

He added: "A lot of people share this view. In a typical Friday night around motor parks thousands of people roll up to over 300 restaurants, bars, beer palours, disco clubs, licensed and unlicensed to sell alcohol. They serve drinks, chicken and fried meat from 5pm to as late as 5a.m. in some cases."

It has been discovered that at times, violent crimes and kidnapping are hatched from these spots. Prostitution also flourished as women of easy virtue stayed around looking for customers who will take them home.

No wonder Police often raided such places in search of criminals who hang around these "dark spots".

Some people, after spending time at the motor parks, proceed to night clubs in quest of more fun. It's like having good time around the clock. Those without permanent places of abode, could move into nearby places with facilities for toilet and bathing to clean up and start another day afresh.

Some travellers are however compelled to stay very late at the motor parks which have also become transit zones for those who arrived a city late in the night without immediate connecting transportation to their eventual destination.

Truck and trailer drivers conveying haulage goods from the west to the north and East could stop at Ore, Oluku junction, Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode to rest and re-fuel. In the course of the long journey, they make use of the entertainment facilities in the motor parks to relax, eat, drink and socialise within the environment.

So these motor parks provide 'safe haven" for genuine travellers, "shelter" for travellers in transit, drinks and food for many, and hide outs for the criminally minded. Therefore, the good and the bad, often availed themselves with what the motor parks can offer.

In the first half of 2013, about 1,397 persons were killed in road accidents in different parts of Nigeria. Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC Corps Marshal Osita Chidoka who disclosed this recently said that the frequency of these accidents were due to "non-compliance with traffic laws, especially overspeeding by motorists", adding, "the current situation calls for urgent steps to deal with the menace of road traffic crashes."