Oladunni Liadi- Blogging is future of journalism

 Popular blog site CEO, Oladunni Liadi said blogging is like a yahoo yahoo scam.

She noted this in an interview with MEDIA NATION on Sunday.

She said “the money just keeps coming in, and sometimes you say God! This is something I started like a joke. I just wanted my own voice, I just wanted to write. But today, the story is different.”

The blogger who is a graduate of accounting indicated that power and connection was her major challenges and huddles as she forayed into blogging. “it used to be power and bad internet connection, but those are things of the past now.”  Liadi claimed.

However, Liadi sidelined the rough estimate of visitors to her blog. “Rough estimate? I obviously won’t reveal that. But if you are a blogger, you will know it’s extremely huge. She lamented.”

She subscribed to the fact that blogging is the future of media, and also a modern day journalism.

ladunliadinews.com appears to be one of the leading blogs in Nigeria, which has pitched its tent with lifestyle/entertainment news, but lately politics hasn't been exceptional due to Nigerians concentration in the forthcoming election.

Nigerian Idol 5 underway

Optima Media Group have announced their readiness for the 5th edition of music reality show, Nigerian Idol.

The organisers said in a statement that the unveiling of the annual music TV reality show is billed to hold in the first week of this year, at a venue to be announced later, in Lagos.

According to the statement, the unveiling will also feature the public presentation of the three-man panel of celebrity judges for the show and modalities, including procedures for participation in addition to the offer of opportunity for a press idol to emerge through an on-the-spot singing competition. This, they say, will reward the top performer of the day with a prize of USD1000.

Group Managing Director of Optima Media Group, Rotimi Pedro, expressed delight in the potential of the platform to offer talented Nigerian youths with flair for music, the unique opportunity to express themselves on a global stage while creating a career path for themselves.

“We are delighted to be able to create the right and unique platforms across different fields for Nigerians to take advantage of and maximise their potential. We have successfully done this over the years on a global stage as the Idol franchise provides. Our further commitment is to work with more partners in achieving this,” he said.

According to Pedro, the winner of the show will get N7. 5 million, a Galaxy Tab, a phone, an iPod, a recording deal with Universal Music Company and a brand new SUV car. The first runner up, he said, will also get N1.5 million, a Galaxy Tab, phone and iPod, while the 2nd runner up will receive N1million, a Galaxy Tab, phone and an iPod. In addition, each of the finalists from 4th to 10th place will also receive N100, 000, a Galaxy Tab, phone and an iPod each.

Expected to perform during the course of the reality show, are past winners such as Yeka Onka, Mercy Chinwo, Moses Adigwe and Evelle.

For the show which begins in March, auditions are expected to hold between January and February across five Nigerian cities, including Benin City, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Ibadan and Lagos.

A unique music heritage

•Adedara on stage

The crowd at the Obokungbusi Town Hall of the Owa Obokun Palace in Ilesa, Osun State,  might have looked ordinary last Friday evening. But the spirit behind the gathering was uncommon. It was unique because it attracted leading Adamo music exponents, a traditional Ijesa genre of music, seasoned and up and coming performing musicians from Ijesaland only. Their mission was to inaugurate the first Adamo Music Festival as a prelude to the  yearly Iwude Ijesa Festival, which climaxed on Saturday at the same venue.

Adamo Music Festival was initiated by Embrace Osun and supported by social groups such as Friends of Rauf Aregbesola (FORA), People Friendly Governance Initiative (PFGI) and Ijesa All Stars.

For about six hours, the Owa Obokun Palace premises was agog with musical performances by no fewer than eleven musicians of different genres, ranging from Adamo to Fuji, Hip-hop, Rap, Juju, Gospel and Highlife. Among the artistes that performed were the ageless Pa Ige Adubi; Baba Adedara Aruna; Niyi Ajetomobi; Rawlings; Boblad; Olatunde Abiodun aka (Baba Ewe); Ayuba Aliu and Adewale Kadoka (Ijaya).

Others were Young Ade; Wewe Mighty; Gbenga Falope, Osogbo-based fuji act; Oluomo (Oyeniyi Ismail) and Small Doctor, who is popular with his song; I dey kill mosquito well well.

Adewale Kadoka took the first shot at thrilling the crowd that has waited patiently for about 4 hours for the start of the concert. He was followed by Wewe Mighty, a talented juju musician. His performance lasted within the stipulated 10minutes allocated to each artiste.

But by 7pm, there was a brief shift to rap music and hip-hop as a stop-gap for the young at heart in the audience. That break lightened the crowd with the rendition of Dorobucci by Mavin Crew led by Don Jazzy.

Oluomo’s performance though the shortest, stood out among the lots. In fact, it was a mix grill of scintillating drumming and narratives of Yoruba ‘orikis, yabis and faboos’ that characterised fuji music. The self-taught 12-man band leader, Ismail, who has been into music since 2007, said he loves fuji because it provides the finest platform for creative expression.

The tempo of the festival got to a crescendo when Pa Ige Adubi went prayerful with his song Baba wa ti mbe lorun, a rendition the crowd could not resist. Like Adubi, Pa Adedara kept the crowd on their toes for longer time. His sterling performance attracted other younger Adamo musicians, who joined him on stage for a ‘collabo’ that lasted several minutes.

Young Ade mounted the stage after Gbenga Falope, who spiced his juju music with effective use of saxophone. By 9.30 pm, Falope’s rendition of Oriki Ijesa was what the entire crowd needed to join in the sing-along chorus that echoed into the dark night.

Young Ade’s performance was a mirror-image of King Sunny Ade’s stage craft and singing ability. In fact, Young Ade was the big masquerade that danced last as his presentation drew the curtain for the festival.

Chairman, Iwude Ijesa Planning Committee, Chief Olu Falomo, said the rebranding of Iwude Ijesa Festival- a convergence of culture, tradition and communion, was informed by the need to forge unity among the Ijesa people. The festival featured motorised floats and parades of clubs, societies and communities. The high point of the celebration was the public appearance of the Owa Obokun Adimula, Oba Aromolaran, to Yeyerise’s compound, Obanla, Sawe, Lejoka and Salotun’s courtyards.

Development Consultant and Festival Director, Aremo Tope Babayemi, said Adamo Music Festival is the brainchild of Embrace Osun, a group that identifies and nurtures different talents in Osun State, especially in the socio-economic and cultural sphere. According to him, the idea is to follow up with the promotion and presentation of such talents as these artistes for the developed markets. Babayemi disclosed that the festival would be an annual outing.

Governor-General, PMAN (Osun State Chapter) Mr. Mutiu Aiyeloja, described the festival as a new dawn for musicians in the state, especially the platform it created for expression of creativity. He was optimistic that next year’s edition would be better and bigger despite low funding this year.

State PMAN Treasurer, Alhaji Abdulazeez Ibrahim, stressed the need to promote and sustain the Adamo brand of music, which is why PMAN has identified with the initiative. “We are government voice and we spread the good works of government everywhere. And we are happy with what Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is doing in our industry. He provides the platform for artistes to showcase their talents to the world. He has been able to show to the world that we have stars in Ijesaland,” he said.

Despite the absence of colour that often characterise many big festivals such as Ojude Oba Festival and Osun Osogbo Festival, Adamo Music Festival has succeeded in laying a solid foundation for the growth of subsequent editions. Organisers of the festival have assured that early preparation and sensitisation of the people would be given top priority for a successful outing next year.

Culled from Thenationonlineng

‘I always have bad dream after sex with my husband’

The day my mother-in-law took our first child out to relieve me of the stress of our new baby, that was the day our daughter became deaf. When we visited several churches, they asked after my husband and his mother. If I really knew my husband, I wouldn’t have accepted his marriage proposal. “

These were the words of a middle-age trader, Shola Abdullah, as she sought the dissolution of her eight-year-old marriage to Lanre, at the Alagbado Customary Court in Lagos.
She alleged that her husband was fond of beating her.
Mrs Abdullah said: “My husband and I are strangers in our home. We have never had a cheerful moment. Whenever I talk, he would rain curses on me. He accuses me of adultery. I don’t know his plans for me because I am treated as a slave. His attitude is weird. Whenever he sleeps with me, I always see myself vomiting a gecko in my dream. Strangely, I always wake up with a swollen stomach. He once took me home during a church service only to sleep with me and later dropped me off at the church. It’s been a month since I left home. Am not missing anything because we don’t relate well.”
The marriage, which was contracted under Native and Customary Law, is blessed with three children.
But her husband is insisting on the marriage. Abdullah told the court: “My mother didn’t do anything to our first child. We were told our first child had measles which made her deaf. I have had to buy a hearing aid worth thousands of Naira. My wife has never supported me. I opened two shops for her but she couldn’t maintain it. Whenever there is an argument, she leaves the house leaving me with our children. I have never sent her away. I want her back. I have never accused her of adultery.
“The court’s President, Mr. Olubode Sekoni, ordered Abdullah to write an undertaken never to maltreat his wife again.
He adjourned the case till January 22.

 

Culled from Thenationonlineng

TWO RESEARCH GROUPS LED BY UNILAG DON, PROF. OGUNDIPE WIN TETFUND AWARDS

The proposals of two research teams of the University of Lagos have won the 2014-2016 Awards of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). The proposals were part of the twenty selected by TETFund for various grants. The proposals, submitted in 2011, were part of the hundreds of research proposals tendered by research teams drawn from several universities across Nigeria. These proposals were evaluated and pruned to sixty before awards were granted to twenty research groups. The Principal Researcher for the two research projects is a renowned Professor of Botany and Director of Academic Planning, UNILAG, Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe. One of the projects will be conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research. The title of the research projects and other members of the research teams are as follows: 1. The Allergenic Activities of Pollen and Spores of Nigerian Plants and Their Spatial Pattern: Dr. Adekambi, Olusola Helen (Department of Botany, UNILAG) Dr. Onuminya, Temitope Olabisi (Department of Botany, UNILAG) Mrs. Ezike, Nneka Dimphna (Department of Botany, UNILAG) 2. Palynological and GIS Modeling of Climate and Land-Cover Changes Around the Lagos Coastal Environment: Adekambi, Olusola Helen (Senior Lecturer, Department of Botany, UNILAG) Alabi, Soneye (Associate Professor, Department of Geography, UNILAG) Fasona, Mayowa Johnson (Department of Geography, UNILAG) Adeonipekun, Adegbenga Peter (Department of Botany, UNILAG) Onuminya, Temitope Olabisi (Department of Botany, UNILAG) Muyiolu, Salimon Kolawole The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of all members of the University community, congratulates and wishes the two groups, success in all their endeavours.

Lagos State Government trained 440 secondary school teachers.

No fewer than 15 teachers had earlier benefited from the Mathematics Clinic.
The training, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, was aimed at improving students performance in Mathematics.
In an interaction with reporters in Lagos, Mrs Oladunjoye said the objective was “to update the knowledge of mathematics teachers in the state public secondary schools and equally improve the teaching and learning of the subject for improved performance”.
She added: “The objective of the clinic is to improve the teaching skills and competence of the mathematics teachers and expose them to some new topics in the subject. The move will also be complemented by the provision of needed instructional materials in schools for enhanced performance.
The training focused on different strategies including active learning, effective teaching, use of resource materials, such as, teaching modules and kits to simplify the teaching of identified difficult concepts in Mathematics, alongside practical steps for overall effective teaching of the subject among others.
Other aims included “enhancing students’ interest in Mathematics, offering effective counselling, setting up mathematics laboratories in schools, use of games and computer for teaching, assessment and grading for effective evaluation procedure, content mastering and innovative teaching and learning skills”.
The Commissioner expressed hope that the training would support expected improvement in the teaching and learning of the subject; cause discoveries of new ways and methodologies in its teaching.

Amanda Epe_‘I have overcome that fear of writing and sharing’

The United Kingdom (UK) believes it has eradicated racism in the workplace. But, Africans know too well that it is still there. Your accent, the colour of your skin stand you out, and in certain cases, make it hard for you to fit in. Laws cannot prevent workplace cynicism and the silent slurs targeted at you for being the colour you are. A Fly Girl is Amanda Epe’s debut book, an inspirational memoir of her days working with British Airways; travel tales through the lens of a black African woman. Epe’s well-documented and interesting book is the first narrative of its kind as she is the first seminal story-teller on the narrative of being a black cabin crew member with the British Airways. Epe writes articles, essays, poetry, fiction and her work has featured in publications and anthologies in the UK, the United States (U.S.), and Nigeria. She speaks to Tundun Adeyemo. Excerpts:
Why did you write this book?
I was obliged to write this for my spirit and I didn’t want to take this story unpublished to the grave.
What is your favourite part in the story?
If I had to put a bookmark in one place, it would be the active, funny, bright and sunny story in Miami.
At what time or point  did you feel the need to write the story?
It was strongly felt in 2013, a time of writing in my serene state and being fully inspired. It was the starting point anyway. At least, I put a pen to paper and wrote the first paragraph; most of the work continued the following year.
Racism occurs in different ways to different people, and many talk about this every day. What more are you adding to the conversation?
My angle has some insights into the in-depth thoughts of being black and wearing the Union Jack.
Is there a place for the woman in the business community?
During my life in the air, I worked with business savvy women and I reflect on one in particular that endeavoured to become a grand entrepreneur through trade and travel, she was an inspiration. Women are not just in business, but are on top. I admired a recent report of a black British woman, Karen Blackett, who is the first businesswoman to top the Powerlist 100, and also Folorunsho Alakija on the billionaire list, the latter an example of how times have advanced with women working and trading in oil.
When you talk to women across the world, what is the one thing they tell you?
We are all singing the same song, but with various tunes, in the western world equality is still sought, and across the globe we are coming out, stepping up or striving to make our mark.
Is it a question really that black people are not well integrated into the community?
In comparison to other western nations I feel that black communities are somewhat integrated, until we are fully empowered economically there will always be marginalisation
You have a very British accent, is this book personal then? How can you suffer racism when you are British?
My being British has a prefix; readers can learn more about this concept in reading some chapters in the book.
Returning home to Nigeria… is that an option?
To run from racism is just running, if I had run away as a new recruit, I wouldn’t be telling this story. How long must one fight is another story. In the play Pandora’s Box by playwright, Ade Solanke, this issue of returning to Nigeria was discussed, one of the characters the uncle was telling the Diaspora his niece and her friend to “stay there” (UK) and fight. The friend, who had decided to make a new life in Nigeria (the character Bev whose parents migrated to Britain from the Caribbean), argued against him speaking about England saying: “ Uncle, I’d love to contribute to my country. I’ve tried to.
But do they want my contribution? Well, I refuse to be wasted!” She goes on to say that we are more than English and wanting to discover another part of her. I agree with the character, and Nigeria is certainly an option. Look at the statistics of Black British actors and entertainers who cross the pond heading to USA.
You are campaigning for women and their issues. Is this another empowering tool?
It is simply my writing journey although it is part of empowering. If a woman reader feels inspired in her journey by relating to my writing/storytelling, then that is a success for me.
What is next to for you to conquer?
The mission continues. I must follow the call to write and to work, to do the things that give me joy, the works that are creative and that can be shared.
Why should I buy your book?
Two words, I guarantee you’ll engage and enjoy it.
What will our readers hear about your book that they haven’t heard elsewhere?
This author shares her experiences and thoughts from her travels, and discusses taboo topics and issues not easily for conversation in our and the wider community.
If you were me right now, what sort of questions should you be asking?
O.K I would like to tell you about the euphoric feeling of delivering my debut, and that it was created for people like me, but also beyond that target group. If you ask about my readership I feel that outside of Black women in the Diaspora and at home, this book relates and can be read by an international audience of men and women.
How long did it take you to write this book?
About nine months flat.
Is there a part two coming soon?
My journey and travels continue, a travel series perhaps.
Can you share two thoughts with our readers?
Many people are afraid to fly, my thoughts on this analogy is to feel the fear and still take off. I have overcome that fear of writing and sharing, so please do share your stuff!
Where can we find more about your book?
A Fly Girl, the kindle version is now available on Amazon. A Fly Girl will be available in print from Amazon, Waterstones and all good retailers by January 2015.
Culled from Thenationonlineng