Global Naija Info

Femi Fani-Kayode In my essay titled “Head Bloodied But Not Bowed And The Ascension Of President-Elect Donald J. Trump” (Part 1) I wrote the following: “When I went to visit the great and brilliant freedom fighter, Nnamdi Kanu, who is the leader of IPOB and easily the most courageous, powerful and credible Igbo leader in Nigeria today in his cell we had a very instructive and long discussion. I had never met Nnamdi before and I was amazed at his depth of knowledge, his immense courage and his deep convictions. There is no doubt in my mind that that man is going places and in him the Igbo have an Ojukwu and a Nnamdi Azikiwe all rolled into one. He is destined for greatness”. Apparantly my words have created quite a stir amongst those who believe that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Azikiwe or Ojukwu, both of whom, in my view, are also great men. Yet despite their reservations I believe that we must give honor to whom it is due. Consequently I have no reg...

US president-elect Donald Trump and Mitt Romney after their meeting U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney set aside their long-standing rivalry on Saturday and had talks likely to feed speculation that Romney could be a candidate to be Trump’s Secretary of State. “Mr. President-elect, how are you sir?” Romney said on arrival. Trump told reporters after their meeting that their talks “went great”, while Romney said he and Trump “had a far-reaching conversation with regards to the various theatres in the world. “We discussed those areas, and exchanged our views on those topics, a very thorough and in-depth discussion in the time we had. “And I appreciate the chance to speak with the president-elect and I look forward to the coming administration and the things that it’s going to be doing,” Romney said. Romney was first in a long list of people Trump was meeting on Saturday and Sunday as he seeks to fill out his Cabinet and gather ad...

Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo’s 39th career hat-trick gave Real Madrid a derby win over city rivals Atletico which increased their lead at the top of La Liga. The Portugal forward opened the scoring with a deflected free-kick which wrong-footed Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Ronaldo added a second from the penalty spot before he completed his treble when he tapped in Gareth Bale’s cross. Real now have a four-point lead over second-placed Barcelona who were held to a goalless draw by Malaga earlier. Ronaldo has scored eight La Liga goals for the European champions this season, to draw level with Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. The 31-year-old’s treble also saw him go one goal of clear of legendary Real forward Alfredo Di Stefano’s individual total of 18 goals in the Madrid derby.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State The Delta Police Command has arrested 28 suspected teenage cultists operating in some public secondary schools in Asaba, in Delta State. The State Police Commissioner, Zanna Ibrahim, disclosed this on Saturday in Asaba. He said that the teenage secret cult group was known as the “Future Trigger Boys’’ (FTB). Ibrahim said that out of the 28 suspects, 10 were students of Osadenis Grammar School, Asaba. The CP said the suspected cultists, aged between 13 and 16 years old, were rounded up during school hours, following intelligence reports from members of the public. “These are children, who were sent to school to study but regrettably, they form cult group to terrorise their fellow students and the entire school. “They call themselves the ‘Future Trigger Boys’. We were able to arrest these ones, while many others are still on the run. “Since we arrested them, many of their parents have been on our neck,” Ibrahim said. The CP urged members of...

Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman, National Caretaker Committee of Peoples Democratic Party The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the Nov. 26 governorship election in Ondo state. A statement signed by Mr Dayo Adeyeye, the National Publicity Secretary of the faction, said the election should be postponed pending the determination of its suit before the Supreme Court. The statement was made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja. The Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Ibrahim Salauwa on Friday reserved judgment on the appeal challenging the ruling of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court recognising Jimoh Ibrahim as PDP candidate for the Ondo State guber poll. Adeyeye said that the call was important as INEC, Makarfi and Eyitayo Jegede the faction’s candidate in the election were all party to the suit. “We make this call against the backdrop of the fact that ...

Prof. Lanre Fagbohun, Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University ‎(LASU) Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU) says about 6,000 students will be accommodated in the first phase of the institution’s hostel projects. Fagbohun disclosed this plan at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Lagos. “Hostel is a critical component of university life; one of the major things that it does is bonding. “It allows and assists for bonding within the students and even for effective management of the students. “The good thing about it, the House of Assembly and pursuant to the directives of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, we have now been authorised to go ahead with hostel accommodation for our students. “One of the things that is very common with Nigerians is uncompleted projects and you see a lot of interferences of political this; political that; everybody wanting to be part of hostel development. “We did not want to engage ourselves in that. So we brought in ...

Sarah Ladipo Manyika (left) and Emma Shercliff (centre) look on as Yewande Omotoso reads from her book, The Woman Next Door. Photograph: Adedeji Hamed/Elixir Proceedings at the 2016 Ake Arts and Book Festival have been dominated by interactive discussions with authors and experts from various fields. The quality of the sessions and interactions with audiences offers a sound rebuttal to any belief that art festivals are incapable of contributing solutions to societal problems. This year’s Festival addresses pertinent issues but extends its focus to matters that are usually overlooked or denied. The discussions have spanned mental health, terrorism, sensuality, ageism and notions of identity. In a panel moderated by Cassava Republic’s Emma Shercliff, writers Sarah Ladipo Manyika, (Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun) and Yewande Omotoso, (The Woman Next Door), explain why they have chosen to tell their stories through sassy female oldsters. With race relations featuring heavily...