Friday, March 17, 2017

Relaxation Time at the 2017 iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival in Lagos



Relaxation Time at the 2017 iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival in Lagos



Relaxation time at the on going 7th annual iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival at the Freedom Park on Lagos Island, Lagos state. Friday, March 17, 2017.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Photo Documentary: Stephanie Linus Helps 35 Women with VVF in Kebbi State

First Lady of Kebbi State Dr. Zainab Bagudu with Stephanie Linus and one of the beneficiaries.

 NNPC/SNEPCo Sponsors Stephanie Linus’ Extended Hands Foundation To Repair 35 Women With VVF In Kebbi State
NNPC/SNEPCo Sponsored the Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Stephanie Linus’ Extended Hands Foundation to repair 35 women with VVF in Kebbi State where she was received by the Governor and the First Lady of Kebbi State.

The Extended Hands Foundation, a non-governmental organization with sponsorship from NNPC/SNEPCo has completed the successful repair of 35 Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) patients in Kebbi State. The pool effort took place at the Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Development VVF Center in Gesse, Birin-Kebbi and received the co-operation of the Kebbi State Government.
Led by the founder Stephanie Linus, the Extended Hands Foundation team was received by the Governor of the state Dr Abubakar Bagudu and the First Lady Dr Zainab Bagudu. They both paid visits to the women at the VVF Center, showing their support for the cause.

Governor of Kebbi State Abubakar Bagudu and Stephanie Linus.

All the repairs have been completed successfully and the women are recovering well.
Commissioner for Women Affairs in Kebbi State and Stephanie Linus presenting an economic empowerment item to a VVF Patient after her successful surgery.
Items donated to the VVF Patients by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Kebbi State.
A VVF Patient giving Stephanie Linus hand-made beads designed by her with First Lady of Kebbi State Dr Zainab Bagudu.
Stephanie Linus with some Doctors and Nurses at the VVF Center.
A VVF surgery being performed by Dr Sa’ad Idris.
Governor of Kebbi State Abubakar Bagudu addressing some of the recipients of the free VVF surgeries.
Governor of Kebbi State Abubakar Bagudu on a visit to the VVF Center.
A VVF Patient getting ready for her surgery.
Dr Abubakar Bawa chatting with some of the VVF Patients.

Stephanie Linus, who spent some time with the women at the VVF Center during the course of the exercise, expressed her appreciation to the sponsors of the pool effort – NNPC/SNEPCo for investing in this cause. She also added that this was the second time the foundation was carrying out such an exercise in Kebbi state.

The team of medical staff was led by Dr Sa’ad Idris, a seasoned VVF Surgeon and former Commissioner for Health in Zamfara State with over 20 years experience in the field. He was assisted by Dr Abubakar Bawa, and other doctors and nurses at the VVF Center.

Against the backdrop of her Child Bride and Fistula advocacy movie, "DRY", Stephanie Linus has been taking the message of restoration and hope to real women suffering from VVF. This pool effort goes a long way to show that DRY is more than just a movie, but a tool for touching the lives of women actually living with this condition.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Nigeria's Chioma Ukonu Among Finalists of $1M Global Social Enterprise Competition


Chioma Ukonu, the Co-Founder & COO of RecyclePoints is among the 30 finalists shortlisted for the $1M Global Social Enterprise Competition of Chivas Regal® to reward the most promising Social Entrepreneurs around the globe.


RecyclePoints is enabling individuals, particularly from low-income households, to create value from their everyday waste. We operate an incentive-based model which collects recyclable waste materials from registered households, and in turn rewards them with points, which they can accumulate and redeem for cash or other useful items offered through our iRecycle Store. We employ young ‘Wastebusters’ to ride our electric tricycles and collect door-to-door recyclable waste such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers, or cartons. These items are then processed at our Collection & Sorting Hub by unemployed women within the community, and sold on to recycling plants to use as raw materials for new products.

See more in the following press release.

NEW YORK, March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, at the Skoll Centre at the world-renowned University of Oxford, 30 of the brightest startups from across the globe were unveiled as finalists of Chivas Regal's The Venture – a global search to discover and reward the world's most promising social entrepreneurs. Each finalist, including DayOne Response from San Francisco, CA, will travel to Los Angeles, CA, in July to compete for a share of $1 million to make their dream of creating a better future for the world a reality.

Click here to read the full report and vote for the finalists.

The African Image in the Information Age of the Internet


The African Image in the Information Age of the Internet

On the 28th anniversary of the invention of the World Wide Web (www) on Monday, March 13, 2017, Tim Berners-Lee., the Inventor  mentioned his biggest fears for the future:
1. Losing control of our personal data.
2. The spread of fake news and
3. The lack of regulation around political advertising.
Of course, he never had these fears when he invented it on March 12, 1989.

Many people still mistake the World Wide Web for the Internet, but it is a portion of the Internet and one of the ways that information can be disseminated over the Internet.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Pastor Adeboye Celebrates His 75Th Birthday with 75 Hours of Praise Marathon


Adeboye@75: silence on a loud day

~ by Bisi Daniels

It was Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s birthday and the 31st anniversary of the monthly Holy Ghost Service of the Redeemed Christian Church of God on March 2. The service is always heavily attended, a part reason for a 3-kilometre-by-3-kilometre auditorium called The Arena. But people who had taken a cue from the 75-hour non-stop praise of the Lord to expect fanfare and cake-cutting during the week arrived the Arena to the usual service, the birthday having been celebrated privately. Pastor Adeboye is not known to put himself in God’s way or share in God’s glory or time. In fact, preachers at the service on March 2, were youths from four zones of the church.

Prize Winning Nigerian Writer in America Gives A To-Do List for President Buhari


Prize Winning Nigerian Writer in America Gives A To-Do List for President Buhari

Here’s A To-Do List For Nigeria's President Buhari IF He's Serious About Rebooting Nigeria

~ by Adeleke O'Adeyemi.

A new lease on life is a terrible thing to waste. President Buhari, you have just been handed one, along with something else: an epiphany.

I take it from your statement upon arrival back home that you now have a new conviction: education is the bad sector that has seen to the corruption of all others in Nigeria.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Video: President Buhari Returns from London



President Muhammadu Buhari arrived the country Friday at about 4 a.m., 51 days after he left the country on a medical vacation.


Owing to the closure of the Abuja airport, presidency sources informed THISDAY that his plane was scheduled to land at the Kaduna airport in the wee hours of Friday, following which he was to be flown by helicopter to the President Villa, Abuja.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Stephanie Linus Appointed As Goodwill Ambassador for UNFPA in Africa



Nollywood diva, Stephanie Linus  has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal Health in West and Central Africa by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on United Nations' International Women's Day, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, at the Eko Hotel & Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.


The event attracted both the local and international news media organizations, including the BBC and Reuters. Notable Nollywood actors, producers and directors, including Bond Emeruwa, Keppy Ekpenyong-Bassey, Yemi Blaq, Femi Branch, Gabriel Afolayan and other VIPs were at the event.

Be Bold for Change: Invest More in Young People and Women


Be Bold for Change: Invest More in Young People and Women


~ By Mabingue Ngom, Director for West and Central Africa Region, United Nations Population Fund .

To ‘be bold for change’ Governments must take the bold step to put money in smart investments. Two of the smartest investments for Africa are investing in young people and in maternal health.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, Be Bold for Change, echoes the need for bold action to accelerate gender parity, eliminate maternal mortality and invest in young people especially young women and girls. Taking bold action requires setting the right priorities, ensuring equitable distribution, and avoiding the costly mistakes of the past. Therefore the most important question is ‘where do we put our money, time and resources to get the maximum return?’

Monday, March 6, 2017

Nigeria: Corruption Has Changed Hands


When the "CHANGE" political mantra of the All Progressives Congress (APC) attracted majority of Nigerian voters and secured the mandate of the electorate in the 2015 presidential election, Nigerians expected the new national ruling party to change the  corrupt system of government of the former national ruling party, People's Democratic Party (PDP) after misruling Nigeria for 16 years with the institutionalization  of corruption. But many of them seem to be disappointed by the shortcomings of the new administration of the government under President Muhammadu Buhari. He is the most fearless Nigerian Head of State to fight corruption since when he was a military Head of State from December 31, 1983 – August 27,  1985.  And his anti-corruption policy made the corrupt ruling class not to support his previous presidential campaigns and he was defeated in the presidential elections of 2003, 2007 and 2011. Then in December 2014, he became the presidential candidate of the APC after he compromised his rigid principles as an anti-corruption crusader and the powerful leaders of the political ruling class supported him to win the presidential election of 28–29 March, 2015, by defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan; the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost to an opposition candidate in a general election.