Below The Headlines - 59
Below The Headlines - 59
How dare the US stop a Nigerian politician's Japa plans and exit Justin, enter Nnamdi
We are so back! Hope you enjoyed your one month break from Nigerian shenanigans. If you didn’t, too bad.
A lot happened while we were away and impossible to cover all of them. But this newsletter makes a brave attempt to do so.
Enjoy!
Inside Nigeria
Nigerian politician who was denied a visa to Japa to the US is now suing the US government for having the temerity to keep him in Nigeria against his will:
In June 2023, Abubakar Giza, a Nigerian politician planning to relocate to the United States with his family, sued the US government following a prolonged wait for a final decision on the temporary denial of his visa application. However, court records obtained by PREMIUM TIMES reveal that on 27 August, a US District Court in Washington DC, dismissed the suit.
Mr Giza, a notable member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, North-central Nigeria, had his EB-5 visa application temporarily refused and further subjected to an administrative process.
The EB-5 visa programme allows non-citizens to migrate to the US by investing substantial capital in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs.
Angered by the US government’s action, Mr Giza filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Consul General to Nigeria Will Stevens in their official capacities. The suit challenged the decision of the US Consulate General in Lagos to refuse his application and place his family’s applications on “administrative processing” for months.
APC candidate for the Edo state gubernatorial election announces that he will be committing fraud in office if he wins:
Monday Okpebholo, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo, says he would repair interstate roads and claim double the amount from the federal government if elected.
The APC candidate is up against Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) among others, in the September 21 election.
Okpebholo spoke in a recent interview with BBC Pidgin.
He was responding to a question about the deplorable condition of some interstate roads in Edo and how the state government has not lifted a finger on them.
Continuation of our ongoing theme here at BTH about how Nigerian farmers are so flighty in terms of the crops they plant with serious consequences for Nigeria’s food security:
A farmer, Ibrahim Yakubu, told Weekend Trust that in the last three years, more farmers have engaged in the farming of sesame and melon crops because of their good prices and patronage.
“It was in 2021 that prices of the two commodities went up, with a 100kg bag of sesame selling for N110,000 while 100kg bag of melon hit N80,000,” he said.
He said farmers planted the two crops annually to get more money and reinvest in the production of other crops like maize, groundnut and rice.
Yakubu also said that unlike previous years when pest invaded farms, this year, despite the shortage of rainfall in the beginning of the farming season, pest invasion on farms was not recorded and that contributed to bumper harvest.
Alhaji Uba Saidu, a large-scale farmer in Garba-Chede told Weekend Trust that he harvested 70 bags of sesame and 100 bags of melon.
He said last year, he harvested 40 bags of sesame and 30 bags of melon from the same farm. He revealed that he made over N10 million from the two crops.
He said last year, many sesame farmers were kidnapped and made to part with money they made from the sale of the two commodities.
“Last year, many farmers were kidnapped across farming communities when bandits took over several villages. Sesame and melon farmers were their target.
News from Borno:
Following the nationwide increase in the price of petrol on Tuesday, more residents and workers including civil servants in Borno State have abandoned their vehicles to embrace trekking, horse riding and the use of bicycles and tricycles for mobility.
During a tour of Maiduguri, the state capital in the early hours of Thursday, PUNCH Metro observed less vehicles on the road and more pedestrians including horse and bicycle riders on major roads.
One of the pedestrians, Dadoon Pam, who is a graphic designer, told our correspondent that the cost of mobility had increased significantly as tricycle riders now refer to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s increase in petroleum products price, making commuters pay almost double the amount before.
He said, “This fuel price hike has affected me terribly because as a graphic designer, I need electricity to make my design. Now that we depend solely on fuel to work, this increase means I now have to charge my clients more. Though it will be bad for business, I don’t have any option as we speak.”
An enumerator with a Non-Governmental Organisation, The Big Smile Foundation in Maiduguri, Jeremiah Blessing, who narrated her experience, said she had adjusted to breaking her morning movement by trekking halfway before boarding a tricycle.
She says, “What I do now is to break my movement, trek to a point, then take Keke from there. Since the hike in fuel prices, it has not been easy because I go to work late almost every day. Sometimes, I stand up to 10 to 30 minutes before seeing a tricycle going towards my direction because many riders have packed their tricycle due to the price increase.”
Update on the Second Amendment in Ondo State:
He said, “A case of attempted murder was reported to the police. The victim went to his friend (a woman) who is a divorcee, in her house. One Ajegba Joseph, ‘m’, a hunter, aged 38 years, who is also having an affair with the woman, went to visit her on the same day in possession of an unlicensed single-barrel gun.
“However, upon sighting the victim with the woman in bed, the suspect shot the victim through the window side. The suspect was arrested and the barrel gun recovered with an expended cartridge, while the victim rescued by the police is currently recuperating at the hospital.”
Speaking on why he committed the offence, the suspect said he was disappointed and angered to see his colleague having sex with his girlfriend.
Some interesting stats in an article about the government increasing the feeding allowance for prisoners in Nigeria by 50%:
He revealed that as of September 3, 2024, Nigeria’s correctional centres housed a total of 84,741 inmates, comprising 82,821 males and 1,920 females.
He further noted that 57,750 of these inmates are awaiting trial, with the majority—56,303 males and 1,447 females—classified as Awaiting Trial Persons (ATPs).
An amazing story:
It appears from this reporter’s findings, that the solar streetlights provided by Dunkulu Global Venture and Facile Concept Service Limited, were not distributed fairly among the communities in need. Instead, politicians and traditional rulers allegedly took bribes and installed the solar streetlights in their private homes, leaving some areas without adequate lighting.
The investigation was prompted by complaints from targeted beneficiaries who felt that the solar streetlights were not reaching their streets as intended. Some of the solar streetlights were also reportedly installed incorrectly in certain areas. The project file for the intervention was not available at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and the contractor’s mobile number was unreachable.
This reporter obtained information that apart from the District Head of Jaragol and other traditional rulers, Maigari Abare, a state House of Assembly member representing Bayo Constituency, was implicated in the bribery scandal. He was accused of accepting a solar streetlight as bribe, which was installed at his private home in Briyel, headquarters of Bayo. Sources also revealed that Suzi was also allegedly bribed with a streetlight.
However, when contacted, Abare denied requesting for the solar streetlight and claimed that it was brought to his house without his knowledge or consent. He said “Sulaiman Suzi brought it to my home. Please, you can go and remove it. I can buy ten of them. If not that Suzi insisted that I should install it, I wouldn’t have done that.”
On his part Suzi said,”It was the contractor who saw my effort and installed one in my house.”
A most painful irony in this story:
Nigerian soldiers allegedly shot at two civilians protesting against the withdrawal of military officers in the Lambar-Tureta area of Sokoto state, North West Nigeria.
The protesters had shut down the federal highway along the Lambar-Tureta junction linking Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states on Sunday, July 28. The roadblock lasted four hours on Sunday and another two hours the following day.
Unarmed civilians of the community staged the protests after the 8th Division of the Nigerian Army, Sokoto, ordered the withdrawal of officers guarding them. Seemingly enraged about this development, the protesting villagers tried to waylay the army officers leaving the community. To disperse the protesters, the soldiers allegedly fired shots, which unfortunately hit some of the people.
Police reveal how tricycles are being stolen in Kano:
According to the statement: “Friday at about 22: 30hrs, one Basiru A. Husseini, 25, of Satame village via Makoda LGA, Kano State, reported at Kazaure Division that on the same date at about 22: 00hrs four unknown persons boarded his tricycle (Keke NAPEP) at Kazaure town and offered him Zobo drink, as a result, he fell unconscious and the hoodlums carted away his tricycle valued at N380,000, two handsets, Infinix Smart 8, valued at N110,000, Vivo, valued at N12,000 and the sum of N92,600.”
Outside Nigeria
Chick-fil-A celebrates Ibukun Olubiyi, its first franchise owner in Canada’s capital. I confess to being a big Chick-fil-A fan and I even smuggled several bottles of their amazing sauce into the UK from the US recently:
Great and quality food. Quick and accurate service. Exemplary hospitality. Positivity. These priorities are the “North Star” for local Owner-Operator Ibukun Olubiyi, who will open the first Chick-fil-A® restaurant in Ottawa in Summer 2024.
“I look forward to introducing the city of Ottawa to Chick-fil-A, developing great leaders in my Restaurant, and having the opportunity to positively influence our local community,” says Ibukun.
Her path to Ottawa and Chick-fil-A
A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Ibukun was raised between Lagos, London and Dublin before moving to Canada to complete a bachelor’s degree in sociology at McMaster University. It was during those university years that she first experienced Chick-fil-A.
“During Reading Week, of my final year of university in 2012, I traveled with about 50 other students to New Orleans, Louisiana, to partner with Habitat for Humanity and build homes for displaced residents who were still suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,” she explains. “During our 27-hour drive, we stopped to eat at Chick-fil-A. To be honest, what stood out to me more than the food was the impeccable customer service, especially the Team Members who were extremely courteous as they took my order.”
American election interference detected. And once again we have to ask the question - what is Nigeria doing on a list like this?:
Intelligence officials have warned that the 2024 presidential contest could face an unprecedented flood of fake news, fueled by AI, from foreign actors. A Journal analysis of videos on TikTok has found it’s already happening.
Amid all the general political news and lighthearted election memes on TikTok, the Journal found thousands of videos with political lies and hyperbole. Further analysis led the Journal to identify 91 accounts that pushed these videos from China, Nigeria, Iran and Vietnam—and were tied together in complex ways.
You will all be familiar with the sextortion story involving the Ogoshi brothers who were extradited to the US from Nigeria last year. They have now been sentenced:
A federal judge in Michigan on Thursday sentenced two brothers from Nigeria to 17 and a half years in prison for their roles in a social media sextortion scheme that claimed more than 100 victims across the United States and resulted in the death of a high school student.
The brothers, Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, who each pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to exploit minors, will be on supervised release for five years after completing their prison terms, prosecutors said in a news release.
The brothers, who are from Lagos, Nigeria, were extradited to the United States from Nigeria in August 2023 after they were indicted in November 2022.
The extradition marked a new chapter in cooperation with Nigerian authorities in extraditing perpetrators of this kind of scam. Last month, the Justice Department announced the extradition of two other Nigerian nationals on similar charges in Pennsylvania.
A third defendant in the case, Ezekiel Robert, is pending extradition from Nigeria, prosecutors said.
The brothers were sentenced in a case involving a popular relatively new scam the authorities call financial sextortion, in which scammers pose as young women on social media and send flirty messages to young men and teenage boys before soliciting nude photographs that they then hold as ransom.
The scammers threaten to send the photos to family, friends and classmates if the victim does not pay the demanded money.
The Ogoshis were accused of helping to extort money from more than 100 victims, including at least 11 minors, using hacked profiles on Instagram and other social media platforms to pose as young women, prosecutors said.
You may have missed the story of Kehinde Wiley being accused of sexual harassment and abuse as it played out on Instagram:
THE VIDEO was posted online on March 23.
In an Instagram reel, a young artist from Ghana details his alleged sexual assault a few years earlier. The video, which is set to moody, instrumental music, shows the artist wearing a gray sweater and matching slacks sitting in a Donald Judd–designed chair, tears glistening on his cheeks.
Joseph Awuah-Darko, the 27-year-old artist, silently holds up a stack of handwritten posters, flipping through them in slow succession. “I know my life will change 4ever after I share this, but it’s time to come to the light,” he wrote on the first poster in capital letters. “A few years ago, I was sexually assaulted [severely],” he wrote on the second. “It was by a seminal figure in the art world, someone I long admired whose work is recognized in major museums across the globe.”
Next poster. “They are incredibly powerful and as you would imagine, for legal reasons I cannot disclose their name.”
Awuah-Darko then appeals for donations, writing, “The legal fees to see justice through are more than I can handle alone.” He sets a $200,000 target and includes links to his accounts on PayPal and Cash App. He also suggests supporters buy his artworks—abstracts he creates after assigning colors to his moods and charting them by the hour. Positive is often pink, depressive is maroon, black is sleeping.
Two months later, Awuah-Darko sent shock waves throughout the art world when he named his alleged rapist: the superstar Brooklyn artist Kehinde Wiley.
Next time you visit Red Lobster and they no longer offer endless shrimp, blame Damola Adamolekun, the new CEO:
For three months this year, a diner hit Red Lobsters across the country to assess the quality of the Maine lobster tail and the comfort of the New England-inspired interiors. He found a lot of love for the brand and plenty that needs sprucing up.
Adamolekun, a private-equity executive who was selected by Red Lobster’s lenders to become its chief executive as it emerges from bankruptcy, has organized his life by having a plan, and sticking to it. He’s run that play repeatedly, even at 35 years old.
The son of a Nigerian neurologist, Adamolekun won a $10,000 prize from a high-school speech competition, and used the proceeds to seed his first stock portfolio at age 16. In high school in Maryland, a coach encouraged him to pursue playing football at top area schools such as Georgetown or Johns Hopkins.
Adamolekun went further. He assembled a highlight reel of his football plays, and packaged it with his academic background to send it to all eight Ivy League colleges he’d dreamed of attending. A few schools called him, and Adamolekun eventually landed at Brown University where he played free safety on the football team.
Adamolekun, who recently ran pan-Asian chain P.F. Chang’s, is now set to take charge of Red Lobster. The 56-year-old seafood chain has sustained tens of millions of dollars in losses, suffered a revolving door of CEOs, dozens of restaurant closures and, in May, bankruptcy. Through the bankruptcy process, Red Lobster’s lenders bid on the chain and picked a new CEO for when a judge signed off on the deal.
One of the weirdest stories this year finally comes to an end. Although I may be jumping the gun on that:
A former Miss South Africa contestant hounded over a nationality row was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday, bringing to an end a difficult few weeks for the contender.
Born to a Nigerian father in South Africa, 23-year-old Chidimma Adetshina withdrew from the country’s competition “for the safety and wellbeing of my family” after a backlash that exposed anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa.
“This journey has been a tough journey for me … I am so proud of myself and I’m really grateful for the love and the support,” Adetshina told AFP minutes after being crowned in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. “This is something that I’ve always wanted, and I’m really glad that I have a second shot as well at achieving it.”
A feature on Nigerian creators who have found a global audience for their work from Nigeria:
Olayiwola wasn’t in London just to film content — it was a reconnaissance mission, too, sitting for interviews and testing stand-up sets to see how his humor might translate. After breaking out as one of Lagos’ most popular creators, he’s set on becoming a top comic — not just in his region, but in the world.
He’s not the only Nigerian comedy creator to have captivated the regional market — of the roughly 218 million people in the country, 70 percent are under 30, and local brands are often eager to give them ad deals. Some say they want to expand their audiences and profitability, but instead of assimilating to Western tastes, these creators are keeping their Nigerian communities and culture front of mind — and finding success.
“My latest hobby is making money,” jokes Eniola Olanrewaju, known as Korty Eo on YouTube, where she has more than 300,000 subscribers. Her content varies — in her docuseries Flow With Korty, she spends time with Afrobeats artists like Rema and Ayra Starr, while on Love or Lies, a reality dating show, she sets singles up on blind dates. Her content is cinematic, emotional, and comedic, and looks into the lives of people she thinks are misunderstood, like when the famously reserved singer Tems opened up to her about having never been in love. “I can do that across the globe and it’ll connect with every single person,” she says. “But my roots still remain Nigerian.”
Spiderman has been defeated by a Nigerian. And in case you’re wondering, Geoffrey is Adebayo Ogunlesi’s son:
Jennifer Meyer is engaged to Nigerian billionaire heir Geoffrey Ogunlesi.
Tobey Maguire may not have found his MJ just yet, but his ex-wife, Jennifer Meyer, has certainly been caught in a web of love, as she is now engaged to billionaire heir Geoffrey Ogunlesi.
The 47-year-old jewelry designer took to Instagram to reveal the diamond on her ring finger while being embraced by her fiancé. Smiling joyfully alongside her partner, she captioned the post, “YES!!!”
New season, new me:
Justin Madubuike became one of the NFL's premier defensive linemen last season. In 2024, get ready for Nnamdi Madubuike to take it even further.
Madubuike has decided to go by his Nigerian-given name, Nnamdi, from now on. The new name is already on his nameplate above his locker and Instagram profile. On Monday, he explained why he made the change.
Madubuike took some inspiration from teammate Odafe Oweh, who also has Nigerian heritage and stopped going by Jayson when he was first drafted in 2021.
"Coming from Nigerian culture, our parents give us like an American name and give us a Nigerian name," Madubuike said. "When we were growing up as little kids, they addressed us as our Nigerian name. So Nnamdi, I believe in my heart, that's my real name."
When Madubuike talks with his parents, they still always call him Nnamdi. But he was in second or third grade when Justin, which is the name on his birth certificate, started to be on his name tags and desktops. That caught on, so that's what Madubuike would be called outside his home.
Shaboozey is the talk of the town these days:
Shaboozey’s own upbringing was typically American in some ways — a childhood in the slow town of Woodbridge, Va., just south of Washington D.C., fascinated by his own state’s robust hip-hop tradition (he admires Pharrell Williams’ fearlessness across genres) and the country music his Nigerian dad grew to love here.
He found deeper connections between the West African culture of his parents, and the Americana they adopted.
“I think there’s the folk tales, the storytelling aspect that you see in Western African music that’s also a very big part of country music,” he said. “Obviously the banjo’s got African roots too. Country music came from people in the South and Appalachia, slaves and indentured servants from Europe, each gathering and trading stories.”
The exchange goes both ways. Videos of African weddings where crowds line danced to songs like Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” surprised and delighted Western social media. Singers like Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family have inspired African singers like George Sibanda, and the Nigerian singer Joe Nez loved classic country singers like the ‘50s American star Jim Reeves.
“There’s a lot of Nigerian people that are like, ‘Yeah, my dad did play a lot of Don Williams,’ ” Shaboozey said. “Certain artists every generation cross that water. It’s interesting to see Nigerians’ and immigrants’ relationship to American music, especially when they’re living in the South, just trying to live an honest life working and building that home.”
Who is Divine Iheme?
Great Britain may have found their track star of the future.
Meet Divine Iheme, the fastest 14-year-old in Britain and the world after the teenage sensation smashed the world record for his age group during an athletic meet at Lee Valley this week.
Iheme ran an unthinkable 10.3 seconds, shaving off a staggering 0.21 seconds from the previous record, which was 10.51s, held by Jamaican Sachin Dennis.
He is now the third fastest ever on the European under-18-all-time list, only Great Britain's Teddy Wilson (10.26) and France's Jeff Erious (10.27) ever clocking faster times.
[…]
Divine Iheme was born on January 1, 2009 to parents Innocent Iheme and Nkiruku Iheme, who are originally from Nigeria.
Iheme's mother Nkiruku is also his coach and the founder of the PWD Athletic Academy which is based in Oxfordshire, where the family resides and Iheme trains.
Iheme's athletic ability should come as no shock to people as both his parents represented Nigeria at the 2002 Commonwealth Games which took place in Manchester.
Nigerian food continues its international march. As the kids say - you love to see it. And this piece goes one further by finally recognising Supermalt as Nigerian food:
There is nothing like a Supermalt – this sensational malty, non-alcoholic drink has earned its rightful place in the high ranks of all great Nigerian households. Its combined sweetness and maltiness is the reason for its firm place at every Nigerian social gathering. Nigerian culture is so diverse and, when we cater, we seek to cater to all; this showstopper dish is bound to have everybody from all walks of life wanting more. These wings were inspired by our mama (grandma), as Supermalt was one of her favourite drinks – we would dance around the kitchen from the age of nine until well into our early twenties, cooking up a storm and always drinking Supermalt. If you are not a fan of heat you can leave out the scotch bonnet.
A sad story from Manitoba:
A brother and sister, who are members of the city’s Nigerian community, were killed in a highway crash south of The Pas last weekend.
Vera Keyede, president of the Nigerian Association of Manitoba, posted on social media this week that the 23-year-old male and 21-year-old female were from Nigeria.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am letting you know that our community has been thrown into mourning following the tragic accident,” Keyede wrote.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the families and friends affected by this devastating loss. We ask for your prayers for the family at this time.”
The note said details of the victims and the surviving passengers weren’t available.
The Pas RCMP said a vehicle driving from Winnipeg to The Pas on Sunday at 4:45 p.m., was on Highway 60, about 31 kilometres east of Hwy. 10, when it drove onto the shoulder and the driver over-corrected.
The vehicle rolled and the two rear-seat passengers, both from Winnipeg, were ejected. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The story about the number of inmates awaiting trial is crazy; one would think that if these people want to reduce prison costs, they will do well to ensure that innocent people are released as soon as possible or at least bailable suspects are granted bail.
But then, this is Nigeria; anything you see, you take it.
The story on Kehinde Wiley should contain more details. He now has three accusers. He claims through his attorney not to know one, he says the Ghanaian origin gentleman and he had a concensus relationship as did another person and on insta he has posted what he claims to be messages showing he had differences of opinions about his relationships with the two accusers and hinting at blackmail or clout hunting.
There is talk of a class action suit in the works againat him.
Please keep up the good work Sir.