2015: “Obasanjo Is No God, He Cannot Decide Nigeria’s Leader” – Presidency

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The cold war between the camp of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan took a new turn over the weekend, as a presidential aide called bluff the threats by Obasanjo not to back Jonathan if the latter eventually declares his intention to re-contest in 2015.

Although the president is yet to openly affirm his intention to run or not, analysts say his body language and that of those around him stoutly suggest the opposite.

Inside Nigeria’s Secret Gay Club

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About 50 people, mostly men, crowd around the front porch of a social club in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, cheering on a shy-looking young man, who proceeds to sing a ballad.

Backstage, another man puts on his wig and takes a quick glance at his pocket mirror, before adjusting his tight-fitting red dress. Five other men also dressed in drag outfits appear, checking on each other’s make-up as they wait for their turn to perform for the crowd.

Nigeria's First Newspaper, Iwe-Irohin, Resuscitated after Some Years (Happy!)

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Nigeria's first Newspaper, Iwe Irohin, has been resuscitated after 140 years of its demise. The newspaper was founded in 1859 by a missionary named Henry Townsend in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Iwe Irohin was published bi-weekly in Yoruba and English language and ran for about 8 years before its demise in 1867. It's been brought back by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, who launched it's first edition just last week

Globetrotting governors in Nigeria’s risky airspace

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The lavish and immodest lifestyle of Nigerian governors can be measured by their penchant for frequent and often needless foreign travels, writes CHUKWUDI AKASIKE. In the Second Republic, governors showed a high level of moderation compared to the current crop of governors who are not only stylish, but also take pleasure to the extreme while in office. While some state chief executives in those days were satisfied riding on horses, today’s governors not only fly in airplanes, they acquire private jets for their regular expensive trips.

8-year-old Amarachi Uyanne, has emerged as the first ever winner of Nigeria’s Got Talent.

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The dancer from Benin City, shrugged off competition from nine other finalists to be crowned winner, in front of a live audience yesterday, at Bamako Studios.
Amarachi, who walks away with a N10 million cheque, was the youngest contestant in the competition, as she turned 8 in July, but the judges – Dan Foster, Kate Henshaw and Yibo Koko – were pleased for the lively performer.  “I am happy what happened has happened. Every parent should allow their kids do whatever they can do to display their talents,” Emike Uyanne, Amarachi’s mother told NET, a few minutes after her daughter was announced winner.

Shonekan Wants Jonathan To Address Nigeria's Infrastructure Deficiency

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Chief Ernest Shonekan, the Chairman, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), on Tuesday called for the setting up of Infrastructure Investment Programme to address the nation’s infrastructure deficiency. Shonekan made the call after presenting the 2011 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statement of the Commission to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Part 1: Inside The Lion’s Den of Nigeria’s Boko Haram

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Yvonne Ndege is a British-Kenyan journalist based in Abuja, Nigeria. She is the West Africa Correspondent for the English-language news channel, Al Jazeera English. Here, she shares her experience of visiting Boko-Haram-torn Maiduguri. My five days in Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria – the epicentre of violence perpetrated by the armed group, Boko Haram – was fraught with danger. I had been trying to get access to report from the city for over a year.

Part 2: Inside The Lion’s Den of Nigeria’s Boko Haram

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Part 1: Inside The Lion’s Den of Nigeria’s Boko Haram

Before the chaos took hold, I remembered Maiduguri as a surprisingly cosmopolitan and peaceful town, with an eclectic mix of people of different faiths, ethnicities, and subcultures; as well as different types of food and music. The people of Maiduguri had struck me as ordinary people, with a somewhat royal air, steeped in their tradition – but at the same time having a somewhat modern and outward look. Borno State shares borders with the former French colonies of Niger to the north and Chad to the north-east – giving one a strange feeling of being in Francophone Africa too.

Ghanaian Arrested With Cocaine At Nigeria’s Border

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The Seme Border Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 28-year old Ghanaian auto dealer for allegedly concealing wraps of powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine in his inner wear, the agency said on Thursday. The suspect, Ali Aminu, was arrested with a Ghanaian international passport number H2252580, said Mitchell Ofoyeju, NDLEA Head of Public Affairs. Aminu is alleged to have imported 1.3 kilogrammes of cocaine from Dubai. “He was caught during routine search of passengers at Gbaji security post along Lagos Seme express way,” NDLEA said.

Nigeria’s Onaiyekan Now A Prince Of Catholic Church

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Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday officially named Nigeria’s Archbishop John Onaiyekan and five other non-European cardinals to the body that will elect his successor, saying the move underlined the Church’s diversity.  The 85-year-old pontiff presided over the ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica that elevated the six prelates to the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals.
The body “presents a variety of faces, because it expresses the face of the universal Church,” he said in a development that has been welcomed by critics concerned that the college has become increasingly Euro-centric under Benedict.

Names of Nigeria's Corrupt Businessmen and How much they stole - EFCC

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According to the E.F.C.C. Chairman, this is a list of some Nigerians who stole billions from Nigeria and how much they stole: