It's disgraceful Nigeria imports toothpicks, rice and tomato purée '- Buhari

In an interview with BBC this morning, President Buhari described the importation of toothpicks, rice and tomato paste by Nigeria as shameful. See more of what he said during the interview after the cut as shared by BB's correspondent Sam Piranty..

Escape Night Club to Host Birthday Boy, Ushbebe

Just like Sam Klef , Tiwa Savage, Fathia and Saidi Balogun, today also marks the birthday of popular comedian, Ushbebe .

The funny man came into the scene about 10 years ago under the tutelage of Ayo Makun.


Asides comedy, Ushbebe appeared in AY’s popular sitcom, ‘AY’s Crib’and has a music album to his credit although the record didn’t do well commercially.


He currently doubles as an OAP on Naija
Fm 102.7 .


To celebrate the comedian, Escape Night Club is hosting the funnyman and his friends to an unforgettable evening at 234B Adeola Odeku Victoria Island, Lagos.

Three Missing, Eighty-Seven Rescued After South Africa Mine Collapse

Almost 90 miners were rescued and three were still missing after a cave-in at a gold mine in northeastern South Africa on Friday, the firm that owns the mine said.

The collapse at the mine’s main entrance trapped 87 workers underground, all of whom were rescued, Vantage Goldfields (VTGFF.PK) said in a statement. However, three others who had been working on the surface at the time of the collapse could not be accounted for.

No fatalities were reported. However, there was confusion regarding the number of workers involved.

“As we speak they might already all be out. Most have been evacuated,” Mike McChesney, chief executive of the small gold producer told Reuters by telephone from the mine in Barbeton town in Mpumalanga province about 360 kilometers (225 miles) east of Johannesburg.

McChesney and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union initially said 115 workers had been trapped.

South Africa’s mines are the deepest and among the most dangerous in the world. Fatalities in the industry have been falling due to both improved safety practices and a reduction in the labor force as production declines.

Vantage Goldfields is an Australia-based company mining gold at Barberton, a town that traces its origin in the country’s 19th century gold rush. Vantage was delisted from the Australian bourse in January 2015.

The mine workers union later said 78 workers had been rescued and three workers were missing. The reason for the discrepancy between the union’s figures and the company’s was not immediately clear.

“At this point, it’s unclear what caused the disaster,” Manzini Zungu, a spokesman for the union said.

Last year, 77 workers were killed in mining accidents, the lowest number on record, compared with 84 in 2014.

Samklef Signs First Act To His Label

Talented music producer and artist, Samclef, has signed his first act to ‘Klef Sounds,’ his label.



The artiste who goes by the name Zion, is the first act signed to the label.

Samklef made the announcement via Instagram writing:

Please welcome my new artiste Zion. He would be dropping is official single titled Basketmouth freestyle that features me soon.


 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BASKET MOUTH 

Manchester Utd launch outstanding £145million bid for Neymar

There are reports that Manchester United have launched a bid of £145million for Barcelona star Neymar, as Louis Van Gaal hopes to snatch the third best player in the world at the end of the season.

Neymar’s father revealed in court this week that there was a side that had made it clear they were willing to meet his son’s huge Nou Camp buy-out clause.


However, Manchester United coach Louis Van Gaal had shown interest in the search top quality players and the Brazilian could be on his way to Old Trafford in the summer, with the United management having supporting the move on bringing-in top quality players.

The United boss has spent about £205m in the space of 18 months but a world-record move for Neymar would have increased that figure to an incredible £350m.

According to Neymar’s father, Manchester United had offered £145million for his son.

“Manchester United is the side that offered €190m (£145million) for Neymar,” the player’s father told radio station COPES.

“He has still two years left on his contract but you can all be calm as my son is so happy here.”



Neymar Snr was in court to face an allegation by Brazilian third-party investment fund DIS against himself, Neymar, Santos and Barcelona over the transfer contract of his son in 2013.

Mr. Ibu welcomes son

Top actor, John Okafor also known as Mr Ibu has welcomed a new baby boy.


File photo of John Okafor also known as Mr Ibu
The proud dad shared the photo of his new baby on his Instagram page last night with the caption “My new baby boy has arrived God take all the glory”





John Okafor also known as Mr. Ibu is a Nigerian actor known for his eccentric looks and unusual brand of comedy in movies. He has won many hearts with his style and from all indications there is no end in sight for the man.

If you recall Mr Ibu had a daughter with his wife who died in 2012 and he remarried last year. This is the first child with his new wife.

Congratulations to him.

10 amazing facts about Cristiano Ronaldo as he turns 31

As Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his 31st birthday, here is an overview of the living legend who has exhibited amazing and exceptional skills on and off the pitch, in which most of his colleagues will be envious of.

Here are 10 amazing facts about Ronaldo

1. He was expelled from school at the age of 14: ‘Naughty Ronaldo’ threw a chair at his teacher at the age of fourteen. He was consequently expelled from school. The development made his mother compel him to focus entirely on football, a decision that has made him what he is today. What a decision!


2. A friendly against Manchester United shot him into limelite: Cristiano Ronaldo sent John O’Shea into dizzy spells when Manchester United faced Sporting. Ronaldo blew away Sir Alex Ferguson and the United players with his dazzling play.

Roy Keane, John O’Shea and Gary Neville asked Ferguson to buy Ronaldo after the game, but Ferguson was way ahead of them and had made his mind up by halftime.


3. He is named after former U.S President Ronald Reagan: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is his full name, but is known to everyone else as just Cristiano Ronaldo. His father was a big fan of the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, Ronald Reagan, which is where the now world famous name “Ronaldo” came from.

He has other nicknames, CR7, Ronnie and the Yoruba’s in Nigeria call him ‘Ororo’ (Groundnut Oil)


4. He has his own museum in his honour:

In 2013, Ronaldo opened his own museum in his hometown of Madeira. The museum contains all of his awards and trophies (over 150), with extra room available for future trophies, which he expects to win.


5. He has no tattoos: Unlike most of his colleagues, Ronaldo has no ink on his body. This is because he donated blood regularly. In some countries, you have to wait up to a year after getting a tattoo to give blood, so Ronaldo remains ink free. He also has become a bone marrow donor.


6. His free kick speed is around 130 kmph: He has a tremendous shot and can shoot with both legs. The Arsenal ‘wall’ below needed to cover some vital body parts.



7. His father passed away when he was 20: Cristiano’s father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, unfortunately passed away at the age of 52 due to alcoholism. As a result, the Real Madrid star does not take alcohol.

Infact in 2010 he received a libel payout from a journalist who reported that he was drinking champagne heavily in a nightclub.

8. He has less body fat than most supermodels and has a fashion boutique

9. He paid for a brain operation and treatments for a 10-month old boy: Ronaldo is a very loving and caring person. He shares the pain of other people and has paid for the surgery and further treatments of others, including this little boy Erik Ortiz Cruz.

10. He has scored a goal in every minute of a game over his career: Legendary! Ronaldo has an astonishing statistic that not even Lionel Messi can match.

First Zika Virus Case Confirmed In Europe

A pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus in Spain.

This is the first such case in Europe.

The health ministry said the woman had recently returned from Colombia, where it is believed she was infected.

Zika, which is spreading through the Americas, has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the microcephaly condition, linked to the mosquito-borne virus, a global public health emergency.

On Thursday, the WHO also advised countries not to accept blood donations from people who had travelled to Zika-affected regions.

The link between Zika infection and microcephaly has not been confirmed and the risks at different stages of pregnancy are unknown.

The WHO has predicted that at least four million people could be infected with Zika in the Americas in 2016.

The agency expressed belief that most victims would not develop symptoms, stressing that the infection had been linked to brain defects in babies.

US Election: Clinton And Sanders Debate In New Hampshire

Wall Street and foreign policy were the main issues at stake when US Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders locked horns in their first one-on-one debate.

The TV debate in New Hampshire was their first since the democratic race was whittled down to two contenders this week.

During the event, Mrs Clinton called Sanders an idealist who will not get things done and Mr Sanders accused her of being too tied to the establishment to achieve real change.

Analysts say without a third person on stage, the policy differences were laid bare.

The former Secretary of State said that Bernie Sanders’ proposals such as universal healthcare are too costly and not achievable.

And she went after her rival aggressively over his attempts to portray her as being in the pocket of Wall Street because of the campaign donations and the fees she had received for after-dinner speeches.

Despite heated moments between both candidates, they did agree and even shook hands on a few things during the 5th Democratic debate.

In her closing speech, Clinton asked voters to bring both their heads and hearts to the polls, having heard that people say they’re trying to decide whether to vote with their hearts or their heads.

She said there is a lot of work that can only be done if hearts are moved, mentioning continuing struggles against racism, sexism and discrimination.

She said that she would bring her heart with her “but I will also tell you we’ve got to get our heads together to come up with the best answers to solve the problems so that people can have real differences in their lives.”

Sanders said that he’s running for president because “it is just too late for establishment politics and establishment economics”.

He called for a political revolution where millions stand up and say, “Our government belongs to all of us and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors.”

Aguero and Koeman Named EPL’s Best For January

Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero, and Southampton manager, Ronald Koeman, have been named the Premier League’s Player and Manager of the Month.

Both completed individual hat-tricks after winning the Barclays awards for the third time.

Five goals and one assist in January helped Aguero to claim the Barclays Player of the Month award for a third time. The previous occasions were in October 2013 and November 2014.

Aguero, who won the Barclays Golden Boot last season, scored once against Watford and twice each against Crystal Palace and West Ham United in January.

He completed 70 successful passes and had a shooting accuracy of 57% in his 349 minutes played in the month.

The 27-year-old Argentinian beat Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe, Liverpool forward, Roberto Firmino, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Dele Alli, the Leicester City goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel, and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk to the award.

Koeman is the only Dutchman to have won the award and scooped his third Barclays Manager of the Month trophy thanks to victories by Southampton over Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United in January.

He piped Man City manager, Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham’s Slaven Bilic and Spurs head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, to the accolade, which he previously won in September 2014 and January 2015.

Health Workers Threaten Strike

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professionals (AHPA) have issued a 15-day ultimatum from February 3, 2016 to the federal government to look into their demands or face an industrial action.



The health workers have been having a protracted dispute with the federal government over a number of demands.

Some of their demands include the implementation of a circular on promotion from CONHESS 14 to 15 and the reconstitution of what the coalition calls lopsided composition of the board of management of teaching hospitals among others.

Medical doctors are, however, not part of the threat by the coalition of unions and associations of healthcare workers in Nigeria to go on strike.

Falling oil price: Shell to sack 10,000 workers

Following the downward slide of oil price in the International market, international oil firm, Royal Dutch Shell says it is cutting down on 10,000 jobs. Chief Executive of the company, Ben van Beurden, said this in a webcast on its 2015 fourth quarter and full year results early today Feb. 4th

“We are making substantial changes in the company, as we refocus Shell, and respond to lower oil prices. As we have previously indicated, this will include a reduction of some 10,000 staff and direct contractor positions in 2015-16 across both companies.” he said