₦airaland Forum

The 2013/2014 season of the second-tier of the English football league, called ‘the Championship’, got underway Saturday.
Although not very popular outside Europe, the division is very important in the English football calendar as a significant number of teams or footballers in the league have been involved with top flight football before at some time or the other. Also, according to Delloite, in the 2004–05 season it was the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world, and the sixth richest division in Europe.
Perhaps the most significant reason to pay attention to the league is because every season three teams from the Premier league would be relegated to play in the Championship the following season while three teams from the lower division would be promoted to the Premiership at the same time.
Below are the results of the matches played over the weekend:
Saturday, 3rd August 2013:

Burnley 1:1 Bolton Wanderers
Barnsley 0:4 Wigan Athletic
Birmingham City 0:1 Watford
Bournemouth 2:1 Charlton Athletic
Doncaster Rovers 1:3 Blackpool
Leeds United 2:1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Middlesbrough 1:2 Leicester City
Milwall 0:1 Yeovil Town
Nothingham Forest 1:0 Huddersfield Town
QPR 2:1 Sheffield Wednesday
Reading 2:1 Ipswich Town

The only match played on Sunday, 4th August was between Derby County and Blackburn Rover. It ended in a one-all draw.

The Premiership starts 17th August 2013 and Urnaija.com promises that results and highlights will be updated within minutes of the conclusion of every match played.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/20132014-english-football-league-starts/

A leading UK tax lawyer has been arrested after allegedly hiring a British private investigations firm who bribed policemen on behalf of James Ibori, former Delta State Governor.

Ian Timlin, a former litigation partner at London City Law firm, Speechly Bircham, was arrested by officers at his home in Kent in April on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt a police officer, perverting the course of justice and money-laundering offences.

The investigation relates to his firm’s work for Ibori who was jailed last year for embzlement after stealing around £50million.

Ibori had hired Speechly Bircham while the Metropolitan Police were still investigating his affairs.

Documents seen by The Independent newspaper suggest that Mr Timlin hired RISC Management, an investigations firm run by former police officers, who allegedly paid serving detectives a fee of £20,000 for information that was given to Ibori’s defence lawyers.

According to the documents, a payment of £5,000 was also allegedly made to a source for information relating to ‘forthcoming interviewing strategy to be deployed by police’.

A spokesperson for Speechly Bircham said: ‘Given an arrest was made some months ago and there has since been no charge, it would be inappropriate for us to comment.

Although Timlin was arrested in April, the news is only coming now after it has emerged that the legal world is by far the largest blue-chip employer of corrupt private detectives in Britain according to a secret list passed to British MPs by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

British MPs are keen to make public the list of lawyers who have employed rouge private detectives while The Police and Soca are reluctant to publish the list claiming that it could jeopardize on-going criminal investigations.

It is, however, not known if Ibori’s lawyers’ names are on the list.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/iboris-lawyer-arrested-in-the-uk/

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has won a seventh term in office, officials say, amid claims of electoral fraud.

According to the BBC, Mr Mugabe, 89, won 61% of the vote, against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s 34%.

Mr Tsvangirai earlier said the elections for parliament and president were fraudulent and promised to take legal action.
He said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would no longer work with Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.

The two parties have been working together in a coalition since the last election in 2008 sparked widespread violence.

Results from this week’s parliamentary election showed the MDC had been trounced, winning just 49 seats compared with Zanu-PF’s 158.
In a news conference before the presidential result was announced, Mr Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe was “in mourning”.

“The fraudulent and stolen election has launched Zimbabwe into a constitutional, political and economic crisis,” he said.

He said he would produce a dossier of the alleged electoral fraud and he called on the southern African regional bloc, Sadc, to investigate.

His MDC colleagues had earlier called for a campaign of civil disobedience to isolate Zanu-PF.

The European Union, which maintains sanctions on Mr Mugabe and his senior aides, said it was concerned about “alleged irregularities and reports of incomplete participation” in the election.

The largest group of domestic monitors, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), had said problems with voter registration had left up to one million people unable to cast their ballots, most of them in MDC strongholds.

On Saturday, one of the nine members of the election commission resigned over the way the election was conducted.

Commissioner Mkhululi Nyathi said in his resignation letter: “While throughout the whole process I retained some measure of hope that the integrity of the whole process could be salvaged along the way, this was not to be.”

However, the African Union and Sadc broadly endorsed the election, and South Africa challenged critics to produce evidence of ballot fraud.

Mr Mugabe has been president since Zimbabwe won independence from the UK in 1980.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/mugabe-re-elected-amid-fraud-claims/

A team of African Union observation team, lead by Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo sent to monitor the recently concluded elections in Zimbabwe have considered the election results credible as opposition members complain of mass rigging and intimidation of voters.

Officials say the the ruling party, ZANU-PF, led by ageing President Robert Mugabe, have won a huge majority in parliament in this week’s elections, according to the BBC.

With most seats declared, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said Zanu-PF had won 137 seats in the 210-seat chamber, just short of two-thirds.
Earlier reports from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Zanu-PF had won 142 seats but this was later corrected following some recounts.
Results in the presidential race have yet to be announced.

Mr Mugabe’s main rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has already dismissed the election as “a sham”.
Mr Tsvangirai, 61, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and is running for president against Mr Mugabe, said the vote was “null and void”

A local monitoring group has also said that the poll was “seriously compromised”.

However, the two main observer groups have broadly endorsed the election, saying it was free and peaceful.

Obasanjo dismissed the complaints of fraud, saying the election was fair and free “from the campaigning point of view”.
He acknowledged incidents “that could have been avoided and even tended to have breached the law” but added: “All in all, up to the close of the polls, we do not believe that these incidences (incidents) will amount to the result not representing the will of the people.”

The former Nigerian president added: “I have never seen an election that is perfect. The process continues and we have to limit our comments.”
Monitors from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) described the elections as “free and peaceful” but said it was too early to call them fair.

“In democracy we not only vote, not only campaign, but accept the hard facts, particularly the outcome,” said Sadc mission head Bernard Membe.
The AU assessment sharply contrasted to that of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) – the largest group of domestic monitors with some 7,000 people on the ground.

It said on Thursday that the elections were “seriously compromised”, with as many as one million people unable to cast their ballots.
The ZESN said potential voters were much more likely to be turned away from polling stations in urban areas, where support for Mr Tsvangirai is strong, than in President Mugabe’s rural strongholds.

The group also alleged significant irregularities before the poll. It said that 99.7% of rural voters were registered on the electoral roll in June compared with only 67.9% of urban voters.

In another report, it was claimed that more than 35% more names were added to the electoral register than people who actually registered to vote with certain local observers recognising names on the electoral register belonging to deceased persons.
There were also claims of multiple electoral registration cards bearing the same name but different signatures.

Zanu-PF and the MDC have formed an uneasy coalition government since 2009. That deal ended deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.

The AFP news agency reports that 186 seats have been declared with 24 results still to come.

If Zanu-PF clinches a two-thirds majority it will be able to change Zimbabwe’s constitution.

Mr Mugabe, 89, is running for a seventh term.

The BBC’s Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says some strong legal challenges are likely, with perhaps a few results overturned.

Amid rising tension, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on President Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai to send “clear messages of calm”to their supporters.
His spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said Mr Ban wanted any election disputes to be handled “transparently and fairly”.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/obasanjos-team-endorses-zimbabwes-election-as-local-observers-allege-mass-rigging/

Jose Mourinho passed his first major test as Chelsea’s new manager on Thursday night by beating Inter-Milan 2-0 in a quarterfinal match at the Guinness International Champions Cup played at the Lucas Oil stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Chelsea dominated nearly from start to finish. Two minutes after Inter’s Fredy Guarin almost volleyed in a shot past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.

The first goals were scored in the 12th minute of the first half by Oscar following a perfect delivery from Nigeria’s Victor Moses. The second by Eden Hazard from the penalty spot after Moses was brought down in the 28th minute of the match.

Although an exhibition, the inaugural eight-team, 12-game International Champions Cup is being staged to promote some of Europe’s best while offering the teams a chance to prepare for their league seasons that begin at the end of the month.

Despite not starting four of its stars that played in the Confederations Cup, including Brazil’s David Luiz and Spain’s Juan Mata, Chelsea nonetheless at times looked to be in midseason form in the exhibition match before a crowd of 41,983 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“Oscar has been with us for five days because of the Confederations Cup,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. “We’ve worked a lot on our movement, and it will help us in difficult situations. It’s good to see in matches what I see in training. I want him to be a top player, not just a top talent.”

Chelsea advances to play AC Milan in the semi-finals Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. while Inter Milan will play Valencia, a 2-1 loser to AC Milan in its quarterfinal match last weekend, in the tournament’s consolation semi-final earlier Sunday at MetLife.

The other clubs in the tournament are Everton, Juventus, Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy – the only MLS team participating. Real Madrid beat the Galaxy 3-1 in their quarterfinal Thursday in Glendale, Ariz.

The championship final is Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The match featured intrigue on the sidelines with Mourinho coaching against his former team for the first time since his two-year stint with Inter Milan from 2008-10.

Mourinho, who managed Chelsea from 2004-07, returned to the Blues on June 2 after managing Spain’s Real Madrid the past three seasons. Soccer supporters in London are fond of the Portuguese coach, who dubbed himself “Special One” on the first day of his first stint with the team. He then led Chelsea to two Premier League titles and one FA Cup.

They no doubt hope that Mourinho can bring the magic touch back to Chelsea this time around. Although it captured the Europa League title in May, one London daily newspaper labeled it “small beer” for a club that went into the 2012-13 season as defending Champions League winners. The Blues were eliminated in the tournament’s group stage this past season.

Mourinho also didn’t start Fernando Torres and Cesar Azpilicueta of Spain. All players subbed into play in the second half.

For new Inter coach Walter Mazzarri, who is trying to improve the Italian side after it finished ninth in the league last season, the game also gave him a chance to work recent acquisitions Mauro Icardi and Hugo Campagnaro into the team. Campagnaro was issued a red card in the 58th minute.

“The first half was very good for both sides,” Mourinho said. “The red card changed (the game) completely. Not good for them because they played with 10, and not good for us, because we played against 10.”



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/moses-helps-chelsea-secure-win-against-inter/

sweet-tease:
I had a classmate in primary school who used to duplicate comic books by drawing the characters out on his drawing book and they came out real good, the expressions, backgrounds, etc. He did it for fun and was always with his drawing materials when he wasn't engaged with schoolwork.
All he got were students' and teachers' exclamations and envy, and him taking the chalk to draw on the board when my teacher had to draw on the board.

In summary, dis only happens in the western world!

Well done, sweet-tease. My point precisely! It could only happen in the Western World where children are appreciated and encouraged to develop their talents.

A 10-year-old artist from Holt, Norfolk, a county in the East of England, about 206Km from London by road, has made an estimated £1.5 million (about 375 million Naira) from his paintings over five years!

According to the BBC, Kieron Williamson first became known aged seven when his first exhibition sold out within minutes for £150,000.

He does oil paintings of landscapes, which started when he asked his parents for a drawing pad while on a family holiday to the Cornish coast in 2008.
Kieron’s even been nicknamed “mini Monet” – after the famous French artist Claude Monet.

When asked how he spends his money, he said he was going to treat his family to a Chinese meal!

Kieron’s latest exhibition includes a portrait of his “mysterious” granddad.
He said of his granddad: “He holds lots of secrets, he’s quite mysterious. He started to cry when he saw the picture.

“I painted it from a photograph mum took. I was looking through, trying to find something to paint and I found that and was inspired. Mum didn’t even know I was painting it.”

Meanwhile, the young artist says he prefers to concentrate on his football.

Kieron’s parents are now going to home-school him so he is able to concentrate on his art.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/ten-yr-old-earns-n375m-from-painting/

Barbadian born pop singing sensation, Rihanna, has won a legal battle with clothing retailer, Topshop, over a T-shirt bearing her image.

According to the BBC, the star sued Topshop’s parent company Arcadia, owned by Billionaire, Phillip Green, for £3.3m (about N850m) over the T-shirts, which featured a photo taken during a video shoot in 2011.

Her lawyers told the High Court in London the fashion chain duped fans and may have damaged her reputation.
They said the picture was “very similar” to images used on CD sleeves for one of her albums.

Judge Mr Justice Birss ruled that a “substantial number” of buyers were likely to have been deceived into buying the T-shirt because of a “false belief” it had been approved by the singer.

He said it was damaging to her “goodwill” and represented a loss of control over Rihanna’s reputation in the “fashion sphere”.
Topshop’s lawyers had claimed the 25-year-old was making an unjustifiable bid to establish a “free standing image right” over use of her picture in the UK.

The photograph used by Topshop had been taken during filming of a music video in Northern Ireland in 2011.
In a two-minute judgment, Mr Justice Birss said there was “no such thing as a general right by a famous person to control the reproduction of their image”.

“The taking of the photograph is not suggested to have breached Rihanna’s privacy,” he continued.

“The mere sale by a trader of a T-shirt bearing an image of a famous person is not an act of passing off. “However, I find that Topshop’s sale of this T-shirt was an act of passing off.”

Mr Justice Birss did not make an assessment of any liable damages in his ruling.

Topshop said it was “surprised, disappointed and perplexed” by the High Court decision.

“There was no intention to create an appearance of an endorsement or promotion,” it said.

“We feel that the fact that Rihanna has shopped, worn and had a relationship with Topshop for several years appears to have been detrimental to our case.”

Rihanna has her own fashion line at River Island. Her first collection for the fashion retailer went on sale in spring 2013.

Rihanna singer still has a fight on her hands though, with the fashion chain now planning an appeal. In a statement, Topshop said: “We robustly dispute the judge’s conclusion.”

The company added that it was “surprised and disappointed” at the decision. The judge, however, warned that the ruling should not be taken as a signal for a flurry of legal actions from celebrities.




- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/rihanna-wins-n825m-case/

The United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and a senior member of the Liberal Democrat Party, Vince Cable, has expressed his displeasure at the UK government’s plan to make certain overseas visitors to the United Kingdom pay a £3,000 bond to obtain tourist visas.

According to the 70-year-old politician who also has a Phd in Economics from the University of Glasgow, it sends out the “wrong message” about the UK.

“It is very disappointing and it has not been agreed across the coalition and it seems to send the wrong message that Britain is closed for business,” Mr Cable said.

It was recently announced that despite an outcry from the governments of the countries affected, the UK governments is still committed to it’s plan to ask some visitors from India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to pay a £3,000 cash bond in return for a visitor visa to allow them to stay in the UK for up to six months. The Home Office said the scheme would deter people from overstaying, but governments in India and Nigeria have expressed “strong displeasure” about the plans.

Vince Cable added: “The operation for the visa scheme, together with the bonds on these Commonwealth countries is simply having the effect of driving bona fide visitors who want to spend and to do business in the UK to France and Germany”.

This is the latest attack on a government policy from Mr Cable who on Sunday dubbed a mobile advertising campaign telling illegal immigrants to “go home or face arrest” as “stupid and offensive”.

Mr Cable’s remarks are particularly embarrassing for Nick Clegg, his party leader and Deputy Prime Minister, who originally proposed a visitor bond as a way of making his party appear tough on immigration. However, the policy has proved deeply unpopular with many others in the parliamentary party. “The Liberal Democrats agreed for a bond scheme as an additional route for people who have been turned down, it was never meant to apply to everyone,” Mr Cable explained.

Luxury goods retailers in particular have become very jittery over the visa bond scheme especially as the Christmas shopping season approaches. They fear that Nigerians, who are the sixth biggest spenders on luxury goods in the UK, will be affected by the scheme.

Nigerians may, however, take some consolation in the fact that Vince Cable usually has the last laugh whenever he opposes an unpopular government policy being mooted by the Conservatives, his party’s coalition partners.

In December 2010, Mr. Cable was caught out by two undercover reporters saying he was planning to use his powers as the Business Secretary to frustrate Rupert Murdock’s plan to acquire the remaining shares his company, News International, wasn’t holding with BSkyB, Britain’s biggest private media company. As a result of this, some of his powers were stripped making it impossible for him to carry out his plans. Rupert Murdock has very strong ties with the Prime Minister.

About six or seven months later, it was discovered that Rupert Murdock’s company, News International, was involved in large scale phone tapping including that of Miley Dowler, a missing teenager who eventually turned up dead. What was particularly galling about Milly Dowler’s case was that in order to tap her phone some of her voice messages had to be deleted giving her parents the false impression that she was still alive while she had already been killed.

While David Cameron was in Lagos sometime in July 2011, trying to stoke up some investments for the UK, Rupert Murdock was being grilled by Members of Parliament over his company’s involvement in the phone hacking scandal.

It goes without saying that his company’s plans to acquire the BSkyB shares became ‘dead in the water’ and remains so till date.

Mr. Vince Cable had the last laugh and like the wise old man that he is, did not gloat about it.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/uk-3000-visa-bond-senior-minister-opposes-plans/

Hiya!!

There is a story making the rounds amongst several Nigerian blogs and a national newspaper that a Nigerian man has been sentenced in America to 90yrs in prison for having children with his daughters but apart from his name there is little or no evidence that he is Nigerian.

The story was initially reported by Mail Online of the UK and here is how it was reported:


An award-winning music director, Aswad Ayinde, found guilty of fathering children with his daughters will spend the rest of his life in jail.

Ayinde, 55, of Paterson, New Jersey, United States, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Friday after being found guilty in the second of five expected trials in which he is accused of repeatedly raping his six daughters, resulting in six children being fathered.

Mr. Ayinde was found guilty in his latest trial of having intercourse with a daughters when she was as young as eight-years-old. The second sentence adds to the 40 year sentence Mr Ayinde received in a 2011 trial for sexually assaulting a separate daughter.

Mr. Ayinde is known for directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 smash hit “Killing Me Softly.”

In a disturbing disclosure during his first trial, Mr. Ayinde’s former wife said he was trying to create a “pure family bloodline” by impregnating his daughters. He even claimed during a pre-trial hearing before the first trial that “the world was going to end, and it was just going to be him and his offspring and that he was chosen.”

In this latest trial, it was revealed that Mr. Ayinde began having intercourse with his second daughter from the time she eight-years-old, impregnating her four times.

The sexual assaults happened for almost 30 years until Mr. Ayinde and his wife separated, officials said. They occurred in numerous homes across northern New Jersey, even while the family was under watch of state child welfare officials, according to NBC New York. Some of the rapes even took place in an abandoned funeral home.

The family moving as far away as Florida to avoid investigation after case workers removed multiple children from the Ayinde household in 2000, resulting in Mr. Ayinde being arrested for kidnapping for trying to take them from state custody in a medical center, NBC New York reported.

He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received a year’s probation – as he continued raping one daughter for at least another two years, according to officials.

The depraved father also beat and starved the girls using wooden boards and steel-toed boots for even “minor transgressions,” Ayinde’s wife testified at the first trial.

Some of the children Ayinde fathered with his daughters were born in the home, with at least two babies who died in the home having been buried without notifying authorities or obtaining birth certificates, NBC New York reported.

Ayinde’s tortured daughters were home schooled and isolated from other children, so as to keep the family secrets hidden, the station added.

With his wife too afraid to confront him, Mr. Ayinde carried out his evil plan without hindrance even while directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 breakout hit ‘Killing Me Softly, for which he won ‘Best R&B Video’ at the 1996 MTV Music Video Awards. The Fugees are also originally from Northern New Jersey.


Ayinde’s original name is [b]Charles/Eric McGill [/b]and not a single one of the American or British publications that reported the story made mention of a Nigerian ancestry. He was referred to as “a Patterson, New Jersey, native” in [b]XXlMag.com [/b]in March.

We at urnaija would really appreciate it if anyone can provide satisfactory evidence that Charles McGill/Aswad Ayinde has any Nigerian connections apart from his name.

As Nigerians, we get a lot of bad press as it is and we shouldn’t start making false contributions to it.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/aswad-ayinde-man-jailed-for-90yrs-in-us-not-nigerian/#sthash.8bDxPQUv.dpuf

There is a story making the rounds amongst several Nigerian blogs and a national newspaper that a Nigerian man has been sentenced in America to 90yrs in prison for having children with his daughters but apart from his name there is little or no evidence that he is Nigerian.

The story was initially reported by Mail Online of the UK and here is how it was reported:

An award-winning music director, Aswad Ayinde, found guilty of fathering children with his daughters will spend the rest of his life in jail.

Ayinde, 55, of Paterson, New Jersey, United States, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Friday after being found guilty in the second of five expected trials in which he is accused of repeatedly raping his six daughters, resulting in six children being fathered.

Mr. Ayinde was found guilty in his latest trial of having intercourse with a daughters when she was as young as eight-years-old. The second sentence adds to the 40 year sentence Mr Ayinde received in a 2011 trial for sexually assaulting a separate daughter.

Mr. Ayinde is known for directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 smash hit “Killing Me Softly.”

In a disturbing disclosure during his first trial, Mr. Ayinde’s former wife said he was trying to create a “pure family bloodline” by impregnating his daughters. He even claimed during a pre-trial hearing before the first trial that “the world was going to end, and it was just going to be him and his offspring and that he was chosen.”

In this latest trial, it was revealed that Mr. Ayinde began having intercourse with his second daughter from the time she eight-years-old, impregnating her four times.

The sexual assaults happened for almost 30 years until Mr. Ayinde and his wife separated, officials said. They occurred in numerous homes across northern New Jersey, even while the family was under watch of state child welfare officials, according to NBC New York. Some of the rapes even took place in an abandoned funeral home.

The family moving as far away as Florida to avoid investigation after case workers removed multiple children from the Ayinde household in 2000, resulting in Mr. Ayinde being arrested for kidnapping for trying to take them from state custody in a medical center, NBC New York reported.

He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received a year’s probation – as he continued raping one daughter for at least another two years, according to officials.

The depraved father also beat and starved the girls using wooden boards and steel-toed boots for even “minor transgressions,” Ayinde’s wife testified at the first trial.

Some of the children Ayinde fathered with his daughters were born in the home, with at least two babies who died in the home having been buried without notifying authorities or obtaining birth certificates, NBC New York reported.

Ayinde’s tortured daughters were home schooled and isolated from other children, so as to keep the family secrets hidden, the station added.

With his wife too afraid to confront him, Mr. Ayinde carried out his evil plan without hindrance even while directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 breakout hit ‘Killing Me Softly, for which he won ‘Best R&B Video’ at the 1996 MTV Music Video Awards. The Fugees are also originally from Northern New Jersey.

Ayinde’s original name is Charles/Eric McGill and not a single one of the American or British publications that reported the story made mention of a Nigerian ancestry. He was referred to as “a Patterson, New Jersey, native” in XXlMag.com in March.

We at urnaija would really appreciate it if anyone can provide satisfactory evidence that Charles McGill/Aswad Ayinde has any Nigerian connections apart from his name.

As Nigerians, we get a lot of bad press as it is and we shouldn’t start making false contributions to it.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/aswad-ayinde-man-jailed-for-90yrs-in-us-not-nigerian/#sthash.8bDxPQUv.dpuf

Are peeps simply having a friendly banter or must we tribalize everything? Call me naive, but any problem identified in any part of Nigeria seeps into other parts. After all, people in the South-West dont require visas to go to the East or do they?

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare who broke the African Women’s 100metres record less than two hours ago with a time of 10:86seconds has beaten that record in the final of the ongoing Sainsbury’s Anniversary games in London with a time of 10:79seconds.

Okagbare’s seems to have perfected her style of starting slower but catching up with the others towards the 60 metre mark using the her 1.80m height to the best of her ability.

The Nigerian Sprinter couldn’t contain her joy when she confirmed her victory. In an interview granted after, she gave thanks to God Almighty and said she was glad that her timing was getting better.

Okagbare beat Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, who had the best qualifying time to fourth place behind second placed Babara Pierce of the USA and their placed Kelly Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobabgo.

Other runners were Murielle Ahoure of Cote D’ivore, Kerron Stewart of Jamaica, English Gardner and Carmelita Jeter, both of the USA.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/blessing-okagbare-breaks-african-record-again/#sthash.WeKUbDyH.dpuf

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare has broken the African Women’s 100metres record at the ongoing Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games, London, with a time of 10:86 seconds.

Coming behind Okagbare to place second in the second semi-final is America’s Barbara Pierre and fellow African, Murielle Ahoure of Cote D’ivore came third. The other contestants were Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad & Tobago, Verena Sailer of Germany, Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, Asha Phillips of Great Britain and Annabelle Lewis, also of Great Britain.

It was not plain sailing for Okagbare as she had to work very hard during the last 20 metres to earn her first position having had a slower start than her other competitors.

In the first semi-final, Shelly Ann Freazer Pryce came first with a time of 10:77 to book a place at the finals coming up later today.

Speaking to a reporter shortly after her race, Okagbare said she respected Shelly Ann’s time of 10:77 seconds but she just wanted to go to the finals to do her best.

The final race is later today at 1620hrs.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/okagbare-shatters-african-record/#sthash.AQbX0Osk.dpuf

The Nigerian national team, “Super Eagles” landed safely in Abidjan, yesterday afternoon ahead of the second leg, CHAN qualifier against the Ivorian national team, “The Elephants” scheduled for Saturday at the Robert Champroux Stadium Abidjan, Cote D’ivore.

The Super Eagles are going to Abidjan with a comfortable 4-1 lead secured during the first leg encounter earlier in the month in Kaduna.

The eighteen players selected by Stephen Keshi are, Chigozie Agbim, Daniel Akpeyi, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Godfrey Oboabona, Solomom Kwambe, Kunle Odunlami, Benjamin Francis, Chibuzo Okonkwo, Sunday Mba, Ayo Saka, Olufemi Oladapo, Etebor Oghenekaro, Gomo Onduku, Ifdeanyi Ede, Ezekeil Mba, Gero Abdulahi, Joseph Osadiaye and Rabiu Ali.

Gambo Mohammed has been left out of the team, after suffering a muscle tear.

The Air Afrique flight, which conveyed the team from Lagos to Abidjan landed at exactly 10:50 local time, which is 11:50am Nigerian time and was well received by members of the Ivoirien FA.

The Eagles will have their first training session at 3:30pm Ivorien time, which is 4:30 Nigerian time to coincide with the time the game will be played on Saturday.

On Arrival, Skipper of the side, Chigozie Agbim, sounded a note of warning to his teammates when he said that the good reception should not be translated to mean that the Elephents have given up. “We are wary and I have told my mates to take the game very serious because in football anything can happen. But we know we are here to pick the CHAN ticket and no team can stop us at this time”.

While Stephen believes he can secure a qualification to South Africa with an 18-man squad, the Ivorian national coach, Saraka Kanga Norbert, is leaving no stone unturned by selecting a 23-man squad:
GoalKeepers: Gbohouo Guelassiognon Sylvain, Sangare Badra ali, Cisse Abdul Karim
Defenders: Goua Mahan Marc, Kassi Akesse Mathias, Gnabouyou Dape Marius, Coulibaly Tiecoura, Ouattara Ousmane, Boti Bi Tie Armand, Sogodogo Lamine, Konan Henri Joel
Midfielders: Lakpa Dogui Gael, Kaba Mohamed, Coulibaly Fousseny, Coulibaly Topio, Brou Kouadio Serges, Diakite Lamine, Zagbayou Hugues, Moukoro Cheick, Gonazo Bi Ya Thomas
Attackers: Zougoula Kevin, Boua Koffi Davy, Traore Ibrahim.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/eagles-land-in-abidjan/#sthash.uwuGhLy7.dpuf

The Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of Anglican Christians worldwide has announced that the Church of England would take up the business of providing small loans for people with a view to running existing pay-day loan companies operating in the United Kingdom out of business.

The entire payday lending industry, worth £2bn, was referred last month for a full-blown investigation by the Competition Commission after the trading watchdog uncovered “deep-rooted” problems with the industry.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, who used to work in Nigeria as an oil company executive, wants to force these pay-day loan companies out of business by expanding the Church of England’s credit union plans.

Mr Welby said he had delivered the message to Errol Damelin, chief executive of Wonga, one of Britain’s best-known payday lenders, during a “very good conversation”. “I’ve met the head of Wonga and we had a very good conversation and I said to him quite bluntly ‘we’re not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence, we’re trying to compete you out of existence’,” he told Total Politics magazine.

“He’s a businessman, he took that well.”

The Archbishop’s announcement was made after he launched a new credit union for clergy and church staff earlier this month at the General Synod in York.

Mr Welby, who has also served on the parliamentary Banking Standards Commission, has said he plans to expand the reach of credit unions as part of a long-term campaign to boost competition in the banking sector.

There are also plans to encourage church members with relevant skills to volunteer at credit unions.

The Archbishop pointed out that that the Church of England has 16,000 branches and 9,000 communities – more than banks.

The Archbishop went on to say, “We’re putting our money where our mouth is, we’re starting a Church of England staff credit union. You’ve got to have a corporate interest body to identify who’s members of the credit union. We’re starting one of those so we’re actually getting involved ourselves. We’re working steadily with the main trade bodies for the credit unions.”

Mr Damelin said: “The Archbishop is clearly an exceptional individual and someone who understands the power of innovation.

“There is mutual respect, some differing opinions and a meeting of minds on many big issues.

“On the competition point, we always welcome fresh approaches that give people a fuller set of alternatives to solve their financial challenges. I’m all for better consumer choice.”

Urnaija wonders if Nigerian churches, especially the Pentecostal ones, will borrow a leaf from the Church of England and make affordable credit available to Nigerians.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/church-of-england-to-start-lending-money/#sthash.tYsykncH.dpuf

Congrats to Kate and Wills