Invest more in quality education to save the future - Cardinal Okojie

His eminence, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okojie has admonished parents and guardians to invest more in quality education for their children and wards in order for them to have a better and brighter future.
Cardinal Okojie stated this during the second matriculation ceremony of Augustine University for the 2016/2017 academic session which took place at the University auditorium in Ilara-Epe, Lagos State.

He explained that education is a very important investment every parent/guardian should make to put their children in pole position for an assured better future. “When it comes to school fees (in private and faith based universities), people always say it’s too high. To be frank with you, quality education is not cheap all over the world. Education is an investment, the quality you add to it often determine the yield in the long run.

“The idea of Augustine University came up during my time and this is one of the reasons I have devoted my time in making sure I nurture and support it. The institution focuses more in character and learning. We will make sure we develop these children to be good citizens and also yield the desired results for their parents and guardians,” Cardinal Okojie stated.The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Steve Afolami added that those who send their children to faith based institutions are not wrong. He noted that one of the core values of the institution is to inculcate moral discipline for a better Nigeria. “Once these students are admitted, what we do is to relate with them affectionately. In the process, they begin to trust us, and start telling us what’s really bordering them. What we do is to correct and relate it in a friendly manner and this among other methods have been quite helpful. What we ensure is a better staff-student relationship.”

Speaking on the issue of faith based and other private universities having access to Tetfund, Professor Afolami stated that though the debate is ongoing but it will be better for them to also have access to it. He noted that since one of the essence of Tetfund is to develop students and staff, it will be of importance for private Universities to benefit from it through participating in scholarship and other developmental competition.

Below are some of the pictures at the event.

Meet woman who suffers from rare condition that makes her smell of fish

Imagine walking around always smelling of rotten fish and onion? That's the sad reality for Kelly Fidoe-White from Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, who was born with a rare condition called Trimethylaminuria that causes her to reek of a nauseating fishy smell.
Kelly first became aware of her condition when she was in school and kids always taunted her about smelling of fish. Kelly gave excuses, saying that she ate a fish sandwich, however, when the smell never reduced and she ran out of excuses, she became the object of extreme bullying.

To combat the smell, she began spending a lot of time in the shower, scrubbing her body till it was red, soaking herself in deodorants and perfumes, yet nothing worked and the bullying only worsened. Now, she copes by taking a cocktail of medications, but is unsure if they have any effect or not.

Trimethylaminuria is a condition which causes one's body to be unable to break down a compound found in food that contains a substance called Choline, meaning a lot of ingredients are off the menu. People suffering from the condition regularly produce a range of strong bodily odours including rotten fish, onion and faeces. Kelly describes her own smell as 'fishy-oniony'.

The condition is relatively unknown, even amongst doctors, and affects between 300 – 600 people worldwide. This means that Kelly had to research and diagnose herself and a test was done, confirming her diagnosis. There is no cure for the condition and Kelly handles it now by taking a cocktail of medications but is unsure if they have any effect or not.

To limit the number of people she comes in contact with, Kelly works a night job where colleagues say you can tell if she's been in a place and some of her co-workers make complaints about her smell. She has found love now and she revealed that her husband's acceptance of her condition has helped boost her confidence.

VIDEO Premiere: Jaywon – Another Level ft. Mr. Eazi

VIDEO Premiere: Jaywon – Another Level ft. Mr. Eazi


Next World Music presents her frontline act, Jaywon in the video for ‘Another Level’ and features Mr. Eazi. Directed by Lucas Reid and sees cameo from Next World Music ensigned Twist Da Fireman and several others.

Another Level doubles down on the inspirational message behind the poignant AfroTrap tinged track from the ‘Oba Orin’. Watch Jaywon and Mr. Eazi look back and brag right as they should.

VIDEO: Zoro – Bianca

VIDEO: Zoro – Bianca

ZORO aka Young Ojukwu releases visuals for his critically acclaimed song Titled BIANCA.

The Video was shot in cape town South Africa and directed by Kyle White.

Salome Kwarwah, Liberian nurse who survived Ebola dies from pregnancy complications

Salome Kwarwah, a Liberian nurse who survived the deadly Ebola epidemic passed away from pregnancy complications on February 22, 2017. She was age 28.

Salome thought her life was over when she tested positive for Ebola, which killed her parents. But after recovering at the Elwa 3 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Ebola treatment center in Monrovia,Liberia, she began working as a mental health counselor there, helping others to fight the virus. She told her story before her demise:


"It all started with a severe headache and a fever. Then, later, I began to vomit and I got diarrhea. My father was sick and my mother too. My niece, my fiancé, and my sister had all fallen sick. We all felt helpless.
It was my uncle who first got the virus in our family. He contracted it from a woman he helped bring to hospital. He got sick and called our father for help, and our father went to him to bring him to a hospital for treatment. A few days after our father came back, he too got sick. We all cared for him and got infected too.
On August 21, I and my whole family made our way to MSF’s Ebola treatment center in Monrovia. When we arrived at the treatment unit, the nurses took my mother and me to the same tent. My fiancé, my sister, my father, and my niece were taken to separate tents. My sister was pregnant and had a miscarriage.
They took our blood and we waited for them to announce the results. After the lab test, I was confirmed positive. I thought that was the end of my world. I was afraid, because we had heard people say that if you catch Ebola, you die. The rest of my family also tested positive for the virus.
After a few days in the isolation ward, my condition became worse. My mother was also fighting for her life. She was in a terrible state. At that point, the nurses made the decision to move me to another tent. By then, I barely understood what was going on around me. I was unconscious. I was helpless. The nurses had to bathe me, change my clothes, and feed me. I was vomiting constantly and I was very weak.
I was feeling severe pains inside my body. The feeling was overpowering. Ebola is like a sickness from a different planet. It comes with so much pain. It causes so much pain that you can feel it in your bones. I’d never felt pain like this in my lifetime.
My mother and father died while I was battling for my life. I didn’t know they were dead. It was only one week later, when I had started recovering, that the nurses told me that they had passed away. I was sad, but I had to accept that it had happened. I was shocked that I had lost both my parents. But god spared my life from the disease, as well as the lives of my sister, my niece, and my fiancé.
Though I am sad at the death of my parents, I’m happy to be alive. God could not have allowed the entire family to perish. He kept us alive for a purpose.

I am grateful to the workers here for their care. They are very nice people. They really care for their patients. The care, the medication, and encouragement can help a patient to survive.
When you’re sick with Ebola, you always have to encourage yourself: take your medication; drink enough fluids—whether it’s oral rehydration solution or water or juices—but don’t keep your system empty. Even if they bring you food and you don’t have any appetite to eat, just eat the soup.
After 18 days in the treatment center, the nurses came in one morning and took my blood and carried it to the laboratory for testing. Later that evening, at around 5:00PM, I saw them return. They came and announced to me that I was ready to go home because I had tested negative.
Then I felt that my life had begun again. I went home with joy, despite having lost my parents.
I arrived back home feeling happy, but my neighbors were still afraid of me. Few of them welcomed me back; others are still afraid to be around me—they say that I still have Ebola. There was a particular group that kept calling our house "Ebola home."
But, to my surprise, I saw one of the ladies in the group come to my house to ask me to take her mother to the treatment center because she was sick with Ebola. I did it, and I felt happy that at least she knows now that someone cannot go to a supermarket to buy Ebola. It’s a disease that anyone—any family—can get. If someone has Ebola, it isn’t good to stigmatize them, because you don’t know who is next in line to contract the virus.
Now, I am back at the treatment center, helping people who are suffering from the virus to recover. I am working as a mental health counselor. I find pleasure in helping people, and that is what brought me here. My efforts here may help other people to survive.
When I am on a shift, I counsel my patients; I talk to them and I encourage them. If a patient doesn’t want to eat, I encourage them to eat. If they are weak and are unable to bathe on their own, I help to bathe them. I help them with all my might because I understand the experience—I’ve been through the very same thing.
I feel happy in my new role. I treat my patients as if they are my children. I talk to them about my own experiences. I tell them my story to inspire them and to let them know that they too can survive. This is important, and I think it will help them.
My elder brother and my sister are happy for me to work here. They support me in this 100 percent. Even though our parents didn’t survive the virus, we can help other people to recover.
In a tribute paid to the outstanding Ebola fighter on Facebook, James S. Davis, described Kwarwah as a heroine:
"I first met Salome Karwah at the Young Life Ebola Survivors Camp for young people who were affected and survived Liberia's Ebola Epidemic. She was brought to camp by her elder sister, Josephine Karwah, a volunteer leader of Young Life. Like Josephine, Salome was a determined, amazing and promising young lady. Her story was horrifying--Ebola hit her home--and killed her parents, including several family members. Salome & her sister were among the only survivors in that family. But Salome's agonizing moments didn't stop her from fighting to defend her country during the Ebola outbreak. Being the youngest, Salome was among 5 individuals named by the Time Magazine as Ebola Fighters of the Year 2014 for their huge sacrifices to fight stop the spread of Ebola and to save many people who contracted the Ebola virus. Regrettably, this brave and strong Ebola fighter died two days ago following some complications after giving birth to her son. She was truly an outstanding Ebola fighter and a heroine who courageously stood up for our country in its darkest days.
The family and the entire Survivors Network Community are in our thoughts and prayers.
Salome, you will forever be remembered for your heroic role in the battle against Ebola. GONE TOO SOON! Rest In Peace."
NB: Below is a full story from the Time Magazine about Salome's involvement in the Ebola Crisis:
~Salome Karwah, 26 in 2014
Nurse’s assistant at the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Monrovia and an Ebola survivor
We heard that there was a new sickness coming by the name of Ebola and it is in Guinea. And I was afraid, because Guinea is not far from Liberia. And most of our businesspeople go to Guinea to buy goods and bring them to Liberia. So I knew it was a possibility that they could bring it to our country.
I was working for our family clinic in the Smell No Taste area [near the airport, in Margibi County, an hour and a half from Monrovia by car]. I was a nurse. Both my mother and father, plus my elder sister and I, [were] medical personnel.
We got Ebola through a crisis that happened near our town. This lady, 26 years of age, she was pregnant, from [the city of] Kakata. And then she got sick. And then she died.
A lady from my community went to the funeral. And there she contracted the disease. My father’s brother, my uncle, was her pastor for the church. She got sick, and he went to help her as her pastor. He contracted it from her, and then she died. After a week, my uncle got sick.
[My uncle] drove to our house for my father to see what really was going on. That is when my father contracted it. And then he brought it into our house, with my mother taking care of him. He was a diabetes patient. When he got sick, I used to give him his medication, his injection, insulin. And then I contracted it.
My sister was pregnant six months. Helping my dad, she got it too. And then my mother did, because both of them used to sleep on the same bed. And then my niece who was 6 years of age. And then my fiancé. So everyone was infected.
They looked like normal symptoms. None of us really thought of Ebola. One of my brothers is an accountant at the clinic where they used to do the Ebola test. When my uncle died, he tried to find the cause of death. So he went there and took my uncle’s test. And it was positive.
[Then] he took my father’s blood, took his test, and my father was positive too. That way he knew that Ebola was in our house. So he took his personal vehicle and brought my father to the ETU [Ebola treatment unit], which was the 20th of August. My father died August 21st. He had just slept, and the next day he passed.
He brought my mother, my sister and me on the 21st, the day our father died. My mother died the 24th of August.
When I got sick, I was breast-feeding my 10-month-old baby. My brother took her blood to do her tests. She was negative. So my fiancé was taking care of her, because I was in the ETU. Since she was negative, they couldn’t bring her to me.
The 29th, [my fiancé] got sick. He left the baby with our next-door neighbor and came for the tests, and was positive.
Due to the death of my parents, I went out of my mind for about one week. I was going mad. I was very, very much distressed. I just felt that everything was over. But after a week, with encouragement from the nurses and a counselor—they helped me a lot—I become stable. I was taking my medication, I was eating. And always they were coming to encourage me.
To have Ebola is very, very horrible. It deals directly with the brain. It makes you—you can’t remember anything. The pain is very much severe. If you don’t have strong resistance, you can’t stand it. The headache of Ebola is extraordinary. It hurts like they are busting your head with an ax. And it gives you severe body pains, like you don’t even want to move your body from here to there.
The girl that [my fiancé] left my baby with, she used to bring her to the ETU, and I saw her every two days. She would stand across the fence and I would sing for my baby. I made a song for her on the day she was born. I used to sing it before she went to sleep. It goes like this: “Go to sleep, baby, go to sleep. Go to sleep, baby.” She knows it very well. So I sang this song when they brought her to the fence. She would be laughing, playing, and then they would carry her back.
I was in the treatment center for four weeks [and] four days. Really, what made me survive is the support from the nurses. The support from the psychosocial [team] also really helped me.
They were looking for survivors to come and work [at the MSF clinic]. I make it my duty to come. The more I interact with people, the more I will forget about my sad story. The more I share my story with people, the more I will get strong, strong, strong and stronger. So I decided to make myself very busy to help others survive. The day I came here for an interview, I saw people carrying bodies. I started crying. I told my friend, “I can’t make it.” But when I went the next day, I said, “Sitting and crying won’t help me. So it’s better I go and work. The more I see it, the more I will adjust myself to it.”
I go in [to the treatment wards] not saying I am a survivor. I ask [the patients], “Where do you live? What is your contact number?” And I tell them, “Just because you are here doesn’t mean that this is the end of your life. You have another life to live. I was a patient here. I managed to survive. So if I can survive—I’m not different from you—you can survive too.” And the person will say, “Ah, you are a survivor? How did you manage to survive?” And I tell them.
When I see my patients survive, it brings a great joy to me, because at least my efforts never went in vain. —as told to Aryn Baker.


Photo credit: Times Magazine

FG reviews Visa processing for Business Travellers, Tourists to Nigeria

The Federal Government has reviewed the visa processes for foreigners who wish to visit Nigeria for business and tourism purposes, with a view to removing bureaucratic bottleneck and encouraging business travellers and tourists, thus giving a boost to the economy.In a statement issued in Lagos today, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the measures were part of the action plan for the ease of doing business as well as efforts to boost tourism, within the overall context of the Administration's economic diversification agenda.


''The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has reviewed the requirements for Nigerian visas to make them more customer friendly, and details of this review are available on the NIS official website, www.immigration.gov.ng.Types of visas currently reviewed include Visa on Arrival (VoA) processes, Business Visas, Tourist Visas and Transit Visas,'' he said.
Lai Mohammed explained that Business Visas are available for foreign travellers who wish to travel to Nigeria for Meetings, Conferences, Seminars, Contract Negotiation, Marketing, Sales, Purchase and distribution of Nigerian Goods, Trade Fairs, Job Interviews, Training of Nigerians, Emergency/Relief work, Crew members, Staff of NGOs, Staff of INGOs, Researchers and Musical Concerts.
He said Tourist Visas are also available to foreign travelers who wish to visit Nigeria for the purpose of tourism or to visit family and friends while Nigeria Visa on Arrival is a class of short visit visa issued at the port of entry, and it is available to frequently-travelled High-Net-Worth Investors and intending visitors
who may not be able to obtain visa at the Nigerian Missions/Embassies in their countries of residence due to the absence of a Nigerian mission in those countries or exigencies of urgent business travels.
The Minister said other actions that have been taken by the NIS for the ease of doing business and facilitation of travelling for Nigerians and foreigners alike include the harmonization of multiplicity of Airport Arrival and Departure Form/Cards into a single form for all agencies of government to save foreign visitors from the current frustrating practice of filling 3 different forms or more and the decentralization of Immigration services to the State Commands

''Re-issuance of passports for change of names due to marital reasons or lost cases have been decentralized to all State Commands and Foreign Missions to save passport holders from additional costs and inconvenience of travelling to the Service Headquarters in Abuja, while additional 28 offices have been opened for issuance of Residence Permits in Nigeria, bringing the issuance of Combined Expatriate Residence Permit And Aliens Cards (CERPAC) closer to the doorstep of employers of expatriates at all 36 states and FCT,'' he said.
Mohammed said the measures by NIS fit perfectly into the 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business in Nigeria that was approved recently by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), as well as the Administration's efforts to boost international tourism

Oscars 2017: Complete list of winners

The 89th Academy Awards (Oscars) took place on Sunday, honoring the best in film. “La La Land,” tied the all-time record with 14 nominations. Viola Davis won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. With her Oscar win, Davis puts herself one step closer to a possibility of an EGOT (an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony). With the win for her work in the 2016 film “Fences,” Davis already has an Emmy, two Tonys, five Screen Actors Guild awards, a Golden Globe and now an Oscar. Congratulations to her and other winners. Full list of winners after the cut..

Best picture:
“Arrival”

“Fences”
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“Hell or High Water”
“Hidden Figures”
“La La Land”
“Lion”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight” (WINNER)Lead actor:

Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” (WINNER)
Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”Lead actress:

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land” (WINNER)
Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”Supporting actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” (WINNER)
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel, “Lion”
Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”Supporting actress:

Viola Davis, “Fences” (WINNER)
Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”Best director:

“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle (WINNER)
“Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
“Arrival,” Denis VilleneuveAnimated feature:

“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
“Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
“My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli
“The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
“Zootopia,” Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer (WINNER)Animated short:

“Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev
“Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
“Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller
“Pearl,” Patrick Osborne
“Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer (WINNER)Adapted screenplay:

“Arrival,” Eric Heisserer
“Fences,” August Wilson
“Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
“Lion,” Luke Davies
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney (WINNER)Original screenplay:

“20th Century Women,” Mike Mills
“Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle
“The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan (WINNER)Cinematography:

“Arrival,” Bradford Young
“La La Land,” Linus Sandgren (WINNER)
“Lion,” Greig Fraser
“Moonlight,” James Laxton
“Silence,” Rodrigo PrietoBest documentary feature:

“13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish
“Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
“I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck
“Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
“O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow (WINNER)Best documentary short subject:

“4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki
“Extremis,” Dan Krauss
“Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
“Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
“The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara (WINNER)Best live action short film:

“Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi
“La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
“Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
“Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy (WINNER)
“Timecode,” Juanjo GimenezBest foreign language film:

“A Man Called Ove,” Sweden
“Land of Mine,” Denmark
“Tanna,” Australia
“The Salesman,” Iran (WINNER)
“Toni Erdmann,” GermanyFilm editing:

“Arrival,” Joe Walker
“Hacksaw Ridge,” John Gilbert (WINNER)
“Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts
“La La Land,” Tom Cross
“Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillonSound editing:

“Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare (WINNER)
“Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
“Hacksaw Ridge,” Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub AsmanSound mixing:

“Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye
“Hacksaw Ridge,” Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace (WINNER)
“La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart WilsonProduction design:

“Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
“Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
“La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (WINNER)
“Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene SerdenaOriginal score:

“Jackie,” Mica Levi
“La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz (WINNER)
“Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
“Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell
“Passengers,” Thomas NewmanOriginal song:

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
“City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (WINNER)
“The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
“How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” — Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel MirandaMakeup and hair:

“A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
“Star Trek Beyond,” Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
“Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (WINNER)Costume design:

“Allied,” Joanna Johnston
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Colleen Atwood (WINNER)
“Florence Foster Jenkins,” Consolata Boyle
“Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine
“La La Land,” Mary ZophresVisual effects:

“Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
“Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
“The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon (WINNER)
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould