Joshua Beckford: Youngest boy to attend university at 6 set to visit Nigeria, build school in Kaduna

- Joshua Beckford, named one of the smartest kids on the planet, is coming to Lagos, Nigeria - The genius plans to raise fund and build a school in Kaduna state 

- At six, Beckford emerged the youngest person with autism to be accepted to Oxford University where he studied philosophy and history One of the world smartest boys 

Joshua Beckford is set to visit Nigeria. Beckford was named as one of the most intelligent children in the world as he graduated from the prestigious Oxford University at age 14. 

The genius is expected to visit Nigeria where he is to raise fund for the building of a school project in Kaduna state. 

The chairman Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, among other Nigerians tweeted and retweet the coming of Beckford to Nigeria.

“This is Joshua,who became the youngest to study in Oxford University at age 6 and graduated age 14 from the department of History and Philosophy. He will be in Lagos for the fundraising of his school building project in Kaduna. He is regarded as one of the world's smartest human.”

Despite being diagnosed with high functioning autism, Beckford was reported to be an early starter. As a 10 months old baby he could read, write and understand the alphabet. At two, he could read fluently and by the time he clocked three, Beckford could speak Japanese.

BY SHAMSIYA BARAU AHMED

How To Get Rid Of Irritating Stretch Marks From Your Skin.

Stretch marks are long, narrow streaks, stripes, or lines that develop on the skin. They occur when the skin is suddenly stretched and are extremely common.
Anyone can develop stretch marks, although they tend to affect more women than men.
If you develop stretch marks, you are most likely to do so during:

Growth spurts that happen in puberty, pregnancy, rapid weight loss or gain, and weight training when you have rapid muscle growth.

When stretch marks appear they tend to be red, purple, pink, reddish, brown or dark brown depending on your skin complexion. Early stretch marks are itchy.

The most common areas affected include the Abdomen, breasts, hips, flank, buttocks, and thighs. Stretch marks are not physically dangerous but can cause problems with self-image and anxiety. For some people, stretch marks are a significant cosmetic concern that can affect day-to-day living.

Below are simple and easy ways to get rid of those irritating stretch marks:
1. Using stretch marks cream, gel and lotion: using stretch mark products on early stretch marks help a lot. While applying the product, massage the product into your stretch marks. Apply the product daily to get good results.
2. Using home remedies: using natural home remedies like Coconut oil, Aloe Vera, Shea butter, help get rid of stretch marks.

Stretch marks cannot always be prevented. However, the following steps may help to reduce the risk:
1. Maintain a healthy weight.
2. Avoid yo-yo dieting.
3. Eat a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals. Consuming a suitable amount of vitamins A and C can help support the skin, as well as the minerals zinc and silicon.
4. Aim for slow and gradual weight gain during pregnancy.
5. Drink six to eight glasses of water every day.

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

ENHANCE YOUR BEAUTY WITH BEAUTIFUL BANGLES

Bangles form an important part of the traditional common jewelry among Indian and Pakistani ladies. They are usually worn post marriage to indicate matrimony. Nevertheless unmarried girls are now giving it a try matching up to their ethnic or western wear for their colorful styles and beautiful designs.

They do have different varieties and called by different names in every state. However the name bangle originated from the term “bungri” meaning glass in Hindi. Being circular in shape, this jewelry is non-flexible and is created of wide range of materials like plastic, gold, glass, silver, wood, and platinum.

Bangles form the must-have jewelry for every Indian woman. The different patterns, styles and colors enhance the beauty and grace of traditional outfits on a wide node. Even trendy women would love to see gorgeous bangles such as gold plated bangles embellished with pearls, multicolored American diamond bangles, multicolored stretchable bangles, round shaped open bangles, made of brass in their closets.

Although you will notice plastic bangles are gradually taking the place of glass-made bangles, yet they are still worn on traditional events like festivals and marriages. 

Ladies wear them in pairs or one in both the arms respectively. With western wear, girls and even married ladies prefer wearing one gorgeous bangle on right arm and wrist watch on the other arm. Bangles designs are simply awesome. They are in different forms and sizes.


By: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

Rising Artist Emediong Uko speaks on Fela, Lagbaja-inspired art and industry growth

Art is inspired by life and whatever muse the artist finds interesting. In Nigeria, most of the art are social commentaries seeking change.

For 19-year-old Emediong Uko, art is inspired by music and nature in a bid to relate with the audience and spark conversations.

Emediong recently unveiled two Fela-inspired painting, ‘Shuffering and Smiling’ and ‘Beast of no Nation’ to celebrate the strength of Nigerians.

In May, her painting of music legend, ‘Lagbaja’ became the first African work to be displayed at the Cyprus Modern Art Museum.

Emediong is also the youngest artist and only African to have her work exhibited at the museum, which is the largest in the Mediterranean region.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend, Emediong maintained that Nigerian artists hold the power to create a better society through their works.

How did you feel when your work was displayed in Cyprus?

I am glad that my work and exhibition in Cyprus is creating a dialogue around African arts. It created a door and by the time you come in you can see that this is totally different and people want to know the story behind it.

Why did you decide to paint Lagbaja?

I have been heavily influenced by Lagbaja’s music from a young age. I have also been influenced by Fela Kuti. I decided to focus on Lagbaja for a bit because of his musical and controversial personality. That was exactly what excites me in terms of creativity. These are things that create dialogue. Things that uphold the norm. I created Lagbaja piece almost as a tribute.

I wanted his name to live on. Someone that people will always ask of.

What inspires your works?

I want people to see beauty in things and I want people to be inspired to tell their own stories. You might not be a painter but you should be able to relate to my art piece in your own way. You see something or see an art piece of mine and I want you to say you saw it and it reminded you of something.

Were you expecting the buzz gotten from the Lagbaja piece?

I wasn’t expecting to get this much acclaim. As a Nigerian artist in the diaspora, I relate with home. When you are overseas, almost everything gives you a nostalgic feeling; you always want to relate back home.

Your works are usually musically inclined, why?

I see myself delving into musical, political arts these days. I find that I paint things that people should talk about and nobody is talking about. A popular Asa song said, ‘there is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be on the run’. We think about these things but we don’t talk about them. That’s exactly what we want.

BY SHAMSIYA BARAU AHMED

Davido, Burna Boy, Nasty C lead 2019 AFRIMA Continental Nominees’ List

Afropop star David ‘Davido’ Adeleke, Afro-fusion singer, Burna Boy and South African musician Nasty C scored the most nominations for 2019 AFRIMA awards.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the list was released by the International Committee of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) on Monday.

The Continental categories are made up of the different genres of African music from Hip-Hop, Jazz, R’n’B, Pop and Reggae, Ragga and Dancehall.

Other coveted categories include ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, ‘Producer of the Year’ and ‘Best African Collaboration’ among others.

Leading the 6th AFRIMA nominations scorecard is South Africa’s Nasty C with nine nominations including ‘Best Male Artiste in Southern Africa’ and ‘Artiste of the Year in Africa’.

His other nominations are ‘Song of the Year in Africa’, ‘Producer of the Year in Africa’, ‘Best African Rapper/Lyricist’, ‘Best African Collaboration’ and ‘Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Hip-Hop’.

The others are ‘Songwriter of the Year in Africa’ and ‘Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African R’n’B and Soul’.

Following closely is Davido with six nominations including ‘Best Male Artiste in Western Africa’, ‘Artiste of the Year in Africa’, ‘Song of the Year in Africa’ and ‘African Fans’ Favourite’.

Others are ‘Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African R’n’B and Soul’, and ‘Best African Collaboration’ for ‘Blow My Mind’ with Chris Brown.

Burna Boy snagged five nominations including ’‘Best Male Artiste in Western Africa’, ‘Artiste of the Year in Africa’ and ‘Song of the Year in Africa’.

BY SHAMSIYA BARAU AHMED

HENNA THE TRENDY BEAUTY FOR YOUR SKIN

Lalle is the Nigerian Hausa name for Henna. Indians call it Mehndi.  Henna or Lalle are non-permanent body art using henna dye.  Henna dye is obtained from dried leaves of Henna Tree, ground into powder. In its dry form, the henna dye is not activated. To make dye for henna tattoo, water is added to the powdered leaves to form a paste.  This paste stains the skin/ body and does not immediately wash off.  A henna stain is temporary and lasts a couple of weeks. 

Henna on hands and legs are a big part of the beautification that Hausa and Muslim brides go through when preparing for weddings in Nigeria. While the designs range from simple to complex, they all look stunning on the hands or feet.  Henna, also known as lalle in Nigeria, are not only worn by brides. This type of temporary tattoos are also worn by close friends of the brides and generally by women in Northern Nigeria.

Although most people confuse Henna for tattoo, but Henna and tattoo are two different things. Tattoo last long on skin and sometimes permanent, is also expensive and imprinted using needles.

But Henna is more traditional, can be easily washed away from the skin and is also easy to apply on the skin.

Henna beautifies the skin. It is also attractive and good looking on the skin. Henna can be used to dye fabric, and is also used for hair dye and conditioning.

While some people prefer Henna on their hand and feet, some prefer it on only their hand, neck, back, stomachs, or chest. Depending on your skin and quality of the Henna, it lasts for two to three weeks on your skin.

We are used to seeing black and reddish-brown colour Henna designs in Nigeria and those are the classical, traditional designs. Henna art has literally grown and evolved. These days, you can find diverse colours and more beautiful Henna designs and patterns.  

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

REASONS WHY PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE

You tend to fall in love by getting to know a person. In fact, feelings of love can overcome a person after only 36 questions about the other person in 45 minutes. So letting someone really get to know you is a good way to get them to fall in love with you. Makes sense, right?


"Opposites attract" isn't really true. Similar people tend to gravitate towards each other. Especially when it comes to values.
Scent drives attraction. Women, especially when ovulating, are attracted to men's scent of testosterone even more.
Look like the other person's parent. It's weird, but men are attracted to women who look like their moms. And girls like guys who look like their dads. Not sure if you can work towards that goal, but it's worth a shot!


Do something thrilling or exhilarating with the other person. Not only will it bring you closer together in the moment, but it will make them feel excited when they think of you!

If you smile more, you're seen as positive, Get the other person to stare into your eyes for two minutes. It might be an awkward request and activity, but it's been shown to ratchet up the intimacy and attraction between two people. which is a turn-on for both sexes.

Keep open body language with your hands and arms spread open. Those who tend to close off their body appear guarded and uncomfortable, which makes them less desirable.

BY STEPHANIE E. HEMEN

SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFIT OF BITTER LEAF

Bitter Leaf has its Latin name as Andrographis Paniculate Ness. It is efficacious as a medicine. This plant is thought to have come from tropical Asia. In many areas, Sambiloto known as Andiloto (Java), Jambiroto/Pepaitan (Madura), Chuan Xin Lin (China), Ki Oray (Sunda), and many others. During this time, bitter leaf was known as bitterness. But apparently behind the bitter taste possessed, it turned out to contain a variety of many benefits for our health. Bitter leaf is included in the Acanthaceae family. This plant grows wild in open places such as roadsides, in fields, on vacant land, rather damp soil or planted in the garden as a medicinal plant. This plant is easy to reproduce and can be planted in lowlands to 700 m above the sea level. 

Reduce Fever: The bitter leaf contains an antiseptic that is very effective to reduce the heat inside.

Lowers Hypertension: Bitter leaf compounds among other substances jave andrographolide bitter taste, alkaloid, and potassium. Andrographolide content can improve the body’s defense systems such as the production of white blood cells that attack bacteria and other foreign substances. High potassium in Bitter leaf is useful to remove water and salt to treat hypertension. 

Effective for Typhus Disease: Bitter leaf is also believed to be used as a medicine for typhus. Typhus is a disease caused by bacterial infection of the intestine and lymph nodes, and spleen. 

Overcoming Gallstones: Gallbladder (Vesica fellea) is one organ that is a small and shaped muscular pouch which contains bile, attached below the surface of the liver. The gall bladder at night will be filled with bile, and will be issued in the morning. The gall bladder can be impaired, in which stones are formed in the gall bladder, and the presence of inflammation.

Treating Typhoid: Typhoid is a disease caused by bacteria. Consuming bitter leaf is able to kill the bacteria that cause typhoid. 

Treat Respiratory Tract Infections: Respiratory tract infections are infections that invade the human respiratory tract. Respiratory infections can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or other organisms. Secondary bacterial infections can also occur in patients with upper respiratory tract infections or bottom. You can use the bitter leaf to treat it. 

BY STEPHANIE E. HEMEN

Nigeria dusts Madagascar in table tennis events

Nigeria and Egypt played with ease in their group matches of table tennis event at the 12th African Games holding in Rabat, Morocco.

As the top seeds in men and women events, Kenya and Madagascar were no match to the Nigerians, while the Egyptian men also thumbed Eritrea and Congo DRC to top group A and B. They are expected to get a bye to the quarterfinals stage. 

Just like it happened in the men’s event, so it was in the women category, as the Nigerian ladies, led by six-time Olympian, Olufunke Oshonaike, walloped Congo Brazzaville and Uganda 3-0, while Egypt also inflicted same defeat on Morocco and Kenya to progress to the last eight of the competition. But, the order was tilted in Group D of the men’s event as unseeded Senegal upset number four seed, Algeria 3-2 to top the group, while Togo also beat Ghana by same margin to emerge as the top team in Group E.


The battle for the continental sole slot in the men and women events for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games continued yesterday as teams competed for places in the quarterfinals, while the semifinals and final hold tomorrow with winners qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

For African women singles defending champion, Dina Meshref of Egypt, nothing can stop the Egytpain from clinching the title.

”I think it is a bit tougher because this is the Olympic Games qualification event. It was not like that in previous editions and that is what I think makes it more competitive.”

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

Nwosu wins Team Nigeria’s first gold medal

Female Captain of the Nigeria Taekwondo Team to the All African Games, Chinazum Nwosu, has delivered the first gold medal for Team Nigeria at the on-going All African Games in Morocco.

The golden girl achieved this feat by defeating hosts and number one seed, Morocco’s El Bouchti Oumaima 26 – 22. In earlier bouts, the Nigerian who was the number three seed for the tournament has defeated Ethiopia’s Gosaye Fikado 14 – 12 in the semi-finals and Kenya’s Wangari Mwangi 28 – 9 in the quarterfinals en route to clinching her maiden African title.

Nwosu, an undergraduate of the University of Port Harcourt who is also an officer with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps [NSCDC] narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the 2015 All African Games, having lost in the finals by golden point to Egypt. Last year, she won a bronze at the 2018 African Taekwondo Championships losing to Tunisia’s Ben Ali.

Nonetheless, the explosive Nigerian has been one of the country’s most consistent taekwondo competitors, who has been undefeated in Nigeria for the past six years.

She won gold at the 2019 National Trials, 2019 Nigeria Taekwondo International Open, 2018 National Sports Festival, 2017 Ghana International Open and is a defending champion of the past six editions of the Korean Ambassador’s Cup in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Sunday Onofe competing in male
-87kg for Nigeria, won bronze medal after losing 12 – 15 to the number one seed, Gbane Seydou of Cote D’Ivoire in the semi-finals.

In the male +87kg, Nigeria’s Benjamin Okuomose defeated Senegal’s Seye Laye 40 – 37 before crashing out 31 – 10 to current world taekwondo champion, Niger Republic’s Abdoulrazak Alfaga, to settle for another bronze medal for Nigeria.

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

AKPEYI FEARS LOSING HIS SPOT IN EAGLES

Super Eagles goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi is bothered about the possibility of losing his place in the national due to limited playing time at his South African side Kaiser Chiefs.

The glovesman’s chances have been limited following the return to fitness of Chiefs’ number one Itumeleng Khune.

Akpeyi had held on for the legendary goalie but the Nigerian may have to revert to his back-up role and he has now explained his fears of losing his number one spot as the Super Eagles number one, adding he hopes the coaches will understand the dynamics at his club even if he is not playing regular football.

“Sometimes this game can be tricky but when you have someone who understands the dynamics of this game, who understands how things run,” continued the lanky keeper.

“I am in a team where I will not be playing 100% of games. That should be understood because there is no way that I can push Khune aside no matter if he is on form or not, he has this background that it would be difficult for you to push him out, I am just being honest about it,” noted the 33-year-old.

“But for whoever is the head [coach of Nigeria] as long as he understands the dynamics and how things work, as long as I am injury-free and doing my best here and the report gets to them it will be up to them to decide if they want to give me a chance and still believe I can make it work with the national team,” he said.

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

2019 AFCON aftermath: Tunisia part with Giresse

Alain Giresse has left his job as coach of Tunisia, after nine months and having guided them to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in July.

Giresse The former France international’s departure was announced by the Tunisian Football Federation on Wednesday, who said in a brief statement that it was a mutual decision. Giresse was appointed in December and helped them reach the last four in Egypt in spite of winning just one match at the tournament outside of a penalty shootout. They drew their three group games and needed a shootout to get past Ghana in the last 16 before beating Madagascar 3-0 in their quarter-final game. 

They lost to Senegal in the semi-finals after extra time and were also defeated by Nigeria in the third-place playoff. It was the fifth time the Frenchman has coached a country at the AFCON after he led Gabon (2010), Mali (2012), Senegal (2015) and Mali again two years ago. 

The 67-year-old has also coached at club level in Morocco, after two spells with Toulouse and a brief tenure in charge at Paris St Germain (PSG) Giresse’s departure means 13 of the 24 coaches from last month’s tournament have left their jobs.(Reuters/NAN)

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

African Nigerian athletes reject $100 allowance

The Angry Nigeria athletes team rejected $100 daily allowance offered to them by the Ministry of Sports on Wednesday.

Few of the athletes, who spoke, said they were ready for a clash with the officials.

They insisted that having collected $150 as daily allowance at the last edition of the Games in Congo four years ago, they would not accept anything less from the ministry. 

It was learnt that one of the judokas borrowed Judogis (judo kits) from his North African counterpart to fight.

“How can you borrow Judogis from your opponent,” said an angry Nigeria Judo Federation official.

A female athlete, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the kits given to them were of very low quality.

 

“At the 2015 African Games in Congo, we got the best treatment, we were kitted very well with top-class outfits. We had a very good motivational reward system, which we finished the game as the second best team overall,” our source said.

Another athlete, who was also at the last Games in 2015, stated that their camp allowance of N3,000 was paid before leaving for Congo, while this year’s camp allowance was slashed to N1500. 

Meanwhile, it was learnt that rather than work as a team in Rabat, sports ministry and the Nigeria Olympic Committee officials have engaged themselves in a power tussle.

“The ministry and NOC should stop this power play amongst them and work together. They are trying to outplay each other. The Permanent Secretary (sports ministry) is not here, and the woman that is supposed to be in charge can’t control them (officials),” a top member of Team Nigeria delegation, said. 

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO

100 PLAYERS HAVE REGISTERED FOR THE IBADAN BOVAS GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Ibadan BOVAS Golf Tournament says over 100 players have registered for the 4th edition of the game scheduled for 23rd august 2019. 

Chris Nzekea, Chairman of the LOC, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan. Nzekea told NAN that about 130 golfers might feature at the game as more golfers had continued to register for the game billed for Tiger Golf Club, Odogbo, Cantonment, Ibadan. 

According to him, the competition is an open one for all golfers across the nation and logistics have been put in place to ensure a hitch-free tournament. He lauded the company for its commitment to the promotion of golf in the last four years and urged other corporate bodies to emulate the company in the development of sports in the country. 

The tournament is being sponsored by BOVAS and Company Limited, an indigenous independent petroleum marketing firm based in Ibadan. The two-day event will end on 24th august.

BY: FIRDAUSI MUSA DANTSOHO