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Article:Nigeria Go Survive By Stella Damasus
It's Producers' Mix as Cobhams Asuquo and Tha Suspect Step Into BET Spotlight
Afro-Juju Legend ,Sir Shina Peters Turns 54
Actress Chika Ike Hosts 3000 Street Children on Children's day [Photos]
2 Shotz Responds To Accusation Of Collecting N100,000 Without Appearing For Show
eLDee Signs Rapper Eva To Trybe Records

Article:Nigeria Go Survive By Stella Damasus

Posted: 30 May 2012 01:58 PM PDT

There is so much to talk about that I don't even know where to begin. Let me skip some experiences and talk about the conversation I had with my aunty in my hotel room in the United Kingdom.

She asked me how Naija was and I said 'well we thank God'. Of course, I knew she hated answers like that so I quickly apologised.

In as much as I try to be as positive as I can about every situation, it was slightly difficult to talk about Nigeria in that manner.

So I talked about the state of electricity, roads, hospitals and the doctors' strike, bombings and the pain of the Christians in these times and the cashless Nigeria which I think should be a topic for another article.

Then I got tired after I realised that I was sounding like a nagging wife. Anyway as I rounded off, she looked at me, laughed and said, "you know what?" in her funny accent, "we are all facing so much in the UK to the point that people here wanna come back home, you know".

That shocked me a bit and before she opened her mouth something came on the television; she took the remote control and increased the volume. Then she said "please watch this". It was on BBC and the presenter was at a site with pillars that had missing metals; also different monuments that had broken and vandalised. Apparently the crime rate in the UK had trippled. People are stealing from different places —warehouses, banks, etc, to to enable them purchase drugs and food, all because of David Cameron, who came in and changed everything.

He revoked benefits, slashed salaries, rendered people jobless and homeless, and generally made life unbearable for a lot of people.

I did not realise how bad it was at that time till we changed the channel and saw an old couple who were caught stealing from the pharmacy in a hospital because their monetary benefits from the government had been cut. Now, that was really scary, and that was when I heard the full gist of what was going on.

In the UK now, even if you have cancer and you were getting monthly allowances from the government because you can't work, the new policy is insisting that you must work unless you can prove that you have a major relapse.

On that same TV show I saw people signing so many documents just to prove to the government that they are still entitled to the benefits. These documents were the size of two huge Concordance Bibles and I am not exaggerating; all in a bid to collect as low as 250 pounds a month.

Wow! Now, that threw me off balance a bit.

There was a time when we all started laughing as the presenter said UK residents have all become actors, just to retain their benefits. He said even people whose diseases are not that bad on paper now go to the collection office with walking sticks and neck braces just so people think their conditions are deserving of the benefits.

Even though that was funny, it got me thinking.

We all shout and rant and complain about our country Nigeria, but the truth is that when the developed world and countries were going through the economic meltdown, I don't remember it really hitting Nigeria or Nigerians. We were still going about our lives and businesses. When they were laying off thousands of people from work, we did not experience that. When big shops and stores were shutting down all over the world, it did not affect us. When Dubai suffered economic loss because they invested in another country, it did not affect us. When the hurricanes and floods rocked the world, it did not come near us.

Truth is we have had our own fare share of fuel subsidy wahala, Boko Haram and the rest of them, but we are not the only ones. We seem to think that Nigeria is a lost cause but I beg to differ, because Nigeria is the hope of the world and the future.

It may seem far fetched now but it will happen. A few greedy, selfish and evil men are not enough to destroy this wonderful country which God has blessed with so much.

Anyway, after the TV show, I realised that the same United Kingdom that so many people will give up everything to live in, is having so many issues now. Two families I know have come back home, businesses are coming back and foreigners who have identified Nigeria as the next best thing are flooding in. From the movie makers who have come to appreciate Nollywood, to the pastors and gospel singers who have come to love Nigerian churches, to the doctors from India and Germany who have set up hospitals here, to the telecoms and cable TV providers who are becoming billionaires overnight because we have the power of numbers, to the engineers who have been getting huge contracts just because of the colour of their skin, to the professors who are in Abuja everyday getting approval to set up school with American curriculum and so many others who find it easy to get what they want because they know that once you are a foreigner and you have a great accent, you can have anything you want from the Nigerian government.

I am not really sure I am thrilled with this trend because I know how Nigerians labour and spend to get approvals or contracts from their own government.

Looking at it positively, this also proves that there must be something outsiders can see and that is why they are all running down here.

Nigerians must wake up and smell the coffee! This same Nigeria that we are all condenming is the same place the whole world is rushing to. If we can just stop and think hard, we can find out what they see and we can all benefit from it.

It is important to stand up for ourselves before its too late. The time we spend in lamenting, let us spend it looking for solutions. The good thing is that unlike other countries that have natural disasters beyond their control, Nigeria only suffers from man-made problems that can be solved by God through man.

Yes, we have major issues and some are so painful. From armed robbery, to rape, to domestic violence, to fraud, to child trafficking, to a government that has failed us, to poor medical facilities and so much more.

With all of these, I refuse to give up on my country.

Let us all ask God for help now and make ourselves available to be used as agents of change. The time is now.

Quote: This is from a song: "Andrew no check out o, stay and build your country, Nigeria go survive."

It's Producers' Mix as Cobhams Asuquo and Tha Suspect Step Into BET Spotlight

Posted: 30 May 2012 01:55 PM PDT

Music Producers Cobhams Asuquo and Tha Suspect are featuring on this week's BET Spotlight tagged the Producers' Mix.

BET spotlight is a half hour series by BET International that invites some of the brightest stars to step into BET spotlight where they share their lives through words and music.The program will air on friday June 1,2012 at 8:30 PM GMT.

The past episodes have featured iceprince,M.I,wizkid, Muna, Modenine,Eva and many others.

Afro-Juju Legend ,Sir Shina Peters Turns 54

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:47 AM PDT

Afro juju legend, Sir shina peters turns 54 today May 30,2012 .Shina peters was born Oluwashina Akanbi peters May 30,1958 in Ogun state

He began his career while playing the guitar with General Prince Adekunle, later forming his own group with Juju Maestro Segun Adewale.Shina Peters, after releasing many albums with Segun Adewale through the 1980s, went on to form his own band "Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars".

Their first album release Ace (Afro-Juju Series 1) in 1989 went double platinum and was the career breakthrough which catapulted Sir Shina Peters back into the limelight. "Ace" was a musical fusion between Juju and Afro beat; a rhythmic collaboration which pierced Ethnic, Cultural and language barriers in Nigeria.

The second album release Shinamania (Afro-Juju Series 2) went on to further prove that Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars were on the verge to change and revolutionize the Juju Music scene in Africa. Sir Shina Peters is still regarded as the creator of a well-respected music genre (Afro Juju) that exists in its own class till this day. He currently has 16 albums to his credit.

Shina peters was inducted into The Headies (Hip-HopWorldAwards) Hall of Fame in 2011.

Watch Ace video below

Actress Chika Ike Hosts 3000 Street Children on Children's day [Photos]

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:08 AM PDT

chika ike

Nollywood actress Chike Ike hosted 3000 street children on children's day,May 27,2012 . The event held at The light chapel church playing ground,Agbodo in lagos was themed 'Educate a child' ,organized through her foundation Chika Ike Foundation.

It was organized for kids on the street giving them hope for a brighter future. Foodpacks, mathsets,notesbooks,T-shirts ,schoolbags and many other things were presented to the kids.

chika ike with oba of Agbodo

Kids performing

kids line up for T-Shirts

chika ike cuts cake for the kids

chika ike dances with the kids

Part of the gift items

2 Shotz Responds To Accusation Of Collecting N100,000 Without Appearing For Show

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:48 AM PDT

Rapper 2 shotz has responded to the accusation by lead city university students that he collected N100,000 from them for a fashion show and didn't appear .The rapper has responded through his publicist , read below:

"It's been deemed necessary for 2shotz to respond through his publicist, about the stories making rounds that he collected money for a fashion event in Lead City University Ibadan and refused to turn up.

The said amount [N100, 000] was meant for 2Shotz appearance at the fashion show. It must be made clear that 2Shotz has a no refund policy of such fee.

Unlike stories going round, 2Shotz was actually in Ibadan for the event but unfortunately, the organizers did not pick him (2Shotz) up at the hotel for the show. As expected anywhere in the world, when you invite an artiste for an event, it is the responsibility of the organizers to get the artiste to the said venue, something these organizers failed to do, as seen in the attached conversation.

"I was very angry, that the organizers could bring me to Ibadan, and did not find it necessary to come pick me up at the hotel" said 2Shotz

It is rather unfortunate, that the organizers could still go ahead and paint up such story.

2Shotz remains faithful to his fans and will continue to churn out good music that will always keep them happy"

eLDee Signs Rapper Eva To Trybe Records

Posted: 30 May 2012 03:22 AM PDT

Veteran rapper/producer and CEO of trybe Records ,eLDee da don has announced the signing of female rapper Eva to his record label .

eLDee made the announcement through his twitter account

"Good morning Yall! Join me as I welcome @evaalordiah the newest member of Trybe Records v2.0!,"he tweeted.

Eva who recently featured on BET Spotlight also expressed her joy by tweeting Wow! I had to go through 13 Record deals to finally get here.. Did I say Yes to the 14th? Yes! Am I happy? Oh Yes!!