IN LOVE WITH A SINGLE MOTHER...ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT?

Now I can't help to make this confession online but I have been giving much thought to why most bachelors I know shy away from getting involved with single mothers, whether unmarried or divorced, talk less about going to the altar with them.
Personally, I share their fears but in recent times I have met such loving single mothers who after some interaction, get to make me see that they were either  victims of circumstance or love or both!
In our deeply culturally entrenched society, it is quite understandable why most unmarried men would not want to get involved with women who may have a child or two. The general perception of the African culture towards such relationships will tend towards stigmatization of the man as not being 'man' enough to get himself a 'fresh' 'damsel.
Next will be general fear by the man's family members of the inevitable involvement of the child(ren)'s father in the suitor's family sometime in the near future as it is more or less a given fact that runaway fathers always do come around the bend to re-establish the paternal bond with their once abandoned flesh and blood.
But I believe the most worrisome reason working against such unions is that the single mother, probably because she had come to gain acceptance and affection from her child(ren) particularly at the moment of her lowest points in life, tends to show more love and even allegiance to the child(ren) than to her new man. She is usually torn between attending to needs of either of her objects of affection and in most cases, takes sides with her past than with her future.
Thankfully, we Africans are imbibing all that is foreign and western and as such I see a light at the end of the tunnel where a couple in love will be walking down the street with the lady's kid in tow comfortably calling out to the man 'daddy' without anyone raising eyebrows because in the end everybody deserves a second chance in the game of love!

IN SEARCH OF NIGERIAN VIRGINS!

I wasn't there o, but I can imagine how this wahala of child marriage started and finally got played out in the upper chambers of our legislative House.
It must have been during recess when most of the 'honorable' men of the senate had assembled at the convenience to make some water that conversation brought about more conversation.
Senator Y from Zamfara: (doing his thing at the shank, he throws a glance at Senator V's 'powerhouse') Walai, Pictor, your abunna is bery big! Chai...ip yu fut am por yarinya abunna, geskiya, the thing will tear!
Senator V: My brother, I wish that were true but I tell you the truth, I am yet to tear any abunna o! These days, we don't have tear rubber yarinyas again!
Senator M from Sokoto: ( standing on the other side of Senator V,from Cross River) Kariane, walai! Pictor, you mean you have neber sampled Presh abunna in Abuja, ne?
Senator V: Abuja, Lagos, Calabar, Port Harcourt...I have never tasted new 'something' before. I don't believe they are any virgins in Nigeria after the age of 18. It seems our young girls are in a hurry to throw away the thing nowadays. Or Senator Y, have you 'teared' rubber before?
Senator Y: (laughs out loud as he strokes his goaty) My prend, I used to be like you bepor bepor, looking por stainless yarinya from damaturu to gusau but no luck. I became desperate sotay I travel to Cairo to find one sweet 13-year old yarinya beside river Nile. Walai, our pest night together gave me insight to how sweet the 72 virgins in heaven will be.
Senator V: 13 years old? Is that not against the law? The constitution says a girl should have attained the age of 18 years before getting married!
Senator Y: Haba, My prend! That is why I travel to Cairo now, you see? If no virgin in Nigeria above 18 years and the law doesn't want us to marry virgins under 18 years, what else can we do than to travel abroad to source por 'raw' material? (he gives an earth shaking laughter)
Senator M: wait o(light bulb goes on in his head)! If it is true that we don't have virgins in Nigeria above 18 years, can't we amend the law to reduce the eligible age for females to marry so that we can all enjoy Yeri boy is enjoying without causing capital flight?
Senator Y: Shikena, walai! That is exactly what we should do, Machi, my aboki! That way even Vico and his southern brothers can enjoy something Presh por once!
Senator V:  Distinguished gentlemen, I think we should not rush this.....
Before anyone could say ' child abuse', the two senators had gathered 33 other of their like minded 'honorables' in the male convenience to set the agenda for the next session of the hallowed chamber!

7 THINGS TO WATCH OUT FROM YOUR WOULD -BE SPOUSE

GOOD GIRL, BAD WIFE COMING UP....www.360nobs.com/2013/06/seven-signs-that-your-girlfriend-would-make-a-bad-wife

WHAT'S ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT YERIMA AND 13-YEAR OLD BRIDES?

There was the Yoruba adage I was told many years ago whist dong my national assignment somewhere in the west that had the moral that it was a much more dangerous thing to understand a foreign language partially because there was always the possibility of misinterpreting what was being discussed most times.
In the last three days there has been a flurry of campaigns on the social media accusing our senators of endorsing child marriage ostensibly being advocated for by the Nigerian senator who imported a 13-year old bride from the land of the Pharoahs some years back.
While not holding brief for the distinguished 'cradle snatching' legislators in the midst of those occupying the hallowed chambers, I dare say that those crying 'wolf' should take out time to read the areas in the constitution that this contentious  issue was dug up from. Sadly, Nigerians don't read even though we all can speak the Queen's language so I don't expect people to take the pains to review the issue dispassionately by consulting the pages of our constitution.
Be that as it may, we shouldn't expend energy flogging a dead horse because if there are two areas Nigerians will never change their deep rooted convictions about, they would be the areas of ethnicity and religion.
So if a culture or system of belief supports the longings of full grown men taking on toddlers as wives, no amount of fussing via twitter, Facebook, blackberry, e-mails and what have you to the United Nations, U.S senate, the Russian Duma or the Afghanistan Taliban will invalidate this reality because at the end of the day when the baby bride's parents will be giving her away, we will not be there in person to applaud or throw stones to register our presence!

COME 2015, BEVERLY OSU MAY BE THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TOURISM

I would not be saying anything new about the show of shame aired by Big Brother Africa a few nights ago where the South African representative was washing his fingers in the honeypot of the Nigerian representative, Bevely Osu.
Not being a fan of the show from its inception, I have only relied on the several narratives red from many online posts about the sordid episode. The hullabaloo across the various social media platforms  I took time to review were all unanimous in their denouncement of the pornographic clip. But sadly for most of my compatriots, this is where the story will end. Not so?
We Nigerians pride ourselves as custodians of morality and quickly frown at any show of indecency or lasciviousness when we confront it. Or so it seems until you take a critical look look at our collective value system.
I recall that when last year's representative, the silicon breasted Karen returned from 'doing the nation proud', she was hosted by one of our country's minister and pounded accolades for representing us well.
I believe that with Beverly raising the bar in the department of obscenity and debauchery, her return will be heralded with an OFR award from the presidency, a tour of duty with the presidential campaign team throughout 2014 in order to rally the youth, and ultimately a juicy post as the minister of education, because she has so much to teach us about self reliance and maximisation of the use of scarce resources or minister of tourism, because she knows how to attract foreign direct investment(FDI).
I am willing to bet my next month's pay that this is the career path that awaits Beverly on her return because I know my countrymen and women....when it comes to crying 'wolf', their bark is bigger than their bite and as such Beverly's disgraceful act will only get the hypocritical snigger for a night before she is crowned a 'good ambassador' of our great country, Nigeria.
So, let me start by giving it up to our dear 'honorable' Beverly Osu.....

WHEN OGA MADAM WILL BE ON TOP.....I WILL BE ON TOP!

The  21st century work place is literary a corporate jungle: short and simple!
If  you are one of the lucky few that make up the less than 20 percent of people in the world with a paid employment either in the public or private sector then you would have noticed that the gender demographics is seriously tilting towards more female career advancement in the workplace.
Surprised? Don't be.
There are many empirical evidences to show why we are witnessing a stronger feminine presence in the corporate world ranging from the fact that more girls are enrolling into schools and staying through to graduation, organizations are implementing the affirmative action policy that keeps a fraction of the work space exclusively for females, a resilience on the part of some of these women to  sacrifice many of those 'traditional' roles that competed with their time to develop their careers and lastly, the surreptitious use of the 'bottom power' to bulldoze their way to the top.
Now my interest is in the 'bottom power' premise. These days, I see young ladies, married and unmarried, not being discreet about having affairs with their superiors in order to gain favoritism and undue advantage in the office. No doubt, many of them have the qualification and even the competence to rise to the top on their own but since there is a lot of convenience in using the escalator than climbing a flight of stairs, many of them jostle to add 'bed warming' as an additional skill set to their curriculum vitae.
With more and more of them are knocking off men and taking over decision making positions which is commendable if you are a believer of the philosophy that says 'the end justifies the means', there will get to the time when women will form the majority of staff in the formal sectors of the economy. They will become a majority in the boardrooms, executive management and the general workforce while the men will have to gain relevance in the non-structured infomal sectors like entrepreneurship, agriculture and perhaps, baby sitting.
By then, those of us males who will have jobs in the formal sector will become prized possessions because our 'oga' madams at the top will need us a Personal Assistants (for home and abroad functions)and office spies to check on their scheming female surbodinates and help keep them in line.
By that time, lucky dudes like myself would enjoy the scene from above because we will also be on top of things...with our 'Oga Madam' at the top!

EBUKA'S SHRINE WEDDING PLANS-REPOSTED

WHAT'S THE HULLABALOO ABOUT BIG WEDDINGS SEF? Hope you enjoy this post from a senior Bachelor who has his head screwed on tight! Why all the fuss about 'big' budget wedding ceremonies? Follow the link, read Ebuka's take and Drop a comment.... thanks

IF YOU ARE SINGLE AND ABOVE 25, YOU MUST MARRY.....EVEN IF IT IS FOR A DAY!

If you are single and above 25 years of age and not yet married, you might be in trouble and not even realize it yet! Why? Okay, let's go there.
Have you not noticed the looks of your age mates who have tied the nuptial knots when you stroll into their midst? Or have you failed to understand the innuendoes that belie your parents, pastors and other 'concerned' older wellwishers' statements when they hold you down in a conversation about settling down and the accompanying 'favour' obtained from the Lord? If so, you must be a learner or worse still, a diehard, unrepentant bachelor/spinster.
Never mind the fact that you may be pursuing a life's goal or ambition that may require your full concentration to achieve, or that you may not have met the one person that fits into your life's plans, or the growing incidences of divorce within 2 years or less of marriage amongst newly weds, or the real cost (emotional, financial, even environmental) of getting married.....if you are not married, especially once you have crossed 25 years, you are not worth sitting on the table of 'responsible' men and women!
It is either you are promiscuous or short sighted about your future or that you are ignorant about the 'purpose' for which you are created.
Take it from me, on that table for  'responsible' men and women, you-the single man or woman, are ranked far below a a divorcee, a wife batterer, an unfaithful wife, a polygamist and even a single parent- at least they have proof of being 'fruitful'!
So whilst you are still fooling around pursuing that additional degree, or making a go at your career, or devoting your energies to building a business that you hope will put your future family above the $1- a-day survivalist packs, remember this, all your achievements don't mean jack at teh end of the day if you are not married...even if your marriage lasts for a day!

GIVE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR TOMORROW....

As usual work days, especially Mondays, are a drain on my spirit! And I am too convinced I share the feelings of thousands, even millions of hard working people in Nigeria, Africa, the whole world!
For me, it is not that I am not well renumerated but in recent times the realization that I am stuck in a rat's race job that conflicts with my values, knowledge and skills sets plays on my mind to the point of stupor!
I wake up dazed, go to bed dazed, resume at my desk dazed, hurry back home dazed all inthe while thinking when this asphixiating roller coaster will stop so I can get off.
With younger and more qualified (or should I say certicated!?) people stepping into my industry and being assigned supervisory roles over and above those of us who have had to earn our keep by sweating through the ranks, the frustration of being told what to do by a boss who resumed as your trainee only a few months ago is something worth giving more than just a passing thought to!
I understand that the global crises has had its ripple effect on local economies, governments and private institutions so as such any one with a semblance of a 9-to-5 job should be thankful to the Almighty. But I ask, where is the dignity in being a willing slave of a system that neither caters for your needs today, and damn well cares far less about your well being tomorrow, when you will have been spent and useless even for yourself?
If you don't have people who had worked so hard for the system and retired around you, you may stop by at my place! I have my two retiree parents who gave their all but now have to hold night vigils to get their dues from their former employers.
So on an end note to all you hard working, 9-to-5ers, who believe that by some stroke of luck or grace or favour, your pot of gold will be waiting for you at the end of the rainbow after your work life, do yourself a favour and give some thought about your tomorrow!
Moral of the story? Have a retirement plan, that's all!

DRIVER, WHERE IS THIS BUS GOING TO?

I boarded a taxi going out of town yesterday and whilst we waited for the vehicle to fill up, a couple of the passengers, both young ladies in their twenties hung on their mobiles in some romantic conversation.
Their discussions over the phone could be heard by all, so you could imagine how I felt to overhear both girls telling their supposed lovers that they were embarking on journeys to different  destinations  respectively from where our taxi driver was taking us to.
An old joke came to mind which I ended up sharing with them after they dropped their calls.
A certain man boarded a transport service heading to Lagos and after covering good distance towards their destination, his fellow passengers started making phone calls all around him.
One of the callers told the other person on the line that he was heading towards Abuja for an important meeting with the Minister.
Another caller was apologizing to a disappointed lover that his mother had taken ill and that he was on his way to the village somewhere near Calabar to be by her side.
Yet another was cursing over the phone, obviously to his staff  and threatening him that he was on his way to Port Harcourt 'immediately' to 'deal' with the errant subordinate.
When a fourth passenger's phone chat indicated that he was heading to the airport to board a flight out of the country, the poor Lagos bound passenger had to scream blue murder and vehemently request from the where the vehicle was heading to?
So for those of you serial 'story tellers' who tell tales whilst on phone just to suit the moment, don't be oblivious of persons who may be eavesdropping on your conversation because you may make some of us who may not be that bold to ask the driver, 'where is this bus going?' to alight and take an alternative route to our destination! 

GOOD SEX VS LOVE MAKING..... WHAT IS YOUR TAKE?

What is the definition of good sex? -by BELLA NAIJA.              Good morning, peeps! I hope you take out time to read this article on www.bellanaija.com and go through the comments posted for some sex education! Have a swell, Wednesday!

THE MIS-MARRIAGE OF JENIFA: ANOTHER WEDLOCK BITES THE DUST.....

I am hoping this is the usual rumor that bad belle people circulate just to spoil the reputation of our hard working celebrities but I just read about 'Jenifa's' marriage hitting rock bottom recently.
Now, I don't think it shocks people anymore when the marriages of celebrities crash even before someone can say 'forever after'.
What me thinks is that these celebs think it is more honorable to have been there, done that and have a post script on their CV that reads 'was once married...'!
We are living in the end times, as my church people will say, so we should expect any and everything but going into the institution of matrimony with the expectation, perhaps conviction that the whole charade would not last is really taking the concept of civility and freedom to a whole new level.
Without putting blame on either the men or women involved, I dare say couples should start being a little more scientific in their analysis of their prospective marriage partners. The fallacy that issues that pertain to matters of the heart be left only in the realm of emotions and feelings is simply that: a fallacy!
Lovers, or people in serious relationships need to truthfully assess each other perhaps with the the help of therapists and or marriage cousellors before they jump into the pool of lifetime commitments. More importantly, they should give serious consideration to red flags pointed out by interested family members, friends and even the professionals in order to avoid going ahead with a project that has all the written signs of a Titanic'.
Unless, of course there is  another motive to getting married to a loved one than to live 'happily ever after', the marriages of our celebrities are not exempted from successful ventures consummated with the cardinal motto being 'built to last'!

SINGLE FATHERS TRENDING.....

I believe this write up is long overdue having been an issue that has been bothering my mind for quite some time now.
Let me start by listing a few of the single celebrity fathers here in Nigeria.
1. P-Square (Peter and Paul Okoye)
2. Seun Kuti
3. Timaya (Enetimi Odom)
4. May D (Mayokun Dumila)
5. Terry Gee ( Gabriel Amanyi)
6. Wizkid ( Ayodeji Balogun)
7. Ice Prince (Panshak Zamani)
8. Olamide 'Badoo' (Olamide Adedeji)
9. Sauce kid (Babalola Falemi)
10. Tuface (Innocent Dibia, prior to his wedding to Anne Macauley, mother of two of his six kids)

Now this list is not exhaustive but surely does represent a trend that is gaining acceptance amongst Nigerian celebrities. Notice that the list only picks out young, single and rich young men under 40 who have had children out of wedlock but who are well padded to give their ladybirds and babies a lovely home /family life but for whatever reasons have opted to enjoy the best of two worlds!
It is not an arguable fact that today's 'Stars' have very little  to offer in the way of role modeling, preferring to blaze the trail of antisocial behaviors and idiosyncrasies but I believe common sense should prevail on them the need for a serious level of accountability first, to their offsprings who will bear the stigma of being called names ,and secondly, their teaming, young fans who are bound to follow suit in proliferating children who may never enjoy the joy and security of a foundationally sound family setting.

A CASE OF THREE ANGELS....

On Thursday, I had to take a flight to Lagos, Nigeria's commercial nerve centre for an interview and like always I had the 'normal' belly cramps that comes with the fear of flying.
All week long as I contemplated having to make that journey, I took every step to reconcile with my Maker, knowing that I would be nearer Heaven for most of the one hour journey, airborne.
My prayer all week as I thought of the journey ahead went something like this; 'Lord, give me an angel to take charge of me as I journey through clouds!Amen!'
And guess what?
Of course! The Lord answers the prayers of His saints!
The answer to my prayer came in a threefold measure. Yes, three angels were assigned to me on that trip.Hallelujah!!
Now let me explain.
Firstly, as I got scanned and ushered into the departure waiting lobby, I spotted Reverend Akan Weeks, a renown city Pastor who was scheduled to fly on the same plane, having a chat session with a couple. His presence brought some calm to my spirit as we soon queued up to board the plane.
On the Tarmac, my eyes settled on the imposing figure of Evangelist Uma Ukpai, arguably Nigeria's biggest and most decorated Evangelist dressed in an all white lace native wear and strolling towards the plane from the V.I.P lounge.
Now the sight of this great Man of God drove away all the remaining bout of fear from my spirit. Surely, there was no way this plane was going to fall out of the sky....not with the host of angels accompanying God's General on this flight!
I took my seat 18a, by the window on board the Aero flight 152J and soon flipped open the book i had carried along to help keep me distracted along the way but as the Lord would have it, a gorgeous looking damsel strolled throgh the aisle and just as I muttered a line of prayer for her footsteps to be ordered aright, she collapsed into the seat next to me! Now, this was a better distraction. An angelic distraction, you might add.
And what a tranquil flight it was all the way....airborne, with three angels on my case!
Who says I don't serve a living God that answers prayers?

Mercy Johnson is still our own bad ass MJ!

We all know that the initials M.J belongs to the one and only Michael Jackson, the 'Bad' and 'Dangerous' pop music idol that passed away some years ago but in Naija, we have our own M.J....Mercy Johnson!
Now, here are 10 things you may not have known about this screen diva:
1. Her full name before she married was Mercy Johnson Shola.
2. She was born on 28 August, 1984.
3. She is a native of Okene in Kogi state of Nigeria.
4. She has acted over 100 Nollywood movies to date.
5. She has over 98,000 likes on her official Facebook page.
6. She has over 91,000 followers on Twitter.
7. She won the award of Best supporting actress at the 2009 African Film award.
8. She won the award for Best actress at the 2013 Africa Magic viewers' award.
9. She was happily wedded to Prince Odianosen Okojie on 27 August, 2011.
10. She was one of the top Nigerian celebrities who visited the ailing music producer, OJB, diagnosed with kidney problems recently. She gave an undisclosed sum as donation to his cause!

Hhhhm! I guess we can all say, our feature celebrity is a good, bad gal!

So, join me to salute one of Nigeria's Nollywood product...Mercy 'Mrs. Philanthropist' Johnson!

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.....

I know the whole of Africa is busy feeding on the so called reality show called Big Brother Africa but that isn't what am talking about.
For all of you who have come to rely on the internet and your smart phones, androids and digital gadgets that connect to the information superhighway as a tool that gets you by on the daily, I am trying to prick your senses on the unfolding reality that in this information age, your secret is no longer safe. No thanks to the enfant terrible, Mr. Snowden, the turncoat CIA operative who brought the fact to the knowledge of the world that Big Brother USA (trading in the name and style of the NSA) have their eyes, ears and heart on everyone's case.
How does that concern you, right? Well for starters, it means you can be fished out from the over 7 billion people walking on the surface of the earth if Big Brother really needs you, anytime, anywhere!(like EFCC go talk).
Okay, you think you are a law abiding citizen so they won't come for you right? Wrong! It means that if the System wants to set you up like they do in the movies where a man goes to sleep as an innocent man today and wakes up the next day becoming the most wanted, they can. With enough details about your person, you can be easily profiled to look like the criminal you so despised yesterday that you would gladly submit yourself to be guillotined.
And what of all you guys and ladies who keep virtual relationships where you escape to for a little flirtation? How would you feel to see a transcript of your unedited text messages to your boss's mistress being forwarded to your missus' e-mail from an anonymous person ostensibly to make you realize the need to compromise on that awarding that contract to Mr. Pull-strings, who has connections to the Establishment?
You don't need to be convinced by this write up that your every move on google, Facebook, yahoo, LinkedIn etc via your laptop, iPad, blackberry phone, Samsung galaxy tab etc, is being monitored but do yourself the favour to keep your nose (and ass) clean every time you press the 'send' button on your device because surely, Big Brother is watching!

8 HABITS THAT TAKE LOVE HIGHER......

I was just ruffling through my pile of old magazines and stumbled on the June, 2003 edition of Cosmopolitan. Flipping through, I came across this article that am sure will make an interesting read; 8 things that can take love between couples to a  higher level:

1. Play the nickname game: Coming up with playful names has a spirit-boosting effect on a relationship.
2. Gush about each other: Highlight the positive qualities during your conversations with other people about your love.
3. Create a romance ritual: Share a unique routine with your partner. The more the routine is incomprehensible to outsiders, the more it fuses you two together.
4. Reveal yourselves: Relationships get stronger when partners expose their real selves, even if it is something painful. So unveil a little more emotion to each other.
5. Make yourself scarce: Going solo for a while shores up the bonding process. So pursue separate interests and reduce excessive chats on phones in the course of the day.
6. Take a trip back in relationship time: Re-living sweet memories of the past helps keep couples bonded now and in the future. Visit old hang-outs together, watch movies and  your old picture collections together...that sort of thing!
7. Don't sweat the small stuff: Small gripes cast a negative pull over relationship, potentially chipping away at the union. Better to let trivial things go. Both should learn to overlook a lot of things!
8: Celebrate quirky milestones: It is okay to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries but  serious booster to good old love and romance is to celebrate the other little things like pay rise at work, moving to a new house and even yesterday's  explosive lovemaking session!

Enjoy your lunch, good people, everywhere!

4 THINGS YOUR MAN MISSES ABOUT BEING SINGLE....

Quoting www.sofeminine.co.uk, certain things run through the mind of men in deep relationships that makes them reminisce about when they were single. According to that website, the following are 5 of  the things they miss, and do think about;

1. Free time: Most coupled men reminisce about the times when they could 'just sit around in their pants and play computer games till 3am!'
But now that he is into you, the woman in his life,he might not be getting enough of that 'recharge time' anymore since he is now saddled with family obligations.
SOLUTION: If he needs an afternoon playing gold, or simply wants some time to himself, let him have it, wifey/girlfriend!

2. Man time: Before Madam showed up, most men hung out with each other at a moment's notice. Spending all day in the pub, playing 5-aside football or having a poker evening was no big thing.
SOLUTION: So dear heartthrob, if your  man is missing his guy friends, suggest a date when he can go off and do his thing with his mates and you can go hang out with yours, capish?

3. Dress sense: When guys are single, they usually didnt give second thought to what they wore but as soon as they become involved in relationships, they find out that their favorite t-shirts or favorite threadbare jeans comes under fire from their beloved ones. The females are usually horrified about the color combination, design and even fabric of their men's wears!
SOLUTION: Guys clothes are their identity- so if you ladies really have any problems with an item of clothing with your men, it is a great excuse, and opportunity to go shopping-together!

4. TV shows: quoting my source directly; 'every night, it is a battle for the remote control. He wants to watch the Match of the day, you (the lady) have to see the latest episode of 'Keeping up with the Kardashians!' In our clime, that will be keeping up with 'African Magic'!
SOLUTION: The key here will be compromise. If the lady got to watch her choice of Tv programme the last time, then please make sure the guy gets to select what you both will be seeing the next time!
There! I hope this write up sure makes someone's day today! Peace out!!

WHY WE LOVE INI EDO!

There are a few ladies in Nollywood that can grab any man's attention and Ini Edo- Ehiagwina is one of them. The ladies idolise her and the men, hhm...I won't want to tell you what images her sight casts on their minds. So, just to let you know a little why we all love this screen goddess, here are some facts to chew on:
1. She was born on April 23rd, 1982. She just turned 31 this year.
2. She is happily married to an American based Nigerian, Phillip Ehiagwina.
3. She graduated from the University of Calabar in 2000, where she studied Theatre Arts.
4.She has acted over 100 Nollywood movies since 2000 when she hit the big screen.
5.She has over 263,000 likes on her Facebook page.
6.She has over 105,000 followers on Twitter.
7.She has her own website www.iniedosworld.com.
8.She is from Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria
9. She is a United Nation's goodwill ambassador.
10. She is arguably one of Nigeria's richest actresses with so many endorsements from multinational companies.

So there! Hope you learned something new to love about Ini Edo!. 


SHOULD LADIES CARRY CONDOM?

Now don't get me wrong! I ain't trying to be obscene. I just saw a poll on a blog site where the subject question was asked and it has really got me thinking.
Should ladies not carry condoms along with them just as they carry along their lips gloss, combs, eyeliners, hankies, extra panties and sanitary pads wherever they go? More so, when they go visiting their lovers, or when they go out to hang-outs like clubs, swimming pools or parties where the propensity for things to snowball to a steamy, quickie tryst may between them and some good looking guy is high?
In today's world where sex is now the most available commodity after air and water, I think I agree with the 77% of the respondents polled who answered in the affirmative that ladies should carry a pack or two of the contraceptive with them wherever they go.
My reason is based on these facts:
1. There are too many STIs these days and unlike men whereby the symptoms can show up after a few days, these infections can stay unnoticed in females. And yes, AIDS is real!
2. In the heat of the moment, all else in a man's brain is Greek! So prior to the build of emotions, it is believed that ladies are still sane enough to regulate the drama by insisting on the randy fellow to dorn on his 'raincoat'!
3. What is all this talk about women liberation and gender equality if it is not backed up by the ladies taking up a little more responsibility? Sure enough, it can't be said that a woman who decides to be more careful is any more 'adventurous' than her counterpart who is less circumspect, so my take is that carrying some 'safety boots' is simply a case of doing one's self a favour.
4. The 9-month call is really a lady's call. Yeah, right! We have all heard of love-gone-sour stories that spring up as soon as a lady announces to a man she had a rump with that she is pregnant, right? Well, as much as people say that condoms are not a 100% guarantee against unwanted pregnancy, there is empirical proof that it reduces its occurrence by over 50%! Is that not a big percentage to wager a CD bet on?
So, maybe it is worth debating or running that poll again so that we can really ascertain whether or not it makes sense for our ladies to 'help' us carry condoms but till I get your comments, I say.....have an STI free week, friends!

LOVE PORTION 101

Whenever I get propositions from female admirers to cook 'something' for me, I usually do a double take on such offers.
For God's sake I am a bachelor in a town renown for the fable that women here put love portion inside meals they prepare or serve men, if they are interested in keeping the man for themselves only.  I don't know how true, but does love portion really exist?
Now I am not saying ladies don't go voodoo on guys they desire and that iit doesn't 'catch' them but I am trying to rationalize why anyone will have to go to that extent to secure love. If love is really a matter of the heart, shouldn't it be the man's heart that a lady be gunning for, rather than the mind?
As much as men have not shown discretion and common sense most times when they gravitate to whatever catches their fancies, it doesn't mean that real men dont know what can keep them chained to one woman's waist. And usually, it isn't much!
It is usually not the thick make ups, near bare dressings, superficial sophistication, 'notice me' naggings and what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitudes that endear a real woman to a man.
Rather, I believe true 'love portion' is embodied by a woman's personality: soft spoken, amiable, forgiving, considerate, kind hearted, willingness to share....and patience!
There may be more but these few virtues seem to be disappearing fast from the qualities one sees in the 21st century urban, liberated and goal getting Nigerian/African woman! It is as if a man must be made effeminate and domesticated 'enough' before he can be given some regard in today's relationships. So, my menfolk over here get served magnanimous doses of 'Kop no mi' and an equal ration of sex for them to fall in line.
But my take still stands as thus; what you get by treachery, you keep by treachery! You will need to visit the 'love doctor' in order to maintain the potency of your medicine, lady! And for how long?
So, rather than girls going wherever to get diabolical love portions to turn the head of men to 'focus' on them alone, they should endeavour to invest their time in building some of the above named virtues that will make them continually attractive to their men for the long haul.
That, I believe is the ingredient that makes up the  real love portion '101'.......

AKWA IBOM 'AYAYA'

It feels so good to rise up from my own bed today.
The last three nights or so had me waking up from a dingy guest room mattress somewhere in Abuja, the nation's capital where I had gone to attend the National Chartered Administrators Conference at the prestigious International Conference Centre.
Truthfully, this was the first time I had ever visited the Federal Capital Territory and I must say it held a lot of allure for me....with the flyovers, high rise buildings, paved and undulating road networks, and the mighty Headquarter offices of all the country's big name government ministries, departments and agencies in full view!
The beauty of Abuja is in its planning, with so many private housing estates and luxury apartments that I enquired about only to find out that one needed an arm, a leg and an extra pound of flesh to buy or even rent, for that matter.
The contrast between Abuja and our commercial capital, Lagos, was immediately obvious right from when we arrived the commercial motor park and alighted. There were no signs of that crazy level of rowdiness which automatically puts one on red alert.
The taxi service throughout my stay was tops and very affordable, especially at night. Well, I only kept late night once and touched a couple of places, include 'Blake'- a hang out cum club.
Well, except for the heavy government presence, size of the metropolis and probably, taxi service, Abuja was more like home.  It didn't give me too much of the 'wow' effect I had hoped for which makes me realize what development does to the mind of a person.
Perhaps, maybe in the past when my home state, Akwa Ibom was just an under developed enclave, I would have gapped at the scintillating scenery of the great FCT ,but with a dynamic and purpose driven government (at least in the area of infrastructural development) at the helms of affairs, I sure didn't look or feel like a ' Johnny-Just-Come'.
So, I guess you would understand why I felt validated as the AKTC bus that brought me back to town yesterday crossed over the Goodluck Jonathan flyover along Ikot ekpene road, Uyo.
And I believe you will agree with me when I say (or sing) 'Akwa Ibom Ayaya' anytime we run into one another because of a truth, Akwa Ibom is beautiful!
Feels good to be home!

SUNDAY LAFFS: THE WISDOM OF AN OLDER WOMAN!

Hello, my lovely people! Happy Sunday to you all!
Just was about to blog away my reason for being off the Internet for over three days when I ran into this beautiful piece! It made me laugh; hope it makes you laugh, too! Enjoy it...
" 'After being married for 50 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, ' Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep with a hot 23-year-old girl every night!
Now I have a $500,000 home, a $45,000 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV but I am sleeping with a 69-year old woman. It seems to me that you are not holding your side of things!'
My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find a hot 23-year-old girl and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV.
Aren't older women great? They really know how to solve an old guy's problems!"

I hope you enjoyed the gist.... More later. Happy Sunday, good people!

Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: What is wrong with these photos?

Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: What is wrong with these photos?

Hahahahaha! Couldn't keep the side comments on this Linda Ikeji post to myself. Please if you don't mind some 'durty lafta' follow the above link and see something!