Week In Review: More Sorrows, Controversial Reinstatement And The ‘Money-Swallowing-Snake’

It was a rather interesting week for Nigerians with several events stirring conversations from politics down to the entertainment scene.
The Mysterious Snake
Launching the week, was the news of a missing sum of N36 million (in cash) from the office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
However, the dramatic twist to the story came when an account’s clerk in the office who was being questioned over the missing cash, could not account for it and rather blamed its disappearance on a “mysterious snake”.
She said her housemaid and a fellow employee had confessed to using the snake to ‘spiritually’ steal the monies she kept in an office vault – a story many Nigerians found not only ridiculous but hilarious.
Before now, JAMB candidates purchased scratch cards from JAMB state offices and other designated centres, to gain access to the Board’s website for either registration or to check their admission status but reforms were introduced by JAMB registrar Ishaq Oloyede when he assumed office in 2016.
He ended the use of scratch cards, replacing it with more efficient and effective platforms.
In reaction to the news, however, JAMB described the case as that of pure criminality and fraud on the part of the staff and promised to get to the bottom of it.
Ever since, social media went agog even as a handle was created for the ‘mysterious snake’ and a lot of hilarious comments have trailed the matter while everyone waits to see how it will be resolved.
After the news broke on Saturday, February 10, the social media started buzzing as many Nigerians expressed shock at the news, making hilarious comments.
An account’s clerk in the office is currently answering audit queries concerning the missing money. She said her housemaid and a fellow employee had confessed to using a snake to ‘spiritually’ stealing the monies she kept in an office vault.
Before now, JAMB candidates purchased scratch cards from JAMB state offices and other designated centres, to gain access to the Board’s website for either registration or to check their admission status but reforms were introduced by JAMB registrar Ishaq Oloyede when he assumed office in 2016.
He ended the use of scratch cards, replacing it with more efficient and effective platforms.
The board has however reacted to the report. Oloyede, JAMB Boss on Monday said that the case was that of pure criminality and fraud on the part of one of its staff.
Nigerians on social media have, however, reacted to the news with many hilarious comments. Among the reactions is that of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-corruption agency using its official Twitter handle @officialEFCC said, “The Eagle shows no mercy for money-swallowing snake(s).
A twitter account @Nigeriasnake has since been opened for the ‘mysterious snake’ with a hilarious bio which reads “I am the snake that ate N36 million from Jamb office. I will not vomit it.”
See the reactions below…


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Wike, Dickson, Others Attend PDP Committee Meeting In Rivers

Members of the People Democratic Party National Working Committee are holding a south-south zonal executive meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.
The meeting which was held on Monday is to deliberate on matters concerning the party and the positions on some national issues.
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ZUFF 2017 : Sam Loco-Efe, ‘Giringory’, others honoured with Rock of Fame Awards

Late Nigerian movie veterans Sam Loco-Efe, James Iroha, popularly known as ‘Giringori Akabogu’ and other practicing professionals have been honoured as first recipients of the Rock of Fame Award.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they were recognized on Sunday night at the Zuma Films Awards and closing ceremony of the 2017 edition of the ZUMA Film Festival (ZUFF)in Abuja.

Sam Loco-Efe, ‘Ginrigory’, Kashim Yero and other late thespians were given posthumous honour of the Rock of Fame Award.
Late Oba Funsho Adeolu,Hajiya Amina, and the late actor and producer Adeyemi Afolayan, a.k.a Ade Love, father of veteran movie director Kunle Afolayan, also got the posthumous awards.
Also, other living and practicing professionals were honoured with the Life-Time Achievement Awards category.
The recipients include Ola Balogun,Sadiq Daba, Edward and Abdulkaraem Muhammed.
Others are Brenda Shehu and Femi Shaka, Professor of Film Studies, University of Port Harcourt.
Dr Chidia Maduekwe, Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and Chairman of the festival organising committee,described the honour for the thespians and stakeholders as “well deserved.”
According to him, the recipients, living and the dead have contributed to the exponential growth of the Nigeria movie industry, popularly known as Nollywood, as it evolves over the years.
“This is our modest attempt in appreciating the enormous contributions of these film practitioners in the Nigeria film industry and their achievements thereof.
“They are today recognised as the first recipients of the Nigerian Film Society Rock of Fame Award, the highest professional recognition within the Nigeria Film industry based solely on merit.
“The labour of love and commitment to Nigeria’s development of our industry geniuses shall continually be recognised and rewarded.
“We have institutionalised the recognition and award as part of ZUMA Film Festival, and therefore shall recognise several veterans during each and subsequent edition of the festival,” he said.
Maduekwe added that the awardees will be formally inducted into the ‘Rock of Fame’ at the Rock of Fame Arena of the Nigerian Film Parliament in Jos, the Plateau State Capital, in 2018.
He explained that in order to effectively showcase Nollywood as a viable investment opportunity and alternative means of employment and wealth creation, the once biennial ZUFF, is to henceforth be held annually.
The closing ceremony and awards night was held in a buffet -dinner setting,featuring live music performances,comedies and live stage drama presentations.
Filmmakers from within and outside Nigeria,captains of industries, the academia, relevant government functionaries and diplomats attended the event.
NAN reports that the ZUMA Film Festival, now in its 8th edition, is platform for Nigerian film practitioners to network with their counterparts from other parts of the world and thus stimulates co-production and financing opportunities.
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Profile of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s Fiancé

Rachel Meghan Markle (born August 4, 1981) is an American actress from Los Angeles, Califonia, model, and humanitarian. Since 2011, Markle has portrayed Rachel Zane on the legal drama series Suits. She is also known for her role as special agent Amy Jessup in the sci-fi thriller Fringe. She had previously worked as a freelance calligrapher.
Markle was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in theater and international studies.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (9243878t)
Britain’s Prince Harry pose with Meghan Markle during a photocall after announcing their engagement in the Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace in London, Britain, 27 November. Clarence House earlier 27 November 2017 announced the engagement of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. ‘His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle. The wedding will take place in Spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.’ the statement said.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engagement in Kensington Palace, London, United Kingdom – 27 Nov 2017
She is engaged to marry Prince Harry of the British royal family. Their engagement was announced on November 27, 2017, and they intend to marry in May 2018 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Following her engagement, she plans to retire from acting and devote her time to humanitarian causes.
Early life
Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles. Describing her parents, she has said, “My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. I have come to embrace [this and] say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident, mixed-race woman.” Her mother, Doria Ragland, has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California, lives in View Park-Windsor Hills, and works as a psychotherapist and yoga instructor. Her father, Thomas W. Markle, who lives in Mexico, is an Emmy Award-winning lighting director whose profession resulted in his young daughter often visiting the set of Married with Children. Markle is of Dutch and Irish descent through her father.
Markle grew up in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. From age five, she was educated at private schools; first at Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse and later at Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girl, private Catholic school in Los Angeles. She graduated in 2003 from Northwestern University, near Chicago, where she took theater studies before completing her bachelor’s degree in theater and international studies; coursework included an internship at the US embassy in Buenos Aires.
Career
Acting
Markle worked as a freelance calligrapher in order to support herself between early acting jobs. She also took on several contract acting and modeling jobs that included a stint as a “briefcase girl” on the US game show Deal or No Deal. In 2002, Markle appeared in an episode of the daytime soap opera General Hospital. She appeared in Fox’s series Fringe as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season.
Markle had some difficulty getting roles early in her career. In 2015, she wrote: “I wasn’t black enough for the black roles and I wasn’t white enough for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as the ethnic chameleon who couldn’t book a job.”
Since July 2011, she has played Rachel Zane on the USA Network show Suits, which is filmed in Toronto, Ontario. The character began as a paralegal who eventually became an attorney. She completed work on that series’ seventh season in late 2017.
Markle has appeared in two 2010 films, Get Him to the Greek and Remember Me, and one 2011 film, Horrible Bosses. She appeared in the short film The Candidate (seen on the KQED public television show ImageMakers: the Company of Men) as a secretary in 2012. She has also appeared in episodes of Century City, Cuts, Love, Inc., The War at Home, 90210, Knight Rider, Without a Trace, The Apostles,[citation needed] CSI: NY, The League, and Castle.
During a BBC interview, Markle said that she would not return to Suits and that after she marries, she will transition out of her work as an actress.
Other work
Markle was founder and editor-in-chief of lifestyle website The Tig, which closed in April 2017. In November 2016, Markle and Canadian clothing company Reitmans released a line of women’s fashion workwear.
Philanthropy and civic engagement
As a child, Markle objected to a Procter Gamble television commercial for a dish soap, which featured the line “Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans,” which she believed to be sexist. She took action by writing letters to lawyer Gloria Allred (who often advocates for women’s issues) and the then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. Months later the offending line was changed to “People all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.”
In 2016, Markle became a global ambassador for World Vision Canada, traveling to Rwanda for the Clean Water Campaign, the agency’s campaign to provide safe, clean drinking water.
She has also worked with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women as an Advocate. Markle was a counsellor for international charity One Young World, speaking at the 2014 annual summit in Dublin on the topics of gender equality and modern-day slavery. She also attended the 2016 One Young World summit in Ottawa.
Personal life
Prince Henry of Wales
Markle was in a relationship with actor and producer Trevor Engelson from 2004 until 2011. They married on September 10, 2011, and divorced in August 2013. Since June 2016, she has been in a relationship with Prince Harry, who is fifth in line to the British throne. Prince Harry and Markle met on a blind date that a mutual friend set up. The press reported on the relationship in October 2016.
On November 8, 2016, the Royal Family’s communications secretary released an official statement that addressed the “wave of abuse and harassment” directed toward Markle.
The statement spoke to the sexism, racism and defamatory stories directed at Markle, including an unspecified “smear on the front page of a national newspaper”. It urged the press to “pause and reflect” before driving these storylines.
During a September 2017 interview with Vanity Fair, Markle spoke in public for the first time about her love for Prince Harry, saying, “We’re two people who are really happy and in love. We were very quietly dating for about six months before it became news, and I was working during that whole time, and the only thing that changed was people’s perception.” Later that month, they made their first public appearances together at an official royal engagement—the wheelchair tennis event, and the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto.
Markle maintained an apartment in Toronto because Suits was filmed there but moved out in late November 2017 after work on the seventh season had been completed. On November 27, 2017, it was announced that Markle and Prince Harry had become engaged to marry. By then, she had met Prince Harry’s family and had met several times with the Queen. The couple will live together at Nottingham Cottage in London, on the grounds of Kensington Palace, after the wedding in May 2018.
The engagement ring given by Harry to Markle consists of three diamonds, two of which were taken from the jewellery collection of the Prince’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The engagement announcement prompted much comment about the possible social significance (or insignificance) of Meghan Markle becoming a proudly mixed-race royal.
Markle is a self-proclaimed foodie, which was incorporated into her Suits character Rachel Zane.
Though she attended Catholic school as a child, Markle identified as a Protestant prior to her engagement to Prince Harry. Following her engagement, it was announced that she would be baptised and confirmed into the Church of England before the wedding. She will also become a British citizen.
Ancestry
Research compiled in 1997 by historians including Markle’s great-uncle, Mike Markle, found that her paternal great-great-great-grandmother was New Hampshire landowner Mary Hussey Smith (1823–1908), a descendant of nobleman John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford, who was beheaded in 1537 at the order of King Henry VIII.
Through Lord Hussey, Markle is a descendant of King John. Markle is also a descendant of Captain Christopher Hussey, Esquire (d.1686) who was appointed in 1679 by King Charles II to govern the Royal Province of Hampton, New Hampshire. He was a Founding Father of Nantucket.
Markle is a distant relation of Prince Harry. Their common ancestors are Elizabeth Bowes (1505–c.1572) and her husband, Richard Bowes, son of Sir Ralph Bowes of Streatlam Castle and High Sheriff of County Durham—ancestors of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (née Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon).
Markle’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather was a slave on Georgia plantations before being emancipated with the abolition of slavery in 1865.
Wikipedia
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D’banj Signs Mega Deal With Dugout UK

Nigerian’s music super star and entrepreneur, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo a.ka. D’banj, has signed a mega deal with Dugout in UK, to enable football fans across Nigeria and Africa get exclusive BTS actions live, of their favourite clubs in Europe.
The deal will also present the fans opportunities to meet their favourite superstars in locker rooms.
Dugout offers best unique & exclusive behind the scenes content from the world’s best clubs & players, all in one place as was created by some of the world’s biggest football teams.
They include Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, AC Milan, Juvetus, Paris Saint-Germain and about 20 other major football clubs.
D’banj quest for mega deals and success beyond music is breath-taking.
After launching CREAM, an entertainment platform that already has over three million subscribers within a year, D’banj has just recently launched CREAM Sport, this Dugout deal will be the first on the CREAM Sport platform.
True to his words, D’banj stated clearly that ‘content is the new crude oil’.
He seems to be living off the era of mere musical fame but combining the Music with Digital content marketing, Technology and fantastic distribution to make mega deals.
D’banj recently, led a team of Nigerian artistes to the House of Representative in Abuja to solicit their support on the protection of the creative rights of Nigerian artistes. (NAN)
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FCTA Expresses Dismay Over Rejection of Vaccination by Foreigners

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board on Tuesday expressed dismay over rejection of immunisation by some foreigners in the Capital city of Nigeria.
Dr Mathew Ashikeni, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Board, described the development as disheartening during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
The FCT administration, on February 8, commenced vaccination against measles targeted at 619,000 children.
Ashikeni said that some vaccinators, who went to Lautai Estate in Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja, where some foreigners resided, were turned down.
He alleged that the foreigners in the estate threatened not to pay the estate security guards should they allow the vaccinators access to the estate.
According to him, the management of Turkish Hospital and International school in Abuja also prevented the health workers from carrying out the immunisation in their facilities.
The board secretary said that the vaccine being given to the children was safe and wondered why those foreigners rejected it.
He said that rejection of the vaccination was risky as it would expose the children to measles.
Ashikeni appealed to appropriate authorities to call the foreigners to order and allow their children to be immunised.
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Stunning revival of the humble shipping container

In 1937, a young trucker named Malcolm McLean was delivering a load of cotton to a harbor in Hoboken, New Jersey. As he watched workers slowly transport the boxes by hand onto a ship, the story goes, he thought there had to be a better way to do it.
It turns out, there was: a big metal box that could be detached from the truck transporting it, and put on a ship. And about 20 years after first envisaging it, McLean was ready to show his invention to the world. He loaded a former war tanker with 58 "trailer vans," as The New York Times called them in 1956, and set off to change history.
Little did McLean know that the intermodal container, as it would later be called, would not only revolutionize trade by decimating the cost of shipping, but it would also find a second life through architecture.

Becoming a thing

Affordable, sturdy and obviously, easy to transport, container found an alternative use outside of shipping ports in the 1960s as portable showcases for trade fairs. But the first indication that someone wanted to make a "habitable building" out of one came from a 1987 patent application. Seven years later, futurist guru Stuart Brand of the counterculture magazine Whole Earth Catalog added to their profile with his book "How Buildings Learn," which he wrote in a converted container.
But the father of modern container architecture, or "cargotecture," is American architect Adam Kalkin, whose work in the field spans luxury homes in the US to orphanages in South Africa.
"Containers are mostly being used in architecture as low cost widgets in an iterative process," Kalkin said in an email. "That is OK, necessary and important. But the results are predictably pedestrian. We do projects that are fun for us."
This sense of fun is evident in his Push Button House, a fully furnished room in a container that pops open using hydraulics -- which debuted at the 2007 Venice Biennale.
Kalkin's 2003 project, 12 Container House, is still often cited as one of the most elegant and functional examples of container architecture. Since then, he says, things have changed.
"It has become a thing, so now you don't have to overcome as much disbelief when you work with people," he said. "Every project is another opportunity to define the future of containerized architecture. Right now we are splicing hard core environmentalism with super nerdy technology."

Affordable chic

The make-it-up-as-you-go nature of container architecture has made heroes of those who got it right early on. Among them is Peter DeMaria and his 2006 Redondo Beach House, the first two-story container structure to comply with the National Building Code in earthquake-prone Southern California.
The home was designed to combine heavy gauge steel and high-quality materials, while still being affordable. "We consistently posed the question, 'what can a home be?' as opposed of being mired in 'what has a home been?'" DeMaria said in an email interview.
"It spearheaded a whole movement in the architecture world and we're witnessing the impact today with the multitude of projects utilizing up-cycled shipping containers."
Containers, he said, are cheap, ubiquitous and resistant to many of the threats buildings usually face, such as fire, mold, termites. Most importantly, they're already fabricated.
"All too often creatives look to reinvent the wheel but we're already surrounded by innovative solutions in non-architecture related industries," DeMaria said.

The wow factor

Container homes are varied in style and cost. Some are affordable, configurable and eco-conscious, such as the prefab ones made by Wisconsin-based Mods International. The company sells a fully ready, no-frills, 160-foot container home on Amazon for $23,000.
Others go straight for the wow factor, such as the Joshua Tree Residence, a 2,100-square-foot house made from white containers bursting out from a central point, to be built in 2018 just outside California's Joshua Tree National Park.

The Joshua Tree Residence was inspired by a previous work by the same architect: this low-cost workplace in the Black Forest, Germany, designed for an advertising agency in 2010.
James Whitaker, the London architect who designed it, thinks containers offer an enjoyable challenge. "You're given a very standard, strict module to work with, and you have to make it interesting. They're essentially the width of a bed, so it's challenging to see what interesting spaces you can create when you give yourself such a limitation," he said in a phone interview.

Pushing the envelope

Containers remain a popular choice for emergency or temporary accommodation and student housing (a recent notable example is Bjarke Ingels' Urban Rigger in Copenhagen), as well as retail units, schools, greenhouses, and even swimming pools.
But how about a whole stadium? Madrid's Fenwick Iribarren Architects plans to build one of the 2022 FIFA World Cup venues in Qatar from around 1,000 containers.

Fenwick_North view 15K
Not only would this cost half as much as a regular stadium, they claim, but once the tournament is over, the whole structure could be dismantled and shipped elsewhere. "It's the perfect legacy solution," said designer Mark Fenwick in a phone interview.
"Instead of leaving behind a dilapidated area, after the event 20 or 30 different smaller sports venues can be built elsewhere from this structure, and the original site can become a public park or space for real estate development."
More outlandish proposals -- which include one from 2015 involving a skyscraper -- aren't free from criticism. "There's a school of purists that uses containers as a low-cost build module and other guys who use it mainly as an architectural deign element, because they like the industrial look of it," said Roger Wade, the entrepreneur who built Boxpark, a 60-container retail park in London which he describes as the world's first pop-up mall.

Boxpark Shoreditch
After using containers as a cheap alternative to bespoke stands in trade shows, Wade thought of using them for a retail store that could move to different locations, an idea inspired by the work of Adam Kalkin. Boxpark opened in London's Shoreditch district in 2011. "In those days I had issues finding an architect that knew anything about container architecture, it was too early. People look at it now and think it's obvious, but it wasn't at the time," he said.
But now, Wade argues, the popularity of containers is making some designers misunderstand their nature. "I use traditional containers and understand their limitations. Some designs out there have cantilevers and containers hanging off each other -- these are not even containers, they're made to look like them but they are bespoke structures that cost a fortune to make. That's no longer about a low-cost form of building," he said.
According to DeMaria, the evolution of container design has been like every other movement in architecture. "There are incredible projects and then there are ill-advised projects," he said.
"A handful of architects have pushed the envelope with containers and the more these projects are built, the more creative the next generation of container based design will be."
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