Jerry Douglas' Blog

What looked like a replay of defining moment of the Westerhof era when some sports administrators in the country were bent in frustrating him, happened yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja when President Goodluck Jonathan assured Keshi of his full support. Westerhof was reported to have complained to IBB when he had opportunity to meet with the former head of state that ‘the boys’ at the NFF would not allow him to work due to their unnecessary interferences. This, it was gathered made IBB to give the former Eagles handler direct access to the presidency for every assistance he needed to discharge his duties. Some close watchers of the unfolding event during and after the Afcon 2013 were of the opinion that this was what Coach Keshi had planned to achieve with his purported resignation – to have direct access to the presidency. According to them, it would not be surprising if Keshi, who captained the Eagles during that period has taken a clue from his former boss to ac

Who’s badder than Beyoncé? The pop icon was glowing as she attended the premiere of her HBO documentary: 'Life Is But a Dream' in New York on Tuesday. A blonde Bey turned heads in a beaded nude gown by Elie Saab while posing on the red carpet and speaking to reporters. She was surrounded by her family including husband Jay-Z, sister Solange, and mother Tina, along with her friends The-Dream, Angela Bassett, Luke James, Chris Rock, Russell Simmons, Victor Cruz, and more. Before the screening, she sat down with Oprah for an interview about the film and revealed that Blue Ivy inspired the title, which comes from her daughter’s favorite nursery rhyme, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” The revelatory documentary, which Beyoncé executive produced, received Oprah’s stamp of approval. “People are going to be amazed. … People are going to feel a connection to her that they didn’t feel before because she shows us how real she is,” she told omg! INSIDER. “I think that documentary is a ga

Early this week, Banky W released the official tracklist for his fourth solo album ‘R&BW’ and just like we guessed, former  EME  label act Wizkid is missing from the tracklist. The album features every other EME recording act – Skales, Niyola and Shaydee amongst other cameos which include rappers Lynxxx, Vector, eLDee, M.I, L-Tido, Sarkodie, singers Sammy, Rotimi and 2face Idibia. Wizkid seems to have other plans too – after spending many weeks in the UK, he has released his first post-EME video, a new collaborative single titled  ‘The matter ‘ which features production from UK based Maleek Berry.   The video opens with ‘Starboy Ent’ – the supposedly new label allegedly owned by Wizkid. There is no sign of the hitherto ubiquitous EME logo. At this point, is there still any denying that both parties might have just gone their separate ways? Many say the big determinant will be on February 15, 2013, when Banky W hosts his ‘The Grand Love’ concert in Lagos. Will Wizk

According to a report on DeeLinkage, a 24-year-old graduate of the University of Lagos, had to part with his kidney, just so he could graduate with a first class from the institution. Here is the full story: A University of Lagos (UNILAG) student who couldn’t swap kidneys to save his father’s life confessed in the hospital that he sold one of his kidney to graduate with a first class. The 24 years old boy recollected how he sold one of his kidneys to the dean of his faculty a few days before his convocation. He says he was being threatened with the reality of having to spend an additional two years to his already prolonged eight years stay in the school.   He was nearly in tears while he explained why he couldn’t donate his last and only kidney to his father who is in desperate need of a kidney to survive. Despite him graduating with a first class, it is sad to say he has never been able to secure an adequate job. So with no kidney, no job, and no money, how does this y

Nigerian superstar D'Banj performing at the closing ceremony of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament following Nigeria's victory. Watch video below

The first signs that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party feels threatened by the merger of the major opposition parties have started to emerge with Vice President Namadi Sambo making clandestine moves to scuttle it. The vice president on Monday approached former Borno State governor Ali Modu Sheriff to map out plans on how to get state party chairmen of the ANPP to denounce the merger of the four opposition parties and pull out of it. While the vice president and Sheriff met in Abuja,this was not the first meeting they held in their efforts to kill the All Progressive Congress, the joint platform adopted by the opposition parties. We were unable to confirm if Sheriff had accepted the offer. But the office of the vice president has denied that any such meeting took place. A media aide to Sambo, Umar Sani “I read it on twitter and I laughed. I showed it to the vice president and he laughed. How can he stop a merger? The merger is moving on. All we can do is get more supporters.

According to a very reliable source, Jay Z and Beyonce are interested in making a $100M offer on Michael Jackson's home- Neverland Ranch. The home - which is located nearly 1 hour away from Los Angeles is Santa Barbara sits on nearly 2500 acres and is about 4 square miles of property. The insider tells us that if successful, Jay and Bey plan on creating not only a home for themselves on the property - but a number of state of the art recording studios. But it's not clear if the Neverland Ranch is even for sale. According to our snitch, there are a number of legal issues that have to be solved before the executors of MJs can even put it up for sale.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Cristiano Ronaldo is a better player now than he was during his time at Manchester United. Ronaldo, 28, spent six successful years at Old Trafford, during which he scored 117 in 290 appearances, including 42 goals in 2007-08 as United won the Premier League and Champions League. On Wednesday, four years after leaving Manchester to join Real Madrid for a world record £80m, the Portugal international will line up against his former club, looking to add to his tally of 182 goals in 179 games for the Spanish club. "Cristiano is a better player than when he left us because of his maturity," said Ferguson. "He is at the peak of his career now. "He was still a young man when he left and you can see how he has flourished in Madrid. His fitness, speed, goals - and he's never injured. That is unique in the modern game. "I never thought he'd get the amount of goals he's scored. I knew he'd improve. I knew he was

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan will not sign the 2013 budget this week. This is because discussion over the budget is still ongoing between the Executive and the National Assembly as much works remained to be done on the budget. Related Article:   ‘Jonathan Has Today To Sign 2013 Budget’ Okonjo-Iweala who disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said further that reports making the round that the President will sign the budget this week are unrealistic. The statement reads: “The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has clarified that talk of the President signing the budget this week is premature. Whereas discussions between the Executive and the National Assembly are ongoing in a cordial atmosphere, it is not yet clear when they will be concluded as much work remains to be done. Against this background, report

Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien says Cristiano Ronaldo is "anxious" to face former team-mates when Manchester United visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. Ronaldo will take on United for the first time since moving to Spain in 2009, with expectation levels rising ahead of the game. Much of the talk in the lead-up to the round of 16 Champions League fixture has centred on the Portuguese forward, and Essien revealed it has not gone unnoticed by the player himself. "Cristiano is anxious; you want to start the game. He is in extraordinary physical condition," Essien said. "In the Champions League it will be a different game. I'm ready and the team is as well. They have many attackers and it is up us to stop them. "They are a fantastic team. It's a great game and I can't wait for it to start. We're not scared of being knocked out. It's another great game and the players are all really excited, really looking fo