Jerry Douglas' Blog

The threat to bomb Lagos reverberated in Abuja yesterday when service chiefs briefed the Senate on the spate of insecurity in the country. Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, led the service chiefs into the chamber after the public gallery was cleared. Led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Sa’ad Ola Ibrahim, Lt. Gen Azubuike Ihejirika (Army) Vice Admiral Ezeoba Dele (Navy), Air Marshal Alex Badeh (Air Force), and Mr. Ita Ekpeyong of the Department of State Security (DSS), they all briefed the Senate behind closed doors. The briefing took about five and a half hours. Daily Sun gathered that the service chiefs confirmed to bewildered senators that the plan by the dreaded Boko Haram to bomb Lagos was real. A source said: “They told us that the raid last week of a Lagos suburb by security agencies was an act that nipped the act in the bud. Members are paranoid that should Lagos be hit, being the commercial nerve centre of the country...

Nigerian entertainers once more proved their worth as trail blazers on the continent as Answers Africa listed Tuface, Banky W, D’Banj and PSquare among Africa’s ten wealthiest artistes. BankyW was listed number 9, 2Face Idibia on 7th position, D’Banj came 3rd while PSquare was placed 2nd after Senegalese singer, Youssou N’Dour who topped the list. About their earnings, Africa Answers wrote that: PSquare makes more than $150,000 per show. Their Squareville which is located at Ikeja is worth $3 million and as part of their brand support, they also have a 3 years deal with Globalcom; a Nigerian telecommunication company as brand ambassadors where they are paid a million dollars a year. D’banj, they said, made $1 million dollars when he was paid by a TV station to star on his own reality show called the Koko Mansion. His Atlanta crib was estimated to worth $1.5 million and he reportedly charges on the upside of $100000 per show currently. Tuface, who just rec...

It’s finally HERE! Beautiful Nollywood star, Tonto Dikeh has premiered the video for her hit dance track, Hi.  The video starts with Tonto Dikeh on a bike, delivering the dailies. Then she takes us into her Pokoville, where she gets all dolled up for her party. Tonto and her team partnered once again with Nigerian producer/director  Gbemi Phillips  of  Gbemi Phillips Productions  for this video. Check out the video below, and let us know what you think...

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection. A statement from the South African presidency said Mr Mandela, 94, had been admitted just before midnight. Mr Mandela spent 18 days in hospital in December undergoing treatment for a lung infection and gallstones. He is widely regarded as the father of the nation for leading the struggle against apartheid. Mr Mandela served as South Africa's first black president from 1994 to 1999. However, his health has caused concern for some time. A presidential spokesman told the BBC that Mr Mandela was conscious and was receiving the best possible medical treatment. "I think we need to be clear that the doctors are attending to Madiba [Mr Mandela] on a continuous basis," spokesman Mac Maharaj said. "They prefer to act on the side of caution, and the moment they felt there was a recurrence of the lung infection, they felt that it warranted immediate...

French luxury brand Hermès, makers of the famous Birkin bag is known for its outrageous prices, so to those familiar with the brand, the new crocodile leather t-shirt which sells for 91,500 USD in Hermès boutiques doesn't come as a surprise. The brand is also responsible for some of the  world's priciest bags. Last year, a solid-gold Birkin bag made to look like crocodile skin was priced at $1,980,034. In 2011, a rare Birkin bag, also made of crocodile skin and featuring an 18-karat white gold and diamond clasp, sold at an auction to an anonymous bidder for $203,150. Three other crocodile Birkins at that auction sold for $113,525; $95,000 and just over $80,000. Source:  Yahoo!

Forbes five 2013  hip-hop wealthiest Artists . 1.  Diddy - $580 million:  The bulk of the Bad Boy Records founder’s wealth comes from non-musical ventures, namely his deal with Diageo’s Ciroc. The agreement entitles him to eight-figure annual payouts and a nine-figure windfall if the brand is ever sold—and Ciroc’s value has never been higher 2.  Jay Z - $475 million:  He’s still rolling in cash from megadeals like his $204 million Rocawear sale in 2007 and his $150 million pact with Live Nation the following year. He continues to hold stakes in Roc Nation, Carol’s Daughter, the Brooklyn Nets and, more significantly, the Barclays Center itself, while adding new partnerships with the likes of Duracell, Budweiser and Bacardi’s D’ussé Cognac. 3.  Dr Dre - $350 million:  It's thanks mostly to his Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. A year after selling 51% of the company to handset maker HTC for $300 milli...

Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger state has assured that state governors under the Peoples Democratic Party will not dump the party in 2015 as was being insinuated in some quarters unless they are “pushed out.” Speaking yesterday in Minna when he received a reconciliatory team of the party led by the Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, he said: “Unless the party decides to push some members out, no PDP governor is planning to dump the party.” In his remark, Anenih said the PDP was not in a haste to pick a presidential candidate for the 2015 elections, adding that the issue was strategic and above discussions on the pages of newspapers. He assured that nobody would be pushed out of the party, adding that the essence of his tour was to reconcile all aggrieved members. Anenih explained that he was in the Niger state capital in continuation of his reconciliatory tour of states, adding that when the time comes for the PDP to pick a presidential...

Nigerian rapper Nicole Chikwe, with stage name, Naeto C, and his wife are now proud parents as the couple on Monday welcomed their first child. Nicole, who has been in the United States of America  (USA) for some days now, was delivered of a baby boy. Both the mother and the child are doing well. The  couple married  in July 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria. In his words: “Thanks 2 every1 for all the messages…words aren't honestly enuff to express this moment…its ironic especially for some1 like myself who is used 2 putting words 2gether…mayb later…but right now i’m just Thanking God w/my Family and enjoying my son’s company! I wish u all similar moments at some point(s) in your lives!”

President Goodluck Jonathan has come under intense pressure from close associates to “do something urgent” about the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bamanga Tukur, whose efforts to reconcile warring party members failed last week. Although the national leadership of the PDP described the  reconciliation  initiative as “successful,” Presidential strategists are said to be uncomfortable with its outcome. Our source, a close ally of Jonathan, described the Tukur-driven process as “poorly-managed and more worrisome.” It was unclear as at press time if the President’s men would push for Tukur’s resignation, as a  question  in that direction was not answered directly. “No one is bigger than the PDP; no sacrifice is too much to save PDP,” the source added. But the Presidency denied on Wednesday that Jonathan was under pressure to tinker with the leadership of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. This is coming just as the PDP...

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo returning to England, the transfer take place at the end of the season.    According to sources close to the self-anointed Special One, Real Madrid Manager Jose Mourinho is once again the chosen one. He is the man Roman Abramovich wants to succeed interim manager Rafa Benitez and a deal, say those sources, is as good as done. This is not something anyone can confirm. Not when Jose Mourinho remains the manager of Real Madrid, and the Spaniards remain in the hunt for the Champions League championship this season. But Jose Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to return to England and the pouting Portuguese coach rarely speaks without an agenda.  ‘I cannot deny what is clear in my mind,’ Mourinho said recently. ‘After Real Madrid, England, that’s for sure. I keep saying the same, I know clearly.’ He said he could manage ‘everyone’. That he is ‘a professional’ who would have to consider offers from...