Culture
Imo monarchs vow to invoke curses on perpetrators of violence
Traditional rulers in Imo State yesterday condemned the recent attack on the country home of the state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, at Omuma, calling on security agencies to carry out thorough investigations into what transpired and ensure that the culprits and their sponsors are brought to book. Rising from a critical meeting that lasted for few hours at their office in Owerri, the traditional rulers also threatened to invoke curses on those behind the insecurity ravaging the state should they refuse to change. In a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting, the Chairman of the traditional institution and Chairman of the Imo State Community Policing, Eze Emmanuel Okeke, said the royal fathers are of the opinion that the attack was politically motivated, and therefore warned politicians in...
Dallas Sonnier Doesn’t Run From a Fight
(Writer’s Note: Prior to this interview, I was aware of the accusations regarding Sonnier where he is accused of protecting a dangerous employee. An earlier version of this article declined to mention the accusations surrounding Adam Donaghey. You can read about that situation here.) A few years ago, my wife and I plopped ourselves on the couch to watch a movie entitled Dragged Across Concrete. The picture, starring a weary-eyed Mel Gibson and an unusually restrained Vince Vaughn, follows two recently suspended police officers who decide to tail, and eventually steal from, a band of ultra-violent bank robbers. It’s the sorta hard pulp big studios don’t make anymore. Masterfully directed by S. Craig Zahler, the film is funny, bloody, and has perhaps the greatest scene ever involving a ...
Boy George Biopic Karma Chameleon to Start Filming in Summer 2021
In 2019, when Boy George announced his biopic, he mentioned that he wanted Sophie Turner to play him. Now that biopic is becoming more of a reality. George’s film now has a title —Karma Chameleon because of course — and finds the singer saying that “there are rumours of Keanu Reeves popping in,” according to Deadline. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but the film, which is produced by Millennium Media, is tentatively set to begin filming in London and Bulgaria. The musical drama will have full access to the singer’s library of music and the band’s biggest hits, which include “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” “Church of the Poison Mind” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya.” Boy George’s life has all the ingredients for an engrossing biopic: excess, drug abuse, the ad...
Sasquatch Murder Mystery Rolls Out on Hulu in Time for 4/20
It may have a beautiful name, but the Emerald Triangle — the tri-county region in Northern California known for producing an abundance of weed — can, at times, be an unsettling place. Away from the sparse mountain roads, the terrain is full of deep, dense forests — places where cell signals have no towers to reach and a person could easily get lost and never be found. That’s an early takeaway of Hulu’s new documentary series Sasquatch, which starts out as a Bigfoot murder mystery set among the fertile pot-growing grounds of Mendocino, Trinity and Humboldt counties, and takes some frighteningly chilling turns along the way. Director Joshua Rofé had recently finished docu-series Lorena (about Lorena Bobbitt on Amazon Prime) and had decided on his next topic when he reached out to gonzo journ...
Federal government okays N20.1 billion for Nigerian customs equipment
The federal government has approved a total of N20,114,002871 for the acquisition of various operational equipment for the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa on Wednesday. The Minister said further that Council also approved the sum of N539,277,673 for the construction of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) building at the Ilupeju Medium and Small Taxpayers’ office in Lagos. On the breakdown of contracts approved for Customs, the Minister said a total of 427 operational vehicles, worth N14.55 billion and nine assorted gunboats worth N5,564,002,871 were a...
Delta government commends Nigerians in Diaspora for developmental efforts
The Delta Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Lawrence Ejiofor, has commended the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) for its efforts toward the development of the state. Ejiofor made the commendation during a courtesy call on him by the former National Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora, Europe Chapter, Mr Kenneth Gbandi, on Friday in Asaba. The commissioner expressed excitement at the idea of more developmental efforts from the private sector and assured them of the willingness of the government to create an enabling environment for development to thrive and for the promotion of partnerships. Earlier, Gbandi said that he planned to develop housing units in the state for Nigerians in the diaspora. He solicited partnership with the government in terms of access roads, adding that...
Nigerian government receives stolen Ile-Ife artefact from Mexico
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Geoffrey Onyeama, on Thursday in Abuja received a stolen Ile-Ife artefact recovered from Mexico. Receiving the artefact, he called for a more secured border to prevent future occurrence of theft. Onyeama collected the artefact from Dr Yakubu Dadu, Charge d’Affaires of the Nigerian Mission in Mexico. The minister hailed the Embassy’s efforts in recovering the artefact. He said that the interventions of Nigerian Envoys in recovering stolen possessions of the country shows the important works they were doing as against negative reports of Nigerian missions on social media. Onyeama also appreciated the government of Mexico for its cooperation in ensuring that the artefact was duly returned to Nigeria. He however stressed the need for sensitising Customs o...
Outriders Is the Loot-Heavy RPG-Shooter You and Your Friends Have Been Waiting For
If there’s one game that’s surprised a lot of people in this new console generation (other than Astro’s Playroom), it’s Outriders. Written off by many as “just another looter-shooter” set in a futuristic apocalypse scenario (one brought on by climate change instead of Terminators or easily-transmitted respiratory viruses), the latest title by the Polish Gears of War veterans at People Can Fly didn’t necessarily get much fanfare leading up to its release last week. But what they lacked in press coverage, the team made up for with entertaining gameplay and deep customization that surprised a lot of tepid strangers on the internet. Unlike other recent titles that have been criticized for releasing in half-finished states, the improvements Outriders showed between its demo release in February ...
Kaduna governor: Bandits have lost rights to life, must be wiped out
Gov. Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State says bandits terrorising Nigeria have lost their rights to life under the constitution and must be wiped out. El-rufai made this known during a town hall meeting on national security organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture held in Kaduna with theme:”Setting Benchmark for Enhanced and National Unity in Nigeria”. ”The bandits are at war with Nigeria and there is no other way to approach the current insurgency but for security forces to take the war to the bandits and recover forests where they are occupying. “The security agencies mostly react to cases of banditry and abduction, we are in a war with these terrorist challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state. “Our security forces must collaborate to take the war to the bandits and terror...
APC chieftain writes on ’21 political lies in Nigeria’
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, says his book on “21 political lies in Nigeria” is to educate the electorate on the antics of politicians during elections. Oyedepo said this on Monday in Ilorin while speaking at the presentation of the book. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 21 chapter, 140 pages book chronicled many lies told by politicians to win votes during campaigns. According to Iyiola, the book is targeted mainly to educate the electorate on how to vote for candidates seeking their franchise, adding that if the electorate votes wrongly, it will live with them for another four years. He said: “I sat down and examined issues through which we win election and I discovered that some of these issues may be there. “They are imp...
What’s It Like to Be a Woman in Stand-Up Comedy? It’s Hysterical
FX is stepping behind the velvet rope with Hysterical, a documentary about emerging and established female comics that looks at how the comedy world is finally catching up with the times. Feature-length, the piece explores the joy of stand-up, tackles the “women aren’t funny” trope, tiptoes into cancel culture from a female perspective, and reveals a heartfelt camaraderie behind the scenes — something that hasn’t always existed in its current form. “The idea came from Jessica Kirson,” executive producer and Hysterical director Andrea Nevins told SPIN of her fellow producer, who is a full-time standup. “She looked around at the community of women that she was spending time with and she thought, ‘People should know about them. People should know who they are, how funny they are and what it t...
Isa Pantami: PDP lambasts APC for ‘supporting terrorism through silence’
The Peoples Democratic Party has accused the All Progressives Congress and its leaders of a “conspiratorial silence in the face of the worrisome revelation in which a member of the Federal Executive Council and Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has been accused of affiliation with terrorist groups.” Pantami has been under fire of late over sermons he delivered in the past that allegedly had him sympathising with terrorist organisations – Al-Qaeda and the Taliban – a thing he says he has repented of. He has, however, received the backing of the Presidency which declared that calls for his resignation or sacking are tantamount to cancel culture. The ruling All Progressives Congress is yet to issue a statement on the comments made by the Minister concerning the terr...