Tiwa Savage is definitely a multifaceted artiste! With her
hectic schedule packed with performances, video shoots, editorial covers,
features, endorsements and collaborations, Ms. Savage is building a household
name for herself on the African continent while still fulfilling her stateside
obligations to Sony ATV Publishing as a singer/songwriter. The first lady of
Mavin Records has received another songwriting credit for her work with Grammy
award-winning R&B artist, Monica, on her new album “New Life: The Deluxe
version”, which is available on ITunes.
Ever get that dull feeling in your arm or leg like it’s asleep? This temporary and harmless sensation is caused by constant pressure on nerves, leaving them unable to transmit messages to your brain. The cure is simple: change positions. As feeling starts to come back to the area, you may experience tingling (“pins and needles”) for a little while. Chronic tingling indicates a more serious underlying condition that should be evaluated by a doctor.
Black Hairy Tongue
No, this isn’t something from a creature feature. Although it is a temporary, harmless (benign), painless oral condition it definitely is not a pretty sight to behold. Black hairy tongue occurs when the little bumps on your tongue grow long (instead of shedding), and bacteria grow on them. Poor oral hygiene, smoking, some mouthwashes, radiation therapy to the head and neck, and certain medications can play a role.
To help, brush your teeth and tongue twice a day, use a tongue scraper, and avoid aggravating factors.
The Brain Freeze
Oh no, not again! “Ice cream headaches” happen when something cold touches nerves in the roof of the mouth,, the blood vessels contract in response in an effort to prevent loss of body heat. As the coldness recedes, the blood vessels relax again, quickly increasing blood flow to the brain, triggering blood vessels in the front of your head to swell. This rapid swelling causes the familiar, jabbing pain of a brain freeze.
An easy solution? Try eating ice cream or other cold foods more slowly to avoid getting a headache.
Cramps
This startling muscle spasm can last a few seconds, even several minutes. Dehydration, muscle overuse, nerve irritation, and low levels of certain minerals -- like potassium and calcium -- can be culprits.
Try drinking some water, walk around to relieve the pain, or shake your leg and stretch the muscle. If cramps persist, see your doctor.
Discolored Nails
Curious about color changes in your nails? About 50% of nail problems are caused by fungal infections. Greenish nails may come from pseudomonas bacteria and are easily treated with antibiotics. Yellowish nails are often a sign of fungus. And red, purple, or black under nails may be caused by blood resulting from injury. Changes can also be related to medical treatments or signal a more serious condition.
Unsure? Get those nails checked!
Ear Popping
We’ve all yawned on a plane trip to “pop” our ears. What we’re doing is equalizing the pressure between the inside and the outside of our eardrum as the altitude changes. That “pop” means a tube connecting your middle ear to the back of your throat has opened, relieving pressure.
To help, you can also close your mouth, hold your nose, and blow gently; or try chewing gum or yawning.
Ear Wax Buildup
Keep fingers and cotton swabs out of your ear canals. Earwax helps fight infection, keeps ears clean, and our bodies naturally get rid of excess earwax through the ear opening. Problems like impaction often start when we try to clean our ears with a swab or another object. Impaction symptoms include pain, itching, ringing of the ears, or hearing loss.
Your doctor can remove excess ear wax with irrigation or manual removal.
Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)
Sure, it’s a mood killer, but this problem is very common and happens to completely healthy people. While it can occur on the face, sweating is usually worse on the palms, soles, and in the armpits. Treatment may include aluminum chloride antiperspirants, Botox injections, oral medications, mild electrical currents, or even surgery.
Eye Twitching
Eyelid spasms are unpredictable, bothersome, and harmless. Eye twitching can be caused by stress, fatigue, caffeine, eyestrain, and dry eyes, though more serious twitching may be caused by neurological disorders, like Tourette’s syndrome.
Eyelid spasms usually go away on their own, but if they are severe, Botox injections may be recommended.
Hiccups
Hiccups are an uncontrollable contraction of the diaphragm (the breathing muscle under the lungs). Eating too much or too fast, overdoing alcohol, or swallowing air can all cause the hiccups.
They usually go away on their own, but you can try remedies like holding your breath, quickly drinking water, and breathing in a bag to help hasten hiccups away.
Overdevelopment of Male Breasts
Gynecomastia is usually caused by normal changes in hormone levels at birth, puberty, and later in life. For newborns and boys, the ratio of estrogens (female hormones) to androgens (male hormones) balances out in time. It’s also seen in men as they age, often related to certain medications, liver or kidney problems, or tumors.
A physician’s evaluation can get at the root cause, but by itself, the condition is usually harmless.
Vertigo
Whoa! If it feels like the room’s moving when it’s not, it could be vertigo. Sometimes caused by inner ear problems or nerve damage, vertigo can last minutes, even hours. To distinguish vertigo from dizziness, there must be a feeling of motion; other symptoms that may occur include hearing loss, ear discomfort, and unusual eye movements. Treating vertigo depends on the cause.
Late chief Asenite Sikibo Darego died at the Meridian Hospital, D/line Port-Harcourt (and not in London as earlier broadcast by a lot of media houses) and was buried on the 24th of March 2012 in his hometown, Abonnema in Rivers state.
A highly decorated Customs officer before his retirement, he was not just known for his part in the birthing of the first ever African Miss World, Agbani Darego 2001 but was honoured in 1979 by being awarded the "First Class of the Federal Republic Medal" for his part in foiling a smuggling attempt of jewelry from Nigeria.
Family Life
Chief has been described by different members of his extended family as a father. when asked to expatiate he was described as someone never too busy to listen and always willing to lend a helping hand.
A Traditional Burial
According to Chief Ibifri Briggs, from the Briggs compound.who gave us a run down on what to expect on such an occasion.
There are four major family compounds that make up the town. Bob - Manuel (Owukori), Briggs (Oruwari), Georgewill (Otagi) and Jack (Iju). The Darego Family belong to the Jack compound.
Due to his status as a Chief, a boat regatta is displayed by representatives of all four compounds, this is done as a mark of respect.
The Darego females. Notice Agbani as the slimmest and tallest of the lot.
The pall bearers dancing in celebration of a life well spent as they carry the corpse.
The Amayanabo (King) of Abonnema
The body is first received by the kins men at the palace, this is the palace of His Royal Highness D'isreal Bobo Bobmanuel the 2nd - The Amayanabo of Abonnema via a procession of chiefs and members of the Darego family.
Ms Beauty Ebenezer, a family friend of the Darego family and former colleague of the late chief gave us an insight as to the change of clothes of the family members.
She explained that the beads are worn during ceremonies; marriage, burial etc. when it comes to burial especially when it comes to viewing the corpse, any body dressed in heavy beads are directly related to the dead person. In Chiefs case his brother and sisters' children and close cousins must be dressed in the beads, his children will come in last.
It is customary that close members of family of the deceased are dressed richly as a mark of honour and a celebration of a life well spent.
Agbani Darego (Miss World 2001) and one of her sisters in full traditional costume
It started out with a smash hit performance in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and then moved to Accra, Ghana where they were given a loud ovation. They dared Mombasa and Nairobi to dream again, and then proceeded to impact the people and prisoners of Johannesburg, South Africa.
The next stop was Aberdeen, Scotland with an awesome, thought-provoking show to get people thinking about their lives. They were hailed by the crème-de-la-crème of society in Douala, Cameroon as artistic and professional with a rich modern re-enactment of an age-old story… Spirit of David now brings to you exclusive footage of their tour to six (6) of ten (10) countries and invites you to support them in an exquisite gala/dinner night: A Special Night with Spirit of David on their tour to Europe.
Spirit of David is a gospel dance club. They are a body of people who love God and love dance and have been gifted with the grace to communicate life-changing messages through performances and shows that are unique, professional and anointed. Spirit of David began in April 1997 in the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and has spread to ten (10) branches across the world, including Calabar, Ilorin, Ado-Ekiti and the UK, to mention a few. They have held seventy-five (75) shows, and have staged no less than 4500 performances to date; and they brought to you two seasons of the very popular Celebrity Takes 2. Spirit of David has been very established, and they have a great number of fans around the world who are interested in seeing how their tour has been.
In this special event, with only 300 people exclusively catered for the night, Spirit of David intends to take the audience on a journey on their visits around the world. The night is also designed to present the future of the Tour, which is a visit to four countries in Europe: France, Spain, Germany and Holland; titled Whoosh and is slated to take place in August this year. The details of the night are as follows:
Date: Easter Sunday, 8th April 2012
Venue: Liberty Hall, The Bespoke Centre, Beside Germaine Motors (after 4th roundabout), Lekki-Epe expressway, Lagos.
Time: 6pm prompt
Spirit of David is also set to launch special dance competitions for kids. But you’ll have to attend this special event to know more about this competition and the myriad things Spirit of David is doing this year!
For exclusive ticket bookings and further enquiries on this special night, or to support this laudable work, please contact Nwando on 08023318273; for general enquiries on Spirit of David, call 0808DANCING or visit www.3dancingmen.com. If you’re a ‘facebooker’, visit out facebook page on www.facebook.com/sodgdc.
A few months shy of his 70th birthday, Chief James Akwari Iroha A.K.A Gringory Akabogu was confirmed dead on Facebook by his son, Akwari James Iroha.
He wrote, “Sept 1942 _ Feb 2012. Not long ago a man we have all come to love, a man that has made us laugh, a friend to all but will always be Dad to my little sister Ugonma, my brothers Chiemela, Uche, Kelechi and me passed on.
“Chief James Udensi Akwari Iroha OON has passed on today. May his cheerfull soul rest in the Lord. Akwari James Iroha ( for the family).”
The creator and veteran member of the soap "New Masquerade" which was popular in the '70's & '80's.
in an interview held in 2008 he spoke about the origin and creation of the hit TV series.
“My mother happened to be a comedian, which fact people do not know about. But the idea of comedy came into my head immediately after the civil war in Nigeria. I looked at people and there were still emotional disturbances and grudges everywhere, and I thought that something had to be done. In the African context of the world, we appreciate humour. Being a natural comedian myself. I thought of what we could do to douse the tension in the people’s mind. That is exactly what gave birth to the Masquerade. First, it was part of a radio programme, In the Lighter Mood, presented by Bob Nwangoro. Then I bet him that we were going to make that part of the programme, the adventures of Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo, alias 4:30.
If you tear the texture of Masquerade apart, you will see my father as Chief Zebrudaya; my mother as Ovuleria. Jegede and the other friends of Zebrudaya are my father’s old friends. When they sit down in the evening to play asigo – a traditional Igbo game, they dished out these wonderful language that, though it did not agree with the conventional grammar, communicated. My father was just lampooning and admonishing and dishing out this language. But he was making his point. Like he would say to my mother: “Why do you pontolise my body with assault?” What is “pontolise” I don’t know. But it was understood. So any time my mother and father quarreled, people would gather to listen to them, and they would laugh and laugh. So I thought that could work in Masquerade and so I created Zebrudaya in my father’s image, Ovuleria became my mother and Jegede, Okoro Maduekwe, Nati and others, my father’s friends.”
In an interview granted earlier this year, the veteran actor extensively detailed his failing health and depressing financial challenges.
He was diagnosed with Glaucoma and as at the time of his death no longer had full vision. His family claim to have spent over N4m on his medical bills alone and the recommended eye drop which exhausted within two weeks cost N20, 000 per bottle.
Although the cause of death is currently unknown, the financial stress the family has been under may play a huge deterring role when "Gringory" is to be finally laid to rest.
From the middle of the Eighties to the late Nineties she was one of the world's best-selling artists,
The showbiz world was rocked with the tragic news that one of music's biggest legends Whitney Houston is dead, her life was tragically cut short at the age of 48.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born to a middle class family in Newark, New Jersey in 1963.
She was the third and youngest child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr., who passed away in 2003, and gospel singer Cissy Houston. Her cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick, and also her godmother Aretha Franklin all made a huge mark on the gospel and R&B scene.
It was clear that natural talent in music ran through her family. She first became interested in music after frequently accompanying her mother Cissy when she performed in nightclubs
Sometimes the teen would even take to the stage herself and perform.
Houston was offered her very first recording contract at the age of 14 by Michael Zanger, after she wowed him with her back-up singing on a record for his group, Michael Zanger band.
Whitney is seen here with her mother Cissy and late father John Russell Houston, Jr. in 1985
But she was forced to turn it down as her mother determined that she should instead finish school.
However, in the years that followed she lent her voice to albums of American soul, jazz, and blues singer Lou Rawls and Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine Jackson.
Naturally stunningly beautiful, Houston began dabbling in modelling after being spotted by a fashion photographer whilst she was performing with her mother.
She went on to become the first ever woman of colour to appear in a fashion magazine after gracing the pages of Seventeen magazine in the early Eighties.
Subsequently she appeared in Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Young Miss magazines, and also in a TV advertisement for Canada Dry soft drink.
It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.
Houston made her album debut in 1985 with the self-titled record Whitney Houston.
It sold millions and spawned hit after hit including Saving All My Love for You, which won her her first Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal.
The New York Times wrote that Houston 'possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners.
'She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity.'
Her decision not to follow more soulful inflections drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences.
The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the Soul Train Awards in 1989.
'Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?' she told Katie Couric in 1996. 'You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.'
Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics.
It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own.
The couple went on to have a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.
Over the years, he was arrested several times on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.
But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.
'When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place,' she told Rolling Stone in 1993.
Whitney's life after marriage and divorce
Houston's only major tours in the last decade were overseas, far away from the critical eyes of the American media. In September 2009, she did a short comeback concert for "Good Morning America" in Central Park. The blurring of the line between entertainment and news on morning shows became apparent as hosts Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts lauded Houston's performance on their show, even as every other media outlet was reporting on how the voice of a generation could no longer handle the demands of even an abridged show, clean or not.
In recent days, one solution for returning Houston to the limelight without subjecting her singing voice to harsh scrutiny had seemingly been arrived at. Rumors had been floated — and published by the Hollywood Reporter — that she was up for contention as a judge on "The X Factor." Simon Cowell told Piers Morgan that Houston had not actually been approached, but that in response to the news reports (which he implied might have been instigated by Houston's camp), his team had planned to have a meeting about considering her.
But getting in that public scuffle Thursday night with Stacy Francis, an admirer who was one of the Season 1 "X Factor" finalists, might not have done Houston any favors, had she lived to come up for contention with Cowell and his producers this week.
Even in as high-profile a period as Grammy week, Houston couldn't seem to shy away from small acts of self-sabotage.
Coming to be regarded as a lush or addict in her last months had to be a harsh rebuke for someone who'd claimed to have cleaned up while attempting a comeback a few years earlier. But the events of the past year made it clear that, in contrast to celebrated redemption stories like Robert Downey Jr.'s, rehab hadn't really taken for Houston.
Her sobriety had been a matter of public concern since the late '90s. A common public misassumption had been that if she ever got out from under the sway of husband Bobby Brown, she would be all right. "He was my drug," she told Oprah in 2009, two years after their divorce, after apparently cleaning up. "I didn't do anything without him. I wasn't getting high by myself.
But more recently, it'd started to look like her ex-husband was no longer the sole driving force of her substance abuse, if ever he had been. Last May, a Houston rep acknowledged that the singer was involved in outpatient rehab for ongoing drug and alcohol problems.
A few of months after the March 2011 edition of the National Enquirer that featured a double-page photo spread of Bobbi Kristina allegedly snorting lines of cocaine at a party (albeit with her mom nowhere in sight).
The tabloids also reported last year that Houston's fortune had run out. With no new albums on the horizon, her best hope for career renewal was the movie Sparkle, in which she played a supporting role as Jordin Sparks' mom. The film — her first since The Preacher's Wife in 1996 — was shot late last year and will come out in August, accompanied by a soundtrack that includes two new Houston tunes.
Houston's final public performance happened at the club that fateful thursday night. It lasted just under a minute, as she sang "Jesus Loves Me" with Price in an impromptu, ramshackle duet captured by any number of videographers in the crowd. Perhaps needless to say, she wasn't in her very best voice for what turned out to be her swansong appearance.
Whitney Houston’s Death: Police Statement
Following is a statement on Whitney Houston's death issued Saturday night by police in Beverly Hills, Calif.:
“At approximately 3:43 p.m. the Beverly Hills Police Department received a 911 call to respond to the Beverly Hilton hotel regarding a medical emergency. Police and fire personnel were immediately dispatched. Fire Department personnel were already on scene at the hotel due a pre-Grammy event taking place later this evening.
"Fire Department personnel, accompanied by hotel security, responded to the hotel room occupied by entertainer Whitney Houston. Upon arrival, first responders discovered Whitney Houston unresponsive. They initiated CPR, but were unable to revive her. At approximately 3:55 pm. Whitney Houston, age 48, was pronounced dead at the scene. Whitney Houston was positively identified at the scene by members of her entourage, which included friends, co-workers and family. Ms. Houston’s daughter and mother were notified of her death.
Prescription drugs were allegedly the downfall of Whitney’s too-short life
Whitney Houston‘s cause of death has been revealed to be drugs — not drowning, as previously reported.
Whitney, who was 48, died of an alleged combination of Xanax with other prescriptions and alcohol, TMZ reports. The L.A. County Coroner informed the family that there was not enough water in her lungs to point to drowning, but rather she was likely already dead from the mixture by the time she became submerged in bathwater.
Despite her troubled end she will be dearly missed and always remembered as one of the greatest voices of her time.
A private funeral will be held Saturday 18th February 2012 at her childhood church in New Jersey, according to the owner of the funeral home handling the arrangements.
The service will start at noon at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, said Carolyn Whigham of Whigham Funeral Home.
As with the private burial, the ceremony is open to invited guests only.
.jpg)
