DripNote Blog

MOTHERS certainly know best no matter how old their children. Eccua, a younger friend, paid a visit to her mum some few months back, virtually bending her ears with tales of her husband’s latest escapades. “She always made a soothing noise whenever she realized all I needed to do was let off steam”, said Eccua, “but this fateful afternoon, my mum gave me a bored look, yawned and declared: ‘Aren’t you a bit tired of hearing your own moan? I mean look at you! A graduate we were all proud of now turned into what? Look at the back of your feet. When last did you have a pedicure? Or a good facial? Or a fancy stint at the hairdresser’s? I scarcely see you in anything glamorous but a frumpy boubou. If I were your husband, believe me, I wouldn’t be interested either!” I glanced at her and she glared right back. Whose side was she on? I’m a mother of three for goodness sake, not some femme fatal! she ought to be more ...

LAGOS— A Cameroonian steward, Joel Ludguo, has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his boss to death over unpaid salary at Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, Tuesday. The deceased, identified as Temidayo Adeleke, as gathered, just returned from the United States of America, USA, where she was schooling, in preparation for her wedding next February. Vanguard gathered that the suspect, a cleaner who lived with the victim on Prince Tayo Adesanya Street, demanded part payment of his December salary on Tuesday afternoon. However, Adeleke appealed to him to wait till the next day, explaining that she had no naira notes with her. Ludguo insisted on remaining in the sitting room with his boss until she provides the money. He was then said to have charged into the kitchen, took out a kitchen knife with which he allegedly stabbed Adeleke on the chest. Her shout for help alerted other domestic workers. It was gathered that Ludguo attempted to flee, but was held by another...

An American airline has thrown a passenger off a flight after he confronted Ivanka Trump, President-elect Donald Trump’s eldest daughter. According to TMZ, “an out-of-control passenger” on Ms Trump’s JetBlue flight out of JFK airport in New York “began verbally berating her and jeering at her three children.” The unidentified passenger, holding his own child at the time, reportedly told Ms Trump, who was flying economy on the budget airline, “Your father is ruining the country.” Ivanka Trump He went on to express surprise that Ms Trump, whose father owns his own 757 Boeing jet, was travelling with the masses. “Why is she on our flight?” he said. “She should be flying private.” Eventually the passenger was escorted off the plane by airline personnel. Ms Trump was travelling with Secret Service protection at the time, according to a Secret Service official. Although the disgruntled passenger has y...

Queen Elizabeth II missed the Christmas Day church service attended by the British royal family on Sunday because she was still suffering with a heavy cold. The 90-year-old, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England, stayed indoors but was well enough to join in the family festivities at home afterwards, a spokesman said. The royal family traditionally spends Christmas together at her Sandringham private estate in Norfolk, eastern England. By custom they walk together to and from church, a rare occasion for the public to meet several members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II “Her Majesty The Queen will not attend church at Sandringham this morning,” a palace spokesman said. “The Queen continues to recover from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with her recovery. “Her Majesty will participate in the royal family Christmas celebrations during the day.” The monarch and her 95-year-old husband Prince Philip de...

Shan George leading other Nollywood actresses at the 2016 Calabar Carnival Members of Governor’s Band at the 2016 Calabar Carnival in Calabar Cross Rivers State Yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke R-L Governor Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers State and Sen Godswill Akpabio Senate Minority leader at the 2016 Calabar Carnival in Calabar Cross Rivers State Yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke Members of Governor’s band at the 2016 Calabar Carnival in Calabar Cross Rivers State

While many music acts had a swell time during the Yuletide, enjoying themselves and bringing happiness to many homes,one act indeed stayed away, insisting that he would not be part of the celebration. And that music act is fast rising reggae star, Kingsley Eno Osagie popularly known as Winning Jah. Winning Jah explained that he decided to ignore the celebration because “millions of families in Africa, precisely Nigeria are passing through hardship.” “ Some couldn’t afford a bag of rice, too many homeless Children in Africa, disables without proper care, social difference and discrimination of race, sex and religion provoked my mood of not celebrating Christmas this year,’’he added. Winning Jah The fast rising reggae star, who recently led a campaign against the arrest and imprisonment of marijuana smokers in the country,believed that it does not make sense to him, that while some people are celebrating, others not. He urged the ...

Rwanda Football officials were forced to take action after black magic was allegedly used during a Rwandan Premier League between Mukura Victory and Rayon Sports. In the game Mukura’s striker Moussa Camara whose team was down 1-0 was seen planting what appeared to be a charm on the opponent’s goalpost and moments later he scored to level the game. It has decided to fine any player seen to take part in witchcraft, with a 100,000 Rwandan Francs fine equivalent to around N57,000. If a club has been involved they will lose three points and face a fine of 2.9million RWF (about N1.6m). Vedasite Kayiranga, vice president of the Rwanda FA said: “In FERWAFA (Federation of Rwanda Football Association) statutes we don’t have any law punishing the use of witchcraft because there is nowhere in the world where it has been proven that it can influence the outcome of a game. “However, with the violence between players because of allegations that one te...

A cold war may well be on between the Nigerian Film Corporation,NFC, and practitioners in the film industry following a bill currently in the House of Representatives seeking to transform the former into the Nigerian Film Commission. This is coming shortly after several indigenous film makers and marketers converged on Lagos, to condemn a current trend whereby Chinese and Indian films are being re-voiced in Yoruba language. The film makers posited that the act, if not quickly curtailed, is not only capable of eroding Nigeria’s indigenous culture but also, it would constitute a threat to employment generation which the film industry is noted for. Meanwhile, on the face-off between the Nigerian Film Corporation, and players in the movie industry, the latter is kicking against the film commission bill, on the ground that the regulatory body did not carry the industry along. It would be recalled that weeks back, HVP exclusively reported that the NFC has sent a bil...

Outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama has told incoming President Donald Trump to accept the fact that there is only one U.S. President at a time. Obama also told the president-elect that he remains the U.S. President till Jan. 20, 2017, when he would complete his two-term presidency of the U.S. and handover to Trump. Obama’s remarks followed what the White House termed as Trump’s undue interference in U.S. policies since his election. Also ther president-elect had on Thursday, directed the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Ms Samantha Power, to veto the Security Council’s Resolution on Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. However, the Obama’s administration disregarded Trump’s directive and had gone ahead to abstain from voting on the resolution when it finally came up on Friday, drawing criticisms from the president-elect and his team. The White House, in a response by Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Co...

ABA – Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign States of Biafra, MASSOB, has urged the United States President elect, Mr. Donald Trump to save the people of Biafra from what it described as infliction of wicked policies, intimidation and mass killings of Biafra activists by the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration in Nigeria. The group alleged that more Biafrans had been killed for demanding for their rights under Buhari than previous administrations in the country, and appealed to the US President elect to help Biafra gain independence from Nigeria as soon as he is sworn in to office on January 20. Addressing 30 newly appointed zonal coordinators in Aba, MASSOB Leader for Abia South Zone, Okporie Nkama, who urged the Biafra people not to be discouraged by the sufferings which they have been subjected to in Nigeria, added that actualization of Biafra’s independence is only a matter of time. He commended the international community and corpo...

When it comes to relationships, cheating is one of the many issues that tend to scare a lot of people. Most people see cheating as unpardonable and although it’s quite painful, they still find themselves able to forgive their partners, pick up the broken pieces and move on with their lives together. Majority of the people who have been cheated on have a constant apprehension that their partner will do it again. So, what if your partner cheats on you on the first day of the year? Would you forgive and go ahead with the relationship or would end the relationship and move on? Saturday Vanguard sought the views of celebrities on this topic and here are their responses; It’s a bad omen – Imelda J, Singer How can my lover be caught cheating on New Year’s Day? That’s a bad omen. If it wasn’t a new year’s day, I might have probably given him a second chance or think twice about it before making any decision. But since it is on a New...

Few days from now, we will bid farewell to 2016 and usher in 2017,with great expectations, yet the events that helped to shape the outgoing year will not be forgotten in a hurry. For the Nigerian movie industry, the year has not been short of surprise box office hits despite odds. In fact, after the world premiere of eight of Nollywood movies at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival,TIFF, which held between September 8 and 18, 2016, our movies came into spotlight, out-grossing some of Hollywood’s blockbuster movies in the local box office. Here, we take a look at some of the highest-grossing Nollywood films of all time in the Nigerian cinemas. 76 Everybody has been talking about ’76, yet many are convinced that it’s one of the greatest films that came out this year. The film has not only redefined the place of Nollywood in the international film market, but also, it has set the pace for the emergence of a new film culture in Africa...

WHILE many people are in the festive mood, warming up to bid farewell to 2016, top Yoruba actor, Yemi Fash seems to have a different impression about the Christmas celebration as it doesn’t mean anything to him. In a chat with WG, on what Christmas means to him, the actor said, “Christmas is like every other day. I don’t believe in Christmas or Yuletide. To me, every day is Christmas because there is nothing I will eat on Christmas day that I have not eaten before. •Yomi Fash lanso Or there is no place I will take my children to that I have not taken them to before. So to me it’s all about making yourself happy whenever the opportunity arises”. On what he has been working on lately, the actor said, he has been busy honouring veterans in the movie industry. “I have been doing a lot in terms of celebrating African veterans in the movie industry through Afro- Heritage Entertainment Award that happens in Texas. And what we do i...

Former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia has warned that anyone who wishes to talk to Mikel Obi to raise his game, should equally be ready to take a slagging from the Chelsea star. Mikel has come under intense criticisms following his recent sluggish displays for the Super Eagles. And Siasia, who lined up the midfielder for the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup and then dropped him for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said that Mikel does not welcome criticisms. “Someone would have to talk to him. But to talk to Mikel, you have to be ready for your own beating,” Siasia told Africanfootball.com. This further confirms the awesome player- power the Chelsea star wields in the Super Eagles. Siasia said that it will be up to Mikel to take the responsibility to step up his game. “From what we have seen and what people are talking about, they don’t think he is giving his best. But he should be able to criticise himself,” argued the coach. “He shou...

Oprah Winfrey announced this week she lost 40 pounds using Weight Watchers The weight loss program has long been popular, but has struggled in recent years (CNN) — Oprah Winfrey revealed this week that she lost more than 40 pounds , and she did it using one of the most popular weight loss programs out there: Weight Watchers. In a story first published on People magazine's web site, Oprah said she's still eating the tacos and pasta that she loves, and she doesn't feel deprived following the Weight Watchers system. Earlier, she told People that she's exercising more , striving to take at least 10,000 steps a day. "Weight Watchers is easier than any other program I've ever been on. It's a lifestyle, a way of eating and a way of living that's so freeing. You never feel like you are on a diet and it works," Oprah, 62, said in a release about a new Weight Watchers' ad campaign. Weight Watchers works by using a point system for p...

On an episode of The Axe Files, Obama discusses the role his mother played during his upbringing Obama describes his mom as "eccentric in many ways" Washington (CNN) — As he prepares to leave the Oval Office after eight years, President Barack Obama recently reflected on the role his mother played on him becoming commander-in- chief, and how one of her biggest influences were her lessons on love. "For all the ups and downs of our lives, there was never a moment where I didn't feel as if I was special, that I was not just this spectacular gift to the world," Obama said, describing his childhood in an interview with former chief strategist David Axelrod in the latest episode of his podcast for The Axe Files . In his 2004 book "Dreams from My Father," Obama wrote that his mother's lessons on the power of love have been the guiding forces in his life and served as pillars for accomplishing his achievements. The President has often...

The holidays are a time of great fun and generosity, but chances are, a lot of us are getting gifts we don't really want. Usually, we can return or exchange those items when those gifts are from major retailers. But what about those other times? Whether your mother-in-law gives you an itchy sweater you can barely touch or a friend gives you a gift card to their favorite steakhouse when you hate meat, here's how to turn it into the gift of your dreams. Exchange gift cards One man's (or woman's) trash is another's treasure. When you receive a gift card that you know won’t use, it may just be a gift card someone else will love. Here's where gift card exchange sites — like Raise.com or Cardpool.com — come in handy. You can sell a pre-owned gift card for close to face value and receive either cash or an Amazon gift card. If you prefer something more personal, you can always exchange gift cards one-on-one with friends, coworkers or family. Just ...

Deputy Nick Tullier was shot in Baton Rouge in July; he was in coma four months Tullier is now undergoing intense rehabilitation Watch "New Day" and "CNN Newsroom" each Friday to see inspiring stories of officers going above and beyond the call of duty. Houston (CNN) — Nick Tullier's family never stopped dreaming of the day the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, sheriff's deputy would emerge from a coma. That day finally arrived. "People have asked us a number of times, 'Is Nick a miracle?'" said James Tullier, Nick's father, as he grinned. "To us, yes. Nick's a miracle." Since July 17, when he was shot in the head and abdomen after answering a call to take down an active shooter who was targeting officers, the family of Nick Tullier hasn't left his side. Tullier spent four months in a coma and has spent the last month going through intense rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston. His parents ...

(NAN) Nigerians are often impatient with their leaders, looking for results “with immediate effect”, a mindset left by long years of military rule. President Muhammadu Buhari has been the target of criticism by this tribe of Nigerians, going by the critical posts in social media, sometimes bordering on plain abuse and hatred. The same Nigerians can also show appreciation to a leader when they notice striking changes that the leader has effected. We share one of such posts on President Buhari trending on WhatsApp and some other platforms. It is titled, End of the year ‘Change’ Update : 1. Sambisa Forest now a military garrison. 2. Nigerian (local) rice now a brand. Lake rice is on sale in Lagos 3. No more free government money. 4. Celebrated Christmas without fuel scarcity and bomb blast. Contrasting images of the change wrought by President Buhari in 12 months 5. Created 200,000 N-Power jobs and 10,000 police recruitment without charging ...

“Mommy, come quick!” my daughter shouts at me from the upstairs bathroom. I fly into the room expecting to find a child half- drowned in the bathtub. Instead I find my five and a half year old standing on the stepping stool and staring at her underwear-clad body in the mirror. “I tilted it down and now I can see my whole body,” she exclaims as she twists side to side and smiles at her reflection. She flexes her arm and comments on her growing muscle. “I’m super strong.” To my eyes she is perfect. She is perfect in her own eyes as well. Someday though, someone will tell her that she is not perfect. As this thought crosses my mind, I feel the anger of a thousand voices welling up inside me. Someone, some asshole is going to come and tell my perfect child that her feet are too big and she has her father’s nose. They will look at her skinny torso and suggest that she should eat more or they’ll look at her little th...

The boy's brother ran to the street for help, a neighbor says The father has been with the department since 1993 (CNN) — The 2-year-old son of a Cleveland police officer fatally shot himself with his father's service weapon Friday morning, police said. Officers responded to Officer Jose Pedro's home at about 10:30 a.m. and took his son to MetroHealth Medical Center, where the boy was pronounced dead. The toddler's older brother had run into the street, pleading for help, a neighbor told CNN affiliate WJW. "(He) was saying 'somebody call the police ... my brother shot himself,'" Sonya Hobbs said. "When I went in there, I saw that baby -- he was only 2 years old -- laying on the floor." Both police and the county medical examiner's office have declined to release the boy's name. Pedro has been with the department since 1993. Police officers, like citizens, are required to secure all weapons. According to the Cleve...

Police in Hudson, New York, said an officer smashed a car window to rescue a reportedly frozen woman. "She" turned out to be medical mannequin. Story highlights Police responded to reports of a frozen woman in car After breaking car window, police discovered medical mannequin (CNN) — The report to police was deadly serious -- an elderly woman apparently frozen to death inside a parked car in Hudson, New York. Police in the city said they responded to the call Friday morning with an emergency rescue crew. It was cold -- around five degrees Fahrenheit -- and the car had snow cover and looked like it hadn't been moved in a while. Authorities saw an elderly woman in the front passenger seat, police said. She was wearing an oxygen mask. She did not move and was unresponsive. An officer smashed the rear window, opened the door...and discovered the "woman" was really a life sized mannequin. The kind that is used in CPR training. But this was no...

What's a 'menstruation hut?' 00:46 Story highlights 10 women and girls have died practising chhaupadi in the past decade Practice dates back centuries and has its roots in Hindu taboos over menstruation (CNN) — Deep in the Himalayas, the night rolled in and a girl in a tiny hut lit a fire to keep warm. As she slept, the 15-year-old died of smoke inhalation. She was alone, separated from her community because of a biological function that half the world's population will experience. The girl, from Gajra village in western Nepal's Achham district, was taking part in chhaupadi, a common practice in the far west of the country in which women, considered unclean during menstruation, are banished for the extent of their periods. Her death was the second in under a month, according to Achham district police inspector Badri Prasad Dhakal, who added that 10 girls have died in similar huts in the district over the past nine years. Banished Chhaupadi da...

Minnesota football team walks out on practice 02:16 Story highlights Issac Bailey: Minnesota football players allegedly gang-raped woman. As a dad I'm horrified at thought young men stood by He says story is of a young woman treated as disposable piece of trash, not human being. Mistreatment of women an epidemic Editor's Note: Issac Bailey has been a journalist in South Carolina for two decades and was most recently the primary columnist for The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. He was a 2014 Harvard University Nieman fellow. Follow him on Twitter: @ijbailey . The views expressed are his own. (CNN) — I made my son read the 80-page report about an alleged gang rape at the University of Minnesota in September. In an age in which we are putting into the White House a man who casually bragged about sexual assault, fathers hoping to raise boys who become men who treat women as equals don't have the luxury of looking away when the horrific happens to a female stran...

Iraqi forces deploy in the Bajwaniyah village, about 30 kms south of Mosul, on October 18, 2016 after they liberated it from IISIS group jihadists. Story highlights Iraqi military kill 97 ISIS militants Mosul is ISIS' last major stronghold in Iraq Irbil (CNN) — Iraqi security and coalition forces have killed 97 ISIS militants in eastern and southern Mosul on Sunday, Iraq's Joint Military Command said, as the group continues to defend its Iraqi bastion with suicide attacks and artillery. The militants were killed in three separate incidents, the Iraqi military said in a statement. In one incident, ISIS fighters tried to advance near a federal police position , south of Mosul, before Iraqi forces detonated two vehicle-borne IEDs and killed 21 "terrorists", the military said. In a second incident, the military said it killed 51 ISIS fighters and injured a number of others after the militant group -- using vehicle-borne IEDs and suicide bombers -- tr...