Looking for where to go this Easter holiday? Here’s our top 10 pick

If you are looking for a great way to spend this Easter season,we give you a list of top 10 ideas…

Calabar Jazz Festival

This Easter, the city of Calabar will be boosting with activities as the maiden edition of the Calabar Jazz Festival features Eric Bennet, D’Angelo, Jonathan Butler, Asa, Darey, Bez and Burna Boy.

Date: Friday March 29-Sunday March 31, 2013

Venue: Calabar, Cross River State

Mexican Night at Eko Hotel

Eat, drink and dance Mexican all the way, amidst a lavish pool side at the Lagoon and get a full Mexican buffet choice in an array of main courses, freshly made by mexican executive Chef.

Date: Friday, March 29, 2013

Time: 7PM

Venue: Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos

Unforgettable Experience

Christ embassy presents ‘Unforgettable Experience’ with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome ministering alongside Victor Ike, Joe Praize, Eben, Obi Shine, Amaka, Zamar Choir, comedian Chikason and dance group Demee.

Date: Friday, March 29, 2013

Time: 4PM

Venue: Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos

Lifestyle Series

Marjene Hair and Beauty Wellness presents the Beauty & Make Up edition of its Lifestyle Series. The networking event and seminar is aimed at providing the ultimate learning experience in skincare and make Up for hopefuls who want to get more in the industry.

Date: Saturday, March 31, 2013

Time: 12PM – 4PM (Seminar) 4PM – 6PM (Networking & Trade)

Venue: The Blowfish Hotel, No. 17 Oju Olobun Street, Off Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Lock Down with Naija Celebs

Lock Down Nite Wit Naija Celebs on the mainland is back and this season it host’s promoter and entertainment guru Cecil Hammond.

Date: Saturday March 30, 2012

Time: 8PM

Venue: Rumours Night Club, Oduduwa Way, GRA Ikeja, Lagos

The Wizard of Law

Davidhouse Multimedia, Amber 11 Media and the Spruce Company are set to light up the stage this Easter with Zulu Sofola’s stage play ‘The Wizard of Law’

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2013

Time: First Show at 2.30PM | Second Show at 5PM

Venue: The Unity Centre, Isaac John Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

AY LIVE ON EASTER SUNDAY: The Old and New Testaments

Comedian AY presents another spectacular comedy event titled ‘The Old and New Testaments’ featuring Alibaba, Julius Agwu, I Go Dye, Gordons, Gandoki, Helen Paul, Elenu, Akpororo,  Emeka Smith, Funny Bone,Tonto Dikeh, Timaya, Terry G, Iyanya, D’Prince, Tiwa Savage and DJ Jimmy Jatt.

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2013

Time: 8PM

Venue: Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos

A Special Night with Spirit of David

Spirit of David Gospel Dance Club will be having the second edition of her ‘A Special Night with SOD’. This is a black tie event (fund raiser) with red carpet and a four course dinner.

Date: Sunday March 31, 2013

Time: 6PM

Venue: Liberty Hall, Bespoke Centre, Lekki, Lagos.

9ja Praise Party

Zamar Entertainment and Sammie Okposo present 9ja Praise Party in a wonderful Easter gospel praise session featuring B.O.U.Q.U.I, Eben, Tim Godfrey & The Extreme Band, Nikki Laoye, Akpororo, MC Abbey, Igos, Jedi

Date: Monday, April 1, 2013

Time: 12Noon

Venue: INCUBATOR, Opp City of David, Victoria Island, Lagos.

 Gosporella Family Funfest

Renowned gospel dj, DJ Gosporella host’s the best of comedy, music and family funfare with guest appearances by Koffi, Bouqui, Segun Obe, Nikki Laoye and Soul E.

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2013

Time: 3PM

Venue: HICC Hall, Gbagada Expressway, Opp Mobil Filling Station, Gbagada.

Words From A Sage: Charly Boy Gives Oga At The Top Speech

We have for ages been huge admirers of Charly Boy. With his unusual personality, decent music, and the healthy family man status, he serves as a model for the talented, skilled and hopeful. But what really seals the deal is that dormant intelligence peeking from beneath his eyes. We see it and it teases us, although fleetingly. But in this writ, it is here to stay So here he gives us strong opinions. His words roll out like smooth divine molasses. Hitting the part of us where noble humanity resides. Read it below:
“It’s unfortunate, this article is coming in late. This is because I almost ignored the racket “My Oga at the top” generated. However, because of some salient lessons in the whole joke, I have decided to hit you with this.
Even though, my ways may be very different from yours, I still believe we must be objective in our analysis, judgment, and conclusion about others. The NSCDC Commandant,  Mr. Shem’s experience in the hands of Nigerians and the Channel TV personalities cannot be too different from what many of us face on a daily bases.
Some of us have been arbitrarily judged, smashed, squeezed, criticized, and battered for several years because we have failed to be who they want us to be. Different darts and missiles have been thrown at us because they chose to judge us from the first impression they conceived about us. What insult haven’t we received? They will try to judge you by the few words they hear from your mouth. When you use signs and symbols to communicate national issues, they misconstrue every bit of it as you are either tagged the head of Nigeria Illuminati, or they may even try to put your sexuality to question. However, we still love them, and still fight for them even when they don’t really understand why we are here. Some have not even realized the need to hold on to the reality that confronts them today, instead, they are committed to producing gunpowder for the celebration of individual blunder, and they swiftly push national blunder aside.
Yes, the NSCDC Commandant goofed, he failed to give the correct NSCDC website, he wanted his oga at the top to announce that personally, hence he couldn’t go ahead to announce it, as his oga may end up announcing another one later. At first, it appeared to me as if he didn’t understand the question until he got to the point of providing the URL of the website, and then we all laughed when he was unable to provide the web address as demanded. We all laughed at his little or no IT knowledge, and not really because he is not competent enough to do his job. We all laughed because he had displayed some level of confidence right from the beginning of the interview till the point he was to give the website details.
However, is it enough to have made it a trending topic on twitter and on other social sites for days? I must say that we have all failed by pushing aside the lesson and the message of the controversial interview. If you don’t know, the message is simple; there is a systemic failure. We have all failed our country. We have even failed to channel our heavy online presence towards a more positive direction. We have failed to understand that the entire system has no structure as it stands now. If that is not the case, why were we not intelligent enough to see beyond Mr. Shem’s failure and begin to reflect over leadership failure, using the social media platform? It has always remained this way, where only few of us can speak our minds in a country where mediocrity reigns supreme. We have failed to see how mediocre now flood the civil service , but all we are now looking at ,is just Mr. Shem’s blunder. Why???
Members of staff in several organizations know little or nothing about their organization. They can’t even tell ‘categorically’ like Mr. Shem, whether they have an existing or functional website. How effective are various media units that are scattered across different Ministries in the country? NSCDC should even thank God that it was Mr. Shem who failed, and not their media unit, because such would have been possible. I know that majority of Nigerians that work in the civil service are not up to date with the internet social world, as they believe in doing things the old way. You won’t even blame Mr. Shem for not being able to give the correct web address or not being able to add dot.com, because the NSCDC Website, prior to the controversy was almost dormant. How would you expect one to know a website that doesn’t exist or non-functional?
But my pain is simply that we have all failed to tackle the most pressing issues of the day, falling into the trap and deception of the phrase “My oga at the top”. We have been so deceived and then became so careless about our safety, laughing hysterically; with our eyes gazed at “My Oga at the top” until the dreaded Boko Haram found a way to shoot us with their arrows. We laughed until we forgot that we have urgent national issues to address, and the faceless ones hit us hard again in the city of Kano.  What a shame!
While we were busy gossiping, creating cartoons, producing T. Shirts, and cooking beats in the studio to ridicule just a single individual, we lost millions of naira at the Murtula Mohammed Airport, Lagos to some armed men who stormed the airport, harassing both Nigerians and foreigners. I heard they had a swell moment at the airport. You can’t just imagine that armed robbers could succeed even in an International Airport. Where is safe then? “Yet, we were busy with My oga at the top”
While we took the joke to another level, the Boko Haram militants also saw our weaknesses and carefree attitude, and they hit us hard, killing well over 60 people in the Kano bomb attack. They beat all security apparatus in place in the volatile city, because, we refused to watch our back as we were laughing at “ My Oga at the top”
In our usual carelessness, when some people were demanding for amnesty for some faceless people, we kept mummed, because we were only interested in “Oga at the top.” We refused to ask questions on why some people should be advocating for this group.
As good, committed, and patriotic citizens, couldn’t we have embarked on a campaign against violence using the social media platform for that purpose? How many of us are willing to laugh at some of the ogas in the North who have sold the future of our children in the name of leadership tussle? How many of us have been able to tell the Northern leaders that they have failed their people for giving some terrorists the supports they really do not deserve? Yet, we still talk about “My Oga at the top”
These are no time for such jokes as we have better and serious issues to address as Nigerian youth and children. Enough of this “My oga at the top” Stop the rubbish now! Let’s ask them some questions on why we must continue to bury ourselves.’’

Prince Harry Dances with Kids in Africa

Prince Harry is once again proving to be a hit as a goodwill ambassador during his latest trip to Africa.
The prince stopped off in the African kingdom of Lesotho on Wednesday to visit children being supported by a British charity he founded.

Harry got down on his knees to join kids in a dance during his visit to the Kananelo Centre for the deaf in a rural part of the country's capital Maseru. Harry also donned a teddy bear apron while preparing local food with the students and got a lesson in sign language.
The school is one of only two for deaf children in the country and is funded by the 28-year-old prince's charity Sentebale, which supports children who either suffer from HIV/Aids, have been orphaned, or have disabilities.

Omotola Hits Hollywood, Gets A Role In Bounce Series

Nigerian screen goddess Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is set to be a guest star in an American TV drama series shot in LA ‘Bounce. The series stars Kimberly Elise, Dean Cain, Bernie Kopell, Eric Stoltz and Akon amongst others. Bounce is a VH1 series created by James LaRosa, which follows Ahsha, (played by Taylor Paige) a girl who joins the professional basketball dance team, the Los Angeles Devil Girls, unaware of the treacherous and tempting world that follows.

Top 5 Best 2013 Oscars Speeches

This year's Academy Awards saw a few first-timers collect awards (Adele, Jennifer Lawrence) in addition to the veterans that hit the Oscars stage (Ben Affleck, Daniel Day-Lewis) -- but who of these winners gave the most memorable of speeches? Here's the top five acceptance-speech moments from Oscars Sunday:

1. Ben Affleck for Best Picture: The man behind the hit film Argo, Ben Affleck, delivered a speech that had audiences both laughing and grabbing for the tissues. The A-lister attempted to "thank everyone" involved in the film, but left on a serious note, saying as he teared up, "You have to work harder than you think you possibly can. You can't hold grudges. ...And it doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life because that's gonna happen. All that matters is that you gotta get up."

2. Quentin Tarantino for Best Original Screenplay- Winning for Django Unchained, the outlandish director delivered a gracious yet humorous speech that had Django star Kerry Washington in tears. 

3. Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor- Winning for his critically acclaimed role in Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis seemed overwhelmed by his win, but managed to get in a few jokes along the way. "My wife has lived with some very strange men," he joked as he thanked his spouse. On a serious note, he said to his fellow nominees, "I'm so proud to be included as one amongst you."

4. Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress- The Silver Linings Playbook star made quite the entrance onto the oscars stage when she tumbled over her dress. Earning a standing ovation, she opened her speech by saying, "This is nuts!" 

5. Adele for Best Original Song- Adding to her Grammy and Golden Globe wins, Adele picked up an Oscar for her James Bond song skyfall, and like the other winners, she also got rather emotional. What was also moving was her performance of her Oscar-winning song

GUYS CORNER:Top Ten Bad Pickup Lines

For Guys Only…
We can’t exactly have all the right words when we see that hot, inviting girl, strolling..no, swinging past you, or that alone girl quietly reading her novel or taking a slow meal at the eatery. Our blood boils up, our hearts sets on a marathon, and we pump up our creative juices. We become romantic Einsteins. But here’s the pit-hole. We don’t hit the lady with the juice, or with right one. We tend to just ignore our originality and treat her to the first 1992 pickup line that I bet our grandpas have in their get-em-girls diaries. In order to illustrate this, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 bad pickup lines. Can I get a “thank you”? Please?
10
“Great Legs, What Time Do They Open?”
Very funny, right? But it gets you nowhere with her by trying this rubbish. Anytime you imply that a good-looking girl is easy because she’s dressed provocatively and in a bar, you’re committing a huge mistake. If she’s hot, why would she burn her valuable time by listening to you roll  out your insulting crap?
9
“You must be tired because you’ve been running through my head all night.”
This one has been around for longer than most would remember (It was used on my grandma). So if you haven’t heard it, then you just dropped in from the stone age, and if you’re actually still using it, please join us in the 21^st century and leave it where it belongs: in the dumpster. Trying the cheesy angle is a good idea, but it should be at least mildly  original.
8
“Hey girl, what’s up? Guess what? It’s your lucky day. Out of all the girls here, I picked you to talk to.”
“Arrogant little jerk!” So she’ll say when your confidence comes across as stupid arrogance. It won’t work, unless of course you’re a male model and ridiculously good-looking.
7
“That shirt’s very becoming on you. Of course, if I were on you I’d be coming too.”
Offering a girl you just met a sperm bath is not a good way to build attraction. In fact, the lecherous approach always fails. Yeah I know sometimes all we want is a no-strings-attached action, but making reference to any of your body fluids with a rotten pickup line like this one is not how you should go about it.
6
“Can I buy you a drink or do you just want the money?”
She’s no prostitute. Yes she wants to feel attractive, yes she wants to feel sexy, but no, she doesn’t want to feel like a hired worker. By offering her money for sex, you’re not only losing your chance to catch Juliet, you’re also earning yourself a slap on the face, and her non-alcoholic drink poured over your head. At least you won’t die.
5
“Can I have your phone number? I seem to have lost mine.”
Any girl who loves this must have a weekly appointment with a mental institution. If not, she’ll dismiss you as a creep and walk away while you swear under your breath and stew in your defeat. “Go home Son, try again when you reach puberty.”
4
“Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk past again?”
Kinda funny, but also smells like it’s been produced by the cocky machine. Many girls find a cocky swagger cripplingly appealing, particularly if you’re better-than-average looking, but this type of bad pickup line has got egomaniac written all over it.
3
“Excuse me; I think you owe me a drink.”[She says, "Why?"] “Because when I saw you from across the room I dropped mine. It was a Star, and I’m [your name].”
This triggers the bullshit detector in most girls, and you run the danger of being labeled an arse. At this point, you shouldn’t be asking her for things, but you should be offering to make her life better in some small way like buying her a drink.

2
“Is your last name Gillette? Because you’re the best a man can get.”
Guys who use bad pickup lines like this think they’re being cute, but really they’re just wasting time and space and should be barred from entering nightclubs. By referencing slogans and catch phrases they hope to achieve some common bond with the girl, but instead just come across as dorks who watch too much TV.
1
“Do you come here often?”
There are some pickup lines that have worked their way into our collective consciousness and managed to stay there, lodged forever — and this has to be the worst of them all.  Even with a dash of irony, this bad pickup line is likely to send her off in search of a restraining order.
Pickup With Class Not Crass
Pickup lines are totally overrated and unnecessary because their only purpose is to start up a conversation with a girl. There are over a million more effective ways of doing that, but if you must stick to it, make sure it ticks all the right boxes…not to mention, gets you at least 5 minutes of conversation time.
Now go get em, Tiger!

Judge sentences Bobby Brown to 55 days in prison for DUI

Bobby Brown has been sentenced to 55 days in a Los Angeles jail and four years of probation for a drunken driving case.
City attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan says Brown was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to charges he was under the influence and driving on a suspended license when he was arrested in October.
Brown was on probation for another DUI case at the time.
The 44-year-old "New Edition" singer was ordered to report to jail March 20. He also was placed on four years of informal probation and will be required to complete an 18-month alcohol treatment program.
Brown's attorney Tiffany Feder had no immediate comment on the sentence.

RMD in EFCC mess over N50m scandal

Since news broke last week that Richard Mofe Damijo is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for his alleged involvement in a N50 million embezzlement scam, the entire industry has been buzzing, with many hoping the EFCC story is just a joke.

And like Danisa, many waited for days, refusing to reach a conclusion until the man at the centre of it all came out to state his side. But mum is the word so far.

Multiple reports last week say RMD who is currently serving as the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the Delta State Government is wanted for interrogation by the anti-corruption agency in Abuja to explain the disappearance of N50m.

Sahara Reporters says the EFCC already has in its net, one Mrs Nkem Ajufo, the Acting General Manager of the Delta State Tourism Board who the agency claims connived with her boss, RMD to embezzle the said money.

The money, NET gathered, was initially meant for a 2007 Delta Expo event which never held because the fund were not released until May, 2012 under the watch of RMD, the present commissioner of the ministry.

‘The fund disappeared without a trace’, said one source.

It was also alleged that Mr. Mofe Damijo had issued a cheque to the tourism board in the name of its acting GM, Ms. Ajufo who in turn deposited same into her First Bank account with account number (3006131619) operated under her name, Nkem Philo Ajufo.

But there’s no mention of this particular case on the EFCC website. The EFCC usually updates its website with details of on-going cases and convictions. The agency did not immediately respond to our enquiries.

Last year, the 52 year-old commissioner threatened to sue popular blogger, Linda Ikeji for reporting that he had acquired a Lagos property worth about N250million.

No comments yet from RMD and the ministry, as repeated enquiries were yet to be answered as at Sunday night.

It’s uncertain if he’s back from the US, where he recently attended the 55th annual Grammys. And he’s not responded to fan queries on Facebook and Twitter, seeking to know if he’s indeed ‘on the run’.

EXTRA TIME:What Would It Be Ladies: Boxers or Briefs???

Turning through the pages of the magazine is always an enjoyable experience. Not only do the crisp pages of the magazine call out to you, the content is also very appealing. Another ‘selling point’ for these magazines is the pictures of the hot male models. More often than not, perfume ads show the shiny body of a hunk putting on his briefs and looking so hot and inviting. The expression on their faces is usually ‘come hither baby’, smoky eyes daring you to press that magazine page to your cheek. However while we love to look at these pictures, brief wearing men isn’t something we can relate to. Except for older men, most men like to put on boxers for obvious reasons: it’s comfortable and airy for ‘Johnny’ down there. So the brief tradition isn’t familiar; even though it looks good when we see it on these models.
According to research, even though they look so good to men, briefs might actually be detrimental to the individual wearing them. Due to the tightness of these under wears, they cause heat which increases the body temperature making it difficult for the body to produce sperm. This can affect the wearer’s fertility even though it hasn’t been scientifically proven. This isn’t a detriment to guys who wear briefs. According to them it helps take care of impromptu erections and it keeps the ‘family jewels’ well packaged. 
The question now is this: Would these briefs look good on our men? Would you rather see your man in briefs or in his boring old boxers? Ladies, if it were up to you what would it be for your men: good old boxers or hotter-than-sin briefs?

Darey raises the bar with N300m concert

It’s a been over a week since R&B king Darey held Lagos spellbound with his ‘Love Like a Movie’ concert but those who attended the memorable event are still talking about the unforgettable experience.

Darey set high standards on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites, doing something that had never been done before. Where should we start? The jaw dropping vertical stage, the over 20 professional choreographers, flying over Kim Kardashian (and her entourage), the flamboyant costumes, The stunt-acrobats from Italy, One could go on and on.

You saw the output of what had been planned for weeks and like the headline suggests, hundreds of millions went into producing what might just be the best concert ever held in Nigeria.

Let’s do a quick breakdown…

Using the full Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites for a one-day event costs around N25M. Darey’s label Soul Muzik booked the hall for a week to setup the vertical stage, lighting and projectors, prep the choreographers and give time for over five days of rehearsals.

We’re told over 100 rooms were booked for hotel accommodation at the Eko and nearby Hotels – this included meeting rooms, personal rooms for performers, guests and crew members and also feeding. A standard room at Eko Hotels costs between N40-60, 000. One Soul Muzik source says the hotel were ‘support sponsors’, although we could not confirm this.

There are no specific costs for the vertical stage but experts says it may have gulped up to N60m, this would also include the lights and projectors.

On Kim Kardashian’s visit, there have been a lot of speculation – but we can tell you it’s far from the outrageous amounts you’ve heard. There’s no word on how much Kim K was paid but from what we gathered Kim charges from $150K (N24m) upwards for appearances like the one she did for LLAM.

Then there was the massive publicity – insiders say Darey rode on partnership deals with AIT, Beat FM, BHM, Cool FM and hundreds of blogs, newspapers and magazines. But there was a lump sum attached to the ubiquitous online ads deployed using AD Dynamo and Google’s ADwords. PR and Advertising experts who spoke with HMM say it’s okay to put publicity cost at around N100m.

No figures were immediately available for Kaffy’s Imagneto the dance group but we can tell you most of the artistes, including 2face Idibia performed as support for Darey and Soul Muzik.

Then there were the numerous flight expenses – Kim K and her crew (she came in First Class aboard Air France, with Kanye West’s aide and bodyguard and at least two others), and the choreographers from Europe, not to add the cost of costumes, props, transportation etc.

Money well spent, if you ask. Especially as everyone agrees Darey pulled all the stops to challenge stereotypes and give Nigerians a concert they wont forget in a hurry.

HMM gathered it took over six months to put the concert together, with Darey and his crew flying all over the world to seal deals and scout for rare acts. And, the Abuja-based singer moved temporarily to Lagos early this year, to focus full time on the event, according to sources who spoke with NET.

But the big question is who brought all that money to the table? Inside sources say Soul Muzik made initial investment covering most of the cost thanks to VIP table sales. Then there was also support sponsorship from First Bank and Fayrouz. There’s no word yet on what each company coughed out – but both are not known to be heavy spenders.

‘Get A University Degree’ – Davido’s Dad Insists

Despite Davido’s many achievements, it would seem that there is only one thing on his father’s mind: getting him to obtain a university degree. According to thenetng.com, the father to the A-lit star is putting stops in place to ensure that his son goes to the university and obtains a degree.
Net reports that a new department for Creative Arts at the Babcock University where Davido, his manager Kamal and hopefully his cousin Shina Rambo will be joining him. Resources have also been put in place to ensure that his education and showbiz can run simultaneously.
We are on Mr. Adeleke side with this one; there is no lasting legacy like education.

A Whisper From Beyond: Dagrin Mixtape To Be Released This Friday

News emanating from credible sources have reached us that a new Dagrin mixtape titled Blood money is to be released on Friday February 22, 2013.
Featuring 11 tracks, four skits and samples of Dagrin’s previous and unreleased works, the mixtape was put together by Kosofo Entertainment, run by his first manager Ola Badmus. The mixtape production was a collaborative effort between Sossick and Laylow who were his producer-friends.
As an extension of his death anniversary on April 22, a documentary and fresh video clips from friends and associates will be released.
Prior to his untimely death, Dagrin, 26, released two solo albums; still on the matter and C.E.O.