AMAZING PHOTOS: Weapons Turn Into Work of Art

Liberia -- For the past few years, the founder of the Liberia-based Fyrkuna Metalworks Manfred Zbrzezny and his team of skilful craftsmen have been collecting weapons scrap -- relics of the West African country's vicious civil conflict -- for their Arms into Art project.

From their open-sided workshop near Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, the artisans expertly cut, melt and weld scrap metals to fashion them into intricate sculptures. In their hands, decommissioned AK-47s, RPG launchers and bazookas are transformed into elaborate candle stands, whimsical lamps and even life-size metal trees.

"What was an instrument of suffering can become something beautiful and useful," says Zbrzezny, a German/Italian artistic blacksmith who's been calling Liberia home since the mid-2000s. "I want to do something serene out of all these things that are violent and nasty," he adds. "I prefer doing my pieces a little bit funny or sweet, instead of doing something macabre or rough."

Remnants of war
For materials, Fyrkuna first relied on the decommissioned instruments of warfare gathered during Liberia's disarmament process.
On some occasions, individuals who've come to know their work have also brought in discarded guns they've found for the craftsmen to work with. Zbrzezny, whose team of Liberian workers includes four staff and two trainees, says he is now looking to expand the project and hopefully export of some of his artwork abroad.
"I am trying to convince the United Nations mission in Liberia to turn over their weapons scrap to me so I could continue this work," he says.

'Healing process'
Liberia, the oldest republic in Africa, descended into darkness in 1989, mired in the grip of a brutal civil war that shattered much of its economy and infrastructure.
{read_more}Although the fighting came to an end in 2003, leaving an estimated 250,000 people dead and thousands more displaced, many in Liberia still bear the deep scars of years of conflict.

"There's nobody who wasn't affected by the war," says Zbrzezny, who first traveled to Liberia before the end of the conflict in 2003.
He describes Fyrkuna's work as a way of helping the nation heal its wounds by transforming the destructive devices of its war-torn past into something positive.

"Looking at Arms into Art the majority of people remains thoughtfully silent," he says. "This moment of silence acts like a flashback, a remembering of the war and ... is also an indicator for me that there is a long psychological work to do on the war issue. There is still a lot of digestion on that and I hope somehow I'm part of that."

What Is Wrong With This Picture ?

What do you all think is wrong with this picture?

Will you allow your girlfriends to wear this? or 
Ladies, will you allow your friend dress like this on a night out

"Nollywood Is Dead" - Emeka Ike

He is one of the most popular actors in Nigeria. This is because he’s probably one actor who has kissed all the ladies who ever acted love roles in Nollywood films featuring him.

Emeka Ike is a role model to youths too. Ike has acted in a good number of classic movies like Leap of Faith, Love Doctor    amongst others. In spite of the glamour and fame of being an actor,  Ike said he sometimes regrets being a celebrity. In this encounter with The Entertainer, Ike explains why he regrets being a celebrity and bares his mind on other issues.

Excerpts:
You seem to be taking a break from acting. Why ?
It’s not only me you don’t see in movies these days. You don’t see other big names as well. You don’t see all of us the way you used to see us then. We aren’t as current and regular as before. This is because lately, a problem I have been lamenting over has sent everybody back to the drawing board. So, we are all making one movie in a year now. I just made my own movie recently. What they are doing now isn’t the Nollywood l know. Now, they are making a movie and cutting it into10 parts.
I have so many detractors in the industry and this resulted from my many grouses  with  some stakeholders. Another problem I  have stems from my opposition to  the international cable system. I questioned why they should be showing many of our movies without paying us, which is against the UNESCO charter. Contract or no contract, there is a UNESCO charter that mandates them to pay us and we are signatories to it. I’ve been complaining about it before 2009. I have been warning that Nollywood was dying. Now, is Nollywood not dead? Is Idumota open? There’s crisis in the Actors Guild. Why are Pound road and  Ebinpejo lane shut down? Where are all those marketing places in Aba where we used to make noises, they are all shut down.
(cuts in) Isn’t that as a result of piracy?
No. Were you not there when the former Censors Board chairman, Emeka Mba, which you have made your NBC chairman now,  stood up and said if you don’t pay me N5.5m don’t release any movie? The marketers supported him and  arrested everybody and that  pushed everybody out of the market. DSTV and HITV were reigning and they were pushing for these television stations to be the most watched, so that Nollywood could go under and everyone watching Nollywood could then watch the movies on the cable. That was the trick, the game plan, but I stood up against that and they went around and started using  divide and rule. Some actors would talk both left and right. “Emeka Ike says  TV stations are not honoring our rights” and some actors would go behind to the stations to say “no you are the best. These TV stations are doing us proud”, when the stations have not been paying them  entitlements. Such entitlements  should be enjoyed by their children’s children even when they are gone. That’s the crisis and they began to turn other colleagues  against me. Anyone that is fighting Emeka Ike among other actors would be given free publicity.
They would sponsor the person and give him or her heavy money, because Emeka Ike wants them out of business and they don’t want to stop the multi-billion Naira business. It’s like I’m carrying the whole Nigerian problem on my head. Everyone is saying “oh! Nollywood is going to the next level. We are doing the best and the next level is now we are doing three movies in a month!” What happens to the job of those who employed hundred people. They say those are bad movies but I ask, what happens to progressive rise, what happens to competition? Do your good movies let me do my bad one? Does your celluloid let me do my HD 1?. Let me go and shoot for CDs. All the scandals  about Emeka Ike today are just  attacks on my person for daring to be outstanding.
How can  government resolve the crisis?
The government can only address the situation by calling on all the aggrieved parties. If they can invite  my guild, the Actors’ Guild, every other guild  would fall in. If they can unify the  various factions in the guild, every other guild would come together. Other guilds or associations come second, but they are using the producers to cause havoc. They are causing divisions, tribal divisions and segregating  us  and because many of us do not really think of the future of the Nigerian movie, they go and collect the $10,000 or  $5,000 they’re offered. This is just  part payment for showing our movies once on their channel , but they accept these peanuts and the TV stations show the movies everyday. I have the statistics.  Ambassador Chris Chukwu once said that a certain entertainment firm wanted to buy our movies for $120,000 back then, but  then we were just struggling to make quality movies that could pass through. Now we are making such movies, yet our movies are selling to cables for N40,000 and even less. Who does that take care of? No wonder many of my colleagues are dying.
An actor who used to land five or ten jobs in a month now can’t even boast of a job in six months. The ones he did before have become a problem. He has become too popular for his pockets. He can’t even take care of himself. There’s no piracy anywhere. Television stations are the pirates because they show our movies with impunity.  The boys in Alaba are the ones now doing parts 1 to 20 movies. So, they can’t pirate themselves. Then television stations can afford to shun  Emeka Ike’s noise  because they know all the government functionaries. So, who is Emeka Ike to stop them? My colleagues have kept quiet about it and I sometimes wonder why I should stand alone. My wife sometimes tells me that even the people I am fighting for don’t even know the importance of the fight. They are moving on as if nothing is at stake and they are even playing with these stations. But I usually say that the fight is for our children. That is what l keep telling her. But sometimes I get tired of it all.  This is because the people I am fighting for are even against me. That’s a man that has not been paid royalties for years.
If you were to come again to this earth, would you still tread same path?
No, I won’t. In fact, to tell you the truth, I sometimes regret being an actor and  a celebrity. I don’t have  privacy. Sometimes, people embarrass me  by addressing me rudely on the streets. Some say, hey! O’ boy how now? No be you we dey call? So, because you don become star you dey do Shakara?
I am also unhappy about  the way we handle things in this part of the world. We don’t like people who say the truth. There are so many sycophants out there and they only want to pull others down to rise. People that even got up riding on your back, now try to pull you down in order to be relevant.
What’s your  driving force in  your career?
Apart from working with God, my ability  to formally attend  school and  wanting  to obtain a better degree  makes me   strive for excellence in all I do.  This helped me to acquire more skills and I read engineering. I am sure if you go to campuses they would tell you that engineering students are brilliant .
How about the training of 40 Niger Delta ex-militants we learned you were doing?
We trained  Niger Delta militants at the  Youths Academy ,West Africa in Ghana (MY Academy). It was pleasant  working with them.  We found out how innocent and sincere they were to know the truth and  learn . It was a pleasure to be used by God to relay their next phase in  life to them. Our aim was to train and empower them and we have trained them now. I worked with them at the National Institute for Film (NAFTI) in Ghana and  we’re impressed about the results of their projects. When we came back to Nigeria for the market place experience, we were able to make a more fantastic discovery. It was fun working with them, we were able to shoot and edit a film in five days with HD 1 camera. We were able to realize a fantastic project. They served as both the cast and production crew of the production. They watched me shoot and edit the film on set.  It was just a relaxing  experience for them. The film we shot is about malaria and it has been nominated by the American Embassy for this year’s World Malaria Day. It would be screened at the World Intellectual Property/ Anti-counterfeit Day. We edited and shot the film in less than one month. You are going to see a showcase of rare talents and if these boys were able to make such  quality films in such a short time, less than a month, it shows we have a lot to offer.
Ordinarily, it was something we would have gone to South Africa to shoot and make it look like the ones we have in Nigeria to look like they didn’t know what they were doing.  So, what my company did was to relate with people at  the grassroots and relate with the very core professionals and we jointly trained them to shoot the movie.
Tell us about your love life?
As a man, your parents would have trained you to know the qualities to look for in a lady you could have as yours. When I met her, she was down to earth. She was very humble. She was not over assuming, assertive or arrogant . She wasn’t putting on an act, and l like someone who is very natural. That was the attraction.
She is an educationist and her first degree was in English. She also holds a Masters Degree in Education Management. She upgraded her studies in my home and soon became an educationist but she had been an organized person and well-groomed before we met. She was a young girl  when we met.
Outside the glamour of a screen god, who really is Emeka Ike?
I cherish my privacy so much. I have not been to a beer parlor in  a very long time. I am a  highly organized person. Emeka Ike is not out there where it is loud. I don’t do clubs. You don’t see me in functions all the time. I appear in places where my business interests would be protected. You find me in a serene and private place.
What’s your take on drinking and smoking?
When we attained stardom, we were so excited and we wanted to celebrate it. We took beer, Hennessey and all that. But now, I am grown-up, I don’t drink beer or any alcohol anymore. The doctor has warned me against drinking and l am adhering to his warning. I have grown up and I am now a father. I am a married man.  I hope I haven’t painted an angelic image of an Emeka Ike. I’m just a human being. I am just a young man striving for excellence in my career, not a saint. My detractors should mind their business and allow me to be focused on my career.
What values did you learn from your parents?
My father is mostly responsible for the kind of personality l have grown to be over the years. I always protect my integrity. He wasn’t a cleric but he sheltered many worshippers, people from lowly backgrounds. Many who never even met him. Their welfare meant a lot to him.
What pranks did you play as a boy?
Ah! in those days, I remember we ate from rituals placed at three-way junctions. We reasoned that those who placed those eggs there were fools. We ate and enjoyed the eggs and nothing happened to us, because we never believed anything evil could happen to us.
A popular actor in the United States, Arnold Schwazeneggar, once campaigned for political office and became a governor of California. Do you nurse a political  ambition later in life?
The humanitarian work I am doing is not for political purposes, but if  I am invited to lead, if Nigerians or people in my state see the leadership traits in me, my integrity , I can offer myself for service. I have been a leader all along. I have led the actors’ guild, I have led several youths organizations in Nigeria too . I have led  Nollywood actors even without being their leader. I have given inspirational speeches on many campuses in Nigeria. I am a motivational speaker. I was at the national youth summit at the National Arts Theatre to give a motivational speech to millions of Nigerian youths. So, it’s not something l can’t do. I think the elite in Nigeria should now get involved in politics. This is because it’s when the sane people say no to politics that the insane ones took to it and have taken over. 
Christians say this world is not my home, I am just passing through, then some people heard that and said so, this world is not your own, and took  guns and started killing people. Anyone can  go into politics. That’s part of what I have preached in my forthcoming movie; a sister who became aware of malaria took the campaign to the villages to enlighten the people about it and succeeded in educating her people on how to prevent malaria. The movie ended on a note that anywhere you are and whatever you are, take your civility to your village and see how you can assist the dying ones. It was a movie  ex-militants produced and acted in.

Queen’s College Employee Arraigned For Fooling Woman

An employee of Queen’s College, Popoola Oyelola, 53, has been arraigned before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court for allegedly duping a woman, who wanted to rent the school hall for a wedding and paid N180, 000 to rent this hall.
The complainant, who identified herself only as Mrs. Bassey, told the court she met Oyelola after being directed to him by the management of the school.
She said, “I gave him N180, 000 for the rent of the school hall although the price was N280,000 because I was told that the school gives out the hall at that amount to ex-students. And since my sister is an ex-student, I went through her.
“But, all Mr. Oyelola did was to give us an undertaken, and said he would give us the receipt a day after.”
Oyelola was said to have collected money for a couple’s wedding reception, but on the wedding day, the reception hall was occupied for another programme, and the newly-weds with their guests were turned back.
The defendant admitted collecting the N180,000 from Bassey, and said he would refund it.
When the magistrate asked him where Bassey’s money was, Oyelola said, “I promise to pay back the money in bits.”
Oyelola was arraigned on one count of stealing, which he pleaded not guilty.

The music star was involved in a car accident in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The accident wrecked his N15m Porsche Panamera.

Wizkid was involved in an accident around 3: 30am this morning in front of GET Arena as he left the Nokia Lumia Beat party which held at the Oriental Hotel in Lekki.
Fortunately, the only thing damaged in the accident was the Porsche Panamera S car worth about N10m which he recently purchased. Wizkid and other passengers in the car were unhurt.
According to my Linda Ikeji's paparazzi who witnessed the accident and took the photos, the accident was caused by a burst tyre. Wizkid, who wasn't the one driving, was quickly taken away in another car.
His bodyguard stayed behind to get the vehicle towed.

Stop impersonating me, Ameachi warns Jang…tells Governors to shun NGF meeting for Monday

LEGISREPORTS NG – The Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has sent a strong warning to his Plateau State counterpart, Governor Jonah Jang to desist from impersonating him as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).
The warning came in a statement issued following Ameachi’s call on Governors to shun a meeting of members of the NGF scheduled to hold on Monday by Governor Jang who considers himself Chairman of the forum.
According to Ameachi, the power to summon a meeting of members the NGF resides solely in his grip as the elected Chairman of the forum, thereby making void Jang’s call.
The Rivers State Governor further described Jang’s decision to summon a meeting of Governors in the NGF as a move that impugns on the integrity of the body.
He said: “As governors who hold our people’s mandate through the democratic process of free and fair elections, we would do anything to impugn our integrity.
“However as chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, elected by my colleagues to safeguard their integrity and that of the forum it has become imperative for me to request my brother and Governor Jang to remain within the confines of decorum and cease to impersonate me and to stop parading himself as NGF chairman. There is only one chairman of the forum, duly elected by a vote tally of 19: 16 on Thursday, May 23, 2013.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I as chairman of the NGF have not called for any Governors’ Forum meeting for Monday, June 16, 2013. The only meeting scheduled for Monday June 16, is a meeting of all Governors with His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan scheduled to hold at 9pm at Aso Rock Villa. All governors should please ensure attendance at this meeting with Mr. President.
“I wish to reassure my brother governors that this storm shall pass and we all will be reunited as one family committed to our nation’s unity and supporting Mr. President in his vision for a Nigeria that safeguards the rights of all its citizens to good governance and democratic norms.
“Governor Jang is my brother and friend and I harbor no ill feelings against him, but it is important that he stops this impersonation, as it could threaten all the good work we all have done together.”
Governor Ameachi further drew Governor Jang’s attention to the legal action instituted against him as a result of the latter parading himself as Chair of the NGF.
“May I remind Governor Jang that there is a legal action that has been instituted against him by Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State from parading himself as the chairman of NGF.
He added that “as leaders elected by our people, Nigerians are closely watching us. We must comport our selves according the dictates and principles of democratic and lawful practices and norms.”
This report was prepared by our reporter in Abuja

Eagles bonus row not resolved, says Enyeama

  BELO HORIZONTE  (AFP) – Nigeria captain Vincent Enyeama said on Sunday that the row over bonuses that delayed the squad’s arrival at the Confederations Cup had not been resolved, but the players were putting it to the back of their minds. The African champions did not arrive in Brazil until the early hours of Sunday morning, just 36 hours before their Group B opener against minnows Tahiti on Monday, after missing their scheduled flights on Thursday.
The players were unhappy about being offered bonus payments of $2,500 (1,873 euros) following a 1-1 draw with Namibia in World Cup qualifying and had demanded double that amount from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Mikel, Enyeama and Anichebe

A truce was eventually brokered by Sports Minister Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, but on the eve of their entrance into the Confederations Cup, Enyeama revealed that the players were still not satisfied.
“We haven’t settled anything, but we’ve moved on and everything is normal,” the Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper told journalists.
“We accept the criticisms, we’re responsible for our actions and we stay as a team.
“For now, this act is behind us. We’re professionals. We don’t want to talk about this — it’s about the past and we don’t want to spend our energy on these things.
“After the championship we’ll revisit it, but for now we’re done.”
Coach Stephen Keshi, seated beside Enyeama at the pre-game press conference, refused to criticise his players, but admitted he was concerned about the effects of their late arrival.
“I’m not going to tell you I’m upset with the players. The decision depends on the circumstances around it,” he said.
“We’re here, which is the most important thing. We’re here to make Africa proud and Nigeria proud. Whatever has happened before is behind us and we just need to concentrate and play our game.
“I’m a bit worried about fatigue. We have been working mentally and otherwise so the team is in shape, but the fatigue is what I’m worried about. I hope everything will be OK for tomorrow (Monday).”
Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi had apparently been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury, but Keshi said he could yet link up with the squad if he is able to prove his fitness in Nigeria.
“I’m still waiting for a call from Onazi,” Keshi said.
“He’s back in Nigeria to fix something on his knee and I hope he’ll call me with good news he’s coming back.
“There’s a time limit. When we arrived this morning, it was the first thing we addressed. If we can get any information from Onazi, we can go ahead before the game.”
Although Tahiti have just one professional player in their 23-man squad and are ranked 107 places below Nigeria in the world, Keshi dismissed the suggestion that Monday’s game in Belo Horizonte would be a walk-over.
“I don’t think there’s a weak team in this tournament,” he said.
“With all due respect to Spain, Brazil and everyone, I think every team here has made their way to be here and deserves to be respected.
“Tahiti deserve a lot of respect for being here. It’s true my team has a lot of fatigue, but we’ll try to work something out.
“We’ll prepare for Tahiti like we prepare for Uruguay, Spain, Japan or whoever we play against.”

10 Things Women Should Never Lie to Men About

When interacting with the opposite sex, communication is everything. Simply put, authenticity is everything. It's not always easy to be transparent when you’re getting to know each other, but it’s 100 percent necessary. Keeping things honest will help you avoid leading Mr. Wrong or turning Mr. Right off. Be yourself and be real. Little white lies will get you nowhere, especially in these 10 categories.


Your Birthday
I know the rule: You never ask a woman her age. However, when it comes to dating, this rule must be broken. Don’t lie about your age. If he’s turned off, at least you will know where you both stand immediately. Lying about your age will instantly make you seem insecure, especially if you’re older. Who says PYTs have an age limit? Keep it real, ladies!


How Much You Like Sports
Your interest in sports isn't as important to him as you think. As long as he can watch the game, he's fine. You don't have to watch it with him. If you really aren’t that interested in his favorite football or basketball team, it shouldn’t bother him one bit. But if he takes sports seriously and you’re misquoting stats, butchering player's names and feigning interest in the score, it will be more annoying than endearing. He will know if your interest is genuine or not, so don’t fake it.

Your Number
Discussing your sexual history is always tricky, but it's unavoidable if things between you are becoming serious. I know all women won't be in agreement here but, when it does come up, I say be open and honest about it. If he asks how many people you've slept with before him, don't give him the "safe" number. Give him the real one. If he can't handle your answer, that's on him—not you. He should've taken heed when his mother told him to never ask a woman a question you don't want the answer to.


Your Cooking Abilities
Nothing’s more disappointing for a man than to be promised a "life changing" home-cooked meal only to be served a plate full of watery macaroni and cheese and questionable meat. So you don’t know your way around a kitchen, that’s fine. It doesn't make you less of a woman. Tell the truth and give him the chance to impress you with his skills. If you’re both clueless, you can always order take-out.


Your Marriage Goals
Most women assume that talking about marriage will scare a man off, but that’s false. The man that’s right for you will want to know where you really stand—especially if he’s on a different path. There is a way to be open about where you desire to be in the future in terms of your relationship without putting too much pressure on the present situation. Saying you don’t want to be married when you clearly do, will send him running for the hills.


Your Real Thoughts On His Inner Circle
If you’re not “cool” with his inner circle, you shouldn’t pretend to be. While you should keep an open mind when getting to know them, it's imperative that you find a way to be open with him about your reservations instead of forcing yourself to hang out with people you just don’t care for.


How Cool You Are With Him Having "Female Friends"
Not every woman will be comfortable with her man's best friend forever being a female. This is something you must be honest with yourself and him about up front. The issues you overlook in the beginning can potentially become romantic barriers later on down the line. Don’t tell him you’re “cool with it” when you’re not. He’ll see right through this one fast.


The Ex-Factor
If your ex is still in the picture, say so. It’s just as important not to hide a connection to an ex, as it is for him to reveal any women in his life. As long as you both keep it real in this department, there will be no unwanted surprises.


Your Bedroom Activities
Don’t ever tell a man he’s the best you’ve ever had unless it's the actual truth. You may want to feed his ego, but it won’t work that way if you’re lying. If you tell him he's the best then he has no room to improve. Compliment him but don't overdo it. He’ll appreciate it the realness.


The "Real" You
Additions and enhancements are cool, but at some point the man you’re dating should be able to meet the real you. I am attempting to tread lightly here. I know that at times certain outfits may require some "help.” But don’t let padded bras, body shapers and hair weaves mask the real you. That’s who he is most interested in, promise. Or at least, Mr. Right should be.

Why we oppose use of condom – Catholic church

The Catholic church says it opposes artificial family planning techniques, because it encourages bastardisation of sexual activities by young people and “impedes normal procreation.”
The Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Ralph Madu, made this clarification in a response to an enquiry by The PUNCH on Sunday.
He said, “The Catholic Church believes that modern means, including the use of condoms is morally bad because it impedes normal procreation. You can meet with your wife when you do not want children and those periods when the woman is not fertile instead of having to destroy the sperm and all other forms of artificial prevention.
“They are very artificial means and they do not really give the moral lesson that borders around the use of the sexual organs.
“The one that gives you the opportunity to exercise your sexual urge without the consequences is the natural method and the church says you should go for the natural means.”
According to him, the excuse that it reduces the spread of HIV/AIDS remains invalid and untenable, adding HIV/AIDS is a disease that is prevalent among young people.
Madu added, “When you are talking about condom among young people, you are also talking about promiscuity. People have adduced arguments in case of people with HIV/AIDS and especially couples who do not want children. The use of condom and other modern means are being bastardised among young young people because they will resort to the use of condom so that they can have sex freely without impregnating the woman or getting pregnant.
“Those are various artificial means and the church is strongly against them. Instead, the church endorsed the natural method of copulation.”

Nigerians Cry Out: "Our Villages Threatened By Erosion"

In the village of Ideani in Anambra state, the community town hall and the only school have collapsed as gullies are rapidly expanding. It's now the rainy season and tropical rains will continue to dump on the region until September, digging ditches more than 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep.
Resident Ifeanyi Okeke lives about 100 meters from the nearest gully. In his village, Abatete, he said a building falls every month and there has been no response from authorities.
"There are a number of buildings that are now threatened by gullies," said Okeke. "Some very near the schools. Particularly the one near the girls' secondary school."
Anthony Chigbo, the head Nigerian research company Gallop Polls Nigeria Ltd., said 1,000 additional buildings in the Nigerian southeast are at "immediate risk" if nothing is done.
"It's a physical threat. A lot of studies have been done, but it appears the government does not have the type of funding required to challenge the menace of erosion," he said.
Gullies entirely cut some villages off from towns and cities, slowing commerce and deepening poverty in the region where most people live on less than $1 a day. To work outside other villages, people have to park cars or motorcycles far from home and navigate the gullies by foot.
Two years ago, a couple was killed when their car fell into a gully. But Chigbo says its not just lives and livelihoods threatened by the erosion.
"Children are no longer allowed to play like they used to play," he said. "Playing football or tales by moonlight for fear that they might fall into the gully and then lose their lives. During rainy season parents are always apprehensive when their wards are going to the school because they don't know, if it rains. The rain might carry someone into the gully."
Erosion is also tearing down highways and washing away farmland and other infrastructure in the already underdeveloped region. Poor development planning is also a contributing factor to erosion, as gullies form in areas that have been stripped of forestland or where buildings were put up near what would be natural waterways.
For the most part, locals say the only way to prevent buildings from falling is to brace the gullies with sandbags or dig shallow holes to slow the flow of water through the gully. But it doesn't always work.
The government is aware of the problem, said Anambra State Commissioner for Information Joe Martins. But he declined to give specifics about what it is doing to help.
"The ministry is concerned and trying to checkmate it as much as possible," he said. "The environment ministry and the ministry of technology, they are on top of it."
The power of the rains in Nigeria, however, have long overwhelmed government efforts to prevent destruction. Last summer, hundreds of people were killed and millions more were displaced because of flooding.
And as the rains get heavier with each passing week, authorities say this summer may be no better.

• Erosion is the process by which soil and rock are removed from the Earth's surface by exogenetic processes such as wind or water flow, and then transported and deposited in other locations.
• While erosion is a natural process, human activities have increased by 10-40 times the rate at which erosion is occurring globally. 
• Excessive erosion causes problems such as desertification, decreases in agricultural productivity due to land degradation, sedimentation of waterways, and ecological collapse due to loss of the nutrient rich upper soil layers.

I sometimes regret being a celebrity – Emeka Ike

Controversial actor, Emeka Ike, who was recently awarded a Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM) ambassadorship, has surprisingly stated that he “sometimes regrets being a celebrity” – oh really?

In a recent interview with a national newspaper, Emeka Ike said, “‘In fact, to tell you the truth, I sometimes regret being an actor and a celebrity. I don’t have  privacy. Sometimes, people embarrass me by addressing me rudely on the streets. Some say, hey! O’ boy how now? No be you we dey call? So, because you don become star you dey do Shakara?

Actress Stella Damasus Finds Love Again; Set To Get Married!

Stella, is it for real or it is just a stylish accessory?

“If it looks like it then it is. It does abi? then it is! For me to boldly wear this, I know what it would cause, so I am saying let them talk. 

“Yes I am wearing an engagement ring, whether it is for fashion or for real nobody knows. It is left for you to decide whether it is for real or I am wearing it for fashion or I am simply looking for trouble,” she told a reporter.

It would be recalled that Stella once married Jaiye Aboderin, a promising man who died mysteriously. She dated other men before settling down with Nzeribe, unfortunately the marriage didn’t last six months before it got dissolved.

We hope the 'new' man is for real this time. *wink*