Messi named La Liga player of month...for first time

Barcelona - In a stellar 12-year career, Lionel Messi has won the world player of the year award five times and broken endless goalscoring records, but he had never been named player of the month in Spain, until now.

The 28-year-old Argentine forward received the award for La Liga's player of the month for January on Friday, the first time he has won a prize inaugurated in 2013.

Also read: Barca, Real Madrid rivalry spills into Copa del Rey final

His eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo won the award back in November 2013 and the likes of Atletico Madrid pair Antoine Griezmann and Diego Godin and Nolito of Celta Vigo have won it twice.

Messi, meanwhile, has had to wait until now despite winning the La Liga title seven times in his career.

As well as winning the Ballon d'or in January, Messi scored six goals in five games in La Liga to help Luis Enrique's side hold a three-point lead at the top of the table over Atletico Madrid while also having a game in hand.

Messi, who became the all-time leading scorer in La Liga in 2014, has scored 298 goals in Spain's top flight and will have the chance to reach the 300 mark at home to Celta on Sunday.

Facebook records massive adoption in Nigeria

Lagos  - Some 16 million people in Nigeria visit popular social networking site, Facebook every month, the company’s Head of Africa has disclosed.

Further statistics suggest all these users access the service on mobile while each day, some 7,2 million people visit Facebook, with 7 million on mobile.

Nunu Ntshingila, Head of Africa for Facebook, disclosed the figures to coincide with Friends Day (February 4), which is Facebook’s 12th birthday.

She said during the past five years, the global Facebook community had more than doubled in size, and its community in Nigeria continued to grow.

Ntshingila said they would this year deepen their partnerships with Nigerian businesses.

“We’re committed to Nigeria, and during this visit we shared insights with our business and agency partners on how to deliver personalised marketing, at scale, where people are – on their mobile phone. We want to make sure Nigeria - its people, its agencies and its businesses - realise the opportunity that technology and mobile bring,” she said.

She said they knew the mobile platform people used the most in Nigeria was Facebook and up to 77 percent of Nigerians on Facebook used their mobile device to discover new products and services.

“Nigerians are sophisticated mobile users and this sophistication is increasing fast – people are ahead of businesses, and we’re here,” Ntshingila said

Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President, EMEA, at Facebook, said Friends Day in Nigeria was about hearing the stories of the community using Facebook our platform to grow and connect with others.

“We have made amazing progress over the past year.  We’re only 1 percent done in Nigeria and inspired to do even more in this fast-moving, mobile first country,” said Mendelsohn

Newest trend in town for all hip-hop lovers

   Click here to download the latest single by the news.

Davido is having social media troubles

Lagos - Music star Davido is not happy with social media, and the way it has evolved.

The HKN star had earlier tweeted that he doesn’t have time for social media anymore because he is making too much money and a Twitter users response annoyed Davido.

“Is social media really social media anymore??? Or a place for gossip and to bash ourselves or release false or altercated news” he tweeted.

Rap artist MI reveals his dating phobias.

Everybody has got their phobias. For some, it is fear of water and for others it may be fire or even the dark. The legendary Gaul tribe historically were renowned for their fearlessness but they had the mortal fear of the heavens falling down on them. For our top rap star, Mr Incredible aka (M.I) abaga, his fear has to do with the so-called light-skinned girls.

MI confessed to Potpourri in an interview that he lives in mortal fear of fair girls because he believes most of them are not natural. He said before he would take one for a wife he would need to see a picture of her as a vhild just to make sure she is naturally fair and not artificial. According to him, most girls have bleached their skins for so long that it almost looks natural.

“ Talking about the physical side of what I want in a woman, I want my children to be tall, so, she must be tall because I am not tall. Then I don’t care about complexion. If she is fair, that would be a problem because I would have to see  her childhood picture to confirm if she’s natural or artificial. Most ladies that claim to be fair or appear to be fair these days get unnatural means to achieve it. So, getting her childhood picture would tell me all I need to know concerning her true complexion”, he declares

He however conceded that he would take in any girl claiming to have got pregnant for him if he has the proof that they have had sexual relations before.

“Yes, if I have a proof that we have been together and done it because I believe that the best way for a child to be raised is for  both parents to be around. Look at somebody like 2Face he has shown love to all his kids and they are very close. Not only that, he has also maintained a good relationship with the mothers. When such situations arise, the best you can do is to make the most of it by staying true to yourself and be fair to all concerned” he quipped.

Funmi Sax, friends in Art of Worship..

Funmi Sax and friends are determined to make this Christmas season worthwhile for lovers of Gospel music.

The young lady saxophonist and her friends have chosen Sunday, December 27 as a day to give their fans free but memorable Christmas vibes. The praise concert is not holding for the first time. The saxxy Funmi started the event way back as a young girl in the music industry while preparing for further education.

“God just dropped it in my heart and I decided to walk in that vision. I started the first concert in a church hall in 2008 and it has been on since then,” she told our correspondent.

But it was not a straight run into 2015 Christmas season. Funmi took a break from 2009 to 2002 in pursuit of her studies at the Yaba College of Technology. She returned to the stage in 2013 and she says she has packaged this edition to be a big hit with the fans.

The event holding at Oregun, Lagos, will also feature Pat Uwaje-King of the Midnight Crew, Mayowa Adenrele, Efe Nathan, Kachy, Imoleayo and Kenny Blaq, in what has been tagged Art of Worship.

“These guys have been supportive, committed and selfless. They bought into the idea and we are in together for 2015,” Funmi sax said.

“I can say I have been able to reach the 70 per cent level and I believe God to achieve more. The idea is to bring Christians and unbelievers to worship God in truth and spirit. One of the best ways to adore and worship deep from our hearts is through music and that is what we want to achieve with a good concert like this.”

Here’s R-Kelly’s duet with Wizkid – ‘I Just Want To Thank You’...

It’s another international collabo in the bag for Nigerian superstar, Wizkid. This time, Wizkid is featured in American R&B king, R. Kelly’s 13th studio album ‘The Buffet‘ on the 14th Track titled ‘I Just Want to thank you’. Earlier in the year, Wizkid’s Ojuelegba single got a remix featuring Drake and Skepta. the song also listed among the world’s biggest songs of 2015.... 
Click to listen here

Breaking: UEFA President, Michel Platini loses suspension appeal

That's the epic challenge the young designers will face tonight on Project Runway: Junior when Michelle Obama stops by, and we have your first look at the Lifetime reality hit's contestants' priceless reactions!

In the exclusive sneak peek above, the designers are utterly shocked when the First Lady appears on a TV screen to present their latest challenge and advocate for "girl power." 

Jaxson, 15, says, "I'm super-stoked because it's, like, Michelle Obama!" Zachary, 16, adds, "This is not real!"

Oh, it is. And she's offering up the biggest opportunity of their career...and to help out millions of young girls in the process. Obama presents a "Girl on the Go" challenge to the designers in support of Let Girls Learn, which helps adolescent girls worldwide stay in school and get an education, and the winner will get to design a special backpack for Lands' End, which will be sold on the brand's site. "It would mean the world to me to design a backpack for a good cause," Peytie, 15, says. 

In a parting message to the designers, Obama says, "Designers, good luck, have  fun and I can't wait to see what you all create!"

Featuring designers between the ages of 13-17, Project Runway: Junior is hosted by fan-favorite Tim Gunn and model Hannah Davis, with Christian Siriano, a former winner, serving as one of the judges.

 challenge in support of Let Girls Learn, an initiative to help adolescent girls stay in school.   

Project Runway: Junior airs tonight at 9 p.m. on Lifetime. 

Rihanna low-key announces she'll be showing at NYFW

Divorce: She still receives phone calls from men – Husband

A 30-year-old advert representative, Happiness Uwah, on Tuesday at the Igando Customary Court, Lagos called for the dissolution of her six months union to Martins Uwah over alleged battery. According to Happiness, her estranged husband was in the habit of beating her at the slightest provocation. The couple had dated each other for about two years before the traditional wedding was consummated six months ago.

Happiness added that her now estranged husband smokes, the habit he did not exhibit during courtship, saying that she does not love him anymore. “The first day the beating started, I was sick, so he asked me not to take any drugs that we should get to the hospital first and do all the necessary tests. “He told me to wind down and ask for the turning to Subol Hospital, but I told him I was familiar with the turning; but he suddenly stopped and asked a passerby.

“The man said we had passed the turning, he hit my head and started beating me, I had to go home,’’ she said. Martins in response to the allegations told the court that he still loves his wife and said that Happiness behaviour towards him only depict “someone who does not want to stay married.“

“It is true that I beat her, but I have apologised. She flares up at almost anything, there was a day we wanted to have our morning devotion, I told her to off her phone she refused. “She got angry and went to the living room, I went to talk to her, and held her, she told me not to touch her, I left her, then l went back and beat her severely.

“She still receives phone calls from men. I always tell her that we were married by tradition, even though we were still preparing for our church wedding. “I think this whole thing is more of tribal, I’m from Akwa Ibom and she is from Imo. Her mum was against our union, she says things that are derogatory to my family, I still love her,’’ Martins said.

President of the court, A. L Omilola, ordered the couple to come for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with three members of their family each on Jan. 20. The case was adjourned till Jan. 29 for mention.

Rapper's 'Back to Back' becomes first diss track to be norminated for a Grammy

Earlier in the day, the Grammy's released this year's nominations, shocking everyone with "Back to Back" listed in the "Best Rap Performance" category.

Following the diss from rapper, Meek Mill,Drake released "Back to Back" as his second diss song, and now has become the first diss track to be nominated for a Grammy award.
Knowing the intention behind the track, it was quite unexpected when it turned into a hit, and even more shocking as it gets nominated for the prestigious Grammy Awards.

Earlier in the day, the Grammy's released this year's nominations, shocking everyone with "Back to Back" listed in the"Best Rap Performance" category.

Most people, fans alike, have spoken up about the fact that Drake and OVO decided to submit the diss song rather than "Hotline Bling," for the nomination, especially since Drake actually released it before "Back to Back."

Ebro speculated via a tweet that Drake had wanted to focus on"Hotline Bling," but that it the label had submitted "Back to Back" instead, even as he went on to make some sense of the nominations choices.

The "Best Rap Performance" category that Drake is nominated for has been around since 1989 and even then notable diss tracks of the past like Tupac's "Hit Em Up,or Jay Z's "Takeover" were never recognized back then.

Harry Styles Gives One Direction Fans Hope: Celebrity Gossip Roundup

Kicking off this week’s celebrity gossip, Rihanna announced the schedule for her new tour, starting in February. Joining her will be artists such as Big Sean, Travis Scott and The Weeknd. Fans are eagerly anticipating the release of her next album.

Gigi Hadid has recently been the victim of a hacker who obtained private pictures of her. The model’s Apple iCloud account was hacked into, allowing the guilty parties access to her personal information. In return for not revealing it, they want a payoff from her. A private security firm is working with police to apprehend the hackers.

Over the weekend, Sofia Vergara married fiancé Joe Manganiello, with the wedding being held in Palm Beach. Guests in attendance at the wedding included Vergara’s co-stars such as Ed O’Neil, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Bowen.

Adele is thanking her fans for their warm response to her newly released album. She has also stated that she would prefer her music be sold in the traditional way and. Therefore, the new album will not be available on services such as Apple Music and Spotify.

In other Adele news, the singer recently performed a concert in NYC in which she gave a nod to the residents of Paris on the heels of the hostage situation that resulted in hundreds of deaths. Some of the special guests at the concert were Donald Trump,Jennifer Lawrence, Steven Spielberg and Bradley Cooper.

In a recent interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Gwen Stefani admitted she hadn’t heard of Blake Shelton until she met him on the set of “The Voice.” The two served as judges on the most recent season of the show. She said that Blake knows everything about music, something she can appreciate.

Kylie Jenner has recently split from boyfriend Tyga. It has been reported that she broke up with him on his birthday. A source has stated that Tyga did something to cause Kylie to break up with him, but it hasn’t been revealed what that was. In recent months, Kylie had been denying rumors that she and Tyga had plans to get married.

Olivia Munn is speaking out against the press after it was suggested that her football player boyfriend’s onfield slump as of late has been her fault. An online sports commentator covering a Green Bay Packers game was the one that blamed her for recent mistakes he has made as the team’s quarterback.

Anna Paquin is also expressing her displeasure of body shamers who have attacked her over her size. According to some, Paquin appears to be pregnant; which she took offense to. Members of Twitter have tweeted negative things about Paquin’s weight, and she took to her own Twitter account to deflect their words. Paquin’s fans and followers on Twitter spoke out in support of her.

The final season of American Idol will be judged by the originals; Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Joining them will be Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. Jennifer Lopez has publically stated that she hopes the upcoming season is not the last one and that the network has a change of heart.

During a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel Joseph Gordon-Levitt said that he still has the lyrics to “Wrecking Ball” in his head. Levitt performed the song with Miley Cyrusfor the pair’s box office movie. He sung Miley’s praises during the interview, saying he enjoyed working with her on the movie.

Now that Charlie Sheen has revealed the not so shocking if you’ve kept up with his life news that he is HIV positive, he has plans to write a memoir talking about his love life and both personal and professional setbacks.

UNICEF will be presenting Orlando Bloom the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award for the charity work he has done. The award will be presented to him at a UNICEF event to be held in New York City next month. This comes on the heels of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles’s Britannia Humanitarian Award given to him at the end of October.

After years of speculation, Carly Simon has gone public with the identity of the person she wrote “You’re So Vain” about. The culprit is Warren Beatty, who was Simon’s one-time lover. This secret is one of the things she discussed in her yet-to-be-released memoir.

Not one to wallow in sadness, Gwen Stefani has said that the breakup of her marriage to Gavin Rossdale has given her plenty of creativity when it comes to writing new songs. She stated that she has had two major heartbreaks in her life and that she coped with both of them by writing music.

Khloe Kardashian is suffering from a reported mystery illness that caused her to have to cancel her own upcoming book signings. She has hinted that her illness may be caused from daily stress. Some are speculating that she contracted a staph infection while caring for estranged husband, Lamar Odom in the hospital. It turns out that it was a staph infection too.

Fans of Baywatch will be happy to hear that the defunct TV show is coming to movie screens across the country. The movie will star Dwayne Johnson and Alexandra Daddario, who previously starred in San Andreas together.

Last week Prince William was involved in a car accident when a member of his motorcade hit a taxi while transporting William home from a public appearance at a nearby hospital. A policeman was riding a motorcycle in the motorcade when the accident happened. He suffered only minor injuries as a result.

Harry Styles gave millions of fan girls hope when he admitted in a recent interview that he did once date a fan of his. The subject came up during a segment on the Ellen Degeneres Show where they played a game called Never Have I Ever.

Wrapping up this week’s celebrity gossip, Debra Messing is slamming a male fan of hers after he used Instagram to send suggestive photos to her.

Safaree Samuels Disses Nicki Minaj

Safaree Samuels Disses Nicki Minaj On Twitter After American Music Awards: 'I Won An Award'

Safaree Samuels just dissed Nicki Minaj via Twitter, and it all had to do with the Young Money rapper winning a trophy at the 2015 American Music Awards.

Earlier today, we shared the news that Nicki won for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and thanked Drake during her acceptance speech.

Apparently, Safaree felt he should have been thanked too and took it upon himself to claim his ex's award. "Heard I won an award," he wrote. "The pen is always mightier than the sword. Dec 1rst, "It Is What It Is Vol. 2."

Samuel's tweet comes just days after news surfaced that he's suing Nicki for back royalties. According to numerous reports, the "Burner" spitter wants to be paid for writing on his exes albums and helping her put together some of her biggest hits.

At this time, it's not clear how much he's actually suing Nicki for, but presumably it's not for a small amount.

What is clear, however, is Nicki's frustration concerning the award show. As we reported earlier, some believed she was throwing shade at Jennifer Lopez after the Bronx beauty performed a rendition of "Anaconda," but people had it all wrong.

"Ya'll searching for a bad pic to post with all the beautiful pics from tonight floating around," wrote Minaj. "Lemme give ya'll some love, cuz the person who posted this clearly needs a hug."

Afterwards, the "All Eyes On You" lyricist praised her loyal Barbie fans and asked them to start circulating some of the nice photos from the awards ceremony.

"I also wanna give my babies more love, hugs and kisses for reppin' me tonight," wrote Nik. "Working on so much more amazing things to share with you. Tag these mofos in all the beautiful pics from tonight. LOL. We really had a great time."

As far as that shade filled tweet from Samuels, Nicki hasn't responded yet since she probably doesn't want to give him any more attention or fame.

Also, do you think the "Sabba Ranks" rapper sent that tweet just to promote his new mixtape? Please let us know in the poll question below.

Nicki Minaj Denies Dissing Jennifer Lopez

Nicki Minaj Denies Dissing Jennifer Lopez, Thanks Drake In Front Of Meek Mill And Causes Stir

Did Nicki Minaj throw some shade at Jennifer Lopez? That's one of the new rumors the Internet came up with over the past 24-hours.

Last night (Nov 22.) at the "American Music Awards 2015," Jennifer Lopez performed a medley of some of this year's hits, one of them being Nicki's "Anaconda."

During the performance one of the cameras panned over to Barbz and caught her facial expression. It's not like she frowned or rolled her eyes or anything, but the folks on social media instantly said Nicki wasn't pleased with J. Lo's rendition of her song.

"D---, J Lo," wrote DJ Akademiks. "Nicki Minaj facial expression says it all. We still love you, doe."

Afterwards, the Young Money queen responded and said she was only looking at her own expression in a nearby screen. "LOL. Says what all?" she wrote, responding to Akademiks. "I'm looking at my own face on the screen when I'm looking to the right. I turn back and look at her."

Nicki's acceptance speech for winning the Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist award also received a lot of attention, because she chose to thank Drake.

Usually, that wouldn't be all that strange, but considering her boyfriend Meek Mill was present, and he's still beefing with Drizzy, people on social media had plenty to say. While some believed it was classy for Barbz to shout out her label-mate, others considered it disrespectful to Mill.

Who knows? There's a good chance this entire beef will be coming to a close soon, because it's unlikely Drizzy with throw any more disses Meek's way or vice versa.

At this point, if Meek does blast Drake again it wouldn't be a good move, because it seems people are starting to forget how bad the Canadian spitter damaged him when "Back To Back" dropped. If he's smart, the Philly rapper will just move on and try to put the entire conflict in the past.

Rapper releases 5th solo album "Eyan Mayweather"

Rapper releases 5th solo album "Eyan Mayweather"

The YBNL rapper who has averaged an album a year since 2011, has gone one better with a new LP.

lamide ireleased his fifth solo studio album “Eyan Mayweather”.

The YBNL rapper who has averaged an album a year since 2011, has gone one better with a new LP.

“Eyan Mayweather” contains 20 tracks, with four singles from the project earlier released. They include ‘Bobo’, ‘Matters Arising’, ‘Melo melo’, and ‘Lagos Boys’. Interestingly there is no collaboration on the new album.

Production of the work comes chiefly from in-house music maker, Pheelz, with support from BBanks, ID Cabasa, andYoung Jonn.

“Eyan Mayweather” will is the second album released by Olamide this year. In April 2015, the rapper and Phyno put out a collaborative joint album “2 Kings”. Other albums by Olamide include “Rapsodi” (2011), “YBNL” (2012), “Baddest Guy Ever Liveth” (2013), “Street OT” (2014).

Olamide recently won the Best Male Artiste In West Africa at the 2015 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

The YBNL CEO who has maintained his consistency this year with his continuous dominance of West African pop culture via his singles and performances faced stiff opposition from a number of talents.

Olamide won the award for his song ‘Bobo’, over Wizkid’s ‘Ojuelegba’, Sarkodie’s ‘Adonai (Remix), Flavour’s ‘Golibe’, and Davido’s ‘Fans mi’.

Join A Queue Leading Nowhere If You Don’t Agree With My Thoughts, Ali Baba Tells Haters

Pioneer stand-up comedian, Ali Baba has continued to lash on the Amber Rose issue.

After addressing the Amber Rose/Mr. Ibu incident Ali Baba is back again.

Apparently some people did not agree with his comments concerning Amber Rose.Early this morning Ali Baba had a word or two for people who have something against his opinions.

“About my post yesterday, I have no reservations for speaking my mind. I had to spend some time yesterday to go through the pages of some people who made comments on my post. And Its however amazing that some of the people who saw everything wrong with a guy sagging see nothing wrong with a indecency. Some just wanted to comment. Some had been praying for a day to hide me” he wrote.

“But for me, I am here on Instagram and once I can’t use this platform to say it as I feel or as I see it, I will shut it down. But for now, those that don’t agree with my thoughts, can join a queue leading nowhere” he further wrote on Instagram.

Actress throws yacht party to celebrate birthday

Nollywood actress, Oge Okoye threw a yacht party on Sunday night to celebrate her birthday with friends.

On Sunday night the 22d of November, Nollywood actress Oge Okoye threw a yacht party to celebrate her birthday 35th birthday which she turned six days earlier on the 16th.

She celebrated in the company of friends and colleagues like Ini Edo, Ebube Nwagbo, Rukky Sanda, Phyno, Ehis, amongst others.

The mother of two has come a long way since her debut "One Dollar" move where she played a supporting role.

About a decade later, she is quite accomplished as an actress with over 70 movies she has featured in. Watch Pulse TV video for more on Nollywood.

G90 to top brand’s luxury model range

Hyundai Motor has revealed the first rendering of its new range-topping G90 luxury sedan. The elegantly designed, technology packed model hints at the recently-launched Genesis brand’s design identity and future direction.

Hyundai Genesis G90

Jin Kim, Vice President and Head of Operations for Hyundai Africa and Middle East, said, “The G90 concept images of this new luxury sedan are guaranteed to instill confidence in our customer base which is continuously looking for world-class design and new levels of luxury.

This model will arrive next year and it will be the first of six new Genesis models which will be launched in Africa and the Middle East by 2020.”

Following the global announcement of the Genesis brand launch earlier this month, we are delighted to release these concept images of our new large luxury sedan. Africa and the Middle East has a taste for all things luxury therefore we are confident it will prove popular with our customer base across both regions when it launches next year.”

As the Genesis brand’s flagship model, G90 is a blueprint for change and innovation that will distinguish the Genesis brand. Majoring on ‘human-centered’ technology combined with engaging driving dynamics, G90 boasts a raft of world-best safety features and technological innovations to set itself apart in the luxury market.

G90 also showcases the Genesis brand’s hallmark design style ‘Athletic Elegance’, interpreted by the newly-formed Prestige Design Division to bring graceful and profound elegance to G90’s significant proportions. Crowned by the Genesis emblem, the grand radiator grille combined with sophisticated headlamps communicates the car’s dynamic, future-orientated character.

How Nigerian artistes failed to fly at AFRIMA 2015

The long awaited All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, has come and gone. The chips went down at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island on Sunday, with high hopes on Nigeria artistes to repeat the feat they achieved at the maiden edition of the award in 2014, where they carted home 12 of the 23 continental awards. But that was not to be this year.

If not for the standard they set last year some would have still argued it was a respectable outing for them, with 8 awards in their kitty. Praiz won the Best African Artiste (RnB & soul); Darey got Best African Artiste (Inspirational); Flavour snapped up Best African Artiste (African Electro); Revelation of the Year went to Adekunle Gold; Most Promising African Artiste to Kiss Daniel; Best African Artiste in Jazz to Kunle while Olamide and Yemi Alade won the Best West African Artiste, male and female categories respectively.

However, when it comes to the big ones like the Artiste of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Group in Africa they were completely out of the picture. And these four categories were all won by them last year. Davido who clinched all 4 big ones was completely missing in action. He won The Best African Hip Hop, Song of the Year; Artiste of the Year, and Best Male Artiste in West Africa. Shakiti Bobo crooner, Olamide came home with the coveted Album of the Year award while the sensational twins, P-Square got the Best African Group award.

The only person that featured on the winners list is Olamide and what he got was Best Male Artiste in West Africa which was won by Davido in2014.

Nigeria has nominations in all the 24 categories applicable to the country except in the categories: Best African Hip Hop, Best African Rock and Best African Traditional Music. It means the country is open to collect 21 awards, where in most cases they dominated the Nominees list. Of all the 174 nominations in which the country is eligible, it had 63 nominations. But all the country could mustered is 8 awards, meaning they lost in 13 categories.

Interestingly, Nigerian artistes had bigger presence in most of the big continental awards. For Album of the Year award for an instance, there were 9 nominees and Nigerians account for 5. Yemi Alade, Psquare, Bez Idakula, Wizkid and Flavour were all nominated but it was Charlotte Dipanda, from Cameroon, that carried the day. She is one of two Cameroonians nominated in this category. Ghana and Sudan got one nomination a piece. Last year it was won by Olamide.

The current Artiste of the Year is Tanzanian Diamond Platnumz, who beat 5 Nigerian artistes, namely, Wizkid, Davido, Flavour, Olamide and Yemi Alade. Again, this is a tough one for Nigeria to lose because out of the 10 nominees Nigerians make up 50% of them. Tanzania had two, Ghana one, Cameroon one and Uganda one. Davido won the award last year

Anyone would have sworn the Song of the Year is Nigeria’s to lose; there have been just too many of them. At least the nominees list showed that was a must but the reverse was the case. Wizkid, Davido, Psquare and Yemi Alade made the list of 10 nominees in this category. But it was Tanzanian Diamond Platnumz that got away with the 23.9 carat gold plaque. Davido also won the award last year.

Anyway, it was as if many of them read the handwriting on the wall because they failed to turn up for the award. The conspicuous absentees that did not win awards were Wande Coal, Nneka, Timaya, Patoranking, Davido, Wizkid, P-Square, Seyi Shay, among others. Though Flavour and Yemi Alade won awards, they were also absent.

Facebook deploys its safety check - Nigeria

FACEBOOK DEPLOYS SAFETY CHECK AFTER NIGERIA BOMBING

Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature in Nigeria, following a bombing that killed more than 32 people. Safety Check allows individuals located in areas where a disaster has occurred to quickly tell family and friends that they are safe, without making phone calls or sending text messages.

The bombings, believed to have been executed by the extremist group Boko Haram on Tuesday, led to a post by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that explained how Safety Check would be used going forward:

We've activated Safety Check again after the bombing in Nigeria this evening.

After the Paris attacks last week, we made the decision to use Safety Check for more tragic events like this going forward. We're now working quickly to develop criteria for the new policy and determine when and how this service can be most useful.

Unfortunately, these kinds of events are all too common, so I won't post about all of them. A loss of human life anywhere is a tragedy, and we're committed to doing our part to help people in more of these situations.

But because nothing happens in a vacuum, especially in the tech industry, the use of Safety Check feature follows Facebook being criticized for not using it during a recent ISIS-attributed bombing in Beirut. Users were up in arms about the company's seemingly arbitrary approach to which events were worthy of Safety Check, with some making allegations of double standards. The attacks that took place in Paris last Friday were the first man-made disasters for which Facebook deployed the feature; it had previously only been used for natural disasters like the Nepal earthquake.

The controversy over Safety Check—and Zuckerberg’s announcement that Facebook is developing criteria for how to use it—is another indicator of how essential the social network has become in 2015.