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Months after actress Mercy Johnson was made brand ambassador for Mr Chef salt, she has signed yet another endorsement deal with Virony Detergent.

She wrote:

“Hi my amazing friends, I would like to announce my new role as brand ambassador to Virony. Since 1994, the Virony brand has been at the forefront of quality household products across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. As a wife and mother and an actress by career, this partnership feels like home to me.
I am humbled and excited to be part of the Virony story, and in the following months, I will be introducing you to all the projects and products from Virony. Watch this Space!”

See photos below:

Stacey Naris has been nominated for a position on the board of the International Federation of Professional Footballers(FIFProAfrica Division – and she is the first woman to be nominated for that position.

Naris is the captain of Namibia’s national women’s team. In addition to playing in the field, she’s a staff member of the Namibian Football Players Union (NAFPU) where she’s been working to promote the welfare of female footballers since 2015. With this nomination, she’ll also be joining FIFPro’s Women’s Football Task Force.

Responding to her appointment, the 27-year-old is quoted by Namibia Daily News as saying:

“Part of the goals I would like to achieve while at the FIFPro Africa Division Board is to see Namibian women’s football start a professional women’s league which will really help improve our senior national women’s football team.”

Her nomination is yet to be approved by FIFPro Africa’s general assembly which will meet in Zimbabwe on May 30 and 31. According to Stephane Burchkalter, Secretary General of FIFPro Africa, there’s “no doubt the appointment will be approved”.

(Photo: The Namibian)

Source: konbini.com

Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has been chosen by the Harvard College Class of 2018 to address the graduating seniors as part of the annual Class Day celebration on May 23, the day before Harvard’s 367th Commencement.

The announcement was made on the Harvard Gazette. According to the co-chair of the speaker selection committee said:

“We are honored to welcome Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as our Class Day speaker. Her eloquence and perspective as a writer and public speaker have inspired audiences to look beyond stereotypes and social norms to recognize our common humanity. In her captivating TED talks, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie urges us to better understand one another’s stories and to plan for ‘a world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves.’ This is a powerful message for our class to hear as we reflect on our time at Harvard and prepare to write the next chapter of our stories,” said Jerry Nelluvelil, co-chair of the speaker selection committee.

The Harvard College Senior Class Committee has invited a guest speaker for Class Day since 1968. Prior to that, the honor was given to University affiliates, such as deans, faculty, or classmates. The first invited guest was Martin Luther King Jr., who accepted the invitation shortly before his assassination. His widow, Coretta Scott King, delivered the speech in his absence and also became the first woman to give a Class Day address at Harvard. Since that time, speakers have spanned fields including politics, social activism, journalism, film, comedy, and more.

 

Source: stargist.com

Omobolanle Adenle is rising from the ashes of adversity and inspiring others to do so through her story. Her dream is to become a fashion mogul and one of the biggest online retail fashion stores. At a point in her life, completing her education became a huge task as she had to hawk and also learn hair-making and bead making at age 10. The beautiful graduate of Linguistics and African Languages from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife Osun state Nigeria wear several caps as a fashionpreneur, business consultant, writer, author, digital marketer and an on air personality. While talking about online retail fashion business , Bola had this to say “Don’t deceive anybody with what you don’t have, sell exactly what you display.She shares the story of her rise from the ashes to glory in this interview .

Growing up
I grew up in the family of five, the last born of 3 children. I spent my childhood days in my parent’s salon, laundry, and video club, my mum has always been a serial entrepreneur, she forced us all to learn one trade or the other while growing up. I have always loved working with my hands as a kid. I remember stitching clothes together with needle and thread for baby dolls as a kid. I started making hair in my mum’s salon at age 10. I also learnt bead making and how to tie gele. I remember hosting a free fashion parade show as a 7 – 8year old primary school student after school daily, I’ll catwalk for an awaiting crowd in Mama Ede’s shop opposite our school gate after which I’ll be rewarded with lots of “baba dudu” sweet. Fashion has always been my passion.

Inspiration behind Bola Fashion Empire
Bola Fashion Empire emerged from my observation across Africa, I noticed certification in hand work has not been able to match up with certification in Formal Education like law, medicine, accounting etc. Many kids that are gifted in handwork like shoe making, bag making, hair stylist e.t.c seek to find expression with their God given talent but they are restricted to study fancy formal education to be relevant in the society. The funniest part is that most of us end up wasting 4years in University to be certified formally before pursuing our main vision because of the world standard of relevance. Bola Fashion Empire aims to create a fashion school with international certification that is of equal relevance with BSC in Medicine or any formal course. I hope to have a fashion university where secondary school graduates are enrolled in different departments such as Tailoring Department, Shoe Making Department, Beaders Department, Hairstyling Department, e.t.c, the best hands in different field from all nations in the world will be employed to teach them and they will graduate after 4 years and be internationally certified to work anywhere in the world. I hope to create a fashion empire where goods and services will be produced and sold at the cheapest factory rate and new fashionpreneur can emerge with little and big start up capital and make much more from their sales.

How hawking at different point shaped my life
It sharpened me to be fearless in life and be my own motivation.Nothing in life seems to move me much because of the capacity I have built in my entrepreneurial journey so far. My hate for lack and poverty is so strong and I dream big beyond my present circumstances per time with strong confidence to scale through any situation any circumstances that comes my way per time. My dreams become bigger as I scale through different phases and I’m just stepping up my game at the moment, because there’s so much ahead to do but I believe that with God all things are possible for me.

Who inspires me
My mum inspires me a lot, she taught me how to derive my first Inspiration from God’s word then other people can come to play. John Obidi also inspires me a lot to unleash the greatness in me, Strive Masiyiwa is one of the people I derive Inspiration from as an entrepreneur and in the fashion world I’m inspired by the likes of Tara Durotoye, mizwenneka the hair boss, C.E.O lumineeiofficial the award winning fashion designer inspires me with her creative works, Laura Ikeji of The Gang and Toyin Lawani of Tianahs empire inspire me a great deal.

Greatest Reward
The greatest reward so far is the privilege to be live on air on the fifth episode of Olajumoke Sauce vlog with olajumoke the bread seller turned star to share my story and inspire my world with my story so far. It’s a privilege to share my journey thus far and give hope to the little girl and boy with big dreams but are ready to give up based on challenges of life. It’s a privilege to be able to tell my fellow women how to survive through hard work without having to trade our body for cash to men and it’s a privilege to be opportuned to tell the world about what I do without having to pay for it.
I believe greater rewards are coming as I remain diligent with the works of my hands. I’m still looking up to God for the kind of reward I really desire and I believe it will come soonest by his grace.

Challenges
I have challenges with raising funds to run and sustain my business but all the same, I started with what I have and I’m still working really hard to build my dream. I have to keep re-strategizing on increasing my profit base per time which entails incorporating several works all together and juggling all together.
Another challenge I face as an entrepreneur with an online store is having to convince people to buy from my store without considering my store as a fraud based on previous experiences which is why I’m working on having my standard offline store soonest.

Perception of women in your industry
Women in fashion and in the business world generally rarely support each other if cash is not involved. They all want to leverage on celebrity and no one really want to support a startup entrepreneur except theirs a ransom to gain in view. Every woman in fashion business has a dream to increase in influence than her other counterpart which is the sole reason why support in such industry is very rare to find. But if you can manage to raise yourself to stardom, support will come from all angles when you are a star already and you are good at what you do. Few women in the industry are still supportive and empowering upcoming ones in their little way.

Other project and activities
As a fresh graduate of Linguistics and African languages, I’m presently a linguist, a writer and I write articles, stories and create contents for blogs, magazine and I do many copyright works at the moment. With my good communication skill in Yoruba and English language, I’m hoping to collaborate with people as an on air personality soonest. I just created a blog on Instagram @street2stardom, a blog that is set up to enhance our everyday men and women share their legitimate hustle and inspire our world to greatness, successful men and women who have survived in their entrepreneurial journey from the street to stardom will be featured to inspire those on their way to stardom by sharing their success tip with the world.

Giving up
As an entrepreneur with no help from anyone and singlehandedly handling many projects all together, I really feel like giving up many times when I was restricted by cash to pursue many of my projects and the thought of taking the easy route by collecting money from men to sustain crept up in my mind at the early stage of my entrepreneurial journey but God has indeed being faithful all the way which has kept me going to depend exclusively on him all the way and my mum never stop praying and encouraging me. Giving up is totally out of my view now but crushing obstacles and breaking all barrier is all that I have in view at the moment. I have this assurance that with God all things are indeed possible.

Being a Woman of Rubies
I believe my determination, doggedness and focus to be my own motivation and get things done and survive in harsh circumstances through my godly legitimate hustle makes me a woman of rubies. Not taking the easy route to success through dubious ungodly act makes me a woman of rubies
My diligence with the work my hands find doing per time makes me a woman of rubies.
For choosing to be self dependent instead of blaming Nigerian government, family, friends etc for not supporting me and working with my hands instead makes me a woman of rubies. My passion to make a difference and inspire my world to greatness and also empower my fellow human makes me a woman of rubies.

Final word for women who are thinking of going into online fashion business, especially with the high rate of people complaining of being duped by online retailers?
Be versatile and open to information to grow your business per time and leverage more on every opportunity to showcase what you sell. Be proud of your legitimate, your helper might just be behind you. Technology has really advanced, you don’t need a physical shop to start selling anything for a start, of course there will be need for a physical shop on the long run but for a start get your goods readily available first and start selling in your house, room, hostel etc, take good pictures of what you have for sale and post it online, build awareness online and you will be surprised you will go global fast if you engage the power of ecommerce and social media. Most importantly, don’t deceive anybody with what you don’t have, sell exactly what you display. You can only stand the test of time online if you are credible with little dealings then people can entrust you with big deals from home and abroad.
For those that desire to go into online fashion business I’ll strongly advice that you have at least one offline visibility means for your product and services.
It is very true that people have been duped several times online and it takes greater grace to sell a pin online therefore I’ll advice anyone that want to start his/her online fashion store to prepare for that and have at least one visibility medium. With persistence and good service you will build a customer base that will expand as time goes on through referrals and good digital marketing strategy.

Aisha Bakari Gombi, one of the few women who volunteered to fight the terrorist group, is 38 and six feet tall. She was born and raised near the Sambisa forest, the headquarters of Boko Haram.

Formerly an antelope hunter, her experience and knowledge of the forest have made her the leader of a team of 15-20 male volunteers despite her limited training in military operations. Everyday, with her shotgun slung over her shoulder, she ventures into the scrubs of Borno, the northeastern province of Nigeria long plagued by Boko Haram attacks, hunting down their fighters.

She has been instrumental in the rescue of a high number of Boko Haram captives and she is front and centre in the efforts to neutralise the terrorist group.

(Photo: Rosie Collyer/Aljazeera)

Her bravery and keen hunting abilities have earned her the title of ‘Queen Hunter’. Government troops are quick to call on Aisha for her skills but slow to reward her efforts financially. Ms. Gombi is one of the recruits who helped the Nigerian Army defeat Boko Haram and chase the terrorist group away from the forest.

Watch the short film (by Rosie Collyer) about the legend that is Aisha Gombi below:

Nollywood actress and The Johnsons’ star, Ada Ameh, has revealed that she dropped out of secondary school at 14 when she became pregnant with her daughter.

She revealed this during her speech at the Benson Idahosa University’s 14th Cultural Day Celebration. She added she is a proud single mother. She said,

“Going through life as a single mother was not an easy thing at all but today I am proud to call myself a proud single mother because whenever I see my daughter I am glad.

I want you to understand that even though I dropped out of secondary school, I am a proud single mother. Just take it that my life is a history. If not for God, I don’t know where I would have been.

My major concern is for the young girls. I am not a victim, I am a proud single mother. Today my child is my school; she was the school that I graduated from. My first degree was that woman. Yu will not understand what it means to become pregnant at fourteen.”

Award-winning writer, Chimamanda Adichie has shared a story of how she was sexually assaulted at the age of 17.

She made this known during an address at the just concluded Stockholm Forum for Gender Equality.

Chimamanda revealed that she went to a “Big man in media” house after she wrote a book of poems who she thought would help her promote the book.

She went on to reveal how within a minute, the said man slipped his hands down her clothes and then moved on to her bra and squeezed her boobs.

She said, “I was so shocked that I did nothing for seconds but then, I pushed his hand away, gently, nicely, because I didn’t want to offend him. Later that day, I broke out in a rash on my face, neck, and chest, as though my body was recoiling, as though my body was saying what my lips had not said.”

Chimamanda Adichie has always been a passionate advocator of gender equality and also encourages women who have been abused before to come out and share their stories.

We understand her better now as she shares her own story.

Watch the video below, starting from the 3:44:08 mark.

Barbara Bush is the second woman in the world to be both mother and wife to past US Presidents (George Bush- Snr & Jnr). She has passed away at the age of 92 and her death was announced in the early hours of today. 

Here are a few things to know about her:

Early Life

Barbara Bush was born Barbara Pierce on June 8, 1925, in New York City. Her mother, Pauline Pierce, was the daughter of an Ohio Supreme Court justice and dedicated to conservation efforts as a chairwoman of the Garden Club of America.

Education

Barbara attended Rye Country Day School from 1931 to 1937 and later the boarding school Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, from 1940 to 1943. As a youth, she was athletic and enjoyed swimming, tennis, and bike riding. Her interest in reading began early in life; she recalled gathering and reading with her family during the evenings.

Marriage

When Pierce was 16 and on Christmas vacation, she met George Bush at a dance; he was a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. After 18 months, the two became engaged to be married, just before he went off to World War II as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot.

He named three of his planes after her: Barbara, Barbara II, and Barbara III. When he returned on leave, she had dropped out of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts; two weeks later, on January 6, 1945, they were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York, with the reception being held at The Apawamis Club.

Life As the first lady

Family literacy was Barbara Bush’s cause as First Lady, and she called it “the most important issue we have”. She became involved with many literacy organizations, served on literacy committees and chaired many reading organizations.

Eventually, she helped develop the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She continued to be dedicated to eliminating the generational cycle of illiteracy in America by supporting programs where parents and their young children are able to learn together.

During the early 1980s, after statistics had shown that foreign-born immigrants from Latin America had nearly quintupled just since 1960, statistics showed that 35 million adults could not read above the eighth-grade level and that 23 million were not able to read beyond a fourth-grade level.

She was active in the White House Historical Association and worked to revitalize the White House Preservation Fund, which she renamed the White House Endowment Trust.

The trust raises funds for the ongoing refurbishment and restoration of the White House. She met her goal of raising $25 million towards the endowment. The White House residence staff generally found Barbara Bush to be the friendliest and most easygoing of the First Ladies with whom they dealt.

Life as the second lady

Barbara Bush’s eight years as Second Lady allowed her to become a common household name. After her son Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia, she took an interest in literacy issues and began working with several different literacy organizations.

She spent much time researching and learning about the factors that contributed to illiteracy – she believed homelessness was also connected to illiteracy – and the efforts underway to combat both.

She travelled around the country and the world, either with the vice president on official trips or by herself. In 1984, she wrote a children’s book, C. Fred’s Story, which dealt with her family as told from the point of view of her dog, C. Fred.

She donated all proceeds from the book to literacy charities. By then comfortable speaking in front of groups, she routinely spoke to promote issues that she believed in, and she became famous for expressing a sense of humour and self-deprecating wit.

In 1988, Vice President Bush announced his candidacy for President to succeed Reagan. By this time Barbara had experienced two presidential campaigns but broke new ground by becoming the second candidate’s spouse to speak at the national party convention that nominated her husband (after Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940).

She promised voters that she would be a traditional first lady and campaigned actively for her husband. The campaign at times focused on the large Bush family, and contrasted her with the First Lady, Nancy Reagan, by highlighting her interest in domestic staples such as church, gardening, and time spent with family while placing less emphasis on style sense and fashion; she drew attention to both her famous white hair and disinterest in wearing designer clothes.

Campaigning for her son to be president

Bush campaigned for her son, George W. Bush, after he announced his presidential campaign in June 1999. Throughout the country, she met with women in support of his campaign but remained doubtful of his chances of winning.

The resentment toward the campaign continued with her rejecting any criticism of her son said in her presence and refused to watch any debates, a contrast to her husband’s willingness to listen and his watching of every debate, creating friction between the couple.

Several schools have been named for her: three primary schools and two middle schools in Texas and an elementary school in Mesa, Arizona. Also named for her is the Barbara Bush Library in Harris County, Texas, and the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She served on the Boards of AmeriCares and the Mayo Clinic and headed the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

On March 18, 2003 — two days before the beginning of the 2003 invasion of Iraq — her son George W. Bush was President.

Awards and legacy

In 1995, Bush received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award is given out annually by Jefferson Awards. In 1997, she was the recipient of The Miss America Woman of Achievement Award for her work with literacy programs.

In 2016, she received honorary membership in Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Houston chapter.

Barbara Bush Elementary School in the Parkway Villages neighbourhood in Houston, operated by the Houston Independent School District, is named after her.

Illness and death

Bush suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, and Graves’ disease. In April 2018, the Bush family released a statement regarding Bush’s “failing health” and how she had chosen to be at home with family rather than seek further treatment. According to family spokesman Jim McGrath, Bush’s decision came as a result of “a series of recent hospitalizations”.

It was announced on April 15, 2018, that Bush would no longer seek medical treatment and had instead chosen the option of “comfort care”. Bush died in her Houston home of complications from COPD at the age of 92 on April 17, 2018.

 

Source: fabwoman.ng

A leading luxury affinity marketing group, The Luxury Network, has appointed Founder and CEO of Robert Taylor Media Limited, Bukky Karibi-Whyte, as Director of Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships in Nigeria.

The Luxury Network which was launched in the UK in 2007, is an invitation-only private business club specialising in creating highly lucrative business partnerships between the world’s premium brands and high-end service providers, thereby providing access to a wider pool of pre-qualified, high-net-worth clients.

The appointment is set to bring together the finest brands in Nigeria and foster unique partnerships and collaborations in the luxury industry. The new director will be responsible for corporate communications, building brand awareness and establishing key partnership opportunities.

According to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cas Ojo: “The Luxury Network Nigeria is delighted to welcome Bukky Karibi-Whyte as our Director of Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships.

Since our launch, we have been analysing the Nigerian luxury market and are excited to roll out some exciting developments over the coming months. Bukky will be pivotal in defining the face of the Network over the next 12 months, and we have drawn up a shortlist of the finest Nigerian companies who will be invited to join the Network.

We have commenced discussion with a number of the selected brands and high end service providers, alongside some high-profile international luxury brands and there are plans to create some truly unique partnerships for the Nigerian luxury Industry.”

The Luxury Network Nigeria will be working with The Luxury Network UK and renowned brands and organisations in the British Luxury industry to build an international perspective on the business of luxury.

 

Source: Guardian Newspaper

Nigeria’s Oluwatobiloba Amusan has made history by becoming the first Nigerian to win gold at the Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles.

The 20-year-old put up an impressive run to come out tops with 12.68 seconds at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Amusa is the reigning American Collegiate 100m hurdles champion, her gold becoming Nigeria’s 8th at the games, pushing the country to 8th on the medals table.

 

Source: fabwoman.ng