“Two girls were rescued. I cannot go into details. What is important now is that the girls were found alive. The girls are now safe at Land of Hope.” she added.
Credit: LIB
The United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says six out of 10 women between 15 and 49 years in Oyo State are victims of genital mutilation.
Dr Olasunbo Odebode, Representative of UNICEF in-charge of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria, disclosed this on Thursday in Ibadan.
Odebode spoke at a public declaration of FGM abandonment by 21 communities in Oyo West Local Government area of the state.
According to Odebode, a Child Protection Specialist, mutilation prevalence rate for women between 15 and 49 years in the state is 55.5 per cent, the fifth highest in Nigeria.
She said the affected females live with the negative consequences of the practice, which undermined their physical, emotional and socio-economic well-being.
She described FGM as a harmful traditional practice, a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of women, which seriously compromised their health and psychological well-being.
”FGM is not only harmful but also against nature as it destroys the wholesome and beautiful way women and girls are naturally created.
”It poses increased risk of infection or prolonged labour, bleeding, still-birth and maternal death during childbirth as well as leaves lasting physical, emotional scars and an irreparable damage,” Odebode said.
She said FGM was a social norm and that people practice it because they believed that others in their community do it.
She urged stakeholders to collaborate in the campaign to end its menace in their respective communities.
Mrs Dolapo Dosunmu, Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the state, said the agency had carried out series of programmes to sensitise the public on the effects of female genital mutilation.
Dosunmu commended traditional and community leaders in the area for dropping the age-long practice.
Oba Lamidi Olayiwola, the Aalafin of Oyo, promised to support UNICEF and NOA efforts in eliminating the practice in the state.
The monarch, represented by Chief Yusuf Akinade, the Basorun of Oyo Kingdom, charged community heads to sensitise people in their domain on the negative effects of the practice.
Credit: Pulse
Captain Abimbola Jaiyeola, a helicopter pilot.
Abimbola, in December 2014, became the first female helicopter captain in Nigeria, flying the Sikorsky S76 for Bristow Helicopters Nigeria.
A little over a year later, in 2016, Abimbola was in the news again, this time, for saving 13 lives by “ditching” the helicopter she was flying.
Ditching is knowingly making a controlled emergency landing on water.
Although some of the passengers suffered some injuries, no life was lost.
Abimbola, an Ogun state indigene, graduated from the Bristow Academy in 2008 and then moved to Florida to continue her training.
In 2017, she was named in Leading Ladies Africa (LLA)’s 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria list.
Roheemah Arogundade and Kehinde Lawal broke 21-yr-old record in Obafemi Awolowo University.
Both Kehinde Lawal and Roheemah Arogundade graduated with 4.56 CGPA, something no student has been able achieve in the last 21 years.
Since 1997, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) did not produce first class graduates in its English Department. In fact, the last distinction graduate of the department, Akinmade Akande is now a professor of English.
In OAU, the English and Geology Departments have a reputation for not producing first class graduates. However, on Wednesday, December 12, 2018, the university at its 43rd joint convocation ceremony announced Roheemah Arogundade and Kehinde Lawal as the first graduates of the University to bag first class from the English Department.
In this interview with Pulse, the two outstanding graduates talked about their lives on campus and their academic achievements.
Pulse: Did you determine to break the jinx when you realized there’s been no first class graduate since 1997 in your department?
Roheemah: Growing up, the thirst for excellence was instilled in me by my parents. So I always aspire to excellence wherever I find myself and upon my entry into the university. That’s what I worked towards achieving.
Kehinde: I strongly desired it but it was hard at the same time to dispel the thought of the long-believed “impossibility.” From the onset, I was determined to try and make a stride for goods grades (maybe not for a first class but to be the best in a class of about 400 students). The desperate zeal to really finish with a first class grew when I made a 5.0 CGPA in my 200 level 2nd semester result. At that point, I was wowed and I made up my mind to try all I could to have first class. So, from that time, I was working towards it.
Pulse: What did you do differently that made it easy for you to break the record?
Roheemah: I wouldn’t know if I had done something different, only that I decided to work not only hard but smart too. I had a plan for every semester. I had a senior colleague who I would meet at the end of every semester to make copies of her notes and materials in order to prepare for the next semester in advance. I also ensured that I attended every class, attended discussions and tutorials, met with lecturers and fellow students when I needed to understand some topics. Also, I ensured that I read all the topics treated in class in a day. And most importantly, I never neglected my prayers.
Kehinde: Well, I can not state specifically what I did differently from others because I do not know how much effort some other people pumped towards having a first class in the department. But, on a general note, what I noticed that I did differently from many of my colleagues was to study every night ( even if it was just for an hour). Many students failed to cultivate the habit of consistent revision or studying until it’s time for assessments. “Crash reading” never works for me. So, I tried to prepare for exams from the beginning of the semester.
Pulse: What were your campus days like?
Roheemah: They were quite interesting. Apart from academics, I was involved in other activities. I was a member of the drug-free club and also a member of Association of Nigerian Authors. I participated in volunteering activities such as Nigerian cleanups and some others. I took a course in project management. I was engaged in freelance writing and editing and also tutoring.
Kehinde: Campus life was quite stressful for me. I had too many extracurricular activities I delved into. From my 200 level, I was committed to being a member of different committees in the department. I was a member of the Audit committee, Trip and Excursion Committee, Award Dinner Committee, Class party committee and others. In my 2nd year also, I started as a member of NASELS’ Communication Bureau (the press outfit of the department). Gradually, I rose in rank to become the assistant managing editor, the managing editor and the Editor-in-Chief in my final year. I was actively involved in the publication of the departmental magazine (FOUNT) in 2015 too.
Pulse: Were you aware there was another student in the department with record-breaking CGPA and did you see her as competition?
Roheemah: No, I didn’t know earlier on but when I did, I was quite happy when I realised that a friend was also doing excellently well. There was no competition of any kind, instead, we always met to discuss difficult topics and explain them to one another.
Kehinde: Yes, there were rumours. Same way mine was a rumour until I finally graduated. But I didn’t see her as competition. During exams, we had group discussions and revised past questions together. I was very happy we made it but we were surprised that we finished with the same point- 4.56.
Pulse: What do you think is responsible for the lack of first class graduates for 21 years in the department?
Roheemah: I believe every student works hard or tries their best to be excellent too. So I just believe it wasn’t time.
Kehinde: I can’t say precisely. However, I feel the orientation fresh students get on admission into the department is quite discouraging. So, even without making an effort to make the first class, students in the department just naturally feel comfortable having average grades because everyone believes the first class grade is impossible.
I hope that the achievement Roheemah and I have made would further encourage students and prospective students of the department to do better. Now it is established that it is possible, I hope to see more people graduating with first class in years to come. Although it’s not by default, hard work is highly recommended too.
Pulse: Apart from studying what would you say helped to achieve this academic feat?
Roheemah: God and my support system i.e. my family and friends
Kehinde: God, Prayers and support from my mother, family and my best friend.
Pulse: Did the school management reward you for breaking the record?
Roheemah: At this moment, no.
Kehinde: There are not many awards in the department and the single one that exists was not awarded to anyone.
This is something that also needs to be changed to encourage students. The school should make provisions for awards and Alumni too should do the same.
Pulse: With your first class degree in English what career path do you intend to follow?
Roheemah: I’m passionate about academics, so I’ll be getting involved one way or another in that but I also love writing. So definitely that’s something I will be pursuing too. I’m open to anything really, as long as it is something that contributes positively to the society and gives room for self-growth.
Kehinde: Good grades aren’t guarantees for a secured career path but they open doors of life-changing opportunities for those that seek it.
With a first class from OAU and in a department where it was previously considered impossible, I have a certain level of confidence that it would be relatively easy to study further anywhere in the world.
I would love to explore opportunities in the communication field like corporate communications, marketing, advertising, media relations, brand management, and public relations. All these are interrelated fields that my degree in English would help me with immensely.
Credit: Pulse News
For the first time since 2016 I’m spending Christmas home in Turkey; for the first time in forever I get to spend a whole month home. A whole month calls for as many reunions with friends as one can fit in. As tricky as it might be logistically to get together a number of friends during the festive season, considering I haven’t seen some in almost 20 years and this is the first time I am home for an extended period of time it was a challenge I was willing to take on. Hence the tale of two reunions.
The first was a dinner date with three friends two of whom I hadn’t seen since our high school graduation – a whopping 23 years ago. The second a lunchtime birthday celebration with a group of friends from university some of whom I had seen since graduation or at least kept in touch with on social media. The two reunions couldn’t have been more different.
In hindsight, perhaps the first was no more than giving the past another shot, potentially an oversight. As my friends who’d since kept in touch and met each other regularly over the last two decades and some caught up with each other, deep in conversation, they also discussed mundane matters – the ever rising inflation and currency rates, different levels of credit cards, different levels of upper middle class folk we all went to school with… At one point, talking about a guy who was one of the jocks in high school, one of my friends mused, “We didn’t know he was that rich then, did we?” At which point, I was struggling to pick my jaw off the floor.
Granted we went to the top private school in Turkey and rubbed shoulders with some of the richest heirs in the country, those kids you knew were born with a silver spoon and raised to take over the golden key to Daddy’s empire. Regardless, I don’t think I ever contemplated ‘the rich list of Robert College’. To think that, 23 years on, some people were still hung up on high net worth, platinum cards and brand names, was baffling.
Incidentally, the jock in question years later married the sister of a friend I went to university with who happens to be the birthday girl of the second reunion. When I mentioned this conversation, she was equally baffled.
Then we thought of how our friendship circle was never defined by the money our parents made, the first car we had, the labels we wore or the holidays we took. As a friend pointed out, even in twenty years of friendship, none of us had ventured to ask another what their husband did for a living – not because we don’t care for those dear to our friends, but because it didn’t make a bit of difference whether their significant other was a prince or a pauper.
There were of course those who would boast about their latest designer buy or their last holiday skiing in Courchevel, but we quickly x’ed them out of our friendship circle. Labels didn’t define us but the bonds we had created over the years, built on love, trust, respect, nourished with shared experiences. Maybe it is for this reason when we meet, several months, years or even decades later, the conversation flows with ease, just like we’ve only see each other yesterday. Because what we see is what we get – the very same friend we’d made all those years ago, with no labels.
This is why when in the company of those who define themselves or others any other way, I struggle to see what the fuss is about. I am tempted to shake them up and ask: How do you define ourselves? What’s your label? What’s your price tag? Surely, it is more than our pay check, or the red sole of the shoe we wear, or our postcode. And if it is, perhaps it is time to rip these off and have a long hard look at your reflection in the mirror to find what really defines you.
Next time you’re tempted to keep up with the Joneses, or reach for the designer handbag, or obsess over the Os in someone’s pay check, Consider this, if you have a label, you have a price. What sets you apart from mere merchandise?
Credit: Sinem Bilen-Onabanjo, Guardian Woman
Ángela Maria Ponce Camacho, who is the reigning Miss Spain became the first ever transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe pageant.
After the preliminary rounds on Sunday, the 27-year-old model said it was “an honor and pride” to be part of the history of the pageant.
“This is for you, for those who have no visibility, no voice, because we all deserve a world of respect, inclusion and freedom,” Ponce wrote on Instagram on Friday. “And today I am here, proudly representing my nation, all women and human rights.”
The record set by Angele comes after the Miss Universe organization was heavily criticized in 2012 after disqualifying a transgender woman, Jenna Talackova from the Miss Canada competition because she was not “naturally born” a woman.
After Talackova threatened legal action, the organization then owned by Donald Trump changed the rules to allow transgender contestants in its pageants.
“As long as she meets the standards of legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, which we understand that she does, Jenna Talackova is free to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant,” Trump attorney Michael Cohen said at the time. “Nobody is capitulating . . . Like all the other contestants, [Talackova] is wished the best of luck by Mr. Trump.”
Talackova ultimately finished in the top 12 of the Miss Canada pageant and was one of four contestants awarded “Miss Congeniality.” But did not advance to the Miss Universe pageant that year.
Speaking on making history, Ponce, who is from Pilas in southern Spain, credited her family for supporting her.
“They’re my foundation so that my life could unfold,” Ponce told Today.com. “They saw to it that I did not have a traumatic childhood. They are my strength.”
The 2018 Miss Universe pageant was won by Miss Philippines, 24-year-old Catriona Gray.
Credit: LIB
Residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, are demanding that their 24 hour electricity supply be cut short immediately.
According to them, the constant power supply has caused a huge increase in charges. They are demanding that the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) reduce their electricity supply to the 12-hours they previously enjoyed.
Most resident of the state capital, beseiged the YEDC office today to demand a reduction in electricity.
“My bill indicated that I used 605 units in November and they charged N14,000 as against N6,500 for September where I used the same units. They are charging me for what I did not consume because during the day, I spend most of my time in my shop. I only use the electricity at night at home. I have a prepaid meter in the shop and I don’t spend more than N2,000 in a whole month. So how come I am not staying at home and I am being asked to pay N14,000. I am here in their office, demanding an explanation.” a resident said
Reacting to the complains by the residents, the YEDC Maiduguri Business Manager, said
“These complaints may be as a result of the commissioning of the 330kV transmission line which now supplies electricity 24 hours. On the average, we now supply electricity in the town for a minimum of 22 hours in a day, which simply implies that the consumption of energy by residents in the state have multiplied or even tripled itself.
“We took a simple study from our prepaid meters users and we found out that the people that usually came to buy unit of N2,000 or N3,000 in a month now have to spend N15,000 or N20,000 because of their energy usage. One thing we notice about the consumers is that they waste energy. People have this habit of leaving their lights on even in the afternoon.
“Go to some super markets or filling stations, you will see more than 200 bulbs on in the afternoon. So the more you load you use the more energy you consume.”
Credit: LIB
Makeup Mogul and reality star, Kylie Jenner is now the fifth Wealthiest American Celebrity of 2018.
In a new list compiled by Forbes Magazine, the 21-year-old’s net worth of $900 million sees her tied at fifth place with rapper Jay-Z.
The mother of one who launched her Kylie Cosmetics two years ago, has already shifted over $630 million in makeup products, according to Forbes.
This is the first time Kylie has landed on the list, which ranks the wealthiest American celebrities based on fortune they have amassed off their fame.
The number one spot on the list this year went to George Lucas, whose net worth was listed at $5.4 billion. The second place spot goes to Steven Spielberg, who is valued at $3.7 billion, while Oprah Winfrey landed in third with $2.8 billion.
Michael Jordan‘s net worth of $1.7 billion placed him in fourth place, David Copperfield‘s $875 million landed him in seventh, Diddy’s $825 million saw him take the eighth spot.
Tiger Woods and James Patterson tied for the ninth spot with a net worth of $800 million.
Credit: LIB
Dr. Gladys West, one of the “hidden figure” who contributed significantly to the team charged with the computing that laid the foundation for what we now refer to as a GPS navigation system.
Dr. West has now been formally honored by being inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame, one of Air Force’s Space Commands highest honors.
AF Space Command
✔@AFSpace
Unable to attend the Aug 2018 induction ceremony, Dr. Gladys West was honored at the Pentagon as one of the 2018 Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers for her contributions to the @usairforce space program. Read more about her incredible career: https://go.usa.gov/xPJVy
Dr. West served as only the second African American woman at Dahlgren Naval Base in Dahlgren, Virginia and only one of four African Americans to work on the base during the 1960s and 70s. The Virginia State University alumna was hired as a mathematician at the United States Naval Weapons Laboratory and ultimately worked with a team of noteworthy engineers to develop what would become the Global Positioning System (GPS). She engaged in extensive astronomical research and study to determine the most accurate reflections of planet sizes, gravitational pull, and other forces that may distort the Earth’s shape.
She was tasked with entering data into ‘supercomputers’ that were solving complex equations and then also working with software that performed countless calculations to ensure the accuracy of the Earth’s model that then became optimized for the creation of the GPS.
The Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame recognizes the leaders whose innovation and vision significantly impacted the early years of the Air Force space program. The award honors and celebrates those who created and leveraged new technology and operational systems that would forever change space exploration and national security concerns.
Born Gbemi Anthonia Adefuye, Toni Tones is a triple-threat force to be
reckoned with: She is an actress, singer, and award-winning photographer whose influence in the Nigerian entertainment industry has become undeniable.
Her role in the box office hit ‘King Of boys’ directed by Kemi Adetiba brought Toni Tones critical acclaim. Her electrifying performances in top
productions have positioned her as one of the most sought after A-list
actors in Nollywood today.
On the road to success, Toni Tones has faced and overcome challenges. In an in-depth interview with The Nation’s Flair Magazine, she speaks about this, and more.
See excerpts from the interview below:
What was it like at the beginning?
What are some of the challenges you have encountered?
How do you cope with them?
Read full interview here:
http://thenationonlineng.net/toni-tones-living-life-dreams/
Wear are a dynamic women’s media outfit speacializing inmedia, marketing, promotions, leadership and career growth services.
Don’t miss our future updates! Get Subscribed Today!
©2025. WomenofRubies. All Rights Reserved.
