Actress, Tonto Dikeh is clearly enjoying the amazing, life-changing journey of motherhood as she has never for once stop gushing about her little King. Yup, Tonto is definitely giving us major motherhood goals!
Check out beautiful photos of Tonto Dikeh and her cute little boy!
Hello WORriors! It’s #ThrowBackThursday and we are throwing back these old photos of actress Mercy Johnson!
Hello WORriors! It’s #WCW and our Woman Crush is Waje!
Aituaje Vivian Ebele Iruobe was (born September 1), known as Waje (an acronym for “Words aren’t just enough”), is a Nigerian singer whose vocal range covers three octaves. She was born on September 1, in Akure, Ondo State, then moved to her hometown, Benin City, Edo State.
She attended the Word of Faith Group of Schools and joined the choir. As a young singer she once sang gospel tunes to the delight of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa of Church of God misson int. Archbishop Benson was quite impressed by her singing and decided to help her throughout her whole secondary school days. She then moved to Nsukka to receive a degree in social work at the University of Nigeria. During her school years, Waje focused on her musical works such as school concerts and fellowships.
In 2007, Waje decided to take the next step and fully launch her music career. She was still a student at the time and paid her dues by doing lots of free shows and gigs, singing at every given opportunity.
The first major spotlight she received was in 2008, when she featured in the P-Square hit track titled “Do Me”. This track was critically acclaimed across and was widely known across Africa and some parts of Europe. This helped boost her career a little further, after which she participated in Advanced Warning (a reality TV show which featured artists that are on the verge of a breakthrough). The reality show was organised by MTV Base South Africa and Zain Nigeria, where she came out as the first runner up.
She has shared the stage with various international artists such as Wyclef Jean in South Africa, opening for Kerry Hilson during a show organised in Calabar, and has also worked with a lot of artists who had hit singles, including “One Naira” with M.I, “Do Me” with P-Square, and more. She also collaborated with Dencia on “True Love” and has a list of songs that have received a number of award nominations and winnings. She released her self-titled debut studio album in 2013.
Waje headlined the song ‘Strong girl’ which is the theme song for ONE Campaign’s ‘Poverty is Sexist’ in 2015 and also joined Bono in Lagos, Nigeria for the Lagos campaign in 2015. She is among the judges for The Voice Nigeria, alongside 2face Idibia, Timi Dakolo and Patoranking.
Waje worked with the youths of her community through an organisation “Waje’s Safe House”, where she teams up with other NGOs quarterly to help fight for their cause. The first project supported under Waje’s Safe House was the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children, assisting the Project HELP (Help Educate the Less Privileged) which the goal of raising funds for allowing children to continue their studies in the school in Makoko, through Ring Back Tones with her hit singles “Oko Mi” and “I Wish”.
Women Of Rubies celebrates you, amazing Waje!
Most people find it hard to believe me when I say I’m an oddball (considering the fact that I’m usually the life of the party, anywhere I go)..but that’s just the truth. While growing up, I felt that I didn’t really fit in at home or in school but I just played along and did what I was told to do..but I felt out of place! I was quite a spontaneous and stubborn girl so I broke lot of rules and jinxs. I didn’t want to look like a bastard so I stopped being myself and tried being all obedient.
While my friends were writing love letters in primary school, I preferred writing short stories..I even dared to start a mini magazine then, and forged an imaginary email address..lily@yahoo.com (lol, what was I even thinking??). In secondary school, I tried writing love letters but i failed. I was contented writing abusive letters upandan because I could abuse a ghost then!
I knew I didn’t really fit in but I was trying my very best to fit in so everyone wouldn’t see me as a weirdo. I wanted to be a whole lot in the future so I kept on changing careers and when people started tagging me as being unserious, I chose to be a lawyer but I knew I had a lot of talents and wanted to maximise all my potentials! I gained admission into tertiary institution and rushed into a relationship so I could prove to friends that I wasn’t all ‘holy-holy’ and I ended up burning my fingers in the process!
Arrghhh, let me cut the whole story short! All my life, I tried too hard to please family and friends..literally everyone, and then everyone started taking me for granted. I wanted everyone to pat me on the back for being a good and obedient girl. I looked for love in the wrong places. I wanted kudos for stuffing my real self into a dark closet, and embracing a personality that ‘suits’ everyone. The love didn’t come, the validation and pat on the back didn’t come too. Instead, I got cheated, insulted, and disappointed repeatedly.
I finally gave myself a knock on the head one day and realized I wasn’t really living..I decided to stop giving a damn! I snatched my inner power and changed the game! I stopped pleasing everybody. I love laughing and smiling a lot but changed because people told me it was all weird and annoying..but now? I laugh with careless abandon! I used to talk a lot but tied up my tongue because people and boyfriends didn’t like my opinionated self..but now? I talk and ask questions..i talk to everyone, including babies and old people (I can talk and greet for Africa.) I left toxic relationships and stay away from people that try to frustrate or judge me! I no longer struggle with making career decision because I now realize that I am made to be an entrepreneur! Yes, I don’t stress myself up by trying to fit in. I am happy the way I am. I talk and relate with everyone I meet without having to pretend to be who I am not! I am truly living now!
It doesn’t matter who you are, don’t try to change to please people (except if you are a mean, awful person). Be your own kind of DUFF, be your own kind of geek. Be you. Do you. Don’t try to be who you are not, just so you can find love or acceptance. We all are not perfect but we are perfect enough in our Creator’s eyes! Be proud of your flaws. Don’t try to hide under anybody’s shadow except God’s own, of course. Seek validation from God, not human beings! If you feel the need to change your lifestyle, do so…not because anybody ask you to, but because you want to.
I Am Lydia And I Am Proud Of Who I Am. I Don’t Follow The Crowd Anymore, I Walk Alone And I Am Not Afraid.
*drops pen*
Written by Lydia Oladejo
Some men can’t resist looking, even if they don’t mean to hurt you.
When I was little, I would watch my father. When we would walk down a street and there was a beautiful woman, he would always watch her closely. Even though his daughters and wife were present, he didn’t mind.
My mother didn’t seem to care too much, either. However, since I had the tendency to be jealous, I told myself I would never let my husband look at other women like that in front of me.
I’m fortunate to have a good, respectful man. However, I have caught my husband a few times looking at another woman and we’ve had great discussions about it. After talking it through and explaining our feelings, we were able to understand each other. I know my husband loves me, but that doesn’t mean he can’t notice the people around him. There’s nothing a good, respectful conversation can’t solve.
If you’ve caught your husband looking at another woman, it most likely made you feel jealous and bad about yourself. However, he probably didn’t intend to hurt you. It’s so important to talk to him and express how much it affects you. When you catch your man glancing at a pretty lady, follow these tips:
When it happens, let him know you saw, but don’t talk about it until you get home. Now is not the time to argue. It’ll be better to discuss the problem in the safety and privacy of your home.
Tell him to put himself in your shoes. Ask how he would feel if you were to gawk at all the attractive men walking down the street. Once he understands how his glances hurt you (and what it would feel like in return), he’ll have a better understanding of what his looks do to his wife.
Some men like to think they’re pretty macho, and they use this as an excuse to minimize their woman’s jealousy. Ask your husband to make an effort to avoid looking at other women, at least in front of you.
4. Show him love
Maybe your man just needs to feel loved. Dress up, go on dates with him and show him how much you love and appreciate him and his efforts for your family. When he feels that love and appreciation, he’s sure to reciprocate the actions.
Communication is undoubtedly the best remedy for misunderstandings in a relationship. Don’t stop talking and don’t get angry even when you feel like it. Make sure your husband knows exactly how you’re feeling and talk about it. Dealing with a husband who has a wandering eye isn’t easy, but it can be improved with love and respect.
By: Fernanda Gonzalez for Familyshare.com
Of course, there are about a million ways to tell if your mister really loves you, but if he does these six things, you know he truly does:
When you honestly love your spouse, their words matter to you. You even go as far as to seek out their opinions. This is especially true for men.When he listens to your advice and counsel, you know he loves you. It shows that he trusts you and values your opinion enough to take what you have to say to heart.
This might seem a little strange, but hear me out. How many times do you argue with someone you don’t care about? You probably don’t because you only care about resolving issues and disagreements with the people who matter most to you. Of course, if arguments are happening constantly and you’re always picking fights with each other, that’s not healthy. However, a man who really loves you will always want to work things out, even if that means a heated discussion. He’ll constantly build the relationship, even if you have to argue to get there.
I love him, but my husband is stubborn – he might be one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met. That being said, he is willing to change if it makes me happy. This goes for any man – even the most stubborn of men can change their plans if it benefits the woman they adore.
He’ll do this because he respects his opinions and ideas are important to him. You know your man loves you when is able to compromise on things he had firm opinions on before. You’ll know he really loves you when he does this with a happy and willing heart.
This goes beyond the idea that males want what they want and they’ll do anything to get it. He knows you’re one of a kind, something he can’t just find anywhere else. Because of this, he’ll fight for you.
He would never fight for something or someone he doesn’t really care about, but because he loves you, he will always be there to defend you or help you in any way he can.
If you’re doing something that drives him crazy, he’ll tell you. If he’s going somewhere with his friends, he’s not going to lie about where they’re going or what they’re doing (he wouldn’t want to do anything you would disapprove of, anyway).
He tells you the truth because he respects you and loves you more than anything in the world. Also, you’ll know it’s true love if he doesn’t feel the need to lie because he would never do anything bad enough to fib about in the first place.
Lastly, He’ll do anything for you – the woman he truly loves
A man in love supports, uplifts, guides, helps and is just there for his lovely wife. He is there to have fun with her, share her dreams and ambitions, laugh with her and even cry with her.
Love means that he wants to spend his life with you by his side, and face whatever obstacles may arise.
If you want to know for yourself that your man loves you, look out for these six things. If he has done them and more, never, ever let that him go.
Source: Familyshare.com
Adesua has featured in quite a number of films, including, The Arbitration, The Wedding Party, and Falling. Her performance in Falling earned her the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award for Best Actress In A Drama. Other notable films she has appeared in include A Soldier’s Story (2015), Out of Luck (2015), and Couple of Days (2016). She also played Shiela in the fourth and fifth seasons of Shuga, a television soap opera about HIV/AIDS, among others.
Adesua Etomi also has lots of awards and nominations to her name.
Women of Rubies celebrates you, sweet Adesua ‘Susu’ Etomi!
This article is a personal triumph for me, because it took me over a year to figure out how to get rid of the tiny cockroaches that terrorised my kitchen.
We moved into a new house a few years ago and we were on the ground floor. Apparently if you live on the ground floor you are more susceptible to pests. I cannot verify if this is fact or not, but from my experience I am inclined to agree. I read up so many articles on the subject matter and even mentioned it to anyone that cared to listen just in case they had valuable tips. As strange as it sounds, I never knew I would have a “cockroach preference” but bigger cockroaches are better.
The tiny ones are a different species that learnt work from the devil. They are everywhere and multiply in hundreds possibly thousands.
I did the fumigation thing twice. The first time it was effective and 6k well spent, but after about three months they came back.
The second time the fumigation people had upped the price to 10k #blameitonthedollar and I started seeing the cockroaches the very next week.
After so much frustration and several cans of insecticide I decided to do the following to combat the problem:
Do not leave left overs lying around
If you don’t finish your pot of rice, please pack it up and refrigerate. There were times I had cooked late and was too tired to pack up the food, I’d just put the whole pot on paper towels in the fridge. I also kept bread, fruit and even plantain in the fridge.
Make sure you always sweep and mop after cooking. Clean your counter tops and sink to get rid of bits of food.
Food storage containers must be tight fitting and preferably latch shut:
I learnt this the hard way when I opened my container of Garri one day and saw a mini village of cockroaches. I had to bin the whole thing and replace my containers.
The point is to starve the pests as much as possible.
Dismantle your kitchen furniture, if you can
This discovery was by accident. Someone sat on my kitchen counter and when they jumped off accidentally broke one of the legs. In the process of trying to get it fixed we lifted the marble on top and low and behold we found their hiding place!
The cockroaches were lined bumper to bumper on the wood beneath. I quickly grabbed my insecticide and sprayed like a maniac. I voluntarily dismantled the other counter and the findings were the same.
Not all insecticides are the same
Since this is not an advertorial, I’m not allowed to endorse a brand but I can tell you the insecticide I used to combat this problem starts with S and ends with R. There is also a P somewhere in the middle. (**wink** Someone please type it in the comments). I was advised to dilute with kerosene, but I decided against that and diluted with water instead.
I used one part water to one part “miracle cockroach killer liquid” and it was amazing! It worked better than the fumigation and all other insecticides, I tell you. Since I have it to hand I spray nooks and crannies periodically.
Please be careful; this solution is very toxic like other insecticides. Do not spray near food or utensils. When I’m doing a thorough spraying I put my food stuff in the fridge and rewash all my crockery just to be safe.
Keep your fridge cold as much as possible
This is a difficult one, because of NEPA wahala, but I’d mention it nonetheless.
I lost a fridge to tiny cockroaches. In the middle of the cockroach wahala my fridge broke down and I paid a (insert nasty adjective) repair man to fix it.
2 days later it broke down again. It took him 3 months to come back after giving me so many cock and bull stories; but by then it was too late.
The dark dampness of the fridge was very attractive to the cockroaches and they moved in. I luckily saw a fridge online on sale for about 50% off so I replaced it. When he finally fixed it and it worked fine, I had to sell it at a giveaway price to another repair man for parts because the cockroaches never left.
Finally, do not eat in your bedroom
I’ll be honest I’ve never really liked the idea of eating in the room in the first place. Something about your blanket smelling like Efo riro when you’re trying to nod off is not appealing. Anyway, I started noticing the odd tiny cockroach in the room and I knew I needed to act fast. I banned all bedroom eating and filled all my wardrobes and drawers with camphor.
Luckily for me, they didn’t come en mass I suspect the ones I found were “scouts”. The kitchen was becoming inhabitable and they were looking for alternative dwellings. I made sure that didn’t happen and I am proud to say I have been cockroach free for over a year.
Not even one. I still see the odd big one, once in a blue moon, but they are easy to kill no biggie.
Whenever I remember I spray the floor of my kitchen entrance at night (cockroaches are nocturnal) with my insecticide solution to prevent them from coming in.
There were days I was literally in tears because of how defeated I felt about the whole situation. I would sweep and mop my kitchen several times a day to prove to myself that I wasn’t dirty. If you are going through something similar don’t be ashamed, you’d be surprised how many people are going through the same thing. These tips worked for me and I hope they work for you too.
Have you gone through a similar experience? Please share what you did to combat the problem.
Photo Credit: Hongqi Zhang (aka Michael Zhang) | Dreamstime.com
I have fought all temptation to write an article about Donald Trump or our remote president, Buhari. Well, until now!
Mr Trump announced a few days to World Environment Day (WED) that the US is exiting the Paris Agreement. For someone who wants to make the US great again, I am not sure he is putting the people first. What Nation can be great without its people? Ironically, this year’s WED’s theme is connecting people to Nature.
Climate change is a moral issue. It is not just science. The World Bank estimated that climate change could drive more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. The United States is currently the world’s second-largest carbon polluter, and it is estimated that its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement Accord would add up to 3 billion tones of extra carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. By the end of the century, this would have raised global temperature by 0.1 – 0.3oC. How about making our planet great again?
Now, let’s address this even more locally. President Buhari did sign the Paris Agreement in March of this year, committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent.
Of course, this sounds good on paper or when you hear it in the news. The practicality of it, however, is what we need to examine.
I was at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September 2016, and I attended a side event on Lake Chad. Truth be told, there was a lack of interest from both the president and the Nigerian delegates (or is it entourage) present. This lack of will or comprehension makes it all the more difficult to have a sustained and viable national policy on the environment. The president soon left the meeting and pitifully, all other delegates followed him and exited the hall, while the meeting was still in full swing. No meaningful contributions came from Nigeria. It was embarrassing. For these delegates, it was merely a photo-op to show that they were with Mr President. What I saw was a group of entitled, lazy sycophants whose last thoughts were the Nigerian people. But, it is expected from our government- they show face but their consciousness was absent.
Most people will tell you they need lots of funding before they can take action on climate change. These so-called Environment organisations that have even received funding, what have they done with it? They push for policies with no strategy and when they get grants from international bodies, they are never adequately utilised. It is the new “green” business.
We should care the most about the environment. That’s what the green on our flag symbolizes. But, Nigeria is an archetypical oil nation. According to Energy Information Agency, we are the 10th largest producer of oil in the world, but we lack strong regulatory infrastructure on environmental protection. Currently, Nigeria ranks 6th on the list of vulnerable countries in the world. What is more; by 2030, the country would ranks among the countries which will experience environmental disaster induced poverty
We are the 6th most vulnerable country in the world. Worst, by the year 2030, Nigeria would be one country out of 10 in the world that will have disaster induced poverty.
I have done extensive research in the oil producing regions of Ondo State. In the past 30 years, over 400, 000 tonnes of oil has spilt into creeks, sediments and soil. The core occupation of residents in this area is subsistence fishing and farming. And these oil spills occurs every year, causing major harm to the environment, obliterating livelihoods and placing human health at serious risk.
The human rights consequences are thus, severe. In such vein, Heinrich Boll Stiftung (a Germany based organization) conducted a research in 2015 and highlighted the challenges in Nigeria’s in the following order; Climate change and its impacts, extremism and the pursuance of ethnic interests, rising inequality and persistent poverty in the midst of increasing wealth, social unrest and insecurity, food insecurity, corruption and governance through political clienteles, weak regional integration, lack of energy access and a shift in global energy needs, poor education, population trends, such as the growing body of young Nigerians.
Of all the challenges listed above, I think the lack of energy is the most overriding because it is interrelated to the other challenges. Energy is an essential need. Yet in Nigeria, we do not have stable electricity. Businesses are failing; people are getting sick from kerosene fumes and generator exhausts, education is getting weaker due to lack of access to information technology and reliable light source to research and innovate.
Even relationships are affected because everything is just ridiculously harsh.
Our world is going mad. President Trump may think climate change is a hoax, while Buhari may sign a document he doesn’t fully comprehend. However, that should not stop us from doing our part. This planet is ours. When it thrives, we do the same.
How can we stay sane in a world that feels fully intent on caving in on itself?
For me, it involves connecting more with nature. Going outside and stepping into nature. Experiencing its beauty and its importance. It is only when we appreciate alluring essence of Mother Nature, then, together, we would have the urge to make our planet great again.
This, however, is not a difficult endeavor. You can simply connect with nature by:
It is already hard being a Nigerian. Do not let the hardships take away your basic rights.
Nature is closer than you think.
Please hold on, I really don’t mean to scare you. However, 75% of corporate employees fail in business; be it a side business or a full time business after years in corporate employment. Have you ever wondered why it is so?
At a time, I thought it was a jinx, as I could not imagine how a high flying employee could fail woefully in a personal business. I have also had my fair share of failures but now I know better.
Let me share a bit of my failure story.
One beautiful afternoon, I got a call from a colleague and he introduced me to a wonderful health product. The interesting part was that I would get paid for using the product and get commissions from inviting people into the business. It was a networking business.
Being a sales person at work, I saw this as a walk over and I invested in the business immediately. My dear reader, I never smelled any commission as I could not introduce any one to the business. It is over six years now and I still have some of the products in my home. Let’s just say I leant how to fail honourably.
In the last three years, I have invested in three businesses and I am bold to say that I have made considerable success in each of them. This success rate did not just happen, it is because I have learnt from my previous failures and I’d love to share same with you. For the sake of this article, we will call our case study Sunshine.
Order
Sunshine works with a pre-listed job description and role assignment. For 7 years, Sunshine resumes to her job function each day, working through her duties in a breeze and she has imbibed this way of life subconsciously. She sees life in this form of stability and order. This is the mindset that Sunshine takes into the business world. Sunshine does not know that building a successful business requires a level of disruption. Things hardly work out as planned especially for start-ups. Order is her first shocker in the business arena, as there is every cause for alarm.
Research
Sunshine is a very busy hard worker and she hardly has time for social functions except family events. During one of such events, she got talking to a cousin of hers. He cousin invites her to a trending business and voila, her mind is made up. She resumes to the office and tries to contain her excitement till she shares her new found business idea with her colleague at work. Her colleague leapt for joy at the idea and Sunshine went ahead to invest in the business. Sunshine has set herself up for failure as she did not research her market and only got counsel from her busy colleague just like herself.
Capital
Sunshine once failed in a business before she started. This is because Sunshine was waiting for the big lump sum as her initial capital to start. Eventually, sunshine got her huge capital and invested all into her business. She made the huge mistake called OVER CAPITALIZATION. She invested more in finesse instead of founding values. I have been there so I know. The chilling boxes I bought when starting out in my event planning business are presently used as storage boxes in my home.
There are still other factors like Trust and Processes but I will be stopping here for today. I hope this article has helped you think things through, even as you start your business.
Do feel free to comment on other factors you know so as to help that corporate employee venturing into starting a side business.
Source: Bellanaija
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