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All vocalists can be singers but all singers cannot be vocalists. This is because of the weight in classical music. Singers that are adept in light music often find it difficult to sing in the classical mode. On the other hand, singers who sing in classical mode can sing in the light mode very easily. These are the main differences between the words, singer and vocalist. Here is our list of top five vocalist in Nigeria:

1. Omawumi

Omawunmi, the original Warri queen, came into limelight in 2007 when she became the first runner-up on West African Idol. She has since taken the Nigeria Music Industry by storm with her powerful soprano voice. Her music ranges from Jazz to R&B to Reggae, creating music that anyone can relate to. Her vocal prowess sets her aside and puts her on top of our list

2. Tiwa Savage

A vocalist per excellence, Tiwa has lent her sonorous voice to international music legends Mary J Blige, Chaka Khan, George Michael, Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli just to mention a few. After she had accumulated an exhaustive amount of vocal and lyrical credit, she returned  to Nigerian shores. Tiwa blessed us with sound goodies that showed her keenness in the vocal department.

3. Waje

The beautiful voice that made Psquare’s Do Me even more pleasant, Waje is another vocalist with a voice so powerful, you find yourself enamored. Her vocal range covers over 3 octaves. Her top notch vocals with her high energy is one of the many reasons why we believe she will be in the music scene for a very long time.

4. Simi

The ‘Ara ile’ crooner ventured into the music scene some years back, giving us a taste of her sonorous voice and giving us something to look forward to. She came back with full force, dominating 2015/2016 with her singles and melodious voice, making us want some more.

5. Chidinma

The winner of 2010 edition of MTN Project Fame dazzled us with her voice while still in the competition, that it was almost not surprising when she won. She then stepped into the music industry, giving us full serve of her rich and beautiful voice. Whether it’s a duet or a feature or her own song, Ms Kedike’s warm and sweet voice is a force to reckon with.

 

13 years ago Tewa Onasanya took the bold step to start a fashion magazine to celebrate and profile the achievement of women , a medium she has also been using to create awareness for cervical cancer hence the reason why started the EMACC project . The pharmacologist turned publisher tells us her plan to help wage war against Cervical cancer in Nigeria and why she is passionate about the cause.

Me, Myself & My Work

I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother and a Pharmacologist turned Publisher / Entrepreneur. I am very passionate about what I do and I believe anything worth doing is worth doing very well. I have two great children (13 and 10), who I have to set great examples for about being the true and better version of yourself every day. I believe in everyone abilities and it makes me so happy when I see people succeed at what they do and being able to help people the best way I can.

Transitioning from Pharmacology to Publishing

The Transition was great from Pharmacology to Publishing. I must say it was challenging at first but after a while I got used to it, learning on the job. Luckily as you know, there are transferable skills you learn in life and as a student, which could be applied to any profession (to an extent). I have to also say that I was led by my conviction that instead of complaining about something, you do something about it and if I wanted to be good at it, I need to keep learning, take the good with the bad to make a great product.

The Beginning

Yes, I did start Exquisite Magazine when I was still living in England. I used to live in an area where we couldn’t readily buy a magazine that was for the Black British woman and to crown it, then, we only had two or three magazines for women of colour with majority of that two or three being just about hair and beauty. I needed a magazine for us that would also cater to our fashion, beauty and lifestyle needs and that’s how Exquisite magazine was birth. After a few years, we decided to launch in Nigeria and we were well received. There weren’t that many fashion magazines when we started, so the land was still (and still is ) virgin.

I believe we are in a league of our own with our own vision and mission. We are different because before anything else, we are a fashion magazine, then beauty and Lifestyle. We thrive on being able to empower, inspire and motivate people with the information required to get them excited about themselves. We also use our platform to create awareness for a form of cancer that is 100% preventable and a lot of women are dying from (cervical cancer). The ELOY awards which is our biggest baby at Exquisite magazine. After a few years of being in Nigeria, I noticed that almost all the awards ceremonies that were held were to honour men and maybe, maybe one or two females. We wanted to change that, as there are so many women doing exceptionally well in different fields and are not being recognised. These women need to be honoured, recognised and celebrated, so other women especially the younger ones would be encouraged to be the best at anything they want to do even if its male dominated. With the vision and mission of exquisite magazine being to celebrate, inspire, motivate and empower women, we started an event which brings women together to network and communicate. In 2009, we started the only female awards in Nigeria called the ELOY awards. ELOY is acronym for EXQUISITE LADIES OF THE YEAR, which uses its platform to celebrate women of excellence in different fields to inspire and motivate other women.

The EMACC project and its Spread

The focus of the Exquisite Magazine Annual Cervical Cancer (EMACC) project is on all things to do with cervical cancer including information about symptoms and causes of the disease, ways to prevent it and ways people and companies can support us. Every hour in Nigeria, women are dying with cervical cancer, which is preventable thanks to cervical screening and the HPV vaccination programme. However people are still not going in for their yearly screenings. Early detection is also key in increasing survival rates and so educating everyone on the disease, its symptoms and ways to prevent it is key. The reception has been ok but could be great. We are gradually getting there. We are on a mission to make people realise early detection is key, they need to get screened and spread the word. Not all cancers are pink!

To an extent, we are attaining our goals, but not attaining it enough. We want to be able to screen thousands of women monthly and vaccinate children so that deaths associated with cervical cancer can be minimised but we are still trying to get there.

We have already expanded into different states. Aside from Lagos, we have been to cities in Abuja for free screening session and to villages in Rivers state. More states are currently being explored as well

Reason for Focusing On Cervical Cancer

Our focus on cancer especially cervical cancer is a little personal. Too many women have died from a form of cancer that is preventable and for me that is totally unacceptable. Women are the solid foundation of any society, if we keep losing our women what going to be left of us? You hear of different illness that just happen to people in the cause of their lifetime and we hear of preventative medicine for some of these illnesses. I think it is wise to prevent cervical cancer than to have to treat full blown cancer and eventually die from it. Cancer is real, yes it can be beaten but we need to be wise. One death every hour from a preventable cancer is not acceptable.

Balancing it all

God. God is the one helping me day in day out as I even don’t know how I do it. I know what my responsibilities are and I work to make sure one doesn’t suffer for the other. I’m still work in progress though.

My Drive and Passion Won’t Let Me Give Up

As a publisher, the challenges come in different packages. Lol. There is the need for great editorial staff, the need to be able to share your vision with people who are passionate enough about that vision to go on the mission to fulfilling it with you. There is the economic challenge as well but with the different challenges, we are able to raise above them and still churn out great magazine with great content every issue and great events.

What inspired me not to give up is the drive and passion that I have for my work. I love what I do and every day, I believe I can be better at it to bring out the best in me. Plus I love it when people give us the compliments and constructive criticism. It drives me to be better.

Women, Believe in Yourself

My advice would be to believe in yourself. Don’t mind the naySayers or what the statistics say, if you can visualise your vision and are prepared to work on that vision, it has no choice but to be a reality. Notice I said believe and work. It’s not enough to believe alone, you must put in the required work to achieve anything.

Celebrating Other People’s Success Makes Me a Woman of Rubies

I am a woman who has grown into herself, who believes in herself and knows her worth. I am an exquisite woman of rubies who doesn’t let life happen to her but is a go-getter and takes life on with the mind set of being able to do anything I set my mind to. I am beautiful on the inside and outside and I desire that all women and men are a success. I celebrate another person’s success because I believe life is not a competition. I am not afraid to ask for help when I need it.

 

Nigerian singer, Aituaje Iruobe a.k.a Waje, in a bid to create awareness about societal issues and how to they can be overcomed, shared an inspiring story tagged #MyFreedomStory on Instagram.

According to the ”Omini knowest” crooner, she could have been a commercial worker battling with several sexually transmitted diseases(STDs) but instead she used the opportunity given to her to become an award winning song writer and musician.

She wrote:

”I could have been that commercial sex worker with no hope for the future, living in the slum and wondering if the next STD I contract would end my life BUT because of the opportunity given to me, I have become an award winning vocalist and songwriter and a voice for generations, leaving an indelible mark in the music industry and my country.This is

#MyFreedomStory

”Together we can transform more lives in our communities. Visit www.freedomfoundationng.org to help transform a life. @freedom_fdn #TransformAlifeToday”

 

 

Wife of the President, Her Excellency Aisha M. Buhari has commended the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their global interventions to improve the wellbeing and livelihood of the poorest people in the world. She made the commendation while receiving Melinda French Gates, the Co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who paid her a visit at the State House, Thursday, January 19, 2017.

Aisha Buhari spoke on the need to have stronger support from the Foundation as well as more productive and enduring partnerships with relevant bodies in Nigeria to implement the Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH). She affirmed her commitment to continue to advocate and mobilize resources to improve the lives of women and children in Nigeria.

On her part, Melinda Gates expressed her satisfaction with Aisha Buhari’s Future Assured programme for the way it is touching the lives of the poor and vulnerable in the society, and said efforts like these count in the individual lives of the beneficiaries of the programme.

She highlighted the need for role models like Aisha Buhari, in the society like, because, “it is girls that grow up to become mothers and these girls need role models to emulate”. She extended her commendation to the wives of state governors who are doing everything possible to reduce negative health outcomes in their various states. She urged them to use their voices as the President’s wife is using hers to make a difference.

Earlier, the Hon. Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole had commended the progress of the Future Assured Programme and the leadership of Her Excellency especially in the area of malnutrition through her direct support and advocacy and called on Gates to leverage on the platform provided by the wives of the governors in order to achieve faster, the targets of the foundation.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Lanre Tejuosho, in his goodwill message promised that the Senate will continue to provide necessary legislation for effective health service delivery in the country.

The meeting was attended by wives of the state governors, and other relevant stakeholders.

See more photos below:



Source: Bellanaija.com

Africans will need no introduction to the colorful and versatile world of gele. However, for those not so familiar with the word, it is called “head gear” in English. It is a type of head wrap adorned by Nigerian women of West Africa. Typically used as a head gear majorly by Igbos and Yorubas. However, it is more common among Yoruba women. It has become a culture and a wardrobe staple. A woman can wear her traditional outfit commonly known as Iro and buba in Yoruba language (which means blouse and wrapper ) or any form of outfit as long as long it is made with an African fabric; be it lace, Ankara or aso oke, the look is incomplete without a head gear. So basically, the gele completes the look. From 2010 to now, the rise of creative forms of gele is incredible. It is so prominent that even Lagbaja (a Nigerian Musician) wrote a song about it; “onigele yi, skentele…..onigele, skontolo” and at owambes, local drummers (mainly a group of Yoruba men in dashiki or Ankara) would walk up to women with beautiful geles; beating their talking drums and singing “ewo gele gen gen lori aji gbotoko” (loosely translated as look at the beautiful head gear on the woman who respects her husband) and as tradition, these women will then spray the drummers some Naira notes. All these show that gele isn’t just a wardrobe staple; it is also a culture that is well appreciated not just by women who wear them but also by men.

The gele is usually adorned during weddings and special events. It is used to complement the traditional attire and is an ultimate stunner and statement maker. It can be tied using different fabrics such as damask, brocade, aso oke or singele. These fabrics come in a wide array of colors, patterns and textures all contributing to the unique beauty of the gele. The tying of the gele is an art in itself and it requires creativity, dexterity and skill. Some women prefer their gele to be moderate, others like elaborate and flamboyant styles and if you are one of those wedding guests who don’t like turning up in a conventional look, you can simply tie your aso oke as a turban. Whatever your preference, the gele would definitely add more glam to your look. Do you know that there are names given to different kinds of gele? There is asake gele avant garde, onile gogoro, take a bow, abebe gele, oleku gele and so on.

 

It has also become a money making venture as we have certain makeup artiste who specialize in the art of tying gele such as the famous segun gele, whos based in the United States and our very own Lagos-Nigerian based Ojulewa. These people tie gele for a living and also train interested persons to become expert in the field.

We do hope you get inspiration and ideas from the beautiful collection of gele styles.

 By: Kelu Ogunleye

Email: keluspecial@gmail.com

Photo credit:@ojulewastudio (Instagram handle)

 

You will need
2 canYou will need
2 cans of Plum tomatoes
2 medium red onions
Ginger – amount depends on your tolerance, but you should be able to smell the ginger in the uncooked pepper mix, otherwise you haven’t added enough
A sprinkling of thyme – emphasis on sprinkling
A sprinkling of curry powder
3 – 4 pieces of ata rodo – scotch bonnet/habanero pepper
3 pieces of tatashe
Sunflower oil – or your choice of veg oil
How To
1. First things first, blend your pepper mix + ginger. Take out a quarter of 1 of the onions and set aside. Make sure you keep your nose out for the ginger. Very important, but carefully ensure that you do not go overboard with it. Boil the pepper mixture to reduce it until it becomes thick. Also be on the look out for the colour. Big Oladunni’s Chicken Stew is a feast for the eyes and palate.
2. Boil your chicken with chopped onions, ginger, salt and seasoning cubes. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: To boil chicken, you start with steaming it first in its own juices, decanting that first batch of stock, adding a little extra water, and put back on the heat again. This is how Mummy does it. She always stressed that you should never end up with more than 2, cups of stock, per whole chicken, otherwise you have just adulterated the flavour of the chicken by boiling it with too much water. Advice drilled in my ears over time. Mummy would get quite upset with you if you boiled chicken with a lot of water. Fry or grill after boiling and set aside.
3. By now, you should have your aromatic and sweet smelling reduced pepper mix. When you get to make this and you leave feedback, I really would be expecting comments about the aroma of the pepper.
4. Heat up sunflower oil in the same pot you boiled the chicken with, so as to caramelise as much of the chicken bits left behind. Chop the last quarter of the onion from step 1, add to the oil and let it fry till it softens.
5. Add the reduced pepper and let it fry. See what I as saying about the pleasant to the eye colour. Yeeeeees, once you can achieve this, you are on to something fantastic. Allow it to fry for a bit until you start to see bubbles appear in the pepper.
6. Sprinkle in a little curry powder and thyme. Emphasis on sprinkle because these spices are just flavour enhancers, and should not over power this stew
7. Allow the pepper to fry till it absorbs the oil and takes on a glossy kind of look. This is key.
8. Big Oladunni’s stew is not fried for ages like Buka stew (recipe click HERE), or else you lose the flavour of the ginger, so keep an eye on the pepper. Once the pepper has thickened further from Step 7 above, add the chicken stock, and fried or grilled chicken. Stir and lower the heat. Now, this is where the magic happens.
Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: Lowering the heat is vital. You forget and you will hear her screaming from the living room “shey o ti yina e lole”. English for have you turned down the heat. I know some may be wondering if my mother speaks any English at all, not to worry she has a BA in English from University of Ibadan and was an English teacher for years before she left to setup her own schools. Some of my memories of cooking with her just happen to be in Yoruba.
9. Allow it to fry until you start to notice oil patches on top. Once you start to notice a little oil layer above the stew, take it off the heat, and as Mummy does, just leave it to sit on its own for a while, to allow the flavours to develop before you serve.
This is a bite your fingers, crush all the bones to smithereens kind of chicken stew. Its flavour is light, delicious, flirty on your palate and tingly aromatic on your nostrils.
You will enjoy this Chicken Stew, trust me.
Your Sunday Lunch Rice and Chicken Stew will never be the same
This stew is quite flexible, in that you can use leftovers for Peppered Chicken, which is exactly what I did yesterday. Step by step recipe for peppered meats, click
HERE
2cans of Plum tomatoes
2 medium red onions
Ginger – amount depends on your tolerance, but you should be able to smell the ginger in the uncooked pepper mix, otherwise you haven’t added enough
A sprinkling of thyme – emphasis on sprinkling
A sprinkling of curry powder
3 – 4 pieces of ata rodo – scotch bonnet/habanero pepper
3 pieces of tatashe
Sunflower oil – or your choice of veg oil
How To
1. First things first, blend your pepper mix + ginger. Take out a quarter of 1 of the onions and set aside. Make sure you keep your nose out for the ginger. Very important, but carefully ensure that you do not go overboard with it. Boil the pepper mixture to reduce it until it becomes thick. Also be on the look out for the colour. Big Oladunni’s Chicken Stew is a feast for the eyes and palate.
2. Boil your chicken with chopped onions, ginger, salt and seasoning cubes. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: To boil chicken, you start with steaming it first in its own juices, decanting that first batch of stock, adding a little extra water, and put back on the heat again. This is how Mummy does it. She always stressed that you should never end up with more than 2, cups of stock, per whole chicken, otherwise you have just adulterated the flavour of the chicken by boiling it with too much water. Advice drilled in my ears over time. Mummy would get quite upset with you if you boiled chicken with a lot of water. Fry or grill after boiling and set aside.
3. By now, you should have your aromatic and sweet smelling reduced pepper mix. When you get to make this and you leave feedback, I really would be expecting comments about the aroma of the pepper.
4. Heat up sunflower oil in the same pot you boiled the chicken with, so as to caramelise as much of the chicken bits left behind. Chop the last quarter of the onion from step 1, add to the oil and let it fry till it softens.


5. Add the reduced pepper and let it fry. See what I as saying about the pleasant to the eye colour. Yeeeeees, once you can achieve this, you are on to something fantastic. Allow it to fry for a bit until you start to see bubbles appear in the pepper.


6. Sprinkle in a little curry powder and thyme. Emphasis on sprinkle because these spices are just flavour enhancers, and should not over power this stew


7. Allow the pepper to fry till it absorbs the oil and takes on a glossy kind of look. This is key.


8. Big Oladunni’s stew is not fried for ages like Buka stew (recipe click HERE), or else you lose the flavour of the ginger, so keep an eye on the pepper. Once the pepper has thickened further from Step 7 above, add the chicken stock, and fried or grilled chicken. Stir and lower the heat. Now, this is where the magic happens.


Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: Lowering the heat is vital. You forget and you will hear her screaming from the living room “shey o ti yina e lole”. English for have you turned down the heat. I know some may be wondering if my mother speaks any English at all, not to worry she has a BA in English from University of Ibadan and was an English teacher for years before she left to setup her own schools. Some of my memories of cooking with her just happen to be in Yoruba.


9. Allow it to fry until you start to notice oil patches on top. Once you start to notice a little oil layer above the stew, take it off the heat, and as Mummy does, just leave it to sit on its own for a while, to allow the flavours to develop before you serve.


This is a bite your fingers, crush all the bones to smithereens kind of chicken stew. Its flavour is light, delicious, flirty on your palate and tingly aromatic on your nostrils.


You will enjoy this Chicken Stew, trust me.


Your Sunday Lunch Rice and Chicken Stew will never be the same


This stew is quite flexible, in that you can leftovers for pepperedchicken

Source:dooneyskitchen.com

Here is our list of the top eight social media influencers in Nigeria , who are making a difference and very consistent with their crafts.

Linda Ikeji of LindaIkejiBlog(LIB)

Linda Ikeji, known as ‘Queen of bloggers’ is a blogger, entrepreneur, and former model. She also runs a non-profit project themed ”I’d rather be self made;No thanks”, where she assists young girls aged 16-25 who have great business ideas and are willing to venture into entrepreneurship. She is the highest paid blogger in Nigeria. She launched her own social network recently, called Linda Ikeji Social (LIS) which has gotten thousands of users already.

 

Tosin Ajibade of OloriSuperGal (OSG)

Tosin Ajibade, known popularly as Olorisupergal (OSG), is an entrepreneur, blogger, digital content strategist, and a writer. She is known for her lifestyle and entertainment website, OloriSuperGal.com, as well as a South African edition. She is also the organizer of the New Media Conference, that is held annually in Nigeria.

 

Toke Makinwa

Toke Makinwa is a media personality, vlogger, and author. She co-hosts The Morning Drive on Rhythm 93.7 fm and also hosts her YouTube vlog series ‘Toke Moments’. She once hosted Trending on HipTV. She wrote and published her first book ”On Becoming” last year. She plays a big role in starting off fashion trends.

 

Laila Ijeoma Obiagwu of LAILASBLOG

Laila Ijeoma of Lailasblog is one of the most loved blog/blogger and influencer. A banker and a mother, she started Lailasblog.com in January 2013. Lailasblog serves you the best of Nigeria news,Entertainment news, Gossip and that’s just the beginning.

 

Uche Eze Pedro of BellaNaija

Uche Eze Pedro is a blogger, writer, social media expert, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of BellaNaija, an online entertainment, fashion and lifestyle magazine. Uche runs an inspiring and informative entertainment portal; you can’t help but become addicted to her unique style of blogging and has been influencing social media for over a decade now.

 

Yemisi of sisiyemmie.com

Yemisi Odusanya, popularly known has sisi yemmie is another social influencer who penetrates into the social media with her Nigerian food and lifestyle blog. Contents on her blog ranges from relationships, career, beauty to parenting. She is one of the many powerful tools that dictate trends.

 

Helen Ozor Of heleneventsblog

Helen Ozor, owner of heleneventsblog also plays a huge part in the Nigerian social media scene. Her blog covers events, giving people free brochure into party designs, trends and even party ideas.

 

Jemimah Adebiyi of Sisijemimah

Jemimah Adebiyi of Sisi Jemimah, is a food blogger. She is the author and recipe developer at SisiJemimah.com; a food blog which features delicious, family friendly recipes with thoroughly detailed step-by-step preparation methods, supported with clear, accurate photos.

 

Emotan Magazine, a woman bi-monthly magazine was founded in 1977 by trail-blazing Mrs Tola Adenle, a wife, mother of four, grandmother of six, who turned 70 in April.

Mrs Adenle’s career in journalism started when she was serving the mandatory National Youth Service at The Daily Sketch Newspaper. She went on to start, Emotan, A Woman’s Bimonthly which ran from 1977 to 1985.

From 2002, she contributed weekly essays to The Comet on Sunday, and she continued writing till December 26, 2010.

Emotan Magazine which was sold for 50kobo at the time, covered many women related issues including politics, sports, fashion, and opinions.

In her Editorial Note in the July/August 1978 issue, she described Emotan as ‘Nigeria’s First Quality Women’s Magazine’

She also wrote about being a female publisher;

I remember when people used to ask when they would see my boss!… Well, do you blame those male ch……? I’m a most unusual publisher, I agree…. I did succeed even with all these men despite my quarter-inch afro which I have grown back.

“The tiny African girl with the big afro” was how one of her bosses described her when she worked at the World Bank in the early to mid 1970s.

Interestingly, Mrs Tola Adenle has kept the memories of her magazine alive through blogging and she has been doing this since 2011.

After she was introduced to blogging by her youngest daughter, she decided to digitize her old newspaper weekly essays as well as write on other subjects that are of interest to her.Tahari outfit

She considers her blog, emotanafricana.com, as a free time hobby to keep her  busy.

One of the subjects she loves to write about is the Yoruba’s Aṣọ Òkè, which has attracted over 12,000 viewers on her blog.

Because of her followers love for the subject, she created a different category on her blog for the topic while she wrote a book on the subject titled, “Aso oke Yoruba: A Tapestry of Love & Colour, A journey of Personal Discovery.”

Although it took her so much effort to get people to read the blog when she started, the 70-year-old woman has now been blogging for five years.

At Nv Comm College 1992

 

50th Birthday Picture Vegas Jan 1996_mod (1)

Credit: woman.ng , emotanafricana.com

Nowadays, there are so many food choices, however, the unhealthy ones seem to be more available than the healthy ones. Today on Ariyike weekly, it’s all about food choices. Nutritionists, Doctors, People who have had personal experiences with food choices and People who want to learn, Please get in here and let’s share our views on the healthy food choices we need to make and the unhealthy ones we need to ditch this year.