Ogbunike Cave carnival rolls the drum

All is set for this year’s edition of the Ogbunike Cave Carnival (OCC) billed to open from December 20 through January 1, 2018. Holding in Ogbunike community in Oyi local council of Anambra State, this years will mark the fifth anniversary of the tourism/entertainment project that aims at highlighting the tourism potentials of Ogbunike Cave.

Since the maiden edition was staged in 2013 by 90 Degree Entertainment, the carnival, which started as a one-day event, has not only become a three-day celebration of the rich culture of Ogbunike people but also, has continued to grow in terms of content and packaging.

According to the Project Manager of the carnival, Adaeze Uzodoh, after months of working on the project, the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the carnival has finally unveiled plans for this year’s show.

“We are delighted to announced that we are ready to stage this year’s carnival. Unlike previous editions, this year is special for us; it’s our fifth anniversary and we are celebrating in a big way. Just like yesterday, we’ve been on this for five years no without any sponsorship. However, we are encouraged by the acceptance and followership the project has enjoyed so far. Most importantly, we are publicizing our heritage, the Ogbunike Cave,” she said.

Following the programme of activities made available to the media, this year’s carnival will kick off on December 30, with Sports Parade. Starting from 8am, it will feature Five-Aside Football Tournament, a one-day competition among eight teams that will see the winning team win a trophy and cash prize. Holding at the Ogbunike Town Hall, there will also be a Volleyball Challenge for the ladies, with a trophy for the winning team.

The day two of the event, which holds on December 31, will feature the traditional Ogbunikewalk4life (Street Carnival). Starting at 7am from the Ogbunike Town Hall, the carnival float will take off from the Ogbunike Town Hall, through the usual routes, to the Round Palace of Igwe Ogbunike, HRH John Ositadimma Umenyiora, where guests will pay homage to the King.

From the palace, the train will move to the Cave, where visitors and tourist will have the opportunity of exploring the tourist destination that has put Ogbunike community on the world map.

On New Year Day, the Carnival Concert/FDilm Show will take centre stage. Holding at the Ogbunike Town Hall starting from 5pm, the programme will feature the screening of videos of the past editions of the carnival, as well as a documentary film, Daughters Of Igbo Woman. There’s also plan to show one international feature film, which is yet to be announced.

Nigerian Journalist, Abdullahi Shuaib arrested in New York For Robbing Four Banks

A Nigerian journalist and former United Nations employee was reportedly busted for robbing four Manhattan banks — all during his lunch  hour, authorities said.Modal Trigger.

Abdullahi Shuaibu, 53, was picked up by cops Monday and hit with two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery for the crimes committed during his two-month spree.

All four banks are within walking distance of his office at the Foreign Press Center inside the US Mission to the United Nations, which is across the street from the UN building.

The Nigeria native works as a journalist for an African news agency, police said.

Authorities were led to the thief after a retired police officer who works as a guard at the US Permanent Mission to the UN recognized Shuaibu from a surveillance image previously released by the NYPD.

“It wasn’t hard [to recognize him],” the guard told The Post. “He comes in and out of here every day.”

In the first incident, Shuaibu walked into a Santander Bank on Madison Ave. near E. 43rd St. on Feb. 27 and told the teller he had a gun. The bank employee complied and handed Shuaibu an unknown sum of money.

He hit two more banks during the month of March, first striking out at a Bank of America on Third Ave. near E. 47th St. on the 13th. He was successful in robbing a Santander Bank on Third Ave. and E. 63rd St. on the 27th.

During the most recent incident on Monday, Shuaibu  was said to have walked into an HSBC on Third Ave. and E. 40th St. around 2:30 p.m. and passed a note demanding cash to the teller. The teller did not read the note and asked Shuaibu for identification.

He then instructed the employee to read the note, keeping his hand in his jacket pocket while simulating a gun, police said.

Police arrested him later in the day when he returned to the UN.

One of Shuaibu’s colleagues at the Foreign Press Center said they are “all in shock right now.”

A UN spokesman said Shuaibu worked briefly for the United Nations for a couple of months in the fall of 2013, but hasn’t had access to the facility since leaving in November of that year.

Lagos government set to revamp National Arts Theatre

The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, Thursday, said that his administration has concluded plans to begin a total revamping of the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos by April.

Ambode disclosed this when he played host to officials of the Africa Movies Academic Awards (AMAA) led by its President, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

He expressed optimism of his administration’s plan to give the National Arts Theatre a face lift ahead of the AMAA ceremony coming up later in the year.

“I want to also say that I am very particular about the venue of the AMAA, so we will use everything possible to make sure that the National Arts Theatre is ready.

“We are in a process and before the month ends, we should have something to start doing within the first week of April to getting the whole place ready,” he said.

Ambode said that he was very much committed to seeing the creative arts industry thrive, hence the recent interventions by the government in recent times.

The governor said that the hosting of the AMAA event in Lagos would add more glamour to the celebration of the state’s Golden Jubilee and showcase its hospitality to the continent.

Earlie, Anyiam-Osigwe commended the governor for his interest in the creative industry, saying that it has given the sector a major boost in recent time.

“It is amazing to have a governor who is like a family that seems to understand what our needs are.

We have never had a governor of Lagos State who has shown so much deep interest in Nollywood,” she said.

She said the 2017 AMAA ceremony, the 13th in the series would feature films from 72 countries with over 23,000 guests from across the African continent vying for various awards.

Aborted flight: Turkish Airlines says Pilot knew plane cooling system was faulty

Turkish airline has said the pilot and crew of TK0626 flight from Lagos to Istanbul scheduled for Monday knew that the plane was faulty as the cooling system of the plane was not working and arrangement was being made for technicians to fix the fault According to reports, the Country Manager (Nigeria) of Turkish Airline while addressing the passengers “ admitted that the management knew the air conditioning system was faulty and had gotten technicians to carry out repairs.

“He said the pilot and crew only wanted to test run the plane with the passengers in it and had no intention of flying. He said there would have been no problem if the plane had flown because the fault was not a mechanical one.”