Something’s different about the reaction to South Africa’s victory at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, its fourth title. Siya Kolisi holds the rugby cup as he greets fans after arriving to a heros welcome at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Oct 31, 2023. Image credit Ihsaan Haffajee for GroundUp (CC BY-ND 4.0 Deed) The 2023 Rugby World Cup is encapsulated by the iconic image of Cheslin Kolbe, anxiously covering his face during those nerve-wracking final minutes when South Africa’s Springboks desperately hung on to a precarious 12-11 lead against their arch-rivals, New Zealand. It was a familiar tale for…
Author: King Jaja
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Former Super Eagles captain Mikel John Obi has made a bold claim he was unjustly denied the prestigious CAF African Player of the Year Award in 2013. Mikel, a decorated midfielder with a trophy-laden career made this controversial assertion in his new podcast Obi One. The Chelsea legend believes his exceptional achievements that year were overlooked in favour of Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure who he said had no silverware in the period under review. Credentials Mikel’s claim is rooted in his remarkable performance in 2013, where he played a pivotal role in Chelsea’s UEFA Europa League triumph, adding to his…
The Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) is one of the biggest nights in Nigerian entertainment, and it’s also a major fashion moment. Celebrities from all over the country come together to celebrate the best of Nollywood, and they always dress to impress but some never nailed it. This year’s AMVCA was no exception as some of our favourites dressed so badly. READ ALSO: Best Dressed Celebs At AMVCA 2023 Some of these women are known to serve looks, but they did not serve any at last night’s AMVCA. Some of the designs were ridiculously bogus while some of them fell…
Rivers, canals and waterways are interwoven with human existence, enabling trade, agriculture and the development of society and civilisations, and are often time capsules of history. They’re also at the core of biodiversity. Serving more than 160 destinations around the world from their Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, Qatar Airways’ crew get to go lots of places, often. They shared some views about their favourite boat trips and cruises with me: Burgundy, the Loire River waterway, France The country’s longest river meanders through some of the world’s most beautiful winelands. The region has nearly 1200km of waterways to explore. Some…
In a recent incident that unfolded in the world of social media, members of the Himba tribe found themselves at the center of a controversy after several women were spotted shopping while adorned in their traditional cultural attire. The incident has sparked a heated debate online, with opinions divided on whether this act is a genuine celebration of culture or a mere attempt at clout chasing.The Himba people, indigenous to the northern part of Namibia, are renowned for their distinctive way of life, characterized by their unique red ochre hairstyles, intricate jewelry, and traditional clothing. In recent years, there has…
Equinix, Inc, the world’s digital infrastructure company, announced plans to enter the South African market with a US$160mn data centre investment in Johannesburg that augments its current footprint on the African continent in Nigeria, Ghana and Côte dIvoire The new data centre is expected to open mid-2024. With its South Africa expansion, Equinix is entering one of the largest and most digitally developed nations on the African continent. Already a strategically important connectivity hub for digital networks, South Africa boasts a significant network of submarine communications cables. These strategic links between countries and continents are established at several points across the…
The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced cashier, Tunde Abdulramon, to five years’ imprisonment for his employer’s N64,420,900 to marry a new wife and also for opening the same kind of his employer’s business for his new wife. Justice Raliat Adebiyi who handed down the sentence also ordered the convict to make restitution by returning all the properties he bought while in his employer’s establishment and also the money that he stole. The convict was arraigned on August 19, 2013, on 11 counts which bordered on stealing and fraudulent false accounting, preferred against him by the Economic…
Well brethren, I would have loved to have been with you on this occasion. My heart was set, my mind was in South Africa until bad news got a hold of me that my passport was held up with an embassy where I am awaiting a visa to another country and I tried my best to try and retrieve the passport for this trip but as you know, there are situations out of one’s control – this was one of them. And so, inevitably the second-best thing that I could do is that of recording my message and preaching it.…
Episode 2 of Matchday 1 of the African-five-a side podcast continues to explore the stories of five African heads of state and their influence on football. This week, we’re introducing our central defender: the intellectual, inspiring, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. As the first head of state of an independent Ghana, Nkrumah quickly understood the power of football as a unifying tool. He appointed Ohene Djan as the director of sports in 1960, and put in place structures to support the success of the national team, sometimes to the detriment of local clubs. Nkrumah’s interest in soccer was so great that he…
In Pencil Me Down, drawing again shows itself as capable of holding the textures of life and the complexity and variety of human emotions as any other medium. Joseph Omoh Ndukwu on group show at Angels and Muse, Ikoyi, Lagos. Laju Sholola, Portrait 25, 2023 Pencil Me Down Creates a Sublime Space of the Personal and the Pertinent THREE WORKS stand before my eyes as art that pulls the extremities of a room into a small and intimate space of subtle intensities. The first, Laju Sholola’s Portrait 26 (2023): A woman in beautiful…