In Lagos, Abuja, P'Harcourt cars now compete with shops

Written by Eric Dumo - Punch, Nigeria

Okoye attending to a customer

Parking his car at a corner of the busy road, Oluwaseun Akinyele was soon besieged by a flurry of customers - mostly women - just as soon as he started displaying the different collections at the roof and bonnet of his vehicle. One after the other, the ladies checked out shoes, clothes and bags, turning to one another for advice on which items to settle for from the vast array on display. Before long, the men also joined the party; scanning through available shoes, jackets, shirts and trousers ahead of making a choice. As the minutes ticked away, so also did the number of customers that stopped by Akinyele's 'mobile shop' swell. But even with such impressive patronage, the father of four cannot afford to rent a shop in Lagos capital - Ikeja - where he drives to everyday to service his teeming customers. Displaying goods in his car became his only response to the challenge.

Akinyele displaying his wares in his car

"I can't afford to rent a shop in Ikeja where most of my customers are located," he said. "I tried renting a shop around Allen Avenue sometime back and I was asked to pay N5m for two years. There was nowhere I could get such money from. So, this idea came to my mind. I felt that if I could get a car for around N800, 000 and then get the items I want to sell for about N1million, I could move around the city with the goods and make reasonable sales and profits. Since I started, things have been fair," Akinyele said.

A former bank employee, the young businessman lost his job a few years ago during a massive retrenchment exercise that greeted the industry at the time. With employment opportunities proving hard to come by and five mouths to feed - four children and a wife - Akinyele knew he had to look for a way out.

"I graduated from the university in 1999, I have four kids to cater for and I can't afford to beg or sit without doing anything. I used to work in a bank before a lot of us were laid off. A lot of my friends in the United Kingdom were hawking drugs on the streets but since I cannot do such, I decided to look for a decent means to earn a living here no matter how difficult it could be. That was how I got into using my car as a mobile shop," he said.

Wife of world's richest man fetches water in Malawi

Written by Bayo Akinloye - Nigeria.  

Wife of the richest man in the world, Melinda Gates, was pictured on Saturday carrying on her head a bucket of water fetched from a village in Malawi.

Net worth of the United States' billionaire Bill Gates, according toForbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires, stands at $76 billion.

The billionaire's spouse, who described herself as "philanthropist, businesswoman, mother, passionate advocate for women and girls," posted a photo of herself with a 20-litre bucket of water on her head alongside two other Malawian women, walking on a dirt road.

In another picture posted on her Instagram page, she was seen doing the dishes in a Malawian village.

Describing her experience, Gates said on her Facebook page, "During my stay in Malawi, I joined the women collecting drinking water. I carried 20 litres and it was tough. Meanwhile, Chrissy (middle) is carrying about 40 litres. Many women do this every day."

She has been described as one of the world's famous social activist "who is trying to serve the people in ignorance."

In June, wife of the US billionaire met with Malawian President Peter Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe. The agenda was to discuss the promotion of safe motherhood and maternal health in the country.

21 Things Your Boyfriend Will Never Admit

Culled from The Guardian - Nigeria

Those boyfriends of us are darlings, but no angels. There are a few things that they keep hidden from us. Here are the 21 things your boyfriend will never admit.

1. I will NEVER say you became fat, even it's true

2. And I think some of the clothes you wear aren't nice

3. I often don't know what you're talking about, but I just nod yes

4. And sometimes it's really annoying to hold your hand

5. I will never tell you what I really think about your family

6. I find your best friend / sister / neighbour / ... quite attractive

7. Sometimes I dare to look at pretty women

8. And yes, sometimes I fantasize about someone else

9. I don't say no to sex, even though I didn't really want

10. And no, I really don't want to talk after sex

11. Yes, sometimes I will lie to you about your cooking

12. But I also don't have an idea of what I'm doing

13. Sometimes I like to watch a chick flick

14. But I also want to do something alone

15. Sometimes I text with a girlfriend, without telling it to you

16. And yes, sometimes I tell things about you to them

17. But I hate it when you are too well with a man

18. Sometimes I freak out if you don't immediately respond to my text

19. And yes, I'm afraid you're going to dump me

20. Because: I see you becoming sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter...

I get over 100 suitors daily -Popular hairy lady, Queen Okafor

FRIDAY OLOKOR (Punch Nigeria) writes about Queen Okafor, popularly known as Nigerian Queen of hairs

Queen Okafor

In Africa, traditional beliefs cannot be wished away, even though it is generally believed that change is constant. Some tribes in Nigeria view women with excessive hair as a taboo.

But this belief does not strike a chord in Queen Okafor, a native of Nnobi in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State.

Seeing her for the first time evokes mixed feelings about her gender. This is mainly because of the hairs which adorn her breasts, chest, face and other parts of her body.

This special feature stands her out in public and wherever she goes. For some of her fans, Queen, a graduate of Environmental Health Science, is the most hairy woman in Nigeria, although no competent source has verified the claim.

Little wonder she describes herself as "Nigerian Queen of hairs."

Okafor said she got no fewer than 100 suitors daily on the average, depending on the place she visits.

She said, "I get not less than 100 suitors and admirers everyday depending on the occasion. Married and single men, boys, girls, lesbians and gay men are attracted to me. But I can't accept every person that approaches me because people are very deceptive.

"Some men will tell me that they are not married, whereas they are married with children at home. I am not married, but I intend to get married one day because that is the prayer of every woman, but definitely not to a married man. If God answers my prayers, I will be happy to be married to a businessman that will love me and not be one that will beat me."

Her comments seem to stem from the fallout of a previous relationship. She however said, "No man has ever dumped or disappointed me, I can tell you that. I fell in love with one man immediately after my secondary school. He was fond of beating me because he was very temperamental and that informed my decision to quit the relationship."

She spoke about another failed love encounter.

Men throng Radio Station in Kano after lady promises car, house to suitor

A REALLY funny situation played out at the Freedom FM radio station in Kano earlier yesterday when over 100 male listeners of the station rushed to besiege the premises of the organization.

The men, who flooded to the station, according to an On-Air Personality with the radio station, a lady on a radio show called 'Inda Ranka', a lifestyle programme, had jokingly announced that she would give any man who marries her a car and a house.

Within a twinkle of an eye, the men had rushed down to the station, hoping to meet the lady and express their intention of marrying her.

The men even wrote down their names on a sheet of paper to be presented to the lady so that she could interview them on a first come, first served basis.

Even when some management officials of the station told them the statement was made jokingly, the men refused to leave until they had to be dispersed by the police," pulse.ng reported.

Here is what the OAP wrote on his twitter handle: "These pple came 2 FreedomRadio after a girl on air said she'll buy a car, house 4 whoever marries her."