The Nation Newspaper

Tag: London

  • Heathrow Airport cancels 100 flights due to fog

    Heathrow Airport cancels 100 flights due to fog

    London’s Heathrow Airport said it had cancelled approximately 100  out of about 1,300 scheduled flights on Monday as foggy weather reduced visibility at Europe’s busiest hub.

    The airport, located to the west of London, operates at full capacity meaning it struggles to fit in its full schedule when weather conditions mean aircraft need to leave longer gaps on the runway.

    “Some passengers may experience disruption to their journeys today,” Heathrow Airport said in a statement on Monday.

    It noted that “passengers should check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport.”

    The British Government gave Heathrow Airport permission to add a third runway last October but it was not due to be built until 2025.

    Gatwick Airport, the country’s second busiest airport to the south of London, said it had cancelled one flight.

  • London commuters face transportation chaos

    London commuters face transportation chaos

    Millions of Londoners struggled to work at the start of a week of travel chaos which saw rail networks brought to a standstill by a series of strikes, a media report said on Monday.

    “Commuters used cars, boats, bicycles and heaving buses to cope with a 24-hour walkout by underground station staff that left the majority of “Tube” stops in central London closed,’’ it added.

    The media report said it observed that no service operated from mainline stations such as Victoria, Kings Cross and Waterloo.

    It said huge queues began building up outside stations, while many major roads in the city were gridlocked.

    Software developer Rajiv Perseedoss, 30, who was trying to get to work in central London from Canary Wharf in the east of the city said he has given up on even trying.

    “I’m not a Tube worker, I don’t know about their conditions, but whatever it is, they can’t take it out on everybody,’’ he noted.

    Monday’s walkout on the Tube, which carries up to 4.8 million passengers a day, begins a week of industrial action which will hit rail and air passengers.

    A report says there are warnings the problems could spread across the country.

    Train drivers on Southern Rail are striking on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, bringing all rail services used by hundreds of thousands of passengers from the south coast and Gatwick Airport to London to a halt.

    Southern commuters have already suffered months of delays, cancellations and walkouts in Britain’s worse rail disruption in decades, due to a row over whose role it should be to open and close doors on the trains.

    A media report said the dispute could spread to services in central and northern England as other operators look to bring in driver-only trains.

    Another report says British Airways staff will also begin a strike for two days over pay on Tuesday, although the impact of the walkout is likely to be limited.

  • Photos: Freed Ibori in London

    Photos: Freed Ibori in London

  • AIR FRANCE MADE A SHOW OF KUNLE AFOLAYAN’S FILM IN LONDON

    IT was yet another glamorous event for Nigerian filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, as Africa converged in London, penultimate Thursday, for the Gala premiere of The CEO, a pan African film which stars Grammy Award winner, Angelique Kidjo, Wale Ojo, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Hilda Dokubo and Aurelie Eliam who were all present at the event.

    Sponsored by Air France London, the premiere was one of the many commitments of the airline to the film project which they are part sponsors of, and for which Afolayan sways as their brand ambassador.

    The popular Vue Cinema, Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, London, witnessed a huge convergence of African movie buffs and their foreigner friends, who graced the red carpet, savoured a lavish cocktail, before proceeding to see the movie at 8pm.

    There was so much from giggles, laughter and clapping to humorous side of the thriller, just as some moments of tensed silence seemed to grip the audience over the twists, turns and intrigues in the race for the CEO.

    The movie tells the story of five top level staff of a company who are selected for a retreat where the new CEO will be chosen. What starts off as cordial soon goes sour as they attempt to outdo one another in the bid.

    The event was attended by top personalities from the social and corporate worlds including the General Manager for Air France-KLM for UK and Ireland, Mr. Warner Rootliep, Managing Director of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, Mr. Chris Oshiafi, Managing Director of PanAfrican Capital Plc, Founder of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, U.K-based publisher and film promoter, Mike Abiola and his wife actress Golda John.

    Other crew members of the movie who attended the premiere include the writer, Tunde Babalola and the Cinematographer, Dawid Pietkiewicz.

    Expectedly, fans took turns to catch picture moments with stars of the movie who were elegantly dressed for the occasion. Angelique Kidjo was resplendent in traditional African print, just as Wale Ojo’s s stealing the show in a matching shirt and blazer created from beautiful African print also.while Kemi Lala Akindoju, Aurelie Eliam and Hilda Dokubo sparkled in long white, Yellow and green dresses respectively.

  • WHY FUNKE AKINDELE IS HUGE IN LONDON

    POPULAR Nigerian actress and comedian, Funke Akindele, though married to London-based singer, Abdulrasheed Bello, aka JJC, has long ‘possessed’ London as her second home outside of Lagos.

    It is not clear how the Glo ambassador and crossover thespian got to this point in her life, but recent events show that just as Genevieve Nnaji was practically living in Ghana in her heydays, Jenifa, as Funke Akindele is otherwise called, enjoys a fan base that endears her to London than any other city in the world.

    This weekend, the actress holds sway with the three premieres of a two-hour cut of her current series, Jenifa’s Diary, a feat never attained by any of the Nigerian films which have been premiered in London.

    Promoters of the back-to-back screenings which kicked off on Friday, at The Lighthouse, Camberwell Rd, London, followed today’s show at The Dance House, 10 Oxford Road, Manchester, and another leg tomorrow, at the The Lighthouse, London, say Funke Akindele’s events despite being staged in series, happen to be the most sold-out of Nigerian film shows in the United Kingdom.

    How would you describe Funke’s popularity in London? I asked her event manager, DJ Abbas in London recently. “It is huge…  Very huge o,” he said. “We have sold out Friday which is a 600 capacity venue and there are indications that we will do the same for Sunday in London. Manchester is a 500 capacity venue and it is almost sold out as well.”

    The film is a two-hour cinematic version cut from Season 7 and 8 of Jenifa’s Diary which is about 24 episodes. Funke has been advised on the need to release that same film in Nigeria in the hope that it will match, if not exceed the over one hundred million box office hit of Ayo Makun’s A Trip to Jamaica.

    It is amazing how a single film from Nigeria would attain such back-to-back exposure, but it is understandable, given that the U.K has the largest community of Nigerians in the Diaspora in the world. How the actress is able to carve a niche for herself in this market has to do with a business and social aura that is aided by today’s media. And it is doubtful that any other Nollywood figure can pull this kind of stuff right now in the U.K.

    I tried to figure out if this is just about Jenifa’s Diary or the actress’ personality. I asked questions too, and it is amazing that there is something about her personality that suffices, despite odds.

    Reports have it that in July when she launched her new season, she had a deal with iRoko TV where she had a Meet & Greet session in a 380 capacity venue and it was sold out in no time. Indeed, the attraction is Funke, whose rise may have been induced by the Jenifa brand. This much I witnessed of her in Toronto in 2008 where she took her art, when a huge number if the Nigerian community gave her a colourful welcome at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.

    Today, apart from the campaigns that her event managers might be doing, it is said that her fans are doing more through social media retweets and reposts. This situation could have helped a great deal to build such huge fan base for Jenifa in London.

    Let’s just say that the actress has done so well for herself to earn this feat, because despite the ‘parallel’ line that exists between the Yoruba and English language sectors in Nollywood, Funke has been able to crisscross from television to mainstream Yoruba sector and the hub of today’s Nollywood quantum productions which is in Asaba, Delta State.

  • KUNLE AFOLAYAN’S ‘THE CEO’ GETS LONDON GALA PREMIERE

    COURTESY of Air France London in conjunction with DJAMedia and Golden Effects Pictures and Kunle Afolayan Productions (KAP), London residents will get to watch KunleAfolayan’s blockbuster movie, The CEO.

    The movie which has been getting rave reviews shows at the Vue Cinema, 566 Chiswick High Rd, London,W4 5XS, Leicester Square, London, England.

    The CEO revolves around five top level staff of a company selected for a retreat where the new CEO of a global company will be chosen. What starts off as cordial soon goes sour as they attempt to outdo one another to be named The CEO.

    The Pan African movie reaffirms the renaissance of the new Nigerian cinema on the global landscape. The cast include Wale Ojo, Angelique Kidjo, Kemi Lala Akindoju, AurelieEliam, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Fatym Layachi, Hilda Dokubo, Peter King Nzioki and Nico Panagio.

  • ‘Eko for show’ in LONDON

    ‘Eko for show’ in LONDON

    LAGOS State last weekend earned its sobriquet, ‘Eko for show’, at the popular Notting Hill Carnival in London.

    Unlike the previous years, the 50th edition of Europe’s biggest street festival and the world’s second biggest offered Lagos a rare platform to showcase its mantra of love, oneness and peace captured in the theme of One Lagos by the state’s representatives.

    From across the United Kingdom, friends and lovers of the state converged on the Nigerian Corner, Adelaja Street to celebrate the Lagos brand and market the highlights of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration.

    Beyond the glitz that pulled enthusiasts to Adelaja Street, the Nigerian Corner turned Lagos Corner as part of the Lagos branding campaign tagged LoveLagosWeekend, which began August 27 and ended on August 29.

    At Lagos Corner, artistes from Nigeria performed for the pleasure of fun-seekers during the three-day campaign, adding dynamism to the usual celebration of the Notting Hill Carnival in the last 50 years. The artistes included the ‘Rain Maker’, Majek Fashek, May7ven, Shikane, Ade Swagz and Ceeboy.

    Also gracing the event anchored by ace comedian and compere, Gbenga Adeyinka the First, were DJ Abass, Shope Olajide, Wale Gates and MC Momelo. At the VIP section were Yeni Kuti, Nikki Laoye, Kemi Otegbade, Kaita Okeowo, Seyi Brown, Ayo Shonaiya, Sammy Okposo, Drew Uyi, Mofe Duncan and Timi Adegbite.

    Besides the excitement and glamour, the message of LoveLagosWeekend sounded irresistible. According to the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, Lagos State intended, by the outing, to sell the Lagos brand and unite its friends and lovers in the Diaspora.

    For Mr Ayorinde, the gains of LoveLagosWeekend demonstrate the state’s potentials in arts, entertainment and tourism. He said it was in line with Ambode’s vision to use arts, entertainment and tourism “to promote social cohesion and create employment opportunities. The carnival offered rare platform to market Lagos globally.”

    The commissioner explained the objectives of the campaign, which he said, “are to create awareness on the Ambode administration; provide platform for interaction with Lagos indigenes and lovers of the state in the Diaspora; and market the state to potential investors that can contribute towards the Lagos@50 celebrations.”

    Mr. Ayo Sonaiya, Promoter of Lagos Corner, was especially thrilled by the historic celebration. Sonaiya told the mass of Lagos friends and lovers that transforming Nigerian Corner to Lagos Corner “is a dream fulfilled.” At the grand finale of LoveLagosWeekend, Sonaiya said that the campaign “coincides with the Notting Hill Carnival’s 50th edition.”

    He expressed excitement with the period in which Lagos State “is counting down to its 50th anniversary,” one used by the Ambode administration as a huge platform “to reach out to millions of Nigerians and Lagosians, particularly in the Diaspora.

    “Notting Hill Carnival has just celebrated its 50th edition. Lagos seized the platform to message the world and showcase the emerging powerful brand it has become under the Ambode administration, especially in the areas of arts and entertainment, and in connecting with the Diaspora about the great things being recorded.”

    For Sonaiya, Lagos Corner would always provide a veritable platform for performing artistes from Lagos State to

  • Lagos rolls out impact campaign in community media

    Lagos rolls out impact campaign in community media

    …Partners 33 Grassroots Media Organisations

    In its determination to consolidate on the achievements of the first year of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration, the State Government has concluded plans to roll out a massive, multi-channel impact campaign in the print, electronic and online media focusing on communities in the state this month.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Communities and Communications, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan in a statement on Tuesday said the administration was partnering with over 33 grassroots media organisations including 21 print media, 10 electronic stations and two online media.

    “This novel campaign is a strategic communications initiative inspired by need to give vent to Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s ideology of inclusive governance. It is the result of scientific segmentation of the media that recognizes the niche that community media occupies and drives messages meant for the people at the grassroots through them.”

    Noting that the Ambode administration will revive the community media as part of the institutions that shaped the fate of Lagos since pre-independence days, Bamigbetan said history shows that there were more than 35 community newspapers active on the Lagos media as late as 1940’s.

    “As Lagos prepares to turn 50, it is only proper that she brings on board the current successors of the defunct Lagos Express, Lagos Echo, Lagos Weekly Record among others which provided the platforms for the nationalists to struggle for independence and enriched the electoral politics put in place by the Clifford Constitution of 1922,” he said.

    Bamigbetan noted that community media form a thriving business and social institution in all the megacities of the world today. London, United Kingdom has 2000 registered newspapers, New York, 23, Tokyo 34, Cairo, 34, Johannesburg 34.

    According to the Special Adviser: “As population increases, the pattern of settlement and nature of the residents become more complex. Disseminating information and receiving feedback on what the government is doing to address the concerns of each group requires more innovative communications strategy and tactics.”

    While the campaign involves a four-page pull-out on the achievement of the administration in energy, business environment, security and civic engagement in the print media, it will be in spotlights on electronic and broken down as tweets, clips and banner ads on the electronic platforms.

    Community newspapers involved include Oriwu Sun, Ikorodu News, Townwatch, The Impact, Ilupeju Today, Our Community, Ifako-Ijaiye Post, Echonews, Isolo Voice, The Harbinger, Pivot Extra, The Lagosian, Surulere Now, Surulere Watch, Lagos Panorama, Epe-Lekki Times, Badagry Prime, Grassroots, Kosofe Insideout, The Commoners and  Mushine.

    The electronic media include radio stations running community programming and reportage such as Wazobia FM, Eko FM,City FM, Inspiration FM, Radio Continental, Naija FM, Unilag FM, SMA FM and Radio Lagos. Insidemainlandonline, Lagos State Today and Agegetvonline form the online segment of the campaign’s outlets.

  • Ex-presidential aspirant Shinkafi dies in London

    Ex-presidential aspirant Shinkafi dies in London

    •Buhari, Tambuwal, Dogara mourn

    A former presidential aspirant, Alhaji Umaru Aliyu Shinkafi, died yesterday in London. He was 79.

    The politician had been in and out of the hospital in the last six months, battling an undisclosed ailment.

    Shinkafi, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO), now Department of State Service (DSS), between October 1979 and November 1983, was flown abroad in January after a health relapse.

    According to sources, the late Marafan Sokoto initially received treatment at St. Nicholas Hospital and Reddington Hospital, both in Lagos, before his referral to London.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We lost Shinkafi in London at 4 p.m (yesterday). He was flown to in January with some members of his immediate family and three medical doctors.

    “In the last six months, he had been battling with ill-health. But it has pleased Allah to call him home. From Allah we came and unto Him we shall return.

    “Arrangements are being made to bring his body back home for burial on or before Friday because of flight logistics.”

    The late Shinkafi is survived by three wives and five children, including the wives of Kebbi and Zamfara states’ governors.

    The late Marafan Sokoto, who opted for a career in the police in 1959, was a graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he received his LLB degree in Law in 1973.

    Respected for his specialisation in intelligence gathering, the late Shinkafi was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs (now Interior Ministry) in 1975 before he was made the director-general of the defunct NSO.

    But at NSO, he ran into storm over the controversial deportation of a former Majority Leader of Borno State House of Assembly, Alhaji Abdurrahman Shugaba Darman, in 1981.

    Shugaba, who was a chieftain of the defunct Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP), was accused of alleged “assassination plot against former President Shehu Shagari, of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

    The late Shugaba was later confirmed to be a Nigerian by a High Court, after his aged mother succeeded in identifying his voice in a testimony which shaped the nation’s legal history.

    His foray into politics almost overshadowed his police cum secret service career.

    He was a leading presidential aspirant of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1992 before the military regime of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida aborted the primaries.

    But he succeeded in becoming the vice-presidential candidate to Chief Olu Falae in the All Peoples Party (APP) and Action for Democracy (AD) alliance in 1999.

    The alliance was defeated at the poll in 1999 by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which fielded Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku Abubakar.

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday commiserated with the government and people of Zamfara State on the passing away of one of Alhaji Shinkafi.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President described the late politician, administrator and technocrat as an expert whose contributions to the development of the security architecture of Nigeria remained indelible.

    The President urged other Nigerians to carry on from where the late Shinkafi left off.

    He urged his family, friends and associates to take solace in the fact that the late Shinkafi played the parts assigned to him diligently, conscientiously and patriotically.

    Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, in a condolence message by his spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, described the late Shinkafi as a distinguished legal luminary, security expert, politician with conscience and great community leader and mobiliser.

    Tambuwal said: “Marafa’s death has closed a chapter in the life of one Nigeria’s most valuable public officers who made his mark in both public and private sectors. He was a truly passionate Nigerian whose invaluable contributions to issues of national interest will be greatly missed.

    “His law office served as a training ground for many aspiring lawyers in Sokoto State and beyond.”

    Condoling with his immediate family, the people and government of Zamfara State and the Sultanate Council of Sokoto, Tambuwal prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest.

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara has commiserated with the government and people of Zamfara State and other Nigerians on the death of Alhaji Shinkafi.

    In a statement by his spokesman, Turaki Hassan, the Speaker described the death of the elder statesman as a huge loss to the nation.

    Dogara said Shinkafi was a true democrat who contributed immensely towards the restoration of democracy in 1999.

    He said: “In all his years in the public service, the late Shinkafi distinguished himself as a patriot, committed and dedicated Nigerian.

    “He served the nation with distinction as a lawyer, police officer, Federal Commissioner of Internal Affairs and intelligence chief in the NSO before joining politics.”

    The Speaker said the late Shinkafi was a bridge-builder, who lived exemplary live worthy of emulation.

    He added: “Our hearts go to his immediate family, government and people of Zamfara State over the irreparable loss.”

  • Fed Govt condemns Nigerian teenager’s killing in London

    The Federal Government has condemned the stabbing to death of a Nigerian teenager, Fola Orebiyi, in London.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa said the killing of Orebiyi was becoming worrisome.

    The presidential aide called for full investigation of the incident .

    In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, she  said Nigeria would not condone the execution of her nationals abroad.

    Mrs Dabiri-Erewa urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in making Nigeria a better place.

    Orebiyi was stabbed to death in a street clash on Sunday July 3, in Notting Hill, London by a gang of youths. He was  chased into a busy road where he was stabbed in the neck in front of shocked passersby and tourists.

    Following the stabbing, he collapsed and bled to death and all efforts by the police and paramedics to resuscitate him, proved abortive.

    The deceased’s neighbour, Osman Sahal, told the police: “He was a nice boy and very considerate; none of us can understand how this could have happened. As far as I knew, he was never in trouble. I suppose we must now wait for the police to investigate.”