The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Valentine Day

  • Valentine Day: Oyo govt reiterates safety guidelines for celebrations

    Valentine Day: Oyo govt reiterates safety guidelines for celebrations

    Oyo state government has reiterated mandatory safety guidelines to corporate bodies, event planners, and individuals organizing Valentine’s Day celebrations, emphasizing that the day should be observed safely and responsibly.

    The government also warned that failure to comply with the directives will result in severe consequences under the law.

    In a statement by the commissioner for information, Prince Dotun Oyelade said the move is in response to the anticipated increase in social gatherings during the Valentine’s celebrations.

    The commissioner emphasised the importance of involving security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Amotekun, and Operation Burst, in the planning process.

    Read Also; Motherhood has stretched, refined me – Tonto Dikeh

    He stated that their involvement is crucial to ensuring comprehensive logistics and security measures are in place for safe gatherings.

    The commissioner also noted the importance of maintaining health protocols, such as good hygiene, proper ventilation, and staying updated on health advisories.

    He noted that event planners must also reach a consensus with both security and medical personnel regarding venue selection.

    He said the State Ministry of Health and the Hospitals Management Board, along with private hospitals when necessary, must be engaged to guarantee sufficient medical support during events.

  • I’M NOT INTO VALENTINE, SAYS DESMOND ELLIOT

    I’M NOT INTO VALENTINE, SAYS DESMOND ELLIOT

    Ahead of the flurry of preparations for this year’s Valentine Day’s celebrations which holds on Wednesday, Lagos State lawmaker and filmmaker, Honourable Desmond Elliot, has said he is not marking the day which has been globally set to celebrate lovers.

    Though the Lagos State House of Assembly is presently on recess, the lawmaker, speaking to The Nation, said he didn’t believe in celebrating Valentine as it was a foreign festival alien to Yoruba culture.

    “Me, I don’t see where people celebrate Eyo outside the country,” he said, referring to the traditional Lagos festival in which masquerades draped in an all-white regalia parade the streets of Lagos.

    “So, me, I’m not into valentine. The day I see the white man celebrating Eyo festival, then me, I would start.”

    Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. Named for a Christian martyr which dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia, the Day is observed by many peoples of the world, many people exchange gifts, cards, or flowers with their special “valentine.”

  • Tragedy as Area Commander drowns in hotel pool

    Tragedy as Area Commander drowns in hotel pool

    The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police on Sunday recorded a painful loss of a senior officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Osung Ekpo.

    Ekpo who was the Area K Commander, Morogbo drowned on Sunday night in a swimming pool located inside La Avalon Hotel in Lekki.

    He was said to have gone there with some of his friends to celebrate Valentine’s Day but died in mysterious circumstance.

    Renowned for his doggedness in tackling criminals, particularly the alleged One Million Boys who had unleashed mayhem on communities under his command, he was said to have been rushed to a nearby hospital in Ajah, where he was confirmed dead.

    Although the exact time he drowned could not be ascertained, it was learnt that the Area J police command received the signal at about 8pm and rushed to the hotel.

    After he was confirmed dead, The Nation gathered that his body was deposited at a military hospital in the Island.

    It was further learnt that Ekpo had visited another senior colleague of his about three hours before his death.

    The news of his death however left many police officers in sad mood especially the Divisional Police Officers who worked under him.

    One of the DPOs who does not want his name mentioned told The Nation that Ekpo was a friendly and humble man, who had strong passion for his job.

    He stated that the deceased ACP has hardly rested since the rumour of activities of the One Million Boys started.

    “He went to celebrate Valentine and to also rest because he has been working very hard. He was a very jovial man and a good police officer too. This is a terrible loss. It is the worst valentine gift the police can get,” he said.

    However, the state command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, an SP, who confirmed his death, said Ekpo went to the hotel for a swimming exercise.

    She said: “The Lagos State Police Command regrets to announce the death of Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Osung Ekpo, who until his death was the Area Commander, Area ‘K’ Morogbo.

    “The death occurred on Sunday, February 14, while having his routine swimming exercise in a Pool. ACP Osung Ekpo was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force in the year 1990, and worked in various formations of the Force.

    “He assumed his last duty post as Area Commander, Area ‘K’ Morogbo on November 14, 2013, a position he held until his untimely death.

    “The Command will miss him for his gallantry performance while he held forth as the Area Commander. Lagos State Police Command sympathizes with his family and prays that Almighty God give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. “

    A gallant officer, Ekpo had served at various units and Divisions of the police.

    He was DPO of several police stations in Lagos.

    He also served at the Nigeria Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi, Lagos before he was promoted to the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of police and posted to the North.

    He was however transferred to Lagos and made the Area K Commander.

    His posting to that command was triggered by the growing rate of smuggling activities.

    He was said to have dared the smugglers and decimated them during the period he spent there.

  • My friend needs your ‘financial love’

    Today is Valentine Day, better known as Lovers’ Day. While many are consumed in the celebration of what the Greeks refer to as Eros love, which is ” a passionate and intense love that arouses romantic feelings, “I am opting to mark today’s celebration by drawing attention to the plight of a good friend of mine who is need of financial help to arrest his desperate health condition.

    Love is much more than the passionate feelings most take it for. It is also according to Wikipedia, the virtue representing human kindness, compassion and affection- “the unselfish and benevolent concern for the good of another.” Olamide Bakare, a recent Mass Communication graduate of the University of Lagos is in need of the love of Nigerians who want to fulfill that injunction to love our neighbors as ourselves.

    The 43 year-old has been diagnosed of Ankylosing spondylitis and Cervical spondylosis, an ailment which presently causes him severe pain in the neck (anterocollis), forward flexion of the head and neck, spine pain, hip flexor spasm, coupled with eye pain, which he says have become unbearable.

    Initially, he thought it was the stress and strains of his days in the university that triggered the pains, but upon consultation with an orthopaedist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, diagnoses revealed the pains are not unconnected with the deteriorating Ankylosing spondylitis and Cervical spondylosis, which he had been diagnosed of years back and which medical experts say could lead to total loss of mobility in the affected areas, if urgent surgical correction is not done. This necessitated an intensive search for medical help out of the shore of the country.

    Fortunately, Artemis Hospital in Delhi, India came into the picture and they have offered to take in Bakare for treatment. The treatment, including bilateral total hip replacement and cervical artificial disc replacement would be done at the hospital, one of the best and most recently built hospitals in India, equipped with the latest and most sophisticated technology at a total cost of N5.5million

    This cost covers flight ticket for both the patient and escort, fees for recuperation at a guesthouse, drugs and miscellaneous.

    Going by Bakare’s financial status, he is unable to afford this huge expenses, hence his call on well-meaning Nigerians for help.

    Bakare lost both parents in the course of his travail and also lost contact with his immediate siblings, who literally abandoned him to his fate. But he did not lose hope. Despite the disheartening situation, he mustered the courage to live and even went as far as taking up menial jobs like laundry to eke a living.

    It is also partly due to this ailment that Bakare only just graduated last June (2015) at 43, 19 years after secondary school in 1991. But his wait may be said to be worth its while, as he came out with a promising Second-Class Upper degree.

    In the last couple of years, which coincided with his final years in the university, Bakare has been an advocate of good governance for Nigerians, especially the less privileged and the vulnerable group in society, using his writing skill to give voice to the voiceless in the society through many newspaper publications.

    Please join me in lending a hand to my friend in dire need of help? Your contribution should be send to his account: Bakare Olamide Zenith Bank Account number: 2088803768. He can also be reached via his mobile phone numbers: 08165258647, 08170295881.

  • St. Valentine’s Day: CloseUp launches cupid games

    St. Valentine’s Day: CloseUp launches cupid games

    AHEAD of February 14, generally referred to as Lovers’ Day, Unilever Plc, through its premium brand, CloseUp, has set the pace for an engaging online fixture that will evolve new love relationships and boost several old marriages.

    Through the launch of a digital social interaction tagged ‘Cupid Games’, Nigerian youths and the young at heart will be getting closer and expressing affection at a time when closeness is in the air.

    “The Closeup Cupid Game”, according to the organisers, “is a platform, where young Nigerians can meet and form new friendships. It is a very interesting and exciting game that is available to play both online via www.cupid-games.com/ng or via sms by texting Username+ Gender+ Age+ State of Residence to 20050 and is open to all Nigerians who are at least 18years old.”

    Through a presentation made to a sizeable audience at the Oriental Hotel last weekend, promoters revealed that “during the course of the game, the players will test their compatibility by answering a series of fun questions and some players will eventually be able to meet one another, if they are judged compatible. Some high scoring players will be invited to a Closeup Cupid Valentine’s Grand Ball to party and have fun. The couples at the ball will engage in some fun battles and 5 lucky couples will win the grand prize of an exciting weeklong trip to Magnetic Island in Australia.”

    Speaking at the launch of the game, Mr. David Okeme, Brand Building Director, Unilever Nig. Plc, stated that through this campaign, Closeup will create more opportunities for the youths to get closer and start conversations with others.

    “Closeup is Nigeria’s leading toothpaste for three times fresher breath and white teeth. We believe in giving Nigerians the confidence to go get what they want and Closeup cupid games will give our consumers such an opportunity,” he said.