EAGLES EYE UPDATE

  The Season 12 of the Gulder Ultimate Search has come and gone, with Odudu emerging as the winner. The season, tagged Age of Craftmanship, saw 18 warriors (contestants) begin their journey into the forest on October 16. The reality show reached its peak in at the weekend when four warriors emerged the last standing in search of the great Akolo’s chest. Whether Odudu will pursue a career in acting remains to be seen. But here are Nollywood actors who were previous Gulder Ultimate Search winners: 1. Oyekunle Oluwaremi Oyekunle Oluwaremi joined the movie industry in 2011 but gained recognition after winning the seventh edition of Gulder Ultimate Search in 2010 2. Chris Okagbue Chris Okagbue is Nigerian television personnel, actor and model. According to a report, Chris become Gulder Ultimate Search Season Eight winner in 2011. 3. Dennis Okike Dennis Okike was the winner of the Gulder Ultimate Search in 2013. 4. Emeka Ike Emeka Ike is one of the most prominent actors in Nigeria. He em...

So you've caught Covid. What now? Obviously, stay away from other people to avoid giving it to them. In terms of your own wellbeing, here's what experts recommend. Tell family and friends Don't suffer in silence. Let people know that you have Covid. They might be able to help with dropping off some food to your door and give you a call to check how you are doing. Rest up Even with newer variants of the virus like Omicron and Delta, many people will have mild or no symptoms and will be able to safely ride out the infection at home. The main symptoms, says the NHS, are still: a new, continuous cough a fever/high temperature loss of or change to smell or taste But researchers who have been gathering feedback from hundreds of thousands of people about their experiences with Covid suggests the top five symptoms are similar to a cold: runny nose headache fatigue (either mild or severe) sneezing sore throat If you feel grotty, there are things you can do that may help....

The heavily mutated Omicron variant has led to a serious dent in the ability of vaccines to protect us from catching the Covid virus. Two doses of some vaccines offer almost no protection from an Omicron infection, although they should still greatly reduce the risk of becoming so ill you need hospital care. The vaccines were all developed to fight the first form of the virus that emerged two years ago. So can a third or "booster" dose of those original vaccines make the difference or has Omicron already outwitted the protection they can give? Fortunately for us - while the contents of the syringe may be identical, a booster is not just more of the same for the immune system. The protection you're left with after the third dose is bigger, broader and more memorable than you had before. Covid school Fighting coronavirus is something your immune system has to learn. One option is to figure it out on the job when you encounter the virus for real. However, there is...

The world is being hit by a tsunami of Omicron. Scientists, politicians and indeed all of us are grappling with what it means for our lives. Restrictions are tightening in parts of the UK and other European countries in order to tackle the new variant. There's a constant stream of new information - some worrying, some positive. So where do we stand? This is not last winter It is easy to forget, but we are in a much brighter place than this time last year when many of us could not meet family on Christmas Day. The "Christmas bubble" rules meant in parts of the country you could spend the day only with those you lived with. But there were limits on the size of gatherings across the UK. The rise of the Alpha variant in late 2020 led to lockdowns in November and a long one in the New Year as the vaccination programme was only just getting going. The rules currently in place or coming into force on Boxing Day in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are much gentler...

In the report made available today, the Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) said there are 1940 new cases of COVID19 in Nigeria. In the breakdown we have Lagos-845, FCT-734, Oyo-120, Rivers-69, Delta-30, Kaduna-29, Edo-21, Plateau-20, Gombe-14, Anambra-11, Enugu-11, Osun-10, Ekiti-8, Kano-5, Bayelsa-4, Ogun-4, Katsina-3, Bauchi-1 and Jigawa-1. Since the onset of the virus in Nigeria, we had recorded 233,353 confirmed, 212,040 discharged  and 2,991 deaths. They added in the report that: ▪️734 confirmed cases reported from FCT for 22nd (290) & 23rd (338) and additional 106 cases for 18th (29), 19th (26), 20th (14) & 21st (37) December ▪️11 confirmed & 8 discharged cases reported from Anambra state for 22nd December  ▪️ 11 confirmed & 6 discharged cases reported from Enugu state for 22nd December ▪️13 discharged cases reported from FCT for 22nd (3) & 23rd (10) December 2021 ▪️0 cases reported from Ondo and Sokoto States A breakdown of cas...

My generation were those creative and adventurous set of generations, they never relent and are ready to take prosperous risk regardless of its outcome. GAMES In the absence of Playstation (PS series), my generation can create a football tournament from a soft drink cover (counters). My generation will never run away from police or harassed by SARS but we always run away from NEPA (National Electric Power Authority), because we had redesigned the electricity pole with thread, nylon, pieces of clothes and broomsticks all in the name of kites. There is no much games then but we always create games that will suit our conditions like table soccer, Suwey, ten ten, bread and butter, skipping, hide and seek, who is in the garden, card games, ludo, snake and ladder, tic tac,  The only video game available then is Nintendo's street fighter, Super mario and Mortal Kombat. EDUCATION Education is very good when my generation is coming up, we have less private schools then and the s...

The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) has rejected the illegal ban of Niqob (veil) imposed on its members by the University’s Senate, describing the action as an act of hatred towards the religion of Islam. In a lengthy Letter addressed to the University’s VC – Prof. Felix Kolawole Salako, by the Muslim Students on Friday December 17, the Muslim Students addressed the circular sent out by the University’s Registrar on Thursday announcing that the ban of Niqob (veil) in the Federal institution  stands regardless of what the Constitution of Nigeria dictates . According to the Muslim Students, the School Administration has no right to scrap out the Freedom of Religion from the Fundamental Rights of students in the Federal Institution. The Press Statement went on to educate the University Administration on what is obtainable in the Nigeria’s Constitution. The statement reads partly: “The Senate of the Unive...

Accepting her Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Philippine journalist Maria Ressa launched a vitriolic attack against American tech giants, accusing them of fuelling a flood of “toxic sludge” on social media. Ressa, the co-founder of news website Rappler who won this year’s prize together with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, attacked the technology industry which “has allowed a virus of lies to infect each of us, pitting us against each other, bringing out our fears, anger and hate, and setting the stage for the rise of authoritarians and dictators around the world.” Full list: 2021 Nobel Prize laureates winners “Our greatest need today is to transform that hate and violence, the toxic sludge that’s coursing through our information ecosystem, prioritised by American internet companies that make more money by spreading that hate and triggering the worst in us,” she said. “What happens on social media doesn’t stay on social media. Online violence is real-world violence,” Ressa ...

From investigative journalists to a Zanzibari novelist, to trailblazers on climate and touch: this year’s Nobel Prizes went to 12 men and one woman, honoured in Oslo and Stockholm on Friday. Here are the 2021 laureates: – Medicine – David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, both of the United States, won for their discoveries on human receptors for temperature and touch. – Physics – Syukuro Manabe (Japan-US) and Klaus Hasselmann (Germany) were honoured for their research on climate models, while Giorgio Parisi (Italy) won for his work on the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems. – Chemistry – Benjamin List (Germany) and David MacMillan (Britain-US) won for developing a tool to build molecules that have spurred new drug research, scaled up production and made chemistry more environmentally friendly. – Literature – Tanzanian-born British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah was honoured “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonial...

Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers, the vaccine manufacturing companies have said. The companies made this known in a joint statement on Wednesday titled, ‘Pfizer and BioNTech provide update on Omicron variant’. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, Albert Bourla, said, “Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine. “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two-dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” Co-Founder of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, said, “Our preliminary, first dataset indicates that a third dose could still offer a sufficient level ...

A total of 73 persons have so far died of COVID-19 in Plateau State since May 2020 when the state recorded the first death resulting from the pandemic. The Commissioner for Health, Dr Nimkong Lar, who stated this while giving an update on the pandemic also disclosed that a total of 221,502 persons have been vaccinated against the disease in the state. A statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Government House, Macham Makut, on Thursday said that the Commissioner gave the update after the State Executive Council meeting presided over by the Governor, Simon Lalong. The statement noted that Plateau State is 5th after Lagos, FCT, Rivers, and Kaduna in the log table of states most hit by the pandemic. According to the statement, the Commissioner further stated that so far, Plateau State have tested 91,963 people and yesterday the 305 were tested with 43 confirmed cases. He said, “Cumulatively, Plateau has 9,443 confirmed cases of COVID-19 while 53 are curre...

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, there is a town ruled by a king. The king had many possessions including lands, houses, male and female servants, jewelries, and he had many animals to add to his possessions including horses, cattles and cat. Among all his animals, the horse is the most stubborn of them all, probably due to his closeness to the king but he always have additional stubbornness when he finished eating. Each time the horse exhibits his act of stubbornness, the cat always admonish the cattle to call the horse to order, but he (the cattle) will always reply the cat that, "What is my concern, whosoever commit crime will be punished for the crime committed". The horse exhibits the act of stubbornness after eating one day. and hit the king's mother and she was quickly rushed to the hospital but due to her age, all the efforts of the physicians prove abortive as she gave up the ghost. Following the death of the king's mother, the cattle was k...

Globacom and Emerging Markets Telecommunication Service Limited are set to miss out on the deployment of Fifth Generation network for at least two years as the Nigerian Communications Commission qualifies MTN Nigeria Plc, Airtel Networks Limited and one new player for its 5G auction. The NCC announced on Thursday only three qualified bidders met its criteria for the licensing process for the 3.5 gigahertz spectrum which is required for 5G deployment. These three companies paid at least $19.74m each in order to qualify, it was learnt. In a statement, the commission said, “The qualified bidders that have met the criteria for participation in the licensing process of 3.5Ghz spectrum, including payment of the stipulated Intention to Bid Deposit as outlined in the Information Memorandum, are MTN Nigeria Plc, Mafab Communications Limited, and Airtel Networks Limited.” According to the document released by the Federal Government, “Applicants must transfer an IBD corresponding to a...

• Vaccine hesitancy, funding of molecular labs, major challenges – Cross River • Low vaccination drive in Nigeria’s rural areas fuelling transmission, says WHO State governments have said they will resume and increase mass testing for COVID-19 following the detection of the Omicron variant of the virus in the country. Top government officials in states including Cross River, Benue, Delta and Akwa Ibom  who disclosed this in separate interviews with The PUNCH, however, described funding as a major obstacle to community testing.They sought the assistance of the Federal Government on funding of community testing, particularly running of molecular laboratories. The states made the demand as the World Health Organisation said the new variant had spread to 23 countries. Canada had on Sunday detected the Omicron variant in two travellers, who recently visited Nigeria.On Tuesday, the North American included Nigeria, Egypt and Malawi in its travel ban list. The Nigeria Centre fo...

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has harped on the need for Yoruba people at home and in the Diaspora to promote the cultural values of the race and protect them from being eroded by civilisation or westernisation. Ogunwusi charged Yorubas to take pride in the age-long values bequeathed on them by their forefathers. He said, “Yoruba is blessed with diverse cultural endowments that must be protected and promoted by all and sundry to effect the needed social-economic changes in the society.” The Ooni spoke at Otun Ekiti in the Moba Local Government Area of the state on Thursday during the climax of the weeklong celebration of the first coronation anniversary of the Oore of Otun Ekiti, Oba Adekunle Adeagbo, where culture and tradition were on display. He said, “There is need for people to promote and accord more respect to our culture in Yoruba land. We have rich cultural values which must not be eroded on the altar of westernisation or civilisation.” Ogunwusi urged the ...

Al Jazeera has announced a partnership with AREWA24 to dub its documentaries into Hausa language to further reach 40 million northern Nigerians. According to statement from Al Jazeera, the distribution agreement will make its English Language programmes available to AREWA24’s 40 million plus viewers in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon via its Free-to-Air satellite channel and major PayTV services like DSTV, among others. The acting Executive Director, Global Brand and Communication Division, Al Jazeera, Ramzan Alnoimi, said, “We are very pleased with this agreement as it makes Al Jazeera English’s content available to new audiences in a large part of Africa in their own language. “We are looking forward to expanding the distribution of Al Jazeera content dubbed in other languages in the future.” The Chief Executive Officer of AREWA24, Jacob Arback, was quoted as saying, “The Al Jazeera brand and its outstanding programming will be very well received by AREWA24’s Northern Nigerian...

The Ogun State Agency for the Control of AIDS has said 4,531 female sex workers have undergone HIV/AIDS testing and counselling in the state. The agency also said it has been going to correctional facilities in the state to test inmates for HIV and counsel them on the prevention of the disease. The Executive Secretary of OGSACA, Kehinde Fatungase, said this on Monday at a briefing to mark the 2021 World AIDS Day in Abeokuta. Fatungase said, “25,554 out of 38,093 estimated numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS in the state are currently receiving treatment while 25,136 are on antiretroviral therapy. 4,531 female sex workers have undergone HIV/AIDS testing and counselling in the state.” He noted that the state was embarking on aggressive community testing, counselling and campaign to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS by 95 per cent by 2030. Fatungase, however, attributed low level of literacy, poverty, drug abuse and gender-based violence, as factors contributing to the high pre...