“As the new week presents you with opportunities and choices to decide on, may God grant you discernment to make the right decisions.

TODAY NA FIRST SUNDAY

Put your Dress In Order! (Hebrew 10:26)

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Premier League clubs have spent over three times more than Saudi Pro League clubs on transfers so far this summer

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Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi will be eyeing another goal when Nottingham Forest face Chelsea on Saturday (today) at Stamford Bridge.

After scoring in seven consecutive matches to break the 28-year scoring record for the Tricky Trees and also becoming the third African player (joint-level with Mohamed Salah and Emmanuel Adebayor) to score in seven successive PL games, the match against Chelsea presents an opportunity for him to score in an eighth straight match.

The Blues will be even more wary of the big Super Eagles striker thanks to his two-goal man-of-the-match performance against them the last time they met last season.

After seven straight wins in all competitions against Forest, Chelsea failed to beat them in two meetings upon their return to the Premier League after more than two decades.

Draws at the City Ground and at Stamford Bridge in their encounters last season makes this game a redemption game for the Blues.

Credit to: punchng.com

A global online streaming platform, Spotify, says Olamide, Odumodublvck, Blaqbonez, Zlatan and Ice Prince are the most streamed Nigerian hip-hop artistes on its platform.

Spotify’s Artiste and Label Partnerships Manager for West Africa, Victor Okpala, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

According to Okpala, Hip Hop has achieved global prominence and this triumph extends to Nigeria where it has profoundly influenced the evolution of afrobeats.

He said it was not surprising that Nigeria occupies a significant position within Africa’s Hip-hop listenership landscape, securing the second spot after South Africa.

He noted that this position underscored the genre’s popularity within the country and reflected the widespread impact of Nigerian Hip hop on the African music scene.

“The spotlight falls on Olamide, Odumodublvck, Blaqbonez, Zlatan and Ice Prince as the most streamed within the realm of Nigerian Hip hop.

“Nigeria’s patriotism in music is evident as most streamed Hip hop artistes are Nigerians, unlike regions such as Kenya and South Africa where international hit-man, Drake, leads.

“Hip hop is one of the most popular music genres in the world and it continues to have an input in newer genres and music movements springing up in Nigeria and around the world.

“Its ability to evolve and stay relevant is a testament to its power as a form of artistic expression that resonates with listeners worldwide,” he said.

Okpala said according to Spotify’s data, Nigerian Gen Z individuals aged between 18 and 24 constituted a sizable segment of Hip hop listeners, accounting for 55 per cent of the total streams.

He said this is followed by listeners aged 25 to 29, contributing 19 per cent of the streams. According to him, the age brackets of 0 to 17 and 30 to 34 both hold a nine per cent share.

He said from a gender perspective, Nigerian Hip hop music predominantly resonates with males, commanding a substantial 75 per cent of the recorded streams, while females account for 24 per cent.

“Nigerian Hip hop gained popularity in the 1990s with artistes such as Modenine, Naeto C, Bouqui, Ruggedman, Gino, Eedris Abdulkareem, eLDee, Sasha P, Ikechukwu and a whole lot more.

“These artistes pioneered the sounds and culture of Hip hop that have influenced Nigerian tracks and has grown to gain substantial traction within the continent.

The elusive currency that slips through our fingers, reminds us to spend it wisely

Super Eagles of Nigeria and Everton midfielder, Alex Iwobi, has joined Fulham after a deal which could reach £22m was agreed.Iwobi has played in two of Everton’s three Premier League games this season, but missed Saturday’s home defeat to Wolves with injury. The Toffees are yet to pick up a single point so far.

Joao Palhinha has been given permission to travel to Germany by the Cottagers, as talks continue over a deal with Bayern Munich. The fee is expected to be about £65m, with Fulham also seeking a replacement.

Palhinha is keen to play Champions League football and is now awaiting confirmation of an agreement between the two clubs before taking a medical.

The Portugal midfielder would become the second significant departure from Craven Cottage this summer, following Aleksandar Mitrovic’s move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have come up with a contingency plan for forward options in the event that Mohamed Salah does make a shock move to Saudi Arabia.

The Reds have already rejected a £150m offer Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, and the stance remains the same, that Egyptian is not for sale – especially with it being so late in the window.

However, the concern remains that although the European transfer window closes yesterday (Friday September 1 at 11pm), the Saudi market remains open until September 7.

It means Liverpool would have little time to find a readymade replacement for Salah, if the 31-year-old does make a surprise move to the Middle East.

Mail Sport’s Chief Football Reporter, Mokbel, said he doesn’t think Salah will be sold, but the club are looking at possible deals if they have to make a move in the market.

Credit to: Guardian.ng

The leader of a coup that overthrew Gabon’s President Ali Bongo says he wants to avoid rushing into elections that “repeat past mistakes” as pressure mounts to hand back power to a civilian government.

Military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power on Wednesday minutes after an announcement that Bongo had secured a third term in an election.

The officers placed Bongo under house arrest and installed Nguema as head of state, ending the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power.

The coup – West and Central Africa’s eighth in three years – drew cheering crowds onto the streets of the capital, Libreville, but condemnation from abroad and at home.

“Our aim is to move as quickly as possible, quickly but surely. Moving as quickly as possible doesn’t mean organising elections in a rush where we’ll end up with the same mistakes, where the same people will continue in power, and it all comes back to the same thing,” Nguema said in a televised address on Friday night.

Regional bloc, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), has urged partners led by the United Nations and the African Union to support a rapid return to constitutional order, it said in a statement after an extraordinary meeting on Thursday. It said it would reconvene on Monday.

Duffel bags stuffed with cash

Gabon’s main opposition group, Alternance 2023, which says it is the rightful winner of the election, urged the international community on Friday to encourage the generals to hand power back to civilians.

Bongo was elected in 2009, taking over from his late father who came to power in 1967. Opponents say the family did little to share Gabon’s oil and mining wealth.

For years the Bongo family occupied a luxurious palace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. They own expensive cars and properties in France and the United States, often paid for in cash, according to a 2020 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global network of investigative journalists.

Meanwhile, almost one-third of the country’s 2.3 million people live in poverty.

Military leaders ordered the arrest of one of Bongo’s sons, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and several members of Bongo’s cabinet on accusations ranging from alleged embezzlement to narcotics trafficking.

State broadcaster Gabon 24 said on Thursday that duffel bags stuffed with cash wrapped in plastic had been confiscated from the homes of various officials. Its footage included a raid on the house of former cabinet director Ian Ghislain Ngoulou.

Standing next to Bongo Valentin, he told the channel the money was part of Bongo’s election fund. It was unclear when the images were shot.

Lawyers for Bongo’s wife Sylvia said on Friday that Bongo Valentin was being held in an undisclosed location, and the family is concerned about his safety.

“You need politicians to manage a transition and above all a state,” said retired Libreville resident Timothe Moutsinga. “We expect a lot from this government and this transition, a transfer of power to civilians.”

The takeover in Gabon follows coups in Guinea, Chad and Niger, plus two each in Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020. The takeovers have erased democratic gains in a region where insecurity and widespread poverty have weakened elected governments, worrying international powers with strategic interests at stake.

Credit to: Aljazeera

Nigeria’s first satellite, NigeriaSat-1, launched by Russian rocket.