Legendary Fuji musician, Adewale Ayuba, on Wednesday mourned Onyeka Onwenu, Nigeria’s music legend, who died on Tuesday at the age of 72.
Ayuba, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said Onwenu’s immense contributions to the growth of the entertainment industry would always be revered.
“I celebrate the life of our beloved Onyeka Onwenu. Though she may have been taken from us too soon, her spirit, good works will forever live on in the memories we cherish and the love we shared.
“Many would have ample and lofty things to write about her efforts on Nigeria entertainment industry growth. Onyeka has left this world in glory. May her soul rest in peace,” he said.
Also, Nigerian singer and activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, took to X, formerly Twitter, to pay tribute to the late Onwenu.
He wrote: “The Igbo nation mourns the loss of this iconic figure, whose impact transcended the entertainment industry.
“Onwenu’s death follows the recent passings of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, marking a period of profound loss for the Southeast region of Nigeria.
“Onwenu’s legacy as a cherished talent and tireless advocate will continue to inspire future generations.
Oh! My sister, Rest In Peace.
Similarly, Afrobeat musician, Femi Kuti, expressed shock at the death of Onwenu.
“Shocked, waking up to very sad news of the passing of Mrs Onyeka Onwenu.
“Rest in peace Ma, your beautiful voice will live forever. Condolences to her family and loved ones.”
Nigerian “Galala” singer, Daddy Showkey, with a display of the deceased’s picture on his Instagram page, wrote: “RIP Great Legend Onyeka Onwenu.
“Nobody know the news wey you go hear when you wake up in morning.”
According to reports, Onwenu was born in 1952. She began her music career in the 1980s and released her debut album, “For the Love of You,” in 1981. She has since released numerous albums and singles, including the hit song, “One Love”.
Onwenu has also acted in several Nollywood films and won numerous awards for her contributions to music and film. In addition to her entertainment career, Onwenu has also been involved in politics.
She was appointed as the Chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture in 2013 and later became the Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development in 2016. She was awarded the National Honours of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2011.
Charly Boy, Femi Kuti, Ayuba, Daddy Showkey Mourn Onyeka Onwenu
Veteran Nigerian Singer And Actress Onyeka Onwenu Dies At 72
Veteran Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress Onyeka Onwenu has died at 72.
According to reports, she slumped following a performance at Stella Okoli’s birthday party on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
She was rushed to Reddington Hospital in Lagos. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it.
An eyewitness at the party who confirmed the tragic event said, “It is very sad. Onyeka Onwenu just performed at the birthday of Mrs Stella Okoli today, and after performing, she slumped. She was taken to Reddington Hospital and she couldn’t make it.”
Another eyewitness said, “I have never seen anything like this before. She had just come down from the stage after performing energetically and admirably as always. And went to her seat where she slumped. It is still like a dream.”
Born on January 31, 1952, in Imo State, Nigeria, Onwenu started her career as a singer and quickly rose to prominence with her distinctive voice and meaningful lyrics. Her music often addressed social issues, and she became known as the “Elegant Stallion” for her grace.
She was also a talented actress, starring in numerous Nollywood films where she showcased her versatility and depth. Beyond her work in entertainment, Onwenu was a journalist and politician, serving as the chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture. Her contributions to the music and film industries, as well as her advocacy for women’s rights and social justice, made her an iconic figure in Nigeria and beyond.
Onwenu was a beloved figure in the Nigerian entertainment industry, known for her musical talent and impactful acting career.
Onyeka Onwenu: 10 Things You Should Know About the Late Legend
Onyeka Onwenu was a legendary figure in Nigerian music and entertainment who reportedly passed on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at age 72.
Here are some key things you should know about her:
1.
Onyeka Onwenu was born on January 17, 1952, in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria.
2.
She was an Alumni from university of Ibadan, where she graduated with a BA in International Relations.
3.
Onyeka Onwenu’s music career began in the late 1970s. She was known for her soulful voice and her ability to blend traditional African music with contemporary styles.
4.
In 1984, Onyeka married a Yoruba Muslim, and the union produced two sons, Tijani Ogunlende and Ibrahim Ogunlende. Ibrahim later changed his name to Abraham.
5.
Beyond music, Onyeka Onwenu had a successful acting career, featuring in several Nigerian movies and television series.
6.
She was a renowned humanitarian, actively involved in various social causes.
7.
The Legendary Onyeka Onwenu was also involved in Nigerian politics, serving as the Chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture.
8.
Over the years, She released several albums among which were; “Endless Life,” “One Love,” and “In the Morning Light.”
9.
Onyeka Onwenu was awarded a National award as a Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) for her contributions to the Nigerian entertainment industry.
10.
She was also an author, having published a memoir titled “My Father’s Daughter.”
Onyeka Onwenu who was revered as a cultural icon in Nigeria, was celebrated not only for her musical and acting career but also for her advocacy and leadership in various spheres of the society.
read also: Veteran Nigerian Actress Rachel Oniga Dies At 64
On Tuesday, 30th July 2024, Ms Onwenu reportedly died at Reddington Hospital, Lagos. She reportedly slumped after performing at the 80th birthday party of Mrs. Stella Okoli.
Tennis: Djokovic Defeats Nadal As Daley Dives To Fifth Olympic Medal
Novak Djokovic overcame a gritty Rafael Nadal comeback Monday in probably the last chapter of their epic tennis rivalry at the Paris Olympics, where British diver Tom Daley grabbed his fifth medal in five Games.
In the pool, Canada’s Summer McIntosh launched her bid for 400m medley gold in the morning session, with Australian Ariarne Titmus hotly tipped to win her second swimming gold later in the day.
With fans basking under glorious blue Paris skies, a happy contrast to the soggy opening ceremony only three days ago, golds are up for grabs in 11 sports.
As forecasters issued a heat warning for Paris and surrounding areas, the hottest ticket in town was at Roland Garros, where Djokovic and Nadal clashed for a 60th time.
Coming into the match, Djokovic held a razor-thin 30-29 edge in their rivalry but the Spaniard had always ruled the roost on the clay in the French capital down the years.
Age and injuries have caught up with the Spanish great however and he had warned before the match he would struggle to be competitive with Djovokic.
That proved painfully prescient in the first set as the ruthless Serb dispatched the former king of clay 6-1.
But Nadal rolled back the years in the second set, roared on by a packed Roland Garros crowd, fighting back from 4-0 down to 4-4 with two breaks of serve.
Djovokic found an extra gear at the end to claim a 6-1, 6-4 victory, the two tennis legends embracing at the net and Nadal waving to the Roland Garros faithful.
• ’Goofy Tassie girl’ –
Another electric night of swimming action is expected, with Titmus bidding to add the 200m freestyle crown to her dominant 400m triumph on Saturday, when she blew away rivals McIntosh and Katie Ledecky to retain her title.
The 23-year-old Titmus is favourite at 200m — she is reigning champion and world record-holder.
Her biggest threat is fellow Australian Mollie O’Callaghan, who boasted the fastest time ever until Titmus smashed it in June.
Monday’s other swimming finals are women’s 400m individual medley, men’s 200m freestyle, men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100m breaststroke.
• ’It’s very sad’ –
In diving, Daley took an emotional silver medal with partner Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform behind China’s Lian Junjie and Yang Hao.
Williams choked back tears as he recalled his former coach Dave Jenkins, who died in 2021 after the last Olympics in Tokyo.
Daley, whose father Rob died of cancer in 2011, told the BBC: “I’ve never seen Noah cry in my whole life, I know how much today mean to him.
“It’s very sad Dave is not here, but I know Dave and my dad would both be so proud to see us here today.”
Olympics Men’s Triathlon Postponed Over River Seine Pollution
The Olympic men’s triathlon was postponed just hours before it was due to get under way on Tuesday after last-ditch water quality tests in the River Seine revealed unhealthy pollution levels, organisers said.
In a blow to Olympic officials who have repeatedly vowed that the Seine would be safe for athletes to swim in, organisers said the men’s event would be delayed by 24 hours and take place immediately after the women’s race on Wednesday.
A joint statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon blamed the excessive pollution on the heavy rain that deluged the French capital on Friday and Saturday.
“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes,” the statement said after a meeting held at 3:30am local time (0130 GMT).
“The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.
“Unfortunately, meteorological events beyond our control … can alter water quality and compel us to reschedule the event for health reasons.”
Organisers had already cancelled training sessions in the Seine scheduled for Sunday and Monday because of unsafe pollution levels caused by last week’s rain.
But they had expressed confidence that the pollution would drop in time for Tuesday’s race given the bright, sunny conditions in Paris this week which helps keep bacteria levels down.
French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) over the last decade to clean up the Seine, including in major new water treatment and storage facilities in and around Paris.
But heavy downpours still overwhelm the city’s underground drains and sewage system, leading to untreated effluent being released into the waterway.
After an exceptionally wet spring and start to summer, the Seine had been consistently failing water tests until the beginning of July, causing a major headache for Paris 2024 organisers.
Levels of the E.Coli bacteria — an indicator of faecal matter
— were sometimes 10 times higher than authorised limits.
The triathlon is the first Olympic event scheduled to take place in the river, before marathon swimming in the second week of the Games.
Rena Wakama Reflects On D’Tigress Victory Over Australia
D’Tigress of Nigeria head coach, Rena Wakama, has revealed how her team managed to secure a stunning 75-62 victory over the highly ranked Australian team in their opening game of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The African champions surprised the basketball world with their impressive performance against Australia, who are ranked third globally. The win has been described as one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far.
Wakama expressed her pride and excitement following the match. “I have a wave of emotions. I am so proud and excited for this group. I’ve got a lot of girls that are hungry and shocked the world,” she said.
The coach attributed the victory to the team’s resilience and determination. “We are tough. It’s in our DNA, it’s who we are – we don’t back down and I just want to bring a lot of energy and passion,” Wakama added.
Rena Wakama tutored D’Tigress will next face Canada in their second group game before concluding the group stage with a match against the host nation, France. The team’s performance against Australia has raised hopes and expectations for their upcoming matches.
Australia’s Alanna Smith Reacts to the Loss
In response to the defeat, Australia’s Alanna Smith acknowledged the team’s shortcomings. “We turned the ball over way too much and we were not ready to step up to the physicality of the game. Turning the ball over, though, was the crux of the game,” she said.
The Australian team will need to address these issues as they prepare for their upcoming fixtures in the tournament.
NIN Verification: NCC Orders Telecoms to Reactivate Affected SIMs
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered the immediate reactivation of SIM cards affected by NIN-SIM verification issues.
This directive was disclosed in a statement by the Commission’s spokesperson, Reuben Muoka, on Monday, July 29, 2024.
Over the weekend, many telecom subscribers were unable to access their phone lines due to the inability to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs). Consequently, their numbers were blocked by telecom service providers in accordance with the NIN-SIM linkage laws and policies.
Telecom consumers and the public will recall that the compulsory linkage of NIN with SIM began in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered SIM cards not linked to a verifiable NIN.
Telcos to Bar More Lines As NCC Insists on Deadline
According to Muoka, the Commission has reviewed the deadline several times since December 2023, with the latest deadline set for April 15, 2024, for the full network barring of subscribers with four or fewer SIMs that had unverified NIN details. This deadline was then extended to July 31, 2024, to give consumers more time to ensure their submitted NIN details were properly verified. Despite these extensions, many phone lines remain unlinked with verified NINs.
Muoka noted that the objectives of this exercise by the Federal Government of Nigeria include enhancing national security and ensuring the national SIM ownership database is accurate.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy aids in verifying and protecting users’ identities while also providing critical infrastructure that assures access to the benefits of a robust digital economy for the citizenry.
“The consumer is our priority, therefore, considering the challenges the blockages have caused, the Commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend because of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs.”
Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM.
Members of the public who are yet to verify their SIMs are encouraged to do so as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines.
The disconnections, which began late Saturday, have affected customers across all major telecommunication companies in Nigeria, leading to widespread dissatisfaction and unrest.
The NCC had set a deadline of July 31 for all subscribers to link their NINs to their phone lines, an extension from the previous deadline of April 15, 2024.
UK’s New Govt. To Restart Trade Talks with India
Britain’s new government said it was restarting talks aimed at securing free trade agreements (FTAs) with India and countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party returned to government after 14 years in opposition following a landslide victory at a July 4 election, has made economic growth the central mission of his government.
Trade talks were paused during the election.
EU And India To Restart Long-Suspended Trade Talks
“Restarting talks is the first step towards agreeing the high-quality trade deals the UK needs to give businesses access to international markets, boost jobs, and deliver that growth,” the government said in a statement.
The trade department said the first round of negotiations under the new government were expected to take place in the autumn and would include fresh talks with Israel, South Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Britain already has FTAs with those four countries which were rolled over when it left the European Union in 2020, but had previously launched talks aimed at updating the agreements.
Grant Key Players Access to Refine Crude Oil- Group Tells FG
The Nigerian Forum for Extractive Sector Accountability and Transparency (YES-ACT) has urged federal government to allow participation of other players in the refining of Nigeria’s crude oil pending the satisfactory take-off of the Dangote Refinery to the desired capacity.
The National Convener of the forum, Bashir Umar Binji stated this while briefing Journalists at NUJ Secretariat along Zuru road in Sokoto State.
According to Binji, the forum has followed the controversy around the operation of the newly established Dangote Refinery, the claims and counter claims of the CEO of Dangote Refinery Alhaji Aliko Dangote on one hand and the government regulatory players such as NMDPRA and NNPCL on the other hand.
FG Asked To Remove Fees on Locally Refined Diesel
Binji said that the subsequent allocation of crude oil or sale of Nigeria crude oil to Dangote Refinery should strictly be on the basis of actual refining capacity at the time of such allocation.
“That the Dangote Refinery or group as it may should desist from further sensationalization of matter in an already tensed up country due to difficulties occasioned by Mafia-like oil and gas sector cabals who have been frustrating government efforts and policies for years”,Binji said.
He commended the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPR) for standing its ground and maintaining a Nigeria centred policy of allowing equal opportunities to all interested investors.
He encouraged the forum members in the country to ensure that adequate support is mobilised for the operation of the extractive industry based on fair play and laid down principles.
Pres. Tinubu Approves Sale Of Crude Oil In Naira
Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a new directive to promote the trade of crude oil using the local currency.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman, Zaccheus Adedeji, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Monday after the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House, Abuja
According to him, effective immediately, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) will engage with local refineries in transactions dominated in Naira.
Adedeji said this move is also extended to the sale of crude oil to Dangote, with the subsequent sale of Dangote’s products as well as others to be conducted in Naira.
He said the decision aims to mitigate the over reliance on foreign exchange for crude oil imports, which he said currently accounts for 30 to 40 percent of Nigeria’s forex expenditure.
The FIRS Chairman further explained that by denominating transactions in naira, the federal government expects to significantly reduce this forex burden, estimating annual savings of around $7.3 billion.
Crude Oil Production, Price Benchmark, Possible–NNPC
Adedeji emphasised that this shift will stabilize crude oil prices domestically by minimizing the impact of forex fluctuations.
He said the new policy is anticipated to ease the pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, reducing monthly forex expenditure from $50 million to approximately $600 million.
As part of the implementation, Afreximbank has been selected as the pilot settlement bank to facilitate these transactions.
“There was a memo prepared by the President to promote the trade of crude oil within local refineries and the NNPCL to deal in Nigerian local currency.
“The attitude of the President is to solve the Nigeria problem of over reliance on foreign exchange and localise the solution to the Nigerian problem.
“Approved effective with immediately is that NNPCL gets engaged with local refineries and we are starting that with dangote that is the sales of crude oil to dangote and that takes effect with the denominator in Naira and sales of crude oil should also be carried out in naira to others.“
Adedeji explained further that this means the pressure on foreign exchange in Nigeria will be reduced.
“Today Nigeria spend roughly 30 to 4opercent on importation of crude oil, this approval will make economy predictability a more reality,it’s an innovation in solving Nigerias problem. The benefit also includes reduction in foreign exchange pressure in Nigeria”. He added.
