𝐀𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐮, 𝐄𝐥-𝐑𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐂 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 The National Opposition Coalition Group, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the registration of a new political party—the All Democratic Alliance. The formation of ADA, backed by some other key political heavyweights, including former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and Umar Ardo, convener of the League of Northern Democrats and former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, seeks to capitalise on mounting public dissatisfaction and political realignments to stop President Bola Tinubu at the next poll.

This is the greatest comeback story in history: At 12, This Man witnessed his father’s murder. Later Lost his life savings on 3 failed startups. Bet everything on one last idea. Today, his company is worth $3 billion. This is the story of Tope Awotona, the Nigerian-born tech. entrepreneur, founder of Calendly and the 3 lessons his journey teaches us about failure, resilience, and success: At just 12 years old, young Tope witnessed his father’s murder during a carjacking in Lagos. That moment shattered his world. But little did he know, this tragedy would ignite a fire within him, a drive to build something extraordinary. After his father’s death, Tope moved to America as a teenager. He studied computer science at the University of Georgia but found himself drawn to sales roles. Yet, something was missing. He wanted to create something that mattered. So, he took the leap into entrepreneurship. His first venture? An e-commerce site selling projectors. It failed His second startup? A garden tools business. It failed too His third attempt? A dating website. That also crashed and burned Each failure cost him time, money, and confidence. But each one also taught him something invaluable: His first failure exposed the importance of supply chain management. His second failure showed him the value of operational efficiency. His third failure taught him about market timing and the need for proper funding. By 2013, Tope was out of money, out of ideas, and out of options. But he wasn’t out of the fight. He had one last idea, and he went all in. Invested his entire life savings, $200,000, into a scheduling tool called Calendly . Friends thought he was crazy. Investors called the idea "boring" and "unscalable." But Tope had discovered a universal pain point: the endless back-and-forth emails just to schedule a single meeting. He knew this wasn’t just an annoyance, it was a productivity killer. With no external funding, Tope hired Ukrainian contractors to build the first version of Calendly. He kept it simple: A clean interface. Easy functionality. One core problem solved perfectly. And it worked. Calendly spread like wildfire. Freelancers loved its simplicity. Sales teams appreciated its efficiency. Recruiters shared it with their networks. By 2020, Calendly was generating over $70 million in annual recurring revenue. Then, COVID hit. The world shifted to remote work, and virtual meetings became the norm. Calendly became essential. In 2021, investors who once dismissed Tope’s idea poured in $350 million. Calendly’s valuation skyrocketed to $3 billion. Today, Tope Awotona is worth over $1 Billion dollars become the few Nigerian-born Entrepreneurs who has crossed the billionaire line The boy who witnessed tragedy in Lagos had built a tech empire. But His journey revealed three profound truths about success to Us: - Rejection is redirection Every failed startup taught Tope something critical. The lessons from those failures became the foundation for Calendly’s success. - Solve real problems Calendly didn’t chase trends, it solved a pain point Tope experienced firsthand. The best ideas come from personal frustration. - Constraints breed creativity With no funding, Tope focused on simplicity. That constraint became Calendly’s greatest strength. Tope Awotona’s story is proof that success isn’t about avoiding failure it’s about learning from it. So, the next time you face rejection, remember Tope Awotona’’s journey. Your greatest comeback could be just one idea away. #TechStories #calendly #tope

Are Brands Shortchanging The Southeast? We pride ourselves on having a large market in the Southeast. Numbers and statistics support this claim. When I was in the telecom industry, Onitsha was a big revenue center for the telcos. However, we cannot say that brands benefiting from the huge Southeast market have shown enough good faith in their social investments decision-making and this is baffling. Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt usually receive a large chunk of corporate sponsorships from major Nigerian brands, to the neglect of the Southeast market, which can be likened to the goose that lays the golden egg. We once had MTN as the title sponsor of Enugwu-Ukwu Igu-Aro and the other associated festivals. That relationship stopped and no other brand has bothered to throw their muscle behind the rich cultural fest. Globacom sponsors the Onitsha Ofala Festival. However, other brands are yet to step in as co-sponsors to help blow the festival the same way they have done with the Ojude Oba festival in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state. These fliers are just a few examples of how other brands have helped to activate the Ojude-Oba festival. Organizing world-class festivals requires a lot of resources which only brands can provide. We people of the Southeast are demanding more from brands that are generating tons of revenue from the Southeast. Fair is fair. We are simply asking for a re-think of the corporate social investments (CSI) strategies of major Nigerian brands to also favour the Southeast which also generates the revenues for them. The argument that insecurity in the Southeast is one of the reasons why brands chose to stay away from CSI investments is not completely true. Insecurity may have impacted social life but people are still making calls and using data in the Southeast so the telcos can’t complain. On the Mondays of sit-at-home, I can bet that data and call usages increase as people idle away at home. On weekends, and even weekdays, bars and nightclubs are still banging so beverage companies are smiling. The financial services sector is thriving despite the security challenges. POS operators are almost lined up inch after inch in our communities. Banks are still declaring trillions of Naira in profits. During festive periods such as Easter, New Yam, and Christmas seasons when these festivals take place. It’s choc-a-block and bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Southeast. So a bit more CSI gaze towards the Southeast by the brands won’t be a bad idea. The tokenism approach should be discarded because it’s good business for them. Copied

SAD NEWS 🇬🇭😩 Ghanaian Actor and Filmmaker Lil Win says, he might never release his highly anticipated film IBRAHIM TRAORÉ cuz he was chased out by his landlord.. in his words 👇 ‘’ I paid the landlord 15,000 per day for our movie shoot but he still sacked me - Lilwin reveals biopic movie on Ibrahim Traore has been halted Lilwin was dropping GHC15,000 daily just to rent a location for his Ibrahim Traoré biopic. Everything was going well until a group of guys on motorbikes showed up and scattered the whole set. Things got messy, and the landlord, not wanting any wahala, asked Lilwin to pack out. Ghanaians and excuses na 5&6.. I mean can’t you get another house ? Anyways upon hearing this, many Ghanaians blame him for sharing graphics of the film even though it wasn’t ready.. E bad eh

"I grew up on TV and don't know what it means to be a regular guy. I've tried to build relationships that would lead to marriage, but there was something I was doing wrong, I was seeing them through a script" - Actor Nonso Diobi on why he is still unmarried at 48.

JUST IN: Popular Enugu Native Doctor Caught By Villagers After Kidnapping and Burying pregnant woman, mother and others alive in his house—The soakaway pit in his house aas filled with decomposing remains of his victims.

Actors Guild Steps In Over Zubby Michael's Actions on Set The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has stepped in to investigate a recent incident on a movie set where actor Zubby Michael allegedly kicked his colleague Godwin Nnadiekwe, resulting in internal bleeding. Nollywood producer Stanley Ontop revealed that the AGN president, Emeka Rollas, has reached out to him and assured that the matter will be handled properly. He wrote; "I want to appreciate the president of Actors Guild Of Nigeria (AGN) sir Emeka Rollas emekarollas for calling me this morning; asking for the actors phone number, producer’s phone number, Director’s phone number and hospital name….He gave me the assurance that this matter will be handled properly. They are investigating the matter as we speak (AGN)…. Let’s wait and see AGN reaction to this video. All actors should be careful on set biko because you don’t know who is alive No actor deserve such act from his fellow actor AGN president pls this should be addressed properly to avert future occurrence :pray::pray: Get well soon bro @godwin_nnadiekwe"

Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has withdrawn the controversial bill that proposed mandatory voting for all eligible Nigerians in elections. I mentioned to my journalist colleague that this bill would not be passed, and now it has been officially withdrawn. We cannot allow our selfish interests to deny people their fundamental human rights. If you want to encourage voter participation in the 2027 election, advocate for electoral reform. Many of us believe that electoral reform is essential for ensuring free and fair elections, which, in turn, will motivate people to come out and vote.

This dude here is the world's most apt example that a man's greatest victory is to conquer his own self. More to the point in his case, P Diddy conquered the world in music, fashion and other lucrative business moves and made billions for himself and his stakeholders and associates. However, he's in the process of losing it all...including himself. Simply because he failed to conquer the greatest prize of all: his whims, desires and internal gremlins. A hobo who can control his testicles and penis is more successful than a billionaire who is under the control of his dick. I mean, what's the point of gaining all that wealth and acclaim, only to surrender it all because of that organ which releases dirty water? Assuming that he is being set up,..in this world of countless threats for a black man, why expose your weaknesses to your enemies if you are such an all-conquering personality? But we move 🤝

The magic is in the margins, and they owned every one of them. 🏆Best Supporting Actor (Proudly sponsored by Indomie) – Gabriel Afolayan in Clarence Peter's 'Inside Life' 🏆Best Supporting Actress (Proudly sponsored by NIVEA) – Mercy Aigbe in Farmer's Bride Scene-stealers, soul-shakers. At #AMVCA11, they proved that supporting roles don’t play second fiddle — they set the stage ablaze. #AMVCA

Power. Presence. Performance. They didn’t just act, they owned the screen. 🏆Best Lead Actor (Proudle sponsored by Verve ): Femi Adebayo in Seven Doors 🏆Best Lead Actress( Proudly sponsored by Onga Nigeria) : Chioma Chukwuka in Seven Doors At #AMVCA11, they moved audiences and mesmerised peers, delivering grace, grit, and greatness in every frame. #AMVCA

A masterwork of vision, voice, and craft, and the mind that made it happen. 🏆Best Movie (Proudly sponsored by Amstel Malta) : Freedom Way by Blessing Uzzi 🏆Best Director( Proudly sponsored by Martell) : Awam Amkpa for The Man Died At #AMVCA11, storytelling reached its summit. One dazzled, the other directed with purpose. Together, they created a cinematic legacy that devoured the screen. #AMVCA