‘Captain Phillips’ Oscar Nominee Barkhad Abdi Is Broke

Source: TheWrap

Barkhad Abdi was in the running for Oscar gold Sunday, but actual wealth eludes him.

Abdi has been widely praised for his role in “Captain Phillips” as the desperate pirate Muse, and even ad-libbed the film’s signature line: “I’m the captain now.” But a New Yorker story reveals that he is now struggling to support himself.

“When Abdi is in Los Angeles to promote the film, he subsists on a per diem, good at the Beverly Hilton, where the studio likes to put him up. The town car is available only for official publicity events. His clothes are loaners,” reads the article. “Recently Abdi requested that he be allowed to stay at a commuter hotel near LAX to be closer to his friend, a Somali cabdriver from Minneapolis, who shuttles him around for free.”

Abdi earned $65,000 for his performance in the $55 million film, but that was more than two years ago. And even with an Oscar nomination, there’s no guarantee of his future earning potential as an actor. Abdi already won a BAFTA for best supporting actor, and is now reading scripts in search of his next role.

To read this article in its entirety visit TheWrap.

No Orchids for Mallam Sanusi – @Delemomodu

Fellow Nigerians, this has been another week of political brouhaha in Nigeria as the owners of the long knives moved in and cut the dagger’s man, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, into shreds. SLS, as he’s fondly called by friends and foes, had committed one of those commonest mistakes in warfare, and it is a useful lesson for all. A good student of military strategy would have known you don’t pull a gun if you are not ready to fire. History is replete with tales of such calamitous and fatal errors. I had expected a man as voluble and volatile as SLS to appreciate that truism. For allowing President Goodluck Jonathan to fire the first shot, Sanusi now has to fight from a defensive position when he should have been the aggressor. But I won’t write him off.

By singing like a canary against the government he was serving, he should have known that he had grabbed a tiger by the tail and been ready for a battle royale. He should have made the first move by resigning honourably to create the time and space for unbridled pugilism. He would have made it impossible for his assailants to dictate the pace and tempo of the war. In fact, he would have thrown their camp into total confusion and disarray. From outside, it would have been easier to fire from all cylinders. But SLS allowed a rambunctious ego to get the better of him and lost the initiative from that moment. Once the President, who is the boss of all bosses, called him and asked him to resign, he should have known the contest had started and he could no longer relax in the dressing room.

SLS should have read the game-plan well and studied the tactics of his opponents. President Goodluck Jonathan’s biggest strength is in always pretending to be weak and timid but pouncing venomously on his enemies when they least expect. There is no question that Jonathan is a world champion when it comes to the waiting game. Let me give a few examples. When his former boss, Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha ran into troubled waters in London and the lot fell on Jonathan to take over, the smart gentleman appeared like a disinterested person until power was thrust into his laps and he grabbed it with both hands.

A similar situation presented itself when his boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, became terminally ill and the Cabal hijacked his comatose body. Jonathan again outsmarted his oppressors by feigning total helplessness and forcing Good Samaritans in the Save Nigeria Group and the Enough-is-Enough organisation to fight on his behalf as a quintessential underdog. Some foolish people like me risked everything while stupidly thinking we were fighting for the enthronement of democratic culture. Little did we realise we were fighting to install aspiring dictators. At that time, it was okay to demonstrate on the streets. The then Vice President Jonathan even permitted the Secretary to the Federal Government to address the crowd and we were fooled into thinking a new rainbow dawn had arrived the shores of Nigeria.

The election of 2011 was an eye opener. Jonathan traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria campaigning as a humble and benevolent leader whose mission was to breathe fresh air into our lives. His shoeless story was classic and convincing. Jonathan won the election and Nigerians awaited the whiff of fresh air. They got something different on January 1, 2012, when the President announced a total withdrawal of subsidy as his New Year gift. Angry and stupefied Nigerians trooped to the streets to kick against the decision. Jonathan soon bared his fangs as he rolled out military tanks to intimidate the protesters and drive them away from the Lagos streets. Peaceful protests would no longer be tolerated.

Two more examples should suffice. The first is the story of Jonathan’s successor as Governor in Bayelsa State, Mr Timipre Sylva. There was a palpable cold war between them prior to Jonathan’s election in 2011. The President knew that to fight at that moment could jeopardise his chances at home. He promptly made up with Sylva and suggested all was well. Sylva went all out to support Jonathan not knowing that, like Constantine Demiris, a character out of Sidney Sheldon’s novel, Jonathan does not forget favours just like he does not forgive injuries! Today Jonathan is President and Sylva is no longer governor, courtesy of presidential might. Not only that, a new Governor was handpicked and forced on the people of Bayelsa State. Other candidates were bullied out of the race and went away like penitent school kids to lick their wounds in private.

My second and final example comes from the neighbouring Rivers State, where the incredibly brave Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nigeria’s extremely powerful and irrepressible First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, were locked in their own titanic heavyweight bout. As Don King, the Promoter, Jonathan postponed the titled fight to another day and was able to capture stupendous votes in the process. However, the tussle resumed shortly thereafter and Rivers State has never calmed down ever since. Every attempt has been made to remove Amaechi but I think the man’s Pastors or witch-doctors have been working over-time. Rivers State is one place the Federal might has failed woefully. Amaechi seems to have stayed ahead of the game and is ready to play rough against the Masters.

Had SLS been a good student of History, he would have done a better job of opening a can of worms at NNPC by preparing for the monumental backlash that would naturally erupt. I smelt something was in the offing the moment Jonathan sacrificed Stella Oduah and booted her out in such unceremonious fashion. Stella was the biggest fall-lady of this administration, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the regime. SLS should have girded his loins at that stage because if Stella could go who else is safe apart from perhaps Madam Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Madueke?

The big lesson in the ordeal of SLS is that impunity begets impunity. He has become the latest victim and casualty of a system that gave birth to his own ascendancy. We need to properly situate the background to this battle of wits.  SLS had bounced on to the national stage as a rampaging bull in a China shop when he was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He descended upon the banking institution with automatic alacrity and military precision. Nigerians goaded him on and hailed him as the badly needed reformist and reformer. The few of us who came out boldly and openly to challenge his process and methodology were called names our parents did not give us.

As far as I was concerned, SLS did not have to set fire to a whole village in order to catch a few rats. Institutions that were built on the sweat of so many people and different generations were dismantled in a jiffy and handed over to complete outsiders to run. The jittery and clearly intimidated shareholders were neither consulted nor considered. SLS preferred to throw the babies away with their bathwater.

It would have been nicer and neater if the bad guys had been expunged without collateral damage on innocent bystanders. But Sanusi’s sledgehammer descended heavily and mercilessly on the good and the bad. It was difficult not to suspect some malicious intent in this all-out war against an institution in which he had served before his appointment. Bank Managing Directors were craftily edged out of jobs under the pretext of having spent ten years in the saddle. The media was awash with stories about this supernatural Prince Charming on a Messianic mission. The hagiography had started and apotheosis was waiting in the corner. Those who disagreed with this idolisation were dissed as the enemy of the people. Our people preferred jungle justice.

Most Nigerians at the time were not ready to tread on the path of caution. They had forgotten the iconic warning that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Allegations of wilful damage and probable vengeance levelled against SLS were treated with contempt and disdain. The crucifixion of the bank MDs was more important to his supporters than the protection of democratic rights and institutions. SLS himself did not realise Nigeria is the biggest Mafia nation outside Italy. Corruption would never have thrived or festered this long, and as much, without the support and protection of the godfathers. The body language of the Mafioso while this entire holocaust went on should have forewarned him of the grave dangers ahead. He should have known from antiquity that if you live by the sword you may likely die by the sword.

I had similarly warned his friend, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, in 2007 at the peak of his career in EFCC. It is not in the character of ultra-conservative governments to tolerate and promote untamed radicalism. Most of these governments were sponsored and installed at the instance and magnanimity of bad guys, as well as through proceeds of crime and corruption. It is thus difficult and impractical to expect them to fight their benefactors. As a student of Nigerian public affairs, I was so sure the hunter would soon become the hunted. And it came to pass. Ribadu had to vanish into rarefied air while the country he left behind continued to live and swim in sin.

If the truth must be told Nigeria is a nation of ambiguity and confusion. We all complain about corruption but soon join in the unmitigated debauchery as soon as the opportunity presents itself. We complain about poor Leadership yet we select the dregs of society and vote for the worst examples of mankind. We want Nigeria to become America by whatever stroke of miracle or magic but we are never prepared to learn about the best practises that made America great. We are never sure of what political system we wish or want to practise. We want to practise capitalism without capital. We want to be socialist without a heart for welfare. We want soldiers to behave like civilians and wish civilians can operate like dictators. Wherever it is convenient, and whenever it occurs, we want our supposed enemies to be punished. We really don’t care about conforming to standard and universal laws for all. We hope to eat our cake and still have it waiting in the freezer. We want to be the accuser and the Prosecutor and the Judge not only in our own cause but also at our own personal court.

I’m certainly saddened by Sanusi’s sack. I’m vehemently opposed to all forms of gangsterism in a democracy. The terrible habit of disgracing everyone we disagree with should be discouraged. Why wait till Sanusi left for Niamey before sending him a letter of suspension? Is it not a further waste of our already scarce resources? Why humiliate him at a time he and colleagues were to meet at a high-level discussion with a few African Presidents? What the government has done again in its desperation to punish its recalcitrant agent is to inadvertently turn Sanusi into a superstar martyr. The lesson of life is for a statesman to act statesmanlike in every situation.

When a strongman climbs down from his high horse to chase an ant, he diminishes his status. There is nothing wrong sacking your enemy decorously. It says more about your strength than your weakness. If Sanusi was considered rude to the President, the Commander-in-Chief should have been presidential in his response by pursuing a clean fight. Every fight must not end with bruises and permanent scars. By fighting like a wounded lion, President Jonathan has acquired Sanusi’s many friends and admirers as his enemies. This is not the time to heat up the polity. Jonathan already has more than enough enemies barely one year to the next election. Sanusi is not going to be an easy meat to chew.

I hope Jonathan and his warlords thought through the repercussions before they took on Sanusi two days ago. The reason I say that is simple to guess. It is always difficult to fight a man who is not afraid to die.
Ask the Americans.

Credit: Thisday Backpage

Culled Omojuwa.com

Kerosene subsidy: Mischief in the matter – John Chidozie

The Nigerian media is pregnant with allegations of corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and, by extension, in the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The unfortunate situation started when recently suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi told the Senate Finance Committee that the NNPC has misappropriated $20 billion, implying that a huge part of the unremitted funds came from the continuation of the subsidy on kerosene regime in defiance of a presidential directive ending it. However, it is quite disturbing that many Nigerians fail to look at the issue logically before ‘casting stones’.

First, it is simply wrong, even unfair to blame this administration for something that started before their time. Most of us seem to forget that the directive to stop subsidy was given in 2009. Therefore, if there was a criminality involved in the matter, it started in that administration by ministers who continued to operate the subsidy.

If truth be told, the presidential directive at that time was not well handled and does seem worrisome. The directive to,  “Eliminate existing subsidy on the consumption of kerosene, taking into account that subsidy payments by government, on kerosene do not reach the intended beneficiaries. Public announcement of this measure should be avoided”; has so many things wrong with it. For, even if it were constitutionally correct to hide subsidy removal from Nigerians, it is morally wrong to do so. It is only proper for the people who will bear the brunt of such removal to be part of the decision or, at least, to be informed about it. NNPC is well in their right to follow existing protocol, which in many ways has helped alleviate the suffering of the masses. Everyone has experienced unprecedented access to fuel products in the country. The long queue for petrol is gone! Cars are no longer breaking down on the highway as a result of purchasing geri-can fuel! Kerosene stoves are no longer exploding! Really what are we talking about here.

One very important question that we must ask ourselves is whether it is possible for kerosene price to remain high despite subsidy on the product. The answer is yes. According to the President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir, the problem is that of high demand chasing low supply, since the quantity subsidised is not sufficient to meet the needs of kerosene consumers. He further revealed that: “About 7 to 10 million litres are supplied but our national consumption today is about 15 million litres. There is a shortfall in supply; hence people think the subsidy is not reaching the people. There is subsidy”.

In addition, as the management of NNPC had said, the diversion of kerosene to neighbouring countries, industrial use, aviation fuel and pipeline vandalism have contributed to the scarcity of the product for domestic usage. During a two-day investigative public hearing on supply, distribution, expenditure and subsidy on kerosene, the Group Managing Director of the corporation, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, pointed out that: “There are quite a number of competing demands for kerosene and until these are addressed by other relevant agencies, the issue of kerosene not being readily available for domestic use will continue to reoccur every now and then”. Both he and Mr. Momoh, the Managing Director of PPMC, both argued that the committee should “collaborate with the NNPC to encourage the sale of liquefied petroleum gas otherwise known as cooking gas” as a viable option to the populace.

Another question that Nigerians should ask instead of allowing sentiments becloud their judgment is whether the NNPC, as sole importer of kerosene is acting in line with government’s directives. Without fear of contradiction, the NNPC has been supplying kerosene at 40.90/litre thus maintaining a pump price of N50/litre of kerosene at all its stations nationwide since 2009 as charged by the government. If this is the case, it is wrong to blame the NNPC since the duty of policing marketers to ensure the retail price of N50/litre lies squarely with the regulatory agencies.

As expected, some individuals and even groups are calling for the removal of kerosene subsidy. This is surprising, considering what we experienced in 2012 when the government attempted to remove petroleum subsidy. The nation was thrown into disarray, as the nationwide protest almost turned to mayhem.

Surely, pushing for the removal of kerosene subsidy is tantamount to inviting unrest as it is bound to lead to further hardship on the impoverished masses. It is therefore not surprising that people are beginning to think that practically every thing about the oil sector is politicised. And that any plan to remove kerosene subsidy is a ploy to cause uprisings and even destabilise this administration.

As a nation, we must not allow mischief to take the place of logic. Agreed there is a lot of poverty in our land; but the only way to ensure tangible results is by logically and dispassionately looking at issues that affect our collective destiny. Anybody can say anything, especially at a time like this when some people can do anything to ensure a place in the next political dispensation come 2015; but it is our responsibility to find out the truth or falsity of such claims.

In 2012, the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee probing the fuel subsidy regime made copious reference to this same presidential directive removing kerosene subsidy; therefore one wonders why all the hullabaloo as if it was something that was hidden and known to the NNPC alone.

Surely, there is a lot of mischief in the matter, and more disturbing is the fact that we seemed to have allowed ourselves to be taken for the ride. There is only one important fact to deal with here: let the regulatory agencies do their job and keep the pump price of kerosene within reasonable limits. If anyone cares to listen, what matters to Nigerians is how they can gat access to affordable energy sources be it kerosene, LPG, Power etc not all this political blame game.

John Chidozie

Culled Omojuwa.com

Ugandan Newspaper Publishes Identities of "200 Top Homos"

If you were curious about the practical implications of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed yesterday by President Yoweri Museveni, look no further than its Red Pepper newspaper, which haspublished the identities of what it deems the country's "200 Top Homos" on its cover. If you thought the law banning gay sex would exist only in the realm of gay sex, you were wrong. This is a war on gay people.

Red Pepper's move is similar to that of a now defunct paper called Rolling Stone (no relation to the U.S. music magazine), which published a list of Uganda's "Top 100 Homos" in 2010. It was a call to action: "Hang Them" read the issue's cover. About three months later, Ugandan activist David Kato who was among the paper's Top 100, was bludgeoned to death. In response,Rolling Stone publisher Giles Muhame said, "This looks like any other crime. I have no regrets about the story. We were just exposing people who were doing wrong." In the 2012 documentary Call Me Kuchu, which details the struggles of the LGBT community in Uganda, Muhame giggles as he discusses his paper's detrimental outings (there was a followup a few weeks later, which identified 10 more Ugandan gays).

The original Rolling Stone story led to the harassment of several of the country's gays. CNN ran this account of Stosh Mugisha's experience:

On the day that the tabloid was published, people started pointing at her and commenting, she says.

Later that night, a crowd gathered outside her house.

"People were throwing stones through the gate," says Mugisha, "They were shouting, 'Homosexual homosexual!' I started getting scared."

Mugisha and her partner of one year had to flee their house the next morning, narrowly escaping stoning. Now they are in hiding.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act's author David Bahati has maintained that this law exists to protect children from being indoctrinated into homosexuality by recruiting gays, despite his inability to produce evidence of that actually happening. Museveni repeated that rhetoric in astatement on his rationale for signing the bill.

It's quite something, that rationale. Museveni claims that he was wary of signing the bill, saying that he "thought that it would be wrong to punish somebody because of how he was created, disgusting though it may be to us." And so he went on the search for genetic proof of homosexuality, came up short, and decided to sign the bill. Check out his logic:

After exhaustive studies, it has been found that homosexuality is in two categories: there are those who engage in homosexuality for mercenary reasons on account of the under – developed sectors of our economy that cause people to remain in poverty, the great opportunities that abound not withstanding; and then there are those that become homosexual by both nature (genetic) and nurture (up-bringing). The studies that were done on identical twins in Sweden showed that 34% - 39% were homosexual on account of nature and 66% were homosexual on account of nurture.

Therefore, even in those studies, nurture was more significant than nature. Can somebody be homosexual purely by nature without nurture? The answer is: "No". No study has shown that. Since nurture is the main cause of homosexuality, then society can do something about it to discourage the trends. That is why I have agreed to sign the Bill.

There's a lot of bullshit here, including a willful misreading of that study's findings. "Can somebody be homosexual purely by nature without nurture?" is a garbage question because nature does not exist without nurture and vice versa. Homosexuality need not be genetic to be innate, in fact, as the study's authors pointed out:

As for what environmental factors might be at play, the authors point out that these might not be entirely social but could also be biological. For example, some studies have suggested that exposure to prenatal hormones or even the mother's immune system could influence the sexual development of a fetus.

There's also the theory that homosexuality is not written in DNA at all, but in epigenetics, which influence the expression of our genes.

All of this is to say that Museveni's attempt to disclose whether or not people are born gay amounts to lip service. He didn't try very hard at all.

Speaking of lips, you should read this section of his statement, too:

Since Western societies do not appreciate politeness, let me take this opportunity to warn our people publicly about the wrong practices indulged in and promoted by some of the outsiders.

One of them is "oral sex". Our youth should reject this because God designed the human being most appropriately for pleasurable, sustainable and healthy sex. Some of the traditional styles are very pleasurable and healthy. The mouth is not engineered for that purpose except kissing. Besides, it is very unhealthy.

I want to know more about these styles and how the mouth is engineered for kissing.

In response to Museveni's signing of the bill, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark have pledged to withhold aid to the Ugandan government (the Netherlands and Denmark said they were redirecting at least $20 million in aid to activist groups and private aid agencies).

Via this Independent piece, which warns that western resistance to anti-gay laws (and ignorance of the country's other human rights violations) could "play into [Museveni's] hands," comes this interview with Ugandan gay rights activist Dr. Frank Mugisha. The entire thing is fascinating, as he comments on the progress of the gay rights movement in Uganda and how American evangelicals and the Anti-Homosexuality Act's introduction caused more visible signs of homophobia than he'd ever seen before. But this part, I think, is particularly crucial:

We are asking the international community not to cut aid to Uganda. The activists in my country who are members of [Sexual Minorities Uganda], who are openly gay, who are working at the forefront are not very many. The backlash if aid is cut, first of all, we're scapegoated...as undermining the country's infrastructure and all that. And then the other challenge is that the aid does not only go to heterosexuals. It goes to the very many homosexual Ugandans who are in the closet, who are not on the forefront, who are not even in activism. So for us we do not want the policies of the country affected. We don't want to create more victims. We are already victims of the situation. What we're saying is countries can revise the way they give aid to Uganda. They can redirect it to programs that are going to benefit everyone. They can put conditions and ask Uganda to uphold human rights...but they can also tell Uganda, "If you're going to abuse those rights, some of the budgets would get affected." Have that government dialogue. We don't want Western governments to come and tell our president what to do...That is going to create more problems for us.

Culled Gawker.com

Samsung Reveal Galaxy S5

Samsung has unveiled its newest Galaxy S flagship, and it is not the marked departure from the S4 many expected. Instead, it is a faster, slightly larger follow-up to one of the most successful smartphone series ever made.

With a 5.1-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, the Galaxy S5 is mainly a “refined” version of the S4. It sport a 2.5Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 2GB of RAM, which makes for a modest speed bump, but the 16MP camera should be enough to woo even the modest photography fan. Adding to that is the ability to shoot 4K video, first seen on the Note 3 introduced last year.

In terms of aesthetics, the S5 is a familiar take on the Galaxy line; its rounded corners harken back to the original Galaxy S i9000, but the front and back are all modern: the hardware home button has an integrated fingerprint sensor, and the USB 3.0 charging port is covered with a small tab to ensure waterproofing. Indeed, this is the first Galaxy S flagship to be IP67 dust- and water resistant.

The fingerprint scanner requires a vertical swipe to activate, unlike Apple’s iPhone 5s, where the digit can merely be placed on the extrusion. Samsung is working with PayPal to integrate payments, though they won’t be active in the Play Store at launch. Of course, the fingerprint scanner works to unlock the new version of TouchWIZ, which has been slightly overhauled with cues from the recently-announced Magazine UX on the TabPRO series of tablets.

At 145 grams and 8.1mm thick, it’s slightly taller, heavier and wider than its 5-inch predecessor, but sports a larger 2,800mAh removable battery behind the redesigned back cover. Boasting a “modern glam” look, according to Samsung, the back cover has a soft touch rubberized feel, similar to the Nexus 5 and new Nexus 7. The Galaxy S5 itself is still made of plastic, but the device should be much less “slimy” after heavy use, and less prone to slip from flat surfaces.

In addition to a fingerprint sensor, the Galaxy S5 has a built-in heart rate monitor on the back of the device. This complements the existing retinue of sensors like a barometer, gyroscope, humidity sensor and thermoter. The included S Health 3.0 app promises to integrate with even more third-party apps, as well.

Back to the 16MP camera, the device not only sports what Samsung calls the “world’s fastest autofocus speed up to 0.3 seconds” but, like Sony’s Xperia Z2, a selective background defocus mode.

Finally, the Android 4.4.2 build sports a familiar look and feel to previous versions of Samsung’s TouchWIZ but has a redesigned settings menu with a flatter, altogether more tasteful aesthetic.

The Galaxy S5 will be available worldwide, including Canada, in mid-April, in a smattering of colours like charcoal Black, shimmery White, electric Blue and copper Gold.

Culled http://mobilesyrup.com/ 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Happy new year everyone!

I’m so excited to be writing my first blog in 2011. The joy of witnessing this year is overwhelming for me. Along the way, we have lost numbers of love ones - families and friends - to illness and death in 2010. They’re gone, but definitely not forgotten in our memories. So my friends, I’m so thankful and grateful to Almighty God for your lives and mine. It is my prayer that this new year brings you love and bountiful opportunities.

So far, January has been a bit disappointing for me. That being said, I owe some of you apologies for my words, but not for my silence. One f the reasons of me being silent was to see if some of you would realize your mistakes. Now remember this “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” - it’s my new approach to life.

I should mention that in this life, we’re all in the same struggle; define by the same goal and the same aspirations for life. Life screws us all and one must not pretend about it. If you have anything to complain about, let me know before hands and i will take steps to address it. If you seat down somewhere and Judge me without knowing the core issues, I leave you to the judgement of the Most High.

Lately, I must admit that I’ve let my anger get the best of me. Recently, certain individuals labelled me as RUDE AND ARROGANT. Being someone else is not what I would like to be - that’s not what I see of my myself. I want to be me - the Sunky ya’ll know prior to the new year -and continue to be a better person beyond 2011.

I want to use this medium to say thank you to those that have shown me love - by inviting me to family gatherings, birthday dinners and more. There’s no greater appreciation than the feeling of such love. I hope to celebrate many more of it with you all in the near future. And to those that have opened their door for me, thank you so much for the warm receptions. The memories we shared together is one that I’ll continue to cherish. Family isn't about who you are associated with by blood, it’s about who you care about. I see each of my friends as my family member; those I had spent most of my childhood with, and those that I now know at this stage of my life. I surely care about ya’ll. If I’m doing anything wrong, please call me and talk to me. By doing that, I would recognized and appreciated your courage, because that’s what friends do.

Thanks for reading

Follow me on Twitter: Omorabi

Back to Tittle Race.

The Gunners Family were all out today to show their support for the team they love so much that nothing can come between them. yes. we had lost two significant matches for the past 2 week now but tonight we show character and determination to be among the contenders of title race. will Arsenal take this opportunity to close the gap? uhh that's a question i can't answer for now. we'd those kind of occasion for the past three season but never utilize them. we corrected ourselves from those mistake against Man utd and Chelsea today "defending breakthrough."

I'm looking forward to next week champion league match against Porto on Wednesday. hopefully we kept the sprit going till the end of the season. Now, all Arsenal needed to do is lift their games a bit and beat the smaller teams just like United did last year example losing to big team and beat hell out of smaller ones. I thank Baba God cus we won't face anything of the big four this season :).

Nothing is over until the fat lady sing!!!!!!!!