Lagos Version Of Monopoly Launched In Nigeria

The first African city edition of the famous board game Monopoly has been launched in Lagos.

 

The Nigerian metropolis is one of the fast-growing cities in the world.

 

The board's layout was unveiled at an event in Lagos City Hall, with the manmade Banana Island named as the upmarket equivalent of Mayfair in the London edition.

Makoko, the slum on stilts over the city's lagoon, is the cheapest property for sale on the Lagos board.

 

Nimi Akinkugbe, the head of Bestman Games which is producing the Lagos edition, told Nigeria's Guardian newspaper ahead of the launch that suggestions for the Mayfair spot were "a hot topic".

The BBC's Tomi Oladipo in Lagos says Banana Island, which got the coveted position, is an artificially created island where the very wealthy reside.

Some properties on the island sell for about $8m (£4.9m) - and it would cost about $150,000 a year to rent a flat there, he says.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Murtala Muhammed International Airport and several hotels are other properties on the board.

Many of the squares are sponsored by banks and shopping centres and even the Lagos state government appears, while some major landmarks like Tinubu Square, the New Afrika Shrine nightclub, Third Mainland Bridge and the National Theatre have been left out, our correspondent says.

Other aspects of the game have been tailored for Lagos, like the "Go To Jail" cards, which read: "Go to jail. Go directly to Kirikiri jail," referring to the city's maximum security prison.

Our reporter says one of the Chance cards issuing a fine quotes a phrase regularly used by police officers: "Park! Park! For reckless driving pay a fine... and register for retraining."

Another reads: "For attempting to bribe a law enforcement agent, pay a fine."

Some of the new traffic laws introduced by the Lagos state government, and the punishments for various offences, have also been included in the game, our reporter says.

"You've been caught driving against traffic. Report for psychiatric evaluation," one card reads.
The Monopoly game was developed in the US, originally based on streets in Atlantic City. A London version of the game was produced in 1935.

"Lagos is the first African city to have its Monopoly. Two countries in Africa have theirs, Morocco and South Africa. But there's no city that has its own customised edition," Ms Akinkugbe told the Guardian.

Wow! Sounds interesting! Would like to have this version of monopoly. Good initiative! What do you think folks?

-bbc.co.uk

PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Annual Tree Lighting At The White House....Watch Obama Sing 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!'

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas outside the White House, as the Obama family switched on the newly planted National Christmas Tree.

Obama and his family at the Christmas tree switch on

Obama made a joke about the previous trees, which died after only a year in the role.

"Our tree has been having a hard time recently. This is our third one in as many years.

"Just goes to show you that nobody's job is safe here in Washington," he told the crowds.

Obama the performed a jolly holiday rendition of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town with his family and the crowds.

Watch video below:

 

 

 huffingtonpost

"I Forgive My Husband, But..." Says Mercy Nnadi Whose Husband Killed Her Son, Burnt Her With Hot Pressing Iron

To many residents of the Okota area of Lagos, Mercy Nnadi’s issue is a forgotten one, as they assume that she did not survive the third degree burns she sustained from the attack by her spouse. But how wrong they are! The 36-year-old Mercy, whose husband killed their only son eight months ago, and burnt her with hot pressing iron over allegation that she was having an affair with his father, the very woman who once looked a shadow of her old self, is back to life.



[WARNING! Violent content & Explicit photo]


She is presently occupying a one-room apartment in Agege area of Lagos, courtesy of three Non-Governmental Organisations: Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Centa for Development, and Zaharawomen. Aside the apartment, the NGOs also gave her the sum of N150, 000 to start life afresh.

^{Mercy Nnadi (second on the left) receives a cheque for N150,000 from Mrs Josephine Effah-Chukwuma (first right); with Nkiru of Centa for Development (second right) and a representative of WAPA.}

Even in the light of all this, in this exclusive interview Mercy said nothing could fill the vacuum created by the demise of her son, Ebuka, who was barely one-year-old then. Although she stated that she had forgiven her husband for making her go through untold anguish, she vowed never to reunite with him again.

Recalling the incident of Saturday, April 7, 2012, which almost sent her to an unprepared grave, Mercy recalled amidst tears: “On that fateful Saturday evening, my husband told me to cook yam for supper before leaving the house. After a long wait for him to come back so that we could eat together, I ate mine and slept with my baby.

"When he came back, he ate, put on the power generating set before going to bed. Later, a neighbor knocked on the door to inform us that power had been restored, and he [the husband] went to put off the power generating set. He came inside and started ironing customers clothes because he is a dry cleaner.

2 London-bound suspects caught with 175 wraps of cocaine @ Lagos Airport

Suspects

Two suspects, Ugochukwu Nwafor and Chidozie Okonkwo were recently arrested by law enforcement agents at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for attempting to smuggle 2.880 kg of a substance believed to be cocaine out of the country.

During the outward screening of the passengers on a British Airways flight to London, Nwafor and Okonkwo were found to have ingested 175 wraps of the hard drug.

Confirming the arrest, the commander of the National Drug Law Emnforcement Agency at the MMI airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, said the suspects were caught after a positive signal was triggered by the scanning machines.

“The suspects tested positive to drug ingestion and were placed under observation. Nwafor ingested 73 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.395kg while Okonkwo ingested 102 wraps weighing 1.485kg. They were detected on the same flight,” Hamza said.

A dealer in phones at the Computer Village, in Ikeja, Nwafor,37, resides at Igando while Okonkwo lives in East London. Having confessed their involvement, both of them are said to be cooperating with narcotic investigators.

“I used to be a successful businessman until I made a wrong investment three years ago in which I lost over N3.5m in China. As a result of the loss, I became indebted and was lured into drug trafficking by a friend,” Nwafor told CRIME DIGEST.

Okonkwo claimed to have obtained a Master’s degree in Innovative Management from the British Institute of Technology and E-Commerce in London. He said, “I was only trying to make ends meet. I live in East London where I had my post-graduate studies but joblessness turned me into another man. It was a tough decision for me to smuggle drugs but I really needed the £5000 I was offered. I feel bad that things have turned this way for me. It is like a dream.”

Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade attributed the involvement of a master’s degree holder in drug trafficking to moral decadence. “Parents should inculcate good morals in their children; I urge members of the public to eschew drug trafficking by joining the anti-drug abuse and trafficking crusade. Arrangements are in place for the suspects to be charged in line with the NDLEA Act,” he said.

Had they successfully smuggled the drug into Britain, Nwafor and Okonkwo would have been paid £4,000 and £5,000, respectively.

 

Punch

PHOTOS From The Launch Of Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde's Reality TV Show

Nollywood star actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde launched her new reality show, "Omotola: The Real Me", Airing on AfricaMagic Entertainment – where nothing will be “off limits”, according the 34 year old.
A cocktail launch was held at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday 5th December 2012 to officially launch the show to the general public.

Check out  photos from the event: