FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GOES BACK ON ITS PROMISE OF PAYING N5,000 TO UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige disclosed this at the Special Day of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) at the ongoing 27th Enugu International Trade Fair on Friday.

“Instead of paying youths N5,000 monthly for doing nothing, the government has initiated plans to engage hundreds of thousands of youths in the country with over 10 empowerment programmes. Some of the intervention programmes will be spearheaded by the NDE including Teach Nigeria, skill acquisition and community services” he said.

According to the minister, anyone who enters the programme “would be earning far more than N5, 000 depending on his or her input.”

He also said that some youths would be employed after the programme and others will be assisted to start their own business.

RIHANNA'S EXCLUSIVE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS WITH VOGUE MAGAZINE

If you read parts of the following interview in Vogue’s April cover story, then is is a follow up to it. The interview took place on Super Bowl Sunday in the sprawling gothic home of Carlton Gebbia, whom fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will remember as the “Celtic pagan witch” from season four. Rihanna had just flown in to L.A. for her cover shoot from Toronto, where the night before she and Drake wrapped the video for “Work.” Later in the week, she would present her Puma collection at New York Fashion Week. But on this sunny California afternoon, Rihanna arrived casually turned out, in a vintage Guess leather biker jacket, green Vetements sweatpants, and a Star Wars T-shirt.

For a Wiccan, Gebbia’s taste favored a surprising dose of Catholic iconography. Ornate iron crosses hung above doorways, framed paintings of saints ascended a staircase wall, and, in a vamp-red bar room, there was a dark-wood confessional booth. Rihanna and I spoke in the home theater. It was after 9:00 p.m., the shoot had wrapped, and two men in suits had just stopped by from the Recording Industry Association of America. After they left, Rihanna wandered into the theater and plopped down in one of several red leather recliners. A member of her team poured Dixie cups of Pinot Grigio.

I wanted to talk about Antifirst. The opening song, “Consideration,” sets the tone for the album. Was the process of recording it different in any way?

I just felt really connected to that recording. I felt like, if any recording could represent this album, whether it’s sonically, whether it’s the sound of my voice, whether it’s the attitude, whether it’s lyrically. The beat. Everything is so demanding, and it grabs your attention right away. And I felt like that was important, especially after such a long time between albums.

On “Higher,” we hear a completely different dimension to your voice. Can you tell me about recording that one?

We recorded that song at 4:00 in the morning. 4:00 to 5:00. We had finished recording a bunch of stuff, and it was the end of the night. It was pretty short. We just said, “You know what? Let’s just drink some whiskey and record this song.” And when I heard the song, I envisioned a drunk voicemail. You know he’s wrong, and then you get drunk and you’re like, “I could forgive him. I could call him. I could make up with him.” Just, desperate. [laughs]

You dropped “Work” first, obviously. There’s sort of a vocal variation in that song. I think one writer called it “post-language”—that flourish on the chorus. Did that just unfold in the studio?

Yeah. Because I felt like if I enunciated the words too perfectly, it would just not be the same attitude or the same sass. Because that’s how we speak in the Caribbean. It’s very broken and it’s, like, you can understand everything someone means without even finishing the words. This song is definitely a song that represents my culture, and so I had to put a little twist on my delivery.

And you’re coming from shooting the video for “Work,” right? What were you going for?

It was just supposed to be a dancehall party. Just like a party that we would go to in the Caribbean and just dance and drink and smoke and flirt and really just enjoy the music. It’s like when your favorite song comes on. And that was the moment that was captured in the video.

How is working with Drake different from working with anyone else?

Um, Drake. I mean, Drake has a lot to offer. He’s very intelligent, and so I trust him a lot with his direction. Doing a collaboration with him, you know it’s going to be great. Everything he does is so amazing. He’s so talented that you kind of just trust that it’ll be right. And plus, we know each other, so I know that whatever he writes is going to be honest, and it’s going to make sense to where I’m at in my life. That’s the difference. We know each other.

Overall, it seems like the songs are slower and slightly more introspective and personal. Did you know that that’s what you wanted to do?

I didn’t really know what the sound of the album would be in the beginning. I knew what I wanted to feel. I didn’t quite know how I wanted to hear it, but I knew that I would know it when I felt it. And so I went through a host of songs—songs that I thought were big and songs that I thought were up-tempo and would make sense. In the end, I just gravitated toward the songs that were honest to where I’m at right now, and how I think. The things that I want to listen to. The things that I want to smoke to.

Were you getting bored of the formula?

Very much. Every time we’ve done an album, we’ve always stepped out a little bit. But this time, again, we spent so much time in between albums that I needed the music to match my growth. I didn’t want to get caught up with anything the world liked, anything the radio liked, anything that I liked, that I’ve already heard. I just wanted it to be me.

It seems bold considering the state of the industry, to double down on the risk-taking.

I always believed that when you follow your heart or your gut, when you really follow the things that feel great to you, you can never lose, because settling is the worst feeling in the world.

Settling makes you feel like a sellout. It makes you feel like a liar. It doesn’t make you feel like you believe anything you’re saying or singing or performing. If you’re performing music that is not who you are or where you’re at, it is painful. It’s painful for the performer and for the audience. And I didn’t want to be caught doing what I felt like would sell or do what I’ve done before. I needed to do what I believed in.

The press has been all over the place with the theory that it was leaked. Can you set the record straight about the rollout?

It did get leaked. Don’t think that’s up for question anymore. Everybody knows it got leaked. But luckily that did not hurt us.

You also announced the tour before dropping the album. You’re touring with Travis Scott. Creatively, why were you attracted to working with him?

Well, when I go on tour, I like to bring people who can get the crowd excited. That’s why we got Big Sean in Europe. We also have The Weeknd. And Travis Scott. They are all really great performers. They know how to own the stage. And that’s really important before I come on. Because I want to come to a crowd that’s like [snaps fingers] in a great mood. They’re excited. They feel like they’re ready to party.

I want to ask you about signing on to release your music through Tidal. Why did you decide to release your music that way?

Well, a part of our plan was to stream or download the album exclusively for the first 24 hours, which was going to be done through a Samsung link that fans had to enter and redeem. And Samsung felt like the best machine for that was Tidal.

Artists seem to be going the streaming route more and more, right?

It’s true. Streaming is a really big market for me. We’ve been doing great in the streaming market, so it’s not something I want to alienate at all. Streaming counts now. They’re treating artists the way we deserve to be treated. So it’s not blindly—it’s not invisible sales or invisible streams or invisible listens or downloads.

Before it was just—it was robbing us. Before streaming, it was robbing artists. Robbing us of our sales. It’s free music. So now the free music counts. It is definitely going to make a big difference in the music industry. For a fact.

I wanted to ask you about “Bitch Better Have My Money.”

“Bitch Better Have My Money” just felt like something everybody can relate to, whether it’s in regards to money or not. There’s something about that attitude or that confidence, that level of discarding something. Because it’s also just very final. It’s a very final statement. That song can be taken in so many ways. You know? And hardly ever is it actually money. I mean, money’s pretty much the obvious thing. The nonobvious thing is somebody who’s just jocking you. You’re not paying them any attention. You’re minding your own business. And everything that comes out of them is targeted toward you. And so you just feel like—

You mean like feeling preyed upon by people or—

You feel like at the end of the day, you might as well get paid for this shit. You know what I’m saying? It’s just a way to describe a situation. It’s a way to be in charge, to let people know that you’re all about your business.

I wanted to ask you if you get tired of people kind of pitting you against other women in this space. Like yesterday, with Beyoncé’s “Formation” coming out and everybody talking about the timing with Anti.

[Big laugh] Here’s the deal. You know what, it’s more relevant to the world. They somehow are so enthused by that. They just get so excited to feast on something that’s negative. Something that’s competitive. Something that’s, you know, a rivalry. And that’s just not what I wake up to. Because I can only do me. And nobody else is going to be able to do that.

So you just try to tune it out.

Especially with Anti. I went through so many emotions and roller coasters of feeling good, loving it, hating it, doubting myself, hating myself. “This is awful.” “I lost it.” “Wait, but I do love it still.” “But then—” And it’s like, no. Eventually you just need to know who you are. You know when something is you. You know when you love it and that’s the only thing that matters. When it comes to everybody else’s thing and their lane and their timing, I’m never doing anything intentional to, like, come after somebody. That will always be my biggest mistake or anybody’s biggest mistake if that’s their intention. So I just focus on my little project. That’s all I can handle. That’s a lot to handle. I can barely handle all of that.

Since you last spoke to Vogue, you’ve gotten even more experimental with fashion.

That’s funny. I’m like, really? I feel like I got more bummy.

Well, the CFDA dress! Was the CFDA dress a response to the “Free the Nipple” campaign and that Instagram situation?

I have always freed the nipple. It was never to get attention. Never sexual. Never in desperation. The bra just fucked up my sheer shirt. I just wanted to be perfect and that’s what I went with and I felt okay with that. And after a while, it became such a scandal and a “horrible role model” thing. It was a topic of discussion, and eventually other girls started defending me. And now there’s this whole “Free the Nipple” movement.

But CFDAs was the last time that I did that. I remember saying that day to my stylist and everybody in the room, hair and makeup, everyone—I was just like, “Now you see it. Tomorrow you won’t.” Because this is the last time. I can’t go any further than this. I’m barely there. So I said, “From here on, we’ll be back to clothes. Let’s just put clothes on. Even if I don’t want to. Make sure I put clothes on.” Because I don’t want people to think that I’m doing this on purpose.

Okay, last bit. I want to run through the names of designers, and you tell me really quickly what you love about their clothes. Stella McCartney.

I love Stella. I loved her clothing and I thought they were flirty. She has a way of making women sexy without looking like they’re trying to be sexy, which is my favorite thing in life.

Alex Wang.

Alexander Wang is edgy. He’s ahead of the curve. He is always setting trends. Never following. And that makes me excited about his designs.

Olivier Rousteing.

Olivier—he’s such a beautiful person inside. And I’m really proud of him for being such a young black man in this huge fashion industry and still being able to sell clothes and change a brand and put his thing on entertainment in the way that he has, where people die to get one of his dresses.

But CFDAs was the last time that I did that. I remember saying that day to my stylist and everybody in the room, hair and makeup, everyone—I was just like, “Now you see it. Tomorrow you won’t.” Because this is the last time. I can’t go any further than this. I’m barely there. So I said, “From here on, we’ll be back to clothes. Let’s just put clothes on. Even if I don’t want to. Make sure I put clothes on.” Because I don’t want people to think that I’m doing this on purpose.

Okay, last bit. I want to run through the names of designers, and you tell me really quickly what you love about their clothes. Stella McCartney.

I love Stella. I loved her clothing and I thought they were flirty. She has a way of making women sexy without looking like they’re trying to be sexy, which is my favorite thing in life.

Alex Wang.

Alexander Wang is edgy. He’s ahead of the curve. He is always setting trends. Never following. And that makes me excited about his designs.

Olivier Rousteing.

Olivier—he’s such a beautiful person inside. And I’m really proud of him for being such a young black man in this huge fashion industry and still being able to sell clothes and change a brand and put his thing on entertainment in the way that he has, where people die to get one of his dresses.

Raf is just a freak of nature. He’s like my soul mate when it comes to design. How can someone understand your mind like that? He’s so great at being twisted. He pushes the envelope. He’s past the envelope now. Past pushing the envelope. He’s making his own envelope.

What about Vetements?

Love Vetements. It’s one of those brands that just blows your mind. It’s never going to be all the same thing in my closet. But with a brand like Vetements, you can have a leather skirt, a shirt and jacket to the ground, a T-shirt, a sweatsuit, a tailored skirtsuit. You literally can have every occasion of an outfit in one collection.

And then the last one is Victoria Beckham.

Oh! Love Victoria. I’ve only worn her a few times. Her sunglasses are really good. She knows how to snatch waists. Her dresses fit really well. Zac Posen, though, he’s the best at snatching waists. He’s legit. He knows how to make a woman’s body look great. Tom Ford knows how to make a woman a bad bitch.

Jean Paul Gaultier is king to me. And the other one—obviously, Dior. Dior is just—they’re timeless, they’re classic. But I also love that they’re never afraid to change. Never afraid to evolve and stay ahead of the times. I mean, the fact that Dior has done a Rasta collection. You think about that. It blows your mind that Dior would take a risk like that.

FBT NEW PHOTO SHOOT FOR ITS NEW COLLECTION FEATURING BEVERLY OSU AND OTHERS

Beverly Osu, Tesh Carter and Ola slim looking fabulous in a photo shoot for upcoming designer FBT MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE CUT.

FASHION FOLLOWER OR TREND SETTER ?

Whether we like it or not fashion is an integral part of our lives. It dictates what we wear, how we wear it and when we wear it. It’s in our face every day.  It influences the way we interact with people, because it’s first thing we see so in a way it influences relationships,  social perception and attitude. Coco Chanel said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

When it comes to style there are two types of people; The Trendsetter and the Fashion Follower.  It is quite cool to know what celebrities are wearing and what’s in at the moment but should we follow these trends blindly or do we adapt them to fit our own personal lifestyles?  A fashion trend setter enjoys putting fashion pieces together in a way that is different, fresh and new. They always grab the attention of others because of their unique style. They are daring, creative, imaginative, but yet original when it comes to fashion. A trend setter always has followers as they are highly admired for their great fashion sense.

A fashion trend follower looks toward others for the next big fashion move. They appreciate the fashion ideas of trend setters and will create those same ideas with their own wardrobe.

Fashion trend setters set the do’s and don’ts of fashion while fashion trend followers look for the next fashion do or fashion don’t. Whether a person is taking the fashion scene by surprise with their interesting creations or wearing the latest pieces seen on their favorite entertainer is still their own form of expression. It’s okay to be either a fashion trend setter or a fashion trend follower as long as a person is comfortable, exude confidence and enjoy what they are wearing.

Street style is usually the mix of both but those who usually catch out attention are those who have their own unique take on clothes

Being stylish consists of a complete package and goes beyond what you’re wearing.  Here are a few pointers to know if you are a fashion follow or fashion trendsetter.

STUDENT AND ENTREPRENEURIAL FUND OF $500M LUNCHED BY NYPF

Great news for the Nigerian youth ! The Nigerian Young Professionals Forum in partnership with Heritage Bank, has launched a N500 Million Naira Grant seed capital set aside for young Nigerian entrepreneurs and students.Speaking during the launch, Dr Ahmed Adamu said,

“I am happy to be here to witness history in the making, it gives me great pleasure to see the dream we aspire comes true. Today, young people are taking the lead to help themselves by themselves. This is what we have been waiting for, to see young people not waiting for what someone or government can do for them, they are now doing something for themselves. This is the real leadership, where young people are saving and sacrificing from their income to help their colleagues and improve their lives through entrepreneurship and educational grants. This is not a loan, but a grant, we must therefore thank and congratulate the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) for initiating this grant. We thank the leadership of the NYPF, especially its founder, Moses Siasia, who has been a Young Politician and Young Professional (YP, YP) for the courage of launching this grant called “Young Entrepreneurship and Students Grant (YESGrant).

I have travelled wide across the world, especially among the Commonwealth Nations, where I have led the young people that numbered up to 1.2 Billion from these countries, and in all these countries, I have not seen this kind of direct youth-led entrepreneurship and educational grants. I am happy that this is coming from my own country. Congratulations once again.

This shall serve as motivation to other young people, so that young people can become real leaders. Like I keep saying, leadership is not about government positions, while other young people are out there spending their resources on sycophant political activities, here we have young people investing on their generation. This should be highly appreciated to encourage and inspire others. This project is exceptional, because it extends further to help students pay for their tuition fees. This project clearly showed that, it is not politically motivated, as no election is taking place right now, and no intention of using it to earn political advantage.

Having appreciated this achievement, I have some suggestions on how to effectively improve on the efficiency of this investment. Since our targets is to encourage young entrepreneurs, then we have to protect them, and make them compete with only local entrepreneurs. This can be achieved by banning importation of all kinds of products and services that Nigeria can produce, so that the competition will be between local producers, which will help enhance the quality of local products.

There is need for deliberate investment on the right psychology and cognition of young people. A self-motivated and productive minds engage in productive ventures even without support. So, the efficiency of this project depends on the cognition and perception of the beneficiaries. If the beneficiaries are after luxury or status, no matter how much they receive, they cannot get out of poverty/unemployment. So the beneficiaries shall develop passion and interest in productive ventures, so that with little support they can reinvest and grow patiently.

This also brings about the need to identify the interest and the choice of the beneficiaries. Without interest, there is no passion, once there is no passion, there is no sustainability. Therefore, before disbursing this money, there is need to engage in an independent survey without the participants knowing the purpose of the survey. This is the way we can have them declare their real business interest, their exact economic condition and their capital base requirement, and once we have this information, the disbursement will be made based on their interest, economic condition and capital scope of their chosen business. There is no need to restrict the selected types of businesses, the choice of the business shall be identified by the applicants themselves.

If this survey is conducted, we can then develop the indicators that we can use to evaluate the success and impact of this project. The emphasis shall not be on the number of beneficiaries, but the number of sustainable businesses created. Similarly, the rural poor applicants who cannot operate the computer or access the internet shall be accommodated. More than 60% of the unemployed are unschooled and from rural communities, so emphasis shall be made to the rural poor and uneducated youth, as they have less propensity to be employed and more likely to engage in crimes.

To beneficiaries, they should not think that this grant is aimed at making them rich, it is provided to allow them start now and grow in the future. They should never assume that they will be rich quick. It took perseverance to succeed. They shall not compete in luxury and status, they should not try to upgrade the standard of their living immediately, and they shall have the culture of reinvestment.

I would like to thank the Heritage Bank for believing in young people and for agreeing to partner with the young people in this project. I congratulate the NYPF for launching this N500 million entrepreneurship and educational grant. Congratulations, we wish you successful disbursement of this grant.”

The grant is open to Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 40 who wish to start a business or go to school. For more information visit  www.yesgrant.com

YVONNE JEGEDES AFROCENTRIC LOOK FROM HER NEW PHOTO SHOOT

 Yvonne Jegede shared some beautiful photos from her photo shoot and display some Afrocentrism.

JENNER LAWRENCE SEEMS TO BE BRINGING BACK THE BOBBY PIN BACK

While it takes twice the finesse (and a few Olaplex treatments) to make double-processed hair swingy and silky, its pliable texture does come with a few key beauty benefits. Case in point: Jennifer Lawrence, who made the most of the built-in traction that comes with a platinum dye job.

Spotted in New York City this week, her chin-length chop was crafted into a slapdash knot that was held together with just a few hairpins. It’s a street style–worthy alternative to a sprayed-into-place red carpet updo that would be difficult to create with a bob were it not for a roughed-up texture—and confirms something we’ve suspected all along: Having short, peroxided hair doesn’t reduce your styling options, as long as you stick to a Sunday deep-conditioning routine.

BEAUTIFUL PHOTO OF ACTRESS JOKE SILVIA

She is ageless she never ages beautiful NollyWood actress 

MERCEDES BENZ FASHION SHOW 2016 FROM JOUBURG DAY1 VELVET INSPIRATION BY MARIANNE FASSLER

The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is always a total eye candy as the very best of South Africa’s design talents battle it out for maximum press coverage and ultimately the buyers’ attention, and today, the first day of the 2016 edition, only a few things albeit designs really did it for our insatiable fashion and style buds. Marianne Fassler was indeed in a league of her own as she schooled everyone today on how to manipulate prints, layering, mix-matching, leather and velvet to one’s advantage.

Look through to see what caught our fancy from hair and makeup to accessories and the fashion proper.

Marianne Fassler’s Intriguing Collection was the highlight of the day