Nigerian stars dominate All Africa Music Awards

 

Nigerian artists secured a string of victories at the 9th All Africa Music Awards (Afrima), which concluded in Lagos on Sunday night.

Global superstar Burna Boy claimed the prestigious Album of the Year award for his latest work No Sign of Weakness.

He also shared the award for Best African Collaboration with fast-rising compatriot Shallipopi, who separately won the coveted Song of the Year for his hit single Laho, which made waves on social media.

The week-long event, which had a diverse group of music experts from across Africa and the diaspora as jurors, brought together industry professionals, culminating in a ceremony where Nigeria's current musical prowess was firmly on display.

Leading the tally for the evening was Rema, who took home three awards: Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, and Best African Artiste in RnB and Soul.

Other notable Nigerian winners included Yemi Alade, who won Best Soundtrack in a Movie, Series or Documentary for her song You Are from the animated series Iyanu, and veteran rapper Phyno, named Best African Artiste in African Hip-Hop.

The awards also celebrated emerging talent. Qing Madi was crowned Most Promising Artiste of the Year, while Chella earned the title of African Fans' Favourite.

While Nigerian stars dominated, the ceremony celebrated talent from across Africa.

Senegal's Bakhaw Dioum won Song Writer of the Year and Algeria's DJ Moh Green who scooped DJ of the Year award ahead of some notable South African DJs.

Ghana's Wendy Shay won Best Female Artiste in West Africa, South Africa's Nontokozo Mkhize won Best Female Artiste in Southern Africa and Tanzania's Juma Jux was named Best Male Artiste in Eastern Africa.

The success of Nigerian artists underscores the continued global appeal of Afrobeats.

The genre, which fuses African rhythms with Western influences, has seen explosive international growth in recent years.

Burna Boy, a defining figure in this movement since its breakthrough, remains one of its most prominent ambassadors, with his album win cementing his influential status.

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC

Video - Algeria vs Nigeria | Victor Osimhen was UNSTOPPABLE in the AFCON quarterfinals

The difference made by Victor Osimhen—with one goal and one assist—ultimately defined Nigeria national football team’s clear superiority over Algeria national football team. Nigeria won with authority and merit, creating more chances and finishing better, and returned to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations, where they will face Morocco—the host nation—on Wednesday in Rabat.

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Anthony Joshua issues emotional first remarks since car accident in Nigeria that killed two close friends

 

Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua issued his first public remarks after a tragic car accident in Nigeria took two lives.

Anthony Joshua suffered the loss of two of his longtime team members in a car accident last month in Nigeria. Joshua, who defeated Jake Paul just days before the crash, suffered minor injuries and received treatment at a local hospital.

It was a scary and tragic moment for Joshua, the victims, and their families. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and a 46-year-old man was charged with death by dangerous driving, according to police.

Joshua recently video-called with former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, a fellow Nigerian, after the accident. But Joshua has remained relatively quiet on social media since the accident as he begins his grieving process.

Anthony Joshua makes first public statement since fatal car accident

In a recent social media post, Joshua spoke about the accident and paid tribute to his two teammates.

“Thank you for all the love and care you have shown my brothers,” Joshua said. “I didn’t even realise how special they are. I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men.

“100 percent it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents. I have a strong mind, and I believe God knows their hearts. May God have mercy on my brothers.”

Joshua is considered one of the top heavyweight fighters on the planet and is reportedly set to fight Tyson Fury in a heavyweight match later this year. Fury hasn’t fought since suffering back-to-back losses to Joshua’s former foe Oleksandr Usyk.

In the meantime, Joshua and his family are dealing with the aftermath of the horrific car accident. This is a developing story and we’ll continue to update you as new details become available.

By Curtis Calhoun, BJPENN.COM

Related story: Police arrest Joshua’s driver after boxer discharged

Trump Says There Could Be More US Strikes In Nigeria

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, reigniting a sensitive debate over religious violence and foreign intervention in Africa’s most populous nation.

Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day. At the time, the US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.

Nigeria, however, described the operation as a joint counterterrorism effort, stressing that it was aimed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”

Pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.

“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly raised alarms about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.

Nigeria has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians. The government maintains that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.

With a population of more than 230 million people, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.

Nigerian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, arguing that framing the violence along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.

Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it was willing to continue cooperating with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected language suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.

The latest comments are likely to strain diplomatic relations further, as Nigeria balances its partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, security cooperation and the portrayal of its internal conflicts on the global stage.

By Melissa Enoch, Arise News

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reveals her one-year-old son has died after a short illness

One of the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s one-year-old twin sons has died after a brief illness.

“We’re deeply saddened to confirm the passing of one of Ms Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr Ivara Esege’s twin boys, Nkanu Nnamdi, who passed on Wednesday,” read a statement made by Adichie’s communications team.

“The family is devastated by this profound loss, and we request that their privacy be respected during this incredibly difficult time,” continued the statement, signed by Omawumi Ogbe of GLG Communications. “We ask for your grace and prayers as they mourn in private.”

“No further statements will be made, and we thank the public and the media for respecting their need for seclusion during this period of immense grief.”

Adichie and Esege married in 2009. Adichie had her first child, a daughter, in 2016. In 2024, her twin boys were born via surrogate.

Adichie has become one of the most celebrated modern novelists for works exploring love, conflict, identity, feminism and colonialism among other themes. Her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, was longlisted for the Booker prize in 2004. Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun – set during the Biafran war – won the Women’s prize for fiction in 2007, and was named the “winner of winners” from 25 recipients in 2020. Her 2013 novel Americanah won the National Book Critics Circle award. Her most recent novel, Dream Count, was published last year and longlisted for the Women’s prize.

She is also the author of the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck as well as the nonfiction titles We Should All Be Feminists; Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions; and Notes on Grief, which she wrote following the death of her father in 2020. Her mother died months later, in 2021.

By Ella Creamer, The Guardian