gbenga oguntayo

Delta State has delicious soups that are rich with all sorts of assorted meat, dry fish, fresh fish, seafood, bushmeat/grasscutter….. Should I keep going?

Nah… I don’t think you can handle this torture *wink*

This Delta soup in particular, makes my people so happy. In my house, if you serve this soup to a visitor, it’s like you just gave them a gift. They will praise you, thank you and pray for you…. Youl’d even get confused *lol*

This soup is (Ofè Ujuju)common among the Ika/Agbor people of Delta state. They love the soup so much in my house, they had to plant a tree at the backyard. I have been told a lot of times, that the leaves are <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/world/holy-plant-cannabis-legalisation-delights-south-african-users-id9016446.html">medicinal</a>.

Ujuju leaves are not sold in the markets here in Lagos, now you’ll understand why it brings them joy when they are able to find it here.

The leaves cannot be substituted for another vegetable, otherwise it won’t be Ujuju soup anymore.

Ujuju soup is a very simple soup to prepare.&nbsp;Some people prepare it alone, while some add okro or ogbono or both to their soups.

I prepare mine with little or no <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel-arts-culture/how-to-cook-ogbono-soup-id8307070.html">ogbono </a>at times. I want to relish just the taste of the Ujuju. Now, let’s move on to preparation of this delicacy…

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/food-recipe-beef-strips-potato-skillet-id8414420.html">Beef strips potato skillets</a>

Recipe: Ofè Ujuju

Read Also: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/food-recipe-my-favourite-salad-id8295489.html">My favourite salad</a>

<ul><li>Remove the mid rib from all the leaves.</li><li>In a cooking pot, pour in enough water that would cover the leaves and bring to a boil.</li><li>Add 11/2 cooking spoon of palm oil to the water, add the Ujuju leaves.</li><li>Cook leaves until they are soft. Strain, and mash the leaves in a mortar or you may use a blender.</li><li>Wash stock fish and dry fish. De-bone dry fish and set aside.</li><li>In another pot, wash and season goat meat &amp;amp; shaki with salt, black pepper, onions and seasoning cubes.</li><li>When meat is almost cooked, add stockfish, dry fish and snails. Allow to cook for 8minutes.</li><li>Add the</li><li>Taste for salt, pepper and seasoning.</li><li>Turn off the heat, and Serve soup with your desired swallow. (fufu, eba, pounded yam etc..)</li></ul>

Ujuju leaves ( Myrianthus Arboreus)&nbsp;are very rich in Vitamin A &amp; C, Fibre, Protein, Iron and other mineral components. Research performed by both British and Nigerian researcher, have shown that high intake of this local vegetable can prevent, correct or treat health disorders such as stroke, arthritis, gallstones, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/lifestyle/19-things-you-may-not-know-about-diabetes-id9020497.html">diabetes</a>, high blood pressure, among others.

Written by Sandra Omose.

___9055489___2018___11___1___11___5548272_fbimg1496152086098640x330_jpegce11052ebae368eb5bcabc128ff8b2d9

It is no secret that Delta is home to the best soups in Nigeria (yes!!! Argue with your tribe)

Native delicacy from Delta State (Ofè Ujuju)

<h1>Middle of this year, I had a burnout. I lost the drive, became almost depressed and felt that everything was meaningless.</h1>

Lagos Traffic Will Not Kill Somebody

It was one of the lowest points in the year, and I really craved for something to excite me. Work became increasingly drab, and <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/jimi-agbaje-warns-that-traffic-may-cripple-lagos-economy-id9051001.html" id="9654a483-6c4e-5c7f-9598-7b644f4d515d">Lagos traffic</a> did not help matters.

My daily commute to work on the Third Mainland Bridge, the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland became times of personal reflection and soul-searching; it also made me realise how broken Nigeria’s system had become, looking at the excessive traffic on this highway. I kept wondering why it had become so difficult to fix this much touted “Africa’s 7th largest economy”.

I also remembered with anger, that the present government in Lagos had campaigned that if we “Align Lagos with the centre” and voted for the same party in Lagos and in Abuja, we would find solutions to most of the problems facing the state.

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/gist/metro/corrupt-leaders-or-yahoo-boys-who-is-nigerias-biggest-enemy-id8418930.html" id="ada3ff34-68e6-5b8b-aeec-bef3c78672af">Corrupt leaders or yahoo boys...Who is Nigeria's biggest enemy?</a>

#GrowNigeria the 38 day campaign that shook the nation [i]

That was in 2014, and almost 4 years later, there we were, still struggling to use the same bridges and roads that are the legacy of Nigeria’s past military rulers. I grew increasingly uncomfortable of whining and silent complaints. I promised myself that if the opportunity ever presented itself to be a part of a national campaign that ends our hallmark of incompetence and finger-pointing, I would dive in and do my part to save Nigeria from a promised change that had delivered no real substance.

An Opportunity Beckons

The opportunity presented itself in August when my friend Ayobami Adekojo invited me for a meeting to discuss the <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/politics/2019-presidential-campaign-pdp-warns-erring-support-groups-id9053453.html" id="977b71e5-fc3e-59a7-a658-19472084390b">presidential campaign</a> of Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki. The meeting came as a surprise because before that time I had never met any member of his team and only knew of some work being done by his media team through friends. The meeting gave me an opportunity to see beyond what I had followed in the media about the man.

At the first meeting, I met Femi Odewunmi, the team leader whom we all came to call FO. He gave me resources to study on my own and make up my mind if I wanted to join the team. I knew Ayobami to be a political strategist and a, our paths had crossed in 2015 when my partners and I were working on the Gubernatorial campaign of Seyi Makinde in Oyo State; Ayobami was working for the then PDP candidate Teslim Folarin. I had also done some work for FO’s agency INK Business Design on the Goodluck Jonathan campaign back in the days and knew immediately that this team was a formidable one.

The offer was for me to join the strategy team, but I was doubtful about the seriousness of it all, as I was in a room of young people, wondering if any of our strategies would ever be adopted by the old men politicians I assumed would be the ones running the ship. Within a few days of joining the team, I would be in for a rude shock to discover that the team I had met earlier were the “old men” and there were no pot-bellied Oga-at-the top middlemen to report to.

It was a mean lean team driven by youthful energy and vibrancy led by FO, and I looked forward to what magic we would make together. What followed were 38 days like I had never experienced before; of sleepless nights, early flights and countless hours of standing on your feet throwing around ideas before they hit paper or a design screen.

I had worked in the music industry for over five years, and project managed album releases and concerts for some of Africa’s biggest music stars, but even I was not ready for the level of work that was required by a client who asked for only one thing: excellence. I half-expected that after all the initial rush, this politician would live true to those infamous ideals of “anyhow” Nigerian politics; but not Alpha, as we came to call Dr Bukola Saraki; for this man, work was to be done to the best of standards, and this filled me with renewed passion and excitement.

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/politics/atiku-pdp-pays-us-trump-firm-n400m-for-election-id9061437.html" id="cedd0fb6-6922-57a9-9a88-ad71c3aabc72"> PDP reportedly pays US firm N400m to win election for Atiku</a>

The long hours would come to fill the emptiness that had enveloped me for the past months, and the adrenaline rush was enough to drive me with new-found purpose. FO’s calls at odd hours of the day became a norm, and it was not strange to hear, after working till 11 pm on one day, that you had to catch a 7-am flight out of Lagos the next. Dr Saraki had entrusted us with the task of driving the message behind his vision to bring inclusive growth to all Nigerians. We were not going to fail.

How we came about the #GrowNigeria Message

So we got to work polling, interviewing and trying to get the pulse of the nation. We did not want to work in an echo chamber, believing that all Nigerians were tired of the present government and would jump at any opportunity to put another person at the helm of affairs.

We asked the people what issues were most important to them, what challenges of governance had the most impact on them and their daily lives, where had government failed them and what and who could provide a solution. From the mountain load of feedback we got from everyday Nigerians, we realised that poverty and economic turmoil were top on people’s minds and joining this with Dr Saraki’s vision to bring inclusive growth to all Nigerians we crafted a message and movement to #GrowNigeria

An exciting story must be told of how we came about #GrowNigeria. As the resident “OBJ” (a nickname I had been given by the team because I was always writing) I started creating possible campaign slogans based on the feedback we had gotten from the field and I spent days trying to capture the essence of our message in two words or less. The first few ones I got were bland I must confess, I mean who was going to align with #NigeriaFirst?

I must have become too exposed to Donald Trump’s brand of nationalism or the constant pecking at keyboards was getting to me. One morning though, FO after a meeting with the candidate, suggested that the message should be anchored on Growth and we spent hours going back and forth arguing on the best way to capture Growth in a way that would resonate with a middle-class Lagosian or a trader in Aba.

Some of us argued that the idea of growth might sound too much like a fancy economic term and were ready to shoot it down, but after a simple exercise of asking each other what we all were praying for and working towards, we all came to the realisation that we all wanted to grow in our various stations. We wanted to be better, we all wanted an increase. Growth was the underlying reason why we were all braving Lagos traffic each morning trying to improve our hustle.

Executing the message and driving the movement were the tough parts, but luckily we were working with a candidate who trusted young people to deliver and who himself was in tune with global trends and modern tools. Ideas could go from ideation to approval in minutes as there were no red tapes and middlemen to stifle the creativity of a team whose average age fell below 30. With the core team comprising of planners and strategists like  Kelechi, Sam, Enniye, we were always ready to move.

We created multimedia social multimedia content along with fact-checked Op-eds for distribution via multiple media platforms to provide information and counter false narratives; all this without having to send countless approval seeking emails or travelling for needless meetings.

The candidate trusted us to interpret his vision to the target audience, and this confidence paid off as within a short while, Nigerians became endeared to the message. In fact, what started as political messaging began to serve the dual tool of helping to clear preconceived notions the electorate had of Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

Written by Edward Israel-Ayide.

Edward Israel-Ayide provides marketing and communications strategy for political candidates and creative professionals. He is on Twitter @wildeyeq

We asked the people what issues were most important to them, what challenges of governance had the most impact on them and their daily lives...

<h1>There are several factors blamed for</h1>

Those who brought partnerships, investments, offers and gave invitations, how was it that they were not read, not studied, on what they offered against what they have done for themselves, as well as terms, behavior, loyalty, sense of collectiveness, etc.?

Yes, the government could have had – local – expert psychologists do this for them, or could have had psychology as a major arm of government work – but nothing.

Also, in the academe, there was no effort to do some of these major studies that could have shaped the future, with smartanalysis of past projects, history of stuff and the new patterns, to be able to adumbrate against likely results.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/daddy-freeze-barks-but-the-church-of-god-continues-to-excel-id8978804.html" id="585531c0-58b3-5eb2-975a-e7188700fe8b">Daddy freeze barks, but the Church of GOD continues to excel</a>

Between advanced countries and those rapidly advancing, there is a <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/strategy/strategy-the-psychology-behind-why-were-so-bad-at-keeping-new-years-resolutions-id7812147.html" id="9d756176-6c73-5822-8c56-4a520c3738a4">battle of psychology</a>. They are constantly studying each other’s motivation, intentions, actions, and approach, to have understanding for their own advantage.

Though, some went further with espionage, in another turn, towards higher understanding in to course of action.

But mostly, there is the summation of everything, courage, depth, knowledge, loyalty, etc. That is sought, to see what strengths and weaknesses exist. Most times, change and development are motivated by counter psychology.

The Wars of Psychology

There is too much of life and actions that are dependent on several factors of psychology: the mind, mood, memory, happiness, excitement, sadness, frustration, fear, desperation, relationships, etc.

There are moves made against the psyche of the other party. Sometimes, policies are also used. A party may not engage in certain activities, overtly or covertly, but others may try to push them to do so, as a trap, or in bid to divide or embarrass them.

Some of the most successful countries from the West, to Asia, and the Pacific are superpowers of psychology. Most corporations also run with this, towards competitors’ products, services, marketing and expansion.

Psychology, just as it is used on the world’s biggest stages is also used in small stages. It is used between individuals and it is also used by critics.

Most times, critics deploy large amounts of psychology to attack, but good works by those they attack are often more weighty.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/financial-inclusion-hawking-poverty-tax-tithe-daddy-freeze-id9004305.html" id="1cf0e957-8a6d-58b5-8966-662635287694">Financial inclusion, hawking, poverty, tax, tithe &amp; Daddy Freeze</a>

The Success of RCCG

In their rules and as part of their Faith, credit or glory does not go to man. However, the Church is a giant, massive, consequential and collective success under the leadership of their lead Pastor, Adeboye.

The Church is in several countries. The Church has a magnetic field towards services of worship. As stated in the Scriptures, Christ is the head of the Church.

The Church is obviously envied. The love of GOD in the Church is conspicuous by some of the selflessness of service that many do in the Church.

Yes, like the military, there are rogue soldiers, or members, or whatever, but the organization and its essentiality stands firm.

The Church has conquered hearts, places, and cities for the Lord. The Church is creative, innovative and they love the Lord.

But haters have gathered; blamers, liars and those who have nothing to offer to life than to create confusion.

However, their act continues to wear out. They have tried everything, but have only found that the Church is bigger than the lead Pastor, and does not belong to him, so they have nothing else than to squirm in their confusion – thinking why their criticisms refused to stick.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/rccg-daddy-freeze-churches-are-not-business-centers-id8482521.html" id="69bba7ac-9c39-5654-a545-e932c9b3b92e">Churches are NOT business centers</a>

Daddy Freeze hates RCCG

Daddy freeze hates RCCG, their pastor and everything about the Church. There is nothing that makes him relevant other than to seek old videos of the lead Pastor, to present on social media for his sewer comments.

The gospel of Jesus is strictly for salvation – or change of heart. Just like education guarantees knowledge, though great job and prosperity may follow, and just like food is for energy, but more body-weight may follow, in the same way Christianity has many other blessings but the main course is salvation – or say righteousness.

There is so much about Nigeria that affects the country and its citizens – at home or wherever else. Blaming the Church for poverty, or underdevelopment, or whatever else is false and wrong.

Income, purchasing power of what is possessed and the conditions of living are responsible for poverty in Nigeria. Not the Church. Whatever RCCG or their Pastor does is an internal matter of Faith, or policy, or doctrine, or ministration. It is inconsequential to how Nigeria can develop, or what any sensible individual of value should be riled about.

Daddy freeze against freedom of Christianity is equivalent to being against freedom of expression – apparent in his incompetence to engage in fair and balanced debate, just to hate and claim to always be right.

His hate cannot win. He has remained on the fringes, and has not said anything valuable, for Nigeria, for the Church or for anything useful.

He whines. He screams. He promotes food. He interviews losers who also seek to destroy the Church. But they and all their efforts are toxic wastes.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/rccg-daddy-freeze-does-god-understand-bad-luck-id9004062.html" id="b02babd7-ae17-5ffa-b06a-9f44cfb74b9a">RCCG, Daddy freeze: Does GOD understand bad luck?</a>

If the Church requires certain trainings for certain roles, it is expected that going into it, is voluntary, and can quit anytime – if not interested. Attending and speaking publicly, about it to probably lie or embarrass the Church shows being disgruntled and having no value.

Genuine Christianity is rife with symbolisms of Faith. The continuity of the Lord’s Supper is symbolic of His Body and His Blood.

In their services whenever Adeboye, the Pastor, prays on handkerchiefs or on combs or whatever else, it is symbolic of combined faith for prayers when necessary. There is nothing outside of the bounds of true Christianity in those. You believe or you don’t.

Daddy freeze accused him of sorcery. There is no sorcery in the world that can pass power across a crowd without contact. Such is far beyond dark powers.

There have been true testimonies from many about the Power of GOD from those materials that weren’t psychically touched. The Church and the Pastor are true to GOD.

Daddy freeze and all those who support him on social media or supply him with information have failed. They know, but only trying to stay relevant – to their irrelevant life purpose.

The Church is voluntary, and a personal decision for acceptance. It can be like a social activity and can be for Faith, Hope or Worship – in Spirit and in Truth.

RCCG family should always remember, “Romans 8:37, Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

By Nneka Okumazie

Another way to look at African underdevelopment is the inactivity of psychology in plans, projects, investments, expenditures and growth.

RCCG, Adeboye, Daddy Freeze & conquerors of psychology

<h1>Evolutionary psychologists argue that the large human brain, our superior intelligence is equivalent to the male peacock’s tail, a courtship device designed to attract and retain sexual partners.</h1>

Our big amazing brains.

Even our achievements, from art to rocket science are merely a side effect of the essential ability to charm each other.

I am, however, not going to focus just on flirtation itself, but as someone who is fascinated by human behaviour, I would like to share some observations I made in the social behaviour in different Europeans. I’m using Europeans because I spent 3 months undergoing a language course in France a few years ago, and had the opportunity to meet and interact with course mates and holiday goers who were mostly from various parts of Europe.

Singing on the streets of Nice.

I found that people from Meditteranean countries such as Spain, Italy and France were the most open, with the highest social self esteem. In fact, I will give you a very interesting example. I was walking down the streets of Nice, in the south of France one evening, and this young man on his little scooter spotted me, caught my attention and started to follow me.

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/the-awkward-truth-about-the-friend-zone-id8992697.html" id="8fd45dec-cbf5-5372-9b4b-c5bd52289fe3"> The awkward truth about the friend zone</a>

So I thought, okay, fine, if I ignore him long enough, he’ll leave me, but all of a sudden started to sing to me in French. I couldn’t’ help but blush. This man’s behaviour was one of such I have only ever seen in movies. So that’s the mediterraneans for you. Very, very flirtatious.

Drinking and social self esteem.

I noticed that the English and Irish, on the other hand, were always quieter initially, especially during our French classes in the morning. But during outings in the evenings, they loosened up quite a lot after a few pints of beer.

Now, the Swedish, were quite unfriendly. In fact, they were so cold during class; it was so difficult to talk to them, I always avoided them during group activities. It wasn’t until maybe a Friday evening at a club, after they’d had a few <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/strategy/strategy-what-bartenders-really-think-about-vodka-drinkers-id7625374.html" id="4aaf2b4c-69f8-53e0-bdd3-c0b06bc50ec9">shots of Vodka</a> they got friendlier.

Sunlight = friendliness???

So one afternoon, I told my French teacher about these behaviours I noticed. And since he is well travelled, I thought he might have a good explanation, and he did:

He made a very interesting connection between variations in the European climate, the rate of alcohol consumption and social skills. He said that the Mediterraneans are the most open and <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/relationships-weddings/ladies-why-you-should-ask-guys-out-without-fear-of-rejection-id8751435.html" id="cb335610-d9a0-5585-b06f-15283c6f5911">flirtatious </a>because they experience more months of sunlight and warmth, and therefore spend more time outdoors, physically interacting with each other on the beach or on the streets.

Read Also: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/the-struggle-of-being-single-in-lagos-id8968507.html" id="f7dd3a22-f87f-52d1-b811-d29bfe3ceb4e">The struggle of being single in Lagos</a>

I actually noticed that most of them did not have smart phones such as the blackberry, another indication that they rely less on social media and more on face-to-face contact.

He said British seem less friendly because they experience much fewer months of warm weather and sunlight. Therefore, they spend more time indoors. So when in a social environment, they have a little more difficulty interacting with outsiders, and so need a little push, which they derive from alcohol, to increase their social self-esteem.

In fact, a Martini Flirting Survey  showed that 27% of British couples first met their current partner in a pub, and what’s more interesting is that alcohol was voted the most effective aid to flirting.

As for the Swedish…apart from Vodka production, can anyone tell me what they are known for?........... IKEA...In short Sweden is so cold that they specialize in producing furniture and other household related materials to encourage people to stay indoors.  So one can understand why they may seem to lack social skills.

Well, this relationship between flirtation, climate and alcohol consumption is a mere observation that hasn’t exactly been recorded in literature.  But I thought it was really interesting, and had to be shared.  So next time you find yourself in a social interactive scenario, play the role as an observer and take note of these three factors, Flirtation, Climate and Alcohol, and you’ll be amazed at the different behaviours we human beings display.

Written by Oyin Egbeyemi.

Oyin Egbeyemi is an engineer-turned-consultant-turned-educationist, runner and writer.

Flirtation is an essential aspect of human interaction! As much as puritanical cultures like ours in Nigeria may deny this, flirtation may even be the foundation of civilization.

Flirtation, climate and alcohol

<h1>I can imagine  you feel  like you’re hitting rock  bottom trying to figure out just  what kind of business  branding could make your business  last for years  and  gradually grow  into the  empire you’ve always desired  it  to be.</h1>

Hurry up, take the  bus, kick rocks and let’s rob minds  together. Here are a  few  perfect  ideas in motion!

1.  Think impressions

Okay, you’ve  probably heard many times that “first impression matter”. You need to understand that your brand’s  name should be  able to give  a firsthand info preview on what it actually offers at the mention before other questions pop up. And  whatever impression it gives is the legacy you’re giving out to the public and this is just what everyone would love to retain about you. Your brand name should be related to the actual focus else  you’ll  be making a world class effort at making a joke of your brand if it doesn’t.

Customer satisfaction is one  way of ensuring  that  your brand lives  longer than  average  and probably last a couple decades. Thinking  out ways  to impress  your customers, satisfy them and keep  them  satisfied  all  through  is a good technique to boost your brand’s  relevance and  ensure that attention is never shifted  or hijacked. Displeased customers can easily divert to other sources  but if they stay satisfied, losing  them  would be a  difficult  assignment.

Read Also: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/how-to-make-money-from-home-on-forex-trading-market-id8737090.html" id="728a60f3-c83d-5002-b50d-a46ea0dcf7f1">How to make money from home on forex trading market</a>

3.  Implement Social media  marketing

The effect of <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/tech/a-group-of-marketers-is-suing-facebook-alleging-ad-fraud-after-digging-through-80-000-pages-of-internal-documents-id8986283.html" id="892f8c29-eedc-56cd-a075-2290d39e16f8">social media</a> on  branding and marketing can never be  over emphasized.  Its  involvement with the  success  trail  has become  so obvious that any brand failing to secure the use of social media for interaction and  marketing  is deemed outdated and  almost nonexistent. Explore different avenues  of the  social world and  increase your brand  awareness. Truth is, social  media does more good than harm when  it comes to strategic marketing.

4.  Understand your  brand  has  a Magnetic influence

View your brand as  a magnet because it actually does  have a magnet influence to attract. The strength  of your  brand’s magnetic  field determines  how  much attention it can  drag  and sustain. Now your major aim should be  centrally focused  on increasing the strength  of your brands  magnetic field and of course  there are more than a thousand ways you can accomplish that which includes self innovated ways that are unique to you!

5.  Consistency and Focus

Another major factor that has  contributed to the  lasting existence of  brands  like Lipton and  Indomie is their  consistency. These  brands  have  maintained their production quality,  name and  household relevance over the years. Obviously, their focus  on satisfying consumers  has  helped them to remain invaluable today. Focus  is very important,  in business there are no Sentiments because  allowing sentiments would only ruin your career.

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/how-attract-paying-and-loyal-customers-to-your-small-business-id8683898.html" id="22a4923d-75a3-5c65-b8cc-09899ac3c829"> How to attract paying and loyal customers to your small business</a>

6.  Do not  copy

In the industry of business,there are so many opportunities  for copying and  unsurprisingly many copy cats have  hijacked  such opportunities  without thinking  twice about the  consequences. Truth is, copying  would only decrease your relevance in the industry because when consumers discern that there is another product very much similar to yours with no much difference and  that the  l after has even been in existence before yours, chances are you’ll lose patronage and attention would be diverted.

Conclusively it is best to focus on building your castle, believe me no doubts, honest efforts, hard work and dedication builds better!

Written By Kingsley Umeh.

Kingsley Umeh is a blogger , business avid and online entrepreneur that loves sharing new business ideas for new and existing entrepreneurs on how to run, and manage their business with less risk. Connect him via his blog

You need to understand that your brand’s name should be able to give a firsthand info preview on what it actually offers at the mention before other questions pop up.

6 branding techniques that would make your business last for years

<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/the-pan-african-designers-showing-at-lagos-fashion-week-id9016929.html" id="771c7d1f-39f9-5acd-b672-baf74bb80905">Fashion Week</a> is upon us in Lagos, with the #LFW Tents sitting at Prince Alaba Way, Oniru, where the industry would be Shaping Africa's future.  On these streets, glamour, high fashion and street style will intertwine, leaving a delicious aroma in the atmosphere.

Even in the spirit of high fashion, let us not forget to show consideration to fellow fashionistas with the following tips:

While being fashionably late is acceptable for Fashion Week, let us not overdo it such that we miss super amazing pieces at the runway shows.

2. INTERVIEW ETIQUETTE

If you're in PR or work with a magazine and you want to interview a fashion person or celebrity, ask them politely and conduct the interview with the utmost sensitivity, consideration and respect, which are the bedrock of etiquette, according to Dale Carnegie.

Read Also: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/how-you-can-have-the-ultimate-experience-at-lagos-fashion-week-id9012792.html" id="215e2ae7-f98f-5e6b-a5b3-33b0bb1ca342">We bring you the ultimate guide to your style experience at Lagos Fashion Week</a>

3. PRESERVE THE FASHION SANCTUARY

We know that <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/heres-how-to-make-sure-you-get-noticed-at-lagos-fashion-week-id9011568.html" id="01bd6cc5-1b8a-5825-96af-6a82d75d6b8b">Fashion Week </a>is one of the few places in Lagos where one may experiment with their street style in terms of colour and patterns, without wicked looks or mean comments. Hear ye fashionistas, let us preserve this sanctuary. lol.

4. PHONE ETIQUETTE

As regards phones, Fashion week is one of the few places where you don't have to put your phone away. Nevertheless, handle your phones and other property with all the finesse you can muster. Don't put out content target to embarass any guest at Lagos Fashion Week 2018.

5. APPLAUD DESIGNERS' CREATIVE EFFORTS

Let us not boo any designer, but indeed hail these legendary ones who are shaping Africa's future.

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/5-reasons-why-you-should-look-forward-to-lagos-fashion-week-id9007860.html" id="3c750682-9888-5c5a-9d88-6fd9c2a3f68f">Here's 5 reasons why you should be looking forward to this year's Lagos Fashion Week</a>

6. SIT WITH POISE

Ladies, keep your knees and ankles together while sitting in on the runway shows, and try not to cross your legs in a rockstar fashion. You could adopt the Cambridge Cross or the Duchess slant. Better still, sit in such a way that oozes finesse.

7. DITCH THE SUNGLASSES

While sunglasses would look really cool on the #LFW red carpet area, it might be a bit of a faux pas to wear your shades inside the runway tent.

Written by Ose Binitie.

Ose Binitie is an LLM graduate of Commercial and Corporate law from Queen Mary University of London, who is passionate about law, business, finance, poise, music, blogging and just about anything creative. Glean flesh content from her blogs at hellurrrandom.wordpress.com and emphaticdynamo.net

An article showing helpful tips attendees may adopt to show consideration toward others at Lagos Fashion Week 2018

Navigating the streets of Lagos Fashion Week in poise and with etiquette

As we entered The Backyard Lagos, located in Victoria Island, we were greeted by friendly staff and a glimpse of L.A.X. Pop-Up Shop, where merchandise for the Album were sold!

It was beautiful as you continued to walk the pathway throughout the Backyard and passed by the Budweiser Bar, Signature Cocktail Bar, colossal L.A.X. Backdrops, beautiful decor on tables, stools, huge Projector Screen, a stage set for a KING, the rocking DJ Booth and so much more.

Specifically I enjoyed the cohesive decor that welcomed you into Rasaking’s Palace so you can be comfortable and enjoy his music.

The music, oh wow... I’m getting there! This event was hosted by actor Bollylomo (@bollylomo) &amp; the beautiful event host Moni Osibodu (@badgirlmo), where they took you on a musical journey &amp; kept the party LIVE. A vast variety of music was provided by DJ TGarbs (@DjTgarbs). As we relaxed and networked with other attendees we were provided with bottomless signature drinks, food and <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/strategy/international-breweries-to-open-a-250m-factory-in-nigeria-id8760588.html" id="2899420b-03a6-5e68-966b-50757876d095">Budweiser!</a>

This Listening Party was upscale, but laidback. When L.A.X. entered, the atmosphere was already set with fun vibes, needless to say, Bollylomo &amp; Mo did an exceptional hosting. L.A.X. walked through the Backyard to the stage, looking rather dapper from head to toe and greeted the crowd with so much love, he even said he would like to stand so he can see his people and the crowd received him with great love.

Read Also: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/journey-a-fashion-story-by-vonray-id7959155.html" id="9e566d0c-afc9-5d0e-bece-98abe3e49cdf">'Journey': A fashion story by VonRay</a>

Every track played, L.A.X. explained his inspiration behind them, he also spoke about wanting to have more LIVE instruments on this album &amp; showcase music at its finest. L.A.X. Mentioned that some of his inspiration came from him imaging himself in certain situation, which I found to be very creative and unique, it’s like he put himself in different shoes mentally to create a body of work that everyone can relate to.

He <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/l-a-x-nobody-feat-wizkid-id8445035.html" id="7ee5d826-8f92-5fc6-9203-d935a770003a">collaborated </a>with great talents such as Davido, Timiboi, Barry Jahy, Moelogo, Sneakbo, Yemi Aladdin, Duncan Almighty &amp; Maleek Berry. I absolutely loved the album, it has that vibe of dropping your top while driving through the streets of Cali or Lagos. The feel of this album is most definitely timeless and very enjoyable. The way each song plays as a spin off in beats per track... it’s the type of album you just play without skipping a track and enjoy your day while listening!

The album took you on a journey and some songs people moved their heads in sync with the beats and other tracks people got up and danced as L.A.X. performed along with his tracks. The energy of this listening party made it fatally hard to part from, but overall this was a great success! L.A.X. Is a true King!

L.A.X. Album drops on October 26th and will be available on all music platforms!

I was accompanied by supermodel Levis Osakwuye and he helped me capture some great moments!

Since I am a Fashionista by Day, I also nominated two young men for my “Best Dressed” List. Best dressed went to Designer, Solid Boy (@solidboyishere) &amp; his dope friend!

The Lagos Day party &amp; Night life scene is always amazing and filled with tons of fashion, media, music, food &amp; drinks.

Written by by Latasha (VonRay) Henderson

Project Runway Season 15 Cast • Celebrity &amp; Personal Fashion Designer • Stylist •Creative Director/Producer • Style Director/Producer for Heed Magazine • Fashion Editor for Beyond Classically Beautiful, Urban Ink Magazine, Heed Magazine &amp; more   Instagram: @vonraydesigns Twitter: @vonrayboutique

Pulse.ng/bloggers was in the building last night for heavily anticipated Album Listening Party with dope artist L.A.X.

Rasaking Albulm listening party

What most people know, here in Nigeria, is the steaming hot beef between Shatta Wale  and <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/here-s-why-sarkodie-dissed-shatta-wale-id8962981.html" id="25db433e-8335-57e6-9aa0-2df5fe79d7b2">Sarkodie</a>, whereas there is a bigger situation  – the music industry in Ghana is virtually turning into a theatre of war, with Shatta Wale standing in the core centre.  Shatta’s habit of blunt-talking and aggression often gathers storm around him; and Nigerians confirmed his appetite for controversy when, in November, last year, he took to Twitter to reveal that he has no admiration for Wizkid; days after the Starboy dominated the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

This resulted in a bloodless but intense war between <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/shatta-wale-features-olamide-on-new-music-wonders-id8978124.html" id="bb6b28bd-56c5-5a7d-9ea7-d14f78a8c65d">Shatta </a>and Wizkid fans who termed the singer’s tweets as disrespectful, full of hate and desperation. Although the fight stayed on social media, “the dancehall king” turned to his <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/7-ghanaian-songs-that-we-rocked-in-the-2000s-id8244773.html" id="e47e3c6f-94e0-5862-9388-9c48aa1ddcc3">colleagues in Ghana</a> to clear out what seems like frustration – the cause: Nigerian artistes like Wizkid are hero-worshipped by Ghanaians. “People did not have that mind to elevate themselves.

Read Also:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/davido-s-influence-hope-for-youths-in-nigerian-politics-id8894235.html" id="0f7c5a9e-7065-54e7-a8ea-cb383e9f2703">Osun Election: Davido’s Influence Signifies Hope For Youths In Nigerian Politics</a>

That’s why we see the Wizkids. I don’t see Wizkid to be too much for me but Ghanaians see him like that. Ghanaian artistes see him like that. I don’t want to see Wizkid and feel like ‘oh wow.’ I want Wizkid to see me and go like ‘oh wow.’”, Shatta Wale told his Ghanaian Radio host, during the heat of the Twitter war with Wizkid fans.

The Nigerian music industry as the leading market on the continent

The Nigerian music industry, which Wizkid is an ambassador of, has held immense influence in the music scene in Africa, perhaps for as long as the continent existed as a community. This influence is primarily due to the country’s population size which translates into an audience to which music, as a product, can be marketed to. For this reason and the fact that the common language used in Nigerian music – English language –  is widely accepted.

An artiste who breakthroughs the <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/lifestyle/nigeria-to-drive-growth-in-africas-e-m-industry-by-2022-id8874203.html" id="6a3ad00f-d253-5d18-b687-31cf055fff95">Nigerian music industry</a> almost automatically becomes a continental star, while it is not the same for other industries, except perhaps the South African and Tanzania music industry. This has made the Nigerian music industry the holy grail for African artistes who look to penetrate it through collaborations and affiliations with Nigerian musicians.

Shatta Wale’s Push For The Rise Of Ghanian Music

Shatta Wale, however, does not share in that belief. Rather, he advocates for a revolution in which music industries, especially the Ghanaian industry, which is a neighbour to Nigeria, can be self-sufficient; and Ghanaian artistes can become International stars without necessarily lobbying for endorsement from Nigeria.

The incident at a recent event in Nigeria where Shatta Wale allegedly performed to a lukewarm audience that suddenly came alive once Burna Boy came on, further fuelled the conversation for the need for a restructured industry in Ghana which does not lionise foreign artistes at the expense of local stars. “I studied and I have learnt and I have learnt something and that’s what I want the industry to learn…We have to grow our culture”, Shatta said during his interview on Hitz FM of Ghana.

Nigerian media, particularly the radio, priorities local content; and the limited import is mostly music from US and U.K.; and very little Ghanaian music, which explains why the Nigerian audience knows little of Shatta Wale or Stonebwoy’s music.

Ghanaians are forming up to enact a similar legislative policy that would see a significant increase in the airplay allotted to local content. Andy Dostyof Hitz FM revealed that the plan is to have the ratio at 80:20, while Shatta suggested 90:10. He said, “I even want 90: 10. If that’s what the media wants to do, we would support it. But let us let the government know we are ready.”

Shatta’s Controversial Character &amp; It’s Effect On The Cause

Shatta’s controversial character, however, is acting as a force of repulsion that has caused expected proponents to become opponents. The dancehall music superstar is being accused of preaching peace and unity yet working to tear down other Ghanaian industry figures. One of Shatta Wale’s enemies, Kwaw Kese, a Ghanaian rapper who featured him on a hit song, said, “Shatta is always preaching peace, which is a good thing, but always fighting the same people he is trying to maintain peace with.”

Read Also: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/communities/bloggers/how-m-i-is-fixing-up-the-nigerian-hip-hop-scene-id8884152.html" id="aa920be6-161c-5364-905d-26cc64951798">How M.I. is fixing up the Nigerian Hip-Hop scene</a>

The situation between Shatta and Stonebwoy is even more personal – the two are direct genre rivals, Shatta’s signing forced Stonebwoy to exit Zylofon Media Record Company and Shatta often disses Stonebwoy; calling him broke and pretentious, accusing him of receiving unmerited awards and alleging that the BET wining singer killed his mother.

The fact is, Shatta and Stonebwoy are sworn-enemies and if the movement led by the former would attract an opposition, it won’t be strange if it comes from Stonebwoy; not because he has a problem with the  message but because of the bearer of the message. But there has been surprising signs of possible reconciliation.

The tension between Shatta and Sarkodie might have been recently heightened by the comment made by the dancehall singer about the rapper being broke; but there has been a longstanding issue of Sarkodie’s  alliance with Nigerian artistes over his colleagues in Ghana.

In the wake of the growing call for the “independence” of the Ghanaian music industry, the  rapper’s decision to host Mr.P in Ghana, in September, evoked criticism from Ghanaians. Shatta Wale, during his interview on Hitz Fm, revealed that he feels disrespected by Sarkodie because the rapper eschewed his request to appear in his video but would readily jump on projects with Nigerian artistes.

The Fate Of The Movement

The personal differences between the two Ghanaian stars is an obvious case but beneath the personal war is a bigger struggle for the future of Ghanaian music. The rivalry is an offshoot of the growing acrimony towards foreign influence on the Ghanian music culture, particularly the influence of Nigeria.

The mood in Ghana is: we have what it takes to entertain ourselves. This aspiration to self-sufficiency has resulted in a complex war between a leading advocate of the revolutionary cause – Shatta Wale – and  other active players who grew peevish with his uncivil approach; leading to a situation in which the fractured relationship between the artistes is threatening to roll back the movement, or even result in its total abandonment.

Written by Oluwatobi Ibironke

Oluwatobi Ibironke is a writer with keen interest in music, politics and social topics about love and relationship. He tweets via @ibironketweets

The tension between Shatta and Sarkodie might have been recently heightened by the comment made by the dancehall singer about the rapper being broke...

The Sarkodie - Shatta Wale beef & how it concerns Nigeria

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