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Meet Ego Nwodim, the Nigerian-American taking Hollywood by Storm

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Ego Nwodim - Saturday Night Live

By now, you must have heard the name, Ego Nwodim. No? Where have you been? Ego, as her friends call her, is a Nigerian American and she has just been selected to join the cast of season 44 of Saturday Night Live (SNL) on NBC.

Ego will premiere on the Saturday, September 29 edition of the popular show. She will host among others, controversial megastar Kanye West and Adam Driver.

Since NBC made the announcement a few days ago, Ego has been in high demand but she found the time to sit down with members of the media to answer a few questions about who she is and how she started in the entertainment industry.

She said she is a second generation Nigerian-American who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.

“I’m a second generation Nigerian-American and I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Since I was 12, I knew I wanted to be an actor, but didn’t really how to go about it,” Ego Nwodim told the media.

“But what I did know was that I needed to be in LA. So I made a plan to get into college in LA so I could move here with my family’s blessing. I got into USC and got a degree in Biology, following a pre-Med track, to set my mother’s mind at ease.

“But being Biology major didn’t leave much room for acting.”

‘But that still doesn’t explain the one agent who told me to change my name to an American name because my name was too African, but I appeared American…whatever that means.’

Ego began taking improv (comedy) classes after college where her love for comedy grew.

“So after college, I started taking improv classes at the UCB theater and fell in love with improv and the improv community. In 2016, I wrote and performed in the CBS Diversity Showcase and was selected as a JFL New Faces Characters performer.

“Last year, I wrote and began performing my one-woman show, “Great Black Women… and Then There’s Me” at UCB, where I’m also now a house performer on a Harold (improv) and Maude (sketch) teams.”

On how her journey in the industry has progressed, Ego said it has not been smooth by any means.

“It was most certainly not a smooth road! Is any road worth traveling smooth? Before I got to UCB, I had trouble finding a creative community to which I felt connected.

“I had trouble finding a team of representatives that understood me and my voice, but to be fair, it took me some time to find my own voice as far as comedy goes.

“Having worked in office settings for most of my college and post-undergrad life, it took me a while to adjust to really just being myself on stage and in auditions.

Ego recalled the time an agent told her to change her Nigerian name to something more American, because she looked American.

“The minute I felt really comfortable sharing my true self in meetings and in performances and found people being receptive, things really improved and helped me feel so much freer in my work.

“But that still doesn’t explain the one agent who told me to change my name to an American name because my name was too African, but I appeared American…whatever that means.

Despite the lack of notoriety and name recognition, until now, Ego has notched a few noteworthy achievements in the industry including being selected as the 2016 JFL New Faces Character performer.

“I do comedy!! I’m a writer and performer. I mentioned this before but I was a writer and performer in the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase. I was selected as 2016 JFL New Faces Characters performer and am a house performer at the UCB Theatre.

“I wrote and performed by the one-woman show, “Great Black Women…and Then There’s Me” and that has been a very rewarding medium, allowing me to share my story in my voice while making people laugh.

“But hey! I also do drama. I started acting in drama classes”

To learn more about this exceptional Nigerian-American, see her website or join her on Instagram.

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Entertainment & Fashion

Victor Osimhen: Napoli Celebrates ‘Striker with No Limits’

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Victor Osimhen, Nigerian and Napoli striker

The city of Napoli, Italy, this week celebrated a rare feat: winning the Italian soccer title. And no player has done more to make that possible that Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen is being celebrated as the “striker with no limits.”

Back in 1990, Gli Azzurri’s top scorer was Diego Armando Maradona and he could only manage 16 goals in 28 Serie A appearances. That was good for third in the league that year.

Today Osimhen who plays his games in the stadium named after the highly revered Maradona shattered that record scoring 22 goals in 27 games including the strike that won the title for Napoli in a 1-1 tie with Udinese.

Osimhen currently leads all Serie A scorers, three ahead of his closest rival Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan.

“Osimhen has really grown to be this leader that they need on the pitch,” Italian football journalist Mina Razouki told BBC Radio 5 live.

“He doesn’t give up. His performances have been ridiculous. Right now, the team are dependent on him.

“On a technical level, he’s always been brilliant. And we’re starting to see the consistency that he provides right now. Certainly, he’s got to be one of the top five strikers in the world.”

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Victor Osimhen, Nigerian and Napoli striker


 

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Popular Nigerian Comedy Star Arrested, Fined for Flouting COVID-19 Lockdown

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Funke Akindele

Celebrities worldwide have always believed they are above the law. One popular Nigerian comedy star and celebrity may have just learned that she and her family may not be.

Funke Akindele-Bello, star of the comedy series Jenifa’s Diary is the face of Nigerian government’s public announcement warning Nigerians about lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but apparently she did not heed her own warning.

Akindele-Bello, along with her husband Abdulrasheed Bello was arrested for throwing a party in their Lagos home during the lockdown.

On Monday, they faced a Lagos judge under a Lagos state law that bans gatherings of more than 20 people, and were fined 100,000 Naira (about $250) each, and sentenced to two weeks community service.

The couple were arrested after Mr. Bello posted a video of the April 4 party on social media.

In a video from the party, Bello said it was his birthday and he had to invite friends to celebrate with him at their home.

He said, “Na here we dey, those of us wey get mind. This is the best estate to be stuck in during the lockdown. It is my birthday.”

Guests numbering around 20 attended the party, including popular singer Naira Marley and actress Eniola Badmus.

Akindele-Bello appears in a video for the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) as an ambassador for Dettol cleaning products, urging good hygiene.

Most Nigerians were not having it.

A Twitter user tweeted:“Funke Akindele and her husband should be arrested this morning.”

Another user said, “The government won’t succeed with this lockdown if people like Funke Akindele are not punished for their reckless behavior. A scapegoat needs to be made of them.”

Yes another user called on the federal government to arrest the couple for breaking the rules.

“Dear @NCDCgov, your Ambassador Funke Akindele, Her Husband JJC, Eniola Badmus, Naira Marley & the Entire Family threw a packed House Party Ystd. I love Funke & have nothing against her but Everyone in that House should be Forcefully Quarantined. Pls treat as Urgent. Face with medical mask.”

A twitter user wrote, “See the Crowd at Funke Akindele’s Party with Naira Marley in attendance, Eniola Badmus and people who just barely returned from the UK. The height of irresponsibility!”

Another Twitter user questioned Funke’s credibility as NCDC ambassador asking “imagine how irresponsible can Funke Akindele [sic] so what exactly was the essence of the NCDC using her in a video to create awareness about the harmful effects of Covid19?”

One infuriated user tweeted : NCDC Ambassador, Dettol Ambassador, Did two awareness videos on social distancing. Yet, Funke Akindele Invited Eniola Badmus and Naira Marley who returned from the UK into her house, as if that wasn’t enough, she threw a full house party.”

“This level of recklessness is insane!” said one user.

“Funke Akindele and her husband are selfish and wicked, how can a sane person host a party during a social distancing phase? Doctors and Nurses are stressing out and dying and they do this? She needs to be called out and held accountable,” another Twitter user wrote.

Defending her actions, Akindele-Bello apologized, and added that the guests were already in her home before the lockdown.

“My husband and I run the Scene One studio in Amen Estate where we live. We have about twelve studios in the estate where we film our movies. We have a strength of about a hundred workers. When the pandemic started, we had to stop all works, including ‘Omo Ghetto, the Saga’ that was supposed to start in April.

“Before the lockdown was announced by our president, a lot of youths were in the estate for a boot camp, some of which you saw in the video. When the lockdown started, some of the staff that live outside Lagos couldn’t go back so they had to stay back.

“Naira Marley is part of the Omo Ghetto project. When the lockdown started, he decided to stay back because he loved the environment. Then my husband’s birthday came up and we all celebrated as a family,” she said.

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How Ethiopian Airlines is Changing the Way We Fly to Africa

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Ethiopian Airlines Female Pilots

Until a few months ago if you wanted to fly from most cities in United States to Africa, your choices were limited.

The now defunct Nigerian Airways and South African Airways were your two best choices. Or you could fly on one of the European carriers.

Since Nigerian Airways ceased operations a few years ago, most Nigerians were left with flying one of the Middle Eastern or European carriers. There was just one major problem; we faced uncomfortable layovers of 12 hours or longer.

That was then.

Today you can just hop on one of Ethiopian Airlines’ wide-bodied Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Lome, Togo, chill for two hours or so, and head on to your final destination in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, on one of their local sub-Saharan Africa based carriers.

No hassles. No long layovers. End of story!

Who doesn’t like things to be simple and comfortable? We all do, right?

Ethiopian Airlines officials said recently in Houston that their goal is to simplify flying to Africa, lower the cost of going to visit family and friends back home, remove the hassle of long layovers, and just make it all fun.

And we think they may have succeeded!

Sasahulish Laeke Tekelemariam - Ethiopian Airlines Houston Traffic and Sales Manager

Sasahulish Laeke Tekelemariam – Ethiopian Airlines Houston Traffic and Sales Manager

Sasahulish Laeke Tekelemariam is Ethiopian Airline’s Traffic and Sales Manager in Houston, TX and she said recently that her airline is the “fastest growing airline in Africa and was selected as the best airline in Africa.”

She said a great deal of planning went into establishing the Houston to Lome, Togo route, and the goal was to make it fun to fly.

“Serving Houston has been a work in progress for us for a while,” Tekelemariam said.

“We’ve been working towards launching this route for quite a long time before we started operation back in December 2017.”

“Launching the flight to serve our African community here was a great initiative,” she added.

Ethiopian Airlines Crew


Besides Houston, Ethiopian Airlines has hubs in Washington, DC., New York and Chicago where they manage five different flights and 22 departures weekly.

The largest airline in Africa recently announced an all female crew for their flights. They said their intention is to ensure a third of their employees are women.

Tewelde Gebremehdin, Ethiopian Airlies’ CEO said the history making all female crew was intentional.

“For the first time in the history of our airline, we have an all female crew, from the engineer to the pilot and flight crew, all women,” he announced recently.

To ensure your flight is not only fun but rewarding, the airline, a part of Star Alliance, ensures you get all the reward due you.

“We are a member of Star Alliance so members of that organization can use their mileage. We also partner with other airlines like United to cover every part of United States,” Tekelemariam, the Airline’s Houston Traffic and Sales Manager, said recently.

So come aboard, relax, settle in and enjoy your flight. Oh, if you happen to see a crew member, wave and say hello. You’ll probably get a big, bright smile, and hello, back.

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