JIM IYKE IS JEALOUS OF MY ACHIEVEMENTS....EMEKA IKE

He is not an unfamiliar face neither does he need any introduction. Emeka Ike, is a man many love to hate but do otherwise. What works the magic for the hunk lies in his acting prowess that has kept him relevant in the industry.His foray into the make-believe world was not by design but by chance. Having bagged a degree in mechanical engineering from the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) Lagos, he sought out a living with his certificate in hand. He was optimistic. He was lucky enough to get employment as a computer engineer but his office fell below expectation forcing him to seek greener pastures.Although he led a drama group and youth choir in church in his younger days, he did not set out to be an actor.His intimidating physique and good looks afforded him a role in defunct soap opera Mega Fortunes. He took it up from there and joined the bandwagon of the fast developing Nollywood in 1993. Deadly Affair, a film produced by Opa Williams launched him into prominence and since then he has consistently maintained the position of being one of the top actors in Nigeria.The Anambra State born actor has been gracing the screens 14 years. To celebrate his unbroken run, he is planning to roll out the drums in grand style. He will be celebrating with his students and their parents. Students! You exclaim?Emeka is not all about scripts, location and all those terms ascribed to actors. His behind –the-scene input reverberates at St. Nicholas College an elite secondary school located in the Magodo area of Lagos. While he has decided to take a back seat in the scene of affairs his wife, Emma alongside the expatriate principal see to the physical, mental and intellectual well being of students.The rationale behind this project, according to him, is "the drive to achieve perfection and create a dummy for Nigerians to emulate. There are several schools out there not living up to expectation and our kids are not the better for it. We need to give them an enviable platform to achieve their dreams."In less than a year of operations, they are not doing badly. The hands on deck are some of the best he enthused: "We have experts, the woman (principal) you see there has headed big schools like Maryam Babangida’s El-Amin in Minna and Caleb College. When you assemble a fantastic team, you get the best result."Having resigned himself to the background to save the students from distractions, he said, "I am not the one running the school, I don’t have anything to do with the school just like I don’t visit except on rare occasions like this, even at that you can see I have restricted myself outside the gates." His wife represents his interest.Though he prefers to keep mum on his financial worth, it is evident a lot of money was sunk into the school project. The highbrow location, the building, the air-conditioned classrooms, the well-equipped science laboratories to mention a few bear testimony to millions that must have been expended.Reflecting on the past 14 years, he confessed his survival is not his making having gotten this far: "Believe me, it is God and nothing more, if I ever give God’s glory to any voodoo, His blessing in my life will cease and I will become a nobody. Even God said ‘My glory will I share with no human being’".Unarguably one of the biggest names in the industry the dark complexioned actor ranks among the A-class actors whose pictures on movie jackets sells. It is often speculated that his meteoric rise is at par with his fees making him one of the highest paid actors. "It hurts me when I see young actors begrudging big ones for taking big money," he said."I don’t put my figures in the news but I am good." Pressed further to reveal the highest and lowest fees he has ever received he said: "My range is very high, extremely high. Once Nigerian Breweries invited me for a talk show meant to last 12 weeks, one day in a week and I charged them a bill slightly beyond N12 million."I can make more than that in a week from movies. What I charged is conservative enough."The last 14 years have not been all rosy," he quipped. "What you expect is not what you get."He fired a salvo at the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), whom he accused of not being grounded in dissipating their duties, part of which is representing the interest of actors and achieving a balance in fees charged by actors.He is not a saint when it comes to controversies. He has had his fair share of media bashing and thus developed a thick skin. He reiterates that none of the publications, which he described as malicious, has affected him at the home front. "I am a family man and I love my wife and kids, moreover my wife knows me inside out. She knows I cannot date anybody around our area." He has, however, taken it all in his stride and sees it as a price he has to pay for stardom.His brouhaha with fellow actor, Jim Iyke, has remained one of the most celebrated in the industry and we raised it with him. Another infamous tale about him was that he hit the sack with a married woman. Much as he would not want to be drawn into a war of words, he expressed his distaste for the fallacious publications authored by mischief makers going by several names."It is a long story, my wife and I know the lady in question and her husband. He used her to get his green card and now wants an excuse to drop her. What makes it painful is that the lady was diagnosed of leukemia."Jim Iyke as far as I am concerned is an opportunist who is below me. He is jealous of my achievements. He is working in concert with that man. All their plans are crumbling before them. I don’t have to join issues with anybody. Imagine Jim threatening to beat me up on a movie set in America and in my usual manner I was calm about it while he was blowing hot like a dog on heat," he recalled.He is certainly expanding his frontiers, but make no mistake, "acting remains my first love," he said, adding "my fans should look forward to more movie roles to relish from me."

ACTOR ERNEST OBI ACCUSED OF RAPING DAUGHTER

This is the biggest scandal in Naija right now. Especially considering the enormity of the accusations leveled against the man in the middle of it all, star actor, Ernest Obi.His 15yr old step-daughter accused him of sleeping with her, getting her pregnant and getting her to have two abortions.Last week his estranged wife, Joanne (Mother of the 15yr old) and Ernest granted separate interviews to Encomium Magazine (Monday 3rd-10th 2007) telling their own sides of the story.Read their interview...First is Joanne (Who is based in the UK...the interview was via phone)One of the hottest stories in town is the allegation that your estranged husband Ernest Obi, impregnated your daughter, Vanessa, how true is it?Joanne "It's true. A friend of mine (Titilayo Oyekola) called me that my ex-husband had sexually abused my daughter and even gotten her pregnant. I didn't believe it, moreso a child he raised, a child who knew no other man as her father but him. What happened was that at that point, Ernest had called me that my daughter ran away from from. My response was that 'you are in Nigeria, she is your daughter. You don't expect me to leave England to look for her. This is a child you raised yourself, why should she have the effontry to abscond. I didn't know that something else was happeningI called her and she picked the call. I told her I'm your mother, whatever happened, I will stand by you, but I just want you to tell me the truth. She was crying. Her words were 'I'm not fit to live'.I just don't want to live. I want to commit suicide. I said 'you cannot do that to me. There is nothing we cannot handle together. I calmed her down and she told me exactly what happened. She said she made him coffee that morning, he gave her some to drink, after drinking halfway, she said she discovered she was feeling a bit dizzy and dozed off. And Ernest forced his way into her"Was it a one off thing or did she tell you about other that he took advantage of her?J "She said mummy I cannot count how many times. I asked where I was the first time it happened and she said 'I was in the hospital ' (At that time I was in Nigeria). I said how long did it continue? She said it went on and on until she took ill. When she took it, she started going to the hospital, finally, she discovered she was pregnant."Did your daughter tell you the hospital Ernest took her to, or the hospital she went on her own?J "She said she went with a girl called Chioma. Ernest knows this girl"Where's your daughter now?J "Right now, she is in Lagos. She just came back from Ogun State because I told her to go there. She hasn't been to school, I didn't know Ernest was not paying her school fees anymore. So, I sent her to Ogun State."Don't you think that you didnt handle the matter well when you got the complaint that your estranged husband was allegedly violating your daughter?J "I blame myself for everything that happened. Oh my God! My intention was to come to Nigeria and unravel the whole thing. My plan was to come to Nigeria and hound him behind bars. If it were in England, he would suffer. I failed in my duty to protect my child because I didn't believe her father would violate her."How long were you married to Ernest?J "officially we were married for ten years. And we have two children together. I have two other kids from another man, Vanessa and Emmanuel"How long ago did you leave his house?J "I left Nigeria on November 6, 2004"How is your daughter handling the situation, considering that it has become a public issue now?J "A lot of stress. All through yesterday, she was crying, I was crying. I cried because it will not go out of her for the rest of her life"When was the last time you spoke to Ernest?J "That was this week (Last week). He said there was a publication in Encomium on front page. He said you guys wrote that he impregnated Vanessa twice and aborted the pregnancy. He called me again yesterday and said he had lost a contract of N36m. He said he just won Chairmanship of AGN, that he wanted to go ahead and resign, that Vanessa said he raped her constantly. I said yes, Vanessa said so!"What about Vanessa's father?J "I didn't have the nerve to tell him. He lives in Lagos. He is aged"When you confronted Ernest about this allegation, was he remorseful? J " He was not remorseful"When did Vanessa tell you that Ernest had been violating her?J "It was in November last year. From what I understand, she ran away from home last yearYou knew about this since last year, how come the press is just getting to know about the story now?J "First of all, I was too embarrassed. Too ashamed of what happened. I didn't know what to do?When you were in Nigeria, did you at any time suspect them?J "No, I never. There was no sign of anything at all"Considering the situation of things now, are you making plans to come to Nigeria to see one or two things you can do to remedy the situation.J "Three times I had tried to come to Nigeria, once in February, July and last in October but I had a lot of problem. Actually because of my kids here. The social services wanted to know who my kids are going to be with."You said your daughter told you she will commit suicide, don't you think it would be nice to come back as early as possible so that she can stop thinking about that drastic step?J "Yes, I actually told somebody that if it means moving back to Nigeria, I will do it. I will do it (Starts crying).ERNEST OBI'S REACTIONAccording to Encomium...On Saturday Dec 1, 2007, the star actor kept his words by coming to our office. And he was here for over three hours, explaining why he couldn't have slept with a girl he calls his daughter. Ernest Obi, at a point, broke down and cried. And this much he saidErnest Obi "I will start first and foremost by saying that whatever they told you, go ahead and print it. Do not remove a word from whatever they said. I do not want to join issues with them. I just want you to realise something. The same man she's painting as being evil, who she said raped or slept with Vanessa severally is the same man she went to when she has nowhere to go. When nobody wanted to accommodate her, I took her in with two kids who are not mine. I took them in, trained them in school, I even trained the boy in University in my house, even after Joanne left.She left me and we knew it was over. So whatever story she tells, well, that's too bad. And they still were in my house for two years after she left. Does that not tell her anything? Because there was nowhere else for them to go. If it makes her happy to to say things like this, I say more grease to her elbow.But if I was Joanne, and heard that my daughter was raped, I will come back home and lock that person up. That is what I expected she should have done. That is why I said she is the lovely mother that she is. Joanne, pls come home, com and find out the fact; find out the hospital where the D&C was done. Where I took her for abortion, bring your witnesses, arrest me, and I will not argue with you. I will not say anything evil about you.I'm the new AGN (Actor's Guild of Nigeria) Chairman in Lagos. There is nothing anybody can do about that. I have reported this to my guild, national and state and I'm sure they believe in me as I believe in myself. whatever anybody says that is their business. I'm saying this out of respect for this magazine, for calling me to hear my own side of the story. And I'm happy it is all out. I didn't want to say anything before because there are children involved, but now it is obvious it does not matter. She can go on, keep the shame factor on. I'm okay. God bless you"

OMOTOLA EVICTED FROM DANCE SHOW

Sexy actress and mother of four, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, was last night booted out of the on-going celebrity dance competition leaving the four remaining celebrities, Sound Sultan, Funlola Aofiyebi, Pasuma and Omowunmi to continue the show. Omotola’s eviction didn’t come as a surprise to both the audience and judges. Her performances in previous episodes had not been impressive. She had escaped eviction despite coming last in the judges rating in three episodes running.But looking charming in her shiny blue number, the actress put up her best performance ever. She was applauded by the judges and the audience alike.The actress, who wasn’t expecting to be evicted just yet, in her farewell speech thanked her fans, the judges and the audience.“I thank all my fans and those who voted for me. It was a lovely experience for me. I also thank my husband who has been very supportive,” she said.Reacting to his wife’s eviction, Mathew Ekeinde, a pilot who had always been present to watch the show said he was shocked at her eviction, but added that life goes on.“I am shocked by her exit because I thought the show was about popularity and I think she is the most popular person on the show. Anyway, life goes on. Omotola is a very busy person, so. She’ll be off to location tomorrow,” he said.Meanwhile, broadcaster Funlola Aofiyebi dazzled all with her outstanding performance of ballroom dance. Her concept was one of the best at last night’s show.Scoring her a ten, actress Kate Henshaw Nuttal, who was a guest judge, said the performance brought her close to tears. Even the Lagos State speaker, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji and his aides who were present at the show, could not help getting to their feet to applaud the performance.Also commenting on the spectacular performance, one of the judges, Segun Lawal, said her performance would make the Season One DVD a collector’s item.Funlola came tops with 38 points in last night’s show, followed by ex-beauty queen Omowunmi who also had a great concept for last night’s dance theme with 33 points. Omotola and Pasuma came third with 32 points each, while sound Sultan came last, dancing to Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On.Other stars that were present at last night’s show included Segun Arinze, Zaaki and former contestant in the show, Bryan Okwara. kay.

FUN AT CHRISTMAS.

Hey guyz, aw u doin.

Basically, I stay in London nd 4 some silly reason I think spending christmas over here is'nt fun at all.I have tried so many ways to avoid spending it here but my parents are like "No way, u can't come to Nigeria". Spending christmas here is really terrifying for me; but I have decided to make it work by asking u guyz.

Plz, tell me the best ways to make christmas a fun filled day.