Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

Sabina Umeh-Akamune (born Sabina Ifeoma Umeh), is a singer/songwriter and model. In December 1989, Umeh-Akamune was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 1990, taking over from close friend Regina Askia. Umeh-Akamune went on to participate in Miss Universe, Miss Intercontinental, and Miss World, where she won the Miss Personality award. Since relinquishing her title, Umeh-Akamune has pursued a career in modelling and singing, and is now based in Atlanta, London and Lagos. A graduate of Theatre Arts who specialises in Dance, Choreography and Acting, Umeh-Akamune is co-founder of music production company Juicygroove of which is she Artistic Director.

Prof Anya (Left) Professor Anya Oko Anya was born on 3rd January 1937.He attended Hope Waddell Training Institution, Calabar, University College, Ibadan, University of Cambridge, England (St. John,s College) and Moleno Institute of Biology and Parasitology. He began his working career as a Science Master with Qua-Iboe Mission Secondary School, Etinan, Akwa Ibom State in 1957.He was appointed Research Officer, Federal Fisheries Research Service, Lagos, 1961-1962; Lecturer, Federal Science School, Lagos, 1961-1962; Research Officer, Federal Department of Agricultural Research, Ibadan, 1963-1967; Lecturer in Zoology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1965-1967; Senior Lecturer, University of Science and Technology Project, Port Harcourt, 1967-1970; Senior Lecturer, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1970-1973; Professor of Zoology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka since 1973 and he was the former Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group Ltd. Professor Anya has served in various capaci...

Boulaye was born Patricia Ngozi Ebigwei (she changed her name to Boulaye in 1975 after meeting actress Evelyn 'Boo' Laye) in Nigeria in 1954. The last of eight children in a Catholic, high-achieving family, her father was a politician from the Igbo tribe who fled the country when a bloody civil war targeted them. Although she had hopes of becoming a nun, Boulaye auditioned for a musical after standing in what she believed was a queue for Madame Tussauds, and won a part in a production of Hair. After Hair, she featured in Two Gentlemen of Verona. Her first starring role was as Yum Yum in The Black Mikado. After Boulaye's starring role in African movie Bisi, Daughter of the River, she came to prominence as a singer after winning the British TV talent show New Faces, where she made history by becoming the only contestant ever to receive the maximum 120 points. In Nigeria, she was the face of Lux Beauty soap for many years, and The Patti Boulaye Show was shown on severa...

Mazi Anyaogu Elekwachi Ukonu was the host of the famous “Ukonu’s Club – Teenagers Playtime” where young adults go to dance and have fun. He was a trailblazer who attracted mutual love and respect along the paths of his life. In Nigeria during the early 60’s, Mazi Ukonu, as he came to be known, also created programs that demonstrated his love for his profession as he nourished and entertained Nigerians. People were nourished with news and entertained with programs like Telechance which encouraged the talented, especially the youth, to showcase their skills productively. The legendary Mazi Ukonu of Ukonu’s Club fame turned 80 years old on March 5, 2010. A special celebration to honor this icon of Nigerian broadcast industry will be held at Onu Ibina Igbere on April 3, 2010. Highlights of the month-long celebration will, amongst other things, feature a book presentation of the life and times of Chief, Mazi, Anyaogu Elekwachi Ukonu. The book, entitled, Journey from Medicine to Theater Arts...

Amobi Okoye (born June 10, 1987) is an American football defensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Texans 10th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. Okoye was born in Anambra State, Nigeria, He moved to Huntsville, Alabama, United States when he was 12 years old. He first started playing football as a sophomore at Lee High School, knowing virtually nothing about the game. At age 15, Okoye chose the University of Louisville over Harvard , privileging the strong football program of the former over the academic reputation of the latter. At Louisville, Okoye majored in biology. He later switched his major to psychology and graduated a semester early, thereby completing his degree in three and a half years. At 16, he became the youngest player in the NCAA. Okoye was drafted by the Houston Texans as the tenth pick of the first round of the 2007 NFL draft. He is the youngest player to ever be drafted in ...

Chinenye Akinlade (born Chinenye Ivy Ochuba) is a former beauty queen. Born into a family of ten, Chinenye is the seventh of eight children. After finishing secondary school at Regan Memorial Secondary School, she attempted to gain admission to university. It was during this time the eighteen year-old Chinenye won the 2002 edition of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, making her eligible to represent the country at international pageants. Despite being a favourite for the Miss Universe 2002 crown, she failed to make the Top Ten, but fared better at the Miss World pageant in the same year where she was a finalist, as well as African Continental Queen of Beauty. Formerly a student at the University of Lagos, Akinlade completed her degree in Accounting and Financing at the University of Greenwich, London in 2008. She returned to Nigeria, where she married businessman Kunle Akinlade, and works for oil company Exxon Mobil. Sources: Wikipedia, CelebratingAfrica. Also visit Afrozon (Celebrating ...

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, on Thursday won this year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best First Book for the Africa Region. she is now in pole position for the overall award, to be announced next month. The writer beat four other writers, including fellow Nigerian, Kachi A. Ozumba, to scoop the Best First Book category, which comes with a £1,000 cash prize. The other regional winner for Africa, in the Best Book category, is South African Marie Heese. This year’s regional nods were dominated by women, with 10 female authors out of the total 14 shortlisted. Nwaubani won the Commonwealth award for her much praised debut novel about Nigerian email scammer, I Do Not Come To You By Chance. The book, already published in Britain and America, is due for release in Nigeria soon. Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani was born in Enugu, Nigeria. She attended boarding school in the Federal Government Girls College, Owerri and studied Psychology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Sources: Next234

Rose is a legal practitioner and a graduate of the University of London, where she obtained an LLB in 1980. She was called to the Bar in Nigeria in 1981. She had worked with the Federal Ministry of Justice from 1984 to 1991, later joined the Corporate Affairs Commission where she rose to become a Deputy Director before retiring into private practice in 2006. Rose Oby Nwosu, a certified mediator from the Centre for Dispute Resolution in England, is today, FIDA's Regional Vice President for North and West Africa. FIDA is Federacion Internacional de Abogadas. Its objectives include the enhancement and promotion of the welfare of women and children.

James Ugochu Ihedigbo was born on December 3, 1983 in Northampton, Massachusetts. He is an American football safety for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007. James is the founder of Hope Africa Foundation, a charity which focuses on helping young people from Nigeria and the rest of Africa improve through higher education. He is also involved in the Nigerian Agricultural Technical Community College (NATAC), a college founded by his parents. James has three brothers, Emeka, Nate and David, and a sister, Onyi. He majored in Sociology at University of Massachusetts; his parents also hold doctorate degrees from the same institution. Sources : New York Jets, Wikipedia, drjays Links : Official Site , Twitter