*** My neighbor was away on a two-week work trip when his pregnant wife went into labor. They had been married for almost two years now and this was the closest she had come after six consecutive miscarriages. It was past 11pm when his call came in and I was in bed at the time, fast asleep. I reached for my phone with sleepy eyes and clumsily picked the call. "Nnamdi!!" He yelled my name "Please help my wife! She is in labor! Take her to the hospital, please!" I jumped out of bed the moment I heard 'labor' and had to rush down to his apartment in just singlet and boxers. I got there and met his wife in the living room, in pain. "Nnamdi, thank God you're here!" She said in relief "Please take me to the hospital, labor has come" I drew closer and tried to lift her off the couch, I couldn't. "Hold my waist, Oga!" She yelled angrily and began to cry "I don't really blame you sha. It's Chukwudi I blame" I was finally able to get her up with my hand around her waist, and we began to slowly march outside. When we got to the door, she told me to slow down, that I was moving too fast. "Wait here let me get a taxi" I told her and dashed out the gate. I returned moments later to find her sitting on the floor. "I couldn't find a taxi o" I informed her "Can we use wheelbarrow?" "You and who will enter wheelbarrow?" She barked, panting "Oya Oya go and get the wheelbarrow naw! You're too dull... Tufiakwa!" I rushed to the back of the house and fetched our landlord's wheelbarrow, then helped her settle into it. "Look at what Chukwudi has caused" She started lamenting "I told him not to travel o" I ignored her and started pushing the barrow. She was as heavy as a hippo. I got to a point and decided to stop and rest. "Chukwudi what are you doing!?" She turned to ask me "Push this thing before I born here! Lazy boy!" "Ma, I am not Chukwudi. I am Nnamdi" I said annoyingly "Shut up Oga, both of you are the same thing. Push this thing Osiso!" She voiced I swallowed my anger and began to push again. She wouldn't stop talking, she wouldn't stop crying. Finally we arrived the hospital and she was wheeled into the theatre room. I stayed back at the reception hall. I was just praying silently. Ten minutes later, a nurse accosted me. "Mr Chukwudi, your wife wants to see you" She said "My name is not Chukwudi, that's her husband's name" I said "Is there a problem?" "Please just come" She said, grabbing me by the hand as we walked into the labor room "Nnamdi! Carry that your big head and come here!" She yelled the moment she saw me approaching with the nurse. The other nurses in the room began to giggle. At that point I was both exhausted and angry. I didn't know if I was now the husband or neighbour. I just stood by the door gawking. "Good husbands are beside their wives in times like this but Chukwudi is nowhere to be found" She continued "Men are w!cked.. All of them!" The nurses asked me to leave and I returned to the reception hall. I sat and closed my eyes, but the next time I opened them, there was the cry of a baby. I was still trying to figure out if it was a dream or not when another nurse ran up to me. "Congratulations sir, it's a baby boy!" All the pain and anger immediately vanished as I ran into the theatre room to meet the baby in his mother's arms. She was just shedding tears of joy. I couldn't contain my happiness. It felt so satisfying. I returned to the reception hall again and was still in an excited mood when another nurse approached me and shook my hands firmly. "Congratulations sir" She said "You're now a father!" I was set to tell her I wasn't the husband when she dropped yet another bombshell. "The baby looks exactly like you" 🙄 If dem never kîl one nurse for this hospital, others no go rest.

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS FRIDAY MORNING No.7 WILL SHOCK YOU. Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers: 1. Fresh indications emerged on Thursday that the federal and the state governments remain undecided on the contentious issue of state policing. This development came as the National Economic Council, NEC, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, sidestepped any deliberation on the matter during its meeting at the Presidential Villa 2. Flight operations are back to normalcy as the workers of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NiMet, have suspended their strike, which disrupted the aviation sector. 3. Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has assured members and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the main opposition party will rebound. The Waziri of Ilorin made this known in a statement while reacting to the recent wave of defections from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. 4. No fewer than 19 passengers travelling in two commercial buses were abducted on Thursday morning by suspected armed herdsmen in Jor community, along the Adoka-Naka road in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State. DAILY POST learnt that the buses were ambushed in two separate but closely timed incidents along the same location, roughly three kilometres from Naka, the Gwer West LGA headquarters. 5. The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, has revealed that more opposition governors will soon join the party. Ganduje disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja when he formally received some leaders of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, in Kano State, led by Senator Kawu Ismailia, who represents Kano South.he president of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, ANAP, Alale Adebayo, disclosed this in a statement after a closed-door meeting with the minister, NiMet executive members, and other striking unions on Thursday. 6. The Federal Government has lauded the Ghanaian authorities for rescuing not less than 219 young Nigerians trafficked to the country and forced into cybercrimes. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja. 7. The World Bank on Thursday projected that poverty in Nigeria will increase by 3.6 percentage points over the next five years, rising through 2027. This was contained in the Bank’s Africa’s Pulse report released during the ongoing Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and the World Bank in Washington, DC. 8. The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, gave the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the go-ahead to arrest and detain six promoters of Crypto Bridge Exchange, CBEX, over alleged investment fraud to the tune of over one billion dollars. Justice Emeka Nwite, who gave the order after the EFCC’s lawyer, Fadila Yusuf, moved an ex-parte motion to the effect, said the detention would be pending the conclusion of investigation of the alleged offences and possible prosecution 9. The embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has called on the European Union, EU, and United States, US, to conduct an impartial investigation into state sponsored insecurity in the Southeast. Kanu made the call during a meeting with his legal team to address Nigerian government’s alleged attempts to manipulate public opinion ahead of his trial on April 29, 2025. 10. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has summoned the chairmen of the FCT area councils and leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, FCT Wing, for a meeting. The minister stated this on Thursday in Abuja after inspecting ongoing projects in preparation for the inauguration to celebrate the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu. https://dailypost.ng/2025/04/25/nigerian-newspapers-10-things-you-need-to-know-friday-morning-73/?utm_source=operamini&utm_medium=feednews&utm_campaign=operamini_feednews

My father married a mad woman. He was caught sleeping with her and the elders punished him. Weeks later, the mad woman was pregnant and villagers said my father was responsible. After much friction, my father was married to the mad woman. After nine months, she was taken to a midwife on the outskirt of town, where I was born. I never liked my mother. I always distanced myself from her. Whenever father left for market, he'll tell me to look after her. But I didn't, I'll rather sit outside and play alone. I was often mocked and jeered at school for being the son of a mad woman. And often, she'll be seen at the market square walking and talking to herself, or beside the gutter washing her feet. Sometimes, she would be at a waste bin picking out rubbish. I used to cry in my room and ask God why he gave me a mad woman for a mother, but others had sane and well to do mothers. I grew to hate her more and more because she stank, always dirtied her clothes and ate food with both hands, instead of Cutleries. When I turned nineteen, I left the village to be with my aunt in the City. Over there, my Aunt got me a job through one of her friends. I worked as a waiter and within Months I was able to save much before December. I wanted to live and feel big when I returned to the village, so they'll not see me as the local boy or the poor son of a trader whose mother was a mad woman. When I finally came to the village, it was the Christmas period. I used a bushy track behind the market square. It was evening, my heart was heating up with excitement, as I wanted to show everyone I had made it big. I met my mother from afar sitting on a patch of grass in tattered clothes! I didn't want to meet her, nor want her to meet me. I didn't want to hug her damp and smelly body. I didn't want to see her lank short and drab brown hair. I turned, immediately and all of the sudden people brushed past me, pushing me on the floor. I was brushing off the sand and dirt where a feminine voice shouted. " Come and catch him o, onye oshi! Onye oshi!" Before I knew what was amiss, a firm hand grabbed my trousers by the waist. People suddenly appeared with sticks and matches, others carried whips. I was descended upon. Nobody wanted to hear me out. Nobody wanted to know if I was innocent. The whip landed on my back, the cane added, the matchet slammed on my buttocks. I was screaming, crying pleading but all paid deaf ears. " Finish him, thief, shameless thief, fine boy like you!" A woman said landing slaps on my face. Within a blink I felt liquid spilled over my body.... It was petrol! I screamed the more. " In your next life you'll never steal people's things... Thief!" The man that spilled me petrol said. I suddenly felt helpless. I regretted my journey to the village. I hadn't even seen my father and now the man was calling out for match stick or lighter. I was drenched in tears and blood from bleeding. I didn't know myself– all I knew was to beg for my life. A boy was approaching with lighter when a coconut branch landed on him and soon on everyone. There was a stampede. " Mad people! Bloodthirsty demons! Leave my son o." A woman said in Igbo. It was my mother, she ran to shield me immediately. She was crying as she saw my wounds that bled and the tears that soaked my face. " Ndo, ndo." Was all she could say and lifted me up gently. The villagers never knew I was the mad woman's son who travelled a long time ago. They all thought I was the thief that stole from a market woman's shop. Where it not for my mother, I'd be dead. I never loved her but she saved my life. A mother's love never dies

Tinubu working remotely from overseas, returns after Easter – Presidency 18th April 2025 President Bola Tinubu waves as he prepares to travel. By Stephen Angbulu The Presidency has said President Bola Tinubu continues to direct the affairs of state from Europe, despite being outside the country for nearly two weeks. It also said the President will return on Monday, April 21, after the Easter holidays. In a statement signed Thursday, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the President, who travelled from Paris to London at the weekend, “remains fully engaged in Nigeria’s governance” and is in “constant communication with key government officials.” Onanuga added that the President had given “directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats in some parts of the country.” So This Happened (EP296) Reviews 54-Year-Old Farmer who Died After Panic Triggered in Benue0:00 / 1:01 12 April 20250:00 / 0:00 The statement was titled ‘Statement On President Tinubu’s Return To Nigeria.’ Tinubu’s absence, the Presidency noted, “is temporary and in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks.” He is expected back in Abuja after the Easter holidays, which end on Monday, 21 April.

Finland Opens Application Portal For Nigerians, Others N2.2m minimum wage,’ Finland opens application portal for Nigerians, other foreign workers. The Finnish Immigration Service has opened applications for the Finland Seasonal Work Permit 2025, providing foreign workers with opportunities in agriculture, forestry, and tourism. These permits enable migrant workers to secure employment in Finland later this year, offering temporary job opportunities for up to nine months within a 12-month period. According to TravelBiz, the seasonal work permits cater specifically to foreign nationals, allowing them to contribute to Finland’s workforce while ensuring compliance with labor regulations. Interested applicants must obtain the necessary work permit before traveling to Finland. Types of Seasonal Work Permits for Finland application There are two main types of seasonal work permits, depending on the duration of employment: Seasonal Work Visa (Up to 3 Months): Applicants from countries requiring a visa must apply for a seasonal work visa at a Finnish embassy before traveling. Those from visa-exempt countries can instead apply for a certificate for seasonal work directly through the Finnish Immigration Service. Residence Permit for Seasonal Work (3 to 9 Months): For employment lasting between three and nine months, applicants need a residence permit for seasonal work. This must be obtained before entering Finland. Processing times can take up to 90 days, so early application is advised. Key Requirements for a Seasonal Work Permit To qualify for a seasonal work permit, applicants must meet the following criteria: Job Offer and Contract: A signed employment contract from a Finnish employer is mandatory. Minimum Wage: Seasonal workers must earn at least €1,430 (N2.2m) per month, unless a collective agreement specifies a different amount. Accommodation: Workers must arrange housing that meets Finnish health and safety standards. Application Process: All applications must be complete and submitted with the required documents to avoid delays. Step-by-Step Guide to Applying Secure a Job Offer: Contact Finnish employers in agriculture, forestry, or tourism. Sign a Contract: Obtain a legally binding employment contract. Prepare Required Documents: Gather essential documents, including a valid passport, signed contract, and proof of accommodation. Choose the Right Permit: Apply for a seasonal work visa (up to 3 months) or a residence permit for seasonal work (3-9 months). Pay Application Fees: Submit the required processing fees. Monitor Application Status: Track your application through the Finnish Immigration Service’s official website. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/02/n2-2m-minimum-wage-finland-opens-application-portal-for-nigerians-other-foreign-workers/#google_vignette