Nigerian Senior Secondary School student, Miss Chinemenma Emma-Ugoji, has emerged the first female President of the General Assembly of Nigerian International Secondary Schools Model United Nations (NISSMUN).

The student of Premier Academy, Lugbe in Abuja, was elected at the  won the 12th edition of NISSMUN annual conference.

The conference held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja from Oct. 22nd to Oct. 26th, 2016.

Ten candidates contested for the position and close to 1,000 students drawn from International Schools across the country attended the conference.

The conference which had the theme: “Engaging Youths in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’’ was organized by the Nigerian Model United Nations Society which has been conducting NISSMUN conferences since 2005.

Chinemenma said: “I wanted to be the first girl to occupy the position and I want to play a leading role in efforts to prove that young people have something to offer in terms of achieving the SDGs.’’

Contesting for the position was interesting because we were asked general questions about the UN, its General Assembly and the organization’s rules and procedures before we were asked to present individual manifesto.

Chinemenma who represented Belgium in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) committee at the conference, said that the experience she gathered during deliberations has given her the hunch to study Maritime Law in the University.

She added that her target is to study at the American University of Nigeria AUN.

She said that the Leadership training conducted during the conference has emboldened her to take on issues of SDGs with more confidence.

“ I even walked bare feet while presenting my manifesto because I had to remove my high heel shoes which were a bit discomforting. This is one manifestation of confidence,’’ she said.

“Bringing schools from all over Nigeria to come together to understand the ways of the UN in making decisions, especially the 17 SDGs is so rewarding.


The 36 committees and the designation of delegates as representative of member countries of the UN brought out the best in them,’’ she said.

On how young people could contribute to the achievement of the SGDs, she said that young people have ideas on what is peculiar to their generation and they can talk about those issues and proffer solutions to their problems.

She reasoned that since the SDGs were plan to transform the world into a better place, young people are critical in taking decisions on the goals since they are the ultimate beneficiaries.

Ambassador Matthew Adeyemi Adeniyi has emerged the substantive President-General of the World Youth Organization, an affiliate of the United Nations. Adeniyi was elected and inaugurated on Saturday in New Delhi, India as the first elected President-General of the WYO after a keenly contested election.

He defeated contestants from eight countries.
These are US, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Yemen, Palestine, Albania, Sudan and Nepal. According to Davies Johnson from Austria, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Adeniyi polled 1,679 votes to defeat his closest rival, Jack Adraka of the United States, who scored 511 votes. Adeniyi, who was proclaimed as an ambassador in 2013 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA, clinched the coveted seat in a clean win at te venue of the event in Vigyan Bhawan.

Prior to the election and inauguration of the Ambassador Adeniyi-led executive, which will run the affairs of the world youth body for the next four years, the WYO was run by a transition committee headed by Max Goodwin Kieran from Romford, the United Kingdom. Other executive members who would steer the ship of the organization with Ambassador Adeniyi for the next four years are Karla Sugey Rodriguez (Mexico), Secretary General; Claire Pace (Malta), Treasurer; and Vice Presidents Devjyoti Dutya (North America), Rochana Richardson (Europe), Emmah Musenyah (Africa), Fursan Mohammed (Asia), Junior Menezes (South America), Elvana Shala (Australia).

All other countries of the world are represented at the executive committee level. Adeniyi, who hails from Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has been involved in youth projects and empowerment activities since his days as a student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and The Western University of Ontario, Canada. Notable among the achievements of Adeniyi as a youth leader and diplomat are the establishment of the global Youth Trust Funds and the passage of Youth Empowerment Schemes Bill into law when he was the President of the United Nations Global Youths and the Convener of the Confederation of the United Nations Youth during the tenure of Ban Ki-Moon, the immediate past Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Addressing the delegates at the assembly, Adeniyi said he would uphold the tenets of the WYO and work towards the achievement of the main objectives of the biggest global youth organization, which was primarily founded for the welfare of youths across the globe and promotion of awareness on the importance of participation in the leadership process of every nation of the world.

Speaking further, Ambassador Adeniyi stated that he, with his other executive members, would work towards the WYO’s goals using the organisation’s ideology of friendship and unity. World leaders and dignitaries at the event included Vice President of India, Mohammed Hmid Ansariof; Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; India’s Minister of External Affairs, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna; Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ajay Maken; National Security Adviser, Shivshankar Menon; Ambassador Almad Alhendawi, Special Envoy on Youth Affairs to the United Nation’s Secretary-General; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and Ministers of Youth Affairs across the world.

In recent years, South Africa's rich choral tradition has produced a wave of talented opera singers who are making their mark on the world stage. Soprano Pretty Yende wowed opera enthusiasts in 2013, when she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, while bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana will open next year's Glimmerglass Festival as Porgy in the American classic, "Porgy and Bess."

Now, South Africa is pinning its hopes on another rising opera star — 25-year-old Noluvuyiso Mpofu.

I meet up with Mpofu at the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town. She’s been studying here for a few years, but her journey began in a township in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, a day’s drive east of here.

“We grew up in the same house — my mom, my granny, my cousins, my aunt,” says Mpofu.

She's from the region of Eastern Cape, which has been called the "vocal breadbasket" of South Africa.

Mpofu joined a choir when she was in primary school, but she had never heard opera performed until attending a singing competition well into high school.

“I remember listening to this girl singing and being fascinated by the language, the costumes, the music itself," she says. "It just mesmerized me, and I thought, ‘You know what, this is what I want to do. I’m going to sing.’"

Mpofu went to her local library to find out more about this beautiful but somewhat alien-sounding art form. She entered competitions, scooping up the second prize in a national school competition. Then, she auditioned for a coveted spot in the Opera School at the University of Cape Town. Voice coach Patrick Tikolo was blown away by her performance.

“There’s that kind of glowing femininity in her singing," he says. "You just cannot ignore that kind of a voice. I just knew this voice will actually go places.”

The young opera talent was admitted to the university. But she never showed up. Tikolo couldn’t find her name on the list. “I kept wondering what could be happening. I started calling her,” he remembers.

Mpofu said she hadn’t received the acceptance letter. Tikolo persuaded her to come straight away.

“Try and get ready to come. Talk to your mum. Organize yourself. You need to come to Cape Town," he urged her at the time.

When Mpofu finally got to the opera school, she mailed DVDs of her student performances to her mother.

“She was amazed when she watched me. She would brag about me and take the DVDs to everyone in our street. She was very proud," Mpofu says.

But early into her time as a university student, Mpofu's mother died. While miles away and grieving, she had to step up to help provide for her little brothers, as well.

“My younger brothers were 2 and 5 years old when my mom passed on ... and after that, I said, 'OK, you know what, you are the one who is going to support your family now. So just pull up your socks ... just push yourself ...' and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”

Last year, she came in third place in the prestigious international Operalia competition hosted by Plácido Domingo in London. Then, this summer, the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, the "world cup" of opera, came to Cape Town.

But things weren’t looking auspicious for Mpofu. A bout of flu nearly knocked her out of the competition. And then, two days before the performance, a man mugged her as she walked home from the theater.

“He stood in front of me and took out a knife," she says. "And then he said, 'Give me your phone, give me your money, give me everything.’ I told myself to stay calm, because the previous day someone had got stabbed in the same vicinity. I was like, 'Stay calm, give him what he wants.' But when I got home, I cried. I was shocked.”

But the incident didn't stop her. On the day of the opening rounds, Mpofu put her nerves aside and plunged into the Gaetano Donizetti aria she had chosen.

“It’s the life of an artist," she says. "The show must go on. You have no time to just cry ... maybe a few seconds of crying, and then you’re back on your game.”

And she was. Once again, Mpofu made it to the finals. She was delighted when the judging panel asked her to sing an aria from one of her favorite operas, Giuseppe Verdi’s "La Traviata."

“When she told me this aria was selected for her, I said, ‘You know what, it’s God’s call,'" says Tikolo. He basked in her performance.

“She was like an angel on that stage. She was sparkling. She sang with such poise, and it was no wonder that people loved her so much. It said it all to me that ‘Yes, yes. This is where she is supposed to be.'"

Mpofu won the second prize overall, the audience prize and was the best South African singer in the competition. She brought the house down. It also made her more determined than ever to pursue her dream.

“My dream is to sing all over the world," she says. "Just to share what I have with people. This is definitely my future. This is definitely what I want to do, and I do not imagine myself doing anything else.”

Mpofu's future looks promising. But competition is tough. For now, she’s still waiting for that big-time call to the international stage.

Just few days ago the amazing story of Dike Onyebuchi Raphael and his darling bride Blessing Chinwe Akubuilo broke the internet.

What is more fascinating is that both love birds are bloggers from Nigeria.

Dike who met his beautiful Blessing last year, August 15th, according to his facebook timeline, owns the fast rising thereportersng.com while Blessing is the owner of nuellagist.com.

You can just see the love in both their faces. Africa is so proud to have this young enteprising couple. They are set to tie the knot on Nov. 5th in Anambra state, Nigeria.

When you have a blogger couple, well, i thinkl Africans should expect more Mark Zuckerberg from this amazing couple.


Africafuturestars.com wishes you both a successful marital life as you both continue to lift and promote the Africa spirit with your ideas and innovations.


See more images below...

Just few days ago the amazing story of Dike Onyebuchi Raphael and his darling bride Blessing Chinwe Akubuilo broke the internet.

What is more fascinating is that both love birds are bloggers from Nigeria.

Dike who met his beautiful Blessing last year, August 15th, according to his facebook timeline, owns the fast rising thereportersng.com while Blessing is the owner of nuellagist.com.

You can just see the love in both their faces. Africa is so proud to have this young enteprising couple. They are set to tie the knot on Nov. 5th in Anambra state, Nigeria.

When you have a blogger couple, well, i thinkl Africans should expect more Mark Zuckerberg from this amazing couple.


Africafuturestars.com wishes you both a successful marital life as you both continue to lift and promote the Africa spirit with your ideas and innovations.


See more images below...

NIGERIA - De Edge Crew, an award winning youth-oriented group based in Awka, Nigeria, specialized in identifying, developing and empowering the young unemployed citizens of Africa through entertainment using PAVE (Patriotism, Advocacy, Volunteering and Empowerment) approach is receiving new members for the year 2016.

If you have any talent or skill, here's your opportunity to meet like minds, build on your capacity and get exposed to higher pedestrian.

Join Now... Add 0808 321 9304 on WhatsApp to be added into the group.

NB: Admittance of New Members ends by October 28, 2016. Limited Spaces Available!

Edge Crew ... Pave Your Way!

Africans are now alive, alive to their innate capabilities. 

A young Nigerian from Bida in Niger State, recently construct a 'convertible' car, which he drove from Bida to Abuja, a distance of about 200km.

Surprisingly, the car engine was constructed using a mini generator set popularly known as 'i pass my neigbour'.

Africa future stars is proud to associate itself with Africans like this. It is an indication that Africa is now ripe and we are taking over.

See more images...

A Nigerian orphan named Islamiyat Oluwatoyin Abdulkadir has emerged the best graduating medical student at the International University of Africa in Khartoum, Sudan in yet another accolade to the country.

The Cable quotes her as telling the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview from Sudan that not just her academic achievements but also her life in general is a massive miracle since her father died when she was around three years old and her mother when she was six years old.

“My academic achievements so far, till today, seem like a miracle to me. Not only that, my life as a whole is a pack of miracles,” she said. With no hope of going further in her education after her mother’s death, Abdulkadir was saved by helper called Alhaja Sekinat Adekola.

“Thinking that was the end of schooling for me, my grandmother withdrew me from the school but the founder, Alhaja Sekinat Adekola, gave me scholarship for my primary and secondary education. 

“I emerged best student in my primary and secondary schools and even in my WASC, and I had a high score of 274 in my UTME examination. “I have always had passion to be a medical doctor, but because I was not sure of my chances I filled Bio-Chemistry in my JAMB form and came out with a high score of 274.