VIT-NAIJA

Jose Mourinho has suggested that it is up to Paul Pogba to explain why he has been so inconsistent for Manchester United this season. The midfielder was in fine form for France on Tuesday, scoring with a 30-yard free-kick after setting up a goal for Kylian Mbappe in a 3-1 friendly international victory over Russia in Saint Petersburg. Pogba, though, has struggled for United in recent months. Having scored in their first two Premier League matches of the season, he has managed only one club goal since then, which came in a 4-1 victory over Newcastle on November 18. There have been numerous reports of disharmony between Pogba and United manager Mourinho, with France coach Didier Deschamps publicly suggesting the midfielder cannot be happy at Old Trafford. Mourinho has repeatedly refused to give credence to those reports, but has made clear that Pogba’s problems have nothing to do with a hamstring injury suffered in September. The 25-year-old missed more than two months of footbal...

  Was the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP being mischievous last Thursday when it advised Asiwaju Bola Tinubu not to be deceived by proclamations of comradeship by President Muhammadu Buhari?      From the left, Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu; Former Osun State Governor, Chief Bisi Akande; Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; President Muhammadu Buhari; National Leader, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; His Spouse, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos; His Wife, Mrs. Ambode and the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawal during the events to mark the 10th Bola Tinubu Colloquium that commemorates the 66th Birthday celebration of Asiwaju Tinubu at the Eko Hotel and Towers, Victoria Island, Lagos. Buhari had more than shown his expression of love for Tinubu, at least in the last few months. Last Thursday the president moved the whole apparatus of government to Lagos with his presence and ...

  The lingering chaotic traffic situation on the Mile Two/Berger/Coconut axis of the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway has taken an alarming turn for the worse, as truck and tanker drivers have taken over the entire expressway thereby denying other road users access. Subsequently, motorists and commuters who ply the road to gate way to the nation’s economy, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to use the opportunity of his visit to Lagos today to visit Oshodi/Apapa Expressway to see the hellish situation people go through on daily basis on the ever busy dual carriage way for him to make a categorical pronouncement on the road. The gridlock, which extended from Ijesha to Sun Rise, was caused by the large number of tanker drivers who were desperate to load petroleum products because of the two days Easter holidays declared by the federal government, forced many commuters to trek long distances. For road users who spoke to Vanguard said they passed through hell to get to th...

Nigerian musician and producer, Don Jazzy has taken to social media to share a photo of himself being consoled by his friends after news broke that Linda Ikeji has finally gotten engaged. Recall that Don Jazzy who is still single has always shown interest in Linda Ikeji. Reacting to the news of Linda's engagement, Jazzy wrote: "Kai Linda is engaged. It is finished." Linda reportedly got engaged to his ex-boyfriend who is based abroad.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), deposit money banks, licensed mobile money operators and super agents yesterday unveiled a new initiative designed to extend financial services to 60 million financially excluded Nigerians by year 2020. Known as the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF), the initiative entails an aggressive roll out of 500,000 agent network to offer basic financial services, such as Cash-in, Cash-out, funds transfer, bill payments, airtime purchase, government disbursements as well as remote enrolment on BMS Infrastructure (BVN) to an estimated 50 million Nigerians that are currently under-banked. Chairman, Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers, and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, disclosed this in Lagos at a press conference held at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). He stated: This agreement reflects our commitment to aggressively pursue the CBN 2020 Financial Inc...

   Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has withdrawn from the Belgium squad for Tuesday’s friendly against Saudi Arabia    due to a hamstring injury, the Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said on Sunday. The 25-year-old played in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat by FC Barcelona in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie. But he missed the club’s English FA Cup win over Leicester City last week, with manager Antonio Conte saying Courtois had a muscle injury. Courtois was called up by Belgium in spite of the problem, but he has failed to recover in time. “Thibaut Courtois has not recovered from his hamstring injury and left the group… Get well soon, Thibaut!” the RBFA said on their official Twitter account. The RBFA said Belgium manager Roberto Martinez is yet to decide on Courtois’ replacement for the friendly, with Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet likely to start. The Belgian’s injury makes him a major doubt for Chelsea’s crucial English Premi...

      Frothy, creamy Orange Julius. A popular drink since the 1920s. Originally, a simple orange juice stand in L.A. was owned by a struggling businessman named Julius Freed. One of his customers dreamed up a drink which would cut down on the acidity in straight orange juice by adding milk, egg whites and a bit of sweetener, then whipped. Thus was born the Orange Julius drink, which was an instant hit, turning Mr. Freed's ho-hum juice stand into a bonanza. (One can only hope that the customer who created it got a percentage.) Now owned by Dairy Queen, the drink remains basically the same. Oranges date back to 2500 BC in China and are the most cultivated fruit tree worldwide. Between the 10th and 15th century, oranges showed up in Spain and southern Italy thanks to well-traveled trade routes. In the mid-1600s, King Louis XIV of France ordered a vast orchard of orange trees to be planted on the grounds of the Versailles Palace. (When those Fren...

   Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi believes that the team will be stable with the absence of captain John Obi Mikel.                                                                                          Onazi    Mikel whose experience is vital to the balance of the Super Eagles, will miss the match due to issues concerning his work permit in China. But Onazi assured that things will be okay. “Yes, we are doing well and everyone is happy to be back again to represent our dear country and the spirit here is very high. The training has been going on well and come Friday night we will be ready to take to the pitch. “We all know our captain will be missing from the game, but I’m confident the rest of us here can hold our own and gi...

                                                                 Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has led Spanish clubside FC Barcelona to 30 domestic and European trophies during a stellar career. But he is yet to win a major trophy with the national team, apart from a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. Argentina finished runners-up to Germany at the 2014 World Cup and to Chile at the 2015 and 2016 Copa America tournaments. Sampaoli believes that Messi can help the team go one step further and end their trophy drought in Russia. “This is going to be his team,” Sampaoli told a news conference. “He is the best of all and is in a stage of maturity that he can carry the team on his shoulders. This is going to be his team.” Messi initially announced his retirement from international football after the loss to Chile in 2016...

   Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. "Punctual" is often used synonymously with "on time". It is also acceptable that punctual can also, be related to talking about grammar, mean "to be accurate". An opposite personality trait is tardiness. According to each culture, there is often an understanding about what is considered an acceptable degree of punctuality. Usually, a small amount of lateness is acceptable; this is commonly about ten or fifteen minutes in Western cultures, but this is not the case in such instances as doctor's appointments or school lessons. In some cultures, such as Japanese society, and settings, such as military ones, expectations may be much stricter. Some cultures have an unspoken understanding that actual deadlines are different from stated deadlines, for example with Africa time. For example, it may be unders...

         I was recently reminded of a story about Alan Mulally. One September in 2006, he walked into the offices of the legendary car manufacturer, Ford Motor Company, to assume the role of president and CEO. Before this point, he had been the chief that turned Boeing around from lackluster performance, and Ford was hoping he would deliver the same kind of magic to Ford. At the time, Ford was on the brink of bankruptcy and things were grim for the American auto-maker. As he reflected in a subsequent interview, "In September '06, when I arrived, the first forecast I saw for profitability was a $17 billion loss. And we achieved it."* Remarkably, the first meeting he had with his senior team produced a different picture for Mulally. During the meeting, Mulally patiently sat through presentations where senior company executives presented reports that looked great. Everyone, it seemed, was hitting their targets. He couldn't believe it. He then reminde...

   Over a year ago, I was speaking to a friend called Wain, and we were talking about what we were working on at that stage in our life. I think he was working on a few videos and I could have been putting a book together. It was during this time that he went a little bit deeper and was curious to know how I perceived myself. So, when I said that I would soon be releasing the book, he wasn't happy to just give me positive feedback and then to move on; he wanted to see what was going on for me. A Big Difference I was surprised by this as I was used to people giving me positive feedback when I spoke about something like this. But Wain, on the other hand, is not someone who has the tendency to say things that a lot of other people say. After he said, "how do you see yourself?" I thought about what he said and it became clear that I didn't have an empowering view of myself. Through being so focused on doing things, it stopped me from being aware of where I was comin...

     When one meets someone for the first time, they might not know anything about them. However, once they have spent a little while in their company, they will start to construct an inner model of what they are like. This inner model is then going to define how they interpret just about everything that this person does; it will be as though they are wearing special glasses. Said another way, the kind of relationship that they have with them is going to have more to do with what is going on inside their own head than it will with what this person is actually like. Another Part And how one perceives another person's behaviour is going to have a lot do with what is going on within them. What another person does is then not going to be anywhere near as important as how one interprets their behaviour. It is then going to be as though someone will say one word and one's mind will make it into a sentence. Without realising it, one will project what is going on within...

             As a pregnant lady, you and your partner have to make couple of important decisions, other than thinking about how to raise your little one. Having thoughts on giving your child a healthy food regime and following the best parenting practice must be hovering on your mind. But here's where you need to make some space to address the question - Should you opt in for cord blood banking? And what's the best option for you? The ultimate objective of any parent is to do everything at the best of their capacity to ensure that their child never witnesses a health crisis. And as most doctors and medical researchers have already claimed, that one of the ways of securing a child's future is by opting in for umbilical cord blood banking. The stem cells from umbilical cord are potent in curing diseases that have been said to be irreversible. So today, there are primarily two groups of parents - one who privately bank their child's stem cells priva...

   In today's "gig economy", Fiverr has quickly risen to become one of the more pronounced opportunities for young people. Its ease of use, massive audience and large pool of highly talented providers has made it a go-to solution for entrepreneurs of all capabilities, allowing people to make everything from a decent side living to massive full-time incomes from it. To this end, if you've heard about Fiverr, or are looking into ways it could potentially help you make the most of your time and skills - it is certainly an opportunity worth looking into. This tutorial is going to explain what Fiverr actually is, how it works and what it means for work providers around the world. Founded in 2012, Fiverr has grown to over 3 million listings, with its headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company's name derives from the starting price of each of its listings ($5) - although a common misconception is that this is the "only" price you can list your servic...

Events are all about fun, frolic and inspiration. For the smooth execution of any corporate event it is imperative that there is a powerful idea around which the occasion needs to be organised. Once you devise a doable plan you are almost done with half the responsibility. So here are some of the statement ideas that can transform even a boring experience to a lively one without calling for a massive effort from your side.      Conversation Starters -a Making the guests committed to the program is not only great idea to get them involved on the outset, but it also plays a great role in breaking the ice. You can go for an interactive wall in the front lobby itself. The guests can open the door and then put down their dreams on the wall. This can turn out to be a thoughtful and interesting conversation starter.     An Exciting Entrance - An interesting entrance is capable of transforming the gusts right from the commencement of the affair. You can c...

   Former Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof  has said that Gernot Rohr’s 28-man squad for the two friendly matches against Poland and Serbia is the best the country can offer. The Dutch-born coach who led Nigeria to the knock stages of the 1994 World Cup stated that the squad looks good to do well at the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament if the coaches can prepare the team well. “Good, that is the best team Nigeria has at the moment,” he said, adding, “That is the team he (Rohr) will take to the World Cup. But they must fight, fight, fight to go to the quarter-final, semifinal, yes. “Nigeria has good players, but they must prepare very well. The coach must get good tactics in the World Cup.” Westerhof qualified Nigeria for her first-ever World Cup in 1994, when the Eagles reached the Round of 16.

                         Messi nutmegged Courtois for both of his goals. (Reuters)    Chelsea goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois admits he made a mistake for Lionel Messi’s two goals following Chelsea’s defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League. Antonio Conte’s side are out of Europe after a 3-0 loss at Camp Nou which began with Messi opening the scoring in the third minute. Ousmane Dembele doubled Barca’s lead before Messi completed the victory in the second half. For both of Messi’s goals, the Argentine put the ball through Courtois’ legs, and the Belgian admits the Barcelona forward exploited his weakness from close range. ‘I don’t think we deserved to be out but obviously individual mistakes cost us in both legs,’ he told BT Sport. ‘With the first goal I didn’t expect Messi to shoot from there, I was too late to close my legs, so a mistake on my part. ‘So, not nice to start the evening like that...