Gist Arena

He used to be a woman. Born in Lagos Nigeria. Now living in the US as  Rizi Xavier Timane, a man. In an interview with  Ebony , he reflects on his journey to living his truth, and the burden that comes with doing it in a country (US) that doesn't value 'Black men'. I   was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and I was assigned the female gender at birth.  Both of these facts amounted to one thing: I had no power, no respect, and no privilege, nor would I have much of any of these throughout my life. Add in that I came from a less than wealthy family and was, for all intents and purposes, a lesbian, and I became a truly invisible human being; when I wasn’t being ridiculed or abused, I basically did not exist. I say "for all intents and purposes" because for as long as I can remember, I never thought of myself as a girl. Though I didn’t know what to call it as a young child—I had no idea there even was a name for what I felt until I was eight years old, when two...

Kurdish fighters have killed dozens of Islamic State militants in recent days as battles continue to rage around the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane.  In one village, a Kurd was today pictured standing over the bodies of Islamic extremists after they were killed in Halimce, a village east of the town. Around 20 jihadists also died in the hills west of Kobane days after it was recaptured following months of heavy fighting which has left the town in ruins. Kurdish forces retook the town on January 26 in a symbolic blow to the jihadists who have seized large swathes of territory in their onslaught across Syria and Iraq.  Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said: 'Nineteen ISIS members were killed in fighting against the (Kurdish) People's Protection Units (YPG) in the hills surrounding Manaz to the west of Kobane. 'Another three jihadists died in fighting around villages to the east of Kobane, while the YPG also took...

Reuben Abati says if you are looking for crowd, see the massive uncommon crowd which showed up for president's Jonathan's campaign rally in Akwa Ibom.. Lol the shade in though..

That’s Osun state gov Rauf Aregbesola, on his way to the APC campaign this afternoon, throwing cash and recharge cards to his supporters. He actually sat on top of a moving bus..

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday sentenced a 50-year-old widow, Nwakpa Nwore, to three years imprisonment for dealing in Cannabis Sativa, also known as Indian hemp. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke sentenced the accused after she had pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of drug trafficking preferred against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The accused was arraigned on Oct. 10, 2014 and had pleaded guilty to the charge. Justice Aneke had then adjourned the case for a review of facts and judgment. When the case was called on Friday, a prosecution witness, Mr Lawrence Odede, who is a Superintendent of Narcotics with the NDLEA, gave his testimony before the court. “On Sept. 11, 2014 when the accused was arrested, two officers of the NDLEA, Mr Safianu Abdulsalam and Mr Iluobe Frank, came to my office with nine sacks of a substance suspected to be Cannabis Sativa. “I conducted a preliminary test on the substance and...

Former Commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, Victor Ebikabowei Ben, alias General Boyloaf, has asked the former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (retd), who called for the arrest of Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, himself (Boyloaf) and others to apologize for his scandalous demand.  Boyloaf, who said he would not have dignified Danjuma with a response because of his age, said since he elected to make the infamous call in a political event to score cheap political point and further denigrate the Niger Delta, he should say sorry not only to the three ex-militant leaders, but to  Niger-Deltans. Stating that Danjuma should have been arrested and prosecuted… if not that successive governments were compromised, he said, “ My best advice for the famed general is to keep quiet and hide his head in shame or else he will be disgraced.”   Boyloaf said, “My brothers an...

The APC held their rally at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos today & a few people are tweeting that he was pelted with stones. Did that happen? Meanwhile see photos from the rally below

Wife of Nollywood actor, Jide kosoko, Henrietta Kosoko, was involved in accident along Sagamu Abeokuta road this afternoon. She was traveling in her grey color SUV when her car veered off the road and hit a standing PHCN pole. Residents came to her rescue and and rushed her to the hospital. "She's been taken to Lajoro Hospital in Abeokuta. God took total control". Her husband confirmed!

A Brigadier General, Enitan Ransome-Kuti, his Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel G.A. Suru and some other senior officers have been arrested by the authorities of the Nigerian military over their failure to repel the attack on the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force [MNJTF] in Baga. Mr. Ransome-Kuti, the Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, his Chief of Staff and the other senior officers were detained shortly after they arrived Maiduguri from Monguno where they and their troops took refuge after they were dislodged from Baga. The arrest of the officers was exclusively disclosed to PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday by reliable military insiders who requested not to be named as they were not authorised to speak on the matter. Also arrested, our sources said, are the Commanding Officers of the 134 and 174 Battalions — a Lieutenant Colonel Haruna and a Major Aliyu. The two battalions are under the MNJTF but were also dislodged from their locat...

President Goodluck Jonathan has forwarded the names of seven new ministers to the Senate for  confirmation, African Independent Television [AIT] is reporting. Among the nominees are a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, Kenneth Kobani, a former National Treasurer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN], who recently defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, and a former Senator, Patrick Akwashiki. Mr. Obanikoro was one of the biggest casualties of the gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], after resigning his ministerial position on October 15 to vie for the party’s ticket in Lagos for the 2015 election. He lost to Jimi Agbaje, a relatively less known candidate, who had the backing of the party’s most powerful leaders in Lagos. Alongside Mr. Obanikoro, former ministers Emeka Wogu, Labaran Maku, Onyebuchi Chukwu, and Samuel Ortom, also lost their bids after leaving their posts to contest in their resp...

All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, visited the most populous city in Nigeria, Lagos, with his campaign team, ahead of the February elections. The Lagos state government has said that it deployed 500 officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority to manage traffic at the APC presidential campaign rally. Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate Prof Yemi Osinbajo during the breakfast. General Buhari greets APC supporters on the streets of Lagos. APC women Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Gov Rotimi Amaechi preparing for the Lagos APC rally. Buhari arrives at the State House where he is welcomed by Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola. Hearty laughter as Buhari sees the APC sunshades by Rotimi Amaechi. Prof Osinbajo, General Buhari, Governor Fashola Crowds of supporters storm Teslim Balogun Stadium to listen to Buhari. Olamide and Don Jay-Z arrive APC Lagos rally. Heavy rain doesn’t stop APC s...

Tens of thousands of supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, took Lagos by storm as they defied the early morning shower on Friday to give a rousing welcome and support to the presidential candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. The carnival-like scene was enacted as the party’s presidential campaign train hit Lagos, one of the major strongholds of APC. Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, venue of the rally, witnessed an unprecedented crowd of party faithful from all walks of life. Members of the party across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas, political office holders, candidates in the forthcoming February elections among others stormed the venue of the rally. The Hausa community in Lagos came in their thousands displaying old and new portraits of Buhari. Also in attendance were different groups of pysically challenged people such as the d...

J ordanian pilot  First Lieutenant Mu'ath Safi Yousef al-Kaseasbeh  was  captured  by ISIS militants in December after his plane was shot down  while he was conducting airstrikes over Syria. Now Jordan has threatened to kill all ISIS prisoners in their country if Mu'ath is killed by ISIS.  From   Mail Online Jordan has threatened to fast-track the execution of a would-be suicide bomber ISIS is trying to free if the terror group kills its captured pilot, it was reported today. The government has apparently warned that Sajida al-Rishawi and other jailed ISIS commanders would be 'quickly judged and sentenced' in revenge for Muath al-Kaseasbeh's death. It comes after a deadline for a possible prisoner swap allegedly set by ISIS passed yesterday with no clue over the fate of al-Kaseasbeh or fellow Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. Intelligence sources said ISIS's refusal to prove that al-Kaseasbeh was alive meant any deal...

P rofessor of political economy and former presidential candidate Pat Utomi shared this on his Facebook this morning. Read and tell us what you think...  The firestorm generated by Chukwuma Soludo’s well reasoned commentary on the place of issues in the 2015 electioneering campaign has somehow become the core of the campaign. What a way to come from outside and define agenda. Of course I do not agree with all the points marshaled by the erstwhile CBN Governor and Patito’s Gang member, but not to commend his citizen duty of engagement or indicate as reprehensible the resort to ad hominen bashing of the former Economic Adviser instead of providing Facts to counter the views he had raised. That is issues based campaign. I will myself raise logic to support and dispute some of the points in the Soludo intervention.   I do agree with Soludo that issues matter. I also think that those who turn to divisive emotion-laden typecasting of others rather than issues...