MEET KIMBERLY ANYADIKE THE NIGERIAN WHO HOLDS THE RECORD AS THE YOUNGEST PILOT TO FLY CROSS-COUNTRY

21 year old Nigerian-American, Kimberly Anyadike is a pilot who holds the record as the first African American teen to fly across the United States. She performed this feat at the neophyte age of 15 in 2009. Anyadike learned to fly at age 12 through the Compton-based Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum [TAM], which offers aviation lessons in an after-school program for disadvantaged youths. The Organisation also encourages youth involvement in aviation as an alternative to drugs, gang violence and other self-destructive activities.

Anyadike was inspired by the stories of great pilots like Bessie Coleman, the first African-American airline Pilot, and Mae Jemison, the first African American female to travel in space. So great was her passion that she paid for her flight lessons by working many regular jobs and odd jobs while still maintaining an excellent academic scorecard which was a prerequisite to remain in the program.

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER DRUG THAT FLUSHES OUT THE HIV VIRUS

Scientists believe they have discovered a way to 'flush' HIV out of a patient's system, raising hopes of developing a cure for the disease. Millions of people diagnosed as HIV positive across the world are put on anti-retroviral drugs when their viral load (the measure of how much virus is in the bloodstream) reaches a certain level. 

But, despite the highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) treatment, elements of the virus can still evade the drug. The virus has an in-built survival mechanism, allowing it to create reservoirs of latent, inactive virus that are invisible to the body's immune system and drugs used to treat the disease.

MEET VICTOR OLALUSI, THE NIGERIAN WHO BROKE RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY RECORDS

The Federal Ministry of Education today honoured Dr Victor Olalusi who graduated with a 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Russian National Research Medical University (RNRMU), Moscow in 2013. Making him the best graduating student in the whole Russian Federation that year. 

He studied in RNRMU under the Russia-Nigeria Bilateral Education Agreement. He previously had the best WAEC result (2004); JAMB Best Science Student with a score of 322 (2006) and won the Cowbell Prize Award.

BOLA ADESOLA JOINS THE BOARD OF THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL IMPACT

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Bola Adesola as a member of the board of the United Nations Global Compact.

Launched in July 2000, the United Nations Global Compact is a leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible and sustainable corporate policies and practices. Endorsed by Chief Executives, the UNGC seeks to align business operations and strategies everywhere with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. With over 8,000 corporate participants in more than 150 countries, the United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative.

NIGERIAN ARTISTES WINS BIG AT THE MTV MAMA AWARDS

The much anticipated 2015 MTV Music Awards was held today in Durban, South Africa amidst superlative entertainment and fanfare. With an array of musical talent from all over Africa and the rest of the world, the event was very memorable.

With several Nigerian artistes nominated for the various award categories, it promised to be a tremendous night where Nigerian musical talents will be celebrated. And it did not disappoint in anyway as many Nigerian musicians won big on the night.

NIGERIAN TEENS WIN INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR THEIR WASTE DISPOSAL MOBILE APP

Five brilliant girls from Nigeria  have emerged winners of the 2015 Technovation World Challenge pitch held in San Francisco, United States of America. They emerged victorious for developing a community waste disposal app aimed at tackling the waste disposal challenge in Nigeria.

The girls; Praise David-Oku, Nmesoma Ogbonna, Charlotte Takem, Sonam Kumar and Grace Akpoiroro who are members of Team Charis, pitched their app 'Discardious' to beat teams from 64 other countries.  Team Charis used the MIT inventor platform to create the app on Android phones.

IF SOMEONE BREAKS YOUR HEART...WASH THEM OUT OF YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR TEARS

If tears can bring back a lost love, ‎I bet you Yetunde 'bustline' Oduwole would have cried her estranged lover straight back into her arms with her effort. I have not seen a grown woman cry so passionately, not talk of crying over a man. I hear he is even a boy. Okay, whatever...my focus is not on what transpired between them but on the video that has caught everyone's attention lately. 

As I gazed at my laptop screen, my mind kept pondering on the following thoughts. Was it wrong for her to cry out of the hurt she felt from being twisted by betrayal? Was her crying in front of the camera totally unnecessary or was it the fact that she was not properly dressed for the occasion. Was this man even worth crying for? 

QUEEN OF ENGLAND HONOURS FOUR NIGERIANS AT THE QYL AWARDS

The Queen of England today honoured four outstanding Nigerians at the inaugural Queens Young Leaders Awards event at the Buckingham Palace. An award that aims to honour exceptional young people aged 18-29 across the Commonwealth countries.

The four Nigerians who were honoured include Nkechikwu Azinge of the Sickle Cell Aid Foundation; Isaiah Owolabi, co-founder of HACEY Health Initiative; Kelvin Ogholi co-founder of UNFIRE and Oladipupo Ajiroba of The Environmental Advocacy and Management Initiative. They were among the 60 young people from 35 countries who were honoured by Queen Elizabeth II.

Winners of the prestigious award are expected to undergo training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in association with Cambridge University. They will also be expected to continue and develop the amazing work they have already started.

NIGERIAN SCIENTIST WINS ANNUAL ST LOUIS AWARD FOR INVENTING CANCER-GOGGLES

Nigerian-born scientist, Dr. Samuel Achilefu, a professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering has won the prestigious St. Louis Award for 2014 for creating cancer-visualizing glasses. The award is given to a resident of the St. Louis area whose achievements reflect positively on the community.

Achilefu and his team developed the imaging technology in cancer diagnosis into a wearable night vision-like goggles so surgeons could see the cancer cells while operating. They began work in 2012 after they received $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Before then, they had been working on a lean budget provided by the Department of Defence’s Breast Cancer Research Program. After it was developed, the team spent years testing the technology on mice, rats, and rabbits to confirm the efficacy of the goggles.

MY VERY UNCOMMON FATHER

I really love my father and honestly I do. Not just because he ‎is my father but because of the kind of man that he is. I would still love my father even if it were not from his loins that I came from. The man is too good like that. My father is one in a million and I am not even trying to flatter him. Does he have his flaws? Of course he is imperfect but you can never fault his commitment to be the best husband, father, brother or uncle. 

If only about 1% of married men in the world have never cheated on their wives, I am proud to say my father is one of them. ‎I grew up knowing a man whose love for only his wife literally made other women green with envy. Sometimes I think his shyness was a catalyst to his faithfulness but then my father is handsome enough to attract women who would teach Potiphar's wife the act of seduction. So how was he able to stick to one woman all his life? The man is just awesome like that.