A Week to Remember in Business, Entertainment and Politics
This week has been nothing short of electrifying in the entertainment industry, as history and new records were being set at the 67th edition of the Grammy Awards! The 2025 Annual Grammy Awards held on February 2 in Los Angeles marked a historic year for Music’s Biggest Night, filled with monumental moments from Beyonncé to Kendrik Lamar down to the Nigerian Afrobeat star Tems!
Beyonncé Knowles-Carter, popularly known as Beyonncé and known to be the most awarded and nominated artist in Grammy history, made history again by securing 11 nominations at the Grammy Night and winning 2 awards, making her the first black American in the 21st century to win the Best Country Album award for Cowboy Carter.
Her music had been up for the Best Country Album category four times before, with many believing she had been overlooked for the prestigious award.
Beyonncé In her acceptance message, she dedicated the Award to the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, Ms. Martell
Tems Dedicates Her Grammy Award Win To Her Mother
The Nigerian Afrobeats star, Temilade Openiyi popularly known as Tems has also secured a Grammy Award, by winning in the Best African Music Performance category for her song Love Me Jeje.
This marks her second Grammy win, following her first award for her contribution to the hit single of Future, an American artist in the song titled “Wait For U”.
Her song was ranked the highest over other artists– Yemi Alade, Asake, Chris Brown and Burna Boy’s Higher– in the category. Her Grammy win further cements her status as one of Africa’s most celebrated global music icons.
In her acceptance speech, she dedicated her award to her mom, celebrating her for raising and taking care of her and her brother.
The 2025 GRAMMYs is a monumental show showcasing why GRAMMY Sunday is Music’s Biggest Night. The American rapper Kendrik Lamar’s “Not Like Us” also made a clean sweep in all five categories he was nominated in. Other notable nominees included Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan, each with six nominations. Dive in to see the full list of all 2025 Grammy Award winners and nominees.
Top Highlights of the Week
- 9mobile Recorded 6,079 Loses In Subscribers In 2 months: Nigeria’s fourth ranked mobile network operator, has continued to experience a decline in its subscriber base, with 6,079 customers porting out of its network in just two months. This was made known by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in its Incoming and Outgoing Porting Activities of Mobile Networks Operators Report on its website.
- NCDC Tightens Airport Surveillance As Uganda Battles Ebola Outbreak: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has intensified its surveillance to prevent a potential Ebola outbreak in Nigeria following the confirmation of the virus outbreak in Uganda. According to Uganda’s Ministry of Health report on the 30th January 2025, only one case of the virus has so far been reported, and one death (confirmed by post-mortem) with forty-four contacts are being followed up.
- Dangote Refinery reduces Petrol Price to N890: Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced its reduction in the price of PMS, also known as petrol, to N890 per litre, from N950 per litre. The price revision reflects the ongoing fluctuations in global crude oil markets, as highlighted in the refinery’s statement on 19th January, when a modest increase was implemented due to the previously rising international crude oil prices.
- President Tinubu Raises 2025 Budget From ₦49.7trn to ₦54.2trn: Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu has raised the proposed 2025 budget from ₦49.7 trillion to ₦54.2 trillion, citing additional revenues generated by key government agencies. The President conveyed the budget adjustment in separate letters sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which were read during Wednesday’s plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
South Africans Hit Back At The United States Over Land Confiscation Claims
The South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday has hit back at his United States President, Donald Trump for accusing the South African government of “confiscating land” and treating “certain classes of people” badly, without elaborating or providing evidence.
President Cyril Ramaphosa denied the accusations saying “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality.” According to the government, the bill does not allow it to expropriate property arbitrarily; the landowner must reach an agreement.
A statement made by the South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said, “We trust President Trump’s advisers will make use of the investigative period to attain a thorough understanding of South Africa’s policies within the framework of a constitutional “It may become clear that our expropriation act is not exceptional, as many countries have similar legislation,” it added.
The US president also said in a statement that he will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.
Musk’s Attack USAID Agency Saying It’s “Time to die”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, openly criticised the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via his X social media handle on Sunday, calling it a “criminal organisation” and stating, “Time for it to die.”
The dispute arose when two security officials at the USAID denied access to the representatives of the Department of Government Efficencey (DOGE), a task force led by Elon Musk. Despite the initial denial, DOGE representatives eventually accessed secure areas after the incident.
The controversy has fueled speculation about the future of USAID, particularly after its website briefly went offline.Many critics, including members of Congress, have raised alarms about Musk’s influence over government operations despite not holding an elected position.
“If this gambit succeeds – if Trump (or Elon) can just override Congressional statutes and funding mandates, and Congress acquiesces – it’s a very dark sign … and it won’t stop at USAID,” said a former USAID official Jeremy Konyndyk, on his X social media handle.
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Top Trending News For The Week
- Thai Woman Arrested For Assisting A Nigerian Syndicate In $86m Romance Scam: A 52-year-old Thai woman suspected of involvement in Thailand’s biggest romance scam of USD 86 million has been arrested at the Ht Yai Airport. The Central Investigation Bureau revealed that the woman, identified as Orathai, was detained upon arrival from Malaysia on Saturday and facing multiple charges, including being a member of a secret society, involvement in a criminal organization, participation in transnational crime, identity fraud, and money laundering.
- Jamaican Man Illegally In US Arrested For Sex Crimes Against Teen: A Jamaican man identified as Damian Gulgar, illegally in the United States was arrested in the Florida panhandle last week for sex crimes involving a teenager. According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Damian Gulgar, is charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor and engaging in sexual intercourse without disclosing a positive HIV diagnosis.
- Palestinian President Rejects Trump Proposal To Take Over Gaza: Palestinian President, Mahmud Abbas strongly rejected the United States counterpart Donald Trump’s proposal to take over and own the Gaza Strip.The statement was made public the the President spokeman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, stressing that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine.
- Australia Bans DeepSeek AI On Government Devices: Australia has banned DeepSeek AI from all government devices on the advice of security agencies, citing privacy and malware risks posed by China’s breakout Artificial Intelligence program. Growing list of countries including South Korea, Italy and France have also voiced concerns about the application’s security and data practices, including how it handles personal data and what information is used to train DeepSeek’s AI system.
