Herocrafty1

Tunde and the Plantain Field
The first c**k crow hadn't finished before Tunde was already at the edge of the family land. He was a tall, lean boy with a dark complexion that seemed to soak up the early Lagos sun. In his hands: a well-worn cutlass and a hoe passed down from his father.
Clearing the Bush
The 6ft by 4ft plot his uncle marked out was thick with stubborn weeds and wild shrubs. Tunde tied his wrapper tighter around his waist and started. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. The cutlass bit into green stems. He worked in silence except for the sound of his blade and the distant hum of the expressway. By 9am, the ground was bare, dotted with roots he’d have to dig out next.
Making the Mounds
Plantain hates waterlogged feet, Mama always said. So Tunde drove his hoe into the reddish soil, heaping it into raised mounds about 2 feet apart. Sweat traced clean lines down his face. Between mounds, he left footpaths wide enough for his younger sister to carry water without stepping on new shoots.
Planting the Suckers
From a sack under the mango tree, he pulled plantain suckers — young shoots with sword-like leaves. Each one was a promise. He dug a hole at the center of every mound, placed a sucker in, and covered the roots with loose, dark soil. "Grow tall," he murmured, patting the earth firm. "Make us proud."
Mulch and Wait
Last came dry grass for mulch. Tunde spread it around each mound to keep the soil cool and hold water when the rains came. He stood back, hands on hips, surveying his morning's work: 15 mounds, 15 chances.
By harvest time, those suckers would be taller than him, heavy with bunches of plantain. Enough to eat, enough to sell at Mile 12 Market. Enough to buy new books for school.
Tunde picked up his tools. The sun was high now, but his heart was lighter than the morning dew. The land was ready.

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has issued a stern warning to truck drivers and transport operators regarding the unauthorized use of its logo on vehicles not affiliated with the company. Despite repeated warnings, some independent truckers continue to use the Dangote logo on their vehicles without approval, which is misleading and damaging to the company's reputation. To combat this issue, the company will increase its vigilance and take decisive legal action against those who misuse its brand identity, particularly in cases involving vehicles not affiliated with the Dangote Group. Dangote will collaborate with law enforcement agencies to monitor and prosecute offenders for misusing and misrepresenting its brand identity. The company has urged the public and media to verify information before attributing road incidents to Dangote trucks, stressing that many of the vehicles involved are not part of its official fleet.

Less than 48 hours following Tinubu's assertion of meeting the 2025 revenue target and promise to abstain from further borrowing, plans are underway to secure a fresh $1.75bn loan from the World Bank.

Osun monarch jailed four years in US for $4.2m COVID-19 fraud
27th August 2025
Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede.
Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede.
By
Tosin Oyediran
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The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison in the United States.

Oloyede, 62, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was on August 26 handed 56 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio in a statement on Tuesday, the monarch, was also ordered to “serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.

“He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which he had acquired with proceeds of the scheme, and an additional $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds investigators had seized,” the statement read.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Oloyede led a conspiracy to exploit COVID-19 emergency loan programmes created for struggling businesses.

“From about April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, conspired to submit fraudulent applications for loans that were made available through the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” the statement read.

In April, the duo pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud charges linked to a pandemic relief scam that siphoned over $4.2m in federal stimulus funds.

The court was told that Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, “operated five businesses and one nonprofit, while Oluwasanmi owned an additional three business entities.

“Both defendants used their businesses to submit loan applications using false information.

“They obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities,” the statement added.
According to investigators, “Oloyede submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications in the names of some of his clients and their businesses.

“In exchange, Oloyede would receive 15-20% of their loans as the fee, or kickback, for obtaining the loans for them, without reporting this income to the IRS on his own tax returns.”

The funds were then used for personal gain, prosecutors said.

“Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land and build a home and purchase a luxury vehicle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office disclosed.

In all, Oloyede “caused the SBA to approve 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.”

His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, was earlier sentenced in July to 27 months in prison.

He was also ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit a commercial property purchased with fraud proceeds, and surrender more than $600,000 held in financial accounts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized the significance of the conviction, noting that the case was jointly investigated by the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations as part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.

“This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford for the Northern District of Ohio,” the

Yobe teen beats 69 countries to win global English championship

Seventeen-year-old Nafisa Abdullah Aminu, a student from Yobe State, Nigeria, has emerged as the world’s best in English language skills at the 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals held in London, United Kingdom.

Nafisa, who represented Nigeria through Nigerian Tulip International College (NTIC), Yobe, outperformed over 20,000 students from 69 countries, including many from native English-speaking nations.

https://teentrust.ng/yobe-teen-beats-69-countries-to-win-global-english-championship/

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