Entertainment/Arts/Culture
Top 8 Parks and Gardens in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja is no doubt one of the fast growing business destination in the West Africa region. When next you visit the capital city of Nigeria, either for business or leisure, the following places are some of the recreational and entertainment centres you may want to check out.
Millennium Park
Millennium Park Abuja, conceived and designed by the Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti covers a land area of about 32 hectares.
The largest of the green areas and parks in Abuja is located in the Maitama district of the federal capital territory, close to the Federal High Court and the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. The Millennium Park was commissioned in December 4th, 2003 by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and attracts thousands of people every day.Magicland (Wonderland) Park
Magicland Park formerly called Wonderland Park Abuja is one of the major recreational green area and parks in Abuja. It is situated close to the National Stadium, beside the Abuja city gate. The place is always a beehive of activities as people come in to relax and use the various facilities in the park. This park that is suited for both children as well as adults has facilities such as roller coaster ride, arcade game, ocean cars, pirate ship, cowboy mini wheel, frog jump, happy worm capsule, bumper car, carousel, flying tower and bouncy castles, to mention but few.
Food is not allowed into the park as food outlets and drink booths are within the park providing refreshments. You can get Pop Corn, Wonder Dog, Hot Dogs, Corn Dogs, Chili Cheese Fries and Burritos, among others. There is also restaurant within the park that provides African cuisines and continental Mediterranean.
Maitama Amusement Park
Maitama amusement park provides a quick getaway for people living in the Maitama area. The park has facilities that suit every age range. Facilities such as restaurants, merry go rounds, swings, slides and bumper boats.
National Children’s Park & Zoo
The National Children’s Park and zoo, located in the Central Business District by Asokoro, after The Millennium Park is notable for fun and educative place for children. You can find in the park and zoo animal such as Giraffe, Ostrich, Zebra. Children are however advised not to feed the animals in the zoo.
City Park in Wuse II
The City Park that is located behind Diamond Bank, Wuse 2, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, is also a game spot, providing assorted barbeque cat-fish, and fish pepper soup, grilled fish, mixed veggies and snail to visitors.
Merry-Makers Park in Wuse
Merry-Makers Park in Wuse established by Merrymakers Limited was founded in 1994 as a family business registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. It is a sought-after venue for a wide variety of Events with sizes from 50 up to 5,000.
It is a top events solutions provider of choice without losing focus by setting up an Event Centre in the heart of the Federal Capital City and strategically located in a serene environment and easily accessible from all parts of Abuja and its environs on a spectacular grounds extending from Kashim Ibrahim Way to Dar es salam Street in Wuse 2, as such presenting the ideal location to host an endless possibility of events be it in-door, open air or tented.
Providing a fantastically flexible Event space by offering a central location
versatile facilities and a team of people that ensure you have a wonderful
experience.
Jabi Park
Jabi Park is located between the Jabi and Kado Districts, and it is being developed into a resort by investors at an estimated cost of $1.5bn. The man-made Jabi Lake, beside the park, offers amazing canoe rides, speed boat rides, and other water sports. It is also a fishing spot for fishermen.
Jabi Park is a cool garden beside the Jabi Lake in the Jabi district of Abuja. It is a good place to relax under the quiet and natural air. It can also be used for exercises, walk-outs and out-door parties.
If you are a fan of outdoor activities, the park is a spot you must visit once you arrive the Federal Capital Territory, as the expansive Jabi Lake and Park accommodate thousands of outdoor activities lovers every weekends as Abuja residents troop out to exercise, relax and have fun at this beautiful location.
Monoliza Amusement Park in GarkI
The Monoliza Park, a children’s fun park is a leisure centre in Abuja and a nice place for entertainment and recreation and offers also bush bar services. Located at Area 11 Near Force Headquarters, Central Business District. FCT, Abuja, Nigeria
By providing the above recreational and event centers, Daily Asset is not endorsing or guaranteeing best services from any of the above mentioned. You are therefore advised to carry out independent research before visiting any of the above mentioned.
Our list is not exhaustive and you can let us know about other exciting spot in the comment section.
Entertainment/Arts/Culture
2025 Grammy: Nigeria Tops Nomination for Best African Music Performance Category
Nigerian music artistes have dominated nomination for the Best African Music Performance category of the 67th Grammy Awards.
The Recording Academy announced the nominations on Friday.
This year, Nigeria dominates the category , including returning contenders Burna Boy and Asake, the former earning a nod for his hit song,‘Higher’.
while the latter is for his collaboration with Wizkid,”MMS”.Davido also earn his second nod in the category for his contribution to Chris Brown’s “Sensational,” with Lojay picking up his first Grammy nomination for the same song.
Yemi Alade earns her first solo nod for her hit “Tomorrow”,while Tems’“Love Me Jeje” also receives a nod for for Best African Music Performance.
Notably, Tems is the only African artiste with three nominations across the global music categories; as her debut album, “Born in the Wild” is up for Best Global Music Album and Best R&B song for “Burning”.
Young music sensation Rema.is nominated in the Best Global Music Album category for his sophomore album, “HEIS”.
Other Nigerian stars nominated for the Grammys include Jordan Adetunji known for his viral “Kelani,” and his ‘Bloody Civilian’ also earns nomination for the ‘Best Reggae Album’ category on the Bob Marley’s ‘One Love’ soundtrack.
This year’s nomination marks Burna Boy’s sixth consecutive Grammy nomination, making him a Nigerian artiste with highest nomination so far.
Since Burna Boy’s first nomination for Best Global Music Album at the 2020 Grammys, and his win in 2021 for “Twice as Tall”, there has been an increased representation of African music on the global stage.
On the global scene, Beyoncé leads the Grammy pack with 11 nominations for her genre-crossing album Cowboy Carter, competing across categories including record, song, and album of the year, along with entries in pop, rap, country, and Americana.
Other leading nominees include Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone, each with seven nominations, while Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter follow with six nominations each.
The 67th Grammy awards ceremony is scheduled to hold on February 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles United States. (NAN)
Entertainment/Arts/Culture
Burna Boy Announces Release of New Album
Grammy-winning Nigerian Singer Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has hinted the release of a new album.The “Twice As Tall” crooner disclosed this in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday.He wrote: “Album dropping 12AM.”According to the Afrobeat superstar, the new album will be dropping on July 30.
The announcement came after his recent celebration of the fifth anniversary of his Grammy nominated 2019 album “African Giant”,which he marked with a concert at the kolo Camden, United Kingdom. The multiple award-winning artiste has continued to make headlines for being atthe forefront of exporting Nigerian music with his award-winning albums and historic sold-out concertsIn 2019, he won the Best International Act at the BET Awards, and was named an Apple Music Up Next artist.He also released his fourth studio album, African Giant, which went on to win Album of the Year at the All Africa Music Awards.The album was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards and he clinched the African Artistof the Year at the 2020 Ghana Music Awards.Burna Boy released his fifth studio album, ‘Twice as Tall’, in August 2020, which fetched him the Best World Music Album atthe 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.His sixth studio album Love Damini was released in 2022 and became the highest debut of a Nigerian album on the Billboard200 chart.Love Damini also became the highest-charting African album in France, the Netherlands and the UK.In October of same year, Burna Boy was awarded the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic plaque for his achievementsin music.In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 197 on its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time and he won his fourthBest International Act at the BET Awards in 2023, among others.He made history again when his his 7th album, ‘I Told Them’ released in October 2023, earned him nominationsfor the 2024 Grammys, which became his fourth consecutive album to be nominated for the Grammys.(NAN)Entertainment/Arts/Culture
N4.5bn for one Song, Social Media Reacts to Rema’s Unprecedented Deal
The news of Rema’s record-breaking performance fee at Anant Ambani’s wedding has sent shockwaves across social media, with many users hailing music as a lucrative career path.
The Nigerian Afrobeats sensation reportedly pocketed a whopping N4.5 billion (three million dollars) for performing just one of hit songs, ‘Calm Down’, at the high-profile event, leaving many in awe.
Rema performed at the wedding of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani’s son, Anant Ambani, and daughter of pharma tycoons, Viren and Shaila Merchant, Radhika Merchant.
The event held on Friday at the Jio World Centre in Bandra Kurla Centre (BKC) in Mumbai.
Canadian singer, Justin Bieber, was also paid 10 million dollars for his performance at the event, according to reports.
Pop star, Rihanna, also performed at the event for an undisclosed fee.
Social media platforms are buzzing with excitement as aspiring musicians and music enthusiasts alike are drawing inspiration from Rema’s achievement.
The news has also sparked a renewed interest in the music industry, with many youths seeing Rema’s success as a motivation to pursue their own careers.
@Solomon_King says on X, “Hold up, let us get this straight, Rema just bagged a whopping N4.5 billion ($3 million) for singing one song at some rich kid’s wedding?!
“One song? We’re talking about a sum that could solve Nigeria’s economic problems, okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you get the point.
“Rema just made more money than I’ll see in a lifetime and I’m still struggling to pay my rent.
“I need to start singing.”
@OlamideAngel said, “I’m quitting my job to become a musician, or maybe just a wedding singer.
“We’re dying over here! Meanwhile, Rema’s just over here living his best life and we’re not hating. In fact, we’re low-key inspired to step up our music game.
“On a more serious note, this achievement is a testament to Rema’s hard work and talent. We’re proud to see African artistes making waves and getting the recognition they deserve.”
@Perryblack, an X user, said, “Back then y’all mocked Rema for sounding “Indian” when he broke out. Now he was paid $3m to perform a song at Anant-Radhika’s wedding in India.
“Trust your music, Trust the process. Maybe I will go with Portable that said music money is bigger and better than football money.
“We thought Rema was goofing when he said he’s the future. He said he’s the next wizkid but we are not taking him seriously. Big ups boy.”
According to @blacktribemusic, “ Only this Rema’s song alone has made him one of the biggest artistes in Africa. Bigger than the top guys una dey reason self.
“Rema is too big to be underrated by Nigerians, he’s just 22 but making more money.
“Another day to remind y’all that music money is longer than football own.”
On the contrary, @cassandra mentioned that the billionaire should have used the money to feed all the poor Indian citizens.
“That country dey suffer, why can’t he donate this money to the poor. Isn’t India one of the poorest countries in the world?
“I swear the billionaires don’t think of the poor chaii!
“Just $1k is enough for like 1 million people and
they will appreciate it and pray for you, it is more than all this show off,” she said.
Also, @UcheMark said, “They all belong to the same cult. Even from the beginning of Rema’s career, we can already recognise his affiliation with India (voodoo).
“Also, his recent use of devilish symbols and colours is enough evidence. Birds of a feather.”
@chocolatechic said, “I will never be poor.” (NAN)