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Pop Star Tiwa Savage Opens Up On Tough Childhood and Attempting Suicide Twice

Tiwa Savage

Who would have thought that the award winning pop star Tiwa Savage attempted suicide twice as a young girl? In an interview with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu for Black Box, she recounted her experiences as an immigrant 10 year old leaving in a new country and the battles she had to fight to fit in.

According to Tiwa, Her family had moved to the United Kingdom while she was barely 10 years old. While in high school she had to fight off bullying and had a terrible experience trying to get used to her new environs. 

“When I got to school, it was horrible and I had an accent. My first day I clearly cannot forget. I got to school late and my teacher couldn’t pronounce my name. She then asked why I was late to school and I said ‘sorry ma there was go slow.’ Everyone started laughing. I was teased so badly”

“They use to call me ‘African girl’ ‘Fufu’, ‘We heard your food smells badly’ it was so bad that I literally tried to kill myself two times. I was depressed and bullied. They would flush my hair down during lunch break. At some point, I use to have a police escort me to the bus. I wanted to bleach and started growing my hair. It was really terrible.”

Raised by the typical tough and strict African parents, Tiwa talks about her relationship with her mother whom she considered very strict at the time.

Also Read: Toke Makinwa Recounts Her Covid 19 Woes

“I found it out initially, I didn’t like her because she was tough on me. Not that I didn’t like her but it was weird. I was really close to her, I could tell her everything. I could tell her things you shouldn’t even tell a Nigerian mom,” 

“I would want to go out for parties all night and she would be like ‘be back by 9 and I’m like the people won’t even be there yet. I’ll be so angry. I want to bleach because I hated my dark skin, she caught me and threw everything and I was like what is your business. I think it was between 14, 15, and 16…I was really insecure.”

Tiwa graduated from the University of Kent with a degree in Accounting and worked briefly with The Royal Bank of Scotland before focusing her attention solely on music. She was a backup singer for the likes Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Blu Cantrell, Emma Bunton, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli before returning to Nigeria to pursue a solo career.

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Entertainment

Housemates see each other naked almost every day – BBN’s Adekunle

Former Big Brother Naija housemate Adekunle Olapade has added his voice to the controversy surrounding intimate videos from the ongoing edition of the reality show. Tagged the 10 over 10 season, intimate videos of housemates on the Season 10 of the BBNaija show have been making the rounds online, and they have drawn criticism from a section of fans of the show.

Some of the intimate videos have involved housemates Koyin and Isabella, Jason Jae and Sultana, as well as evicted Kayikumi and Isabella.

However, addressing critics of the intimate videos during a podcast interview with Pulse, Adekunle described them as ‘hypocrites’ as he insisted that it is perfectly okay for two consenting adults to get intimate with each other if they so decide.

Drawing on his experience as a former housemate on the show, Adekunle noted that it is commonplace for housemates to see each other naked.

He therefore explained that it shouldn’t surprise anyone if two adults of opposite genders who have seen each other naked become sexually attracted to each other.

Adekunle said, “A lot of people who watch the Big Brother Naija reality show are very hypocritical. Secondly, there is actually nothing wrong with two people who like each other deciding to get intimate.

“All the housemates see each other naked, in case you don’t know. So, you cannot be in a house with someone you see without clothes almost every day and not be attracted to that person. It won’t work.”

Adekunle has appeared on the BBNaija show twice: first, in 2022, on the BBNaija ‘Level Up’ season, and then again as a housemate on the ‘All Stars’ season one year later.

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Entertainment

Phyna’s sister passes away after a truck accident

Ruth’s death comes following her involvement in an accident where she was hit by a Dangote truck. The sad news was announced in a statement released via Phyna’s Instagram page on Sunday.

The statement reads, “We remain Solicitors to Ruth Otabor, Josephine Otabo (Whose moniker is Phyna) and the Otabor Family and have their instruction to inform the public this.

“With a heavy heart, the family regrets to announce the passing on to glory of their daughter, sister, and mother on this 31st Day of August 2025 at about 06:30.

“The Family is presently grieving and would appreciate being given a private moment to mourn the departed. The funeral arrangement will be communicated to the oubluc in due course.”

The news of Ruth’s demise comes hours after reports started spreading online that Phyna is down and has been hospitalised. A photo of Phyna lying on a hospital bed had gone viral online amid the reports.

However, Nollywood filmmaker Stanley Ontop has dismissed the reports as false, claiming the photo was not genuine but taken from a movie set in Asaba, where Phyna is currently working on a film.

He explained that the hospital scene was part of a production and that the medical props, including the drip and hospital gown, were costumes belonging to a local team member.

Initially believing she was truly hospitalised, Stanley said he felt misled after learning the image was staged.

He criticised Phyna for creating false impressions, especially after many people had publicly defended and supported her.

According to him, Phyna had only received minor treatment, such as drips and injections at her hotel, and was never admitted to any hospital.

He heavily fumed over what he described as a deliberate attempt to manipulate public sympathy, stating that such actions could damage credibility and trust.

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Entertainment

Toke Makinwa welcomes a newborn baby girl

Nigerian media personality Toke Makinwa is on cloud nine after revealing the birth of her first child, a baby girl, after many years of waiting. She shared the big news on her Instagram page, where she posted pictures of her newborn holding her thumb, with the caption, “I’m a Mommy…… This is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

She also shared the names of the newborn, which included Yoruba, Hebrew, and English names that captured the blessings and beauty of her birth.

“Yakira Eliana, Olakitan, Iyanuoluwa, Ikeoluwa, Adunola, Meet my miracle, Yakira Eliana — Precious, Beloved — of great worth, My God has answered.”

Well-wishers have flooded the comment section of her Instagram posts, congratulating the 40-year-old, who joins the list of Nigerian celebrity mothers.

Media Personality Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Actor and Media Personality Uti Nwachukwu, actress Tonto Dike, and many other celebrities commented on the post.

Toke Makinwa’s baby is walking into the world with a wardrobe full of designers waiting for her.

In a post on her Instagram account, the media personality showed off the designer gifts her celebrity friends have showered the newborn with.

From luxury brands like Chanel, to personalised keepsakes, Toke described the unboxing as more than just showing off items, but a dream she had waited years to experience.

“For me, this is not just an unboxing video but such a priceless moment because I’ve waited so long to do this,” she wrote.

While celebrating the defining moment in her life, Toke shared a word of kindness and hope to all those waiting on a miracle, whether for marriage, children, health, or career breakthroughs.

“Live your life, you are not defined by what has not yet happened for you,” she encouraged.

For a celebrity who has been in the news for over a decade, Toke Makinwa’s pregnancy announcement expectedly sparked reactions online. Some accused her of faking the baby bump, which led Afrobeats queen Tiwa Savage and Nollywood box office giant Funke Akindele to speak in her defence.

In the world of celebrity babies, the newborn will be walking into a life of glitz and glamour as the biggest gift to one of Nigeria’s most talked-about celebrities.

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