The Nigerian entertainment industry is reeling from the sudden passing of Monalisa Ayobami Stephen, a celebrated Nollywood actress, model, and body positivity advocate. Stephen died on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Lagos, after reportedly battling complications from low blood sugar and internal bleeding. Her death was confirmed by her immediate younger sister and announced publicly by Seun Oloketuyi, CEO of Best of Nollywood (BON).

Known affectionately as “Gabacci,” Stephen was a prominent figure in Nollywood, recognized for her roles in films such as Breaded Life (2021) and Mami Wata (2023). Beyond her acting career, she was a vocal advocate for body positivity, using her platform to challenge societal beauty standards and promote self-love. Stephen often spoke out against the discrimination faced by plus-size individuals, particularly in the entertainment industry.

Stephen’s candid discussions about mental health, including her own struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, resonated with many. She used her social media presence to encourage open conversations about these issues, aiming to destigmatize mental health challenges.

Her last Instagram post, dated April 29, 2025, featured a video of her dancing to Davido’s song “10 Kilo,” accompanied by a message celebrating confident women. This final post has since become a space for fans and colleagues to express their grief and pay tribute to her legacy.

Tributes have poured in from across the entertainment industry. Actress Bimpe Akintunde expressed her sorrow on social media, lamenting that Stephen did not reach out during her struggles. Other celebrities, including Toyin Abraham and Mo Bimpe, have also shared their condolences, highlighting the impact Stephen had on their lives and the industry at large.

Stephen’s untimely death has sparked conversations about the pressures faced by public figures, particularly regarding body image and societal expectations. Fans have taken to social media to call for greater compassion and understanding, emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness and support.

As the Nollywood community mourns the loss of a vibrant and inspiring figure, Monalisa Stephen’s legacy as an advocate for self-love and authenticity continues to resonate. Her contributions to film and her unwavering commitment to challenging norms have left an indelible mark on the industry and her audience.

A charismatic 37-year-old, Burkina Faso’s military ruler Capt Ibrahim Traoré has skilfully built the persona of a pan-Africanist leader determined to free his nation from what he regards as the clutches of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism.
His message has resonated across Africa and beyond, with his admirers seeing him as following in the footsteps of African heroes like Burkina Faso’s very own Thomas Sankara – a Marxist revolutionary who is sometimes referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara”.
“Traoré’s impact is huge. I have even heard politicians and authors in countries like Kenya [in East Africa] say: ‘This is it. He is the man’,” Beverly Ochieng, a senior researcher at global consultancy firm Control Risks, told the BBC.
“His messages reflect the age we are living in, when many Africans are questioning the relationship with the West, and why there is still so much poverty in such a resource-rich continent,” she said.
After seizing power in a coup in 2022, Traoré’s regime ditched former colonial power France in favour of a strong alliance with Russia, that has included the deployment of a Russian paramilitary brigade, and adopted left-wing economic policies.
This included setting up a state-owned mining company, requiring foreign firms to give it a 15% stake in their local operations and to transfer skills to Burkinabé people.
The rule also applied to Russian miner Nordgold, which was given a licence in late April for its latest investment in Burkina Faso’s gold industry.
As part of what Traoré calls a “revolution” to ensure Burkina Faso benefits from its mineral wealth, the junta is also building a gold refinery and establishing national gold reserves for the first time in the nation’s history.
However, Western-owned firms appear to be facing a tough time, with Australia-headquartered Sarama Resources launching arbitration proceedings against Burkina Faso in late 2024 following the withdrawal of an exploration licence.
The junta has also nationalised two gold mines previously owned by a London-listed firm, and said last month that it planned to take control of more foreign-owned mines.
Enoch Randy Aikins, a researcher at South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, told the BBC that Traoré’s radical reforms had increased his popularity in Africa.
“He is now arguably Africa’s most popular, if not favourite, president,” Mr Aikins said.
His popularity has been fuelled through social media, including many misleading posts intended to bolster his revolutionary image.
AI-generated videos of music stars like R Kelly, Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Beyoncé are seen immortalising him through song – though they have done nothing of the sort.
Ms Ochieng said that Traoré first caught the attention of Africans when he spoke at the Russia-Africa summit in 2023, telling African leaders to “stop behaving like puppets who dance every time the imperialists pull the strings”.
This speech was heavily publicised by Russian media, which has become a major player in promoting Traoré’s pan-Africanist image.
Traoré attended commemorations in Russia last week to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. He posted on X that he, along with military leaders from neighbouring Mali and Niger, were inspired by it “to winning the war against terrorism and imperialism at all costs”.
Thanks to his rhetoric and pushed by a slick social media campaign, his appeal has spread around the world, including among African-Americans and Black Britons, Ms Ochieng noted.
“Everyone who has experienced racism, colonialism and slavery can relate to his messages,” Ms Ochieng said, pointing out that African-American rapper Meek Mill had posted about him on X late last year, saying how much he liked his “energy and heart” – though he was ridiculed for mixing up names by referring to Traoré as Burkina Faso and later deleted the post.
But France’s president is not a fan, describing Traoré as part of a “baroque alliance between self-proclaimed pan-Africans and neo-imperialists”.
Emmanuel Macron was also referring to Russia and China whom he accused, in a 2023 speech, of provoking coups in Africa’s former French colonies, and hypocritically stirring up old arguments over sovereignty and colonial exploitation.
Traoré’s popularity comes despite the fact that he has failed to fulfil his pledge to quell a 10-year Islamist insurgency that has fuelled ethnic divisions and has now spread to once-peaceful neighbours like Benin.
His junta has also cracked down on dissent, including the opposition, media and civil society groups and punished critics, among them medics and magistrates, by sending them to the front-lines of the war against the jihadists.
For Rinaldo Depagne, the Africa deputy director of the International Crisis Group think-tank, Traoré commands such support because “he is young in a country with a young population” – the median age is 17.7 years.
“He is media-savvy, and uses the past to build his popularity as a reincarnation of Sankara,” he told the BBC.
“And he knows the art of politics – how to make a nation completely traumatised by war feel there is a better future. He is really good at that game.”
Sankara rose to power in a coup in 1983 at the age of 33, rallied the nation under the motto “Fatherland or death, we will win!”, and was killed four years later in another coup that put Burkina Faso back in France’s political orbit until Traoré’s seizure of power.
Ghanaian security analyst Prof Kwesi Aning, who previously worked at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, said the popularity of the military leader reflected a political shift taking place on the continent, especially in West Africa.
A 2024 survey in 39 countries by Afrobarometer showed a drop in support for democracy, although it remained the most popular form of government.
“Democracy has failed to give hope to the youth. It has not delivered jobs or better education and health,” Prof Aning told the BBC.

Source: BBC

The United Kingdom is set to phase out the care worker visa route in the coming months, according to an announcement by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Sunday, May 11, 2025.

This policy shift is expected to affect thousands of foreign nationals—particularly from Ghana and Nigeria—who currently rely on this visa to secure employment in the UK’s health and social care sector.

Cooper stated that the decision aligns with the government’s broader strategy to reduce immigration, specifically targeting lower-skilled visa categories. Speaking to the BBC, she said the reforms are intended to cut annual migration by around 50,000, though she did not commit to a fixed net migration target.

The move comes amid soaring migration numbers, with net migration reaching a record 906,000 in June 2023 and 728,000 in 2024.

While the Home Office has yet to release its upcoming immigration White Paper, expected early next week, recent trends indicate a sharp drop in Health and Care Worker visa applications—from a peak of 18,300 in August 2023 to just 1,700 by April 2025. This decline follows the introduction of a ban on bringing dependents.

Further tightening took effect on April 9, when care firms were required to prove they had tried to hire domestically before seeking overseas workers.

Under the upcoming rules, care providers will need to rely on local recruitment or tap into a pool of over 10,000 care workers who entered the UK on visas but were never placed in actual jobs.