MONDAY Oluwafemi John, one of the pioneer members of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey’s band, Inter-reformers band  is dead. He died at the General Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos after a  brief illness.

He died twenty four hours before a proposed meeting with his former boss, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey who is soon to celebrate his 70the birthday. Monday John was expected to join the Inter Reformer band of Evangelist Obey on the eve of his birthday.

The Juju musician who until his death was based in London, according to a family source, suffered a massive stroke last Wednesday and could not recover. He had been coming on and off some illnesses in recent years until his condition got more complicated.

The news of his death was confirmed by his eldest son, New York based Oluwafemi John ( Jnr)

Monday was a musical powerhouse as one of the band members of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. His activities as a versatile guitarist earned him love and admiration across the world. He was a pioneer member and a moving force in Ebenezer Obey’s legendary Juju band, Inter- Reformers band.

His musical talent and production arrangement ability was appreciated by millions of Juju lovers across the world. He handled the guitar with flare that helped in producing some of the classic records from Ebenezer Obay’s stable.

His death is coming just as committee of friends announced last Thursday, that they would be celebrating Commander Obey as he clocks 70 years of age.

Google is celebrating Leap Day with a homepage doodle in honor of Gioachino Rossini, an Italian composer born today in 1792.

The doodle is inspired by one of Rossini's more famous operas, The Barber of Seville. For those familiar with it, IBN noted  that the barber frog is Figaro while his customer is Count Almaviva.

Rossini was not the first person to take on The Barber of Seville, though, which was based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais. Giovanni Paisiello had already crafted a successful version of the opera, and fans were miffed when they heard that Rossini was doing his own version. They even "choreographed a disturbance at the premiere," NPR said , but Rossini's version quickly became the more popular opera.

Rossini came from a musical family; his father was a trumpeteer and his mother a singer. The composer tried his hand at singing, but was forced to give it up after his voice broke, according to his Encyclopedia Britannicabiography . He turned to opera, and specifically, the opera buffa, or comic opera. His first opera buffa debuted in 1810 and over the next decade, he gained fame and fortune throughout Europe. He eventually retired to Paris, where he "gave superb gourmet dinners attended by many of the greats of the musical and literary world of the mid-19th century."

He died in November 1868 near Paris.

Rossini's birthday, meanwhile, is celebrated on Feb. 29, also known as Leap Day. As About.com explained , Leap years have 366 days because calendar years are actually 365.242 days long, not 365. "Basically, leap years occur every 4 years, and years that are evenly divisible by 4 (2004, for example) have 366 days," the site said.

In conjunction with today's doodle, the Google doodle team produced a video (below) that provides some insight into their creative process. Ideas for doodles come from the team itself, as well as other Googlers and average users, for example. The video also highlights the Doodle 4 Google contest, which calls on students to create a doodle and compete for a chance to have it highlighted on Google.com. This year's contestkicked off last month.

For more on Google's doodles, meanwhile, see the slideshow above. One of the company'smore popular doodles last year was a playable image in honor of musician Les Paul, which eventually got its own standalone site. The company has also honored Gumby creator Art Clokey, Muppets creator Jim Henson, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, and Intel co-founder Robert Noyce.

In 2011, it was revealed that Google obtained a patent for its popular homepage doodles, covering "systems and methods for enticing users to access a Web site."

PERFORMING ARTIST @ APRIL FOOL: DAVIDO PERFORMING ARTIST @ APRIL FOOL: DAVIDO

HKN Records in collaboration with Godwin Tom Talent Management Company presents… DAVIDO!

Born in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S.A), but brought up in Lagos, Nigeria; Davido has been producing music since the tender age of 13. After a few self-taught lessons in various studios, he began to explore the depths of music while in high-school as a member of a minor music group. Keeping his eyes firmly on the ball, Davido began lending his talents to many up and coming artists based in Nigeria including Dammy Krane, NPZ and more, truly defining the Afropop and Afrobeat sounds.

On the beat… On the beat is Davido! More than opening lines to his smash hit debut currently tearing up club scenes all over Nigeria, ‘Back When’ (featuring Naeto C), it also announces the introduction of fresh and enjoyable music in the Nigerian Music industry. Ladies and gentleman, Davido is here to stay!

Being armed with such talent, today Davido is endorsed by the likes of African music kings D’banj and Don Jazzy, as well as new superstars Wizkid and Ice Prince. Being more than just a presence on a beat, the young man has executed the skills that have enabled collaborations with Nigerian household names, Naeto C and Lynxxx… with many more to come!

A multi-talented triple-threat; the singer, songwriter and producer (signed to co-owned HKN records) is indeed ready to become the ‘youngest badguy.

He will be performing @ APRIL FOOL , APRIL 1ST 2012, MUSON CENTRE, 1st show: 3pm, 3k regular, 5k vip, 2nd show: 6pm 5k regular, 10k vip.