By Yinka Shokunbi - Group Life Editor 

Easter Sunday signifies the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after he was crucified for the redemption of the sins of the world. To Christians, resurrection is powerful, a remembrance of a time to bring to life and death.

Sunday April 5 was Easter day and while many Christians celebrated the joy of the day with their loved ones, it would forever remain an unforgettable day to the families of Amoo from Ibadan, Oyo State and Adesanya from Irewon, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

Dolapo and husband, Adebimpe in London, November 2014

Contrary to what the day symbolised, a candle flame represented by Ibidolapo Adunni Adesanya (nee Amoo), 36, was untimely blown out few hours after a traumatised struggle to bring forth another life.

The death of Dolapo, as she was fondly called by her loved ones, is an example of what the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Health Organisation (WHO) have canvassed against for decades that, ‘no woman should ever die giving life’.

What started on Monday March 31, as a routine antenatal check at the EKO Hospitals Plc, Ikeja, which by hospital record was about the 10^th  visit by Dolapo, soon developed into a traumatic experience that ran through the entire week and eventually led to her death on Sunday April 5.

Segun Adesanya, husband of Dolapo, though, gave vivid account of how his pregnant wife suffered in the hands of staff of the hospital as a result of “negligence and improper medical attention” for three days before she eventually delivered a baby boy and later developed complications which the hospital described as “pulmonary embolism’ which led to her untimely death.

An account by one of the close family friends, Olabanji Olusanya, was the one that first went viral on the social network as he said he was unable to comprehend the death of Dolapo whom he saw two hours before she died.

According to Olusanya, “On Sunday, April 5, 2015, at about 8am in the morning, I visited her in the hospital and sat beside her on the bed offering words of encouragements. She was still in pains, and she was hardly audible, she could only answer in nods and made attempts at a faint smile to reassure her husband and I that she would be fine.

“It came as a rude shock when I called the husband at about 12 pm and he was crying profusely, saying Dolapo is lying down lifeless and that I should please pray. I was, to say the least, devastated. I was asking loads and loads of questions and he kept saying please pray, pray,” Olusanya noted.

The family lawyer, Oluwashina Ogungbade of the Afe Babalola & Co Chambers as well as another family friend, Adeniyi Ogunneye, corroborated the traumatic experience of the Adesanyas at the EKO Hospitals saying, “there is sufficient evidence to prove that late Dolapo was medically traumatised and abandoned to die prematurely.”

Her colleagues have opened a public campaign to collect 2000 signatures to forward a petition to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). At press time, a total of 1433 signatories have signed the petition opened on AVAAZ.org community petitions while another 780 are on facebook, 198 on twitter handle and 252 emails sent.

Another account of one of the childhood friends of the deceased is quite moving. Dr Adebimpe Lawal who is a general practitioner based in UK called in to narrate how she actively monitored the traumatic journey of the late Dolapo “right from March 31 when she first complained of the pain in the leg”.

According to Dr Lawal, “I have been a childhood friend of Dolapo right from Primary School and Secondary School at Wesley College of Science, Elekuro, Ibadan and ever since our childhood, we have been very close; she remained the only true friend I ever had till her death.

“And even though I travelled to the UK in 2005, I always called her and she never hides anything from me so much that whatever any doctor tells her to do, she called to verify and I offered her my opinion. She would tell me anything; so much that she was my best lady at my wedding on January 27 2005 and I traveled around August”.

According to Lawal, “the events that led to Dolapo’s death has been very traumatising for me because I followed her up for every moment she was passing through; she would either call or send text messages to tell me what was going on right from March 31 till the early morning of Saturday April 4 after she had her baby and she called to tell me; I still have all the correspondences with me,” Lawal said.

“When at about 11:43pm of Friday night I received a missed call from her, I called her immediately to find out what was going on and in pain she said, “mo ti bi’mo mo ti bimo” (I have give birth) but added, ‘I’m still in severe pain’.

“My feeling then was that the pain was so terrible that it induced spontaneous delivery and sometimes trauma during spontaneous delivery, if it was what I was thinking of pelvic bone pain, which my friend described as even going up to her buttocks, she ought be given adequate painkiller and put in intensive care.

“I believed that at that point all her vital signs must have gone up and she was in terrible trauma but there was no doctor because I requested to speak with one to offer help, but was told, there was no doctor, the whole of that Friday night till early Saturday, about 15 conversations are on my phone.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t speak through Saturday afternoon because she didn’t call and I thought maybe everything was calm and didn’t want to disturb her anymore; I didn’t suspect something must have gone awry and she was never given all the necessary preventative measures for someone above 35 years, pregnant for the third time, who has not been moving because of pain and presented with all the risk factors that could lead to severe complications such as blood clot,” Lawal lamented.

She pointed out that for the pains Dolapo reportedly went through before, during and after childbirth she ought to have been placed under intensive care, given acute attention as in emergency, properly monitored and examined for cause of trauma and offered the best care to ameliorate her sufferings, “rather, I was made to understand that none of that was put in place for her, she was neglected”.

Debunking claims that she must had suffered complications of breast cancer, Lawal said, “Dolapo was with me some six months ago in the UK and she stayed in my house for about three days. She was not looking sick or showed signs of breast cancer as being alleged in the media that she was diagnosed or had a lump removed in 2012,” said Lawal.

According to her, “her breast engorgement experience of 2012, which she rightly informed me about then, was due to baby not feeding well on one of the breasts. She actually developed abscess, which is common in new mothers when baby does not suck well and is not in any way related to breast lump.

“My friend did not complain of breast lump which of course is different from breast engorgement; she would have told me about that first before anybody and in any case, we still saw last November that is six months ago when she came with her children on a shot vacation and stayed in my house for three days.

“If truly she had breast cancer since 2012 without treatment, medically, there would have been some signs and in four years; breast cancer without treatment would have been obvious to all; she was healthy, going to work, doing her normal chores and busy schedules as working mother till March 31 when things started going wrong; definitely, there is some cover up here and we demand answers from EKO Hospital.

“Dolapo’s death was honestly avoidable, needless and unfortunate,” Dr Lawal told Saturday Independent.

The post Eko Hospital has no excuse for Dolapo’s death, best friend appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

As a step to ensure safe nutrition for world worst hit children, a new independent nutrition fund has been launched to encourage new partners save millions of children from hunger.

Malnurished-children

Known as The Power of Nutrition, the fund is targeted at helping millions of children in poor countries reach their full potential through providing healthy and nourishing ready foods and tackle malnutrition.

The Power of Nutrition equally aims at saving lives of children from poor countries by helping them escape from the effects of malnutrition. It will help countries build healthy and prosperous communities.

High profile backers to the fund include: the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), UNICEF, and the World Bank Group.

According to UNICEF’s Executive Director Anthony Lake and Chair of the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Working Group, “Five years ago, few outside the health community knew much about stunting. Today, there is growing recognition of the impact under nutrition has on children’s lives and thus the future of the societies in which they live.

“The Power of Nutrition will help fuel the growing global movement to give more children the healthy start they need”, said Lake.

In the words of Michael Anderson, Chief Executive Officer at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, “Good nutrition is an essential part of a healthy life. Yet every day, millions of children die, are sick, or are disadvantaged because they are not receiving the right nutrition and care at the right time. Investors in The Power of Nutrition can change that, so good nutrition becomes the new normal”.

According to Sri MulyaniIndrawati, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, World Bank, “Children who escape under nutrition are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults. Countries in Africa and Asia are losing up to 11% of their GDP to under nutrition. We want children and countries to reach their full potential. This is why we are tracking stunting as a predictor of development and see initiatives like The Power of Nutrition as key to achieving our goal of ending extreme poverty.”

Without the right nutrients, health services and care within the first 1,000 days of life, a child’s brain and body fail to develop properly. Unlike hunger, these effects are largely invisible and essentially irreversible. Under nutrition is the underlying cause of 45 per cent of all under five mortality – or nearly three million deaths every year. Under nutrition leaves nearly four in ten children in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with underdeveloped brains and bodies. As a result, these children have lower IQs and are more likely to drop out of school. As adults, they are a third less likely to escape poverty.

The problem does not stop there. As undernourished girls grow into undernourished mothers, who give birth to undernourished children. This creates a vicious cycle that holds back the growth of future generations.

Contributions include $55m from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, up to £32m ($47m) from the UK Department of International Development, and up to Swiss Francs 25m ($26m) from the UBS Optimus Foundation.

These resources will be channeled through a new World Bank Group (WBG) trust fund for nutrition and through a UNICEF matched-funding mechanism.

The post $200m Nutrition Fund targets children feeding appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Yinka Shokunbi

The incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has an agenda to feed all school children a meal a day. Ensuring food safety from farm to plate for all children is being considered of great importance. Professor O’funmilayo Adebambo Animal Geneticist, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in this interview, advised on how this can be achieved without compromise.

Professor Adebambo

Food safety: from the farm to the plate

This is truly in line with the theme of the 2015 World Health Day. Already as a country we have enough food crops; for example, we have cassava, rice and vegetables but animal proteins are very important to complement our dietary habit.

The farmers can even grow plant proteins but we need animal proteins and the cheapest form of animal protein for any child is an egg a day. An egg a day we have been told severally keeps the doctor away. If a pregnant woman for instance takes an egg a day, the baby inside of her would develop well. If a child from age five takes an egg a day up to ten years of age, he is already well protected for development.

Now, by the time government buys eggs directly at subsidized rates directly from the rural women and makes it available to the children, the cost of feeding is less and the children would definitely want to always go to school.

Many children go to school in rural areas on empty stomach or taking only gari and the likes; it is important that government think mostly of the protein aspect of the feeding and if different form of it is impossible, eggs should be very affordable.

Farm cultivation:

If Nigeria would make agriculture the flagship of development, we would not be where we are today. Time is now for us to really focus on agriculture and Nigeria is going to benefit in all. From the shape of the farm, we can begin to empower the rural folks. We have the land, we have the people; so let there be an agency to help with clearing, plowing and the supply of improved seeds.

If we can get improved seedlings developed in Nigeria, we can indeed feed the entire sub-Saharan Africa; it means, we can get people to feed themselves, get enough to sell and the processing even be at the local government level- whether tomatoes or pepper, cassava or rice. There should be different processing centres at the different locations in the state or country depending on the crop variety or animal type in each region.

Achieving safety of food programme:

Food safety from farm to table means, we get the food directly from the farm, process them as soon as they are collected thereby reducing wastages and can even be kept for longer period prior consumption. And for that, it would be available all the year round.

Government can achieve this through encouraging creation of breeders’ societies. Cassava growers for example are different from cassava processors. When the farmers grow, there should be those to take the crops off from them for the next stage of processing at very good economic rate so they can also be happy.

Once these are in place, government would then need to set up central food kitchens or industrial kitchens at local government headquarters, train the food handlers who would be cooking for the children as well as the enumerators and supervisors.

Every cooked food meant for each school should be cooked centrally, supervised and distributed centrally as well to ensure same quantity and quality assurance.

We would recommend that food available in each region should be cooked in balanced proportion and well packaged for the children every day taking cognizance however of minimum animal protein-an egg a day.

This arrangement would not only encourage economic growth of farmers, food processors would be rewarded, the food vendors would also earn income while the children get the maximum benefits of balanced nutrition.

The post Central kitchens best for school feeding project appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Waconzy is no green horn in the music industry. In this interview with REPORTER, Lukmon Akintola, he talks about his career and love life

Waconzy

A lot of people believe you no longer reside in Nigeria, is this correct?

I am still in Nigeria. I did not relocate totally. I simply took a few months break.

What called for the break?

We recently got an office abroad, America, I mean and the need to get staff properly trained to run the place was necessary. Basically, I traveled to recruit and train staff to properly manage the office in America. Besides that, I also needed to put my new house in America in order.

You said you just opened an office in America, what is it for?

Dv8 Media’s office is located in Maryland and California and it was setup to create a better working relationship with my international business partners.

How long will your shuttling last?

It all depends on the way things develop.

We have seen artistes whose career died because they decided to relocate abroad, won’t this shuttling of yours lead you to the same fate?

The promotion of my songs has little to do with me. So, my works will still be promoted if I am in Nigeria or not.  Foreign artistes have their music played in different countries without them being there.

You appear to be struggling to produce hits, what are you not getting right?

I don’t agree with you. I have hit songs like Celebrate, Amosu, Jangolova, 2 much money and more. However, people are more keen to listen and relate with Celebrate because it is a song you can come back to years from now. Hence people tend to remember me by that song. I am still working hard to produce more hits.

What are you working on presently?

I just shot the video of one of my songs. I would also be shooting a couple of new videos in the States and would be recording some remix with some top artistes such as Damian Marley.

How has it been climbing the ladder of music to where you are presently?

The main challenge I always experience is when people expect so much from me.

How would you describe yourself?

I always like to see myself as a simple down to earth man who has a lot more to achieve in life but a lot of people tend to lose respect for me when they see my humble part and when I put up the superstar attitude same people end up saying I’m arrogant. It is just crazy you know but at the end of the day, people would always talk. I still prefer to be down to earth and humble because when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Tell us about some artistes in the industry you hope to work with in future

We have a of lot talented people in the industry; artistes who I like, but some are my favourites. Names such as Don Jazzy, Iyanya, P-Square, Timaya, 2face, Banky W, Orezi, Ice Prince, Flavour, Wizboy, Duncan mighty, Dynamite, Bro. Dan Ike among many others.

Do you have a life outside music?

Yes. I do and I will advise every musician to do same. It is right for every artiste to get another life outside the music life.

A lot of your colleagues are always singing the praise of politicians during elections, what do you think about this?

I can’t accept money in exchange for my endorsement; I will still pay the price at the end of the day because just like every other business, a politician expects to make profit after investing.

Who is that woman in your life?

I am not serious with anyone now, but I am planning for my future wife. I plan to get married soon.

Should we expect a white lady when the time is right?

It would be easier to cope with a Nigerian as a wife based on custom and cultural value. However, it is all in the hands of God.

Who is that lady you would give anything to date?

Emotions can be complicating, but I like Seyi Shay. However, my love would go to Nneka.

The post People expect too much from me –Waconzy appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

The duo of D’banj and Don Jazzy might have been severally spotted smiling together since they parted ways, but it appears they still hold grudges.

Signs of this came to fore recently when Don Jazzy posted an old picture of himself and Enrique Iglesias, a Spanish singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer with some friends .

Interestingly, while the original picture had D’banj in it, it was cropped by the ace music producer and Mavin Record boss, Don Jazzy.

To project the real image the Koko Master shared the real version of the photo to prove to fans that he was indeed a part of the picture. D’banj captioned his own picture Instasize meaning this is the original size of the photo.

The post Don Jazzy, D’banj at loggerheads again appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Oshodi oke

As we all know, there has been some tribal tension in the movie industry in recent times. This is heightened by the politics going on, forcing them to take sides. Actress Ronke Oshodi Oke had posted on her Facebook page that she will not be voting for Jimi Agbaje. When ‘Box Office’ reached her to ask why, the response she gave had to do with the divide in Lagos before the governorship election in Lagos.

Ronke believed the Ibos in Lagos are ganging up to vote for the PDP candidate and for that reason, she would be voting the other way. Also, she said that Igbo film producers are unfair to Yoruba actors and would not give them roles. “I don’t have anything against any candidate, I am not a politician. But an Ibo man will never betray his brother for a Yoruba man, lai lai. For example, the Ibo producers in the film industry frustrated almost all the Yoruba’s out of the English speaking Nollywood or you have to change your name to be with them. Why will they do that to us?” she asked.

The post Igbo producers are unfair to Yoruba actors –Oshodi Oke appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

When producer and rapper artiste Jesse Jagz left Chocolate City, a label run by his brother, Jude Abaga and Audu Maikori, many saw it coming, as the terms of his contract were not religiously followed.

However, what many didn’t see coming was his return.

Jesse Jagz

Jesse Jagz returned to the label he parted ways with three years ago following the expiration of his two years contract.

His return has even celebrated by his label mates, Ice Prince and his brother, MI.

The artiste signed on to Chocolate City in 2007 left officially on March 30th 2012, over promotional contractual agreement. While his contract said he would be more active as a rapper and would be promoted next after MI, he ended up been more of the official producer for the label, while another artiste, Ice Prince was promoted ahead of him.

As it is, many associated with the label have welcomed Jesse Jagz back home; however, for how long especially since it has been difficult selling his brand of music and Ice Prince remains a hot cake in the market.

The post Will Jesse Jagz walk away again? appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Ajai-Lycett and Olu Jacob on the set of Oloibiri

You may not know Oloibiri, but it is probably the most anticipated movie this year. Yet to be released, it will be going straight to the cinemas and also the most glamorous movie festival in the world, Cannes. Even before the release, the producers have been creating a lot of buzz around the movie.

You must have been seeing the image of a hand coming out from oil. The campaign had requested participants online and at cinemas in Lagos, as well to guess the hand of a male Nigerian sticking out of an oil well. Interestingly, the campaign got noticeable attention as the clues led some participants to guess correctly – that the hand belongs to Richard Mofe Damijo, who was a supporting actor in the movie.

The movie is on governmental pacification of a long abused people. It addresses this theme through three subject matters: the tragic journey of Oloibiri into developmental retrogression, the socio-cultural under-runs that birth militancy and the governmental intervention to compensate a land, which arguably has been raped of its resources.

An action thriller, Oloibiri mirrors fear, dread, international exploitation, governmental responsibility and unseen benefits of desperate hope. Olu Jacobs, Richard Mofe Damijo, William R. Moses, Taiwo Ajai-Lycet, Ivie Okujaye and Ifeanyi Williams all starred in the movie.

The post Oloibiri for Cannes appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Desmond Elliot, Directed the movie, Unforgivable

After over 15 actors and musicians tried their hands in politics to compete at the 2015 elections at the end of the whole process, only one of them eventually got his ambition fulfilled. Desmond Olusola Elliot. The popular movie actor never showed any sign of interest in politics until last year when he announced that he will be running for a seat in the Lagos State Assembly. Desmond ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party and had surprisingly got the ticket of the party despite many others vying for it.

Others were cut off during the primaries level. Some opted out while some said they were advised to step down. Funke Adesiyan was the only one aside Desmond who won her party ticket to contest but she eventually lost out. She however blamed her party for her loss. The actress who ran for Oyo State House of Assembly under the umbrella of PDP lost to her APC opponent by a wide margin. “A house that is divided against itself cannot stand. Thanks everyone for your support. Though we didn’t win, yet we didn’t lose. I’m a better me,” she said.

The post Desmond Elliot in, Funke Adesiyan out appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

The tenure of the governor of Delta State is almost up and so will probably the commissioners. It is at this time that a popular Warri based comedian has decided to make his thoughts clear about one of the commissioners in the State. MC Olokpa, has levelled weighty accusations against the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Richard Mofe-Damijo. He alleges misappropriation and poor performance in general by the actor turned public servant.

Olokpa said in his lengthy outburst in form of an open letter, “Our hopes were high when RMD were brought into the Uduaghan government as Special Adviser on entertainment and Talent Development and later commissioner for culture and Tourism about seven years ago. Entertainers in Delta were happy that a veteran has come back home and also in a better position to reposition entertainment in Delta state.

The first project you embarked on was Delta Talent Quest (DTQ). The aim was to discover talents in Delta State and promote them and so entertainers came out in their numbers to participate. But after the maiden edition, it became the last time DTQ was ever mentioned. No explanation was given as to why the project was stopped.

Sir, you have being in this industry to know how things work but you just sat down, collected your salaries, bonuses.”

Olokpa also complained about poor TV service in the state and also the lack of tourism facilities.

“Sir, you didn’t even bother to asked why there is no other television in Delta State other than DBS and DRTV? Why is there only DRTV in Delta State? Why no Silverbird or other privately owned TV stations just as we have in Edo, Port Harcourt etc. It’s an open secret that government is preventing them so that they won’t overshadow DRTV. Ok, if that is the case, why didn’t government upgrade DRTV to international standard?” He asked.

He also made allegations that RMD is not making good use of the influx of Nollywood stars into the State. He said, “Sir, it was under your tenure that movie producers started coming to Asaba to shoot movies and even up till now, Asaba is now the best location right now. Some actors and actresses have temporarily or permanently relocated to Asaba.

But we have not been able to tap into that area. This is a new opportunity to partner with these people in order to expose our up and coming acts. To make them stay, government could have built a film village in Delta State. Sir, Udu L.G.A where you come from has enough land and that would have been a major achievement for you and the government. Udu people would have been grateful for that. That would have fit into the much talked about Delta State ‘Beyond Oil’ target but you blew off that chance,” he said.

The post MC Olokpa bombs RMD appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

The movie, October One is probably the most talked about movie in recent times. Aside from the fact that it is produced by one of Nigeria’s great moviemakers, it has also been sweeping awards. At the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) held last month, the film took home most of the awards including the big ones like ‘Best Movie’, ‘Best Director’ and even ‘Best Actress’.

Okoye and others

The film has been in the cinemas since it’s release and has also made it to big movie rental sites like Netflix, and Iroko TV. The producer who is trying to get back as much as he can from the movie before releasing it on DVD was shocked to realise that his multi-million naira work is out in the streets and selling like hot cake. According to the producer, the film was to be sold to a few cable TV stations before it is finally sold on DVD, but now, the whole plan for the movie has been disrupted.

Speaking with Box Office, Kunle Afolyan was very upset about the illegal release of the film. According to him, the movie is over a million naira to produce and it is sad that some people will take someone else’s hard work and make money out of it. He said: “Pirated copies of ‘October 1’ film is now released by the pirates and the flick is now everywhere in the streets. We have been announcing and alerting the people in government for years. Is this how we will fold our hands and look? It is my turn today, it may be yours tomorrow. I am devastated. Let’s come together and fight this scourge.”

Kunle also urged his fans not to buy the pirated movie in the streets.

Last week, he was criticised for saying all pirates are from Igbo decent. But after the pirates release of his film, many of his colleagues especially those from eastern part of the country have been supporting Afolayan. And some even agree with him that movie pirates including those in Alaba market and others across the country are actually Igbos.

Gabriel Okoye popularly known as Gabosky, said: “When I went into Ubakason Plaza and Obozi Plaza, the den of these pirates, 99 percent of the people that are trading there are Igbos. So I don’t know why you just want to take criminality and start joining it with politics. A criminal is a criminal and should be pronounced a criminal, whether he is a Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. The film is being pirated. And I went round the whole country and found out that the films are being pirated and I started compiling names. And I tell you, there is no Yoruba name on that list that I compiled;. They are all Igbos and I have the list.”

Also addressing the issue is another popular movie producer, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen. In his write-up; ‘Lamentation of a true Nigerian film producer’. He bares his mind on the act of piracy and how it affects himself and his colleagues.

“I operate in a society where my works are always criticised by people who know nothing about how my craft is put together, they have no idea the much pains I go through to bring one new film out, that no bank is ready to lend money to me, for film business because it’s too risky, as if being and living in Nigeria itself is not a risk. Then I struggle on my own to raise some few millions of naria to make a film, half of the money goes into buying fuel and more energy into begging neighbors to allow us put our generator near their houses trying to avoid it’s noise get into our filming. If your movie is so good our friends from Alaba, and other great places around the country with connivance with some other evil people will get hold of the film and off to the express road and traffics around Lagos, Pirates take over and flood everywhere with my sweat.”

October 1 is a story of Danladi Waziri (Sadiq Daba), a police officer, mandated to uncover a serial killer in Akote, a rural community, where he is serving.  He is assisted by Sgt. Afonja (Kayode Olaiya), a native of Akote, who understands the traditions of the community. Incidentally, these events take place in the build-up to Nigeria’s independence on 1st October, 1960; which is where the film derives its name. The movie continues to get accolades even as it floods the streets. Will the masses assist Kunle Afolayan by not buying the pirated copy?

The post October One hits the streets, as moviemakers kick appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Aramide Oikelome Snr Correspondent, Lagos

In view of the new wave of change blowing across the nation, many have argued that one of the most compelling assignments before the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari and the new administration, is the need to find a way to foster harmony and unite the already grossly polarized and divided nation, especially in areas of religious and ethnic differences.

Iloh

This is coming on the heels of the obvious disenfranchisement of many Nigerians with one another, owing to the fact that the major contenders in the just concluded Presidential elections used religion and ethnicity as a major weapon during their electioneering campaigns; a situation which made many clerics, especially pastors to pitch tent one against another.

Speaking with Sunday Independent on the just concluded elections, octogenarian Senior Pastor of Soul Winning Ministries and member of the National Advisory Board, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria Rev. Dr. Moses Iloh admitted that religion is such a highly emotive issue, which unfortunately, politicians use as “weapon to cover up their misdeeds.”

Although Rev. Iloh upholds that the outcome of the election is; “As Providence Commands (APC), the cleric laments the fact that “although the elections have come and gone, the reverberating effect and the wound it has inflicted on the church, in the face of numerous scandals, accusations and counter-accusations will take a long time to heal because pastors no longer trust each other.”

He therefore advises the President-elect: “Although Nigerians have earmarked some states as having assiduously worked against your election to the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I suggest that your urgent developmental actions start from those states, no matter how minimal they may be; to show your broadmindedness and determination to be a blessing to Nigeria and Nigerians by way of giving equal attention to all and sundry.”

Suffice it to say that in the last three years, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has practically gone comatose due to the cold war that existed between the two principal members, namely the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar IV and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.

Expressing disappointment at the development, the Senior Pastor of Trinity House Church, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo said, “For the first time religion has really become a big issue especially from the way some political groups have portrayed themselves to be representing some religion or the other and portrayed others to be anti-religious, which is very unfortunate because this is not how Nigeria used to be. For the first time religion has become an aggressive point. Religion has not been well managed.”

Buhari

It is therefore expected that the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari and Pastor Yemi Osinbajo will do its best to promote both inter and intra-faith harmony in Nigeria.

One pertinent area the Senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly and erstwhile Vice Presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Pastor Tunde Bakare would want the incoming administration to give utmost attention and care is the area of appointing officers that will run the government with him.

Bakare warns Buhari not to appoint people with questionable character into his government; else they will constitute a hindrance to his resolve to fight corruption.

“The vultures are now going round and round. If Buhari does not have quality people around him, then they will put round pegs in square holes and within two years, we are back to square one. I congratulate Nigerians; we have chosen a man of integrity as our President. But integrity is not enough to run a government.

“May the good Lord surround the President-elect with men and women of goodwill, great intellectual capacity, competence and character to help restore our wasted years.

“I pray sincerely that not all those who facilitated his winning the election will be among those who run the government. I did say before the election that I trust the person of General Buhari but not all those around him. I mean every word of it because many of them are nothing but Ali Baba and 40 thieves. And if these are the same who would go into government, you can’t fight evil with evil. You can as well kiss the anti-corruption stance of Mr. President-elect goodbye.”

On his part, the General Overseer of the All Christians Fellowship Mission in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Rev. William Okoye wants the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to reduce the cost of governance by taking another look at the remunerations of political office holders, a package which many have queried as being the highest when compared to other democracies across the world.

As more and more clerics continue to bare their minds on their expectations, there is no denying the fact that hopes are high that the incoming administration will not only talk the talk but walk the talk as it delivers on its electioneering promises of good governance, justice, equity and prosperity for all. And given the overwhelming support rendered to Buhari and Pastor Oshinbajo at the polls and the statesmanship displayed by the incumbent president in conceding victory, Nigerians believe that true democratic process and its dividends at both local and international levels have come to stay in Nigeria. How that will play out for the incoming administration, time will tell.

The post Clerics set agenda for President-elect appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Yemi Adebisi, Acting Head, Literary/Arts

News of an impending visit by the historic Globe Theatre in England was a major factor in Lagos Black Heritage Festival’s decision to prolong its break from the geography based thematic series – The Black in the Mediterranean Blue - on which the Festival embarked in 2012.

Holding from April 18 to 25, at Freedom Park, Lagos Island, the visit of a famed professional theatre to the festival seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

The year’s edition was decided to centre activities around – drama with the theme: Drama, and Dance-Drama.

The excursion into Drama as central theme would however offer a special contribution to the artistic trail blazed by these visitors. Its format was inspired by an increasing awareness of the need to bring theatre closer to the people, not merely confine it to predictable, albeit efficiently structured venues.

Freedom Park will therefore constitute only one of this year’s drama venues, though without abandoning its role as the hub of the Festival.

Other activities include the pilot edition of the Mentor/Protégé project. Experienced hands in the sub-disciplines of the Dramatic Arts – playwriting, acting, directing, technical theatre, dance-drama etc. have been invited to mentor one aspiring theatre practitioner each, in a learning collaboration lasting six weeks.

At the end of this period, protégés will showcase their projects.

Interested audiences will be permitted to observe some of this aspect of ‘passing the baton,’ a condensed exercise in what is also known as apprenticeship, or passing on skills.

The Festival will also pay homage to one of the Nigerian theatre veterans with a wide experience of the stage both abroad and in Nigeria, and who has been a source of inspiration to a whole generation of theatre artistes in the Meet the Artiste series.

In addition to that, the works of late veteran artiste, Hubert Ogunde is expected to steal the show.

The Boat Regatta will also light up the lagoon that gave name to the City of Waters, while the Street Carnival constantly re-invents itself in the capacity to dazzle and inebriate with its cocktail of extravagant Costuming, Music and Design through the streets of Lagos.

Like every other year, the children would be given the opportunity to discuss on a selected theme: The Road to Sambisa.

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has been commissioned to be the Festival Consultant.

Other major highlights include: Masquerade Parade from Badagry, Children Art & Art fair/Bazaar; Talent Hunt programme for youth; six plays on showcase for Dance & Dance Drama; Night of the Poets among others.

The ‘Meet the Artiste’ showcase will celebrate the stage and screen career of Olu Jacobs while the music performance would be anchored by great voices like Emukay; Jimi Solanke; Eko Brass Band and many more.

Participants would be thrilled with a play with a ‘love angle’ from the hands of playwright, Professor Soyinka titled The Beautification of Area Boys from Tuesday to Thursday (April 21-23).

The play is set in the middle of a military dictatorship.

It was written in 1990, during the Abacha season of terror.  In the preliminary stages of rehearsal, the author was strongly urged to take a ‘sabbatical leave’ for health reasons.

Also, Seizing Sambissa, a Dance Drama written by Francesca Emanuel & Ogochukwu Promise would be part of the exploit of the great festival, hitting the stage on Thursday April 23, 1pm at Main Stage, Freedom Park. Conceptualised by Segun Adefila, the play is directed by Seun Awobajo and produced by  Footprints of David Academy.

Seizing Sambisa is a dance drama woven around the ravaging story of the 276 female students kidnapped in the night of April 14-15 from Government Secondary School, Chibok town in Borno State.

Members of Boko Haram sect later claimed responsibility for the kidnap. The girls were said to have been taken into the ‘Sambisa Forest’ – a former colonial forest reserve – said to cover about 60,000 square kilometers and straddling the North-Eastern states of Borno, Yobe, Gombe, and Bauch.

One year after, though some of the girls were reported to have eventually escaped, about 219 of them are yet to be accounted for!

Deploying sarcastic humour to blunt the edge of pain, the dance piece explores the fate of these school children, the impact on the psyche of parents, companions and the community from which they have been plucked.

Folklore, dance and music hold the audience in thrall.

According to the organisers, this experimental dance drama is a work in progress, inspired by this year’s Festival Theme for the Vision of the Child, and presented as its companion piece.

The offering also reveals possibilities of a multi-media performance format for a future Children’s Theatre.

Since inception in December 2005, Footprints of David Art Academy has been using art as a tool for change in the society and beyond. Its members are mostly children, and pupils and students in elementary and secondary schools. The troupe, however, strives to perform to international standard in performing arts, and has been a key feature in the Lagos cultural circuit.

At Terra Kulture Thursday April 23 by 6p.m., lovers of art will be privileged to have a feat of Snapshots, written and  directed by Bode Sowande but produced by Odu Themes. A weekened piece on Friday April 24 would compensate those who miss out at Freedom Park by 7p.m.

The main character, Baba Gentle is a landlord in a Lagos slum. He is not at peace with himself because of a failed investment. Confused by the notion of the urban Master Plan, he seeks the assistance of his elder sibling, Brother Agba, a land speculator and a Godfather in State politics. Between dusk and dawn of the same day, the entire community of street ladies, homeless layabouts, with cunning, desperation and frenzy, at first  surrender to fate, and then resort to mischief and crime.

A bulldozer driver is abducted and then released, in a kafkaesque plot and counter-plot, as the community seeks to halt the bulldozer.

The politician Honourable (When Able) soon arrives with the favela formula that makes the ghetto a tourist and cultural destination, with a promised utopia.

The community climbs down the cliff hanger to celebrate in a street fuji music party. Snapshots was premiered 20th October, 2014-World Habitat Day- on commission by Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Planning.

Same year the group went on television for many years of unbroken chronology, at WNTV (NTA Ibadan). It went on NTA national network with Acada Campus with concurrent programming on BCOS, Ibadan.

The company has had regular stage productions, at least once a year, since 1972.

An international award-winning production written and directed by Wole Oguntokun, the Tarzan Monologues will be celebrated on Friday April 24 by 6p.m at Terra Kulture. It is a theatrical compilation of global topics as seen through the eyes of African men. The issues dealt with include the societal pressure on men to succeed, the dilemma of finances, women and children, sexual abuse, religion and infidelity among many others. The monologues humorously

provide insight into the complexities in the nature of men, their world, pains, tragedies, triumphs and frustrations. It also encourages the scrutiny of stances on gender relations through the use of drama, music and dance.

Other drama presentations include The Tragedy of King Christophie by late Aime Cesaire;  Gbekude (Street theatre devised by Gboyega Ajayi Bembe); and Finding Fela, directed by Alex Gibney;

The post Lighting up Lagos with Dance Drama appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Though he is dead but the great works the father of modern African literature, Professor Chinua Achebe, left behind appear to have immortalised the gem across the globe.

Abani

One of his fans, the Nigerian-born author of Masters of the Board based in California, Professor Chris Abani has testified countless times at conferences and book readings how Acheb’s books especially Things Fall Apart (TFA) has influenced his career since when he was a teenager.

He observed that most African writers have had course to read Achebe for his excellence skill in writing expedition.

“There is no living African writer who has not had to, or will not have to, contend with Achebe’s work. I had grown up reading about the Shi’ar Empire and the X Men, the Silver Surfer and Galactus, Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven, the Russian world of Dostoyesky, and watching more American, British, and Australian TV shows than I care to remember, but reading this novel by my brother was riveting—here were my uncles, the double talk of proverbs, the food and masquerades I recognised and even in Okonkwo much of the existential loss of my father’s generation,” he recalled.

Scanning through Abani’s profile, his experience as a voracious reader almost from birth was thrilling as it impacted so much on him.

“When my mother came to turn off the lamp she asked me what I was reading. I told her it was a novel by my brother. She took one look at the first sentence and laughed. It turned out that my brother had copied out the entire Things Fall Apart by hand to impress girls. That says something quite incredible about the power of Achebe’s writing and also the hunger that he clearly understood and addressed. What my brother had done would be equivalent of a contemporary American teenager, in the age of Harry Potter and Twilight, copying out by hand all of Roth’s American Pastoral in a notebook to impress a teenage girl.”

Abani consistently experienced how he marveled at the making of a novel of the status of TFA when Achebe was just 28.  Describing this as an alluring power, he attested to how the skill has insipred serious scholarship, triggering excellence in creative writing across the world.

Abani also said most of Achebe’s works  has changed the course of writing in Africa as it “offered the world African characters with self-awareness and rich inner lives, that would be enough to rivet the attention of a 10-year old and make a 15-year old think that pretending he had written it would make him popular among girls, is a feat I don’t think any other novel can claim. The Igbo say that we only truly die when no one remembers our name, not even our family. Achebe is in no danger of this. He remains a living ancestor.”

The post Achebe’s Things Fall Apart satisfies my thirst anyday –Abani appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Title:  Children of the Revolution

Author: Dinaw Mengestu

Reviewer: Lindsay Barrett

Publisher: Vintage Books, London

It is a challenging task to treat the experience of separation from one’s homeland in a delicate, not to say rational, manner in a tale about passionate emotional encounters in exile, but that is what Ethiopian author

Books

Dinaw Mengestu has achieved in his remarkably sensitive debut novel. He has created a hesitant and somewhat reticent protagonist in Sepha Stephanos, a lowly Ethiopian shopkeeper exiled in the USA for nearly two decades.  The spectre of his decidedly low self-esteem embodies the intense disenchantment of exiled Africans whose idealistic revolutionary dreams have been dashed by the reality of corruption and tyranny in their homelands. He is in fact one of a trio of such disenchanted “children of the revolution” the other two being his close friends Kenneth from Kenya and Joseph from the Congo.

As a result of the informal deterioration of interaction with his fellow exiles Stephanos grows increasingly nostalgic for his family and his homeland. It is this mood that informs his encounter with a neighbour who moves into a dilapidated apartment building and begins the work of rehabilitating it and also initiating a friendship with him that promises more but ends up providing less. The neighbour Judith is an attractive young white female university lecturer with a precocious young daughter. The child, Naomi, a sensitive and curious ten year old, becomes a close friend of Stephanos, a friendship that she initiates and consolidates by asking him to read to her from story books that she selects from a library and brings to the store. As this relationship grows the mother signals her own desire to develop a more intimate relationship with Stephanos herself but his natural reticence as well as his intrinsic shyness proves to be an obstacle rather than an asset. The encounter between himself and his neighbour therefore serves to reinforce the sense of separation and isolation that is the central core of the psychological dilemma that the author addresses in the entire work.

When Stephanos discovers that Judith was once married to an African university lecturer who is the father of her daughter, this fact only serves to reinforce his doubts about his own suitability as a suitor. He has grown increasingly doubtful of his own intellectual and social graces over the years as his shop has wasted away as a result of the national economic debility and a lack of interest on his part. Judith goes on vacation and returns without Naomi who she has placed in a boarding school and this signals the beginning of deeper separation between their lives. It is at this point that his friends Ken and Joe resurface as vital forces in the novel even though they remain marginal as active characters in the narrative. He regards their own gradual descent into a life of routine drudgery and loss of hope as symbolic of the abandonment of his dreams and the promise of a return to his homeland.

This sense of disorientation is also stressed through an incident in which he visits the home of a distant relative of his who had been his tentative guardian when he first arrived in the USA. His “uncle” is not in and as he snoops around the apartment he realises that they no longer have anything in common, except their mutual disenchantment with the conditions that had existed in their homeland when they escaped.

Dinaw Mengestu has a special talent for observing and describing the inner life of his characters while making it seem that he is simply narrating the ordinary processes of daily existence. The authority with which he deploys this facility is at the heart of the success of this simple tale of personal emotional frustration and gives it a resonance that belies its modest scale.  Naomi’s removal from his life and the loss of friendship that it entails is in fact the central loss that shapes Stephanos’ most profound reflections  on the dilemma that confronts him after he realises that Judith’s effort to connect with him has eventually been abortive. Mengestu has placed this effectively delineated failure of personal initiative right at the heart of his tale as he sums up the experiences that the community in which he lives has encountered in the period of his narrative.

The post Exile as both metaphor and reality appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By  Anolu Vincent Snr Correspondent, Owerri

The practice, promotion and preservation of their rich cultural heritage are paramount to all Igbo traditional settings and indigenes.

Eze Ekeh (middle) and wife being led out to his palace’s arena during the occasion

Culture, apart from being the people’s way of life and a symbol of their identity, is a veritable instrument of strengthening unity, cohesion and solidarity among the indigenes of any given community.

It is against this background that the Igbo traditional rulers do not leave any stone unturned in their efforts to ensure that the culture of their communities do not go into extinction.

To HRH, Eze Emman St George Ekeh, the Ishi Ubom of Ishi Ubomiri Autonomous Community  in Mbaitoli Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State, must continue  to celebrate  festival inherited from the  ancestors.

Ishi Ubomiri, an agriculturally rich community, records the highest amount of rainfall among the neigbouring  communities.

The monarch, who recently celebrated his first anniversary on the throne has a burning desire to make the community economically viable. It is to this effect that he has said he would lead the path to making the community the fish basket of the eastern heartland.

Community’s history

Ishi Ubomiri became an autonomous community about six years ago. It was carved out from the Ubomiri Ancient kingdom and shares boundaries with Egbeada autonomous community, Ubomiri, Amawuihe autonomous community, Mbieri, which is close to the community and Ohii, in the Owerri West council area.

Ubo figuratively means the fountain, the source of water, and this is where the Nworie River started.

In fact, the palace of the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Emma Saint George Ekeh, stands on the original source of Nworie River.

However, due to geological changes and the rise of the soil level, the acquifact shifted and cracked around where you now see as Egbeada, hence there is Onuiyi Ama Uburu in Nworie. Nworie then became a collection of streams because, according to the traditional ruler, they are all emptied into the Nworie River.

The topography of the community, beginning from from Ohii, Irette, towards Ihiagwa, Orji, the Nworie looked like in the valley of the rise. Ubomiri has the highest amount of rainfall in the environment that is within the areas around her.

One could meet rain in Ubomiri when it is sunny all over and for this reason, it is humorously said, “Whoever comes to Ubomiri and gets drenched, did he not hear the name before coming?”

Religion, culture

Although immersed in the promotion and sustenance of their rich cultural heritage, adherence to Christian doctrines and injunctions came to the fore, when Eze Ekeh chose to be coronated as the Ubom I of Ishi Ubomiri at the gigantic St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Ubomiri.

It was therefore not surprising that the historic coronation anniversary, which attracted dignitaries from all walks of life, equally took place in the same church on Monday  April 6, being Easter Monday.

In a thought provoking homily, Rev. Father Kinsley Opara, an indigene of Umudim Ishi Ubomiri, assisted by the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Steven Egwim, had humorously enquired from the monarch why he chose to celebrate his first coronation anniversary on Easter Monday.

Hear the monarch: “It is because Easter Monday is a special day in my life. Twenty-four years ago, I wedded in this church. I chose Easter Monday because I sincerely believe that as Christ resurrected, we all shall equally resurrect and rise to the glory of God.”

Rev. Father Opara, who described the event as unique and memorable, explained that it was worthy to celebrate in view  of the  fact that Christ  told his  people to go to Galilee where they would see him, saying, “After one year,  you are calling people  from Akwakuma, Amakohia, Nworieubi and people from  other places to come and see you at Ishi Ubomiri,  not just  coming to behold  your face but to come and see how  you are putting  yourself in the shoes of our Lord Jesus  Christ  and this is not by  mere words of mouth but by  action, come and see  me, who  and what I am.”

The priest, who reminded the people of the miracle performed by Jesus in Galilee, noted that the past one year of being on the throne might have attracted doubt by some  people  as to whether the monarch  is really  what he claims to be as Jesus  experienced, challenged members of the Eze’s  cabinet to go out and convince all doubting  Thomases that their principal  is really a king of note and repute.

“It is gratifying to note that in the past one year, you have proved beyond all reasonable doubts to be the king you have chosen to be and I urge you to continue to distinguish yourself as a reliable, dependable Eze in order to remain the king you have chosen to be.

“This is what we are celebrating today and you will not only celebrate one year of coronation, but many years as it pleases God.”

The priest prayed for continued peace, unity, oneness, love, tolerance and understanding among indigenes of the community.

The Aririerimba of Ishi Ubomiri, Chief David Emeto, who is a a member, Ekeh’s Cabinet also had some words to chip in.

He said; “Without any modicum of adulation, the stewardship of our monarch in the past one year has been quite wonderful and remarkable. Our Eze has taken the bull by the horns to restore peace and love among individuals and villages that were previously arch enemies.

“Before his emergence as our traditional ruler, the community was in crisis, arising from series of village problems.

“He is very humble and accommodating and he does not indulge in any foul play in settling any dispute.”

Because the community lacked leadership before the selection and coronation of the royal father, Emeto advised indigenes of the community to close ranks and team up with the Eze in his selfless efforts to move the community forward, “because for now, he is almost single handedly taking care of all the problems afflicting the community”.

Cultural troupe

With intermittent gun salutes, which added glamour to the event, the Egwusinachi Ezeakpi Women Dance Group, Ugobueze Cultural Dance Group, Umuogide Ubomiri, Ajagba Women from Umuajagba Ishi Ubomiri, Keleke, Okorocha, as well as the St Jude Cultural Youth Dance, held the crowd spell-bound. Resplendent in white blouses, neatly plaited hair, striped yellow or brown wrappers, the gyrating young women danced beautifully to the melodious songs and folklores rendered by the golden voice of Mrs. Patience Onyiriogwu. Onyiriogwu explained that the troupe, formed four years ago, is made up of married women in the community.

The post How Ishi Ubomiri celebrated monarch’s first anniversary appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

The 2015 general elections may have come and gone, but one cannot forget in hurry the roles played by some outstanding women across different part of the country. They contested, campaigned and are commended for their efforts in contributing to the development of Nigeria. Senior Reporter ANTHONIA SOYINGBE in this report, writes on some of the amazons who slugged it out with their male counterparts at different levels.

Remi Sonaiya

Her name will forever be written in gold as the first female presidential candidate in Nigeria. She contested under the platform of KOWA Party, a party that is relatively known. But, her prowess and her intelligence brought the party to limelight.

Sonaiya               Al-Hassan                 Shodipo-Clark

Sonaiya, who admitted in one of her interviews during the campaigns that she had financial constrains, said she intended to change the face of Nigerian politics without help from a godfather and without spending millions on campaigns.

“I have a stake in Nigeria. I am qualified to run for the presidency of Nigeria…Like what Barack Obama said; he thought there was a skinny little black boy who thought that America had room for him. Well, this not so skinny woman thinks that Nigeria has a place for her, at the leadership level also,” she said.

She also stated that she had avoided joining one of the two major political parties, because she did not agree with their ideologies, internal lack of democracy, and godfatherism. Sonaiya, holds a doctorate in Linguistics.

Stella Oduah

Call her the queen of controversies and you may just be right. This beautiful woman with a fearless gut could make so many men question their masculinity. The former Aviation Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial candidate in Anambra State, despite the legal battle that greeted her candidature, was elected by her people to represent Anambra North Senatorial District. Oduah defeated her major opponent, Chief Dubem Obaze of APGA to clinch the seat.

Uche Ekwunife

Uche Ekwunife also from Anambra State is one amazon who knows her onions.  She polled in 101,548 votes to knock out the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) National Chairman, Victor Umeh, and the incumbent Senator representing the zone, Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who struggled to clinch the third position. She is the senator-elect of the Anambra Central District. Ekwunife currently is the member representing Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia Federal Constituency of Anambra State in the House of Representatives

Bisola Shodipo-Clark

Abisola Sodipo-Clark, wife of the Ijaw national leader, Edwin Clark,  contested for the senatorial seat of Ogun Central Senatorial seat in Ogun State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Though she didn’t win, she campaigned with vigour and her impart were felt.

The medical doctor, who previously served as two-time commissioner in Ogun State, campaigned vigorously to the admiration of many. She is the National Chairman of National Eye Centre, Kaduna.

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan

She was the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). This amazing woman who is currently representing Taraba North Senatorial District, beat others for the party’s ticket to achieve what could be termed a landslide victory. She won the APC governorship primaries in Taraba with 2425 votes.

A lawyer by training, she became Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice. She was appointed the Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on  December 17, 2003. After she retired from service, she went into business.

As at the time of filing this report, the gubernatorial election in Taraba was declared inconclusive by INEC.

The post Amazons of 2015 elections appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Motherhood is eternal, yet changing. Rather than taking a single path to motherhood, more women are becoming mothers through alternate routes, including surrogacy, adoption, and fostering. Anyhow it is, motherhood is tasking and very demanding.  In millions of homes, the African woman continues to fulfill her obligations as the housekeeper, in sickness and in health. Senior Reporter Anthonia Soyingbe in this report looks at the many roles of mothers as entrepreneurs and homemakers.

In the past, African mothers only have the obligations to see to the running of the homes while fathers make money to provide for the home. The reverse is the case now as women are not only running the homes, they are also entrepreneurs and so they are mostly co-providers of the home. Some women are now giving up homely lives because of their homes and to augment their husbands’’ earnings.

Mother and child

Africa’s culture place the burden of domestic chores child-raising on women In a way it appears to be an integral part of our culture to place the burden of domestic chores and child-raising on the women but experts are of the opinion that this aspect of the law should be modified or changed. That however won’t be easy because many still think women are inferior to men.

“We should provide extended maternal leave to mothers of new babies irrespective of where they work or the nature of their work. In addition, we need to do a study or survey of how parents leave work in countries that have successfully implemented such programmes. I know that the United Kingdom is now paying more attention to this program. The backbones are functional public institutions, well-thought out government policies and well-grounded elementary educational systems,” said Oluwole Areh a widower whose wife died shortly after she gave birth to their third child through caesarian section.

Narrating how he coped while taking care of his child following the death of his wife, Areh who was close to tears said, he couldn’t trust anybody to take good care of his child who is the carbon-copy of his late wife hence he abandoned many things just to take good care of the motherless child. “Though I had a domestic assistance, I couldn’t trust her to take good care of my baby so I abandoned my business and my social life so my child can have my undivided attention. It wasn’t easy. with that I concluded that women are golden. I don’t think that it will amount to adopting an alien culture if fathers are made to undergo the same experience as mothers in terms of nurturing their children in the early formative years or throughout infanthood. After nine months of pregnancy, labour and subsequent delivery, women need both moral and emotional support by giving them extensive maternal leave and social supports should be the least of efforts that the society can contribute. It is important for men to understand that there is more to being fathers than being sperm donors or money-droppers.”

“My experience gave me an opportunity to reflect daily. Usually I thought not just about my late wife but the African woman as a symbol of strength, courage and determination. I asked myself several questions. How did these women cope with six or more children? Did they ever complain about tiredness to their husbands? Was there always someone they could share their pains and frustrations with? What did they do when there was no one to complain to? How did they handle all the stress and situations around them? What did they do when they felt like sleeping and the children kept crying for attention and comfort? In short, I asked myself, how they coped with all of these problems? How are they coping now? I pay tributes to the African woman. I pay tribute to the good Nigerian woman. I can’t stop thinking about single parents too. I wonder how much repatriation can bring comfort to them for their roles, their resilience, their courage, their forbearance and their sacrifices as they struggled to keep their homes and work together.”

There is need to promote the rights of women and for those in power to enforce gender equality in respect of race or tribe.  Some experts are of the opinion that gender equality and recognition for the rights of women will aid birth-control.

Nigeria must create or review the situations regarding nursing mothers in terms of social welfare packages said Oluchi Lawrence an advocate of Gender Equality.

“We don’t have to wait for a perfect political climate as women before we start to live and enjoy our lives. There is nothing wrong with initiating programs that will bring succor to the Nigerian women even if the political class is populated by unrepentant liars and corrupt people. It is another aspect of our collective responsibilities as women to rescue ourselves from such anomalies.

“Nigeria can start a corrupt-free national insurance program that will cater for nursing mothers of all ages and categories. That should be the starting point. In the foreseeable future, the integration of fathers into the policy will be very useful in rebuilding the family and ensuring that our women are not overburden or abused. Finally, the government must re-energise and re-engineer the family planning policy while emphasising the need for it. The benefits of family planning compliance by all and sundry cannot be over-emphasised,” said Lawrence who also argued that some employers maligned their female employees.

The post Making case for African women appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Anthonia Soyingbe  -  Snr. Reporter, Lagos

On Saturday April 18, brand Ambassador and Nollywood comic actor, John Okafor popularly known as Mr. Ibu, lost his 90-year-old mother and the humour-merchant said he will miss everything about his late mother who according to him is the architect of his success in life.

John Kechukwu Okafor

“I will miss everything about my mother because aside God, she is the source of every good thing that I have and I am. She died at age 90 but I wished she had lived for 50 more years. I saw her last about two weeks ago and she was so happy because we marked her 90th birthday. She was so happy and that was the last time she saw many people around her,” the funny man also hinted that the deceased has been battling with diabetes for a long time told Daily Independent in a telephone interview.

Ibu however disclosed to our reporter that though his relatives are still meeting but they have fixed May 20 and 21 tentatively for the burial.

The post I will miss everything about my mother –Ibu appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Patoranking

Days after Nigeria’s dance hall singer, Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie, otherwise known as Patoranking won the ‘Best African Act of the year’ at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, the singer has grabbed yet another endorsement deal, this time with vodka brand, Skyy Vodka.

Patoranking who disclosed shortly after he won at the 2014 Headies Award that he was sleeping under the bridge few years back and selling insecticide, is sure doing great.

Excited Patoranking posted the news on his instagram page, saying “Signed a new deal…God is the greatest”.

The post Patoranking becomes brand ambassador to Liquor brand appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.