The past months have been really good for Oritsefemi.

The singer seemed to have been compensated for his earlier career efforts with the success of his popular song Double Wahala, a remake of Fela Kuti’s original work.

Oritsefemi

With the song, the self-acclaimed musical Taliban became the rave of the music industry, as he graced several top shows even getting a Range Rover Evogue from his record label, Avatar Entertainment Company.

The hype associated with Oritsefemi however appears to be dying down, as he gets set to release his fifth album titled, ‘Money Stops Nonsense’ (MSN).

With the album initially set for release in November 2014, then December of the same year before Oritsefemi’s management picked Friday, May 1, many of the musician’s fans cannot wait to lay their hands on it in anticipation that it will have other great songs aside ‘Double Wahala’.

‘Money Stops Nonsense’ is a 24 tracks album featuring collaborations with artistes such as MI, Davido, Timaya, D’ Banj, Ice Prince, Cynthia Morgan Chata Wale, Oluwaseun among other A-list stars.

The post Fans anticipate Oritsefemi’s new album appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Music artiste, Emma Nyra seems to have denounced her title as Triple MG’s First Lady.

This is coming amid speculations that she has parted ways with Made Men Music Group co-owned by the duo of Iyanya and Ubi Franklin.

Emma Nyra

Prior to now, there had been speculations about Emma Nyra been unsettled due to developments in the label. Then, the situation was so bad that the rumour was all over the music scene. However, whenKliegLight reached out to the diva, she denied the rumour.

Recent developments have however confirmed that the lady has indeed finally bided the group consisting of Iyanya, Tekno, Selebobo, and Baci farewell.

Emma Nyra has been changing details linking her to Triple MG for some time now, as she has since changed her booking e-mail to her personal email.

She also dropped the line, ‘First Lady Triple MG’ and prefers to describe herself as an ‘International recording artiste and Nigerian Entertainment Award winner”. Another indication to her moving on is a new video titled, Yudala which was shot by the label featuring Iyanya, Tekno, Baci and Selebobo without any presence of Emma Nyra.

Emma Nyra stormed the Nigerian music scene when she was convinced by Ubi Franklin to return to the country.  She was subsequently officially signed on Triple MG in 2011, but struggled all through to succeed, as an artiste.

She receives credit for singles such as Ori Mi Wu, Everything I Do featuring Iyanya and Kereshere.

The post Emma Nyra denounces First Lady title? appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Dayo Ogunde is a chip of the old block. As a moviemaker, she is following the footsteps of her father, the late Hubert Ogunde. She was at Independent Newspapers Limited (INL) corporate head office last week and had a chat with Senior Correspondent, Hazeez Balogun. She speaks about the 25 years remembrance of her father which starts today and the life and times of the Nigerian  cinema legend.

 This year marks 25 years of the death of Pa Ogunde, what are the line-up of programmes to celebrate him.

Dayo Ogunde

There are lots of programmes we have lined up. Today for example, we will be commissioning a museum in his honour. The Museum is located in his hometown in Ososa, Ogun State. In the museum, there will be a lot of his materials including personal ones and those pertaining to his works. There will be some of his clothing items, some of his movie posters, his props and just anything we still have of him that will interest visitors and scholars who visit the place. We also want to show one of his movies, ‘Aropin ni teniyan’ for free.

There were talks of a Film Village in his name, how is that going?

Yes, we are working towards that but that will not be part of this 25years celebration. There is a Film village coming up and we are almost through with that. When we are ready to launch that as well, we will keep the media abreast.

One would think that by now, a film on Ogunde will be made especially when he was into films himself. 

When he died, we did a stage play on his life. We had planned to adapt it into a film but we are yet to do that. For now, we are not doing a movie on him. You also know that we have a documentary on him that is shown even on BBC. It is called, ‘Making of Nigerian Theater’.  But for a full length movie, we have deliberated on it and very soon we should start talking about production. Ogunde was not an ordinary man, he was and still is an icon. To do a movie on him, we should be able to make a movie that meets his own standard and even surpass it. It is not a kind of project that should be rushed.

Selling movies in Cds right now is not profitable and pirates have taken over the business, is it true that Pa Ogunde while he was alive had warned that all these will happen?

I was still very young at that time, but I can remember vividly that he used to drum it into other movie makers ear that they should not record their work into cd for sale. They should try and continue with the cinemas. Many of the practitioners at that time took heed of his advice but many did not. At that time, he was shooting on 35mm, and shooting on 35mm was very expensive. Some thought he was giving them wrong advice since he was one of the few that could afford to shoot on 35mm.

They asked him, “what about us that cannot afford it?” He would tell them that it is not a must for one person to shoot one movie. Three people can come together to shoot one film. But I understand that working together to make a film can be very cumbersome and messy. But some movie makers took his advice. People like Oga Bello and Ajani Ogun who did movies on 16mm. But everyone else went into home video. It was cheaper to make and the quality does not need to be very good. But home video came with it’s own disadvantages and that is the piracy that is plaguing the industry today.

Now the industry is so poor. Many people shoot very poor quality movies just because it is cheap to make. Some make movies for N400,000, can you believe that? It is now an all comers affair. When we stopped making films for cinema, many people lost the interest in going to cinema, and that is why you see that it is not thriving as it used to be. In fact, it is just coming back slowly. I am not saying that it is movie makers that made the cinema industry crash, there are a lot of factors, and I can tell you that making home videos is one of the reasons.

Despite all the poor quality and poor distribution structures, Nigeria movie industry has become a big deal in recent years. If Ogunde was alive, do you think he will give Nollywood a pass mark?

Some people are doing very well with their works. Look at the works of Amaka Igwe, or Tunde Kelani, there is no way Pa Ogunde will not be happy with the kind of films these people are making. There are a few who are doing very good works and their works can be presented anywhere in the world. Ogunde was all about quality. It is not about making movies just to get by, but by making movies that is world class that you as a movie maker can be proud of.

Before, you had to have gone to school to study theater arts or you are under one movie maker or the order. You cannot just get into the industry without having a root from somewhere. Today all you need is a fine face and the next thing you are a star. But it is these set of people that do not last in the industry. If Ogunde sees this trend, he would not be happy. He believed in hard work. No matter how fine you look, talent always comes first.

He was very keen about standards. When you make a film, you should be able to take out there to film festivals and it should be accepted. That is why you see someone like Lancelot Immasuen or Kunle Afolayan being able to take their movies around the world and they are put on a pedestal. How many movies can boast of that? We should have more of these quality film makers than we have mediocres, but sadly, reverse is the case.

Pa Ogunde had a lot of children and you are one of the youngest, did you have a close relationship with him?

Yes I did. In fact my elder brothers will tell me that I am lucky because I was the only one he did not beat. He was very strict on the other ones, and I was the last one at that time, so he was more of pampering me. I stayed with him for the last four years of his life. I was always with him following him everywhere. Except when I go to school, I was always by his side. When he was about to die I was in school at the time, if not I would have been by his side.

What did you learn from him in terms of life lessons?

The first thing that anybody close to him, will tell you is that they learn hard work. He would say that without pain, there is no gain. He taught us to be hard working. Even as a young girl, I was already working in his theatre. I learnt to be humble and generous as well. As a moviemaker myself, I learnt from him that one has to be passionate about the work before even embarking on it. You must be knowledgeable about the arts and also understand that our culture must be reflected in your works.

He was also a very wise man and the way he handles situations usually baffles me. You know he had a lot of wives, and he was very good in handling all of them. Even if there is a quarrel, the way he will handle the situation, you would think there was no quarrel at all. He never takes sides and he treats everybody equally.

He was also a good father. You will be surprised that he is a very jovial man. You would think he was a clown. He would sing and dance for us. I mean private show for the children. If he really wants to pamper you he may go as far as cook for you.

After 25 year, do you still think of him or even miss him?

Yes sometimes. Especially when people are talking about him, I would in my mind start to think of the days when he was alive. Also, I still listen to his music till today, and that is a part of him that is always with me. If I can’t see him again, at least I can always hear his voice.

He was the one holding the family together, how did the family cope after his death?

There was no problem really. When he died, they were still shooting ‘Mr Johnson’. So the problem then was how to finish the movie the way he would have wanted to. As usual, he brought in an overseas producer and we had to make sure that he and the rest of the crew were treated well. We were more concerned about his legacy than any other thing.

We were all united when he died. You know before, when there was an issue, we would run to him. But with the realisation that there was nobody else to run to, we had to come together as one family to keep the peace and be one happy family. God had been good to us. You can tell that we are united because, we have kept his legacy long after he dies. Now we are celebrating his 25^th anniversary, if we are not united, we won’t be doing it as one family.

Usually, when a popular and rich man dies like that, we hear stories of the family fighting over property, how was Ogunde’s estate settled?

He had always been saying it before he died that he does not have any property for any child. He had made sure we are independent and do not rely on anything he has. Thank God, we are all doing good. In fact he did not leave a will yet there is no one fighting over anything. His houses are still there, they are still a family houses. It is part of our upbringing, why look up to inheritance when you can work and make more money than you parents? The only thing I think some of us were interested in was his clothes. We wanted a piece of him that we could remember him for. But today, most of all his clothes and shoes are now in the museum.

Even his equipments were not really utilized because many of us had our own. In fact only very few of us are in the theatre industry. Others are in Oil and gas, some are lawyers, some are doctors. It’s just I and two others that have decided to follow his footsteps. When he died I was still in school and I already knew that there was nothing coming to me. All I needed was to finish school and all our family made sure that those of us in school finished school.

So can we say that his production outfit died with him?

Like I said, we are not many following the theatre line. Also, when he worked, he brought in most of his crew from abroad. It was a bit difficult for us to get to those people and bring them here. Also, we could not make anything that was not up to the standard he left behind. You know the kind of movie he did was deep and you need a certain kind of inspiration to do it. I don’t think any of us had such in us. It is better that we did our own personal works and people will say this movie is done by Ogunde’s daughter or son. That is better than saying a movie is done by Ogunde theatre, when the man himself is not alive. Uncle Laja is the most busy amongst us three, and he has been able to carve a niche for himself. He has his own trademark, just like our father had his own.

Are all his works still with the family?

We have an agreement with a studio in the UK. They store all the master of his work for us for a fee. It is safe there and well preserved.

It’s been a while you shot a movie, why is that?

Well, you can blame it on the industry itself. It is not encouraging. The last one I did, I had an unpleasant experience with the marketer. Same thing for uncle Laja, he has also been complaining about the marketer and the distribution channels. So for now, I have been doing some other personal works. I don’t know if it is getting better now. I would test the market once more, if it is conducive, I would release another movie.

Ogunde is believed to be deep in the occult, how true is this?

What I know is that his father was a traditionalist and he grew up with such tradition and culture. You may not know this but his father did not want him to be an actor or a movie maker. He first had to be a police man just to satisfy his own father. It was later he had to go back to what he loves doing. He is not an occultic person. People misunderstood him just because of the kind of movie he made.

It is not as if he belongs to any cult. I used to stay with him in the same house and there is no room in the house that I do not enter. There is no room that has anything occultic in it. When you come to the museum, you will see all his gear, there is nothing like that. Yes, you might see some of these spiritualists sometimes come around, but they come just because of the respect they have for his father. When you see them doing Egungun festival or the Agemo festival, they would come to the house dance and go, it is out of respect and nothing more.

So he was a strict Christian?

I would tell you this. He used to be a member of the Grail message and we all attended the church. As a grail member, you had a different view of the bible and you might think that he was strange with his beliefs. After some time he left Grail and we moved to Anglican. He later became a born again when he was in the UK. He is not an Ogboni member.

While you were young, were people pointing it at your face that you father is a cultist?

A lot. Even till today. When my father died, some of my teachers and friends were afraid to come to visit me. When I eventually met them, they said they were afraid to come. They had heard stories that they would need seven people to bury along with my father and they were not sure if we already had the seven we needed and that is why they could not come and visit me. It is not a joke o. They were very serious. Even in the university, I was always getting people coming up to me. Some girls approached me one day and said that they would like to join the Witch occult, that I should help them. Some guys also came one time and said that they would want me to assist them with money ritual. I get all sorts of things like that. They think I was a powerful person.

Even my lecturers think that I was very deep in the occult. There was one who called me to the front of the class and asked me to recite Esu’s panegyrics. She was so convinced that I knew it that she thought I was just lying when I told her I don’t know it. But we don’t worship Esu in my family.

For artistic purposes, like you father did, did you learn all these spiritual incantations?

No. Most of what my father was reciting was not the full thing. He would change some of the words. Chanting those things in real life has it’s own repercussions. He knew how to work around it, but I do not get inspired for such.

The post Ogunde was not a cultist – Daughter appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Ace cinematographer, Tunde Kelani joined by famous actors, Adebayo Salami, Jide Kosoko, Tunji Bamishigbin, Yemi Sodimu,  Yemi Solade and Kunle Afolayan amongst others  to peacefully march against what they described as the menacing activities of pirates in Lagos on Monday.

Kunle Afolayan (second right) and other Nollywood actors.

It could be recalled that last week, Kunle Afolayan’s award winning movie, October 1 which is still showing in cinemas was pirated and sold in DVD on the streets and this has opened up new discussions on the piracy scourge in the industry.

Earlier, works of Kelani, namely, Arugba and Maami have been pirated, also, Ayo  Makun’s 30 Days in Atlanta, Rita Dominic’s The Meeting, Mahmood  Balogun’s Tango With Me among several others.

The protest march which took off from the garden under the flyover bridge at Ikeja Lagos and took the protesters through Awolowo Way to the Lagos State House Assembly where they were received by a member of the Assembly, Hon.

Mufutau Adewale  Egberongbe   who after listening to the protesters’  spokespersons -  Kelani, Igwe Gabosky and Tunji Bamishigin, condemned the criminal actions of pirates whose nefarious activities he described as another kind of armed  robbery.

The protesters not relented under the  scorching sun, launched into several songs and dramatics while at the Office of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola.

In his response to their demands, Fashola who was flanked by the Commissioner  for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba and the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Raji, saluted the protesters’  courage for not giving  up.

He expressed his willingness to sit down with representatives of the industry to fashion out a bill that will be presented to the National Assembly towards getting a law that will bite and help stop the impunity of the pirates. He advised them to align with the media to help publicise their anti-piracy activities and enlighten the general public on why they must shun the influx of  pirated copies in the market.

The post When Nollywood walked against piracy appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Hear Word is a collection of skits on the injustice facing Nigerian Women. The Producer and director of the theatre show, Ifeoma Fafunwa, recently announced that the 2015 edition of the show will kick off with a special performance at the University of Lagos and premieres at the MUSON Centre, Onikan. The production will subsequently run at the same venue every Friday and Saturday in May, alongside satellite performances in public spaces around Lagos.

•Modupe Thani, Kate Henshaw, Omonor, Ifeoma Fafunwa, Joke Silva, Bimbo Akintola, Lolo Eremi

Fafunwa while explaining her reason for producing the stage play started her speech by saying that when she came back to Nigeria after spending more than 20 years in the US, she discovered that the Nigerian women has to some extent been battered down by the society. She explained that whenever she walks into a social function with a broad smile on her face, other women who have forced themselves to act in public just to fit in wonder why she is so happy.

“I walk into a party with a smile on my face and the women give me the look of ‘why is she happy’ and I wonder, why they look so mean? I decided to find out the reason and discovered that a lot of women are oppressed by the society. A woman has more life pressures; they are pressured by society to be good, get a good husband and settle down, bear children, take care of them. The list is endless” she said.

Fafunwa also stated that in order for women to handle the daily situation and still remain sane, women have also, without knowing it, become the main perpetrators of confining other women to recoil in their shell in the society. “Because of the way most women are brought up, they have become the gate keepers and soldiers that protect the male ego thereby allowing some bad manners that need to be corrected at a very tender age slip by just because the child is a boy.

It is a woman that nurtured the man who went to chibok and kidnapped about 300 girls. It is a woman that nurtured the man who physical abuse women. All we are saying through the play to women is to leave the baggage behind and move on.”

Hear Word which is produced by iOpenEye, a company established in 2014 by Ifeoma Fafunwa to showcase the best of Nigerian performance art with a focus on empowering women and transforming society. It powerful parades performances from a cast of extraordinary Nigerian actresses such as Deborah Ohiri, Lala Akindoju, Zara Udofia, Rita Edward, Ufuoma McDermott, Joke Silva, Taiwo Ajai- Lycett?, Kate Henshaw?, Bimbo Akintola, ?Omonor and Elvina Ibru and Odenike.

The post Hear Word highlights injustice against women appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Funmi Falobi, Lagos

As part of efforts towards global vaccination targeting eradication of poliomyelitis, the Rotary Club of Omole-Golden, Lagos, District 9110 has hosted the Polio Torch from India.

Memebrs of Rotary Club Omole-Golden at the event

The hosting symbolizes that even though many children continue to suffer from the disease which causes cripling disability, there is still hope that the disease would be wiped out of the country.

President, Rotary Club of Omole-Golden, Chris Alabi said the initiative tagged “Polio Flame” is a project targeted at complete eradication of the disease from the world.

He explained that the PolioTorch from India has been touched by world leaders where funds have been raised as part of commitment to eradicate polio from countries including Nigeria.

According to him, “We want to ensure complete eradication of polio from the world and rotary has played important role in the battle against polio in Nigeria and the world. We will use this project to raise funds and we want other corporate organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals to join us in the funding and partnering to eradicate polio.”

At the event, the sum of $7,000 USD was raised towards the eradication of Polio by the club.

Mr. Kayode Aderinokun, Chairman, Polio Flame Committee of District 9110 disclosed that the polio flame has traveled to all the continents of the world and has been touched by President, kings, head of conglomerate and has raised Euro 400m.

“The polio flame is initiated in India as polio endemic countries of the world in which Nigeria is inclusive to rid polio out of the world.

This club pioneers the wheel school project. Today, $2bn has been put into the scheme.

Aderinokun, who said rotary club partners World Health Organisation

(WHO, Nigeria government in coordinating and tackling polio revealed that the disease will soon be eradicated from Nigeria in few months time.

He noted,“In the last eight months, no single case of polio was recorded in

Nigeria. Today, we are about 99.9 percent eradication in Nigeria.

“We are at the threshold of history today. In four months time,

Nigeria will be declared non-polio endemic nation and all of us are going to be part of history,” he said.

The post Rotary hosts polio torch, raises $7000 towards eradication appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Yinka Shokunbi , Lagos

Hitherto, Nigerian gastroenterologists and hepatologists have had to seek experts training overseas because of lack of modern facilities to engage in training specialists who wish to engage in skilled surgical procedures which can save lives of millions of Nigerians who suffer digestive disorders.

Chairman LUTH Management Board, Ambassador Adetokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, flanked by President SOGHIN, Prof. Musa Borodo, (left), former CMD, LUTH, Prof. Akin Osibogun and Dr Karl Stolz, SAGF and Tony Rahme at the commissioning of the WGO Lagos centre. Photo: Yinka Shokunbi

However, a recent collaborative efforts of the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN) and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH) has put to rest the need for obversease trainings for specialists in the area as it has been endowed with a training unit courtesy World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO).

Speaking at the commissioning of the N60m equipment grant take-off of the WGO Endoscopy Training Centre at the LUTH, Director of the centre, Dr Olufunmilayo Lesi pointed out that the practice of gastrointestinal endoscopy has indeed revolutionized the field of digestive medicine and has become standard of care in prevention and management of digestive diseases such as peptic ulcer disease and digestive cancers worldwide.

According to Lesi, “The Lagos centre is the 17^th in the world and it is in line with the cor objectives of the vision of WGO for the centre to enhance and deepen the skill of digestive endoscopy in Nigeria and the sub region

“This will ensure sustainable manpower development, enhance th equality of digestive healthcare services rendered in Nigeria and diminished the the need for health tourism for endoscopic services”.

In his remark, President of SOGHIN, Professor Musa Borodo noted “it is envisaged that the centre which is the first in of its kind in West African sub region through regular training opportunities it would provide, would play a pivotal role in enhancing the practice of gastroenterology in Nigeria and the rest of the West African sub region through uplifting the diagnostic and therapeutic expertise of gastroenterologists in addressing the barrage of gastrointestinal problems in this environment that haunt the practitioner in this challenging specialty”.

He appealed to resident doctors interested in the specialty to avail themselves of the opportunity that has now been brought to their doorsteps while urging government, the various postgraduate schools and drug companies to support training activities of the centre “so as to achieve its full potential”.

In his keynote address, international guest speaker, Chief of Endoscopy and associate professor at the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, Patrick Ikemefuna Okolo described the application of modern endoscopy method in treatment of gastrointestinal disorders as “very relevant”.

In his presentation titled: ‘G.I. Endoscopy: evolution and current role in clinical care’ Okolo “there are definitely many sophisticated and basic things needed in the management of gastrointestinal diseases but the basic things are more essential to alleviate the burden of diseases among Nigerians”.

He said he decided to return to his root to assist in setting up those basic things that are quite essential to Nigerians in alleviating the burden of diseases.

He decried the number of years of potential lives lost among Nigerians which he observed is too high saying, “our people are not living through their entire lifespan because of gastrointestinal illness”.

He observed that one of the reasons Nigerians die prematurely from certain cancers in the intestines is because these are not detected early enough.

According to him, “We need to detect them early and treat them early and even though it requires a lot of equipment to do but it is a much easier way to take care of people so that it on th elon run costs less to take care of people  with cancers.

“This is very relevant in Nigeria and we must begin to build on the capacity in Nigeria by training our doctors to do lots more”, said Okolo.

Okolo urged the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari to “immediately understand that the life of every Nigerian matters”.

He tasked the new administration to understand that as a nation, we can indeed afford to preserve Nigerian lives by prioritizing our resources in the direction of preserving Nigerian lives.

“We have to prioritize and allow public and private initiatives to help lift communities up so that areas of Excellencies can be built”, said Okolo

He noted that having gone round many countries of the world, there are just a few countries in the world that do not even have as much resources as Nigeria but have achieved this.

“Nigeria should begin to garner resources, foster new political will that would allow us to coalesce our resources together so that we can look after our citizens and preserve their lives.

“The most important thing is not the equipment though but rather, the system first. To build th systems first and when this is done, the equipment allows things to happen”, he added.

At the take off of the project in LUTH, Okolo assures he would always be around to offer his expertise in training experts in early disease detections in the gastrointestinal organs, build new bridges with other experts in Diaspora and encourage their home-return to assist in making the system work for the benefits of Nigerians.

The post LUTH now centre for training experts on digestive disorders appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Actress Kate Henshaw had always been politically inclined. Last year, she tried her hands in politics by trying to run for the House of Reps seat in her constituency. At the end of the day, she did not get pass the primaries of her party, the people’s Democratic Party (PDP). Yet, Kate is still much concerned in the polity of Cross Rivers where she hails from.

Kate Henshaw

Speaking with Box Office, the popular actress, speaks on what she expects from the in-coming government in her state. “My az\expectations from the in-coming government for my state, Cross Rivers state primarily are continuity and also building on existing structures that are on ground from previous administration. For me, it is very key that young people there in Cross Rivers are positively engaged.

We have a lot of young people in the state who are idle. Apart from tourism, we need to develop other avenues of engaging the people and also making money for the state. For now, it is tourism that is our strong point but then what happens from February to November when nothing is happening in the State. So the young people need to be engaged and the state also has to look at other ways to attract people. Not only to live in Calabar but also to invest in Calabar because it is a lovely clean place.” she said

On her expectations from the incoming government in Lagos, she stated that Lagos is being touted a cosmopolitan state and judging from this present administration, his excellency, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, he has done a great job. “I will not knock it at all. But there are other areas that need to be improved. I think Lagos state is the only place that has emergency lines, 112 and 767. I don’t know if that operates in any other state. I have used that line and I got the aid I needed. A friend put out the fire in her house by calling the number and that was very impressive. But there are also other areas in terms of keeping the law, taxation and all sorts of things that need to be sorted out. But now, Lagosians need more. We need relief because Lagos is extremely expensive to live in. Yes, they say if you think Lagos is expensive, move out but I still have the right to stay here and I should not be made to pay heavily. Like I live in the Lekki area. I am boxed in. If I want to come to Ikoyi, I pay toll, If I want to come to Victoria Island, I pay toll. There is no other way for me to leave and that is not the right way to do things because there is supposed to be an alternative route.

They will tell you that there is one and that is a lie. There is supposed to be a proper road be it twice the length if the normal routs and if I choose to take it, I will take it because I don’t want to be boxed in. For me, it’s a personal thing. I can afford it but what about people who cannot afford to pay the toll. Lagos is a beautiful place. It has been done by Fashola, a lot more need to be done to make it conducive and safe for the people who live here.”

Kate also speaks about her political adventure when she ran for the House of Representatives, and if she will run again. “I will give it all my best. There are people who keep trying and at last they make it. I believe that every citizen in Nigeria should be involved in politics because the laws that are made affect our lives. If you don’t want to run, at least know your right as a citizen and what is expected of people we put in office. Don’t be clapping when the government constructs roads. It’s what they are supposed to do. They are doing the job you citizens sent them to do.”

Kate Henshaw was born in Cross River State, the oldest of four children. After completing her primary and secondary school in Lagos and Calabar, she spent one year at the University of Calabar reading remedial studies, and then majored in Medical Microbiology at the School of Medical Lab Science, LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital) in Lagos. Henshaw worked at the Bauchi State General hospital.

In 1993 Henshaw auditioned for the lead role in the movie When the Sun Sets and was handed the role. This was her first appearance in a major Nollywood movie. Henshaw has starred in over 50 Nollywood movies. In 2008 she won the Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film Stronger than Pai.

The post Kate Henshaw talks tough on politics appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Yemi Adebisi, Lagos

No doubt, the first victim of President Goodluck Jonathan’s national election defeat is Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, who was booted out of office and replaced with Solomon Arase.

IGP Suleiman Abba

Mr. Abba was sacked barely 24 hours after the government of the United States of America (USA) commended him for good conduct during the last general elections.

Until his appointment, the 59-year-old Sapele-born Arase was the Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID) Abuja. He was also the former Commissioner of Police Command, Akwa Ibom State.

Arase was ironically Abba’s superior by years of service, having joined the force in 1981 while the ousted IG enlisted three years later.

He holds bachelors and masters degrees in law, as well as bachelors and masters degrees in political science and strategic studies

Some critics observed that Abba must have been punished by the Presidency that is winding up in five weeks for his role in the just concluded elections. However, others said it was nemesis that caught up with him.

Sources said while the police faced several allegations of bias from the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the polls, the PDP was reportedly disappointed with Abba’s failure, or refusal, to provide sufficient police support to its candidates, including President Jonathan, to win the elections.

He was accused of not doing enough to help the party despite meeting up with his terms financially and otherwise.

For real, Abba would be remembered for a number of controversies that greeted his tenure and the way he was brought into the political circle with a mission.

It would be recalled that notably, Abba, a lawyer, authorised a police assault on the National Assembly, and unilaterally declared (without a court pronouncement) the sack of speaker, Aminu Tambuwal of the House of Representatives, for defecting from the PDP.

On October 30, 2014, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tambuwal defected from the ruling PDP to APC. Few hours later, the IGP Abba announced in a statement the withdrawal of the Speaker’s security details citing Section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended to support his action.

It reads: “In view of the recent defection by the Right Hon.  Aminu Waziri Tanbuwal, CFR, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress and having regard to the clear provision of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, the Nigeria Police Force, has redeployed its personnel attached to his office.”

But Tambuwal, also a lawyer, insisted that the former IGP’s explanation was inaccurate and misleading

Very few applauded the IGP for his ‘proactive’ actions with many accusing him of turning himself and the Police into a constitution interpreting institution abandoning its primary responsibility.

The question many commentators posed then was when did it become the lot of the Nigerian Police to interpret the constitution?

It would also remain in his profile that he disobeyed the court order and insisted that the speaker can longer enjoy police protection having defected from the party on which platform he contested and won an election to the House of Representatives.

Few days after his appointment, he had also told senior officers that he would prevent criminals from contesting the 2015 general elections.

But the Supreme Court had ruled in the case between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that any indictment needed judicial backing to be effective meaning the police cannot stop a candidate without an order of the court.

Other sins that critics claimed are unforgetable in the archive of this police chief include the arrest and dentition of over 700 top APC members in Osun state barely days before the state’s governorship election on August 9, 2014; the release of the detained party faithful without charging them to court for the breach of any known law or regulation in the country and the failure of the former IGP to call Joseph Mbu, a ‘controversial’ assistant inspector general of Police, to order for his reckless abuse of police powers especially after a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja delivered a judgment declaring the ban on the #BringBackOurGirls campaign group illegal, null and void.

It would also be recalled that shortly before the just concluded general elections, Abba openly countered a directive by the Independent National Electoral Commission that voters could wait at polling units and protect their votes.The former IGP warned the electorate to leave the polling units once they cast their votes.

He argued that allowing voters to wait after casing their votes could lead to a breakdown of law and order and promised that the police would ensure all votes count. Few days after his directive came under strong criticism, he made a U-turn and said he never stopped voters from waiting after casting their ballots.

A top security expert said Abba was not too clever with his game, saying others would learn from his mistakes.

“But even those he desperately tried to please have now removed him from office in ways that can be described as ignominious. This should serve as lessons to future IGPs.”

It is rather amazing that most of the people that had campaigned for his removal at the wake of his outbursts and challenges expressed shock over his final removal.

Those who apponted him; confirmed his appointment just after six months of his appointment and sacked him after nine months of ‘meritorious’ service did not tell us why he had to be removed.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned Abba’s  removal. They claimed that he was not due for retirement until March 22, 2019. They said sacking such a high profile service chief without any justifiable casus belli raises more questions than answers as it was quite unusual for an outgoing regime to embark on such exercise.

The implication, according to the religious group, was that the hands of the incoming administration are being tied and its maneuvers being restrained.

Records have it that it was Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, that drove the political vehicle that made Abba an Inspector General of Police after MD Abubakar.

An Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7, Abba, served as Aide de Camp (ADC) to Mrs. Maryam Abacha, during her First Ladyship to General Sani Abacha.

After Abacha’s death, Abba rose to through the ranks to become Commissioner of Police in Rivers State and then AIG.

On his appointment, he became the third man in a row from the North West zone to become IG.

It was also noted that aside Kam Salem (Borno), Gambo Jimeta (Adamawa) and Aliyu Attah (Kogi), all the past Inspector Generals of Police from the north have come from the north west zone. These include Mohammed D Yusuf (Katsina), Adamu Suleiman (Kano), Ibrahim Coomasie (Katsina), Hafiz Ringim (Jigawa), and Abubakar.

What has happened to Abba is the fulfilment of the aged long saying, “soldier go, soldier come. Barracks remain.”

The post Abba: Police go, police come… appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Women who have experienced pregnancy will tell you that it is the worst period to think of looking fabulous.

Looking cute in pregnancy

The hormone gets a grip over you and all you can think of is throw up, eat and sleep. To some women, because pregnancy vary, the smell of things like soap, hand wash, perfume, even food is repulsive let alone make up. At a stage in pregnancy, the temptation to rip any tight clothes from your skin always kicks in. Pregnancy is already a discomfort in itself, any extra discomfort will be highly intolerable. Therefore, it takes the heart of a strong woman and an undying love for looking great to maintain your sexy looks.

Recently, a good number our sexy female celebrities are moms-to-be and they still look the part. Only a few like, beauty queen Adeze Yobo, Tiwa savage, Omawumi, Liz John-black will dare to look this sexy with baby bump. We call them the ‘sexy pregys’

Note: this is for ladies who will want to copy their style while pregnant. Have it in mind that heels are not good for a pregnant women. It is to preserve your pelvic and save you from back ache. The women you see on these photos do not walk a distance in these heels. They only walk from the front door to their cars.

Also don’t force it. If you are uncomfortable with the clothes, shoes or make up, go for what you are more comfortable in. If your dress is too tight, you may find it hard to breath in them. It will be appropriate to go for a loose comfortable dress. You are nurturing another life in you so your decision must be in harmony with your hormone, mind, body and spirit.

The post Looking fabulous in pregnancy appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Yemi Adebisi

Inchelon, South Korea was finally crowned the 2015 World Book Capital City (WBCC) on Thursday April 23 at the expiration of the tenure of Port Harcourt, Nigeria which has held on to the prestigious honour for one year.

In her hand over speech, coordinator of 2014 Port Harcourt WBCC,  Mrs. Koko Kalango said Nigeria and South Korea would continue to collaborate together as outstanding cities of the world of business and arts.

She however lamented on the tragic incidents that befell the youth of both countries during the book year, the scenario she described as being grievous.

“Nigeria became the World Book Capital amidst mixed feelings of joy and grief. Nine days before this historic occasion, over 200 girls were abducted from a high school in Chibok by Boko Haram, an islamist extremist group that believes western education is evil.  It seemed ironical that the book was being brought to focus, against the backdrop of a retrogressive and dangerous movement directly opposed to the ideals of the World Book Capital initiative. Such tragedy, if anything, should challenge us to continue to work to rescue our society from the grip of those who stand against the progress and liberty education brings,” she said.

The plight of the missing school girls, according to Kalango, was given prominence by Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate for literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, in his keynote address at the Port Harcourt World Book Capital opening ceremony where he called on the Nigerian Government to ‘bring back the pupils’.

“Two days after the Chibok girls were kidnapped, 304 people, mostly students from the Danwon High School, here in South Korea lost their lives in a boat mishap when the MV Sewol sank just off your coastline. A year has gone by but the pain and agony of these tragic incidents remain with Nigeria and South Kore.”

In her assessment, the one-year book fiesta added immeasurable value to Nigerians as it enriched the cultural diversity of her youth among others.

“We had a rich and varied array of programmes for a wide reach and maximum impact. There were programmes for children and youth, arts and culture, library and community development and deliberate plans for sustainability beyond the World Book Capital year. The support of our local, national and international partners was critical in enabling us actualise our objectives. Indeed, today, we can see change taking place – ‘Rivers of possibilities, rippling from the city of Port Harcourt, through the country Nigeria, to the continent of Africa.’”

The post Port Harcourt hands over book capital to Inchelon appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Yemi Adebisi

Though a seasoned writer of influence to generation of writers across the world, one may not be able to quantify the impact of the art of reading in the profile of Paul McComas.

McComas

He is the author of five critically acclaimed books: two novels, Planet of the Dates (2008) and Unplugged (2002); two short-story collections, Twenty Questions (1998) and Unforgettable: Harrowing Futures, Horrors, & (Dark) Humor (2011) and the novella, Fit for a Frankenstein (2013).

He is also the editor of two anthologies, First Person Imperfect (2004) and Further Persons Imperfect (2007).

Paul co-authored the novel Logan’s Journey (slated for 2014 publication) with William F. Nolan, bestselling author of the SF classic Logan’s Run, and is co-authoring Exile on Poverty Row: The Life and Films of Edgar G. Ulmer for 2015 publication by an academic press.

Research records established that when he was 14 in 1976, he read the futuristic sci-fi novel Logan’s Run for the first of seven times because he had broken leg and was bored beyond belief.

This same boredom led him to write The Logan’s Run Reference Book, a companion compendium of all things Logan.

“I am forever haunted by some of the images in the 1979 Body Snatchers remake with Donald Sutherland. Logan’s Run created very mixed feelings in me as well about that young, naïve, pleasure driven society (another excellent metaphor for the Flower generation). There was a part of me that said, Wow, if that’s all I had to do all day long…hang around a mall doing futuristic drugs and dialing up sex dates from a public booth,” he said.

What authors does he like to read? What book or books have had a strong influence on him or his writing?

His words: “Since Twenty Questions is a short-story collection, I’ll mention two of my favorite short-story books: Black Tickets by Jayne Anne Phillips and Cruising Paradise by the playwright Sam Shepard. Phillips’ prose is dense and poetic, Shepard’s lean and gritty, but in both cases, the author’s command of the language is phenomenal. These are both must-reads for fans of the short-fiction genre.”

A two-time (2003, 2006) recipient of the Chicago Reader’s Critic’s Choice in Theater/ Performance, Paul ‘came up’ in Chicago’s mid-1980s to mid-’90s spoken-word/ performance-art scene, and he is as acclaimed for his live presentations as for his writing; the Chicago Tribune calls his performances “urgent and mesmerising,” and the Chicago Sun-Times says, “No one else is giving author events this lively.”

He has performed his own work at 90 theaters and other venues nationwide, as well as on National Public Radio’s “Tavis Smiley Show” and on numerous NPR affiliates.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Paul earned a BA in English from Lawrence University and an MA in Film from Northwestern.

The post I’m in love with short stories – McComas appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Aramide Oikelome, Snr. Correspondent, Lagos

The hall at the University of Calabar Hotel Conference Centre was filled to the brim. The decors of the room, lit in brilliant colours blended well with the colour of the book arranged carefully on the table. The title of the book was Mother of Multitudes. In no time the subject of the biography, a tall elegant lady appeared and people, young and old, lecturers and students hustled to hug, shake, and take photographs with her. It was the day for a much-deserved celebration for Professor (Mrs) Ebele Eko, a retired professor of Comparative Literature and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of University of Calabar (UNICAL).

Prof. Eko, Prof. Ekpe, Prof. Esu and Eko’s sister Mrs. Obiaga at the book launch in Calabar

The biography, written by her former student and mentee of 15 years standing, Betty Abah, journalist and activist, documents not only the professional accomplishments of the Anambra-born Eko and her exemplary marriage to the late Cross River-born Dr. Ewa Eko but also highlights the great philanthropic works she has done mentoring, assisting and mending the lives of hundreds of people who pass through her either in UNICAL or outside.

The book launch brought together several of Eko’s colleagues from UNICAL, family, friends, former students, mentees and beneficiaries.

Professor Ivara Esu, former UNICAL Vice Chancellor under whom Eko served as Deputy, and who is new Deputy-Governor-Elect of Cross River State, who was special guest at the occasion, said it was a much deserved documentation of the work of the amazon whose administrative and personal excellence he attested to. He also commended Abah whom he praised as one of their outstanding students who had made them proud.

“As a wife, as a mother and as a career woman, Ma Eko has excelled. There are only a few woman who have combined excellence in those areas and we can only thank God for giving her to us as a testimonial of His faithfulness, to influence lives wherever we go,” said Professor U. J. Ekpe, who also served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Admin) at the same time with Eko and under Prof. Esu.

Mrs. Christy Obiaga, youngest sibling of Prof Eko (youngest of nine children by their late Mother Helen), said she was not surprised that her sister turned out a philanthropist of great standing. “I am so happy that someone could think of writing such a compelling book documenting the story of my sister because her story is really a special one and I believe it will inspire many people. Right from when she was only a girl, she has always exhibited a heart of gold. In her I see one thing—that love shared does not diminish, but multiplies. She is God’s gift to us as a family.”

Abah, former journalist with TELL Magazine who currently runs the child’s rights and welfare NGO, CEE-HOPE, said she was motivated to document Prof. Eko’s exemplary life in order to inspire others to do good.

“There is so much celebration of bad role models and outright charlatans in our society to the detriment of the gems with which this country is blessed. As writers, as consciences of the nation, we owe a debt to hold up good people like Mummy Eko as mirrors before the nation especially as models for our younger generation,” she said.

Abah added that besides affecting her personally, Eko, who runs the Word Family in Calabar has been a source of hope for many poor students, indigent women and children and sponsored so many in schools and projects even abroad, many times sacrificing her last savings.

The book contains narratives of Eko’s accomplishment including Federal Government and US Scholarships as a student in Nigeria, her travels through Senegal, France, Germany and the UK on international scholarships. It also reveals her encounter with her husband-to-be Dr. Ewa EKo in the USA, the scintillating story of their love, marriage and eventual return to Nigeria where she held sway at UNICAL, mentoring and inspiring generations of students.

Besides becoming the first Head of Department of the English and Literary Studies Department, Eko also was the first female to be appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor at UNICAL, where she worked with Prof Esu and Ekpe to stamp out cultism from UNICAL in addition to instilling an enduring tradition of environmental cleanliness in the school.

But the most gripping aspects of the book are the testimonies. They include the case of a student at the medical school in UNICAL whom his lecturers deemed too “deformed to practice the prestigious medical career,” and would not pass him for nine years. Prof. Eko’s intervention to the highest levels of the university authorities helped in securing his graduation.

Prof. Eko, mother of five, who hails from Nnewi in Anambra State and daughter of an Anglican clergy, was married to Cross River State-born Dr. Ewa Eko, a former INEC (then NEC) State Commissioner in the FCT as well as Cross River and Kwara States.

A prolific author, Mrs. Eko has several books and publications spanning English grammar, poetry, literary criticism among others including Effective Writing (Grammar); Wings of the Morning (Poems); Bridges of Gold (Poems); Healing Streams, (Poems); Colour Him Love (Poems), Elechi Amadi: The Man and His Work (Criticism), Elechi Amadi at 55,  Poems, Short Stories and Papers (Criticism); The King’s Daughter (prose), Seal Me in Your Heart (prose); Joy Unspeakable (Poems); Ewa Eko: The Man and His Works (collection); Masterpieces of African Literature (Criticism) among others.

Prof. has won so many awards including being the first Archbishop Tutu Distinguished Professor, University of North Florida (1999-2000), a visiting professor at Valdosta State University, Georgia (1991-93), and University of North Florida, Jacksonville (1998-2000). She has been a Fulbright Scholar in the University of Florida, Gainesville (1985-86) and Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the Valdosta State University (1991-92).

Other awards and honours include an Award for Excellent Service and Commitment to African-American Studies, Valdosta State University, Feb. 4, 1999.

Prof. Eko was honoured in Calabar as one of the Cross River Amazons, A profile on 100 top Cross River women.

American-based literary scholar and pioneer Head of Department of the English Department UNICAL, Professor Emenyonu described the biography as “a timeless honour done to Professor Eko for her wonderful legacies.”

Kene Onwudinjo, a post graduate student of English Language Studies (ELS) and neighbor of the Ekos, said of the matriarch:  “Mommy Eko is my grandmother. She is a mother to my father and also a mother to me. Each time I feel stressed, each time I feel sad or confused, all I need to do is to think about her and my sorrows go away. When the Bible says, “To be all things to all men, I used to wonder how a human being with so many imperfections can be all things to all men, but I have found that Mummy Eko is indeed all things to so many people, both men and women. She is a woman of God who has proven that in being one with God, one has a big capacity for enormous good, she has the biggest and warmest heart. I have always longed to meet great people in my lifetime like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Maya Angelou but just three minute away from my house is a woman of enormous grace.”

But the tall and intimidating Eko would want not want to take the glory. “Everything is a gift so there is nothing to boast about,” Mummy Eko as she is popularly called told the appreciative audience, flashing her trademark smiles.

“It is the Lord that has made all things possible and made the gifts available; it is not about me. I will have real satisfaction if the book will point people to the source of all true success, which is God.”

The post Pay-Day for Mother of Multitudes appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

By Ejikeme Omenazu, Lagos

Introduction 

According to oral tradition, the Igede people are said to have migrated from somewhere around the Niger Delta. They live in their present location in Oju and Obi Local Government Areas of Benue State. The Igede is one of the ethnic nationalities that make up the Middle Belt of Nigeria. The other ethnic nationalities include Idoma, Igala, Etulo, Tiv, Rindere, Ngas, Eggon, Zagon Katarf, Alogo, Berom, Mada, Izere, Ibira, among others.

Igede Agba masquerade

The Igede people share common boundaries with the Idoma, Tiv, the Ogoja people of Cross River State and the Izzis of Anambra State. The Igede people are predominantly farmers.

Traditional institution

The traditional head of the Igede people used to be called Ad’Utu until the passing of Chief Ikande Idikwu. After his death, there was crisis over the succession to the throne. At a point, state government, as a of restoring peace in the land and temporarily solve the dispute over the seat, created the Ad’Oju and Ad’Obi chieftaincy stools.

These stools are neither classified as First Class nor Second Class, but the occupants merely assist the Och’Idoma, who is the paramount ruler of all Idoma people, including the Igede.

Currently, Augustine Egbere Ogbu is the Ad’Oju, while the Ad’Obi is Chief Cyril Okwute. However, there is an ongoing agitation for a First Class Igede Chieftaincy stool and the people are gearing up to mount pressure on the incoming state administration for the upgrading of Igede chieftaincy stool to a First Class Chief.

New Yam Festival

Like the Igbo, Igede people celebrate the annual New Yam festival, called Igede Agba. For its significance, Igede Agba is a cultural event, which comes up every first week of September. It marks the end of one planting season, when the people in very rich cultural displaying activities, give thanks to the gods for good harvest, and welcome a new planting season.

Traditional dancing and masquerades are also featured to add cultural value to the festival and every Igede son and daughter takes part in this ceremony.

Burials

One notable aspect of the people’s tradition strongly held onto this day has to do with the burial of indigenes’ corpses in a special forest. Corpses of people who are killed in accidents or during a war are regarded as special and are never buried anywhere near the home, but in an evil forest.

After or before burial of such a corpse, certain rites are performed to appease the gods of the ancestors. People of questionable characters are also buries in the evil forest.

Warding off witches and wizards

Igede people have what is called the Akpan. It is a kind of men’s society, ostensibly organised culturally to ward off witches and wizards from their homes. Before a new yam is deemed to have matured for harvest or ever eaten, members of the Akpan society must first perform their rites. Until that is done, any one or family who prematurely harvests or eats the new yam or buys it from another tribe’s market and brings it home, is deemed to have committed a taboo and is usually made to pay the fine of a goat, and such items. Failure to pay the fines attracts indescribable sorts of sickness and misfortune upon the offenders.

Marriage

The Igede people practice both traditional and church wedding. Sometimes, traditional marriage supersedes in cases when couples are not rich enough to afford the luxury of white wedding. Thus, traditional marriage is essentials.

The process can begin either when a male child, who feels he is mature for marriage, sites a girl or woman he likes. The process can also begin when the man’s father or any of their relatives, friends, or neither think they have found a young woman they like for the man to take home as wife.

If the man likes the girl, his parents immediately go formally with kolanuts to the girl’s parents to seek their child’s hands in marriage. If the girl consents to it, negotiation as to the bride price to be paid is made.

In Igede, once the bride price is named and agreed to by the suitor, marriage preparations follows. It does not matter whether bride price is completely paid at or not paid at all, the couple are allowed to go ahead and get married and the suitor has the leeway under the tradition.

Interview with Chief Ode Ochi

The Chairman of the Middle Belt Traditional Council (MBTC) in the South West Nigeria, Amb. Ochi Emmanuel Ode, the Ojikpururu 1 of Ibilla, Oju, Benue State, is a prominent Igede man. From his base in Lagos, he oversees the affairs of people of Middle Belt in the South West states. An Igede High Chief, he holds the people’s customs and tradition in high esteem, as he shows in this encounter with this reporter.

On core values 

Ochi Ode said: “Igede as a people, their core value is integrity. Igede is the third ethnic nationality in Benue State. We also have the Tivs, Idoma and Etulo. Among the tribes that constitute Benue State, ask what they consider the core value of an Igede person, they will not waste time to mention integrity. That is why in Igede today, if you  misplace you handset and a typical Igede man finds it, he will not take it for use. He will announce to all that he found a misplaced handset, or even money, for the owner to claim it.

“In Igede we don’t celebrate success that has no roots. That is why we don’t honour riches that do not have a clear bearing. People celebrate your success when the source is clearly ascertained. No matter how infuential you are, you are not recongised if people do not know your source of success.”

On celebration of death:

Ochi Ode stated: “Death is celebrated in Igede with a lot honour, especially if you lived clean and your life is based on integrity. That cannot be said of a pewrson whose wealth has question mark.

“Such a person’s death is treated with ignominy. There is no gun shots, no singing, no dancing, no celebration. Such a person is buried in a forest designated for such people. Such a death and burial is not announced.”

On the notion that Igede youths serve as house helps:

The High Chief said it is true. But he said that the practice has something to do with what he said about integrity.

“Like in the western world, between 20 and years, you hardly have money. You are regarded as a man under the tutelage of parents. But, with civilisation, people go out to make money any how.

“But a typical Igede man does not easily go out to work under people make a living. So, people go out to make a living. An Igede man cannot sacrifice a child or relation for money ritual. So, a typical Igede man is a peasant farmer and depends on his sweat and does not live on easy money.

“Holding to this core value of integrity seems to be a disadvantage to an Igede man. But, it is a disadvantage with honour. That is why you see many of them as house helps.

“But now, things are changing. People are now helping others to succeed. For instance, I have a Foundation which assists Igede sons and daughters, sponsoring people up to tertiary institutions. Some other people too are helping indigent students. When they come up, they will help others.

“My advice to some well-to-do Igede sons and daughters, who have not been helping others, should wake up and take it upon themselves to help others. Those who are helping are not doing it for personal gains or even for rewards from God, but to ensure that our people develop and improve.”

The Ibilla Town Hall Meeting 

As a High Chief of Ibilla in Igede, Chief Ode hosts a periodic Ibilla Town Hall meeting during which socio-political issues affecting the people and communities and area are resolved. What is the state of the that Forum?

His response: “This is an issue of leadership. Issues of leadership are involving ones that are seen to be done on daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly basis. If a leadership is stagnant, there will not be growth. A leader must have dreams of how to improve.

“Leadership is a continues process of doing things, rebranding and reinvigorating. Today, you call a town hall meeting. If the method used attracts continues followership, you continue to apply that system. But, if not, you change to another method.

“When we started the town hall meeting some years ago, the repose was encouraging. But at a time, we observed that attendance started to decrease and we started to ask questions. A leader must always ask questions like: ‘What?’ ‘Why?’ ‘How?’

“When you find answers to these important questions, you have arrived at a solution. If you can’t find answers to these questions, you are no longer a leader. That is how to keep the followers in constant zeal and hope in believing in what you are doing.

“A leader must explain the goals and objectives of what he is doing. Once this done, the people will stand by you. That is what we are doing as far as the Ibilla Town Hall Meeting is concerned. We are restructuring and rebranding. Very soon, it will bounce back.”

The post In Igede, bad people are still buried in evil forest appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.

Title: Dream Chasers (New Nigerian Stories)

Authors:  As stated in the review

Reviewer: Olutayo Irantiola

Publisher: Nelson Publishers

No of pages: 286

Dream Chasers is an anthology of short stories by different writers, however, in its diversity; the stories are relatively close to the Nigerian experience through the names, locale and themes. The seasoned writers wrote wonderful pieces in few words and each storyline cannot be easily determined by the reader because of the heavy use of suspense.

Major Nigerian cities mentioned in the anthology include Ibadan and Port-Harcourt in Camouflage; Nsukka, Orba, Onitsha in the Magic Ring; Iseyin, Okeho and Oyo in the Great Discovery (this story appeals so much to me because these towns are all connected to my ancestry); Marina, Lagos in Love on the Marina; Ile-Ife, Onitsha, Surulere, Lagos in Tough Guys write poetry; Beere, Ibadan in the House that Hunger Built. Other locations mentioned in the book include USA, South Africa, Paris and Zimbabwe.

The Nigerian content of the book is found in the themes of each story except in How I met Steve Biko and What Would Saffron Do? 

The themes include: deception, intricacies of intercultural marriage, armed robbery, single parenthood and depression in Camouflage; Incest, Western influences are the evident in The Little Girl with Bussing Breasts and a Bubble Gum Laugh; Insecurity, Insurgence, HIV/AIDS, Death of Neighbour, Information shared via Social Media were mentioned in The Curtain. 

Others are   Voodooism, Gambling, Apprenticeship, Western education, Assumption, Religiosity explored in The Magic Ring; Traditions in The Great Discovery, Depression, Loss of a grown-child, Foreign education, dashed hope in Love on The Marina, Intertribal marriage, Affection in Too Much Pepper; Extra-marital affairs, Reminiscence in “Fur Elsie”.

Additional themes in the book include Fraud, Impersonation, Disgrace, Financial challenge as reflected in Double Wahala; Joy of reunion, joblessness, desire to travel abroad, daring nature, love in Tough Guys Write Poetry. The House that Hunger Built is related to the tall Yoruba narrative similar to the Amos Tutuola’s style of Africanism.

The other two stories have African themes such as Xenophobia (which has just reared its ugly head again in the last few weeks), Supporting acquaintance, bribery, doggedness, professional knowledge and assault in How I met Steve Biko while suspicion, unaccomplished mission, despotic leadership in What Would Saffron Do?

The language of the text is lucid and concise. Interestingly, the text is domesticated because Pidgin is infused into the book. There is hardly a Nigerian who does not understand Pidgin. It is the rustic language spoken by the uneducated or the relaxed version of English. Various dialects of Nigerian languages, proverbs, abuses and slangs also intersperse the book in Camouflage. For instance, the word, Soja appears on pg. 3; words like aru on pg. 137, ala bekee on pg. 145, Cheneke, Mba on pg. 141, osu and diala on pg. 149; In The Great Discovery agbalumo (African star apple) tree on pg. 152; fatalisa (bastardised pronounciation of fertilizer) on pg. 155; while amala and ewedu (a local delicacy) were mentioned on pg. 157.

Others are in Too Much Pepper these words appeared: Oyinbos  (whitemen) on pg. 172, Onyara, were, were iranu, olosi to ri re ti daru patapata, won ri goloto goloto bi adiye Agric, olodo rabata on pg. 175, Dansiki and Bata on pg. 177.

“Fur Elise” has the word, yansh, kukuma on pg. 184, toto on pg. 185. Double Wahala has words like Okuko na-aboputa mma na-egbu ya (an Igbo proverb), Ebube Chineke on pg. 195;  In the House That Hunger Built; Yoruba words like ayo on pg. 237, iwin on pg. 238, Esu on pg. 240.

What use to occur amongst musicians in the past where they sing from other languages in other to gain an audience (fans) among the other tribes was also done in this book as well. The author of Camouflage, Lola Akande, used Igbo characters while the author of Great Discovery, Kenechukwu Obi wrote about Oyo, Iseyin and Okeho.

There are few errors in the book. However, it might be limited to the particular copy used, which are negligible.

The book is largely and proudly Nigerian. It is a way of exporting our literary culture and nuances to other cultures and countries. The book is another distinct piece from Nigerian writers.

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By Anthonia Soyingbe Lagos

Though they were all gorgeously dressed in well-tailored purple cord-lace attires, they all looked ravishingly beautiful, wearing broad smiles.

Alegeh

They were not dressed for the regular owanbe (social parties), which characterises normal Saturday outings, they were dressed to raise funds just to carry out their regular charity deeds. They are members of Diamond Elites Ladies Association (DELA).

DELA, the brainchild of Mrs. Ferishat Alegeh, was formed in 2005 as an association of married women, who have the wherewithal to assist the less privileged in the society.

The colourful occasion for these women was not about flaunting their fine attires and designer accessories, they gathered to honour their greatest benefactor, who since inception of the club, has played great roles in assisting them to help the helpless.

The National President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augusine Alegeh, was at this occasion, honoured by the DELA members for his many contributions to the club.

In her opening address, Founder and President of DELA, Alegeh, highlighted some of the objectives of the club, which includes bringing succour and smiles to the faces of the less-privileged in the society.

“At the inception of DELA, which was conceived in my sitting room in 2015, we started with a monthly contribution with friends who indicated interest.

“After a while, with the success of the monthly contribution, we decided that it would be nice we form a club to support ourselves as friends and to reach out to the less-privileged,” Alegeh said.

While highlighting the many successes the DELA has recorded through its charity acts, Alegeh said it has empowered many orphanages and other charity homes.

The NBA president, after receiving the honour, pledged to continually support DELA as they have embarked on a worthy causes which will help make the society a better place.

“Thanks for recognising my modest efforts and I must thank you immensely for doing what you have being doing with dexterity lace with a sense of purpose.

“You have impacted many lives positively and I pledge to support you to the best of my ability,” the NBA president said, while he donated towards some of the projects embarked upon by members of the club.

Alegeh said that DELA is a non-partisan and non-religion organisation and only admits married women who have the wherewithal to assist others because members are expected to be role models and also be ready to part with some of their resources for the needy.

“Though we started as friends and social club, we have grown beyond that as we are now service club. We are all married women who have the financial wherewithal to give back to the society. Though it is not too easy, but we are grateful to our husbands who constantly support us in our efforts to give back to the society,” Alegeh told journalists.

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•Convict weds heartthrob in prison

By Ejikeme Omenazu, (With Agency Reports)

International pressure is mounting on Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, to stop the imminent execution of ten drug convicts, including nine foreigners.

This is as that country has insisted that the execution would go ahead this week as planned.

Four Nigerians, Martin Anderson, Okwuduli Oyatanze, Jamiu Owolabi Abashin and Raheem Agbaje Salami, are among those scheduled for execution.

Consular officials were rushing to Nusakambangan, the prison island off Java, where the inmates are to be executed, after the Attorney General’s office at the weekend ordered final preparations for the executions.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Indonesia to commute the death sentences of the drug-smuggling convicts.

“President (Joko) Widodo has an important opportunity to signal Indonesia’s rejection of the death penalty by sparing the lives of the 10 people facing looming execution,” said Phelim Kine, the group’s deputy Asia director.

“Widodo can demonstrate true leadership by ending capital punishment as unacceptable state brutality,” he said.

Four Nigerians in Indonesia

Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, said the answer lay in the hands of the Indonesian authorities.

“We continue to make our position clear. I guess there’s always hope while there’s life, but obviously these are late days.”

Indonesians were also speaking out against the executions on social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

An online campaign has been mounted to save Mary Jane Veloso, a Philippine national who is among those facing the firing squad.

The hashtag #MaryJane was trending on Twitter in Indonesia on Friday after she was transferred to Nusakambangan.

“The biggest fear is when we can’t defend ourselves,” Indonesian actor Nicholas Saputra tweeted, referring to a story that Veloso was a helpless maid who was duped into smuggling drugs to Indonesia by a family friend.

The European Union on Thursday criticized Indonesia’s plans to execute the convicts, saying the death penalty was not a solution to the country’s growing drug problem.

A foreign diplomat said Friday the inmates could be executed as early as Wednesday. Convicts and their families are typically notified three days in advance before executions.

Authorities said 136 people were on death row, including 64 for drug trafficking, in Indonesia at the end of 2014.

Indonesia executed six of them in January, including five foreigners.

Other drug inmates facing execution include two from Australia, four from Nigeria, and one each from Indonesia, France and Brazil.

The governments of Australia, the Philippines, France and Brazil have also appealed to President Widodo for mercy.

Meanwhile, one of the convicts, an Australian, wedded his girlfriend on Monday on the Indonesian prison island, where he is set to be executed soon.

His brother, who disclosed this, urged the country’s president to show compassion to the newlyweds.

Andrew Chan, 31, married his Indonesian girlfriend, Febyanti Herewila, in a ceremony on Nusakambangan Island, home to several high-security prisons, his brother Michael said.

He could be put to death by firing squad as soon as Tuesday, along with seven other foreign drug convicts, after authorities at the weekend gave then formal notice of their executions.

“We’ve had a special day today,” Michael Chan said as he announced the marriage  after returning from a visit to Nusakambangan. “We’ve celebrated with some family and close friends.

“Hopefully, the president will show some compassion, some mercy, so these two young people can carry on with their lives.

“It’s in the president’s hands.”

Chan met his future wife several years ago when Herewila, a pastor, began helping inmates in the jail where the Australian was imprisoned.

Chan and fellow Australian Myuran Sukumaran, both among the group facing imminent execution, are ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” heroin-smuggling gang and were sentenced to death in 2006.

Australia has mounted a diplomatic campaign to save the pair but President Joko Widodo has vowed there will be no clemency for drug traffickers on death row in Indonesia.

He says the country faces an emergency due to rising narcotics use.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has said that the execution of nine drug traffickers would go ahead this week, rebuffing last-minute appeals from Australia and the Philippines to spare their nationals and ignoring a decision by the Constitutional Court to hear a final challenge.

According to Reuters, Australia began the day with a plea for a stay in the execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, saying reports that their trial had been tainted by corruption needed to be investigated.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said allegations that judges requested money to commute the death sentences were “very serious” and called into question the integrity of the process.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo brushed that off, telling reporters that such concerns should have been conveyed a decade ago when the case when through the courts.

The prospect of a reprieve for the pair emerged later, when their lawyer said that the Constitutional Court would hear another challenge on May 12.

But, Attorney General’s spokesman, Tony Spontana, said the executions would not be delayed by the court’s decision to hear their case and insisted that the execution of all nine on death row would proceed this week.

The other seven who were informed at the weekend that they would face the firing squad as early as Tuesday are four Nigerians, an Indonesian, a Brazilian and a Filipina.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino appealed to Widodo at a summit of Southeast Asian nations to spare the Filipina, a mother-of-two who says she was duped into carrying drugs into Indonesia.

Widodo said he was sympathetic and would consider the plea, but later Indonesia’s Attorney General said there would be no clemency for Mary Jane Veloso.

Indonesia has harsh punishments for drug crimes and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap.

Widodo has been unbending in his hard line on traffickers and his refusal to grant foreigners on death row clemency has strained relations with several countries, particularly neighbour Australia.

Australia-Indonesia relations have been tested in recent years by disputes over people smuggling and spying. In late 2013 Indonesia recalled its envoy and froze military and intelligence cooperation over reports that Canberra had spied on top Indonesian officials, including the former president’s wife.

Corruption Allegation

Widodo’s steadfastness on the executions, which has strong public support at home, stands in contrast to a series of policy flip-flops since he took office six months ago.

Palace insiders and government officials portray him as sometimes out of his depth and struggling to get around entrenched vested interests.

Chan and Sukumaran, ringleaders of the so-called Bali Nine, were arrested at the main airport on the holiday island of Bali in 2005 for trying to smuggle 8 kg (17.6 lb) of heroin to Australia.

The other members of the gang, all Australians, have been jailed for between 18 years and life in Indonesia.

Bali-based lawyer, Muhammad Rifan, said he had agreed to pay judges in the cases of the two men more than A$130,000 ($101,647) to give them a prison term of less than 20 years.

Rifan said the deal fell through when the judges told him they had been ordered by senior legal and government members in Jakarta to impose a death penalty and he did not have enough money to meet a revised, higher demand for a lighter sentence.

“It’s a matter for Indonesia’s Judicial Commission to investigate these matters and that underlines why we continue to request Indonesia to allow the Judicial Commission to finalise its review,” Bishop told reporters.

Rifan could not be reached for comment.

Indonesia’s Judicial Commission said it would look into reports alleging corruption but said its findings would have no bearing on their cases.

“Even if it is proven that the judge violated ethical codes, it won’t affect the court’s earlier decision,” Commissioner Taufiqqurahman Syahuri told Reuters.

“We cannot annul a decision from a court, such a thing can only be done by a higher court. What has been decided is final. The Judicial Commission can punish the judge, but ethical and legal matters are different.”

At the high-security jail on Nusakambangan Island in Java, where the nine are due to be executed, Australian Chan married his Indonesian girlfriend Febyanti in prison on Monday. A small group of family and friends attended the ceremony.

“It’s tough times but it’s happy times at the same time,” Michael Chan, Andrew’s brother, told reporters on the mainland.

“We just hope that the president somewhere will find some compassion and mercy for these two, this young couple so they can carry on with their lives.”

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Nkem Uwaje-Begho  the Managing Director of Future Software Resources is one of the few female Information Technology entrepreneurs in Nigeria. With a humble,

Nkem Uwaje-Begho

unassuming disposition, hardly would anyone presume her achievements and astonishing contributions towards advancing technology in Nigeria. She is a German-trained Bioinformatics.  Begho began her professional career in Germany where she worked on high profile research projects at the Max Planck Institute-MPI for Psychiatric Research and then Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG where she worked on the development of software solutions for complex biological as well as chemical calculations and simulations, database design, administration and statistical analysis. She has since 2008 when she returned to Nigeria, rebranded Future Software which was originally established by her father many years back. Senior Reporter Anthonia Soyingbe recently had a chat with her and she opened up on the many opportunities in Information Technology (IT).

It’s rare to find women excelling in the IT business; what’s your motivation?

My dad has been a huge influence. As a kid, I was always around computers and that grew my interest. Future Software was initially incorporated by my father, Mr.Chris Uwaje, with the vision of me taking over and I actually took over and re-branded the company, as well as refocused it, in 2008.

You refocused the company in what way?

It was formerly more of a stand-alone solution provider. So, what I did was to re-brand it into a web-based educational, enterprise and business solutions firm. Presently, we focus on online solutions, e-learning and IT-security. For online solutions, we offer our clients maximum exposure involving hosting, website design, e-commerce, web portal development, online marketing, online newsletters, social media management and more.

Our e-learning is targeted at educational institutions as well as corporate institutions that wish to have integrated online learning courses for their employees. We have the virtual learning environment solution and we customise and develop content for clients. Our IT security focus area is geared towards larger corporate establishments with sensitive data that requires protection. We offer online and network penetration testing, data recovery services, IT security planning and much more.

You’ve been in this business in Nigeria for only six years; what challenge(s) do you face?

The key challenge is power and infrastructure. Another challenge is the kind of ethics we have in the Nigerian market. People not wanting to pay on time for services rendered. That actually makes it very hard for many businesses to grow.

Is it true that men excel in IT more than women?

I don’t agree to that because we both have two hands, legs and the same brain. Women also do well in IT.

Any proof to affirm your stand?

The CEO of Yahoo is a woman and she’s remarkably done a lot of things to actually change the industry. It’s just an industry that women have not gone into because they feel they have been hindered by family and tradition. Same thing you find with any science field. If you visit the Mathematics Department of any university, you’ll find more men; not because women cannot succeed in that course but because they haven’t been encouraged in that direction, probably by their families or teachers. The notion is always that women should do art, be fashion designers, etcetera. I don’t agree with all that. There are women who are astronauts! So, for me, you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Did you have all these in mind when you opted for Bioinformatics?

For me, I’ve never thought of any divide between men and women. I think I’ve always seen us as the same and I’ve never felt I’m competing with men or women; I’ve always competed against anybody that is in my class and that includes boys. It’s not something that we have to differentiate. In fact, my parents have always told me I can do whatever I want to do in the whole world. So, I picked a course that not many girls were studying and that didn’t bother me in any way.

And have you competed favourably in the industry since 2008?

I think we’ve actually done quite well for ourselves. Our still being in the market means we’re making progress.

Though, there is always a big disparity between businesses that are owned by older IT professionals and younger IT professionals.

What is your aspiration five years down the line in this field?

To be Africa’s leading online solution, e-learning and IT security provider.

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By Anthonia Soyingbe ,  Lagos

Franchise owners of Nigerian Idol TV Reality Show, Optima Media Group (OMG), has unveiled the last 12 contestants in the on-going season 5 of the show. The unveiling which took place at the Dream Studios, at the weekend was in association with Show sponsor, Etisalat Nigeria and partners, Payporte, Cool Fm, Tantalizers, Tom Tom, Zaron, Dabur Toothpaste, So-Klin, ORS and Ellen Suites.

The top 12 most outstanding acts will be squaring up against one another from the week of April 26 for the N7.5 million top spot cash reward as well as other multi-million naira juicy offers chief among which include a recording deal with South Africa-based Universal Music label and a brand new SUV car. They had beaten 20 others to make the cut.

The contestants include Ogunmoyero Modolowamu (Dolu), Oyinkepreye Deborah Toun (Preye), Janet Ebiwari Ayoka (Ayoka), Godson Goodluck (Classic Tunez), Ogunrombi Kunle (K-Peace), Esther Aritheshoma Monday (Sther), Adigwe Brenda Ada (Brenda), Ekeoma Victor Chibuzor (Prime), Paul Manuwa (P.Scholes), Okemiri Uloma Margaret (Uloma), Omodele Diana Fatoki (Modele) and Ese-Amadasun Imuetiyan (Nex2).

For some, making the top 12 cut was a rather easier task with a lot of thanks to their performances and the public voting process. Others had to travel the nervy route laden with uncertainties, happenstance and the Judges’ Wild Card to get to this stage.

In the first eviction show featuring 10 contestants from an initial pool of 30, Prime, Dolu and Preye expectedly got the nod ahead of seven others after posting outstanding performances to position as the brightest choices of both the judges and the viewing public.

The second batch was dubbed the ‘Group of Death’ on the strength of its consisting of the competition’s leading contenders in Brenda, Modele, Sther, Tama Nisa, Shayee and Classic Tunez.

At the end of proceedings, Brend, Tama Nisa and Nex2 emerged victorious, but not without some displeasure from the judges over Nex2’s qualification. He had been dubbed the ‘worst performer’ from the pack. Tama Nisa however, pulled out of the competition on health grounds, and was subsequently replaced by Classic Tunez who had to prove his mettle after returning to the show on the Judges Wild Card platform.

The third batch threw up the likes K-Peace, Ayoka and Uloma whose qualification raised some eyebrows especially from the Judges and a section of the viewing public that rated her performance below par.

Esther, Modele and P.Scholes were picked to complete the puzzle by the judges through the wild card route. They had to fend off last minute competition notably from Oluchi, Sopriye and Precious.

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By Nkasiobi Oluikpe, Lagos

The Caretaker Committee of the Performing Musicians of Nigeria (PMAN) has inaugurated an 18-man electoral committee to midwife the emergence of a duly elected president for the association, come July 31.

lucciano

The inauguration which took place at the PMAN’s office in Opebi, Ikeja, witnessed the presence of representatives of all the various factions of the union who have accepted to sheath their swords.

Also present at the inauguration were some notable musicians like Orits Wiliki, Tee Mac, George Dureke, Chris Mbah, General Brown Bread, Tee Mac, Murphy Van Anthony and several others.

While taking oath of office, the chairman of the electoral committee, Charles Imoluame, popularly known as Charlimo covenanted thus: “I do swear and affirm in the name of God, to solemnly, diligently, faithfully, honestly and impartially perform the duties imposed on me by virtue of my appointment in adherence to PMAN’s provisions and that I will not knowing violate and willing permit to be violated, any of the provisions, and I will, to the best of my ability perform my duty, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of PMAN.

Charlimo also assured that the committee will do its best to be neutral and look at all the candidates that will come without bias and welcome young, old, male and female musicians to the contest. Nobody is going to take anybody for granted, he stressed.

Lawyer to the peace committee which transformed to the Caretaker Committee, Romeo Michael, commented on the nullification of the previous judgment of the Federal High Court stating that, besides using fictitious signatures to get the judgment, that the powers of the Federal High Court on union matters were in 2010 divested to the National Industrial Court.

“The judgment that Pretty Okafor is relying on, is null and avoid as far as the law is concerned. The judge himself cannot confer powers on the court where the court has no powers. It is the law that creates the court that also confers power on the court to adjudicate upon.

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