The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Rotary Club restates commitment to service

    Rotarian Vipul Agrawal has been inducted as the 4th President of Rotary Club of Lagos Island at a ceremony held at Lagoon Conference Centre, Lagos. Rotarian Agrawal took over the leadership of the club from  Rotarian Rajkumar Gulati.

    President Agrawal said he was humbled by the trust and responsibility reposed in him by the club members, adding that he was humbled and excited by the vast opportunities to serve for the communities. “We will strive to do our best to make a difference in life for the less privileged in the communities we live in,” he added.

    Agrawal is a leading building industry professional and a senior member of the Lafarge Nigeria management team. His wife, Rotarian Poonam, is also an active member of RCLI with a passion for conserving the environment and habitat.

    The event was attended by the District Governor of Rotary District 9110, Rotarian Jide Akeredolu, and other members of the district leadership team, business and community leaders, industrialists and members of RCLI.

    According to the outgone President of the club, “RCLI is one of the youngest Rotary Clubs in Nigeria, but with an impressive list of achievements.  Since its first year of inception, it has had the largest number of lady members in Africa. Its service projects have focused on five key areas of  Vision 2020, including free cataract eye surgeries for the needy in both Lagos and Kano in association with Geeta Ashram, Lekki.

    “We have had blood donation camps, almost two camps every month, to encourage the habit of blood donation and provide a much deficient medical resource that saves lives.  With 1,200 pints collected in 2018-19, the highest voluntary blood collection by any social service organisation in Nigeria at RCLI, we are helping to create a large pool of regular donors so that a good level of reserve can be kept in the Blood Bank. Frequent camps are helping to replenish fresh blood in the Blood Bank. This is the No. 1 Club for lood donation.

    “On schools rehabilitation, we have adopted two schools in Lagos Island in an under privileged area: Teslim Elias Model Primary and Union Baptist schools. We fully refurbished their toilet block and plan to continue with other schools. We have created community projects that provide food, beverages, clothing and footwear to the needy, indigent and particularly at Leprosy hospices. Polio eradication programme – donation of refrigerators for keeping polio vaccines safe and donation of footwear for aid workers. Sensitising the communities, volunteers, youngsters and students for eradication of Polio is bringing Nigeria close to getting declared Polio Free by WHO.

    “We have also created sanitation and hygiene outreach projects including health education and distribution of sanitary napkins for girls at schools and building toilets in schools, with vocational training and artificial limb replacement initiatives with leading partners.

    The district team and Rotary members wished the team well in their efforts to do more among the communities and among the needy in Lagos, and across Nigeria.

    The District Governor of Rotary district 9110 Rotarian JideAkeredolu, who witnessed the event, commended the smooth handling of baton from one President to another. He said “that is the beauty of power transfer in Rotary club,” however, that the work of the past president is not done yet . He cited the case of past presidents in other clubs not supporting their new president. “But in Rotary, there is nothing like that. We have a triangular leadership whereby the past president Rotarian Rajkumar Gulati, the new President Rotarian Vipul Agrawal and the next President for year 2020-21 Mr. Sanjay Srivastava, will have to work together.”

    He urged the new President that he should think outside the box as he takes over because in a year from now, he would have to come out to reel out the projects that he would have accomplished. He mentioned some of the core prejocts of the District, which he hopes that the club lend to, project which bother on cervical cancer and other health challenges.

    The new president thanked  the club members for their support. He said that the focus of the club remains to enhance humanity.

    The night was not all about speeches alone as there was the cutting of the cake, which came with much fun and laughter, as well as the introduction of new members, and raffle draws. There was also the caring for the environment and fashion  show, with members and children wearing stuffs that have been recycled on the runway!

  • States must develop tourist sites, says NTDC boss

    To diversify the economy beside oil and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), states have been urged to develop tourism sites.

    Director General (DG) of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr Folorunsho Coker, who made the call, said Nigeria must create brands when dealing with our tourism sites to encourage prospective tourism and in return earn revenue from the sector.

    He said that tourism sites and venues of cultural festivals must be equipped with necessary facilities like emergency services, telephone services, parking space, relaxation spots and conveniences to make people feel comfortable enough to visit.

    Mr Coker stated this in Abuja while chatting with journalists in Abuja. He added Nigeria is working on projecting a good image of itself abroad, especially in Germany where it hosted the first Nigerian cultural day in Berlin which featured Nigerian music, food and art etc.

    He said that beside the cultural festival, the country is also working on an Afro-beat festival which will further introduce the country’s art, music, and more to the world.

    “There are thousands of festivals in Nigeria on an annual basis, we relate to quite a few in different geopolitical zones in the country from the Durbar, Ojudioba, Eyo in Lagos, new yam festivals, Argungu fishing festival and a lot more but we cannot do all but one thing that we have found with all the festivals that we have seen is that they have not gone through what makes things commercially successful, what makes Manchester United what it is in sports tourism or Wimbledon, the Olympics, etc., we must create a brand, have a brand identity that goes into merchandising, some if the festivals in some of this tiny African countries, they produce them in an orderly manner people don’t feel threatened because there is no crowd control, people have minimum requirements like clean rest rooms, good and safe food, drinks, emergency health services, you see that in festivals around the world but is it seen in ours?

    “We have written to most of the organisers of these festivals the processes and things to do, how many times are people going to be interested in people doing the same dance and blowing of horns in a dusty field, create a stage, a platform and make it a viewing experience for tourism. And the sites must be maintained. There are opportunities for state government to develop their tourism sites, we don’t have the funding to handle it on our own but the responsibility to work with those that request for partnership with us, we have spoken to Calabar, Kano, Lagos and some of the state governments that have robust festivals. Google Nigeria was launched last week, we have had a close relationship with Google arts and culture, to see both YouTube and Google come to Nigeria and engage our creative industry in such a positive manner that they are helping to promote our indigenous talents. It is such opportunities that become employment, the employment becomes income and out of such incomes that we get taxation back,” he said.

  • CORA, NLNG fete authors for $100,000 literary prize

    In the woods, a flash of white streaked through the trees and disappeared into the denseness of the forest.” Welcome to the world of 10 years old Anisa Daniel-Oniko as expressed in her book, “Double ‘A’ for Adventure”.

    Anisa’s book tells a story of an incident involving two girls and their family that happened on a forest.

    She joined the league of giants when her book made the 2019 initial shortlist of the $100,000 Nigerian Prize for Literature, sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

    Since 2004, the prize has rewarded writers yearly. For this year’s edition, a writer of children’s literature will go home with N35.7 million prize money.

    There have been winners, such as Gabriel Okara (co-winner, 2004, poetry) and Prof Ezenwa Ohaeto (co-winner, 2004, poetry) for “The Dreamer, His Vision”.

    Win or not, weeks after Anisa made the list of the prestigious prize, it still feels “surreal”, said the 10-year-old. “I still can’t believe it,” she expressed at the 2019 Book Party, organised by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) and the NLNG.

    It was a rich harvest of conversations around children as this year’s edition of the book bash held at Shell Hall of the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Centre, Lagos. The panel discussion was moderated by Lookman Sanusi, while Osaze was the MC.

    As CORA’s programme chair, Jahman Anikulapo, once observed: “If you make it to the last 11 out of the highly competitive entries, the public needs to hear your voice.” It was no wonder then that the event featured readings and discussions on the 11 books, children literature and performances.

    Anisa joined 10 others authors in the spotlight at the party, which brings the laureates and their books face-to-face with the literary audience to create conversations around them and their work .

    “”I love fantasy books”, Anisa said with broad smiles on her face.   For now, she is working on another title soon to be released.  “I began to read while in my early years in primary school.  This has helped me to know so much about story books and characters.”

    Other laureates with her on stage were  Jude Idada, author of “Boom Boom”; Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (“Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree”); Nnena Ochiche (“Ginika’s Adventures”); Anote Ajeluorou (“Igho Goes to Farm”); Dunni Olatunde (“Mystery at Ebenezer’s Lodge”);  Ndidi Enenmor (“A Hero’s Welcome”); Nkiru Uzoh (“Obioma: A Girl’s Journey to Self-Discovery”); The O. T. Begho (Great Walls of Benin); Oladele Medaiyese (She Calls Him Daddy) and Lami Adejoh Opawale (Spurred).

    To Idada: “We can change the world if we can do things right. I wrote it because I have lost four friends from the sickle cell anemia disorder. It is basically on sickle cell in children. It is about an eight-year-old boy that had a dog that could speak. I felt it is  high time to throw more light on the disorder.  It is a lesson  for children to learn about it early in life.  A lot of parents do not understand the real meaning of this sickness.”

    On his book, journalist, Ajelourou of the Guardian Newspapers, said: “It is to let parents learn how to take their children to the village often enough.”

    Begho spoke from Saint Kitts Island, Caribbean Island,  through Skype, said the past and something historic inspired him to write the story.  “I  noticed we have a shortage of positive African stories to assist children.  Since we have a rich past I decided to look into that to produce this book. I used cartoons on TV to illustrate part of it to aid the children when they read the book,” he said.

    To Nwaubani, her story was from interactions with girls captured by Boko Haram insurgents.  “This novel indeed, is a harrowing story of survival and then the hope in the darkest of places. It is based on the experiences of young women, who were captured by Boko Haram. The case of these set of girls even happened before that of the Chibok girls.  What I did was to look for them, interviewed them to produce this book,” she said.

    Since the first edition in 2009, the book party has become a platform through which writers on the prize initial shortlist alongside their works are engaged by the public.

    “The book party is used to celebrate the authors and their works for emerging as some of the very best in the country. The book party is a way of ensuring that there’s a robust audience engagement with the books that have been longlisted for this award. A work that makes it to the last 11, is worthy of significant public acknowledgment,” CORA Secretary-General, Toyin Akinosho, said.

    According to him, despite the advent of social media, his organisation believed that a rich ecosystem around the book trade is still possible. “CORA believes in the building of the soft infrastructure of the book industry; the presence and improvement of book reviews in the old and new media, the availability and utility of a functional library system, the efficiency of distribution and the profitability of the vocation of writing,” he said

    A shortlist of three is expected in September and the Advisory Board will announce a possible winner in October.

    The chairman, panel of judges for this year’s prize is Professor Obodimma Oha, a professor of Cultural Semiotics and Stylistics in the Department of English, University of Ibadan. Other members of the panel of judges include Professor Asabe Usman Kabir, professor of Oral and African Literature at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto and Dr. Patrick Oloko, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, who specialises in African post-colonial literature, gender, and cultural studies.

  • Renowned artist David Dale dies at 72

    Nigerian renowned artist and printmaker, David Dale, 72 has died in Lagos. He died in the early hour on Tuesday at the Military Hospital, Yaba after a long and traumatic battle with stroke.

    The artist, famous for the stained glass technique had faced health challenges, which had been a collective concern of the Nigerian art community.

    He has been in and out of coma, and recently he broke a thigh bone that required a surgery. Also, he suffered another stroke that impaired his speech and ability to recognise people.

    Born in 1947 in Nigeria to a Scottish father and a Nigerian mother, Dale moved to the United Kingdom to live with an aunt at age two.

    He returned to Nigeria to finish his secondary education at St. Gregory’s College, Lagos where he met Bruce Onobrakpeya as art teacher at the college who encouraged his interest in art.

    Dale graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1971, specialising in Graphics and Design and returned to Lagos to practice working with Onobrakpeya for a few years before setting up his own studio.

    He was a full time studio artist who explored advertising and taught part-time at the University of Lagos in the eighties.

    Read Also: Nobel laureate Morrison dies at 88

    His early artworks and some of his best known artworks are done in the lino engraving and foil methods that Onobrakpeya practised. Dale ventured into print-making and worked with a variety of media including coloured beads, charcoal and stained glass.

    Many of his early artworks explored the energy and variety of urban life in Lagos. His lines were sparse, eliminating superfluous adornment to create a visceral connection to his viewers.

    Four years ago, there was a special fund raising lottery sales tagged, Saving David Dale organised by Quintessence Gallery, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Over three years ago, Dale suffered stroke, but survived 12 days of coma. A number of other financial support initiatives, aimed at assisting his further treatment abroad, have been held, particularly by art patrons at auctions and exhibitions to enable him seek further medical attention outside the Nigerian shores.

    Nigeria’s leading auction house, Arthouse Contemporary also dedicated its charity lots to raise funds for Dale in Lagos.

    Among the early supports for Dale came from one of Africa’s leading collectors, Prince Yemisi Shyllon who, according to sources, picked the initial medical bills of the prolific artist. Later, another collector, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, now late, organised Dale Soiree, a private viewing of the ailing artist’s select works.

    Dale had worked consistently in 23 different media during his four decades old career. Among his regular medium are oil, beads, glass bead works, water colour, gouache, stained glass media in three different styles including wrought iron, etchings, mosaic, and lino prints.

  • IgboFest holds in Minnesota August 10

    Nigerians in Diaspora, especially those in Minnesota USA, will this weekend have a fun-filled celebration as Umunne Cultural Association in Minnesota, holds its annual IgboFest Day anniversary with the theme, Rising above the challenges. Guests expected at the event include Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his deputy Peggy Flanagan, City Brooklyn Park Mayor Jeffrey Lunde, Senator Dean Philips and former auditor-general Anambra state, Sir Christopher Akuanyionwu(rtd).  Last year edition was attended by humour merchant Chief Chika Okpala aka Zebrodaya.

    The two-day event will hold on August 9 and 10 beginning with a gala night (with Ada Igbo) featuring beauty pageant contest at Mermaid Entertainment and Event Centre, Mounds view Boulevard, Minnesota by 5pm. First prize winner will go home with 1000 dollars, while second and third place winners will get 500 dollars and 350 dollars respectively.

    The main event, which will feature performances, dances, and food exhibitions will hold on August 10 at North Hennepin Community College, 85th Avenue North, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota by 11am.  President Umunne Cultural Association, Minnesota, Mr.  Okechukwu Nnaji (Agbabalu Enyi Onya nke mbu n’ Enugu) who spoke on telephone, said that IgboFest is organised every year as a rally point for Igbo people in USA, Canada, Ghana, Liberia, as well as those in Nigeria to promote Igbo culture and traditions. He disclosed that the annual event is to bring to the global community Nigeria’s deep-rooted cultural heritage, which he said, has been on for the past 26 years.

    Umunne Cultural association was founded in 1985 as an umbrella association that unites the Igbos in Minnesota. It is a nonprofit organization comprising of Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria living in Minnesota. Its main objective is to reflect on their affinity with one another and the shared goal of promoting and preserving the rich Igbo heritage.

    The mission of Umunne Cultural Association in Minnesota is to enhance the cultural, educational, civic and general well-being of its members; to educate Minnesota about Igbo culture and traditions; and to involve its members in community development and charitable causes.

    “We strive to accomplish this mission by organizing cultural events; community-based educational programmes; member volunteer activities; and by establishing relationships with other Minnesota-based organisations that share in the cultural diversity mission of Minnesota.

    “We work to educate Igbo students to build successful careers and professions so that they may become substantial members and positively contribute to the communities in which they live,” the association says in its website.

  • US Navy band thrills Nigerians

    Abrass band of the United States (US) Naval Forces, Europe, “Topside,” captivated guests at Freedom Park, Lagos when they performed a special rendition of the late Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s classic “Water No Get Enemy” to the delight of music lovers, who sang and danced along with the band.

    For the second time this year, Topside, was visiting Nigeria with the aim of bolstering the US-Nigerian relationship through the power of music, it was said.

    Whether it was “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Stand By Me,” “Lion Sleeps Tonight,” or “Water No Get Enemy,” the high-energy performances of the band were well received by the audience.

    On the first day of their visit, the band performed American and Nigerian tunes to the delight of approximately 300 children and youths at the Johnson Jakande Tinubu Park in Alausa, Lagos.

    On Monday, the group of nine musicians conducted a masterclass for established and emerging local musicians, including members of the Nigerian Trumpet Guild. Building on their long-standing partnership, the US Navy band shared best practices with their Nigeria Navy, Air Force and Police counterparts.

    “We’re really excited to be playing for our Nigerian partners again, our last visit to Lagos was so well received,” said Musician third Class Michael Parker, a member of the Topside band.

    The US Navy band also performed at a special reception to commemorate the 2019 Africa Partnership Station (APS) Mission.  The event was held at the Nigerian Naval Dockyards, Victoria Island, Lagos and was attended by US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Kathleen FitzGibbon; US Naval Forces Europe Deputy Chief of Strategy, Resources and Plans, Rear Admiral John Gumbleton; Nigerian Navy’s Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji; alongside Nigerian political and business leaders as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

    Topside was in Nigeria to support the visit by the USNS Carson City, which has been deployed in the Gulf of Guinea on the Africa Partnership Station (APS) mission. APS is US Naval Forces Europe’s flagship maritime security cooperation programme, focusing on maritime safety and security through increased maritime awareness, response capabilities, and infrastructure.

    It would be recalled that Topside visited Nigeria in March to support the 2019 Obangame Express exercise sponsored by the US Africa Command. The latest visit underscored the strong bilateral relationship and people-to-people ties between the United States and Nigeria.

  • Magazine holds awards ceremony in Ghana

    The annual Nigerian Topleaders International Magazine Award and conference will hold in Accra, Ghana on August 31.

    According to the Director of Communication, Toplead Media Communications Company, publisher of the quarterly West African celebrity magazine, Mrs. Mercy O. Ajayi the occasion will also mark the 14th year anniversary of the publication dedicated to promote and unveil eminent achievers in Nigeria and abroad.

    Mrs Ajayi  said among the prominent awardees are former Nigerian Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, MD/CEO Nigeria Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman, Vice Chairman, Sifax Group Ltd, Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman, FCMB Ltd, Otunba Subomi Balogun, M.F.M General Overseer Dr. D.K Olukoya while some of the special guests of honour are Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo, Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana Ambassador Micheal Abikoye, Ambassador Shaban Audu Nizazo 111, Etsu of Kwali FCT Abuja, Engr. Musa B. Bott and Apostle Dr. Anthony Ikalama.

    Other awardees are Chairman Morlap Group Limited, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, Customs Comptroller General Col. Hammed Ali (rtd) Senator Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, NIMASA  Director General Dr Dakuku  Peterside, Mr Fidet Ikhiria among others.

     

  • ‘What makes Soyinka cultural exchange unique’

    The Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) held its 10th anniversary last month. Its founding fathers and principal facilitators of the project recalled how the idea started, why it remains steadfast, its gains and challenges in the last decade, Assistant Editor (Arts) Ozolua Uhakheme reports

    Co-Executive Producer, Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE), Prof Segun Ojewuyi, has described the 10-year-old cultural exchange project as a platform carefully designed to celebrate Prof Wole Soyinka’s life, legacies and core principles as a humanist and activist, rather than a celebration of his person.

    Ojewuyi, a professor of Theatre at South Illinois University, Carbondale, United States (US), said though the annual event is tied to the Nobel laureate’s birthday, the central trend of the celebration is ‘education of children and preparing our nation for the future – a different future from what we have today.’

    To him, the WSICE project will continue to celebrate Kongi’s birthday forever, even after he would have gone. “And we chose not just to have a party, share cake or Aso Ebi and all, but to celebrate him in two distinctive ways. What we also thought was to invest in the future. Not just in the present, but in the future of our children. And we came up with the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange Group,” he said.

    Prof Ojewuyi, who spoke at this year’s 10th anniversary celebration in Akure, the Ondo State capital, said the two critical elements in the festival are the ideals of Soyinka and the international cultural exchange, which are globally connected to humanity.

    “We started by celebrating him in the United Kingdom (UK), the Caribbeans, the Mediterranean and always coming back to Nigeria.  So, this programme runs globally. We tap into the Nigeria theory, that emphasises the need to be proud of home,” he said, adding that the essay competition component of the celebration is being used to bring the children together. “We decided we would not talk down on them, but spoon-feed them with Soyinka’s ideas. So, we put them in a situation where they need to think through our national development issues and where they will own their personal future and our national future by participating.

    “While we were thinking about this, I was a little disturbed about the quality of our education and our system. But, since we started and we have read the essays, we have come to the point of history. I’m really excited and proud to be a Nigerian,” he said, talking about the quality of essays by the students.

    He added: “I’m a professor and I teach. I have taught in England. I went to some of the best schools in the world. So, I can say that our children are intellectually sound, ethically grounded and they have the power of vision. And all of us should invest in them if we truly believe in the development of our country. These children are untainted. Though they live in the worst of environments, their ideas are pure and they still retain the ribs that we need. We should continue to invest in those ribs. And this is why I invite the governor of Ondo State because, sustaining this over 10years, we have spent tremendous amount of money…

    “We included Nigerian children the in Diaspora. We organised the same competition and we had winners, who were brought from the UK to Nigeria to join. That’s another cultural exchange.”

    On what fired the idea 10years ago, Prof Ojewuyi recalled that it was the ZMirage’s Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Teju Kareem’s excitement and immediate commitment. He noted that anyone can have ideas, but one needs to execute them to make them real, adding that if you don’t have the means or the wherewithal, the ideas will die.

    “ZMirage and Kareem provided the money for the first edition. We are talking about millions of Naira, because I came with the production from the US. That is to his credit. If you are wondering how we have lasted these 10years, it is because we have been together for a long time in Nigerian school, in the UK before he came back. So, we understand ourselves well. But we allow each to apply his strength fully. And his strength is to move. He is based in Nigeria and knows how to get the resources to keep us afloat, and the ideas and concept are always on my side. He is not without ideas and concepts, he complements,” he added with all sense of humility.

    The organisers, he disclosed, have continued to add resource persons who are carefully selected for their resourcefulness, the most prominent being Jahman Anikulapo, a former Editor of The Guardian on Sunday.’

    Prof Ojewuyi commended the financial support of sponsors such as Ogun State government under Senator Ibikunle Amosun and the current administration of Dapo Abiodun. According to him, ‘that we have taken it beyond personalities and from administration to administration is an indication that the exchange has been successful’.

    On the choice of youths as target for the exchange, the scholar said: “There is no fertile ground than the minds. So, those Americans, whatever fields they are into in America, if there is a conversation on Nigeria, they will be able to contribute more than what they got from the television or what they read in the news. It is practical life experience.”

    For Kareem, the exchange project has been able to contribute to proffering solutions to the numerous issues that plague the country and   humanity. “Art, literature and culture are our chosen tools because they embody the whole of humanity,” he said.

    Consulting producer Lillian Amah-Aluko who was the pioneer producer for five years, said the exchange programme has been on track and has consistently met its objectives in the last 10years. She, however, noted that there have been challenges that have been fine-tuned, citing introduction of innovation and packages as efforts to ensure that the project’s integrity  is on track.

    Corroborating Prof Ojewuyi’s position, Amah-Aluko said financing the project in the last 10years has been a big task, but gave kudos to Senator Amosun, who has been the only individual to have supported the programme every year since inception. “When we started, he was not a governor then, but he supported the programme. Throughout the years, Ogun State has been supporting the programme and Amosun would provide his personal support. So, he has been a backbone because he keyed into the vision. Ondo State government has also supported us twice. Osun State too has supported us. However, it has been difficult, but Prof Ojewuyi and Teju Kareem are determined to sustain the programme,” she added.

    In spite of these challenges, the team members are very optimistic and hopeful. “Our dream or hope is that a time will come when the programme will be able to sustain itself so that all of these people who have keyed into this vision year after year will be proud to have been part of the vision.  In fact, we are hoping that a time will come when the programme will become solvent financially so that we can appreciate our partners in progress and say to them ‘we have arrived’.

    Dr. Razinat Muhammed of the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Maiduguri, who has been an adjudicator in the project, said over the years, the exchange has produced students, who have developed self-confidence as a result of their participation. She noted that some students from Gombe, Kano and Adamawa described WSICE programme as an eye-opener.

    “I think over the years, this programme has enriched the Nigerian child as challenges, which without it; they would just of course, be relegated only to their schools’ essays. But, now they have been given a broad perspective and broader experiences, and at least, now they know the country much better,” she said.

     

  • Chimamanda plants a tree for Mandela

    The doyenne of world Literature Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie made an august appearance at the Chief Newton Jibunoh-sponsored Mandela Garden of Trees in Asaba, Delta State, last Friday. Resplendent in a classy crimson dress, Chimamanda was all smiles as the acclaimed ‘Desert Warrior’ Newton Jibunoh, accorded her a befitting reception. The gathering became instantly wowed by the grand grace of the literary icon.

    Let me reveal here that when Chimamanda was starting out as a writer she had written in innocence to Jibunoh and was well encouraged.

    Now, to the heart of the matter: The late former South African President Nelson Mandela lives in Asaba where Jibunoh has bequeathed a global garden to his memory. The United Nations had in November 2009 fixed July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day, or Mandela Day for short.

    The first UN Mandela Day held on July 18, 2010, and the great leader’s 95th birthday was marked specially in Asaba with a world press conference proclaiming the establishment of a garden of 95 trees to be known as “The Mandela Garden of 95 Trees.”

    The celebrated environmentalist and conqueror of the Sahara Desert and Chief Executive, Fight Against Desert Encroachment (FADE), Dr. Jibunoh partnered the Delta State government to broadcast that well over 134,000 square metres of prime land within the Asaba International Airport complex, has been designed to serve as “The Nelson Mandela Garden of 95 Trees.” It was at this blooming Mandela Garden that Chimamanda came to plant a tree.

    The conceptual design of the Mandela Garden is in the shape of the map of Africa, featuring a life-size bronze statue of Nelson Mandela, 95 trees symbolically planted as the Robben memorial, freedom mini-gardens, well-landscaped terraced fences made of hedge plants, concrete walkways, state-of-the-art restrooms, adequate parking, Nelson Mandela playground and park for children.

    Dr. Jibunoh, in his drive toward greening the environment through FADE, always had the abiding dream of planting the trees. It has been a life-long passion, culminating in the FADE Wall of Trees planted in Makoda Kano in the spirited bid to arrest desert encroachment.

    “I will run the park for the rest of my life as the keeper,” Jibunoh said in his Lagos Island Didi Museum office. “My family will have to come and visit me there. They know my passion. It helps that the project is situated at the airport. They can always fly in and fly out. I believe Asaba provides a conducive atmosphere better than Lagos, London or New York!”

    According to Jibunoh,  “We have to use Mandela to inspire people. We used to have Kwame Nkrumah. There is no other Mandela anywhere. He gave the world all he had. He went to prison for 27 years and came out with nothing. He ruled South Africa for only one term of presidency and came out with nothing. That’s the legacy!”

    For Jibunoh, the term “Charity begins at home” was done in reverse order. He was heavily involved in improving other places, notably the Sahara Desert and places like Kano and Lagos before returning to his home in Delta State. He mentions the Igbo term and name “Nkeiruka”, stating that what is ahead is greater than the things done earlier.

    An irrepressible optimist, Jibunoh believes that security challenges such as kidnapping can be solved to make Nigeria a tourist haven, starting with the Mandela Gardens in Asaba. “There are so many things to challenge the world in Nigeria,” he affirms, he said, adding that he had seen it all from the days of colonialism through the apartheid years and the Nigerian Civil War. To him, Nigeria deserves celebration for leading the charge for the freedom of Nelson Mandela and South Africa.

    “We lost Barclays Bank and British Petroleum in the Mandela fight,” he said. “Nigeria was a Frontline state. We cannot now be a minor player. This project will re-establish Nigeria as a Frontline State. Our fight was not in vain. Through the Mandela Gardens, Mandela will live forever. It will put Nigeria on a different platform.”

    Jibunoh pointed at the irony that people thought that Mandela was only fighting for black Africans, only for it to be discovered at the end that the whites benefited more. According to him, “the whites who saw him as a terrorist are now the ones benefitting from Mandela the most’.

    Adichie dwelt on the need to have a truth and reconciliation committee in Nigeria, much like Mandela did in post-apartheid South Africa. She argued that major issues, following the Biafra war had not been addressed. The unfair treatment of the Igbo galled the celebrated novelist and author of “Half of a Yellow Sun”, based on the Nigeria-Biafra war. Citing the Asaba massacre and issues such as the yet unresolved abandoned properties matter in Port Harcourt, Chimamanda avered that the country cannot hope to make much progress without redressing injustice and embracing the truth and history.

    It was indeed, a meeting of icons as Chimamanda took a shovel, dug up the ground and planted a tree to the admiration of Dr Jibunoh and the quality audience in Mandela Garden of Trees in Asaba.

  • NCC, Multichoice train manpower on broadcast piracy

    The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has emphasised the importance of protecting creativity, restating its commitment to providing adequate capacity building for its workers.

    The commission made stated this at a national broadcast anti-piracy workshop themed: “Broadcast piracy and strategic management” for its workers, organised in collaboration with Multichoice Nigeria Limited in Abuja.

    The workshop was attended by NCC management staff, state coordinators as well as enforcement and prosecution officers drawn from across the country.

    Other participants included Anti-piracy Manager, Multichoice, Mr. Umar Abdullaziz; and Ms. Tanya Hill of the United States Department of Justice.

    According to NCC Director-General, Mr. John Ohi Asein, the workshop was meant to equip copyright officers with relevant knowledge on broadcast piracy. He added that the “commission was determined to provide the staff with necessary technical knowledge and facilities to enhance copyright protection in the country”.

    “The protection of creativity is essential to avoid a situation where the country’s creative potentials would be mismanaged by the activities of pirates. The inability to protect the country’s creative works could create a negative impact on Nigeria’s creative industry, which at the moment is rated among the top three in the world,” he said.

    The Head of Regulatory, Multichoice Nigeria Limited, Mr Gozie Onumonu, said the broadcast sector was critical to the development of a vibrant film industry, which necessitated frequent dialogue on finding ways of protecting broadcast content.

    Onumonu said stemming piracy was difficult, but that with more efforts the menace would be curbed. He said that the workshop would provide a platform for exploring ways of tackling the problem.

    Mr. A. Frikkie Jonker of IRDETO, digital security firm, who spoke on “Internet streaming: Piracy as it affects broadcasting industry worldwide”, said the importance of protecting creativity in the digital sphere had been challenged by pirates.

    The digital security expert decried the poor institutional response to issues of broadcast piracy, which has impacted negatively on the country’s economy, noting that the problem was a global one.

    While calling for collaboration among relevant stakeholders towards ensuring that the menace was eradicated, Jonker proffered a ‘teach-them-young’ approach to curbing piracy by inculcating the ideals of respect for copyright in youths.

    Speaking on “Internet streaming and counter Measures-paradigms across the world”, Senior Manager, Cyber Security, Mr B. Barrie Coll, examined the internet security measures put in place by IRDETO, in collaboration with Multichoice, observed that such instruments could be employed by organisations to check the menace of broadcast piracy in the country.

    NCC management staff and state coordinators in attendance included Head, Nigerian Copyright Institute (NCI),  Mrs Funmi Adewale; Director Administration, Dr Idowu Ogunkuade; Mrs Adewale, Director, PRS, Mr Mike Akpan; Director, Legal Services, Abdul Ter Kohol esq.; Director, Finance, Mr Mark Obasi and Accounts; Director, Prosecution, Mr Obi Ezeilo; Director, Public Affairs, Vincent Oyefeso; Enforcement, Akwa Ibom State, Idorenyin  Akpakpan; NCC Rivers State Office Coordinator, Mrs Nkechi Ezinma; Enforcement, Kano State Office, Oke Mosunmola and Prosecution, NCC headquarters, Joy Ogbonna.

    Others were Enforcement, Oyo, Kayode Fapohunda; Oyo State Coordinator, Olabisi Ogundiran; Enforcement, Headquarters, Sylvester Emeana; Benin State Coordinator, Joseph Akpeh Ajang; Kaduna State Coordinator, Hanatu Mshelia-Swat; Adamawa State Coordinator, Yusuf Ibrahim; Prosecution, Enugu, Paul Anagonye Odirah; Prosecution, Makurdi Marwell Tor-Anyin Torkaa; Prosecution, DGO Headquarters, Moses Ihuma; Kwara State Coordinator. Mrs Justina Akinwumi; Enforcement, Anambra State Office, Gabriel Anakwem; Enforcement, Benin Office, Henry Udomiaye; Akwa Ibom State Coordinator, Elijah Akpan; Assistant Director, Prosecution, Headquarters, Muslim A. Oke; Bauchi State Coordinator, Nasiru Ahmed Tijani; Enforcement, Headquarters, Ajala Oluwafemi; Enforcement, Bauchi, Ahmed Aliyu Dadi; Enforcement, Owerri, Abayomi Jolayemi, and Prosecution, Rivers, Alubo Inalegwu.