The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Scholars, diplomats brainstorm on global peace

    Scholars, diplomats brainstorm on global peace

    Scholars drawn from the academia and the diplomatic corps converged on Istanbul, Turkey, for a three-day international conference to examine the role of public diplomacy using culture in resolving conflicts among communities, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports. 

    For three days, the transcontinental city of Istanbul, Turkey, played host to scholars drawn from the academia and diplomatic corps. They were there for an international conference on: The role of public diplomacy in bringing conflicted communities together.

    The conference probed the role of culture in public diplomacy for resolving conflict.

    The conference was one of the fixtures of Global Public Diplomacy Network(GPDNet) General Assembly in Istanbul.

    Three new countries were admitted into the Global Public Diplomacy Network(GPDNet), following a unanimous decision by member nations at the end of GPDNet’s fourth General Assembly held in Istanbul, Turkey penultimate week. The countries admitted were Qatar (full member), Lithuanian (associate member) and Mozambique (associate member), while Belarus and Pakistan were observers. The new additions bring to 13 the number of countries in the GPDNetwork, with Turkey (YunusEmre Institute) holding its current presidency.

    Mr Darwish Ahmed, who led the Qatar delegation, said it was an honour to be admitted into the Network, pledging that Qatar will deliver and support the group in realising its goals and objectives. “With your strength we can do a lot as a body. It is an honour to be part of the group. Let’s look positive and think big,” he said.

    President, Global Public Diplomacy Network, Prof Sefes Ates, said that the fate of societies and countries are more bond together than ever before, noting that there is potential struggle among the state and non-state actors over conflicting interests.

    Prof Ates believed that Post-Westphalian conventional diplomacy tools would not be capable enough to develop multiple alternate solutions to the prevention of the existing and potential conflicts in the world. “Today we are witnessing that some international affairs scholars are trying to expand the influence of conventional diplomacy in order to transform and empower it, so as to be more proactive in the process of the prevention of potential global, regional and local crisis while they are strictly criticising the Post-Westphalian diplomacy understanding.

    “Now, in the academia we are debating different forms of diplomacy like comprehensive diplomacy or integrative diplomacy which situates the strategic communication efforts of public and cultural diplomacy and diplomats at the forefront of the policy making process,” he said.

    Continuing, he added: “In line with the transforming nature of the conventional diplomacy, as for YunusEmre Institute–cultural diplomacy agency of Turkey, we are promoting wider knowledge of Turkey, Turkish language, Turkish culture, Turkish history, Turkish music and fine arts in and around the world.”

    He explained that in line with the vision of GPDNet, members strive to promote among others the following: collaborative activities, organise conferences, seminars, workshops and other educational events related to the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of public diplomacy;encourage collaboration in the visual arts, exhibitions, performances and publication sector to expand public awareness of cultural heritage;promote people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and trust; and organise joint training programmes and personnel exchange to strengthen ties between members.

    Lead paper presenter Brigitte Nacos, Colombia University, USA, said contrary to expectations, the advent of global television, internet and social media that should have engendered learning about each other’s cultures, traditions and values, has turned the world into electronic Tower of Babel with most people thinking, speaking and acting differently and unable to engage in meaningful learning.

    She described stereotypes and ignorance as some of the threats to global peace and harmony, which she said, must be tackled offensively as a foremost goal of public diplomacy.

    Nacos, who spoke on Public Diplomacy in the age of global communication, stated that in almost all societies, among all ethnic, racial and religious groupings, stereotypes about ‘the other’ exist and tend to be reinforced by both news and entertainment media. She said some are positive while most are negative and they are not weakened by the content of news media, government information campaigns. “Therefore, public diplomacy must move the second and third pillars of its triad-cultural exchanges and educational exchanges both with collaborative projects to the front burner.

    “Most of what we know about the world and most of what we know about people abroad is second-hand knowledge.What is needed is first-hand knowledge about other people, other cultures, other religions and values. Tourism is a good thing but not enough to fill the knowledge gap. We need more people-to-people gatherings exchanging and sharing ideas, research, expertise, work together for goals we share,” she added.

    Nacos noted that collaborative projects result in more and shared knowledge and understanding, citing the examples of Western-Eastern Divan Orchestra for young people founded 18 years ago by the Palestinian sociologist Edward Said and Jewish conductor Daniel Barenboim. The goal of the project, she said, is to bring young musicians from Palestine and Israel together on a neutral ground to work together, to get to know one another and to think about peace.

    According to her, the collaboration, which started in Weimer, Germany never ended as it blossomed every summer moving from Spain to London, Paris and Berlin.

    “Knowing more about different peoples and races and cultures and religions based on personal experiences, meetings, collaborations will not prevent disagreement but can help to understand others and temper our actions and reactions,” she added.

    Other speakers included Luis Palma Castillo of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, BekirKarl   of Alliance of Civilisations and Neville Bolt of King’s College, London.

    At the close of the general assembly, it resolved that considering the fledging state of the network, absentee members would only be sanctioned after two or three consecutive absence from meeting. This is to allow for the growth of the network as well as to cater for any eventuality that may prevent members to attend general assembly or major collaborative projects. The secretariat also agreed to liaise with member states on collaborative projects to be undertaken within the public diplomacy framework using any genre of the arts.

  • NGOs empower women, children

    NGOs empower women, children

    Two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Help Initiative and Sammy and Kola Foundation (SAAF), have put smiles on the faces of women, vulnerable children and orphans at this year’s “Shop for free”.

    The yearly charity and empowerment event, which brought together vulnerable children and orphans from more than five homes in Ibadan, also afforded an opportunity for health, business and social educationists to select women from various parts of the state.

    Orphanages at the event were Abundance Ministries, Heritage Homes, Total Parentage Home, Jesus Children Home, Kent Home and Tabitha Homes.

    Women were allowed to shop for items, including clothes, shoes, bags, home accessories, domestic items, food and children items, among others for free.

    Welcoming the participants, the Director, Help Initiative, Mrs Febisola Okonkwo, said her organisation was synergising with SAAF because they share the same vision to touch the lives of orphans, vulnerable children and women.

    She noted that all the items provided for beneficiaries were generated by the organisation’s sponsors and donors.

    She described charity and empowerment as collecting and giving back to society.

    She said: “To ensure sustainablility and enhance development in line with the United Nations Development Goals which SAAF and Help Initiatives supports, we have come together in synergy to support the following goals: poverty alleviation, zero hunger, good health and well-being, reduced inequalities, quality education, decent work and economic growth.

    “We are doing this because we believe in nation building through empowerment and knowledge sharing. Because we know that if you empower a woman and a child, you have empowered the family and the entire nation. Because we believe in team working and synergy. Because we believe if you cannot feed a thousand, feed one and a little drop of water makes a mighty ocean. We are here because we don’t only want to feed with fish, but teach our beneficiaries how to fish as well.

    “The donations and gifts we have here are contributions from family, friends corporate bodies in collaboration with Help Initiative and SAA Foundation which says it all. Together, everyone achieves more.”

    Highlights of the event include health and business talks for the beneficiaries as well as presentations by the beneficiary homes’ children.

  • Meet the Media Project 15 fellows

    Meet the Media Project 15 fellows

    Fifteen international journalists from across the world have received a Coaching and Leadership Fellowship at The Media Project – a partner of The King’s College, an accredited Christian liberal arts college in New York City educating the next generation of principled leaders for America and McChandlish Philips Journalism Institute.

    The Media Project, an International non-profit news site and journalism training organisation, is a network of mainstream journalists who are Christians pursuing accurate and intellectually honest reporting on all aspects of culture, particularly the role of religion in public life in all corners of the world. It welcomes friends from other faiths to such discussions and training.

    It hosted the fellows in a  week-long workshop, which kicked off on October 7 at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. The participants were engaged in interactive sessions on leadership principles they can use in their newsrooms.

    Poynter senior faculty also taught sessions for the group in strategic thinking, global fact-checking, social media, and coaching writers, using feedback, resolving conflict, and improving newsroom collaboration.

    The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy centre that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse.

    “The Poynter Institute is a gold standard for journalistic ethics and leadership,” Media Project Executive Director, Paul D. Glader, said. “These hard-working journalists from the far corners of the world picked up insights they can take back to the newsrooms in their home countries.”

    The fellows are: Leticia Pautasio (Argentina) is Editor in Chief of TeleSemana.com; Ernest Chi Cho (Cameroon) is Communications Officer at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Ethiopia; Petr Vizina (Czech Republic) is a Presenter and head of the Culture desk at Czech National Television; Juan Carlos Gonzales (Ecuador) is Director / Presenter at Radio Centro Group. Maria Teresa Ramon (Ecuador is Editor/Supervisor at INEVAL and Evelyn Osagie (Nigeria) is a Senior Correspondent at The Nation.

    Others are Emmanuel Bamfo-Agyei (Ghana), Editor at Central Press; Dominic Thomas (India) is Programme Executive at Air World Service of All India Radio; Sanjiv Baruah (India) is a broadcaster and web officer for All India Radio; Zaffar Iqbal Sheikh (India) is bureau chief of Srinagar-Jammu and Kashmir for NDT; Tom Osanjo (Kenya) is editor of The Big Issue and a sports columnist; Cecilia Maundu (Kenya) is Assistant News Producer at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation; Marek Miller (Poland) is a consultant at eM-Media; Tracy Lewis (Trinidad & Tobago) is a digital media manager at Catholic Media Services; and Helen Stojilkowicz (Venezuela) is director of HKS Media and Marketing.

    The core training sessions were led by Jill Geisler, who holds the Bill Plante Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago. Geisler, whose leadership mantra is “helping others succeed,” is the author of “Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know.”

    For 16 years, Geisler guided the leadership and management programmes of The Poynter Institute. “This is my sixth opportunity to work with these journalists who have been carefully selected by The Media Project. Each year, I marvel at their passion, wisdom, and resilience,” Geisler said.

    TMP Fellows will also explore the intersection of journalism and faith with nationally syndicated “On Religion” columnist Terry Mattingly, a Senior Fellow in media and religion at The King’s College in New York City and an ex officio board member of The Media Project. The Fellows will also hear from Glader, a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter, now a magazine journalist and an associate professor at The King’s College in New York City and Executive Director of The Media Project and The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute.

    “We know this programme will help the journalists from around the world tell their story in the way only those who are living it every day can,” Roberta Ahmanson, a writer, philanthropist and chair of the board of The Media Project, said.

    The Fellowship requires participants to make a year-long commitment to implement their new coaching and leadership skills. Fellows agree to mentor two journalists working in their home country.

    “Poynter faculty teaches seminars and workshops at the Institute in  St. Petersburg, Florida and at conferences and organisational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum in seven languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 330,000 registered users in more than 200 countries.

    “The Institute’s website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world’s top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.”

     

     

    Culled from TMP website: themediaproject.org

    Harrison is TMP Managing Director.

  • Printmakers make debut with First Rhythm at Quintessence

    To create awareness for print art and printmaking, the Visual Printmakers Association of Nigeria (VPAN) is putting together print artworks that have never been on public display.

    Many of the works to be exhibited will form new narratives, demanding, and exciting methods that will invite questions from admirers of the techniques.

    According to VPAN, most collectors see print artwork as a copy rather than original. “A print artwork is original in the same way a painting or sculpture is an original work of art, even though many identical of the same piece are produced.

    Despite the achievement of Prof Bruce Onobrakpeya, who changed from painting to printmaking, the medium is yet to gain popularity.

    “Onobrakpeya, who is the grand patron and participant in the print exhibition, has continued to investigate Urhobo folklore through which his works unfold. Today, the professor has disciples, which gave birth to VPAN, from his annual harmattan workshop,” the association stated.

    The inaugural exhibition titled: First Rhythm will open on Saturday, October 28, at Quintessence Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos, and will run for three weeks.

    “VPAN was conceived at the fifth edition of the harmattan during our professional workshop. After the production of series of beautiful works, we were motivated to establish a professional body, which through it the world can know about us. That is how we came up with the association,” Associate Professor and the president of VPAN, Salubi Onakufe, explained.

    The exhibition will feature works by Dr Kunle Adeyemi, Omoh Sophia Igbinovia, Timipre Willis-Amah, Aladegbongbe Aderinsoye, Mike Omoighe, Juliet Ezenwa Maja-Pearce, Yinka Akingbade. Segun Obeyele, Olu Amuda,Moses Unokwa, Ojo Olaniyi, Bode Olaniran, Pius Emorokpo, Inyang Effiong and other artists.

    Adeyemi, a member of the association, said: “History is actually being made.This exhibition and the establishment of VPAN will affect our next generation. VPAN is an offshoot of Society of Nigerian Artists(SNA).We have been working silently to establish the association.

    Apart from creating beautiful print artworks, Adeyemi said they were looking at the wilder area to printmaking.“Nigeria is introducing a new vocabulary in printmaking art globally, which is plastography. We are going to be experimenting new vaster into new area of findings that we can actually begin to look at, we will begin to introduce the Nigerian concept into world art scape and that is one of the uniqueness of VPAN.”

    Adeyemi said it was unfortunate  that people do not know much about printmaking art.

    “What painting cannot do, printmaking will do it one hundred times. With printmaking, there is a production of a work and production of work go into a number of editions that are ascribed to the work. Printmaking is a democratic art that will feature with several other people.

    “We will educate people on printmaking consistently through workshops, seminars and scholarly discuss “so that at the end of the day people will be very thoroughly breed concerning what we are doing as printmakers. Printmaking is not only to enrich the pocket of the artist, it’s actually for other people to begin to have a place in history, to begin to have a say in the global art scape. for a painter, he is always in the studio doing his own thing, as printmaker you cannot do it alone, it’s a major art that creates employment. Other benefits, it does not ascribe to only one particular material, you are vast to using any found of material as far as the creativity is there.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Berlin’s Black Box opens at Goethe-Institut

    Berlin’s Black Box opens at Goethe-Institut

    Black Box, a photography installation from Berlin, by photographer Sven Marquardt, with an installation on electronic music, will open on Friday at Goethe-Institut, Lagos.

    Black box is a photographic media installation by the Berghain Club member, Marquardt, with musical accompaniment by Marcel Dettmann, one of the most-influential proponents of contemporary techno.

    The installation, which runs till November 11, is being co-presented by Goethe-Institut Nigeria and African Artists’ Foundation (AAF).

    According to the orgainsers, “Berlin is to electronic music what Florence was to Renaissance art: crucible, arbiter, patron.” (Nick Paumgarten, “Berlin Nights”, The New Yorker, 3/2014). Techno was the youth culture that united East and West in Berlin after the fall of communism in East Germany. After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, unused plots of land and buildings were ready to be filled with new life by clubs, bars, galleries, workshops and studios. Berlin became the epicenter of a new club culture which attracted international attention with clubs, and later with the Love Parade.

    “The club scene was given another boost at the beginning of the last decade. Thousands of Techno tourists were attracted into the city every weekend by cut-price European flights; a new wave of clubs like Bar 25, Watergate and the famous Berghain, and parties that never seemed to end. Artists, label operators, party organisers and promoters from all over the world moved to Berlin, constantly contributing new ideas for the city’s sound – a development that continues to this day.”

  • Dare to dream?

    A few years ago, I made a presentation at an entrepreneurial workshop. Among other things, my task was to help the participants see possibilities that had erstwhile eluded them. So, I decided to engage them in a little exercise. I gave them the following instructions: “I want you to close your eyes and imagine the story I’m about to tell you. If at any point you find the story unrealistic or stupid, open your eyes.” Of course they agreed to the “Simple” activity.
    I said, “Imagine you are riding a bicycle down a familiar street. You are waving at friends and acquaintances. Suddenly, you find yourself riding on top of trees, and then you find yourself riding on the water in a swimming pool. Now you can stop riding and open your eyes”. Guess how many people still had their eyes closed by the end of my story? You got that right! Very few! As can be expected, some of the participants opened their eyes when I mentioned cycling because they had never cycled. Quite a number of them understandably opened their eyes when I got to the part of riding on top of trees. However, by the time I got to the part of riding on water, almost all the eyes were staring at me as though I had gone insane. I’m sure you are also wondering how I came up with the “silly” story.
    My purpose was to find out how many of the participants were inhibited in their minds. Think of this. How much does it cost to dream or imagine? Nothing right? They couldn’t have been injured by riding a bicycle for the first time in their minds could they? Since they controlled the pictures in their minds, they could ride a bicycle on water and float couldn’t they? Why then do people find it so difficult to dream or use their imagination? According to Albert Einstein, “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world”. Imagination is our only connection between where we are and where we want to be. If we cannot travel in our minds, we will never take a step in reality.
    Imagination is a “free” component of the human mind. It can take us anywhere we want to go, that is, if we wish to go somewhere. Several of us have built a protective wall in our minds. Unfortunately, the wall that keeps us safe inside may also keep good things out. The kind of information we store in our minds can determine how far our imaginations can go.
    We must deliberately monitor the kind of information we expose our minds to because they form our beliefs and our beliefs create the boundaries of our lives. According to Sarah Vowell, “The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief”. Peace Pilgrim also said, “If you realise how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought”. Do you want to be a leader, an influencer or an achiever? Allow your mind to dream freely about what you desire for your future. It doesn’t cost you a thing! After you have created a solid vision of your future, the vision will pull you towards that future as you work diligently to achieve it. Dream big, reach far and break boundaries.
    I look forward to reading your stories of great successes and your comments. Share your views by visiting www.olanreamodu.com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu.

  • Egwu Onwa brings moonlight to theatre

    Egwu Onwa brings moonlight to theatre

    There is a new phenomenon on the entertainment scene east of the Niger. It was past midday on September 10, in my hometown of Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area (LGA), Anambra State.  The family had just completed the ceremony of pulling-off the funeral clothes, Iyipu-Akwa-Uju, for my late mother. My brother Isidore informed me of a concert entitled Egwu Onwa to be hosted in Awka by my talented nephew, Gerald Eze, a newly-minted First Class graduate of  Music from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

    Without asking questions, I jumped into my brother’s car and we were soon in the capital territory of Awka. Isidore had to make a handful of inquiries and detours before locating the Nelen Studios, venue of the concert in Udoka Housing Estate, Awka.

    Gerald Eze’s ensemble bears the name Ichoku. The ensemble has three arms: Ichoku The Band, The Academy, and The Privileged. It is a modern wonder how Ichoku The Band makes use of the local instrument called Uboaka to play Igbo classical music, even as it plays other mellifluous genres and fusions. The Academy comprises young ones who are undergoing musical training under the tutelage of Gerald and other members of Ichoku The Band.

    The Privileged consists of physically-challenged musicians who were picked by Gerald and assembled to form a musical troupe. According to the irrepressible Gerald, “Ichoku intends to make of them independent-minded celebrities and not beggars.”

    He assembled the physically-challenged musicians and made them part of the Ichoku ensemble so that “they can challenge” the nation and indeed the world at large to rise above their limitations and challenges.”

    Ichoku The Band had her first outing at Nike Arts Gallery, Lagos. Gerald performed with the band alongside the legendary Jimi Solanke. The exquisite show was put up by arts promoter and Ambassador Tunde Dawodu.

    The Egwu Onwa concert at the  Nelen Studios, Awka, as the names suggests, showcases the moonlight play of traditional Igbo society. The show was aptly subtitled “The Moon, The Square & The Dance”. There is the Igbo saying “Onwa puta, obodo agwu n’ama”, to wit, “Once the moon appears, the town empties into the square.”

    “In the days of yore, the moon bore a lot of symbolism,” Gerald Eze said, starring at his ubiquitous Oja instrument. “The Igbo people were pastoralists, farmers, hunters, etc. The people returned to their homes and at night they became philosophers within the Egwu Onwa moments.”

    Gerald Eze offers this revelation: “Nelen Studios, owned and run by Chinelo Enemuo, represents the modern-day Onwa beaming on Ichoku. Chinelo took an active role in the maiden outing of the Egwu by offering her theatre space at Nelen Studios and being actively part of the planning.”

    In the words of Chinelo Enemuo, “Nelen Studios is an art initiative set to instill creativity and an appreciation of Nigerian culture through a variety of art programmes and events. Egwu Onwa as planned by the Ichoku Ensemble has thus become one of such creative outings that tell of the beautiful Nigerian culture happening at Nelen Studios.”

    The Ichoku Band is made up of Gerald Eze Mmaduabuchi, Nwachukwu Uwakwe, Chinelo Mbamalu and Charles Achufusi. The String quartet is known as The Serenade String Quartet. Chimaeche Ikegwuonu and Samvic Uche play Violins while Henry Nwigbo plays the Viola, and Michael Uzomah plays the Cello. The brass players include Chisom Ezeobiora on Trombone, Ezeanyim Kodichukwu Dieudonné on Trumpet and Israel Atuge on Percussion.

    The indefatigable members of The Privileged are: Emenike Ezeiruaku (Oja, Ogene), Aloy Orjiakor (Nne Igba), Cosmas Nwoke (Oke Igba), and Chinedu Ezeanya (Ichaka). As Gerald Eze would want to put it he “was opportuned to play along the masters as he played the Oja for the Privileged ensemble.”

    The young boys and girls of the Academy include: Afomachukwu Ezeno(Recorder and Voice), Chikaima Ezeno(Recorder and Voice), Chinonoru Ezeno(Voice and Udu), Oluoma Odimegwu(Vead voice and Uboaka), Ifunanya Odimegwu(Voice and Ogene), Nwabuogo Odimegwu(Voice and Ichaka), Chisimdi Ofoegbu(Lead voice and Piano), Beluchi Ofoegbu (Narrator), and Chimerika Ofoegbu (Voice and Drums).

    The precocious musicians of The Academy put up a splendid performance that held the audience spellbound for an hour before The Privileged took over the stage with the appearance of two full-blown masquerades that nearly made the women and the children to run for dear life. It was a case of women and children seeing ancestral spirits at close quarters! The women were advised to give money to their husbands and other male spectators to offer to the dancing spirits. It was indeed a rollicking family outing.

    The enthralling performance served as a very rewarding introduction of Nelen Studios, “the first of its kind in Awka, and one of a kind in Nigeria,” as penned in the flier.

    The collaboration of Gerald Eze, who has the distinction of having represented Nigeria in China, and Chinelo Enemuo at Nelen Studios deserves celebration.

     

  • A push for tourism in Badagry

    A push for tourism in Badagry

    Members of the Hoteliers Association of Nigeria (HAN) in the Southwest have met in the historic city of Badagry  to chart a new course for  tourism. During the four-day event, participants harped on the economic possibilities of culture, tourism and taxation, among others, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

    From the palace of the Akran of Badagry Kingdom to the first storey building in Nigeria, enroute the Badagry heritage museum and slave route (Badagry Marina Port), delegates to the conference on tourism and hospitality had a splendid experience in the ancient town.

    With the theme: The Emerging market trends in tourism and hospitality sector of the Nigerian economy, the conference’s second edition drew delegates from Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states.

    Driven by the need to find proactive strategies for harnessing Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and tourism, the Hoteliers Association of Nigeria members gathered at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Complex at Topo, for a four-day event. It brought the spotlight on the rich and economic potential of the culture and tourism industry in the face of recession.

    The choice of Badagry as host-city for the conference, the organisers said, was informed by its rich cultural and tourism potential. And so, the first point of call was the palace of the Akran of Badagry Kingdom.

    Reiterating the uniqueness of Badagry city to the economy of Nigeria, De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1, Akran of Badagry Kingdom, who received the association’s executive officers at his palace, observed that the town, home to the biggest land port in Nigeria, will soon be home to the biggest seaport in Africa

    According to the monarch, the choice of Badagry as the host of the conference reaffirms the community’s role as a hub of aquatic tourism in Africa. He noted  that Badagry community is now one of the oil producing communities in Nigeria.

    With a feel of the town’s abundant heritage, the innkeepers also embarked on a tour of some of the historic sites spread across the community. Places they visited included  the first storey building in Nigeria, the Badagry heritage museum, slave route (Badagry Marina Port), Seriki Abass Brazillian barracoon and the site of the early Christian missionaries cemetery that houses the mass burial of over 250 foreign missionaries who died of malaria and other ecological diseases.

    Speaking on the theme of the conference, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, charged the hoteliers to take advantage of the technological revolution in the business sector to upgrade their operations, while urging them to partner with the media to project their hospitality brands to the global community.

    The President of the Hoteliers Association of Nigeria, Southwest Zone, Chief Jerome Adoroh, expressed disappointment at the attitude of th government towards development of the tourism sector.

    On the relevance of the culture and tourism sector on the economy, he observed that the sector is one of the world’s largest employers that has brought development and growth to both urban and rural areas. In his view, this significant role has had multiplier effects on other sectors of the economy.

    “The sector over the years has been plagued by erratic power supply, lack and shortage of skilled workers, multiple taxation, cowboy tactics and antics of officials of different organs and departments, some of which have further caused untold pains and hardship for operators of the industry,” Adoroh said.

    He noted that the association, which has about 70,000 corporate members, is a voice that is championing the cause of the hospitality industry, while praising the operators of hotel business in the country for demonstrating resilience, notwithstanding the turbulent economic challenges faced by the country.

    “The conference is expected to serve as a veritable platform to guide them through basic knowledge and education required in fixing the day to day challenges facing the industry,” he noted.

    While decrying the government’s lack of development of the sector, the innkeepers called for tax rebate and harmonisation of taxes and levies at the federal and state level. He, however, charged the government and the National Assembly to reexamine tax administration in Nigeria, particularly how it has negatively affected the tourism and hospitality industry.  He further urged the Federal Government to do all it can to work on harmonising the tax system, adding that the burden is heavy on the operators amidst lack of basic social infrastructure.

    Adoroh said:  “As responsible corporate citizens of the country, we believe that revenue generation by the government through taxation is a veritable source of economic growth, thus our resolve to perform our civic duties. However, in doing this, our tax obligation is not supposed to be a peril to sustainability of our businesses.”

    The tax session anchored by a tax commentator, Mr. Muyiwa Matuluko, which featured representatives of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and an accountant and chartered tax practitioner, Prince Thomas Olofin, shed light on certain taxation issues bedeviling the hotel industry.

    The hoteliers were charged to cultivate the habit of keeping financial records as a means of reducing tax liabilities, noting that hoteliers pay more taxes and levies when services of qualified accountants are not employed.

    According to Olofin, excess tax charged on hotels by tax administrators often is not commensurate with the actual sales or turnover of the hotels. He, therefore, charged the owners of hotels to employ competent accountants and keep financial records to avoid double taxation, while appealing to government at all levels to reduce hoteliers’ tax burden to encourage them to pay.

    In his paper entitled: “Productivity improvement in the time of recession in Nigeria”, Mr Layi Abidoye, charged hoteliers to prioritise and isolate business opportunities that have the highest probability of resulting in sales and improved profits.

    “Hoteliers are not getting basic encouragement: we are the ones providing the roads, electricity and other social service”, lamented the association’s deputy president, Prince Olufemi Egbodofo, adding: “These are things that ordinarily should have been done by the government. We are the ones creating means of livelihood to Nigerian  due to this responsibility”.

    He also noted that hoteliers’ role as employers needs the attention of the government, decrying that “the bills and taxes being leveled on us is daunting and has the capacity to ground the hospitality sector”.

    “Recently the Federal Government promulgated a law that says 15 percent should be paid on rooms and foods used by our clients. The same government is still receiving money over the same conditions. This to us is double taxation which cannot continue. About 18 different taxes and levies are being paid to the government in some states in the Southwest. Everyday more are springing up.

    The organisation’s general secretary, who is also a medical doctor, Dr Dapo Olaleye, said he ventured into the industry because of the “need for a life full of varieties”. While calling for policy change, he noted that until the right people who understand the potential of the sector are placed in positions of authority, the tourism sector will probably not witness remarkable growths.

    “Nigeria’s hospitality industry needs president and governors who understand the economic benefits of tourism sector government officials have created so many problems for the hospitality sector, such that the hotels that cater for the welfare of both local and international tourists in being plagued with unfriendly and harsh government policies. Its administrators make unfriendly policies capable of wiping out the gains of the sector

    “It is sad that the majority of investors in hotel business are pensioners and retired workers who are now over burdened with huge tax. Tax administrators have turned themselves into tin-Gods to frustrate those people who have divested all they have labour into the tourism sector.

    The association honoured Chief Folashade Tinubu-Ojo as its Grand Matron.

  • Eboigbe is IWC’s 31st president 

    Eboigbe is IWC’s 31st president 

    The first woman Chairman of the Lagos chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Mrs. Eki Eboigbe, has been crowned the 31st president of Inner Wheel Club (IWC) of Surulere, Lagos.

    The alumnus of the University of Lagos and Harvard Law School, who is passionate about child protection, cultural conservation and human rights advocacy, is qualified for the position, according to the the group’s District Chairman, Adegbemisola Rufai.

    In her inaugural speech at the Eagles Club, Surulere, Mrs. Eboigba underscored the need for solidarity, selflessness and charity to deliver the club’s dutiful service to mankind.

    She pledged to bring her experience to bear on the advancement of the club’s various projects.

    She said her team planned to implement humanitarian projects, including providing scholarship for Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children to encourage their passion, for learning and advance their ability in disability.

    Others include scholarship and mentoring for Girls Correctional Centre, Idi-Araba, to aid their journey towards self-development as well as financial and material empowerment for 20 petty traders around Surulere axis.

    She said: “I strongly believe that solidarity is the key to achieving sustainable success, so as I appreciate the support of the National Representative Sowande for her mentorship. I urge them not to relent in their efforts as we march on to leave a lasting legacy on the sands of time.”

    Guest Speaker at the induction, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, who spoke on  Leaving a lasting legacy ,challenged the club to prioritise positive projects that would outlive the leadership.

    She said the right way to establish an indelible impact is by serving, helping and teaching others. “People will remember you for what you have done for them, not what you have done for yourself. So, the challenge to you as an organisation is to help and teach others to be successful. Creating value for others, not for yourself, is the key to a lasting positive legacy,” she said.

    She identified responsibility, accountability, a mindset of service, guiding principles of sustainability, managing change and institutionalisation among others as salient factors to consider in leaving a legacy.

    She further admonished the leadership to seek the understanding of what inspires happiness in others through an enduring commitment. This, she said, requires teaching, demonstrating, encouraging and reinforcing with an ecosystem to support positive attitudes, beliefs and behaviors consistently.

    Congratulating the new President, National Representative, Bimbo Sowande, said: “It is another opportunity for you to continue service humanity, promote true friendship and foster international understanding. It must have taken you a lot of energy, commitment, dedication, service to humanity and goodwill to members.”

  • A call for the revival of Ekiti core values for development

    A call for the revival of Ekiti core values for development

    An author and entrepreneur, Adesina Adetola, has embarked on another intellectual adventure. He has put together a collection of papers and discourse entitled: Ekiti State: Beyond Rhetoric, Myths and Sentiments. The book, which features the thoughts and ideas of eminent personalities and stakeholders of Ekiti State, canvasses for the resuscitation of Ekiti core values and bond for socio-economic transformation and development. In this chat, Adetola speaks on the book, which will be presented tomorrow, and the need for the rejuvenation of the core values, among others. 

    What are the core values that distinguish the people of Ekiti from others?

    Ekiti people share the gene and traits of other Yoruba people which is the hallmark of the “omoluabi” nature. Ekiti people have some qualities traceable to them. Over the years our forefathers have toiled to make an identity for the people, such as the “Parapo” (collective consciousness) ideology. The word, though, common today, originated from the Kiriji war (the Yoruba intra tribal war), when Ekiti people came together under one umbrella as Ekiti Parapo. Since then, solidarity and togetherness has been an Ekiti language. We do things in unity. Also Ekiti has a proud heritage of being a forthright people. It was hard for an average Ekiti person to deceive others.

    What do you mean by “was”?

    I used “was” purposely because an average Ekiti man would never see black and call it white. That was what distinguished our fathers. They believed in hardwork and dedication to good service, sincerity, responsibility and other good values. Unfortunately, things have changed. Some may say Ekiti people are very stubborn and unyielding but they were stubborn for a just course, to protect their rights: you couldn’t take them for a ride. That became our identity. We have to go beyond rhetoric and sentiments and bring back those core values that Ekiti people stood for.

    If the core values are practised by its indigenes, what impact would they have on the development of the state? 

    A lot of impacts! Good values will go a long way to transform the land. They will bring attitudinal change that will result to socio-economic transformation, positive change and genuine development. That is why I am saying we have to go beyond rhetoric, myth and sentiments and be sincere with ourselves.  If you claim you have integrity and you are honest and you find yourself in a place of authority, why can’t that honesty and integrity manifest there? A man of integrity will not steal public funds. If we genuinely have these values and put it to practice, Ekiti would be a great place. It will become a centre of attraction.

    What inspired this collection?

    The inspiration is simple: I am calling on us to bring back our core values for the development of the state. One of my colleagues wrote “Ekiti, One people two generations”, why can’t we bring back what made our fathers to excel and climbed to vintage place in the society. We have a proud heritage; we are benefactor of a profound solid background we must not lose it for a pot of porridge.  We can’t continue in this pedestrian way of doing things?

    What is significant the book?

    This generation is fast derailing. This is a bread and butter generation, a generation of cash and carry. And am not blaming us, because I belong to this generation, it is disservice the society has done to us. The society has taken it upon itself to devalue the system and made good values unattractive. Politicians are paying for the votes and the voters ate their cakes before having it. It is a very unfortunate situation. So my intention is to remind this generation of what made their fathers whom they were. That there is no short cut to success. Thank God the contributors has done great works, they had gone in their different ways to give ideas how the core values could be restored, how to redeem this generation and make the state great again.

    Who are the targets of the book?

    Every Ekiti person – young and old, male and female – we all have roles to play. We must bring our heritage back. Government stakeholders have role to place. Traditional fathers would uphold these great core value that was tradition of our for fathers, every adult will see it as a responsibility to teach the younger ones and guide them right while the new generation will also know what is being bestow upon them and how to immortalise it from generation to generation.

    Who are the contributors?

    We have 24 of them – distinguished men and women from different backgrounds. Their diversity is indeed great value of the book. They wrote from different angles.

    My main intention was to have diverse views. And I essentially want it not to have any political intonation, because nothing has ever divided Ekiti like politics, so I was very careful about that.

    It has forewords from three distinguished Ekiti personalities: a technocrat , Sir Remi Omotoso MFR; renowned academic, Prof. Akin Oyebode and eminent lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun.