The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Diaspora

  •  Diaspora remittances hit $20.8billion

     Diaspora remittances hit $20.8billion

    The World Bank Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 released yesterday showed that Nigerians living abroad sent home $20.8 billion in 2015. The figure, it said, is by far the largest volume of remittances to any country in Africa and the sixth largest in the world.

    “The United States is the biggest remittance sending country to Nigeria, followed by the United Kingdom. Nigerians  received $5.7 billion in remittances sent from friends and family members in the US and $3.7 billion from the UK in 2015. Nigeria is also the third largest destination country for migrants from other African nations,” it said.

    It said a quarter of a billion people around the world are migrants, and over $600 billion in remittances are sent annually.

    The global lender said international remittances to developing countries reached over $441 billion in 2015, more than Foreign Direct Investment and trice more than official aid flows, adding that 34 per cent of all international remittances are sent between developing countries.

    It disclosed that remittances constitute more than 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product for 25 countries, pointing out that international remittances have been growing steadily and remain stable even during episodes of financial volatility.

    “In 2015, the number of international migrants surpassed 250 million, a quarter of a billion people, globally. International migrants now represent more than 3.4 per cent of the world’s population. South-South migration is now larger than South-North migration. Over 38 per cent of international migrants have migrated from developing countries to other developing countries. 14.4 per cent of international migrants are refugees,” it said.

    Speaking on the development, Senior Mobile Analyst at WorldRemit, Alix Murphy,  says the World Bank’s latest report shows that countries have now hit two significant milestones – quarter of a billion migrants globally and $600 billion of remittances sent annually.

    “More than ever, we live in world of mobile and connected people whose financial ties extend across the planet. At WorldRemit we see the technological infrastructure evolving to meet these changing demands – in particular the convergence of mobile connectivity, instant messaging and international money transfers,” she said.

    She believes that despite being the biggest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s financial system is still deeply fragmented, making sending and receiving money very challenging for ordinary Nigerians. According to her, 56 per cent of Nigerians are unbanked, so offering a variety of pay-out options, including direct to bank account and instant cash pick-up, is extremely important for reaching everyone in society.

  • Diaspora Nigerians and their parents’ agony

    For Nigerians in the Diaspora and their parents at home, the centre is no longer holding and things are falling apart. Many Diaspora Nigerians are lost in ‘paradise’ and their parents at home are marooned in agony. It is becoming a case of success turning sour, of unanticipated outcomes of what initially was a glamorous venture . The current dilemma of Diaspora Nigerians and their parents had not manifested at the beginning.
    In earlier times, the 1950s and 60s, it was a pride to have your child studying/living abroad – in ‘Ilu Oyinbo’ – the White man’s land – which then was mainly a reference to Britain, the initial destination of most Nigerians in search of the golden fleece. But it was just for the duration of their study and they generally returned home immediately on graduation. In Nigeria, at that time, life was good. The returning graduate had a pick of prestigious jobs in the civil service. That period, one cannot really talk of Diaspora Nigerians. That was then. Fast forward to the 1980s and 1990s, and you experience a different Nigeria where life was hard and nasty. Going abroad still remained prestigious, but there was the undertone of escape from the harsh economic realities. It was a conscious effort by parents to give their children options. Older generation of graduates from Britain sent their British born children back to the Queen’s country. A new foreign destination gained popularity – now, much of the movement was westwards, to the new El Dorado, the United States of America, the focus of this presentation.
    Thousands of Nigerian youth sought university education in the U.S. and stayed back on graduation, getting sucked into the make belief promoted as The American Dream. Many of these students are now mature adults, raising their own families and practically disconnected from their native Nigerian roots, having spent the greater part of their lives in the Diaspora. Many left home as teenagers or in their early 20s and literally got bowled over by America’s glitz. Their parents, who were then mostly in their 40s and 50s, with financial clout and physical strength to visit regularly, are now ageing, even if many still have the financial ability, and are no longer enthusiastic in making unreciprocated visits to their children. On their part, many of the children are not interested in visiting Nigeria, primarily because of the ugly stories of widespread violent crime and pervasive lawlessness. This perception makes Diaspora Nigerians in the U.S. wonder at my eagerness to return to Nigeria within three weeks each time I visit America. They are often amazed at my attitude that even if Nigeria is a jungle, it is still home. One must, however, concede to them that whatever might be the downside of living abroad, especially in the U.S., it is still basically an orderly society and violent crime is not as widespread. In his column in The Nation newspaper of October 1, 2015 titled : ‘Nigerian Diaspora families’ Prof. Jide Osuntokun, all of whose children are in the U.S., wrote about how demanding it is for him to visit them due to challenges of ageing and his adult children’s unwillingness to visit Nigeria. This typifies the lamentation of many home based parents. The former Nigerian ambassador to Germany rued : “It is not very easy for me to get along with a situation where all my children are living abroad … In my case, I have to travel thousands of miles annually to see my children and their families at considerable cost to me physically and financially … My children and their spouses all work making it impossible when visiting to be catered for appropriately”. This is the frustration many parents face that even when visiting, at considerable cost, Diaspora children often do not have the luxury of time to share company with them. As a foreign correspondent in Washington D.C. between 1985 and 1989, I had to create time, at great inconvenience, to show many visiting Nigerians round the city because their hosts were tied to tight work schedules. Elite parents like Prof. Osuntokun who can afford to visit their Diaspora children are lucky. The agony is most grave for other less privileged parents many of who never saw their Diaspora children till they died. The pain, for parents of Diaspora Nigerians, is felt most at festive periods – Eid Kabir ( Ileya), Christmas and New Year – when other parents receive their children and grandchildren for the celebrations. Material inducements have not swayed Diaspora children to return home or even to visit. There is the case of a retired, wealthy Lagosian, with all his children in the U.S. who offered his Diaspora medical doctor son a big duplex in the swank area of Surulere, Lagos to run his hospital, if he relocates. The son rejected the offer. Father and mother used to travel annually to see the children but at a point, the father stopped visiting when none of the children reciprocated their gesture. There was another who tried to lure his son home to come and take possession of his considerable landed property. The son declined, advising the father to bequeath them to charity !! A situation where many Diaspora Nigerians are not married and others divorced, resulting mainly from the assertiveness of women with higher earning power, compounds parents’ agony.
    Not all parents of Diaspora Nigerians are in lamentation. A few have their children visiting, occasionally. Many are compensated with remittances from their Diaspora children which make life comfortable for them and other siblings. The $20 billion annual remittance by Diaspora Nigerians offers life line to many families. Diaspora Nigerians in the U.S. work long, tedious hours and given the rigorous tax regime of IRS ( Internal Revenue Service) and high cost of living, those sending remittances home are making a great sacrifice. And there are ageing, homesick Diaspora Nigerians, generally fathers, many of who migrated under the U.S. visa lottery, who are also in lamentation. While their parents are in agony at home, they are stranded in ‘paradise’ because their American born or naturalized children do not want to return home with them. They are stuck. The common refrain is : Hey, dad, you want to return to your country, good luck. Nigeria, to them, is their fathers’ country, not theirs !!

    Dr. Bisi Olawunmi is a Senior Lecturer at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State and former Washington Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria. (NAN)

    •Email: olawunmibisi@yahoo.com Phone 0803 364 7571 SMS ONLY.

  • NGO hosts conference, concert for Nigerian youths in diaspora

    NGO hosts conference, concert for Nigerian youths in diaspora

    A youth oriented non-governmental organisation, World Changers International is set to host a leadership summit alongside a concert to foster synergy among the Nigerian youths both home and abroad.
    The programme announced during a press briefing in Lagos is tagged ‘Celebrating Nigeria at 55’ with the theme: The role of the youth in diaspora in national development’.
    The two-day event which is scheduled for October 8th and 9th 2015 will hold at the London Metropolitan University, London.
    Speakers at the conference include eminent African leaders, businessmen, policy makers and top government functionaries.
    The programme will also feature top Nigerian entertainers who have made global impact.
    Speaking at the press conference, the President of the Coalition, Tim Ayoola Abiodun said it was difficult to get Nigerians in Diasporas to be part of the project.
    “Nigerians in Diasporas have associated themselves with the negative aspect of our dear nation. They don’t believe if anything good has ever come out of this country and they tend not to know.
    “They’ve familiarized themselves with what the international broadcasting stations are bringing to their screen on daily basis, which is the insecurity in Nigeria,” he said.
    Ayoola explained that the programme is aimed at presenting the positive aspect of Nigeria nationwide and bring a positive reflection of Nigeria change era to the limelight.
    He said it is also important that youth inclusion in governance is not neglected.
    According to the Country coordinator, Eve Nnaji, people abroad ask questions that are somewhat ridiculous as regards Nigeria in particular.
    “My friends, my mate ask me questions during my stay in America; like do we have cars? Do we have microwaves? Do we have shoes? Were you guys naked? These questions followed me through the college and they are just ridiculous.”
    In the quest to influence youths to the Nigeria change era, Eve said the initiative finds it imperative to involve some top Nigerian entertainers who have made a global impact.
    The Concert Producer, Anthony Dike said the concert aims at encouraging Nigerians using their talents abroad to bring in their craft and contribute to the Nigerian industry.
    “They may think we don’t have structure, but there are at least structures that can juxtapose your career.”
    According to Anthony, 9ice has confirmed coming for the event but he was not sure about 2Face’s participation.

  • ‘Ebira in the Diaspora must unite’

    The Ohinoyi Anebira of Ibadanland, Chief Lamidi Aliu Balogun has directed Ebira People in Ibadan to continue to imbibe the spirit of oneness as a reflection of the name ‘Ebira’ which literally means ‘Good Character’.

    Chief Lamidi gave the directive at the swearing-in of new executive officers to navigate the affairs of the Ebira People’s Community in Ibadan for the next four years.

    Officers elected at the keenly-contested polls include Honourable Saliu Aminu-Energy (Chairman), Messrs Otonoruku Yakubu (Vice Chairman), Ibrahim Yakubu Monday (Secretary General), Yusuf Abdul-Amid Omeize (Assist Secretary General) and Mathew Onimisi David (Treasurer).

    Others are Muhammed Yusuf (Financial Secretary), Musa Abdul Rahman (Auditor) and Jimoh Gabriel Monday (PRO) who will be assisted by Elder Sunday Akande. Abdullateef Jimoh Itopa is elected Chief Whip.

    Some important dignitaries present at the occasion were Chief Aliu Ozi Audu (Deputy Ohinoyi Anebira of Ibadanland), Chief Ganiyu Ozi Wokiri and Chief Haruna Salaudeen (BASAL), Musa Otimo (Odo Ona), Yusuf Eneyiramoh (Apata) and Hajia Rekiya Ogido (women leader).

    Others were Alhaji Azeez Lawal (Molete/Bode), Chief Audu Ovanimoh (Akinyele), Chief Joel Anaza (JP), Dr Ismaila Momoh (MOISMAL OIL), Chief S.S. Subir and Chief Joks Ibrahim (Ohinoyi Anetunoh), amongst others.

  • Nigerians in Diaspora can transform the nation

    Nigerians in Diaspora can transform the nation

    Ganiyu Ademola Dada is a Nigerian-American in the Diaspora, an International Trade Specialist and President/Chief Executive Officer, Kofa International, Chicago, USA. He is also former Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora in the Americas and former President of Continental Africa Chambers, USA. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, he talks about how Nigerian businesses can compete favourably with multinationals in the country, why the economy is dwindling, as well as helping to facilitate low cost interest finances for the private and public sector.

    WHAT is the focus of your organisation?

    The main mission of Kofa is to develop African economy, Nigeria inclusive with US funds and technology, so that our economy can grow like that of the USA. USA has been creating about 225,000 jobs monthly in the last six years and Nigeria can adopt and customise these programmes to create at least 250,000 to 300,000 jobs monthly. In the last six years, it has generated over 12 million quality jobs and for that to happen in Nigeria, there must be single digit interest rate capital for Nigerians. This capital is the blood of business without which, whatever people are talking about remain only as ideas.  But the right capital with low interest loan with long tenure is what the economy needs. What Kofa is doing all over Africa but more importantly in Nigeria, is to create as many creditworthy Nigerian companies that can have capacity to leverage and borrow more money from abroad.  And more importantly to do business in the Western way, whereby they would be creditworthy and be able to attract capital to expand the economy of Nigeria and create jobs for the youths.

    What are you focusing on at the moment?

    We are to deliver a multipurpose dredge from DSC LLC to Japaul Maritime, Oil & Gas Plc, the only Maritime company in the Nigerian stock exchange. We have been supporting the company since 2004, by facilitating low cost single digit loan interest rate for the company from US for it to buy equipment in order to be able to compete with multinationals in Oil & Gas industry using EXIM Bank program.

    So we have at the moment given Japaul multimillion-dollar equipment, which they are clearing and amongst which is one of the best dredges in Nigeria, if not in West Africa as a whole.

    Do you support other companies apart from Japaul?

    Yes. We had worked with many companies in Nigeria in different industries like Wattcon in manufacturing in Kaduna, ABG in Telecom in Abuja, Ibile Holdings Ltd, wholly owned by Lagos State in Lagos and many other companies in the dredging industry like Azikel Group in Bayelsa and Land Dredging Ltd in Lagos to grow too. All these companies are using DSC Dredges too. And because they are using DSC technology for dredging, they are growing too.

    Do you also assist small scale businesses?

    We are not only for big companies. Japaul was not big when we started with it.  But we are proud to be part of its success because it is into many things. Critically, we are trying to help small, medium, and large companies to be creditworthy, so they can be considered first before any other for low cost finance; and through them direct foreign investment will enter the country. Every day, money is looking for where to go in the United States and the Western world as a whole, but these monies can only go to those that are creditworthy and those who have been doing things in the way of the Western world and direct foreign investment {DFI}will come through them.

    Today, we have 60,000 US companies operating in China; we don’t have many with the exception with the few US oil and gas companies in Nigeria. You cannot count a thousand US companies in Nigeria.  That is why our economy is not growing because everything we do is cash-based, whereas the rest of the world is doing business on credit. One other problem is that our interest rate here is above 25%. For the last 15 years of Kofa using Exim Bank in Nigeria, we have never done anything more than single digit interest rate and it has longer tenure in the sense that it has 5-15 years tenure to pay back; and that is what real business needs to grow and not the trading aspect that the Nigerian banks are doing whereby they give you two years to pay and charge you 25%-30%interest rate.

    So what Kofa is doing is taking one company at a time and using EXIM Bank program and other ECA programs to develop credit worthy Nigerian companies.

    EXIM is the Export/Import Bank of United States and Kofa provides Ancillary Services to the Bank’s Programs by working collaboratively with US Consulates and Embassies in every African country.

    Why must our business owners go all the way to the USA to borrow funds?

    There are so many reasons they may have to go to the USA to borrow money.  Number one is the cost of capital in Nigeria is so expensive. Two, for whatever reason, we unfortunately do not manage our economy very well because of so much leakages, which has brought so much austerity and lack of sufficient foreign reserve for us. So, serious business owners must have access to offshore loans. For example, an American company coming to do business in Nigeria is getting his loan say for single digit interest rate – 5%, 7% interest rates and so on, while a Nigerian counterpart will get his own for 20% to 25% interest rates.

    So what does it entails for a company to benefit from this program?

    It entails financial discipline and literacy.  EXIM Bank has made possible for US companies to facilitate finance for Africans, which Kofa is one of them, meaning that we market EXIM Bank programs to foreign buyers all over the world. Kofa just chooses to concentrate on Africa. What Kofa does is to identify the leading companies in each industry in United States and Kofa puts money behind them to supply creditworthy African government and private companies in Africa. And you grow them to the extent that they are continuously credit worthy. In Nigeria people do business on cash and carry basis and on the personality involved and therefore there is no succession program, whereas in the Western world, when a company has established a creditworthy business, when the leadership changes, the credit capacity still continues and increases progressively. So when anybody has an international company profile and an international credit profile, you can borrow from anywhere in the world. That is the fundamental requirements even though there are others.

     So any company, organization or individuals coming for the first time must have a Nigerian bank to guarantee them until they develop their creditworthiness abroad. Once they are credit worthy, they would remove the guarantor and then they would be lending money directly to them like Coscharis and Japaul is enjoying today. We want to develop over 10,000 Nigerian companies that will be creditworthy, so that direct foreign investment can come through them from abroad into the country and then our private sector economy can expand.

    What are some of the challenges encountered?

    Well, there are lots of challenges. Credit culture is alien to Africans and Nigeria inclusive. People don’t want to incur debt. In the Western world, if you are not creditworthy, you cannot survive. But here in Africa we do not know the value of creditworthiness. So as a result, it is difficult to find many Nigerian companies that are creditworthy. And when you find those that are ready to develop their creditworthiness, Nigerian banks make it difficult for them, because they do not give them the necessary support to succeed because they do not want them to get away from them, which is shortsightedness.

    What would be your advice to Nigerians, the government and business owners?

    Nigerians abroad and those at home must work to together. Nigerians abroad have access to a lot of things they could bring into the country. Unfortunately, our politicians here are part of the problems of Nigeria because they put their salaries and emolument beyond any other country in the world, when a lot of people are suffering out there. The politicians are not supposed to be competing with the business owners in Nigeria. You find that the same people that are supposed to create laws and conducive environment for businesses are the ones competing with business owners in Nigeria, thereby getting all the businesses and all the money. The politicians are struggling with business owners even when nobody in the world gets the kind of money they vote for themselves; but the worst thing is that when they get these businesses/contracts, they would not execute them. So how can they create laws to control themselves? That is why Kofa is focusing on the private sector, giving them capital to expand their businesses.

  • Cheery news from the Diaspora

    The inventor and physicist, Joe Jacobson was lounging on a beach one day, when he finished the book he was reading and realised he hadn’t brought another. Plenty of sun left in the day, but no book to fill the afternoon. At that moment, he envisioned an electronic book with light, thin, pages that – at the touch of a button – could receive the words of an entire book or newspaper through the airwaves.

    And, at the touch of a button, a different book or newspaper would appear. Using no back lighting, readable in direct sun and at any angle, the image would draw no power once it had appeared — enabling the device to avoid heavy batteries. It was through his imagination that the e-ink came into being. Even now, years after that idea became a real product, it almost sounds like magic. That is what innovation does.

    E-ink is hardly an isolated example. Two of the wealthiest tech companies on the planet right now, Apple and Google, continue to introduce stunning products. They were recently ranked as among the five most innovative companies in the world by both Business Week and Fast Company. Modern China also appears to be hitting its innovation stride, fueled by its unprecedented economic boom backed by government support.

    Talking about Apple; it recently purchased HopStop.com, Inc. (HopStop), an online city transit guide offering door-to-door subway and bus directions and maps for over 140 cities around the world using its website, or apps for iPhone, iPad and formerly Android. Interestingly, the company was founded in 2005 by a Nigerian; Mr. Chinedu Echeruo, who was named one of the top 100 fastest growing software companies in the United States in 2011. It was reported that Apple bought the app for $1 billion.

    Since the release of iOS 6 in September 2012, in which Apple replaced support for Google Maps with their own mapping, HopStop has been named as one of the top transit apps for Apple products by multiple publishers including Business Insider, Fast Company and Wired.

    Through it, users can get step-by-step public transit, walking, taxi, biking, and hourly car rental directions based on the travel options selected (departure time, transportation mode, more walking vs. more transfers, etc.). Other major functions include nearby stations, which allows users to find subway or bus stops near an address, as well as providing transit maps and schedules. HopStop also calculates calories burned and per passenger carbon emissions savings for each transit route.

    The City Guide also assist users find attractions, bars, restaurants, hotels, shopping areas, and other businesses. The Community tab offers users the ability to plan a trip with multiple destinations, including City Guide listings and custom locations.

    So what propelled him to come out with the innovation? His own difficulties traversing through New York City while working on Wall Street inspired him to create the technological solution. Nearly 10 years later, the free mobile application and website HopStop.com assists travelers by guiding them to subway stations and bus stops in more than 300 cities worldwide, including London, San Francisco, Paris and Toronto.

    “Every entrepreneur starts off thinking ‘What’s a problem I can fix?’ he told The New York Times. “The problem for me was how to get from Point A to Point B in New York.”

    Hailed as Black Enterprise’s 2007 Small Business Innovator of the Year and listed in the magazine’s ‘Top 40 under 40’ list, the serial entrepreneur also founded Tripology.com, a U.S.-based Internet company, in 2010. Echeruo, 39 is now a partner in a private equity firm in Accra, Ghana. He grew up in Eastern Nigeria and attended Kings College, Lagos. He later attended Syracuse University and the Harvard Business School in the United States where he founded Hopstop.com after working for several years in the mergers and acquisitions and leveraged finance groups of J.P Morgan Chase where he was involved in a broad range of M&A, financing and private equity transactions.

    He also worked at AM Investment Partners, a $500 million volatility-driven convertible bond arbitrage hedge fund. Tripology.com, an interactive travel referral service focused on connecting travelers with travel specialists which was later acquired by American travel and navigation information company, Rand McNally is another of his innovation.

    Not resting on his oars, this proud Nigerian is working on yet another venture, but this time focused on small businesses in Africa. According to him, “There is no reason why every entrepreneur should have to reinvent the wheel every single time in all the countries in Africa. My idea is to essentially have one place where a budding entrepreneur can access a template for starting a business, and then customise it to suit their own situation; essentially, a business-in-a-box.”

    Another Nigerian, Ufot Ekong, who studied Robotics and Electrical Engineering at Tokai University,  Tokyo, Japan emerged the best all round graduating student of the institution this session. He graduated with First Class Honours.

    The last time anyone graduated with a similar Grade Points Average (GPA) was 50 years ago which makes his feat unique. Ufot, a multi-talented youth, has artistry in music, specialising in Saxophone. He distinguished himself from the outset in the school when he won the Japanese language best student award.

    To think that he combined two jobs with studies, won six other awards in the University, makes his story more compelling. Ufot, who lived in Lagos while in Nigeria, is the director of Strictly African Japan, an African retail wears and accessories shop.

    Aside from paying himself through school, Ufot who has already started his PhD programme works with auto giant Nissan where he has already patented two products.  For his project, he made an electric car that goes as fast as 128 kilometres per hour. The car drives on charged batteries. He plans to drive it May 29, in Abuja, Nigeria to celebrate Buhari’s inauguration.

    This cheering news couldn’t have come at a better time. Nigeria is on the verge of having a new government and as expected, expectations are at an all-time high. Majority of Nigerians want a country that can produce the likes of Ufot and Chinedu on its soil.

    In their book “Why Nations fail,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist Daron Acemoglu and the Harvard University political scientist James A. Robinson argue that for any economic success political institutions must be sufficiently centralised to provide basic public services including justice, the enforcement of contracts, and education. Given that these functions are carried out, “inclusive” institutions enable innovative energies to emerge and lead to continuing growth as exemplified by the Industrial Revolution.

    “Extractive”  institutions  can  also  deliver  growth  but only  when  the  economy  is  distant  from  the  technological  frontier.  These extractive  institutions  will  ultimately  fail,  however,  when  innovations and  “creative  destruction”  are  needed  to  push  the  frontier.  Hence, while success may be possible for a while under extractive institutions continuing success is possible only under inclusive institutions.

    What we need going forward is a creative economy which enables people use their creative imagination to create an ideas. This will revolve around an economic system where value is based on novel imaginative qualities rather than the traditional resources of land, labour and capital.

    In the second half of the 20th century these ideas were expressed as the Post-Industrial Society, Information Society, Knowledge Society and Network Society. These concepts prioritised data and knowledge as the new sources of growth. The growth of China’s economy since 1980 has been stimulated by market-based creativity and innovation. Europe, America, Japan, China and other countries see creativity as the dominant economic force affecting jobs, economic growth and social welfare. The 2014 OECD Forum declared: “Creativity and innovation are now driving the economy, reshaping entire industries and stimulating inclusive growth.”

    We cannot afford to be left behind as these two Nigerians have shown that it is possible to excel if given the right environment.

  • The gods mount London stage to unite Africans in Diaspora

    The gods mount London stage to unite Africans in Diaspora

    Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame recently mounted London stage at the Lost Theatre on Wandsworth Road, London during the five-day theatre production, reports SOLA BALOGUN  

    In less than two hours of exciting drama, theatre lovers in England once again savoured Lookman Sanusi’s interpretation of Ola Rotimi’s classic; The Gods Are Not to Blame. It was the first night of the five-day theatre production which held at Lost Theatre on Wandsworth Road in the United Kingdom capital. The performance which was produced by Ayo Jaiyesimi, was also Sanusi’s second attempt at reliving African culture on London stage, following his earlier production of Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again during the London 2012 Culture Olympiad.

    The just concluded production of Gods was conceived by the Thespian Family Theatre and Productions in collaboration with Heavy Wind Media Productions with support from Ola Rotimi Foundation. The drama experimented ambitiously with the mediums of live stage and screen projection, thus thrilling the audience on a fresh, illuminating multi-media platform. The latter helped a great deal in decoding messages that bother on tradition and culture, with a  strategic mission of recalling past events and limiting the time of performance, without jettisoning both the didactic and aesthetic values of African total theatre.

    The audience first encountered the opening montage which depicted the rustic but culturally rich Yoruba setting. This was followed by the narrator (Dejumo Lewis) who spoke through the large screen to announce the birth of a baby boy to the royal family of Kutuje land.  Also seen on stage was the rejoicing royal train, comprising Oba Adetusa, his wife, Queen Ojuola, the chiefs and some of the townspeople. But the ominous message from Ifa oracle that the newly born would kill his own father and marry his own mother obviously set the play on its tragic path. As custom demands, such a baby carrying a bad omen must be sacrificed else calamity befalls the land and the people in the future. Two years later, the royal couple was blessed with another son, Aderopo (Felix Ologbosere), as a replacement for the first child who came with a bad omen.

    Meanwhile, the play developed with a succession of dramatic ironies and elongated suspense, as several attempts at reversing the Ifa prophecy (as relayed by Baba Fakunle) proved abortive. First, Gbonka who was asked to kill the child in the bush handed him over to two hunters; Alaka (Jubril Sulaimon) and his boss, Ogundele, who later named him Odewale and raised him into adulthood in the land of Ijekun. Odewale (Benson Williams) grew up with his tragic flaws of impatience and extreme anger, and this led him into slaying a prominent chief around Ipetumodu after a scuttle over land. The killing of this chief, which was revealed via the (screen) flashback, fulfilled the first part of the prophecy as the audience later learnt that Odewale actually killed King Adetusa, his own biological father.

    As a man of fate, Odewale fled his foster parents in Ijekun after consulting the oracle and learnt that he would kill his own father and marry his own mother. In the process, he rescued the people of Kutuje from the people of Ikolu who wanted to take advantage of the vacant stool in Kutuje to attack its people. Odewale’s heroic exploits in favour of Kutuje forced the people to crown him king hence he succeeded his father as king and subsequently fulfilled the second part of the Ifa prophecy by inheriting his father’ wife and his own mother, Ojuola.

    After eleven years of Odewale’s reign, the land of Kutuje was inundated with incessant tales of famine, disease and death. King Odewale’s family, which had grown in size with four children, was also not spared of disaster. The king and his chiefs sought solution from Ifa, using Aderopo as royal emissary. But the message from the oracle that the killer of the former king still lived in Kutuje spelt doom both for the land and the messenger as King Odewale suspected Aderopo of complicity. Odewale accused Aderopo of plotting his downfall hence his desire to get rid of him by all means.

    Eventually, Baba Fakunle, the old Ifa priest who was summoned to the palace by Odewale called him bed sharer and killer of the former king.  But Alaka’s visit to the palace from Ijekun threw more light on the circumstances that led to the death of Odewale’s foster parents and the true identity of Odewale himself. In the end, the duo of Alaka and Gbonka, aided by the Ogun priest and Balogun unfolded the mystery surrounding the identity of Odewale who was the same child that was ordered to be killed in the bush but who later grew up to become the killer of his own father and husband of his own mother. This revelation forced Ojuola to commit suicide while Odewale tragically plucked his eyes and led his four children into unknown destination.

    The production essentially mirrored the inevitability of fate in the affairs of men as commanded by the gods. It also emphasised how man’s innate weaknesses usually lead him into trouble and his ultimate downfall. As a tragic hero, Odewale was consumed by his own shortcomings, although he demonstrated love and generosity towards his people in times of need. The protagonist as played by Benson Williams depicted a fiery and temperamental character but who is also humane and considerate provided no one invoked his wrath like King Adetusa who insulted him by referring to him as  ‘a bush man from the land of Ijekun’. In the same way, the audience’s understanding of the play was boosted by such experienced characters as Alaka, Queen Ojuola, Aderopo, Ogun Priest and Balogun who interpreted their roles convincingly despite the short period of rehearsal and preparation.

    The cast and crew of the production were made up of mostly Nigerian artistes drawn from Europe and Nigeria. Among these are the Lagos-based Benson Williams who played Odewale and Segun Adefila (founder and artistic director of Crown Troupe) who doubled as one of the townspeople and Baba Fakunle’s apprentice. Other prominent artistes are the Germany-based Nigerian actor, Jubril Sulaimon (Alaka), UK-based Moji Bamtefa (Costume and make-up/insane woman); Cecelia Sanusi-Olawale and Simisola Sanusi (townswoman and Odewale’s daughter respectively) as well as Ahmed Aliu, formerly of the National Troupe of Nigeria. Others are Segun Ogunfidodo, Ayo Adedapo, Felix Ologbosere (Aderopo), Tolulope Yusuf, Nike Bammeke, Yemi Oyeyebi, Prince Tade Olusile and Frank Oluwole Williams. In the creative team were Christina Simakova (Stage Manager), Ibukun Fasuhan (Production Manager), Omoyemi Oni (Media) and Chermiah Hart (Technicals and Editing).

  • Nigerians in UK get new chairman

    Nigerians in UK get new chairman

    The Central Association of Nigerians in UK (CANUK) now has Mr. Babatunde Loye as its new chairman.

    Mr Loye, a 44 year old insurance expert, was the immediate past Assistant Social Secretary of the association.

    In the second round of voting held at the Nigerian High Commission into the executive of the association, he polled 46 votes to defeat his main rival Mr. Boma Douglas who got 44 votes.

    The two candidates previously equal votes of 39 while the third candidate Mrs. Ronke Udofia got 16 votes.

    Speaking on his victory, Loye expressed gratitude to the voters and pledged that his administration would raise funds to pursue the programmes of the association.

    He said his administration would do its best to positively project the image of Nigeria in UK and beyond.

    CANUK was established to serve as the umbrella body of Nigerians living in the UK.

    Its mission is to protect, unify and empower the Nigerian community towards contributing to nation-building in the UK and Nigeria.

  • Pinnick parleys with Nigerian players in Diaspora

    ThePresident of the Nigeria  Football Federation (NFF),  Amaju Melvin Pinnick has held a meeting with parents of Nigerian footballers based in the United Kingdom, assuring them of their sons’ safety and progress should they choose to wear the colours of Nigeria.

    There is a huge number of Nigerian footballers, many born and raised in the United Kingdom, but who have expressed a desire to open their hearts to the possibility of playing for the Super Eagles; and Pinnick was quick to appreciate that.

    “Most of your sons have the option to wait for their chance and play for England, Wales or Scotland”, he said, “and the fact that you are steering them in the direction of playing for their country of origin is laudable and I really appreciate it.”

    Pinnick stated that he would like to see youngsters who, in his words, “have been exposed to the scientific methods of football in terms of coaching style, amenities and equipment as well as discipline in areas of fitness and nutrition” to build a new-look Super Eagles team that would conquer the world.

    He promised that players will be selected on merit, and that the days of favouritism are forgotten in the new administration led by him.

    Pinnick, in the company of his newly appointed Special Envoy on International Affairs, Tunde Adelakun, called the attention of the parents to the choice made by Victor Moses who, despite having featured for England Under-21s, opted to play for Nigeria and was rewarded with being a part of the Super Eagles team that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

    “That will remain in his books for the rest of his life – a winner’s medal at the AFCON, and I am sure he will not regret playing for Nigeria” he said.

    He drew comparison against some of the players eligible to play for Nigeria but who opted for England, were capped only a couple of times and were dropped, and asked the parents to use this as an example to their wards.

    He was quick to extol, though, the goodness in the Nigerian league system, saying his move was not an act of disrespect to the home-grown talent that abound in the country.

    “We all know that the Nigerian leagues produce many players and I know that. However, I also know that we have many talented players in Diaspora and we want to tap into them all, so we can identify and select the very best across the board,” he explained.

    The Delta-born administrator gave assurances that the parley will be a continuous process, and that the new Technical Study Group of the NFF led by former international Jay Jay Okocha will visit the players in the coming weeks and establish close links with them with a view to being selected for the national teams.

  • Nigerians in Diaspora lament polls shift

    Nigerians in Diaspora lament polls shift

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has continued to receive knocks over the postponement of the general elections from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11.

    A group canvassing support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United States, the Progressives Platform for Change (PPC), said that over 250 of its members who arrived the country because of the presidential poll, were disappointed because of the shift

    The PPC is a platform with over 400 members, which has structures in both Nigeria and the United States.

    Addressing reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital, its Coordinator, Mrs. Emprss-Omolara Olaleye, said no fewer than 250 members are in the country because of the polls.

    She noted that the PPC, whose members are indigenes from the 36 states, came home to mobilise the people to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs).

    She said despite all their efforts, which include taking off from their places of work and abandoning their businesses in the US to exercise their franchise as Nigerians, INEC at the end postponed the poll for six weeks.

    According to her, “we are disappointed because before leaving the US for Nigeria what we heard was that INEC was fully ready for the polls and we have also read in some online newspapers that the security operatives are fully prepared for the polls.

    “It was this that motivated members of our group to storm our country and to join other Nigerians in electing a credible leader as a president.

    “We still remain firm that every disappointment is a blessing and I am also very sure that Nigerians are fully ready to effect a change. Nigeria wants good leaders like Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osibanjo.

    “We in diaspora, are sick and tired of the level of corruption in the country and we believe that the presidential candidate of the APC has the credibility to cleanse corruption from the country.

    “Pastor Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG) has once testified to the capacity of Prof. Osibanjo when he said that when you give him job to do, you can go back to your bed and sleep.

    “The same thing when Buhari was in the military, they will say “Sai Buhari, sai maigaskya”, which means I believe you because your word is your bond. Anything Gen. Buhari says, he stands by it. Any leader that cannot stand by their words, we don’t want them anymore.

    “We want a change and a credible person as leader; we want to return to our country; we are only in US just because our previous and present governments have failed us”.