EASTENDERS` STAR

E
E
R
F
ROLE
MODEL
DJANGO
VERDICT
The rising
star of
engineering
The slave
trade western
hits the spot
Page 7
Page 32
VALS DAY
Why February
14 can be both
magical – and
a menace
Page 19
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
Issue No 010
moNthly
to Inspire, Inform and Entertain
nigerianwatch.com
INSIDE
News
3 Labour ‘snub’ fires
activists’ hunger to be heard
5 MBE for man behind
Nigeria Health Care Project
6 Is your hair making you
unhealthy?
Features
8 We need to do more to
encourage businesswomen
14 Where will the Mali
insurgents go?
Life & Style
25 How to keep both warm
and cool this winter
29 Stay with me recipes
35 Afro Hits
Business & Property
20 Time Nigeria prepared for
the end of oil revenue
EASTENDERS’ STAR
REVEALS NOLLYWOOD DREAM
Education
27 How to prepare your
child for Oxbridge – part 2
Sport
42 Meet the amazing sickle
cell Super League pro
2
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
Happy Valentine’s Day
W
hether you believe him to be a Saint, or the pagan god
of fertility, Valentine’s day is here. the day when we
are supposed to brighten up mid-winter by warming
the hearts of our loved ones.
the cliche of chocolates and flowers has dimmed the true
meaning of Valentine’s and, excuse the pun, boxed it off. the
notion of expressing your love, telling your Valentine of your
love is a very powerful idea.
Whatever the nature of your relationship (or relationships)
the underlying sentiment is one that we should all embrace –
and not just for one day but for everyday.
the more love there is in the world the less strife there will
be. the more love there is in the world the more equality and
respect there will be. the more love there is in the world the
greater understanding there will be.
So take this month not only to reflect on
your loved ones but also to reflect on all
whom you care for and care about you.
love is a unifier. With love we can achieve
our goals because love brings happiness.
maryanne Jemide, mD
NIGERIAN WATCH
Publishers
tevin Jemide
Victor omosevwerha
Publisher/Managing Director
maryanne Jemide
PR Director
Ilonka omosevwerha
Managing Editor
Jon hughes
Art Editor
Cathy Constable
Contributors
obah Iyamu
harriet ogbeide
AJ James
olubunmi otuyemi
lorenzo Banfii
Diana Agunbiade-Kolawole
Juliana oladipo
Ayo Akinfe
Chief Cartoonist
harold ogbeide
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Views expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
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ISSN 2051-4670
Cover Picture © BBC
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NEWSWATCH
Appointments from diaspora
reversing the ‘brain drain’
By AJ JAMES
Nigerians
in
Diaspora
Organisation Europe (NIDOE)
has welcomed as an “encouraging
new trend” the growing number of
diasporans being appointed to
public sector positions in the
Nigerian economy.
A recent spate of appointments
have seen prominent diasporans recruited into positions in the education, trade and aviation sectors –
which is being seen as an example of
how the Nigerian diaspora is increasingly ready and able to contribute positively to the development
of Nigeria.
Among the latest batch are three
prominent officers of NIDOE itself.
Those appointed are: Stephania
Alofuokhai-Ghogomu, to the post
of Development Officer, Federal
University Otuoke. Stephania is the
Berlin-based Director of Media and
Public Relations of NIDOE; Lola
Visser-Mabogunje, who has become
Senior Technical Adviser to the
Ministry of Trade and Investment.
Lola was the immediate past Director of European Union Affairs at
NIDOE and was based in the
Netherlands; and finally Kayode
Ogunsola has been named General
Manager, Investment and Business
Development at the Ministry of Aviation. London-based Kayode was
the immediate past Chapter Chairman of NIDOE UK South.
COLLINS NWEKE: Chariman Nigerians in
Diaspora Organistion Europe
These appointments follow hot
on the heels of others, for example,
those of Vice-Chancellors to three
of the nine new federal universities
have been appointed from the Dias-
pora, reflecting the Federal Government’s increasingly strong commitment to tapping into the rich
resources of diaspora Nigerians by
actively engaging them “in pursuance of national development”.
NIDOE believes strong support
of the diaspora is crucial to renewing Nigeria’s scientific and technological workforce and ensuring her
future advancement in innovation.
“The Nigerian Diaspora in Europe thank President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan and his entire administration for their recognition of
the latent talent inherent in the
Nigerian Diaspora.
“While we continue to welcome
high level appointments in the capacity of Ministers, Directorship /
Chairmanship of MDAs and so
forth, we encourage this new trend
of middle-cadre appointments from
the abundant reservoir of human
capital in the Diaspora.
“There can’t be a better way of
reversing the brain-drain which our
dear country had suffered in the
1980s and the 1990s to brain-gain,
which is very much needed to grow
our economy,” said Collins Nweke,
Chairman Nigerians in Diaspora
Organisation Europe.
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NEWSWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
3
LABOUR ‘SNUB’ FIRES HUNGER TO
BE HEARD AMONG ACTIVISTS
A meeting called to rally the African vote
behind Labour nearly backfired on the party
when a host of MPs billed to appear pulled
out at the 11th-hour, writes Jon Hughes.
It was only because of the compelling arguments of the organisers and some sterling contributions from the floor that anger over the
perceived snub was defused – and the opportunity to both represent the party and influence future policy enthusiastically received.
More than 100 activists had been attracted to
the meeting arranged by Africans For Labour at
Portcullis House in Westminster by the promise
of a frank exchange of views with a host of influential MPs.
“You are invited to come and tell senior
politicians what policies you think will help
Africa and Africans in the UK and find out how
you can influence the Labour Party,” the invitation said.
But the audience could not hide its disappointment when apologies were extended on behalf of MPs Diane Abbot, Jon Cryer, Joan
Ruddock, Virendra Sharma and Keith Vaz.
However, both the deputy leader of the Labour
party Harriet Harman MP and the chairwoman
of the all party parliamentary group on Nigeria
Meg Hillier were
present and received a warm
welcome.
Although they
too added to the
dismay of those
who
attended
when they made
their excuses and
left after delivershort
ing
speeches. It left
many in the room
feeling taken for
granted by the party which Ms Harman had declared “is your party”.
“It is an internationalist party, we pursued
the millennium development goals when in
power, as a party we recognise what an important contribution Africans in the diaspora make
to life in this country – the Labour party is your
party,” she said.
It did not feel like it. Activists complained angrily to a top table devoid of MPs. “Labour MPs
need to learn to listen to us” and “We expected
to be talking to MPs but we’re talking to our-
selves” were common complaints.
But the organisers Councillors
Julius Nkafu and
Dora Dixon-Fyle
were robust in defence of the MPs
and asked the audience to look to
the opportunity
extended to them
and not who was
in the room to
hear them speak.
In her speech Harriet Harman had implored
those present to become more actively involved
in the party, outlining a number of opportunities
coming up.
Labour she said was undertaking a wholesale
review of policies in preparation for writing the
2015 general election manifesto and wanted to
ensure it reflected the “concerns and aspirations
of all the people of this country.”
She also made an appeal for councillors to
stand in the local government elections of 2014.
She informed the meeting that the selection
process would start this summer and that many
people – such as tenant leaders from the Crawford Estate, who were present – had the skills to
be good councillors and should join the party
and put themselves forward. And she said the
party wanted more black MPs in its ranks – and
Africans for Labour and herself would assist
anyone who wished to pursue the option by
“showing them the ropes”.
While there was widespread disgruntlement
after both MPs had left, the meeting quickly became focused, recognising that “Britain was a
country where your voice could be heard”. One
contributor said, “If you want to make the
change you have to speak the language of
change and we have to speak with one voice.”
Education, youth unemployment, immigration policy weighted against Africans and in
favour of Europe, rising rents in the capital;
these were chief amongst the concerns of the audience.
There was widespread anger over the removal
of funding for Black History Month.There were
more than 30 contributions from the floor that
would become the basis of a report to the
Labour party’s manifesto committee.
Pictured: Harriet Harman MP with Cllr. Dora Dixon-Fyle
4
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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NEWSWATCH
MBE FOR MAN BEHIND NIGERIAN
HEALTH CHARITY
ALSO HONOURED
By AJ JAMES
Peter Grubb (pictured) was awarded an
MBE in the New Year’s Honours list in
recognition of supplying much needed
healthcare projects to Nigeria.
The former policeman and social worker
from Leeds has for the last 20 years been the
driving force behind the Nigerian Health Care
Project (NHCP).
Over that period NHCP has raised over £1m
and established and supports nine hospitals,
clinics and health centres, three centres for mentally ill homeless people, one leprosy centre, one
motherless babies' home and a community
based orphan project in rural Nigeria.
A statement from the NHCP said, “The
award reflects Peter's work over more than 20
years to improve the health of people in rural
areas of Nigeria.
“Starting with just two centres, NHCP has
gradually developed its fund-raising in the UK
and now helps to support 15 projects in Nigeria.
There is no doubt that Peter’s compassion, patience, determination and good humour have
been major factors in the success of NHCP.”
While expressing “delight” at the award
Ghanaian born Nana Abrah
Nyarko received an mBE for
remaining calm in the eye of
storm that was the london
riots of 2011.
As rioters went on the rampage in Croydon mr Nyarko
not only ensured bus drivers
and passengers were safe but
on the night of August 8, as
widely reported, he patrolled
the perimeter of the depot,
doing what he could to make
sure rioters did not ransack the
station. the citation that came
with the award of the mBE
said it had been given “for his
selfless act and his years of
service to london buses”.
others honoured, include
trinidadian-born music promoter Wilfred Walker, who
received a CBE for services to
live black music, and consultant paediatrician Dr Nellie
Adjaye, from Ghana, who was
awarded an mBE for services
to child health and protection.
Cassa Pancho, artistic director and founder of dance
Peter, who is chairman of NHCP, was modest
about his achievements.
“It's not all down to me,” he said. “A great
many people have helped along the way, who
are just as deserving. My hope is the honour
will help to publicise the project.”
NHCP is a project of the Wesleyan Guild, a
mission of the Methodist Church. In 1992
under Mr Grubb’s chairmanship the Wesley
Guild decided that it should seek to re-establish
the task of supporting primary health care in
Nigeria, as it had originally done in its early
‘missionary’ years at Ilesha in 1912.
company Ballet Black, was
awarded an mBE for services
to ballet. the half British, half
trinidadian classically trained
dancer established Ballet Black
in 2001, to create opportunities for dancers of black and
Asian descent.
And Jamaican-born, awardwinning playwright Patricia
Cumper, former director of talawa – the UK’s premier black
theatre company – received an
mBE for services to black
British theatre.
“Since 1992 we have raised well over £1m and
a lot of that is going to rural areas where a small
hospital makes a great difference,” said Peter.
Ninety-five per cent of all funds raised go to
the projects, with the remaining five per cent
spent on administration – a remarkably small
sum compared to most charities. Representatives of the charity visit Nigeria at least once
every two years and it also audits all accounts
from the hospitals to ensure the money has
gone to where it is intended.
To find out more about NHCP, and/or offer
your support visit www.nhcp.org.uk
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NEWSWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
5
TINIE IS ‘ENORMOUS IN THE SYLE STAKES’, CHUKA ‘A FUTURE PM’ – GQ
For the third year running rapper tinie
tempah has been named one of the
UK’s leaders of fashion.
After topping the men’s fashion
bible, GQ list of Best Dressed men in
2011 and 2012, tinie came third on
this year’s list – which was voted for
by 250,000 people. he was replaced at
the top by heart-throb de jour Dan
Stevens of Downton Abbey fame and
at number two actor tom hiddleston.
Speaking on behalf of the selection committee lucas ossendrijver,
menswear designer at lanvin, said of
tinie’s style, “tine always looks very
sharp and well put together. he has
an acute eye for mixing classic tailoring pieces with a sports edge, creating
his own signature look.”
GQ added, “Everyone’s favourite
rapper may be small in stature but
he’s enormous in the style stakes.”
Fittingly then tinie featured large
on the committee determining who
would be showcased in the london
Collection: men fashion show, staged
over the weekend of Jan 7-9 in london. his own celebrated label Disturbing london did not appear on the
catwalk but a 2013 collection is expected to be launched in the spring.
About the same time tinie’s album
Demonstration is set to be released.
Anger spreads over whitewash
of schools’ history curriculum
More than 35,000 people (at the time of going
to press) had signed a petition opposing government plans to erase black icons from the history
syllabus of the national curriculum.
The Archbishop of York John Sentamu, MP
Chukka Umunna and author Zadie Smith are
among those to have signed the petition organised by Operation Black Vote. The Runnymede
Trust – the independent race equality think-tank
has also lent its support to the campaign.
It was launched in response to a leaked document from the department for education, in
which it is proposed that the only two African
British personalities currently on the history syllabus – the 19th century Jamaican-born nurse
and entrepreneur Mary Seacole and the 18th
century African born (in present day Nigeria)
abolitionist and entrepreneur Olaudah
Equiano – be removed as part of a package to
make history about kings and queens.
The petition states that by removing such
prominent figures from the curriculum sends out
the wrong message to black pupils and will damage their educational chances. “To remove Mary
Seacole from the National Curriculum is tantamount to rewriting history to fit a worldview
hostile to Britain’s historical diversity. Moreover,
the teaching of Black historical figures is widely
recognised to be beneficial to the success of
Black pupils and in closing the GCSE achievement gap,” it says. To read the petition in full
and/or sign it visit www.obv.org.uk
Another prominent Nigerian to
feature on the list was shadow secretary of state for business, innovation
and skills, Chukka Umunna mP. Rising
from the 34 spot to 26 mr Umuna is
variously described as being “too well
dressed for politics” and as “the
sharpest dressed member on the opposition benches”.
however, mr Umunna was probably more pleased to feature at No19
on GQ’s most Influential list (in the
same issue). his rise since being
elected in 2010 is described as “meteoric”.
the magazine says of the
Streatham mP – who is often described as Britain’s answer to Barack
obama – “he’s smart, slick, confident
and knows his stuff. labour insiders
are already talking about him as future prime minister material.”
6
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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NEWSWATCH
American study beggars the question;
is your hair making you unhealthy?
DEPoRtEE SAID “I’VE
NothING to lIVE FoR”
A number of obstacles may stand between a
person and exercise, and hairstyles may be
one of them for African-American women,
according to a shocking new study.
NIGERIAN youngster Rilwanu Balogun committed suicide at the Glen Parva young offenders
Institute in leicester in 2011, to avoid being deported an inquest heard in January.
Rilwanu, who came to the UK when he was
seven years old, hanged himself at the institute
just a day after his 21st birthday. the inquest
heard that mr Balogun who had spent much of
his childhood in institutions had told staff he
had nothing more to live for.
According to evidence presented to the inquest, mr Balogun was transferred to Glen Parva,
which holds men aged 18 to 21, in April 2011, to
await deportation to Nigeria. he was found
Researchers found about two of every five
African-American women said they avoid exercise because of concerns about their hair, and
researchers say that is concerning given the United
States’ obesity epidemic.
“As an African-American woman, I have that
problem, and my friends
have that problem. So I
wondered if my patients
had that problem,” said Dr.
Amy McMichael, the
study’s senior researcher
and a dermatologist at the
Wake Forest University
School of Medicine in
North Carolina.
McMichael and her colleagues, who published their findings in the
Archives of Dermatology, said hair care can be
tedious and costly for African-American women.
Rochelle Mosley, who owns Salon 804 in the
Harlem neighbourhood of New York City, told
Reuters Health some of her African-American
clients come in once per week to get their hair
straightened at a cost of about $40.
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They may not want to wash their hair more
than once a week to keep their hairstyle, and
may avoid sweating because of that.
To find out if women were putting hair above
their health, the researchers surveyed 103
African-American women who came to the dermatology clinic at Wake Forest University in
October 2007.
They found that more
than half of the women
were exercising for less than
75 minutes per week, which
is less than the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services’ recommendation
of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.
That’s also less than U.S.
women on average, according to a 2007 study from the
U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
that found about half of all
U.S. women were exercising close to 150 minutes per week.
More than a quarter of the women in the
new study said they didn’t exercise at all.
About a third of the women said they exercise less than they’d like because of their hair,
and half said they have considered changing
their hair for exercise.
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hanged on the morning of may 8 and was taken
to leicester Royal Infirmary but died a week later.
Paul mayfield, a senior prison officer, told the
hearing, “he (Balogun) told me he had nothing
to live for. he said I’ll be deported back to Nigeria and I’ve got no-one back there and I’ll be living in the slums.”
At the hearing, it was revealed that mr Balogun had a string of previous convictions.
Inspectors, who visited the centre after mr
Balogun’s death said they were pleased to see
improvements in the management of vulnerable
prisoners and that suicide and self-harm was
generally well managed.
BORDERS REPORT RELEASED
AN investigation into
human trafficking from
Nigeria to the UK, entitled
Beyond Borders, has been
published by the Institute
for Public Policy Research.
The report is part of a
wider programme of research on irregular migration from sub-Saharan
Africa and the Maghreb to
Europe.
The 100-page report examines ‘how the UK can
address trafficking using an
end-to-end approach that
takes account of the complex range of factors that
drive trafficking’. It identifies poverty within Nigeria
as one of the key issues.
“Policy in Nigeria that
seeks to prevent trafficking
should address poverty and
exclusion from support as
well as migration intentions,” it states. “The relationship between internal
and international trafficking should be recognised
and drivers of internal trafficking should be addressed.”
Beyond Borders is available from www.ippr.org/publications
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NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
7
Engineering’s answer to Professor Brian Cox
What Professor Brian Cox has done
for generating public interest in astrophysics, Nigerian Yewande Akinola is set to do for engineering.
Yewande has just been named young
woman engineer of the year 2012.
The accolade is awarded to the
woman that represents the ‘very best
of the engineering profession’.
The judges were won over by
Yewande’s ability to communicate
her enthusiasm for the industry and
were impressed with her ability to
YOU’RE NICKED
PRESIDENt Goodluck Jonathan was
shocked with the dilapidated state of
Nigeria's premier police training facility when he paid a surprise visit to
the Police College in lagos.
Because the president dropped in
unannounced in January, en route to
an economic summit in Ivory Coast,
he discovered they had hired one of
its halls out for a private wedding
against regulations.
he was also shocked to find that
there were no mattresses in the college and that some cadets were hav-
ing to make do with sleeping on either the bare floor or springs. Washing facilities were in an even worse
state, with the toilets filthy, lacking
water and infested by rodents and
vermin.
Feeding arrangements were terrible too with a feeding budget of only
N150 (58p) allocated for each recruit
a day. It is said to be common for
them to eat eba without any meat or
fish. this is particularly surprising as
security accounts for the largest segment of Nigeria's budget, with the
take ideas from inception to realisation. “Yewande’s achievement shows
how early inspiration and encouragement are some of the main ingredients to motivate the new
generation of engineers. Her passion and dedication can only motivate others to act in the same way,”
said David George, Associate at
Arup, where Yewande works.
Yewande holds a degree in Engineering Design and Appropriate
Technology from the University of
2013 spend totalling a whopping
N922bn (£3.62bn). It is more than the
combined allocations of 12 other federal ministries.
A week later it emerged that life
at the formerly pristine lagos University teaching hospital (luth) are just
as bad. Nigeria’s senate has subsequently announced it will carry out a
probe into the funds allocated to Police College Ikeja and other similar
training institutions.
the senate blamed itself for not
carrying out effective and efficient
oversight to detect the deplorable
and appalling situation of the college
prior to the visit of President
Jonathan.
Warwick and a Masters in Innovation and Design for Sustainability
from Cranfield University.
She has a passion for innovation
and sustainable water supply and
enjoys the challenge of taking engineering ideas from concept right
through to manufacture. She combines her career with media roles
through which she shares the thrills
of life as an engineer.
Yewande also has interests in
water and sanitation for underdevel-
oped and developing countries. In
2009 she was awarded Society of
Public Health Engineers ‘Young
Engineer of the Year’. In 2012
Yewande was also honoured with the
Exceptional Achiever award at the
Young BME Engineer of the Year
Awards and has been selected to
judge the winning trophy for the
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering – alongside Sir Nicholas
Serota, Director of the Tate,
amongst others.
8
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
KASUMUWATCH
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The SAMUEL KASUMU Column
Nigeria and Britain are failing
to encourage businesswomen
This month I am due to return to Nigeria for
the first time in almost 20 years. The first
and only time I have visited this exciting part
of West Africa was aged 6 when my family
relocated there for some months.
While it promises to be a very emotional experience in the land of my forefathers, it will unfortunately be more a case of business than
pleasure. I will be supporting a Member of Parliament on a fact finding mission into how entrepreneurship is thriving in Lagos, and what
the British government can do to encourage
British businesses to be more engaged.
Nigeria is on the up, and the state of Lagos
is doing exceptionally well. Nations like China
and Saudi Arabia have found ways to be a part
of what is a growing economic powerhouse, and
Great Britain simply has to raise its game.
Building relationships will be key to ensuring
nations can participate in this new prosperity,
so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some of our
European counterparts are planning similar
journeys. Most people believe that by 2020
Nigeria will comfortably be the number one
economy in sub-Saharan Africa, and as the
proverb goes ‘a rich man has many friends’.
One of the great mysteries that I’m hoping
to explore on this fact finding mission is why
only 15 per cent of Nigerian entrepreneurs are
women.
This is one of the lowest figures of female entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. My own
experience of Nigerian women, like my mother,
is that they are very enterprising and keen to
grow various types of business ideas. So 15 per
cent is a shocking total.
Research by the World Bank in 2011 found
that female entrepreneurs were more likely to
say that collateral requirements were unattainable when trying to get a bank loan and they did
not think they would be approved for loans as
often as male entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
“For many women it
is difficult to get the
much needed capital
to be successful
in business”
This basically means that for many women it
is difficult to get the much needed capital to be
successful in business. I’ve also read that in
many Nigerian manufacturing organisations
there are no female members of staff whatsoever. These are very interesting indicators that I
will bear in mind on my trip, and I hope to learn
both about the great achievements and other
challenges within the growing economy of
Nigeria.
When it comes to encouraging female entrepreneurs, unfortunately the UK is not in a
position to cast the first stone.
Research has shown that the difference between the level of female business ownership
in the UK and the US is the equivalent of
around 600,000 extra women-owned businesses. That equates to around £42bn that
could be added to the UK economy.
Access to finance must again be seen as a
key reason why women are not growing businesses in this country. But there are also other
factors, like a lack of role models that many
women can relate to or learn from.
There is a need for targeted mentoring
schemes and support mechanisms for this to
change. At a time when women have to balance so many roles and responsibilities, the
flexibility of owning your own business cannot be underestimated.
Many well-educated and talented women
are on benefits today because they may leave
the job market for a number of reasons (child
birth and so forth) and then find themselves
out of the job market for too long.
Enterprise is a perfect fit for so many
women, and we must help them to make their
ideas a reality. I look forward to the government
getting to grips with this issue.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to be involved on my
journey to Lagos please get in contact through
my website: www.SamuelKasumu.co.uk
WILL THE IMMIGRATION
DEBATE EVER BE BALANCED?
The Prime Minister, David
Cameron, held a meeting of his
political cabinet where the first
item on the agenda was how his
party can start to reach out to ethnic minority groups.
While I am duty bound not to
disclose what was discussed, there
were reports in another newspaper
that the Health Secretary proposed Conservatives stop speaking about immigration so much.
I’d probably agree with his sentiments. It is a subject used far too
often as a scapegoat, but I also
reckon it’s about time black people have a strong and frank discussion about what we really think
about this topic.
It seems to me that most peo-
ple view immigration in relation to
their own personal experience and
seldom choose to take up a more
balanced perspective.
If you are a rich employer, having staff come from abroad, who
are harder workers and demand
less pay, will always appeal to you.
But if you are at the lower end
of earners, often left to compete
for jobs that are not glamorous
and are not paid very well, it can
be difficult to accept the benefits
of immigration.
There is a strong belief
amongst many people that immigration puts pressure on public
services and that housing is also a
big challenge.
An opposing argument would
be that many of the vital public
services, including doctors and academics, rely on workers from
abroad to survive in the first place.
But what should the opinion of
British Nigerians be?
Well, I think more and more
Nigerians are becoming middle
class and moving into suburban
areas. It will probably mean an adjustment to their own ideas
around immigration policy, and
when I speak to many Nigerians I
can hear their views moving
slightly to the right.
The world is, however, becoming more global, and my personal
hope is that people no longer feel
that they have to leave one place
for a better economic future.
The UK needs skilled labour
from across the world if it is to
survive this global race. But we
will have to see in the future if the
debate on immigration ever becomes balanced.
I’ll be keen to hear from anyone currently
working within the region and has experience of
international business. We hope to publish a report on our findings later in the year. Happy to
hear from organisations that want to be a part of
putting the final report together.
£1m for 18-30
entrepreneurs;
apply today
towards the end of last year the organisation
that I founded, Elevation Networks, agreed to
help to deliver £1 million of start-up capital for
young people aged 18 to 30 with a business
idea.
We started distributing finance in January,
and have had a number of applicants. We’re
hoping that by the end of march we would have
given out close to £1 million, and will be looking
forward to expanding the programme beyond
this pilot stage.
If you have a business idea and need anywhere between £2,500 and £10,000 to get it off
the ground then get in touch.
the finance is provided by the Department
for Business, Innovation & Skills and is part of
the collective vision of helping 45,000 young entrepreneurs to create jobs.
For more information or to apply, drop me an
email at: [email protected]
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10
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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GISTWATCH
Madam Amebo
NOT IN THE SPIRIT OF
GOODWILL
tRADItIoNAlly, Nigerians feast more than anyone else during the festive period. thus, when
December comes round, our people always
brace themselves for a fortnight of endless free
food and drink.
one Naija lady living in Borehamwood decided to use the opportunity to make up for the
hard times she is currently going through by
getting to eat as much free food as possible.
When she thus got an invitation from a friend
who was organising an end-of-year fund-raising dinner, she jumped at the opportunity.
She knew that the dinner was to raise funds
for a Nigerian charity but given that the organiser was a friend who had rung her, our Borehamwood friend thought she was being offered
a complimentary ticket. Dressed up and looking
glamorous, she headed off to the do on the Isle
of Dogs only to get there and be asked for her
ticket or to purchase one at the door.
Constant calls on her mobile phone to her
friend who invited her proved futile as this padi
decided to act Shylock, insisting her £20 a head
was non-negotiable. She refused to accept calls
or come to the door to waive her friend
through. No doubt, their friendship has not survived into 2013. In this case, Christmas did not
prove to be the period of goodwill.
DRAWBACKS OF BEING A
LISTENING GP
BEING a general practitioner has its perks, one
of which is good remuneration. But it also has
its drawbacks, which among other things involves listening to everyone’s woes. one Croydon GP with 15 years experience under her belt
has got so used to the routine that she has mastered the art of treating patients and listening
attentively to them at the same time.
She is also a life coach and has found out
that since she delved into it, many Nigerians recommend her because while being treated they
can talk and get advice on their plethora of personal problems. one day, however, our GP regretted being such a listening ear when she had
a patient who came to talk about her liaisons
with her married boyfriend.
our patient was distraught by the fact that
this boyfriend was ditching her in favour of a
younger mistress and made it clear that he
could not keep three women at the same time.
Providing graphic details of how steamy their
time together was, our patient burst into tears
calling the man selfish and heartless.
After 10 minutes of listening, our GP latched
on to the fact that it was her husband being described and promptly ended the session, citing
some urgent meeting she had to attend. her
husband got his marching orders that same day.
THE BEST LAID PLANS OF
AN IT MAN
BEING a player may have its short-term benefits
but over the long-term, it is not sustainable. one
Essex It consultant found this out to his cost
lately when two of his girlfriends met at his flat
and decided to dump him and go off together.
he had one girlfriend in london and one in
manchester and planned his festive period carefully, hoping to spend Christmas in london with
one and then see in the New year up in manchester. he stocked his london flat with food
for the holiday period and then sent money to
his manchester girlfriend, asking her to do the
same. Unfortunately for him, his manchester
lady woke up on Boxing Day and just got it into
her head to surprise her boyfriend with a visit.
She got the first train from manchester Piccadilly and arrived at his flat by 10am, waking
both of them up. our friend opened to door in
a state of shock and then all hell broke loose.
Both ladies left for the london girlfriend’s flat
immediately the hurried packing was done.
WHEN A BB PRESENT
SPELLS BYE-BYE
WhAt does a man do when his girlfriend dumps
him because she feels the Christmas present he
bought her was not expensive enough? Well
this is what happened to a hardworking Peckham chap who worked two jobs, at a supermarket by day and as a security guard at night.
he is saving up and counting his pennies as
he looks forward to doing his AAt exams this
year and has a girlfriend who he thinks will be
part of a prosperous future. Unfortunately, he
bit off more than he could chew with this lady
as she is used to dating big boys and regularly
gets gifts that range from cars to exotic
Caribbean holidays as Christmas presents.
on Christmas Eve, our young man turned up
at his girlfriend’s flat with a Blackberry phone,
which he had carefully wrapped up. She took it
off him and asked, ‘Is that it?” When he replied
yes, she then asked him what it was.
After he told her an argument ensued and
she showed him the door, saying he was not in
her league. She then deleted his number and
has refused to pick his calls since.
Got a story for
madam Amebo?
Send it to
[email protected]
We pay for every story that
appears in print
Everyday for the
thief, one day for
the owner – part 8
Re-united with the love of her life mrs G is
overcome and mr G is over-impressed by his
status as the CEo of a bank – but mustapha
knows more about the Gs than they do
about him. But no one asks, “how?”
B
ack then when her father was alive, it
was a struggle to live her life as normal
after he adamantly refused to give his
blessing and allow her and mustapha to get
married. Seeing how miserable she was after
graduating, he sent her to london to do a master’s degree. She had not seen him since that
dreadful day they were forced to part ways.
For a moment she and mustapha both
stared at each other with a hint of a tear in
their respective eyes, their hearts and minds reconnected and without actually saying out
loud he asked, “how have you been my love?”
And she replied, “Sad, very sad, but coping.”
mustapha said, “I know, as I have been
watching you from a distance.” Before mrs G
could say a word mustapha said, “Shhhhh, we
cannot talk here.”
then and only then did mrs G come back to
earth and realise where she was, surrounded
by people she knew and didn’t know. her
daughter who was by her side had her mouth
open and as little and young as she was, she
could sense that this strange tall man meant
something to her mother.
mrs G introduced her daughter Annabel to
mustapha, who picked her up and gave her a
big kiss on her cheek. “She is a carbon copy of
you my dear,” said mustapha.
As all three of them were lost in their own
world, mr G approached, intrigued by the man
he didn’t recognise, and introduced himself to
mustapha. mustapha told him he was a childhood friend of mrs G and currently the CEo of
one of the major big four banks in Nigeria.
on hearing that, mr G suddenly patted him
on the back and said he is welcome to his
house and he led mustapha towards where
Bob Chukwudi was sat. mr G introduced
mustapha to his Boss and the rest of the crew.
he told mustapha that they should do business
together in the future.
the Boss man sat quietly listening to mr G
and let his displeasure show on his face. he
whispered something into his bodyguard’s ear,
who then whispered in mr G’s. mr G suddenly
stopped being so friendly and told mustapha
to excuse them because they wanted to have
a private discussion. mustapha kindly thanked
everyone and walked away.
mrs G stood at a distance and watched as
mustapha walked towards her. he came close
and in a very low voice said, “We need to talk”.
mustapha had a stern look in his eyes and mrs
G sensed it was serious. he squeezed a piece of
paper into her hand and walked away without
looking back…
To be continued
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YOURWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
11
Letters to the Editor
We’d love to hear from you. You can make sure Nigerian Watch is your kind of paper by letting us
know what you think, what you want to see in these pages and equally important what you don’t.
So put pen to paper and send your letters to:
the Editor, Nigerian Watch, Chartwell house, 292 hale lane, Edgware,
middlesex hA8 8NP
or click away on your keyboard and email us at: [email protected]
Letters to be included in the next issue must be received by no later than February 20 2013. The
Editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published. Please include your full name, postal
address and contact telephone number. Names and addresses can be withheld, if preferred.
Letters may be edited for publication.
GREEN DEAL NIGERIA
Your article ‘Occupy Nigeria Goes Green’
(Nigerian Watch, December 2012) highlights
many of the issues facing communities in
Nigeria, from corruption and high unemployment to climate change and conflict.
It also describes how a ‘Green Deal’ will
deliver many of the answers: how small-scale
solar energy production could power the
country in an age after oil, for example.
Other answers discussed at the event included switching to eating home-grown rice.
Replacing the current rice imports from Thailand and India with home grown grains could
create almost a million jobs.
But I was a little surprised that your report
didn’t mention that the event took place on
the 17th anniversary of the execution of
Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, a pioneer of
the struggle between communities and the
worst excesses of the oil industry in Nigeria.
The discussion was well attended by Londoners from beyond the Nigerian diaspora, all
of whom were concerned to ensure that Nigeria is soon able to take a place a the centre of
global Green politics commensurate with its
size and importance, and I’ll certainly make
sure that some of the enthusiasm and answers
presented shape my work as a Member of the
European Parliament for a city which offers a
home to many tens of thousands of Nigerians.
Jean Lambert, Member of the European Parliament (Green Party, London),
Rue Wiertz, Brussels
CHRISTMAS CHEER
After the festivities I was one of those who
found myself to pooped to pop. Indeed, too
pooped to even think of what to do.
So I decided to follow the advice proffered
in January’s Staying In item. I often pit myself
against critics – to see if I share their opinions.
If I do, all well and good. If not, even better.
Fortunately I only had to nip to my local
bookshop to purchase a copy of Kabir Kareem-Bello’s Memoirs of a Young African.
And it is as your reviewer said a glorious read.
The conflicting tensions that migrants feel
(the fear of leaving, the fear of coming) are
subtly expressed – and are all the more moving
for it.
The TedX ‘programmes’ on the other hand
weren’t even uploaded yet – but I can’t blame
your writer for that. If they are any where near
as good as the book then they are something
to truly look forward to. Thank you.
I will pay more heed to your newspaper’s
recommendations in future.
Harold, Brixton
GANG CULTURE
I would like to comment on Councillor Florence Nosegbe’s article in the January edition of
Nigerian Watch. I agree with her article.
I believe that the general consensus is that all
these ‘bad boys’ you see in Peckham and Brixton are all Caribbean.
The shocking fact is that a lot of these youth
that are in gangs in London are from a Nigerian
heritage. It is really scary because it seems that
our community is turning a blind eye to this epidemic and not choosing to do anything about
it. It is not good enough for parents to say they
are too busy.
I would like to join Councillor Nosegbe in
urging our community to watch over our children more; to talk to them more; to find out
who their friends are; to get involved in their interests; to become friends to our children, so
they do not seek the evil alternative that is
plaguing our streets.
I believe that we can work closer with the
schools and get our religious leaders to hold
more events. So many youth clubs are closing
down. Let the churches and mosques open up
their doors for the kids in the community.
It is when the kids become bored that they
then turn to the street culture. We all should be
accountable for somebody in this world.
Let’s open our hearts and doors to our children. At the end of the day they are the future
of our nation.
Stella, from Edgware
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2012
WORLDWATCH
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Reddit/sweet_d
12
HOUSE OF HORRORS IS NO MACABRE LEGACY
These astonishing pictures were
posted on a social networking site
by a shocked and unsuspecting
dinner guest.
He had been invited to dinner unaware that his Texan hosts were dedicated big game hunters. On the
reddit site, where poster sweete_d
shared his pictures, he says the home
was filled with 50-75 animals. And
surprisingly, apparently, none were
purchased from a taxidermist.
“The family goes to Africa for 6
weeks every year and has a gun vault
the size of most peoples homes,” the
poster learned.
While for most of us it might seem
criminal to see endangered species
such as lions and rhinos and enough
ivory to suggest a whole herd of elephants has been felled, for the very
wealthy big game trophy hunting remains very much a holiday option.
One company, which boasts Don-
ald Trump Jnr amongst its clients,
runs an astonishing price list.
To kill an elephant will cost anything from $22-70k, plus a $1.5k
hunting license.
The older the elephant, the bigger
the tusks, the more expensive the kill.
For an elephant with tusks over
100lbs – ie, the oldest elephant – the
price is on request. A lion costs anything between $18-45k.
And a Black Rhino, which is on
the verge of extinction, with numbers
remaining in the world counted in the
hundreds, can be bagged for between
$250-350k.
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WORLDWATCH
Kunle Ogunfuyi Hodimages
AN IRRESISTIBLE FORCE CELEBRATED
the political landscape in Nigeria shifted dramatically this time last year, over the week of
January 10-17. that was when people from all
walks of life took to the streets to protest
against government plans to remove the fuel
subsidy. In face of such mass protest it backed
down and in doing so let it be known that people power was an irresistible force.
thisdaylive.com picture editor and photographer Kunle ogunfuyi was among the protesters in lagos every step of the way and his
pictures of that momentous occasion were the
focus of an anniversary exhibition at the National museum in lagos.
Describing the exhibition ogunfuyi said,
“I’m showcasing the reaction of the people,
from the call to protest, to the movement to
the Gani Fawehinmi Park around lagos, as
well as people like Pat Utomi and lagos Island
residents converging on NtA, to have their
voices heard, to the invasion of the military
tanks and personnel in lagos.
“this was not just the Nigerian labour Congress calling a protest or Save Nigeria Group,
this is the first time Nigerians truly protested
since independence over 50 years ago. this
protest was staged spontaneously in the six
geo-political zones.
“the protests had an effect,” he said. “the
first being that Nigerians came out to protest
without saying, ‘you are yoruba, Ijaw or
hausa.”
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2012
13
BP AGREES $4BN PENALTY
FOR ‘DEEPWATER’ DEATHS
The criminal investigation of BP’s role in
the Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf
oil spill came to an abrupt end on Tuesday
(Jan 29), when a US federal judge agreed
to let the London-based oil giant plead
guilty to manslaughter charges for the
deaths of 11 rig workers and pay a record
$4 billion in penalties.
The criminal settlement calls for BP to pay
nearly $1.3 billion in fines. The largest previous
corporate criminal penalty assessed by the Justice Department was a $1.2 billion fine against
drug maker Pfizer in 2009.
The plea deal also includes payments of
nearly $2.4 billion to the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation and $350 million to the
National Academy of Sciences.
The two groups will administer the money
to fund Gulf restoration and oil spill prevention projects. The $4 billion in total penalties
are 160 times greater than the $25 million fine
that Exxon paid for the 1989 Valdez spill in
Alaska, presiding Judge Sarah Vance noted.
The company remains liable for civil claims,
which could run into billions more for environmental damage from its 2010 spill.
Vance also noted that BP has already
racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related
expenses and has estimated it will pay a total
of $42 billion to fully resolve its liability for the
disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The judge said the $4 billion criminal settlement is “just punishment” for BP, even though
the company could have paid far more without
going broke, AP news agency reported.
In accepting the deal, Vance also cited the
risk that a trial could result in a much lower
fine for BP, one potentially capped by law at
$8.2 million.
Before she ruled, the judge heard an apology from a BP executive and emotional testimony from relatives of the 11 workers who
died when BP’s blown-out Macondo well triggered an explosion on the rig and started the
spill.
Keith Jones, whose 28-year-old son, Gordon, died in the rig explosion, said $4 billion
isn’t adequate punishment. “It is petty cash to
BP,” he told Vance. “Their stock went up after
this plea deal was announced.”
BP agreed in November to plead guilty to
charges involving the workers’ deaths and for
lying to Congress about the size of the spill
from its broken well, which spewed more than
200 million gallons of oil. Much of it ended up
in the Gulf and soiled the shorelines of several
states. The company could have withdrawn
from the agreement if Vance had rejected it.
BP America vice president Luke Keller
apologised to the relatives of the workers who
died and for the spill’s environmental damage
to the Gulf Coast.
14
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2012
COMMENTWATCH
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Nigeria’s eagerness to play a peacekeeping role across Africa needs to be more considered
urges theophilus Ilevbare, especially as the Boko Haram insurgency remains unchecked
Where will Mali’s insurgents go?
he Nigerian Senate gave
constitutional approval to
the deployment of 1,200
troops for combat mission as part
of the Africa International
Support Mission to Mali
(AFISMA);
an
ECOWAS
(Economic Community of West
African States)-organized military
mission sent to support a member
government against Islamist
rebels. The mission was authorized
with UN Security Council
Resolution 2085, passed on 20
December 2012 “for an initial
period of one year”.
T
Nigerian troops had already been
deployed by President Goodluck
Jonathan before a letter was transferred to the Senate for approval.
This action in itself raises serious
constitutional questions.
The swift dispatch of troops belie
the security challenges at home. It is
now habitual for the Nigerian government to solve crises in neighbouring African countries faster than the
insurgency at home.
If the federal government had responded in similar manner to the
Boko Haram menace during its formative years, their activities would have
been nipped in the bud. The “brilliant
record” of Nigeria’s participation in
peace missions in neighbouring
African countries count for nothing
when compared to the insurmountable security challenges at home.
There is nothing ‘responsible’
about being proactive in regional
conflicts when the Boko Haram menace has claimed over 3,000 lives and
counting at home. The present security challenges at home does not warrant any form of peace-keeping
outside the shores of the country.
The conflict in Mali birthed by the
emergence of three Islamist groups
now active in northern Mali – Ansar
Dine, al-Qa’ida in the Islamic
Maghreb, and the Movement for
Oneness and Jihad, all beefed up by
an influx of mercenary fighters from
Libya about a year ago.
These Islamist rebels were also
bolstered by the subsequent destabilization of northern Africa after the
war in Libya, leading to the proliferation of arms and ammunition to
groups masquerading as Libyan freedom fighters.
The Nigerian government should
take its cue from the reluctance of
some European countries, particularly Britain – whose Ministers were
ordered to the Commons to stress
that UK troops would not ‘undertake
a combat role’ in the crisis in Africa –
amid fears they could be sucked into
a long, bloody conflict, opting to
limit their involvement to logistical
air assistance to France.
The US played an active role in
ousting Muammar Gaddafi during
the Libyan uprising with air strikes
without putting boots on the ground.
Nigeria could have explored similar
possibilities, and should begin to
think along such lines for when considering future invitations to join
combat missions.
The suggestion by some senators
that it is high time Nigeria considered
her economic interest in foreign poli-
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cies like the world super powers, US
in particular, was instructive. We need
not go on foreign missions without
reaping the maximum benefits of our
sacrifices. “It is no longer uhuru for
the country to continue to play Father Christmas in its foreign policies”
quipped a Senator.
There are real threats of retaliatory strikes of western targets across
Africa and beyond, countries whose
troops are part of the combined effort
to flush out the terrorists. Mali may
not play a significant role in world
economy but it is surrounded, on far
and near sides, by countries that do.
Nigeria and Algeria with the
largest and second largest gas reserves
respectively in Africa, suppliers of
petrochemical/minerals, make them
potential targets of reprisals. Recently, al-Moulathamine, a group affiliated to AQIM has since claimed
responsibility for the attack on a gas
field in southern Algeria run by BP,
Statoil and the Algerian state oil company Sonatrach.
The Algerian government said 38
workers and 29 militants died in an
attack during a three-day military operation to end the hostage crisis, after
a special forces operation crushed the
last holdout of the fighters at the
Amenas plant.
Considering that Algeria has been
co-operating with the French military
operations by allowing the use of its
airspace and committing about 900
troops to the UN mission in Mali, the
Islamists fighters vowed to avenge
what they called the country’s support
for French military action in neighbouring Mali. With Nigerian troops
too in Mali, we may fear the worst.
Reports also say French and
Malian forces reclaimed the key
towns of Konna and Diabaly from
militants after days of intense fighting. Now here is the big question;
what is the strategy of the Nigerian
troops nay the AFISMA in Mali?
Is it to crush the terrorist or chase
them out? Whichever of the tactics
they deploy, reprisals from splinter
and allied terrorist networks in Nigeria, like the Kogi state attack, are a
cinch.
But if their strategy is to push
them out which is the obvious tactics
from days of fighting in Mali, border
countries should be prepared against
the influx of fleeing Islamist rebels.
To stay ahead of the game in the
fight against terrorism, Nigeria needs
to be proactive on the home front.
Have we deployed troops to protect
or fortify, if any form of security already existed, Nigeria’s porous borders? Did we count the cost of an
economic spill over of a full blown
war in Mali, or of a military impasse
or casualty?
From the foregoing, the deployment of Nigerian troops to Mali has
raised more questions than answers.
This is an edited version of an article
posted by Sahara Reporters’
commentator Theophilus Ilevbare.
COMMENTWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2012
15
We’re feeling the pain
Community expertise is being lost and opportunities to escape poverty
reduced as a result of generalised cuts, argues Adedamola Aminu
he current economic
climate in the UK
has resulted in
central government cuts in
funding to local authorities, and in turn reductions in grant allocations
from local authorities to
small organisations; among
these Black, Asian and
Minority Ethnic (BAME)
projects are suffering
disproportionately.
T
Many small BAME organisations, or those which are
less well established, have already had to cease delivering
services as they have not been
able to absorb funding cuts of
25 per cent. In times of recession, less popular causes, such
as work focusing on isolated
groups, which may include
children excluded from school
or elderly people with cultural,
social and educational needs
that are difficult to meet, tend
not to attract the same level of
support from funders.
Meanwhile, requests for
specific types of help – such as
advisory services, legal representation, counselling and advocacy – have increased, with
organisations voicing doubts
that they may not be able to
keep up with demand.
Many sectors are being
buffeted by other legislative
changes as we can see by
looking at children and young
people’s services. A number of
Local Authorities drew attention to the effect on children
from BAME backgrounds of
the new Pupil Premium funding mechanism.
From 2011, specific funding allocated to Local Authorities for raising BAME
achievement was replaced by
the Pupil Premium.
Another educational reform resulting in a change in
funding is the likely removal
of the Ethnic Minority
Achievement Grant (EMAG)
– previously administered
under a separate funding
stream, this grant will henceforth be included in the main
schools budget, with local authorities responsible for decisions on allocations, giving
rise to concerns that in some
areas it may reduce or diminish altogether. In some cases
some local authorities have
closed down libraries, after
school clubs, one o’clock
clubs and youth centres, to
save costs.
BAME communities that
are served by the third sector
– especially BAME young
people, refugee and migrant
communities – have an increased need for services due
to the recession; and at present, this is not being adequately met.
BAME third sector organisations are seeing an increase
in demand for services in
areas such as hate crime, job
seeking, interpreting, volunteering opportunities, CV
writing and benefits advice.
BAME organisations working with the elderly have reported increased levels of
poverty resulting in service
users being unable to buy
food and cover basic living
costs such electricity and
water.
There is a major concern
that Government aid pumped
in to help the third sector to
buffer the impact of the recession risks not reaching the
BAME third sector in London as a result of bureaucracy, a lack of support, and
basic information – and without using organisations with a
BAME knowledge base there
is little recognition of the
unique needs of BAME communities.
As a result there is widespread concern that even if
funding is maintained for the
third sector it will not reach
local BAME groups and will
be received by larger organisations that are not connected
with the needs of London’s
BAME communities.
Such cuts would seriously
reduce the ability of many
community-based organisations to contribute to certain
types of preventative initiatives.
For example, some organisations that have worked to
promote social cohesion will
no longer being able to meet
requests from statutory bodies, e.g. social services, or the
police, with whom they have
engaged to help prevent escalation of social problems and
to promote a sense of investment in the community.
There is also evidence to
show that the recession has
had a particularly negative
impact on ethnic minorities.
Unemployment levels in
BAME communities have
risen by a greater percentage
than among the white population, particularly over the last
two years. In addition there is
evidence of discrimination
against BAME Small and
Medium Enterprises (SME).
During the recession, access to credit has been particularly difficult for SMEs
generally. There has been a
departure from risky lending
and Lloyds and RBS have
missed their lending targets.
As BAME businesses are
often more likely to be SMEs
than white-owned businesses,
this reduced access to credit is
likely to be having a disproportionate effect on them.
There is evidence of discrimination against BAME
Small and Medium Enterprises.
Ethnic minority-owned
businesses pay higher bank
loan charges than white
owned businesses. On average
Black African and Black
Caribbean-owned businesses
are much more likely to be rejected for loans outright.
Black African and Black
Caribbean-owned businesses
are significantly more likely to
feel discouraged from applying for finance than Whiteowned businesses.
In this economic climate
the BAME third sector needs
to adopt a more strategic and
sustained approach to co-operative working to ensure that
it continues to provide specialised and adequate services
to BAME communities.
Infrastructure support to
the BAME sector needs to be
improved by being more creative and focused. Due to the
increased need for BAME
and specialist third sector
services with capacity to deliver, funding should not only
be maintained but increased
for the BAME third sector.
Adedamola Aminu is a Lambeth Councillor and Cabinet
Member with responsibility
for children and young people.
He is also Chairman of the
British Association of Nigerian Councillors.
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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@NigerianWatch
PROFILEWATCH
© BBC
16
Nollywood dream of East
© BBC
he’s in the UK’s biggest soap and has starred alongside
some of hollywood’s finest, but Chucky Venn says the
ultimate accolade will be to appear in a Nollywood
movie. he tells AJ James why
When I told friends and family I was off to
meet Chucky Venn, a.k.a. Ray in
EastEnders, I was met with a chorus of
decidedly moist “oohs”.
Even my mother’s immediate response was,
“Oh, he’s very good looking, very good looking.” So good looking, apparently, she had to
say it twice. And he is. Undeniably (and sickeningly) so. More so in the flesh than he appears
on TV. He even turns heads when he enters
Soho House, renowned for its preening media
membership. He has a presence – and not just
because of his 6ft plus athletic physique.
That’s by virtue of the fact that the boy from
Mozart estate in West London was on his way
to becoming a personal fitness trainer before his
friend James Samuel (pop star Seal’s brother)
told him he had a talent for acting.
“We were shooting a scene on a video camera, just messing around, and James saw it and
immediately said, “You can do this man, you
can act. The camera loves you.”
“That got me thinking. I had always had a
passion for sport but the entertainment element
had always been there – I was quite a disruptive
student; not bad but extrovert!”
So, encouraged by James, he enrolled to
study drama at Hammersmith and Fulham college and the rest is history.
It hasn’t been an easy ride. Chucky has learnt
his profession the hard way with lots of extras
work, low budget indie films, corporate videos
and the like.
His big break came when he was cast in
Dream Team, the cult hit about a football club
for which he made 98 episodes. “I learnt so
much doing that,” he says. Footballers’ Wives
followed, where his latent charms were put to
best use, if not his wide range of acting skills.
And so too did a host of blue chip adverts
including for Mars and Smirnoff.
And thence was being flown all over the
world to make adverts. His career had taken off,
especially financially. “I couldn’t believe it. I had
money in the bank and was doing something I
loved. It was amazing. This is what I’d dreamt
of and it was happening.”
That he has previously been a Cosmopolitan
pin up is no surprise, living up to the mantra
handsome is as handsome does. In his conversation he proves to be generous, enthusiastic,
warm and witty – despite having had a dawn
call to Elstree for shooting EastEnders.
In essence, little like his on-screen character
Ray. In preparing for the audition for Ray
Chucky developed the character’s backstory.
“Man! You have to prepare properly,” he says.
“Before going in for the audition I had written
14 pages of notes, creating a history for Ray. I
knew this man inside out before I went into that
audition, really knew him. That’s the way you
have to do it if you’re going to tell the story
properly. But I’m not Ray.”
Ray is second generation diaspora, Black
British, from a poor background and ex-army. So
while to date viewers have seen him doing good,
his philandering (he was introduced as father to
Bianca’s fourth child Morgan, then brought the
estranged mother of his daughter to the Square,
to now being caught wanting it both ways with
Kim and Denise) speaks to an unsettled side.
The night before we met, Ray had just given
Ian Beale the death stare, after the Square’s
PROFILEWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
17
Footballers Wives
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FROM L-R: Ray in Eastenders, Ricky Tremaine in Footballers’ Wives,
Agent Hammond in The Bourne Ultimatum and pin-up from
Cosmopolitan, March 2006
Enders’ star Chucky
number one slime ball had revealed it was Ray
who had cheated on Kim with her sister Denise
and not Denise who had come on to Ray.
“Oh, yeah, man, I remember,” (of course
they shot the scene a while back). “ I told Adam
(Ian) that I was going to give him the stare and
not to worry,” he laughs.
Since entering the Square Ray has become a
regular feature – finding himself employed at
the Vic. The pub is centre stage to the action in
the soap and has been the launchpad for many
and Denise may not be finished – so maybe Ian
better watch out.
Before landing the role of Ray, Chucky had
been touring the country starring in the acclaimed play Keeler – about Christine Keeler,
the young lady of ill-repute who was at the centre of the Profumo spying scandal in the Swinging 60s. Produced and starring Paul Nicholas,
the response it has received has drawn investors
and there are now plans to
turn it into a West End
an actor to become a household name.
“Doing EastEnders is fantastic, when I got
the call, I was blown away. Who wouldn’t be?
It’s an institution,” says Chucky.
Whereas he is open, his EastEnders character
Ray is all buttoned up and seemingly getting
darker. “I wanted that,” says Chucky. “For me it’s
a challenge. What I didn’t want is for Ray to remain two-dimensional. He’s had a good life for
the first year. When the writers and producers
said they were going to take him down this road,
with Denise and Kim, I loved that. I knew it was
going to ruffle feathers – everyone loves those two,
but for me as an actor it’s great to be stretched.”
So where is this going? Is he going to be the
next bad boy, like the recently departed Derek
Branning. “Who knows?” Chucky parries. Is
Ray going to take on Phil Mitchell? “Well he is
ex-army,” Chucky teases. Is he going to sweet
talk Tania? He refuses to answer, other than to
say Ray is spreading his wings.
When I check the blogs though it seems Ray
© BBC
“Nigeria for me is like
coming home. To be
acknowledged in
Nigeria would be
something”
musical. “It’s been good being instrumental in
taking it to that level – it’s been Paul’s passion
for a long time.”
Which does he prefer stage or screen? “I prefer working,” he says. “I love what I’m doing
and I love learning. So
every
experience
helps me develop
my skills.”
He is certainly
hugely
versatile. On stage he
has performed in some notable firsts.
He starred in Brothers the fastest selling show
at the Hackney Empire, and he was the first ever
black Buffalo Bill in Annie Get Your Gun.
He’s also had a taste of Hollywood. “Mindblowing. Wow. Me in the Bourne Ultimatum.
Me in the Dark Knight. Only small roles but
screen time and an opportunity to get a feel for
it and learn what it’s all about. As long as you
keep on learning you keep on living,” he laughs.
He’s also appeared alongside Morgan Freeman and Sean Bean among many others.
So what’s next? “I’m just loving EastEnders
at the moment – it’s a privilege to be in it.” And
it must be said EastEnders is loving him. His
daily mailbag is testimony to that.
Rumour has it that he is up for a Nollywood Rom Com. “Really?” he smiles back.
“I don’t want to tempt fate.” For a moment
there he could have been Hugh Grant. Before
adding, “Yeah, hopefully we’ll start filming in
the summer.”
He becomes greatly animated at the
prospect, explaining what it would mean to him,
proving you can bring the boy out of Nigeria
(as his mother did) but you can’t take Nigeria
out of the boy.
“I’m really looking forward to that. Nigeria for me is like coming
home. To be acknowledged in Nigeria would be
something.
“Nigeria is a flourishing country and
that alone makes you
proud and I know
how proud my counterparts and relatives in Nigeria are of me
working on shows such as EastEnders
and the movies I’ve been involved in.
So to be able to come and make
something in Nigeria, I want nothing
more than that. That’d be a brilliant
accolade.”
Chucky Venn – Nollywood star.
You’d better believe it.
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WOMANWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
19
Valentine’s Day Menace
For one day a year men try to pull out all the stops to impress their Valentine. Ekanem Robertson of
The Woman TV show takes a hilarious look at what February 14 signifies...
L
ove, romance, kisses, red roses, cuddly toys
with hearts sewn on, dewy-eyed naked
cherubs with golden harps and arrows
poised. Have you been struck by the sweet sting
of Cupid’s arrow? Have you noticed that the
world is gradually becoming festooned with red
as the carpet of hearts is laid out for Eros to fly
in for his annual visitation?
One of the stories says that, once upon a
time a priest, going against the strict edict of his
ambitious King, who had declared that young
men could not marry to prevent them being distracted when they were sent to war, proceeded
to marry these men to their true loves in secret.
When the priest was discovered, he was imprisoned. While in prison he himself fell in love
with his jailer’s young daughter. On the day of
his execution he sent a note to his love and
signed it, “From your Valentine”; and thus, the
Valentine’s Day menace began.
The question that comes to mind is, what
does this act by a distant priest, and his selfless she must be satisfied that Day, to fulfil all rightexpression of love, have to do with the world eousness and to ensure the home nest is still sewide craze of the celebration known as ‘Valen- cure, stress-free and business as usual.
tine’s Day’? A day intended for expressing and Thankfully responsibilities outside the nest are
sharing love. Does the giving of flowers and and can be maintained afterwards.
I ask myself whether this type of love is rechocolates today really satisfy the African
woman in Africa when for the rest of the year ally acceptable. Talking to women around, I see
she battles to retain that moment of romance Valentine’s Day as something that many of
and love in an environment that is increasingly them look forward to because it is an opportunity to be taken out, to receive expensive gifts
showing that it does not revere women?
The answer is a complex one. In Africa for that they can show off to friends and feel special
example, there is the man who has five wives. for at least one day.
For the men on the other hand, I note that
Can you imagine the complexity of saying I love
you to five women in your home and making some of them see it all as something that they
sure that they all feel important and loved?
Somehow, I think that
this is easier than the
man (Oga) who has a
couple of relationships
on the go. First, he has
to contend with his wife,
the ‘Madam’ at home,
who sits side by side in
his mind with his newest
girlfriend (smally), and
an even older girlfriend
(old fire wood). As
Valentine’s Day approaches, with so many
women to satisfy, the Priscilla Nwikpo and Bola Latinwo, along with Ekanem Robertson (right) present the
new innovative and dynamic chat show The Woman on Ben TV, with a special LIVE
man fulfills more the phone-in edition focusing on rape and domestic abuse at 9pm on Thursday Feb 7, do
image of the gigolo than not miss it! Make contact via www.facebook.com/TheWomantvSHow
the Valentine, who has
just have to do because of the marketing. It has
no space for more than one woman!
Under any normal conditions one woman is now become a duty rather than an expression
indeed a handful, but for the man who does this, of true love. It is done to win, to impress and to
he truly has to be up to the task! With such re- change a girl’s mind by fooling her into thinking
sponsibility the question is, who to celebrate that SHE is the one. But for some ...the true rowith first? ‘Smally’, could completely tire out mantics, they embrace the opportunity to be
Oga!! ‘Old fire wood’ is always at Oga’s beck lovers in the true Valentine fashion and they will
and call, even to the point that she can accept a genuinely pull out all the stops for their chosen
rain check till the next day when the right kind Valentine!
At the end of the day Valentine’s Day may
of incentive/present is dangled.
However, Madam always needs attention. not be all that you expect or wish for and you
And on days like this her antenna is up and ac- may feel some cynicism about how commercial
tive, probably days before, and on the lookout it has become (after all, love has no financial
with an anything-can-happen attitude and so price). It may also be far removed from its hum-
ble beginnings, but what it is, is a day set aside
for the expression of love. Just like a birthday
or anniversary. Love knows no age, colour,
creed or religion. It is an incontestable truth. It
is common to all and expressed by all. Some
men may express it in buying you roses, delivered as you both run toward each other half
naked down the beach.
It could come in the shape of a diamond ring
floating precariously in a glass of champagne (
to the horror of the Health and Safety Executive)
as he hopes you won’t drink it and choke, at least
not before you say I do! It could also come in the
simple text, which says, “Meet me tonight, my
sweet Valentine!”, or even a simple, “I luv ya!”
Whatever Valentine’s Day means to you all,
(and I know that in all this expression of love,
like Christmas, many will be alone, forgotten
and reminded once again that this is yet another
year without that special love) I love the romance.
I particularly love Valentine’s Day evening
because as you go home on the train, on the bus
or walking along the street every man has some
token of love with him. They feel no embarrassment in being seen with a bunch of red roses,
they are all in a hurry to get to their chosen one.
They just want to share, love, laugh together,
hold hands and more. Above all it is a day of
remembrance for the greatest feeling of all,
LOVE!
20
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
Follow us on Twitter
@NigerianWatch
BUSINESSWATCH
NIGERIA MUST ACT ON HEALTH, EDUCATION AND
POWER SECTORS TO ACHIEVE HER POTENTIAL
Nigeria’s rise to the top table
of economic powers will stall
if it fails to capitalise on its
burgeoning
working-age
population. According to a
report from one of the world’s
big four accounting houses,
PwC, Nigeria and other
emerging
economies,
including India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, China, Saudi
Arabia and South Africa are
set to grow much faster than
the G7 countries, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, UK,
US and Canada over the next
four decades.
The report, entitled “The
World In 2050”, noted that with
a projected Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of nearly $4
trillion by 2050 and an annual
average real GDP growth rate
of about 6 per cent, as well as a
youthful and growing working
population, Nigeria is set to
rank among the world’s largest
economies by 2050.
It states that a growing,
prime working age population,
together with rising average
rates of schooling and technological progress, are what drive
Nigeria’s
strong
growth
prospects. But the report’s projections rely on the country
using its oil wealth to develop
a broader-based economy with
better infrastructure and institutions.
A partner with PwC Nigeria, Andrew S. Nevin, said:
“Nigeria’s projections for population, education levels and
technological progress are very
strong. Nigeria lags behind with
regard to its investment rate,
however. Productivity is lower
in Nigeria due to weaker infrastructure and institutions, as
well as an over-reliance on oil
revenues. By investing in these
areas and diversifying its economy, Nigeria can realise its full
potential by 2050.
He continued, “Over the
past decade, the private sector
has played an enormously pos-
itive role in sectors like telecoms, retail and financial services in Nigeria and throughout
Africa. For Nigeria to realise its
potential, it is going to require
governments at the state and
federal levels to play their roles
in fostering the right type of environment, including improvements in the rule of law, greater
transparency and strengthening
of the health and education systems, and enabling the development of key sectors, with power
being the most important.
Many strides have been made in
this regard and they need to
keep coming.”
Signs that oil cash
cow is drying up
Nigeria’s influential business
daily, Business Day, has come
out in support of calls for the
country to immediately embark on diversifying the economy and expanding its base of
oil consumers, given the shale
boom under way in the US.
this is the argument that
has been made widely and internationally by the Green
Deal Nigeria campaign.
the concern raised by GND
is that with the US pursuing a
policy of energy security – aiming to end its reliance on oil imports in years rather than
decades – the Nigerian economy could collapse.
Business Day has recently
endorsed that view, saying
that the shale oil and natural
gas boom in the United States
means diversity has to be central to Nigerian development.
“the United States is just
one importer; there could be
many others, and what is
working in their minds can
only be left to the imagination,” its editorial said, observing that crude oil exports to
the US were down by around
five percent in 2012 compared
to the previous year.
Nigeria gets 75 percent of
its revenues from oil. the country is the number 7 oil producer among the 12 members
of the organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“We believe, and strongly
too, that it is the egg laid
today that becomes a chick tomorrow,” the Business Day editorial reads. “time to diversify
the economy is now.”
meanwhile, US oil giant
ConocoPhillips last month sold
stakes in oil fields in Nigeria.
Production there is in decline
as militants in the oil-rich Delta
region have waged war on the
sector.
AFRICAN POWERHOUSES
TO SET NEW STANDARDS
The South African Institute of Professional Accountants
(SAIPA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with its Nigerian counterpart‚ the Council for the Association
of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).
Nigeria is emerging as a key trading partner for SA‚ with
trade volumes between the two countries increasing to a value of
US$30m last year.
“Nigeria’s business environment is in strong growth mode‚
and so offers the professional accountants a new market in which
to operate‚“ said Shahied Daniels‚ chief executive of SAIPA.
“We look forward to working closely with our Nigerian colleagues to build a reliable standards framework that will support
bilateral trade and business,” Daniels said.
“Africa is steadily building a business-friendly environment
that is attractive to international investors and promotes intraregional trade,” he added.
The indispensible guide to beauty, fashion, music, BEAUTY
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Music
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24
Community Watch
A spectacular and
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28
Food
Recipes for Valentine
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32
DJANGO; HYPE OR HIT?
PAgE 32
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From Mother Africa
Circus of the Senses to
Dizzy Gillespie
22
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
COMMUNITYWATCH
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@NigerianWatch
Bride and Groom
Bride and Groom with bridal train
Bride and Groom with friends
OSARO AND OMOJEVWE’S BIG DAY
ABOVE Bride and Groom with Groom’s parents Dr and Mrs Money
BELOW Bride and Groom with Bride’s mum Mrs Ogbeide
The Christmas period became more festive
for the families of Ogbeide and Money as
their children Omojevwe and Osaro were
joined together in holy matrimony.
The traditional marriage ceremony took
place at late Engr. Ogbeide’s residence in
Benin City on the 24th of December 2012
with the church service and reception tak-
ing place on the 26th of December 2012.
The bride looked radiant in her bride’s
attire, as did the groom in his smart suit. As
the groom said, ”He who find a wife, finds
a good thing and receives favour from the
Lord.”
This is wishing the newly married couple
a happy married life.
BELOW Kimberly Jemide
Bride with friends
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NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
COMMUNITYWATCH
23
LEFT Bride and Groom with family
RIGHT Bride’s mum and friends
Bride
Bride’s nieces
Bride and Brother
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Bride and Groom dancing
Mrs Jemide and Mrs Nehikhare
24
NIGERIAN WATCH
Febraury 2013
PERSONALWATCH
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ANNOUNCEMENTS Dear Eki
To place your announcements call 0208 5889640
Email: [email protected]
Or post to: Nigerian Watch, Announcements, Chartwell House,
292 Hale Lane, Edgware, HA8 8NP
BIRTHS
ODUNUgA
Sending mr and mrs Peju odunuga
best wishes on the occasion of the
birth of your daughter
Oluwasimisola Adetokunbo
Elizabeth Odunuga. From
Lorenzo Banfii
MONEY, OSARO (February 16th)
happy Birthday to our sister. As
you celebrate your birthday may
God continue to guide and protect
you. From The Ogbeide’s
VALENTINE DILEMMA
Dear Eki,
I started officially dating this new guy at the beginning of the year and things are
going on smoothly at the moment. And I feel I am beginning to fall for him.
My dilemma lies in the fact that it is Valentine’s this month and I am not sure
whether to get this guy something or not. I am in a quandary as I feel that if I don’t
get him something, he might think I am stingy.
But if I do get him something he might think that I am head over heels for him.
This is not the message I want to pass on as it is early days in the relationship, and
when guys know you really like them they start misbehaving.
More so, I am not sure if he likes me as much as I like him. So what if I got him
something and he didn’t get me anything, wouldn’t that be weird?
Anonymous, 18, london
Well, whether you buy him a Valentine gift or not should not be down to how you think he would interpret
the gesture. The deciding factor is how you feel about buying him something for Valentine. If you feel you
want to get him something then get him something. If you don’t feel like getting him anything, then you don’t
have to.
And what exactly are you thinking of buying him? A Rolex? A Mercedes? Obviously something mightily
impressive if it is going to tell him you’re head over heels in love. If you can’t think of an appropriate affectionate gift then that probably tells you all you need to know. You either don’t know him well enough or don’t
like him as much as you think.
If you do buy him something and he doesn’t return the gesture, there is no need to feel weird. He was
probably in the similar dilemma you found yourself in when trying to decide whether to get you a gift or not
and the decision not to won in the end. Giving gifts at Valentine should not feel like an obligation, it should
be something you want to do.
BIRTHDAYS
HORRIBLE BOSS
AINABE, TIFFANY (January 29th)
happy birthday Tiffany. may God
continue to protect you and give
you long life and prosperity.
From your Godparents Mr and
Mrs Jemide
JEMIDE, ISABEL (February 23rd)
happy birthday to our darling
Isabel. We hope you have a
wonderful day. may you continue
to grow up to be God fearing,
obedient and intelligent in Jesus’
name. Amen. We are very proud of
you. With love and kisses from
Daddy, Mummy, Nicole and
Kimberly.
LANCASTER-OKORO, PRECIOUS
(February 9th)
I just want to wish you a happy
Birthday and I pray God continues
to bless you and wish you many
more successful years ahead. have
a wonderful day. lots of love from
Emmanuel
CHANGE OF NAME
EKHATOR
I formerly known and addressed as
Susan Ekhator now wish to be
known as Susan Ekhator-Adejobi.
All former documents remain valid.
members of the public, home office
and Nigeria high Commission,
london, should please take notice.
Dear Eki,
My boss is making my life hell. This is
my first job since university and I considered myself lucky to find work when my
other friends couldn’t. The salary is lower
than I expected but I accepted it as the
company were willing to pay for my professional exams. I stayed on at the job
because I got on really well with my colleagues.
When I started working here, my
manager was on a temp contract, as he
was a replacement for someone on maternity leave. Everything was okay till the
permanent manager returned from leave.
All of a sudden I was being micro managed, everything I did was closely inspected. My seat was moved, so she is
able to see what I am doing on my screen
at all times of the day.
I am constantly being told how she is
not happy with my work and that maybe
it would be a good idea for me to start
looking elsewhere. I was told I would be
supported in my search for a new Job.
Also the training which made me accept the meagre salary to start with was
stopped. The final straw came a couple of
weeks ago when the annual performance
appraisals were carried out.
Unlike my other colleagues, I’ve been
told that I would not be getting a raise or
any bonus as the company is unhappy
with my performance. I am the only one
she manages so it’s hard for me to compare her treatment of others with the
way she is treating me.
I hate my job and I have been here for
two years now, but I am concerned that if
I quit without finding something new,
then I might be left jobless for a long
time. This job is really depressing me as I
am unhappy every day and I dread getting up in the morning. My boss has really made my life miserable and I am not
sure what to do about it.
Anonymous, london
First, I would ask you to consider talking to her.
You could ask for greater explanation for exactly
how your work is failing to meet company standards
as her predecessor never raised such concerns. You
could also ask about the way she is treating you and
provide some examples of why you feel her treatment or attitude towards you is unjust.
If that fails, this sounds like bullying to me so
you should speak to someone in the HR department
as bullying is frowned upon these days.
If you work for a small company where the HR
department is not independent enough to consider
your case, or there is no HR department, it might be
best to speak to another manager whom she reports
to. An employment tribunal should be your last resort. For now, it’s best to start logging what is going
on, like dates, place, those present, what was said
and so forth. just to keep some sort of proof that
this is going on.
You could also visit (https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment) where there is more
information, help and advice on this type of issue.
Finally, it might be best to start seriously looking
for a new job. You said this is your first job after
University, so maybe it’s time for a change. No one
deserves to be miserable at work. We spend so much
time there that it would do serious damage to our
health if we were to be unhappy all that time.
FoR ADVICE oN lIFE ISSUES, write to
Dear Eki, Nigerian Watch, Chartwell
house, 292 hale lane,
Edgware hA8 8NP,
or email:
[email protected]
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NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
FASHIONWATCH
KEEPING WARM AND COOL
25
It is easy when confronted with the wicked weather of winter to essentially
hibernate in a mess of big coats and jumpers. But you can keep the style and keep
warm with a clever bit of accessorising and a statement jumper
By Obah Iyamu
Belted coats A belted coat is the
perfect way to add polish to your
favourite closet mainstays. lazy
weekends call for casual
easygoing pieces but that doesn’t
mean you can’t take it up a
notch. Elevate a casual wardrobe
with a belted coat; a belt always
manages to take away the
prints to plain logos at the
front, energise your look
with a graphic sweater;
wear it slouchy over a
dress or take it to a
different level with cool
tailoring. I am smitten
with animal
embroidered sweaters.
frump, especially from an
ill-fitting coat. A padded
Metallic footwear
coat gets structure from a
trade in your plain
buckled belt. I will not
Jane shoes for
be matching my belt
something with lustre
with my coat this
this season. A glossy
season, I love a
metallic sheen lends
leather belt with a
even the most basic
wool coat.
shoe a touch of polish.
From formal
Scarves We strongly recommend adding a
wear to street chic
colourful or chunky knit
sneakers, metallic shoes
scarf to a cold weather
will add intrigue to your
wardrobe, especially if
daily mix. my eyes are
your winter
upon a lovely pair of
wardrobe consists
Superga classics that I can
mostly of neutrals.
wear all season round.
From a double loop to a
slip knot, there are a million
and one fabulous ways to knot
a scarf. For those who find scarf
knotting a big challenge, pick
up a snood; the styling is
limited but it is easy to get on
and off and it always stays in
place.
Slogan sweaters Sweaters
are a
must
have for
anyone
in this climate, but
our cosy friends
are now coming
out of the closet
and shouting loud.
talk about
statement
sweaters. From
exotic animal
26
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
HEALTHWATCH
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Newborn Jaundice: Yellow Babies
Jaundice is a condition where the skin and
whites of the eyes are stained yellow by high
levels of a yellow substance in the blood, called
bilirubin. Bilirubin is a naturally occurring substance in the blood and is made as a by-product
during the normal recycling/destruction of old
red cells in the blood. the liver helps to break
down bilirubin so that it can be removed from
the body through the stool.
Jaundice is a not a disease but a sign that
tells the doctor to look closely and find out if
something is wrong with the way the body is
recycling old red blood cells, or if there is something wrong with the liver or gall bladder. In
Nigeria around one new born baby in every 22
dies – a statistic that has not changed over the
past decade.
Why Do BABIES GEt JAUNDICE?
most newborns (60-70%) start becoming jaundice in the first 2-4 days of life. this is usually a
temporary condition and nothing to worry
about if the baby is otherwise well.
There are two main reasons why jaundice
is common in newborn babies
1 Babies are born with a lot of red blood cells
and therefore they have more red blood cells to
breakdown and recycle
2 Before the baby is born, the placenta removes
the bilirubin from the baby’s blood and sends it
to the mother’s liver where it is processed and
cleared. After birth, the baby’s own liver begins
to clear the bilirubin but does not do it very
well. As a result of the two processes above,
newborns normally have a higher bilirubin level
shortly after birth.
IS thERE A lINK BEtWEEN BREAStFEEDING AND JAUNDICE?
yes. Breastfeeding and breast milk may make a
baby more likely to be jaundice. however, this
is usually not something to worry about and
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Ends February
should not stop you
from breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding jaundice usually occurs in
the first week of life in
about 1 in 10 breastfed
infants. the cause is
due to the baby not
drinking enough
breast milk and the
treatment is to nurse
the baby 10-12 times a
day.
Breastmilk jaundice,
however, is far less
common and occurs in
about 1 in 200 breastfed babies. It is caused
by a substance in the milk of the mother which
prevents the baby’s liver from removing bilirubin. Whether it is treated or not, breast milk
jaundice rarely causes any problems and is usually not a reason to stop nursing.
WhAt CAN mAKE A BABy hAVE SEVERE
JAUNDICE?
Any condition or disease that increases the recycling of red blood cells or prevents the liver
from removing bilirubin from the blood, makes
it more likely the baby will have severe jaundice
and need treatment.
Conditions that increase the recycling of
red blood cells include
l Certain types of mismatch between the
mother and baby’s blood type such as when
mother’s blood group is o and baby’s blood
group is A or B (called ABo incompatibility); or,
mother’s blood group is rhesus negative and
baby’s blood group is rhesus positive (called
rhesus incompatibility)
l large bleeding under the baby’s scalp (called
cephalohematoma)
l Abnormal shape of the baby’s red blood cells.
l low or absent levels of certain enzymes inside red blood cells
Conditions that prevent the liver from removing bilirubin include
l Immature liver in babies who are born too
early (premature)
l Diseases of the liver and gallbladder disease
l Severe infections
l Certain medications
cause for the severe jaundice. these other tests
include the baby and mother’s blood group,
baby’s blood cell count (also called full or complete blood count) and Coomb’s test on baby’s
blood (that is a test that looks for antibodies
that make red blood cells die faster and need
recycling).
A special test to determine the level of an
enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, (also called G6PD) is done for babies with
unexplained high levels of bilirubin in their
blood. G6PD is normally found in red blood cells
and low or absent levels causes an increase in
the recycling of red blood cells. It is an inherited
condition and more common in African male
children. If the doctor suspects the jaundice is
from a specific disease, other test will be done.
Why Do DoCtoRS WoRRy ABoUt
JAUNDICE?
If the level of bilirubin in the blood becomes
too high, it can stain and permanently damage
the brain. this brain damage can lead to weak
or stiff muscles (cerebral palsy), deafness, blindness, mental retardation and problems with
walking and co-ordination.
IS thERE ANy tREAtmENt FoR JAUNDICE?
most babies do not need treatment for jaundice. Feeding the baby 10-12 times a day will
encourage the baby to pass a lot of stool, which
helps in removing the bilirubin.
the doctor will treat the baby for jaundice if
the bilirubin level is too high for the baby’s age,
or if the bilirubin level is rising too quickly. A
special blue light is used to help break down
bilirubin in the skin which then makes it easy
for the liver to process and remove the bilirubin
into the stool.
this light treatment is called phototherapy.
During phototherapy, most of the baby’s skin is
exposed to the light. the eyes are covered with
a shade to prevent damage. Phototherapy can
be done at home or in hospital, depending on
the baby’s condition and bilirubin level. In most
developing countries it is better done in hospital where the baby can be monitored closely.
In babies with extremely high levels of
bilirubin, a treatment called exchange blood
transfusion is done. In this procedure, the
baby’s blood with the high bilirubin is removed
and replaced with fresh blood.
hoW WIll thE DoCtoR KNoW thAt A
BABy hAS JAUNDICE?
hoW loNG DoES It tAKE FoR JAUNDICE
to ClEAR?
Doctors know a baby has jaundice when the
skin and/or white part of the eyes becomes yellow. this yellow colour is best seen immediately after pressing the skin with the fingers.
In most babies who are healthy, jaundice will
resolve without treatment within 1-2 weeks.
For babies who need treatment, it is very effective.
WhAt tESt Do DoCtoRS Do FoR BABIES
Who hAVE JAUNDICE?
WhEN IS JAUNDICE A SIGN oF A SERIoUS
PRoBlEm?
If a baby has jaundice, the doctor will check the
level of bilirubin in the blood to make sure it is
not too high. the level will also be repeated to
check how fast it is rising. the level of bilirubin
can be checked with a blood test or a probe
placed on the skin. A high reading on the skin
probe is usually confirmed by doing the blood
test for bilirubin.
In babies who have a high bilirubin level in
the blood or those whose levels are rising fast,
the doctor will do other test to try and find a
Although newborn jaundice is usually a very
short-lived and harmless condition, it can also
be a sign of a more serious condition or disease
if it
l occurs within the first 24 hours of life
l Is severe or lasts longer than 2 weeks
l occurs in a baby who is sick
Babies with any of the above need to be monitored closely by a doctor to prevent complications from jaundice or the underlying disease or
condition.
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EDUCATIONWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
27
To Oxbridge via the 11+!
O
xbridge has come under attack for overlooking the vast
talent and intellect of the
black and minority ethnic group. In
2011, new students numbered 2,594 at
Oxford and, of that number, 22 were
black students. This represents less
than one per cent of the intake. At
Cambridge the same year, 26 black students were admitted. Previous years
have been much the same. Why should
this be of any real concern for black
parents since black students do get into
other excellent universities?
The reason black parents should
care is this: graduates of a college at
Oxbridge are members of an elite
crowd who may find it easier to enter
certain circles and achieve certain positions of power and influence.
Recently, the Sutton Trust looked at
the educational backgrounds of nearly
8,000 people who featured in the birthday lists of national and Sunday papers in 2011. Their report, released last
November, suggests, once again, that a
degree from Oxford or Cambridge is
vital for some professions. More than
half of the country’s leading, high-profile professionals in the diplomatic
service, the law and the civil service
graduated from one of the two institutions. Almost half of the leading lights
in education and literature, and financial services or the City graduated from
Oxbridge. In addition, the report
found that 44 per cent of the people
studied went to private schools and 27
per cent attended a grammar school
(non-fee paying, selective, state secondary school).
While an Oxbridge education is not
mandatory for success in life, it clearly
has advantages. However, even with
the suspected bias against them, black
students from state schools, with the
right encouragement from parents, can
gain admission to these institutions,
perhaps through a grammar school.
The Sutton Trust compiled a list of
the top 100 schools measured by
Oxbridge admissions, and found 78
were independent schools, 21 grammar
schools, and one comprehensive. All
have had over 10 per cent of pupils enrolling at Oxbridge over a period of
five years. The grammar schools which
appear in the list and which are in or
near London, in order of admission
rates, are: King Edward VI Grammar
School; Chelmsford County High
School for Girls; Latymer School;
Newstead Wood School for Girls; St
Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar;
Henrietta Barnett School; Kendrick
Girl’s Grammar; Judd School; Dr
Challoner’s Grammar; Tiffin Girls,
Royal Grammar School – High
Wycombe; Queen Elizabeth’s School
Barnet; Tiffin School – boys; Dame
Alice Owen’s School; and Sutton
Grammar School for Boys.
Grammar schools select students
via the 11+ entrance exam, as do the
and vice versa. the 11+ candidate
should be able to solve problems including those involving discounts, interest, VAt and tips. Ask him to
calculate the percentage increase or
decrease in his test scores at school
by converting his raw marks.
RATIO AND PROPORTION
11+ candidates use reasoning about
multiplication and division to solve
ratio and rate problems about quantities. For example, if it took 7 hours
to mow 4 lawns, how many lawns
could be mowed in 35 hours?
VOLUME, AREA AND
PERIMETER, AND ANgLES
leading preparatory schools. Children
sit the 11+ in Year 6. Parental involvement and encouragement therefore
needs to have begun before Year 6, to
ensure best performance in these competitive examinations.
In our last article (Nigerian Watch,
January), we discussed the preparatory
schools’ expectations of Year 2 pupils
sitting the 7+ maths entrance examination. Here, we focus on the required
maths skills for the Year 6 pupil sitting
the 11+ entrance examination to gain
admission into Year 7 of a grammar
school, or an independent school. If
you do not intend that your child
should sit the 11+, you may still want
to know the standard expected and
how you can help him acquire some of
the knowledge at home.
MATHS FOR THE 11+
Selective schools say that although
their maths paper is challenging, it is
in line with level 5 of the National
Curriculum at Key Stage 2. level
5 represents achievement well above
the nationally expected standard for
most 11 year olds. Below are details
of some of the maths skills your child
requires for the 11+.
THE NUMBER SYSTEM
most year 6 children will know the
difference between a positive and
negative integer, or two negative integers, in context such as temperature or the number line. Check that
your child understands that a temperature of –3°C is warmer than –7°C. Extend your child’s understanding of
negative integers by using bank
statements demonstrating that, for
example, an account balance of less
than –30 pounds represents a debt
greater than £30.
FRACTIONS AND
DECIMALS
the 11+ candidate should be able to
solve addition, subtraction and multiplication problems that use deci-
mals or fractions, with different denominators. help your child to
recognise relationships between
fractions, for example 1/10 is ten
times 1/100, and 1/16 is half of 1/8,
and between fractions and decimals.
For example, would he rather have
1/10 or 1/100 of £195.50 for his
birthday? Extend his understanding
to tackle problems, demonstrating
that finding a fraction of whole
number quantities actually means
multiplying the fraction by the
whole number.
As well as finding areas of triangles,
candidates will be expected to find
areas of composite shapes, or the degrees of their vertices. Check that
your child can deconstruct these
shapes by rearranging or removing
pieces and relating the shapes to rectangles and triangles.
Finding volume is a difficult concept for many students because they
have trouble visualising the units that
are hidden in the figure. Small boxes
and sugar cubes are perfect for him to
use to find the volume of each figure.
As he becomes more comfortable
with volume, you can gradually wean
him off of using manipulatives so that
he can solve the problems without a
visual representation.
PERCENTS
In addition to finding percentages of
whole number quantities, convert
decimals or fractions to percentages
ALgEBRA AND SOLVINg
PROBLEMS
11+ candidates solve mathematical
problems or puzzles, explain patterns and relationships, generalise
and predict. to successfully solve
problems in exam conditions, the
quickest way is to use algebra to
find the solution. Demystify algebra by explaining that it simply involves using letters to represent
numbers and write expressions, then
forming equations and solving it.
the idea is to maintain the equality
of both sides of an equation to solve
simple one-step equations.
Develop your child’s algebraic
thinking by encouraging him to rewrite problems using expressions
and forming equations. For example:
if a dozen eggs costs X, how much
does one egg cost? Form the equation, 12 = 114, and solve it.
Download a free, 11+ mock exam
paper from the Nigerian Watch at,
www.nigerianwatch.com/11plusexampaper.
Whatever your circumstances in life,
you can make a difference in your
child’s academic achievement. Encourage him to be ambitious, self-confident,
intellectually curious and motivated to
learn. Let us continue to raise awareness of any unfairness in the Oxbridge
selection process so that entrance to
these institutions can be made possible
for any bright child.
Janet Sherlock, BA (Hons), LLb
(Hons), is the Programme Developer
and head tutor of Leaders are Readers, the award-winning Saturday and
summer schools
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FOODWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
29
Ngozi’s kitchen is out to help you get some good loving this Valentine
Stay with me food
l
adies (and some gentlemen, I
hope) you don’t need telling that
food is the supreme thing that
brings people together, or that an
African woman believes that the
quickest route to her husband’s
heart – and much else beside – is
through dishing out the soul food
that brings body and soul together.
When we Africans share food with
one another that means extending
strong hands in friendship and that
goes a long way.
So come Valentine’s Day you
shouldn’t be thinking of letting another chef loose on your beaux. Oh,
no. Don’t pay an exorbitant amount
of money for a set meal in a crowded
restaurant. Set your own romantic
mood. The recipes here are guaranteed to make your man stand and deliver. So light a candle, dim the lights,
slot in one of our great 9ja love songs,
our brother Tuface cannot let you
down when it comes to African
Queen, neither would P-Square when
you meet your Ifunanya, or if you
prefer iya basi rice don jazz me o
ooooo. But if you can’t find anything
suitable just call on Flavour Na Abania and something will definitely happen. With this dish you can’t go
wrong. Happy Valentine’s Day!
NGozI'S KItChEN tIlAPIA
PEPPER SoUP
Nice 'n' Spicy, if you like fish with a
bit of kick and African spices, you'll
love this
Pepper Soup is a Nigerian delicacy
that is highly medicinal with aromatic
spices which can be eaten any time of
year – especially during periods of recuperation, after illness, child birth –
and as a real treat to invigorate the
heart and soul.
Pepper soup has traditionally always been made with goat meat but in
modern times people have been
known to make pepper soup with
chicken or fish (popularly known as
Point and Kill, because people usually
point to choose the fish to be killed for
the soup in the fish pond). In Nigeria,
people usually go to exclusive bars or
restaurants to eat pepper soup and
cool off with Palm Wine.
Cooking Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 Whole tilapia Fish (cut and clean)
2 tbsp Pepper Soup Spices (makes life
easier, ingredients below if you
would rather make your own potion)
3 Ehuru seeds
1 Scotch Bonnet Chilli (optional)
1 tsp Fresh Utazi (gongronema latifolium)
2 tsp Dry Uziza (piper guineense)
2 medium bulbs chopped onions
2 tsp ground Crayfish
NgOzI'S KITCHEN
HEALTHY TIPS !
What you eat can affect your hormones negatively or positively,
and what you put into your body
has more to do with you being
healthy and losing weight than
anything else. Certain food when
unhealthily cooked can actually
keep that fat on, and make it impossible to lose weight. the fact is
you have all the answers right
there in your kitchen, you just
need to educate yourself on what
eating healthy African food is really all about, because it’s not
what most people think it is. It’s
not about green tea, ‘diet’ pills,
health bars, or eating beans, carrots, or going round with an
empty stomach. When you consume the right carbs with the
right amount of protein, the fat
will burn off naturally.
So ladies, don’t let a size 12-34
snatch your Valentine. Remember
excess fat around the belly and
waist line can get in the way. And
you men that are struggling to
rise to the occasion try some pistachio nuts. For more information
contact [email protected]
l Ngozi's Kitchen weight loss support group invites you to find out
how to lose weight while enjoying your African meals. For further
information on this and other
courses call 0208 227 0720 or
07950 548 099.
Email [email protected]
Website: ngoziskitchen.com
Quote Code : NKWl121212 for
your 10% discount.
2tsp fish powder
Cooking instructions:
Wash and rub fish thoroughly with
lemon or lime. Place cleaned fish in a
pot, and add in some stock or water
along with chopped onions, pepper
soup spices, fish powder and fresh
Utazi leaf. Set the pot on medium
heat, cover and simmer for 25 mins.
Guaranteed to raise the temperature.
NGozI’S KItChEN mozy
yElloW CoCoNUt RICE
WIth mIX VEG
This recipe is one of Ngozi's kitchen
signature dishes, created with love.
This dish is an express route to your
lover’s heart, very exotic and ready to
prepare in a flash! Leaving all the
more time for an amorous aperitif.
Cooking Time 10 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups of rice
1 cup of coconut milk
2 tsp natural yellow food colouring
1 small bowl of mixed vegetable
2 cups of water
Cooking Instructions
In a saucepan, add warm water and
natural yellow food colouring, coconut milk and rice and stir and allow
to boil for 10 minutes. then add the
mixed veg, cover and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve
with beef tomato stew. yummy!
NGozI'S CUP moI moI
Black Eyed beans also known as
Cowpeas are one of the oldest grain
crops known to man. They can be
used in many different ways; fresh,
dried, powdered for flour and much
more. Originally coming from the hot
climates of Africa, Cowpea make an
excellent summer crop.
Black eye beans is one of the important ingredients of a number of
African dishes and Moi Moi, as
Nigerians will call it (known as Koki
in Ghana, ekoki in Cameroon and
Oleleh in Sierra Leone). The flavour
of Moi Moi is enhanced by leaves of
the sweet prayer plant (kenenfe in
Sierra leone), in which the Moi Moi
mix is traditionally wrapped prior to
steaming.
Nutrition Facts: black eye beans
have a high soluble fibre content
known to reduce cholesterol levels by
acting as a sponge to mop up cholesterol and known to prevent constipa-
tion and reduce the risk of bowel cancer.
Cooking Time 15 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups of black eye bean powder
1 large onion
1 tsp of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1 small Scotch Bonnet chilli (optional)
2 large bell peppers
2 tsp smoked crayfish powder
4 eggs
Cooking Instructions
Blend the bell peppers, onions, scotch
bonnet chilli, garlic, ginger, and set
aside. Add warm water to a bowl
and whisk the black eye bean powder until smooth and not so thick.
Add smoked crayfish powder and
stir. Pour a small amount of water
into a skillet and place four silicon
cups on the rack. Knock an egg into
each of the silicone cups and then
pour the mix in small portions into
the cup. Allow to steam for 5-10
minutes. to find out if it’s cooked
pass a knife through the moi moi
and if the knife is clean then the moi
moi is cooked. Remove the cup from
the skillet and allow to cool down.
Garnish with vegetable salad.
yummy!
30
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
BEAUTYWATCH
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@NigerianWatch
BEAUTIFUL VALENTINES!
MEN. Read this page. However cosmopolitan you think you are
you don’t know what women want. We don’t want practical.
Below are some gift ideas women will thank you for
V
alentine’s Day is around the corner and I can confess that I am not the biggest fan. I just
don’t believe that men really know what we [women] want. most like to ‘surprise’ us with
practical gifts like trainers or DVD players – yes I’ve been given these as Valentine’s gifts –
and then we have to pretend to love the gift because they have actually made an effort this
time. our unknowing partners will probably buy an equally practical gift next time round, because they thought we loved it so much, and thus a vicious circle is born.
In all my years I remember receiving one really good Valentine’s Day gift, a gorgeous thomas
Sabo necklace. If you can afford it, then a piece of jewellery is the best way to go and this applies
for both men and women. the more expensive it is the better! But even if you cannot afford that
Gucci watch there are cheaper ways to pamper and spoil your loved ones, or yourself.
So here are a few highlights that are never far from my beauty arsenal, the ultimate beauty
products that your partner will thank you for and mean it. the only thing you need to worry
about is wrapping it up.
BODY
EYES
1 Introduce your lady to the cult
beauty brand Clarins and the Eau
Dynamisante range. my favourite
items are the (1)
Eau Dynamisante
2
Shower Mousse
and, if you can find
it, the (2) Eau Dynamisante Body
Oil. these will
leave the skin feeling soft and silky
and smelling so
fresh and clean. the smell will also
linger on clothes and on sheets. It’s
a gift that keeps giving and one that you will
enjoy, too. the body oil has been discontinued
but you can still find some online on websites
like eBay, so get it before it’s too late.
For bright eyes it’s back to another cult classic, (5) Clarins
5
Eye Contour gel. this cooling
gel formula will help to reduce
puffiness and dark circles. If
your lady is over the age
of 40 then opt for (6) gatineau’s
Melatogenine AOX Advanced Rejuvenating Eye Serum. the skinsaving super hero offers
immediate benefits to ‘iron
out’ wrinkles, erase dark cir6
cles and decongest the eye area.
7
FACE
Every woman likes radiant skin but many don’t
know how to achieve it. She will love you for
the following product discoveries. (3) Dermalogica’s hydrating booster serum. It’s light,
fast absorbing and will really hydrate the skin,
making it appear plumper, healthier
and smoother. She will also
need a good moisturiser
like (4) Kiehl’s Ultra
Facial Moisturising
Lotion with SPF15.
3
4
MAKEUP
one of the hardest things to buy for someone
else is makeup. Will it match her skin tone?
Will it suit her? however, there are
some sure fire products that
work equally well on all skin
tones that also make great gifts:
(7) M.A.C Primped out eye
bag. Dramatise eyes with Eye
Shadow x 2 in Dazzle me and
8
mulch, Powerpoint Eye Pencil in
Stubborn Brown, Bad Black opulash and 275SE medium Angled
Shading Brush in a style-packed,
leopard print m.A.C holiday Bag.
(8) Shu Uemura eyelash curlers are hands
down essential for making you look more
awake and are arguably the best eye lash
curlers on the market.
Paperself false eyelashes Being a
makeup artist I use these quite a lot to create
unique eye makeup looks. your lady will definitely stand out with these babies on. the eye
lashes are inspired by the art of Chinese paper
cutting!
9
FRAGRANCES
FOR HER (9) Marc Jacobs
Daisy has a nice bottle and an
even nicer smell. It’s fresh and
feminine with a playful innocence; sophisticated but not too
serious.
(10) Blessings Perfume is the epitome
of feminity; a seductive, exotic
and sensual
fragrance
that is not
10
for the faint
hearted. With a price tag of
£695 for the Blessings purple
fragrance you might want to reconsider and get that Gucci watch
after all!
FOR HIM (11) givenchy Pi – a very
good friend of mine introduced me to
this sweet and sensual fragrance for the
sophisticated and elegant gentleman. Not
the most popular perfume in the world but
one of the reasons to wear it is because you
know no one else will be. this is definitely
not a scent for the “thug” in your life, but
rather a man with
11
very distinct taste,
who flourishes on discovering something that no
one else has.
If you
do have
a
“thug” in your life,
or a young executive in his 30s
with an urban or
out-doorsey lifestyle,
then he would probably prefer (12) Ralph
By Funmi Odegbami
Lauren’s Purple Label. A refined,
fresh fragrance with a distinctive leather/suede note in
the base and some tobacco
as well. this is a personal
favourite and one that you
will not get bored of quickly.
12
(13) Jo Malone Oud
& Bergamot cologne is a mysterious and alluring fragrance that envelops both the skin and the
senses with its intense character.
the mysterious, smoky character
of this revered wood, central to
middle Eastern fragrance traditions, radiates with the clarity of
crisp bergamot and an
orange granite
13
accord. hypnotic-Alluring. this perfume frequently
makes top 10 best
perfumes lists. you
will thank me for this!
There you have it
everything you’ll need
for a beautiful Valentine’s Day.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Trey Mujak
MAKEUP: Funmi Odegbami
HAIR: Sita Gill
MODEL: Mia Wolsey
STYLING: Obi (Rooi)
TOWNWATCH
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NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
31
ON THE TOWN
With Toni
mothER AFRICA
HARRIET OGBEIDE’S
ENTERTAINMENT GIST
Twitter: @Harriet_NW
D’BANJ: “I LOST THE KIDS IN THE DIVORCE”
the Circus of Senses is a mixture of traditional African and
modern circus, incorporating
show elements with spectacular
acrobatic acts, stomping live
sound and choreography that is
based on traditional African
dance. Everyone can feel the
energy and joy of life of the
continent that is said to be the
cradle of mankind.
All the artists hail from
Africa and deliver a show that
doubles as both state of the art
circus and a hot party.
mother Africa tours the UK
from 21-31 march, visiting
Aylesbury, Edinburgh, liverpool
and Wimbledon among others.
Full schedule available at;
www.circus-mother-africa.de
THEATRE
brothers are re-united unexpectedly. Sixteen year old, mixed race
Onochie rules the family roost. His
barely known brother Chima returns to make right past wrongs
and to rekindle a relationship with
his skinhead younger brother, who
no longer wants to be black.
Chima is not welcome in the area
and only has a few hours to meaningfully connect with Onochie. But
outside a hostile community has
been alerted to his return. Chima
has been blamed for the death of a
white girl and the vitriolic community won’t be satisfied until they deliver their rough justice. Onochie
faces the tough decision of siding
with the community he has tried to
belong to; or standing with the
brother he doesn’t know.
tours london and Birmingham between 20 Feb–28 mar
tive drama, filled with stirring
music and magnificent artistry.
South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company brings breathing,
galloping, full-scale horses to life
on the stage – their flanks, hides
and sinews built of steel, leather
and aircraft cables.
New london theatre, Drury
lane, WC2B 5PW. Until 26 oct.
From £15, Age 10+
Feast
On their way to a family dinner,
three sisters are divided at a
crossroads. From Nigeria in the
1700s through Brazil, Cuba and
the USA to London in 2013, the
sisters survive by their spirits –
spirits of courage, mischief and
incredible resilience.
This epic production is a vibrant
exploration of the magnificent
Yoruba culture. Written by Yunior Garcia, Rotimi Babatunde,
Marcos Barbosa, Tanya Barfield
and Gbolahan Obisesan, it is
brought to life with dazzling
music and choreography.
young Vic, 66 the Cut, Waterloo, london, SE1 8lz. Until 23
Feb. From £10
www.youngvic.org
God’s Property
It’s 1982. London is restless,
gripped by spiralling unemployment and inner-city riots. Ska beats
rule the airwaves and in a flat in
Deptford, south London, two
www.talawa.com
War Horse
War Horse, based on the beloved
novel by Michael Morpurgo, is a
powerfully moving and imagina-
FOR CHILDREN
Shadow Tails
Puppeteer Drew Colby uses
shadow puppetry as he tells and
sings his stories. Here you will see
tales of Anansi, the trickster spider man from Africa, fables of
Aesop, folk tales from Norway
and Britain, together with tales
from the Brothers Grimm and
sing-a-longs.
lauderdale house, Waterlow
Park, highgate hill, london,
N6 5hG. Sat, 16 Feb, 10am &
11.30am. £4.50. Age 3-8
Sid’s Show Live
Join Sid from CBeebies live on
stage in a fantastic fun-filled
adventure that’ll knock your
socks off! Sid is setting out on
a heroic quest to find out
where in the world his
the Broadway theatre, Catford, london SE6 4RU. Sun 3
Feb, 2pm, Age 3+ From £8
www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk
BEHARIE AND FASSY NO MORE
Actress Nicole Beharie (Shame) and actor michael Fassbender (X-men: First Class) have ended
their relationship. the Nigerian actress, who was very private about the relationship and never
acknowledged the fact that they where dating, broke the news to fans on her twitter page;
“yes, it’s true, Fassbender and I are no longer dating.” this was posted the same day as a tweet
where the actress claimed to have spent three weeks in thailand and one week in Albuquerque,
New mexico (where Fassbender is currently shooting a movie). many speculate the holiday was
a final effort to save their relationship. the couple started dating while promoting the movie
Shame where they starred as lovers. Nicole’s next movie 42 is out in April.
ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE FOR BLACK PANTHER?
Actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has voiced his interest in playing the title role in marvel studio’s rumoured movie adaptation of superhero Black Panther. the actor, who recently finished
filming Thor 2, told mtV he hoped his success in that comic book caper
would put him in the running for the Black Panther role. “you have to keep
at it, you have to keep your card in the hat and see what comes out, but I
have to say I’m thrilled, I’ve been able to play two characters in one movie
and if [marvel] likes this and if the movie does well, it just gives you a better
chance.” other actors rumoured to be in the running for the Black Panther
role are Djimon hounsou, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Wesley Snipes .
his next movie Bullet To The Head, which also stars Sylvester Stallone and
Jason momoa (Conan) will be released this month, in cinemas nationwide.
the actor can also be seen later this year in thor 2 where he plays two villainous characters (Algrim and Kurse) opposite Chris hemsworth’s thor.
PETER OKOYE WELCOMES NEW ARRIVAL
Peter okoye, one half of singing duo P-Square, has proudly announced the arrival of new daughter
Aliona. the singer tweeted his joy at the new addition to his family and confirmed that mother
and daughter are perfectly fine. the singer also has a four year old son with partner lola omotayo.
www.lauderdalehouse.co.uk
The Wizard of Oz
favourite shoes and socks have
gone. Share in the adventure
as the search takes you from
the bottom of the sea, deep
into the jungle and floating
into outer space. You’ll meet
some funny characters and
discover plenty of surprises
along the way. In an interactive
experience crammed with
games, songs, poems and
magic, Sid’s Show will leave
you with a smile on your face.
Afrobeat superstar D’banj has described his nine year partnership with mavin CEo Don Jazzy as a
marriage which ended in a divorce where he lost the kids, and is not allowed to see them on
weekends. the singer told Ndani tV that like with all relationships, the decision to split wasn't
made overnight, more like six months.
the superstar’s plans for 2013 include picking
up a new team and new acts, including female
acts. ”When we were in mohits, we never really
liked signing any women,” said D’banj. “you invest so much money and time in the person and
then after the first single some guy just comes
along and sweeps her off her feet and gets her
pregnant and she has to go and there is nothing
you can do about that. the girl will say, I love
him, I’m having it, so for nine months of your
life you’ll just be looking at your investment.”
A fabulous pantomime version of
the classic musical, with lashings
of music, comedy and dance for all
the family. Specially staged at Half
Term as a special treat for kids.
the Broadway theatre, Catford Broadway, london SE6
4RU. 20-22 Feb. From £8
www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk
Too Many Penguins
How many penguins are too many
penguins? Polar bear thinks one is
more than enough, thank you very
much! But Penguina has other
ideas... she wants someone to play
with. Just one friend... well, maybe
two...or three... Squeeze into this
$2MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE
Director Kunle Afolayan (The Figurine; Phone Swap) is set to start shooting new movie October
1, a psychological thriller which depicts the crimes of a serial killer in a western community and
the northern police officer charged with catching the killer. Set around the Nigerian Independence Day, the movie has an estimated $2million budget, and will feature both Nollywood and
British actors. Production commences in march with a release date to be announced.
LEKKI WIVES
Writer and Director Blessing Egbe’s new web series Lekki
Wives is currently available for online viewing. Starring
Adaora Ukoh, Kiki omeIli, Katherin obiang, Chinonso young
and Keira hewatch, the show details the lives of five women
living in modern day lekki, lagos. there is some speculation
that the show is a copycat of famous American shows like
Desperate housewives, but the trailer seems to prove otherwise.
32
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
Follow us on Twitter
@NigerianWatch
TOWNWATCH
DJANGo UNChAINED REVIEW
Film Director Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to controversy but his latest, a spaghetti
Western set in the deep South during the slave era, has managed to trump all that has
gone before. Spike Lee has questioned the right of a white man to make such a movie.
AKILA BALOgUN took the movie in on behalf of Nigerian Watch.
T
his project has got everyone talking, from
Louis Farrakhan to Spike Lee to Bill
Reilly. Django Unchained has been labelled as offensive and insensitive, as a result of
its abundant use of the “N” word, its depiction
of slavery and what some call gratuitous violence.
Spike Lee says he will not be watching for all of
the above reasons. I love Spike Lee but after
watching Django I have to say I do not agree with
him. There were far more important things to debate in this film than its genre and the use of the
“N” word! And I loved it.
The story is first and foremost a love story.
Django (Jamie Foxx) is an ex-slave, who is what
could only describe today as ‘sprung’ by professional bounty hunter Dr Shultz (Christopher
Waltz)! Together they go around the whole of
the South killing, collecting and delivering
dead bodies to the
highest bidders.
The film starts with
Django in chains,
being walked in a line
with other slaves, and
ends with him getting
his girl and killing all
those that dared to
physically or mentally
wound her!
How many of you
have watched a film
where a black man rescues his black wife and
survives? In fact how
many of you have
watched a film where a
black man has a
healthy relationship
with a black woman?
The film score is noticeably emotive. I’m sure I heard Rick Ross
rapping at some point, I remember feeling gangsterish. John Legend sings sweet soft music at
a time when Django is taking revenge, it sounds
good. Then there is the landscape and scenery
of where the movie is shot, simply beautiful. In
all the violence and atrocities there is still beauty
to be had.
In between all that there are various important matters of history that pop up in this film.
I wonder whether the audience paid attention.
Did they ask themselves how much of this film
is fiction, down to the warped imagination of
Tarantino, and how much is fact?
The metal masks the slaves are subjected to
wearing in this film really did exist; this is not a
sick fantasy of Tarantino’s imagination. All
manner of metal masks were forced onto slaves
looking just like those worn in the film, sometimes worse.
There is also the matter of phrenology, a science that does not
obey any valid scientific method, hence
has no supporting evidence. This pseudo
science principally focusses on the size of
the skull and attaches
meaning to the differences and similarities
in those sizes.
During the film
slave-owner Candie
(Leonardo Dicaprio)
asks WHY?? Why is it
that the enslaved never
killed the slave owners? The explanation,
according to Candie,
is phrenology. He reasons that the outcome
of the study of
phrenology is proof
that the brain of the
African was somehow inferior to that of the European and therefore a justification for slavery.
At one point he demonstrates to Shultz and
Django he believes phrenology is applied by
‘I am not sure a
black film maker
could make a film
like this…’
THEATRE
Feast
On their way to a family dinner,
three sisters are divided at a
crossroads. From Nigeria in the
1700s through Brazil, Cuba and
the USA to London in 2013, the
sisters survive by their spirits –
spirits of courage, mischief and
incredible resilience.
This epic production is a vibrant
exploration of the magnificent
Yoruba culture. Written by Yunior Garcia, Rotimi Babatunde,
Marcos Barbosa,
Tanya Barfield and
Gbolahan Obisesan,
it is brought to life
with dazzling music
and choreography.
young Vic, 66 the
Cut, Waterloo, london, SE1 8lz. Until
23 Feb. From £10
www.youngvic.org
Chinese New Year
Encourage your children’s interest in other
cultures by celebrating the year of the
snake with parades, performances and
fireworks taking place in Trafalgar Square,
Leicester Square and Chinatown.
Various locations
Sun 10 Feb
FREE
www.chinatownlondon.org
God’s Property
It’s 1982. London is
restless, gripped by
spiralling unemployment and inner-city
riots. Ska beats rule
the airwaves and in a
flat in Deptford, south
London, two brothers
are re-united unexpectedly. Sixteen year
old, mixed race Onochie rules the
family roost. His barely known
brother Chima returns to make
right past wrongs and to rekindle a
relationship with his skinhead
younger brother, who no longer
wants to be black. Chima is not
welcome in the area and only has a
few hours to meaningfully connect
with Onochie. But outside a hostile
community has been alerted to his
return. Chima has been blamed for
the death of a white girl and the
vitriolic community won’t be satisfied until they deliver their rough
justice. Onochie faces the tough decision of siding with the community he has tried to belong to; or
standing with the brother he
doesn’t know.
tours london and Birmingham between 20 Feb–28 mar
www.talawa.com
War Horse
War Horse, based on the beloved
novel by Michael Morpurgo, is a
powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring
music and magnificent artistry.
means of dimples in a deceased slave's skull.
Hmm, was Candie attributing fear to an inferior
intelligence?
You may be surprised to know that some academics still believe in this theory. British born
psychology professor J Philippe Rushton believes that black people have smaller brain sizes
than white people and are not as intelligent as
white people. Despite phrenology being a pseudoscience it is very real in the eyes of some people who have some influence. Rushton was both
given airtime on a Channel 4 programme and
in The Telegraph newspaper in 2009.
Candie asked why the slaves didn’t revolt.
Well, guess what? They did; on many occasions,
women and men. Check out a book entitled
‘Afro-Caribbean Women & Resistance to Slavery
in Barbados by Hilary Beckles. This book mentions one such revolt by a group of African
women being transported from Africa to Barbados. Those women kicked ass!
They were aboard the ‘Thomas’ in 1797.
They were brought above deck for extra food
and water; they managed to capture some guns
and overpower the male overseers and brought
South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company brings breathing,
galloping, full-scale horses to life
on the stage – their flanks, hides
and sinews built of steel, leather
and aircraft cables.
New london theatre, Drury
lane, WC2B 5PW. Until 26 oct.
From £15, Age 10+
FOR CHILDREN
Shadow Tails
Puppeteer Drew Colby uses
shadow puppetry as he tells and
sings his stories. Here you will see
tales of Anansi, the trickster spider man from Africa, fables of
Aesop, folk tales from Norway
and Britain, together with tales
from the Brothers Grimm and
sing-a-longs.
lauderdale house, Waterlow
Park, highgate hill, london,
N6 5hG. Sat, 16 Feb, 10am &
11.30am. £4.50. Age 3-8
the ship under African control. Yes indeed! It
means that if a slave (no matter what race or
creed) gets their hand on a gun there is a strong
chance he or she will shoot the slave master. Just
as Django does.
Just as there were revolutionary women,
there were also women that had a similar status
to Stephen (Samuel L Jackson), the Uncle Tom
“house n*****” in Django. Such slaves were
not free, although it might have appeared as if
they were. They did not choose to be in that position and they did not have free reign to leave.
Candie has a black woman by his side in the
film. I wouldn’t call her his wife, more like a
concubine, and she did receive privileges. Such
women at times would bear children for the
slave owners.
Then there is the aspect of religion; at one
point in Django Unchained during a potentially
particularly gruesome act of an overseer about
to whip a black woman tied to a tree, the same
overseer was holding the bible in one hand,
chanting scriptures and marching up and down
as if it were his divine right to whip this lady for
breaking a few eggs. Django killed him and
of music, comedy and dance for all
the family. Specially staged at Half
Term as a special treat for kids.
the Broadway theatre, Catford Broadway, london SE6
4RU. 20-22 Feb. From £8
www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk
Too Many Penguins
How many penguins are too many
penguins? Polar bear thinks one is
more than enough, thank you very
much! But Penguina has other
ideas... she wants someone to play
with. Just one friend... well, maybe
two...or three... Squeeze into this
fun theatrical experience and find
out just how many penguins we
can get into one space. It might get
crowded, but we promise that the
arrival of the penguins will entertain and delight!
Until 16 Feb. Polka theatre,
240 the Broadway, Wimbledon, SW19 1SB. Age 3-4. £10
www.lauderdalehouse.co.uk
Liminal
The Wizard of Oz
A fabulous pantomime version of
the classic musical, with lashings
Liminal invites families into a
physical, material and social experience of sculpture through touch,
interaction and collaboration.
Supported by a changing artist devised programme.
tate Britain, millbank, london, SW1P 4RG.
Every Sat & Sun, 11am-3pm.
FREE
All ages.
COMEDY
Credit Crunch Comedy Part 7
Affinity Arts Entertainment returns with the three-year anniversary
special
of
London's
undisputed No.1 stand up comedy
showcase. This event is hosted by
the charismatic host of the Sunday
Comedy Club, Kane Brown with
comedy from Slim, Male comedian of the year 2010; Wayne
Dibbi Rollins, Bajan dancehall
queen; Will E Robo, P Diddy's
No.1 bad boy of comedy; Shabba,
Wahala, team Jamaica; Mikey
Carpenter and Sam Hastings, both
from Sunday Comedy Club
the Broadway theatre, Catford Broadway, london SE6
4RU. Sat 2 Feb, 7.30pm. From
£22.50
Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/NigerianWatch
whipped his accomplice and then shot him.
Did you know that religious organisations
(Catholic, Protestant and others) received substantial reparations when slavery finally ended?
They were compensated, millions of sterling
pounds. Hmm I bet you didn’t know that!!!
All you avid churchgoers this is not a plea for
you to stop attending church, I am just not sure
www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk
how many of you
know those beautifully carved wooden benches
you sit on, or those spectacular colourful images in glass, the crosses that Jesus is nailed to,
were probably borne out of reparations from
the hard earned sweat of your ancestors. And
you are still paying toward their upkeep with
your tithe! Don’t get upset with me, I merely
Felicity Ethnic returns in The
Naked Truth II. Felicity’s comedic
delivery makes her the most loved
female comic. Come and witness
her range of amusing characters
live and uncut. See characters such
as Bigga International, Vilma Simmit, Big Titty Pearl and more.
Plus, surprise guests on the night.
the Broadway theatre, as
above. Sun 24 Feb, 8pm
£20
cination for the human form in
large- scale bronze and wood and
Reuben Ugbine’s playful manipulations and three- dimensional pieces
using tribal imagery. Other artists
include Alex Nwokolo, Edosa
Ogiugo, Fidelis EzeOdogwu, Tayo
Quaye and many more amazing
artists from Nigeria. DJ Peter Adjaye will play a set at the exhibition
launch on 4 February.
the Gallery in Cork Street, 28
Cork Street, london, W1S 3NG
4-9 Feb
FREE
ments in African life and culture
for at least two millennia, linking
different parts of the continent
with each other and the rest of the
world. African Textiles Today
shows how ideas, techniques, materials and markets have adapted
and flourished, and how the dynamic traditions in African textiles
have provided inspiration for the
continent’s artists.
British museum, Great Russell
Street, london, WC1B 3DG
14 Feb-21 Apr
FREE
www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk
www.aabru.co.uk
www.britishmuseum.org
The Naked Truth 2
ART
Transcending Boundaries
50 exceptional contemporary
works of art from 21 Nigerian
artists will be on display in the first
pop-up exhibition of its kind. Curated by London-based art company Aabru Art, Transcending
Boundaries features a wide range
of styles from Abiodun Olaku’s
stunningly lifelike oil painting and
Ben Osaghae’s socio-political depictions of local Nigerian life and
culture, to Bunmi Babatunde’s fas-
MUSEUMS
African Textiles Today: Social
Fabric of the East and South
This exhibition takes a new look at
the history and continuing significance of textile traditions in eastern and southern Africa, the
patterns of global trade they reveal and the ways in which they
have influenced some of the region’s foremost contemporary
artists and photographers.
Creating and trading numerous
types of cloth have been vital ele-
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
TOWNWATCH
Slavery: London and Beyond
Gain an insight into slavery with a
visit to two London museums. The
Museum of London Docklands’
London, Sugar & Slavery gallery
focuses on the impact and legacy
of the transatlantic slave trade on
the development and life of the
capital. Meanwhile in nearby
Greenwich, the National Maritime
Museum’s Atlantic Worlds gallery
explores the interrelationship between Britain, Africa and the
Americas 1600-1850 and looks at
state a fact of history.
I watched Django Unchained with a mainly
white audience. Sometimes there was laughter,
on other occasions a deep silence. You could almost feel the guilt, anger and horror fizzing and
crackling at some of the scenes in the film. It was
probably a good idea for Tarantino to make
some of it appear comedic, to relieve the tension.
I do not believe that the great Tarantino
wrote this film alone. No Sir! Call me a cynic if
you like. I have a theory; Quentin Tarantino did
a favour for a BLACK friend. His black friend
collaborated with Tarantino when writing the
film. I am convinced that if this film were promoted as being written and produced by a black
person, there would be no hype; in fact there
probably would be no film. I am not even sure
if a black filmmaker could write a film like this
without any support from a white filmmaker for
the mere fact that slavery is a very sensitive area
for us. It revives all sorts of emotions not all of
them positive for the black male and female. We
have a lot to be sensitive about.
When we talk about slavery we almost always refer to its legacy on black folk. Well, there
is a legacy on Europeans also, aside from wealth
accumulation. You know what that is? Tooth
decay and all types of cancer. The main commodity exported during slavery was sugar and
tobacco. Need I say more. Tarantino alludes to
this by giving Candie brown teeth.
the empire on three continents.
The session at Docklands includes
an illustrated presentation and
time in the gallery, while the National Maritime Museum offers an
object handling session and gallery
visit.
museum of london Docklands, West India Quay, london, E14 4Al
National maritime museum,
Park Row, Greenwich
london SE10 9NF
4 Feb – 18 mar
www.museumoflondon.org.uk
www.rmg.co.uk
33
Lastly, in case you didn’t know, there is a real
Django, who some say this film is based on. His
name was Bass Reeves. Born a slave in 1838, it
is said he escaped from his owner George
Reeves and went to live among the indigenous
Indians. This all took place in Arkansas. He became a Deputy U.S. Marshal and killed a sufficient amount of men to be both feared and
revered.
According to Indiwire.com Morgan Freeman has been trying to get this story onto the
main screen for up to five years. So you see my
theory above could be true. Maybe Morgan
should have called Tarantino. In the end does it
really matter who put the film out? Is it about
the message or the messenger?
I fell in love with Django in this film; Django
is not an African American, he is an African
man, my ideal African man. And he did exist,
well I believe he did. I am now on the lookout
for my very own Django. Ladies do you think
Django exists today, or do you think we have to
be under those same extreme circumstances for
Django to reappear? Some people say that
black men do not fall in love with black women
and do not treat us fairly. These are not my
words. I am firmly sitting on the fence with this
one. Still I am interested in your opinions; what
do you think? Maybe you already have a
Django.
Murder in the Library
Classic locked-room mysteries, tales of murder
and mayhem in quaint
villages or gritty adventures on mean city
streets. Crime fiction,
which currently accounts
for over a third of all fiction published in English, holds millions of people enthralled. Murder in the Library will take you on a fascinating journey through
the development of crime and detective fiction, from its origins in
the early 19th century through to contemporary Nordic Noir.
the British library, 96 Euston Road, london, NW1 2DB
18th January – 12th may 2013
http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/murder/index.html
Michael X, Africa and the
Middle East
This show offers a broad perspective of events and individuals –
from Britain, Africa and the Middle East – in the 1960s and 1970s.
The central portrait shows
Michael X, a reformed gangster
and British civil rights activist
born in Trinidad who was controversially executed for murder there
in 1975. The large central section
represents Topolski’s travels
through Africa in the early 1960s
and later in the 1970s, decades
when colonial rule was coming to
an end.
memoir of the Century, Nr.
Royal Festival hall, Southbank.
From £2
www.felikstopolski.com
Africa: Exploring Hidden Histories
The V&A’s engagement with and
changing view of art and design
from Africa since the earliest days
of the museum is the subject of
this display of some 100 objects.
‘Hidden Histories’ includes photographs, jewellery, textiles and
sculptures, revealing some of the
stories that lie behind the acquisition of the V&A’s African objects.
V&A, Cromwell Rd, london,
SW7 2Rl. Until 3 Feb . FREE
www.vam.ac.uk
34
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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@NigerianWatch
TOWNWATCH
PRS FoR mUSIC FoUNDAtIoN UP to £5,000 IN FUNDING AVAIlABlE
Financial support of up to £5,000 is available,
and new music in any genre is welcome, from
classical, jazz and experimental, to urban, electronica and pop.
Previous award winners include;
YolanDa a passionate musical storyteller and
moBo award winning saxophonist from Barking whose career received early support from
PRS.
Ayanna’s ‘Truthfully’, an extended set of
songs for voice, cello, percussion and movement, premiered live last September at the
World Event young Artists 2012 (WEyA), which
will form the basis of a future recording project
to be toured in this year.
Abimaro and The Free, comprising of Abimaro Suit (lead Vocals), James Beatt (Bassist &
Vocals) and Alex montaque (Keys & Vocals),
who make music that comments on and challenges the culture that surrounds them, and
In 2010, PRS for music Foundation
launched a unique funding opportunity which
invited women music creators to apply for support. the third year of Women make music
comes after hugely successful projects took
place in 2011 and 2012.
strives to express something deeper. Confronting issues to do with image, identity, spirituality and youth culture, they are set on
making our voice heard, and commenting loudly
on all that surrounds them, fiercely showing
DIZZY GILLESPIE AFRO CUBAN EXPERIENCE FEAT. MACHITO JR
Dizzy Gillespie was introduced to Chano Pozo in 1947 by Mario Bauza. Both became life-long friends and
Dizzy and Chano Pozo developed Afro-Cuban jazz, which became extremely successful, atrtracting people
to dance to its unique rhythms. Machito’s Afro Cubans (formed in 1940), the creators of Cu-Bop, were a
major influence on musicians like Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy loved it so much, that in 1975, he invited Machito’s
son, Mario Grillo or Machito Jr., to join Dizzy’s band for the recording of ‘Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods’.
So it only makes sense to have him join the Dizzy Gillespie™ Afro Cuban Experience under the direction of John Lee, Dizzy’s long-time bassist, and the director of the Dizzy Gillespie™ Big Band.
Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith Street, Soho, london, W1D 4ht. 8-9 Feb. From £25.
www.ronniescotts.co.uk
EyeOpener Gallery Tours:
Africa at The British Museum
www.britishmuseum.org
The diverse cultural life of Africa
has been expressed through everyday objects and unique works of
art since ancient times. The Museum’s collection of over 200,000
African items encompasses archaeological and contemporary
material from across the continent.
Highlights on display in Room 25
include a magnificent brass head
of a Yoruba ruler from Ife in Nigeria, the Tree of Life (a sculpture
made out of guns) and some objects from the Torday collection of
Central African sculpture, textiles
and weaponry.
British museum, Great Russell
Street, london, WC1B 3DG
FREE
The first permanent exhibition in
Britain dedicated to African art
and culture, African Worlds celebrates the continent’s diversity, history and creativity. It brings
together a rich mixture of sculpture
and decorative arts explained
through the voices of elders,
maskers, drummers, diviners,
artists, exiles, curators and anthropologists. Objects from across
Africa are displayed from Egypt to
Zimbabwe, and from African related cultures including Brazil and
Trinidad. Highlights include masterpieces of the bronze casters art
from Benin, which depict the arrival of the first Europeans to
Africa.
horniman museum
& Gardens, 100
london Road, london, SE23 3PQ
Daily
FREE
African Worlds
www.horniman.ac.uk
OTHER
Africa:
Speed,
Search, Sound
Trey Songz
Since making his recording debut in 2005,
the Grammy Award nominated Trey Songz
has patiently and artfully crafted some of
the most acclaimed and compelling music
of the decade. Having already released
four studio albums, including the most recent Passion, Pain & Pleasure, winning the
prestigious title of “Best Male R&B Artist”
at the 2010 BET Awards and starring in his
own hit TV show ‘My Moment’ on BET,
Trey Songz is more than ready to claim his
place in the pantheon of R&B greats.
hammersmith Apollo, hammersmith,
london, W6 9Qh. 30 Jan&1 Feb, 7.30pm
From £35
Speed date with historians about the objects they ‘love’.
Search for hidden representations of Africa
and earn a reward.
Make re-cycled accessories, learn a drum
call, talk African textiles, party with DJ
Dece
and
enjoy
Southern
African
sounds with the Thabani Nyoni Band.
Victoria & Albert
museum, Cromwell
Road, london,
SW7 2Rl. Fri, 1 Feb,
6.30pm
FREE
www.vam.ac.uk
Career and Mobility of
African Employees of European Business - The United
Africa Company in Ghana
(1929-1992)
In this seminar, Dmitri van den
Bersselaar looks at Africans employed in European businesses.
They are crucial intermediaries in
colonial and postcolonial Africa,
but have not yet been studied as
a group, unlike the chiefs that
mediated ‘indirect rule’, the
clerks and messengers of the
colonial administration, and
mine workers. The lives of the
employees of the United Africa
Company (UAC) in Ghana and
Nigeria provide a useful starting
point for thinking about changes
in work and life course in colonial and post-colonial West
African societies.
German historical Institute
london, 17 Bloomsbury
Square, london, WC1A 2NJ
26 Feb, 4pm, 4.30pm, 5pm
www.ghil.ac.uk
MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS
Jazz Jam
Live jazz jam with local legend
Bukky Leo and his quartet. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Bukky
has developed a distinctive style of
jazz and Afrobeat. Players of all
levels and styles are welcome to
join in, or simply lay back and
soak up the scintillating afro beats,
acid jazz and swing vibes.
Silver Bullet, 5 Station Place,
london, N4 2Dh
Every tue, 8.30pm
FREE
A dance music explosion that has
been winning new fans across the
UK scene, from funk n’ soul DJ
Craig Charles, to afrobeat legend
Dele Sosimi, to UK indie darlings
Bombay Bicycle Club.
Floridita london, 100 Wardour
Street, london W1F 0tN
thu, 31 Jan, 7pm
From £10
how life inspires art. Currently performing as a
trio, you can see them on march 2nd at the Albany in Deptford in their PRS funded gig.
For tickets visit: www.thealbany.org.uk/event_detail/753/Music/Abimaro-and-the-Free
Sundance London
Short Film
Competition
As part of the Sundance london 2013 programme, UK filmmakers are invited to submit a
short film around the theme of ‘time’. Amateurs
and professionals are welcome to enter. the winning film will feature as part of the Short Film Programme at Sundance london.
Deadline: 28th February 2013.
http://competition.sundance-london.com/
The Nextmen
Voodoo
Expect to be swept up in a frenzy
of sounds from Reggae & HipHop to Jungle & House as Brad
Baloo & Dom Search get stuck in.
East Village, 89 Great Eastern
Street, london, EC2A 3hX
Fri 8 Feb, 9pm-3.30am
From £7
Funk, soul, disco, Afro, jazz, barrio, hip-hop and reggae with DJ
Ramon Santana.
Vibe Bar, 91-95 Brick lane,
Whitechapel, london, E1 6Ql
Every 2nd Sat, 8pm-1am
From £4
http://thedoctorsorders.com
Je Ne Sais Quoi
www.floriditalondon.com
Uxía and Cruinn
Portuguese, Brazilian and African
music is brought to life as Galician
singer Uxía revisits songs from her
25-year career.
the Glasgow Art Club, 185
Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4hU
Fri 1 Feb, 7.30pm, £12
www.celticconnections.com
Hackney Voices
Cleo and Jo teach songs from the
rich and varied local traditions of
Africa, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece
and Spain as well as British, Celtic
folk songs. They also teach their
own arrangements of classic soul
and pop songs.
St John at hackney Church,
lower Clapton Road, london,
E5 0PD. Every Wed, 7-9pm
From £22
www.stjohnathackney.org.uk
Live Jazz Music
A concert featuring smooth Afro
jazz, Latin jazz, bossa nova or
funk with keyboards, vocals and
percussion.
the Blue Posts, 28 Rupert
Street, london Chinatown,
london, W1D 6DJ
Every Sun, 4pm
FREE
www.thesilverbullet.co.uk
www.taylor-walker.co.uk/
pub/blue-posts-st-james/c6707/
London Afrobeat Collective
CLUBS
let people know
where you’re at so
they know where
it’s at with listings
in
Nigerian Watch
Call 020 8588 9640
or email
[email protected]
A night of funk, jazz, hip-hop,
house, electro, Afro and Latin
music with Marathon Men, aka
Freddy McQuinn and Simbad.
As above
Every 3rd Sat, 8pm-1am
From £4
www.vibe-bar.co.uk
Legendary Jam Session
DJs play a mix of afro and latin
grooves, funk, hip hop, reggae and
soul.
Passing Clouds, 1 Richmond
Road, london, E8 4AA
Every Sun, 9pm
From £3
JUJU!
Juju! with DJ Volta45 and Chief
Commander Yaaba, showcasing
the finest hand-picked selection of
true roots music from the heart
and soul of Africa.
Upstairs at the Ritzy, Brixton
oval, Coldharbour lane, london, SW2 1JG
Every 1st Sat
From £5
'Oh-Noooooo'
A night of diverse nu jazz, broken
beat, old skool hip hop, Afro beat
and breakbeats.
Juno Bar, 134-135 Shoreditch
high Street, Shadwell, london, E1 6JE
Every last thu, 8pm
FREE
www.junoshoreditch.co.uk
Williams Cumberbache
A dirty Afro-Latin funk jam session
with master Latin American percussionist Williams Cumberbache.
As above
Every last thu, 6.30pm
FREE
Afrospot
Afrospot is a night playing the best
in Afro, reggae, dub and folkloric.
Hosted by Kodjovi Kush and The
Afrospot All-stars.
As above
Every last Sat
www.passingclouds.org
Fridays at Shaka Zulu
DJs playing a cool and flirtatious
mix of funky house with an afro
beat, this is the perfect way to start
the weekend.
AFROHITS
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MUSICWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
35
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ww
o
c
.
s
t
i
h
w. a f r o
ONES TO WATCH
TOP
20 AFROBEATS
WACONzY
TONTO DIKEH
Waconzy, aka Superman, had a massive
year in 2012 and he is looking to make
2013 his biggest year yet! So far he’s released four singles, the most recent of
which is NMA-MEKWA-OZOR, off his forthcoming album, Money Back Guarantee. His
video for Club on Fire was widely acclaimed, whilst his single Jogodo, released
back in December, was a massive hit for
this upcoming star.
He has his own production company, DV8
Media, keeps the tunes coming at a frenetic pace and is making serious waves in
the Nigerian music industry. Watch this
space for the one and only Waconzy.
http://iroking.com/artist/68/waconzy
If you hadn’t heard already (where
have you been), Nollywood superstar Tonto Dikeh tried her hand at a
career in music towards the end of
2012, dropping not one, not two, but
three new singles: Hi!, Itz Ova and
Crazically Fit, feat Terry g. The blogosphere went into meltdown with
each release, and she’s due to release
a video soon – acting meets
Afrobeats at the highest level! She’s
no newcomer to entertainment, but she is to the music industry,
so we’re going to sit back and see how her new career unfolds,
who she’s going to collaborate with next and what this Nollywood diva has up her sleeve! http://iroking.com/tonto
SINGLES
FEMI KUTI
AFROBREAKERS
LOLA RAE - WATCH MY TING GO
It seems as though the fans are really enjoying watching this video. Maybe they are
enjoying it just a bit too much. But that can’t be helped. Lola Rae is just, to put it simply, hot. And it helps to have a scorcher of a song to match the sheer heat being emanated from this roller coaster of a track and video. NW gets the feeling that many a
man, erm, meant to say fan, will be glued to this video. But don’t get it twisted, she
has a legion of female fans as well. granted, the track isn’t making any attempts to
create world peace directly, but just dancing your worries away to this track surely
has to contribute towards it in some way, doesn’t it? Of course.
BANKY W - YES/NO
AFROBREAKERS
m
Question: Why is Banky W so underrated? Maybe
it’s because he is content with being the uber boss
of a contender for the most versatile label on the
African continent, but his own musical output also
deserves to be heaped with accolades. Yes/No is
amongst those cuts of excellence that should be mentioned. A mid-tempo crooner of a track with Cobhams Asuquo on music duties and Clarence
Peters on usual directorial form, this
track is a nice breakaway from the
flurry of predictable two thousand
beats per second tracks that have been
the fodder of Afrobeats recently. Well
done Mr W, keep on bringing the hits.
Afrobeats superstar Femi Kuti released
an exclusive play list on iRoKING this
month, to coincide with the
start of his
US tour. Featuring tracks
such as Truth
don Die, Traitors of Africa,
Day by Day
and Can’t Buy
Me, the play
list is an ultimate celebration of the master of Afrobeats who’s
wowing US crowds, with the support of
his incredible Positive Force band. the
10-track exclusive play list is available to
listen online for FREE now –
http://iroking.com/artist/176/femi-kuti
KEFEE
Kefee is soon to drop her upcoming
single, Beautiful, the second single off
her forthcoming album, Best of Both
Worlds. She’s been teasing her devoted
followers with snippets from the making
of the video – we hear that her pal and
music songstress Eva Alordiah was on
hand to do Kefee’s make up for the
shoot. Kefee
has been on
the Nigerian
music scene
for some time
– her first solo
album, Branma,
released in
2010, sold over
two million
copies making
her one of the darlings of the Nigerian
music scene. So, keep your eyes peeled
for Beautiful – the sure fire hit is set to
be released soon. http://iroking.com/artist/29/kefee
No. title
Artist
1
2
3
4
5
6
tonight
yes/No
Shake
Ghost mode
First of All
my Baby
Burna Boy
Banky W
Flavour
Phyno
olamide
E.m.E ft. Skales
7
8
9
q
w
e
r
t
y
Gat me high
ori mi Wu
Bad Guy P
Bad man Bad Girl
yoyo
Skibobo
hypnotize me
Cashflow
Watch my ting
Go
Ghen Ghen love
3Kingz
lovi Dovi
Contolola
Beat For my
heart
may D
u
i
o
p
a
Emma Nyra
l.o.S
Becca
Selebobo
Goldie
olu maintain
D'Banj
lola Rae
yemi Alade
DRB
Raquel
zone Fam
Beat For my
heart
This chart has been compiled by combined
YouTube views and iROKING views & downloads
TOP
20 AFROBREAKERS
No. title
1
2
3
4
5
truth
yes/No
Fine lady
Gat me high
Aboki Remix
6
7
8
9
q
e
r
t
y
Ur Waist
All of you
my Baby
Watch my ting Go
Ife Wa Gbona Ft
leo Wonder
tony montana
(Bad Pass) Remix
Good morning
Go low
First of All
Sun mo mi
u
i
o
p
a
Gbon Gbon
my Dear
Get Down tonight
Gaga Crazy
Ijo Sina Ft Davido
w
Artist
Ice Prince zamani
Banky W
lynxxx Ft Wizkid
may D
Ice Prince Ft
Sarkodie, Wizkid,
m.I et al
Iyanya
Davido
E.m.E Ft. Skales
lola Rae
tiwa Savage
Naeto C Ft D'banj
Brymo
Wande Coal
olamide
E.m.E. Feat.
Shaydee, Skales &
Banky W
Davido
Wande Coal
Dammy Krane
Chuddy K
Sina Rambo
This chart is compiled by information from
YouTube.
36
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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@NigerianWatch
LEISUREWATCH
TALES BY MOONLIgHT
Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends
t
he bush cow and the elephant were always bad
friends, and as they could
not settle their disputes between
themselves, they agreed to let
the head chief decide.
The cause of their unfriendliness was that the elephant was
always boasting about his
strength to all his friends, which
made the bush cow ashamed of
himself, as he was always a
good fighter and feared no man
or animal.
When the matter was referred to the head chief, he decided that the best way to settle
the dispute was for the elephant
and bush cow to meet and fight
one another in a large open
space. He decided that the fight
should take place in the marketplace on the next market-day,
when all the country people
could witness the battle.
When the market-day arrived, the bush cow went out in
the early morning and took up
his position some distance from
the town on the main road to
the market, and started bellowing and tearing up the ground.
As the people passed he asked
them whether they had seen
anything of the “Big, Big One”,
which was the name of the elephant.
A bush buck, who happened
to be passing, replied, “I am
only a small antelope, and am
on my way to the market. How
should I know anything of the
movements of the ‘Big, Big
one?’” The bush cow then allowed him to pass.
After a little time the bush
cow heard the elephant trumpeting, and could hear him as
he came nearer breaking down
trees and trampling down the
small bush.
When the elephant came
near the bush cow, they both
charged one another and a
tremendous fight commenced,
in which a lot of damage was
done to the surrounding farms
and many of the people were
frightened to go to the market,
and returned to their houses.
At last the monkey, who had
been watching the fight from a
distance whilst he was jumping
from branch to branch high up
in the trees, thought he would
report what he had seen to the
head chief. Although he forgot
several times what it was he intended to do – which is a little
way monkeys have – he eventually reached the chief’s house,
and jumped upon the roof,
where he caught and ate a spider.
He then returned to the
ground again and commenced
playing with a small stick. But
he very soon got tired of this,
and then, picking up a stone, he
rubbed it backwards and forwards on the ground in an aimless sort of way, whilst looking
in the opposite direction. This
did not last long, and very soon
he was busily engaged in minute
personal inspection.
His attention was then attracted by a large praying mantis, which had fluttered into the
house, making much clatter
with its wings. When it settled,
it immediately assumed its
usual prayerful attitude.
The monkey, after a careful
stalk, seized the mantis, and
having deliberately pulled the
legs off, he ate the body, and sat
down with his head on one side,
looking very wise, but in reality
thinking of nothing.
Just then the chief caught
sight of him while he was
scratching himself, and shouted
out in a loud voice, “Ha, monkey, is that you? What do you
want here?”
At the chief's voice the monkey gave a jump, and started
chattering like anything. After a
time he replied very nervously:
“Oh yes, of course! Yes, I came
to see you.” Then he said to
himself, “I wonder what on
earth it was I came to tell the
chief?” But it was no use, everything had gone out of his head.
Then the chief told the monkey he might take one of the
ripe plantains hanging up in the
verandah. The monkey did not
need telling twice, as he was
very fond of plantains. He soon
tore off the skin, and holding
the plantain in both hands,
took bite after bite from the end
of it, looking at it carefully after
each bite.
Then the chief remarked
that the elephant and the bush
cow ought to have arrived by
that time, as they were going to
have a great fight. Directly the
monkey heard this he remembered what it was he wanted to
tell the chief; so, having swallowed the piece of plantain he
had placed in the side of his
cheek, he said, “Ah! that reminds me,” and then, after
much chattering and making of
all sorts of funny grimaces, the
monkey finally made the chief
understand that the elephant
and bush cow, instead of fighting where they had been told,
were having it out in the bush
on the main road leading to the
market, and had thus stopped
most of the people coming in.
When the chief heard this he
was much incensed, and called
for his bow and poisoned arrows, and went to the scene of
the combat. He then shot both
the elephant and the bush cow,
and throwing his bow and arrows away, ran and hid himself
in the bush. About six hours afterwards both the elephant and
bush cow died in great pain.
Ever since, when wild animals want to fight between
themselves, they always fight in
the big bush and not on the
public roads; but as the fight
was never definitely decided between the elephant and the bush
cow, whenever they meet one
another in the forest, even to the
present time, they always fight.
Do you recall a favourite Tale by Moonlight? We’d love to print
it. Please forward to [email protected]
Like us on Facebook
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I
welcome you into the new year in the Name
that is above every other name, Jesus! 2013 will
be a year where greater grace will be made
available for you by God, to achieve and attain
your long overdue dreams in every sphere of
life… spiritually, financially, relationally, physically and educationally.
To start this year, I want to encourage, challenge, fire and inspire you with these inspirational fables of the Eagle Bird and the Chicken.
We can all use a little encouragement from
time to time, especially when we begin to have
feelings of self-doubt or frustration. If left
unchecked, these feelings can get in the way of
us achieving our goals and dreams.
There have been times in my life when just
one word of encouragement, or someone believing in me, thinking “I could do it”, made all the
difference in the world. There have been times
when my spiritual father in the Lord, Pastor
Andrew Adeleke, the senior pastor of House of
Praise of the Redeem Christian Church of God,
encouraged me with the words, “It can only get
better, you are an eagle and not a chicken, you
are son and not a servant.”
These encouraging words have fired me up
through the course of my journey in life. Think
about yourself when you read these two fables,
“The Eagle Who Thought He Was a Chicken,”
and the “Fable of the Eagle and the Chicken.”
Consider this your “push” from me to you.
thE EAGlE Who thoUGht hE WAS
A ChICKEN
A baby eagle became orphaned when his parents died. He glided down to the ground from
his nest but was not yet able to fly. A man picked
him up and took him to a farmer and said,
“This is a special kind of barnyard chicken that
will grow up big.” The farmer said, “Don’t look
like no barnyard chicken to me.” “Oh yes, it is.
You will be glad to own it.” The farmer took the
baby eagle and placed it with his chickens.
The baby eagle learned to imitate the chickens. He could scratch the ground for grubs and
I believe you can fly
World Repairers Global Network Ministries
In Pursuit of God, Repairing Lives, Restoring Destinies and Living A meaningful Life
worms too. He grew up thinking he was a
chicken.
Then one day an eagle flew over the barnyard. The eagle looked up and wondered,
“What kind of animal is that? How graceful,
powerful, and free it is.” Then he asked another
chicken, “What is that?” The chicken replied,
“Oh, that is an eagle. But don’t worry yourself
about that. You will never be able to fly like
that.” And the eagle went back to scratching the
ground. He continued to behave like the chicken
he thought he was. Finally he died, never knowing the grand life that could have
been his.
thE EAGlE AND thE
ChICKEN
A fable is told about an eagle
who thought he was a chicken.
When the eagle was very small,
he fell from the safety of his nest.
A chicken farmer found the
eagle, brought him to the farm,
and raised him in a chicken coop
among his many chickens. The
eagle grew up doing what chickens do, living like a chicken, and believing he
was a chicken.
A naturalist came to the chicken farm to see
if what he had heard about an eagle acting like
a chicken was really true. He knew that an eagle
is king of the sky. He was surprised to see the
eagle strutting around the chicken coop, pecking at the ground, and acting very much like a
chicken. The farmer explained to the naturalist
that this bird was no longer an eagle. He was
37
bright sun was beckoning above. He spoke:
“Eagle, thou art an eagle! Thou dost belong to
the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy
wings and fly.”
This time the eagle stared skyward into the
bright sun, straightened his large body, and
stretched his massive wings. His wings moved,
slowly at first, then surely and powerfully. With
the mighty screech of an eagle, he flew.
By
PASTOR DAVID-DAVID MAKOYAWO, PRESIDING MINISTER
now a chicken because he had been trained to
be a chicken and believed that he was a chicken.
The naturalist knew there was more to this
great bird than his actions showed as he “pretended” to be a chicken.
He was born an eagle and had the heart of
an eagle, and nothing could change that. The
man lifted the eagle onto the fence surrounding
the chicken coop and said, “Eagle, thou art an
eagle. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The eagle
moved slightly, only to look at the man; then he
glanced down at his home among the chickens
in the chicken coop where he
was comfortable. He jumped off
the fence and continued doing
what chickens do. The farmer
was satisfied. “I told you it was a
chicken,” he said.
The naturalist returned the
next day and tried again to convince the farmer and the eagle
that the eagle was born for
something greater. He took the
eagle to the top of the farmhouse and again encouraged him
to “stretch forth thy wings and
fly.” The large bird looked at the man, then
again down into the chicken coop. He jumped
from the man’s arm onto the roof and then
back to where he is comfortable.
The naturalist returned the next morning
and took the eagle and the farmer some distance away to the foot of a high mountain, from
where they could not see the farm nor the
chicken coop. The man held the eagle on his
arm and pointed high into the sky where the
PUZZLES
CROSSWORD
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
RELIGIONWATCH
Are there any ways that you see yourself as
a barnyard chicken and are not aware of your
potential grandeur? You could soar like an
eagle. What would that look like for you?
It’s time for you to take that next step,
change your thinking, change the company you
keep and take your flight! “He that walketh with
wise men shall be wise: but a companion of
fools shall be destroyed” (Proverbs 13, v 16).
“The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of
the dead” (Proverbs 21, v 20).
I BELIEVE YOU CAN FLY!!!
Stay strong, Stay focused, Get inspired, Take
your place in destiny.
Today, Jesus is knocking at the door of your
heart. Open your heart to receive and accept
Him as your Lord and personal saviour (Revelations 3, v 19-22; Acts 2, v 37-40).
Think, Pray and Take Action to experience
undeniable results.
For further help, Prayers and Counselling
ADDRESS 7th Floor, Berkeley House, 18-24 High
Street Edgware, Edgware, London HA8 7RP.
WEBSITE www.worldrepairersministries.org.uk
EMAIL [email protected]
TELEPHONE 020 8205 3334; M 07915 308 834
DAYS AND TIME OF SERVICES Tuesdays and Fridays, 7-9pm. Sundays,10-12:30pm. Third Friday
of every month; Holy Ghost Night, 10pm-1am.
TRAVEL Tube: Edgware, Northern Line.
Buses: 204,340,292,251,303,142,32,79,240,221,
305,288.
Answers and solution on Page 43
Across
7 - Harsh (6)
8 - South African
antelope (6)
9 - Grain store (4)
10 - Take someone's
place (8)
11 - Refrain from (7)
13 - Burning (5)
15 - Smell (5)
16 - Clustered (7)
18 - Expression of
gratitude (5,3)
19 - Golf pegs (4)
21 - Fabric associated
with Scotland (6)
22 - Look through
casually (6)
WORKINgS
Down
1 - Penultimate round (4)
2 - Sanitise (13)
3 - Permit entry again (7)
4 - Chart (5)
5 - Documentation (13)
6 - Protect from harm or
destruction (8)
12 - Anniversary of when
you are born (8)
14 - Residential areas (7)
17 - Joining together (5)
20 - Simple (4)
NAIJAKU
38
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
Follow us on Twitter
@NigerianWatch
PROPERTYWATCH
A LOOK INTO 2013 LONDON PROPERTY
MARKET
the euro crisis saw the london property market perform better than
expected in 2012. yet a rising supply in 2013 could damp down prices
A
s 2012 has drawn to an end and with the
Olympic flame handed over to Brazil,
many investors will be looking at the sky
asking, “Where do we go from here?” And asking
questions like, “Shall I buy more houses, or sell
the properties I have, or do I play the waiting
game and see where the market is heading?”
A common practice when an investor wants
to determine the future of the central London
property market is to look at foreign economic
and political affairs, just as much as current affairs in the UK, if not more so, as it is well
known that foreigners are increasingly holding
the majority share of central London homes.
During the course of 2012 the London property market performed better than analysts predicted, with a record year for sales of homes
valued over £10m and deals agreed at over £5m.
This unexpected surge in demand was caused by
the unravelling of the Eurozone crisis, which
saw a huge influx of Euro money – in particular
from Greece, Spain and Italy – fly into both
London and Manhattan real estate on the back
of fear that the currency would no longer exist.
With no clear direction as yet, investors will
need to pay close attention to see whether the
Euro begins to follow a path to recovery that
can reassure the world that it has what it takes
KEy AREAS to WAtCh IN 2013
Where there is development comes
change and the areas below represent
neighbourhoods that are being positively
affected by either regeneration or new
demand from investors.
• Westbourne Park, london W11
• St Johns Wood, london NW8
• Westfield White City, london W11
• Battersea, london SW10
• Paddington W2
• Kings Cross N1C
• Stratford E15
to bring stability and endurance to the global
market. If not, the market may continue to see
Europeans chasing property which will effec-
tively increase prices in some areas with short
supply of inventory.
Last year the rental market saw a 59% increase of lettings go to international tenants,
with the majority taken up by US, Italian and
French ex-pats. This is clearly visible in places
like Kensington, London, where the French
have created their own community in response
to French President François Hollande’s new
policies to tax the rich. This huge influx has
been welcomed by British Prime Minister
David Cameron, who openly stated that he
would “roll out the red carpet” to wealthy
French citizens and companies who wanted to
emigrate and pay their taxes in Britain.
With the UK facing its own economic
demons investors will be looking at how well
the pound performs over the coming 12 months
particularly in regards to the dollar and euro,
which throughout 2011/12 has been the
stronger performer.
However for those looking inwardly from
Nigeria, it will interesting to see how the Naira
pans out against the dollar and the pound, especially when the Nigerian Central Bank has
held its benchmark interest rate at a record high
of 12 per cent throughout 2012, to ease inflation
pressures and stabilise the Naira.
From a demand side, UK bank lending is a
key indicator that can determine how easy and
costly accessing finance will be for buying and
developing property. However, with banks facing higher capital demands under the Basel III
act, which starts in 2013, the likeliehood of restricted capital is set to continue.
Yet from a supply side, estimates from
Knight Frank, a leading UK estate agency, suggests that over the next 10 years an average of
24,000 units a year will be completed across
London each year, up from 20,000 units seen
over the last 10 years. This of course would put
downward pressure on the price of houses
throughout London.
One thing we can all agree on is we never
know what will happen until it happens and it
is usually the events that are not foreseen that
determine the course of the year ahead and beyond. With London now an official Olympic
destination, which showed the world ‘this is the
place to be’, I can only wonder the many fortunes the future hold for this great city.
Olumide Onitiri-Coker; [email protected]
tAX FACtS
It’s important to know where you stand before you purchase any property, and knowing the basic
tax rates, whether you’re a domestic or foreign buyer, is a vital cost you should be aware of.
Below is her majesty Revenue and Customs SDlt table.
Residential Stamp Duty land tax rates 2012/13
Purchase price/lease premium or transfer value
Up to £125,000
over £125,000 to £250,000
over £250,000 to £500,000
over £500,000 to £1 million
over £1 million to £2 million
over £2 million (purchased by certain non-natural persons)
Stamp Duty land tax
zero
1%
3%
4%
7%
15%
this information is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of going to press.
It is written as a general guide and we recommend that specific professional advice is sought before any action is taken.
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NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
SPORTWATCH
41
DOCUMENT REVEALS STAGGERING N1.9 BILLION (£7.5M)
COST OF BRINGING TEAM NIGERIA TO LONDON 2012
AN astonishing document detailing the
financial transactions of Nigeria’s National
Sports Commission during London 2012
Olympics has revealed Nigeria spent a
whopping N1.9 billion on government
officials, athletes and others in the two-week
games, according to the Nigeria Daily News.
It details a staggering array of expenses
claimed by both the Ministry of Sports and
Sports Commission. N704.235 million was spent
on allowances for athletes, estacode (an umbrella
word for all manner of travel expenses) for the
officials, visa fees, flight tickets and grants to foreign based athletes, among other things.
A more detailed breakdown of the expenses
revealed that $638,550 (about N1.008 billion)
was spent on estacode allowances for 65 commission officials, Federal Government delegates, personal aides to the Minister of Sports and
chairman National Sports Commission, Mallam
Bolaji Abdullahi.
According to the documents, the ministry revealed that they paid $750,800 (N118.626 million) on allowances for athletes and team officials
in addition to other unspecified bonuses, adding
that it gave grants to the foreign-based athletes
to the tune of $670,000 (about N105.860 mil-
A HEAVY PRICE TO PAY: Felix Expo London 2012 Olympic
Weightlifting 77Kg finalist
lion).
Post-competition expenses were revealed as
being unexpectedly large. In the document it is
stated the Sports Ministry said it spent a total
sum of N18.755 million on transport fares for
athletes and officials to return to their respective
states at N100,000 for 199 persons; transportation of competition equipment back to base;
back to base reception/award ceremony, accommodation/feeding for three nights at N150,000
for 199 persons and the production of a report.
However, the newspaper reports the document
also records that the Sports Commission as
spending N1.99 million on transport fares for
athletes/officials, to respective states at N100,000
for 199 people; N1.8 million went on transportation of competition equipment back to base; just
as what it described as back-to-base
reception/award ceremony for team Nigeria that
failed woefully took N4.510 million. Accommodation/feeding for three nights at N150,000 for
199 persons and production of report gulped a
cumulative total sum of N9.105 million.
The document further revealed that a total
amount of N50.756 million was spent on the
procurement of visa and flight tickets for the
ministry staff, government delegation, personal
aides to the sports minister and other officials,
adding that the press conferences by the minister
and Chef de Mission, in addition to the renting
of venue and provision of media gift bags etc
took $25,000 (about N3.95 million).
On how the officials shared the estacode allowances, the sports commission specified that it
spent a staggering sum of $133,875 (about
N21.152 million) as estacode for 15 of its staff,
adding that its unidentified 15 guests smiled to
the back with the sum of $120,015 (about
N18.962 million) after allegedly spending 21 days
in London for the games.
In fact, the Federal Government delegation,
numbering 10, got a chunk of the estacode al-
lowances, as the sports commission claimed that
they collectively collected a total sum of $126,000
(about N199.080 million) on a daily allowance
of $381 each for the 21 days they spent in London. There were more revelations, as the ministry
disclosed that four personal aides to the minister
got the sum of $35,700 (about N5.640 million)
with a daily allowance of $425 each for the 21
days spent in London.
Other officials that benefited from the estacode
bonanza, according to the document, include the
Chef de Mission and his deputy, who collected
$12,600 (about N1.990 million) and $9,450
(about N1.493 million) on a daily allowance of
$600 (about N94, 800) and $400 (about N63,200)
respectively for the 21 days they equally spent in
London.
The advance party and the Nigerian Olympic
Committee (NOC), numbering eight that spent
30 days, got a cumulative estacode allowances of
the sum totaling $102,000 (about N16.116 million) at the rate of a daily allowance of $425
each. The sports minister was not left out, as he
collected a total sum of $18,900 (about N2.986
million) on a daily allowance of $900 (about
N142, 200) for the 21 days spent in London for
the Games.
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42
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
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SPORTWATCH
SICKLE CELL SUPER LEAGUE PRO ADE ADEBISI
Defying the odds to do what he loves
There is an advert currently being
broadcast on Sky TV featuring
Bradley Wiggins – winner of the
punishing endurance race known as
the Tour De France – saying,
“Rugby Super League – it’s too
tough for me.”
Crunching, bone-shaking tackles
and explosive power are the hallmarks
of this hardman contact sport that has
been liekened to 80 minutes of hand to
hand combat.
It’s hard on players in peak physical
condition but for someone with a potentially life-threatening blood disorder it would appear to be completely
out of the question.
Try telling that to London Skolars
wing Ade Adebisi. The 26-year-old
Londoner suffers from sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that can
cause bouts of chronic pain which
often lands the sufferer in hospital.
Youngsters with the disease are traditionally advised to avoid any kind of
physical exertion and as a result their
education can suffer because of absences from school, which in turn can
lead to poor career prospects.
Ade wants to turn that kind of
thinking on its head. “We need to educate parents not to wrap their kids in
cotton wool or else they grow up seeing
sickle cell as being their whole life,” he
told Nigerian Watch.
“Sickle cell sufferers are always told
don’t do this, don’t do that - don’t do
sports. We need to encourage kids to
do sport. I know it’s tough and painful
but the pain wasn’t going to keep me
down. I’ve always been a passionate
sportsman and grew up surrounded by
people who believed I could do it.”
His rugby league career has involved
Super League clubs Hull FC and London Broncos plus semi-professional
outfits Doncaster, Featherstone Rovers
and Whitehaven. For the past two
years Ade has been back at the London Skolars, the Championship club in
north London where it all began for
him.
RolE moDEl
A winger with speed and
strength, he’s scored
tries wherever he’s been
but often at a cost. On one
occasion, after a length-ofthe-field effort, he just couldn’t
get up after scoring and during a
spell with Cumbrian club Whitehaven,
Ade collapsed after the first training
session. He spent the next seven days
in hospital but within 24 hours of coming out played against Gateshead and
scored a try.
However, going into the local hospital in Cumbria was a little unnerving
because they didn’t know much about
sickle cell disease. Luckily, the Head of
Haematology rang Ade’s doctor, Dr Jo
Howard, at St Thomas’s Hospital London. Dr Howard is a Consultant
Haematologist whose specialist area is
sickle cell disease and has always encouraged Ade to pursue his sport.
As a semi-professional with the Skolars, Ade now holds down a full time
job as a support manager with Wilson
James, a Specialist Aviation Services,
Construction Logistics and Security
company.
Ade recently contacted the Sickle
Cell Society, a charity that helps people
living with the disease. The Society was
delighted to find someone with the
condition playing such a physically demanding sport. Kalpna Patel,
Fundraising Manager for the Society,
said, “I’m really impressed that Ade is
playing such a tough sport at such a
high level. It’s very difficult to manage
sickle cell disease on a daily basis but
to manage a job and also a career in
professional rugby is outstanding. He
should be really proud of himself, and
is an excellent role model for others living with sickle cell disease.”
SICKlE CEll
Sickle cell disease is the most common
genetic blood disorder in the UK,
240,000 are carrying the gene and
roughly 14,500 actually have the condition. In England, one in every 1,900
births is a child born with sickle cell
disease. One in every 70 births of all
babies will carry the relevant gene. One
in seven Black African, one in eight
Black Caribbean and one in every 450
White British new-borns carries a
sickle cell gene.
A sickle cell attack, known as a “crisis”, can occur at any time and cause
excruciating pain in any part of the
body. The cure for sickle cell is bone
marrow transplant but this is not universal and you need to have a suitable
donor. Sickle Cell is therefore managed
with medication
a n d
this can include strong opiates.
“Normal blood cells are round,” explains Kalpna, “but when you go into
a crisis it turns into a crescent shape
and that stops oxygen from flowing
through your body. The pain can happen anytime, anywhere and be in your
arms, legs, back or chest. It can last
hours, or days or even weeks.”
Ade has always had the condition
but it didn’t really manifest itself until
it started affecting him playing sport at
school. “I had my first incident playing
five a side football. I kicked the ball really hard and it began to hurt. I didn’t
know what it was but it was constant
pain. I went to hospital and was there
for two days.”
Born and brought up in east London he attended Forest Gate Community School where the sports were
football and athletics. A
talented footballer he knew
little of rugby
until a PE teacher
from Bradford,
Andy Hurst,
suggested he
try
rugby
league at his old
club, the London Skolars.
He got his first taste of
the sport at 15 and was hooked. “It
was a shock but it’s a great sport and
I just took to it, I love it.” In fact, he
was so besotted by it that when he was
offered a trial with Tottenham he
opted to represent the South at rugby
league instead.
He was soon spotted by the London
Broncos and played for them at
under-16s and under-17s level. Because
the Broncos didn’t have an under-21s
side he spent a season at Hull FC.
Being at Super League clubs meant
training went up several notches in intensity as he got older. It’s tough for
any young athlete let alone one with
sickle cell disease but Ade was determined not to let it affect his career. In
fact he believes that rugby league has
helped him to cope with the condition.
“I had never done anything as intense as when I started playing rugby
league,” he said. “Rugby league is all
about being mentally strong as well as
physically strong and that has undoubtedly helped me to deal with the
condition.
“No one in rugby league has ever
treated me differently. You get some
coaches who don’t know anything
about it and just think you’re being
lazy but others who do and work
around it.”
lIVE yoUR lIFE
Early in his career Phil Jones, head of
youth performance at the Broncos, became something of a father figure and
John Kear, the coach when he was at
Hull,
did
understand
the
condition. But as Ade began training
with first team players and internationals, he found it tough.
“We’d be running for three hours
and physically I just couldn’t do it, I
simply can’t carry the amount of oxygen a normal person can,” he said.
Kalpna explains: “A normal person
would take one deep breath but a person with sickle cell disease would have
to take two deep breaths to take in the
same amount of oxygen. You have to
drink lots and lots of water to stay hydrated. For a normal person the recommended amount is two litres but for
someone with sickle cell disease it
would be twice the amount. Obviously
doing physical activity makes it worse
GREAt SUPPoRt hAS hElPED
Kalpna says; “It’s natural for parents
to want to protect a child with sickle
cell disease. On a daily basis, children
with sickle cell disease face many challenges living with their condition. They
spend a lot of time in and out of hospital, which means they miss a lot of
school, they can have a limited number
of friends and as a result can become
quite isolated.”
To enable him to play the sport professionally Ade has to take regular
medication, which, to comply with
Rugby Football League’s very tough
drug-testing policy, he has to report on
a daily basis .
“I take morphine on regular basis, in
fact all the painkillers I’m taking are
banned by the RFL, I have to have a
special form and I’m expected to write
every single thing down on a daily basis
but sometimes I forget.”
Ade says it’s hard to describe the
pain, “It is ten times worse than
toothache” he suggests, while Kalpna
adds; “It’s like an axe constantly cutting into you.” Ade acknowledges that he’s been fortunate to have had great support
throughout his career which has made
an enormous difference to his life.
While at Whitehaven he met Steve
Morgan, a director for BNFL at Sellafield.
Ade says that Steve has been like a
father to him, helping him and giving
invaluable advice including telling him
to think of a career outside of rugby.
When Morgan became a director of
BAA he kept in touch and when Ade
moved back down to London, he introduced him to Mark Dobson, owner
Continued from page 44 g i f t e d .
However, they showed little intent or
desire – meaning that just before
Moses scored his first penalty on 79
minutes the Eagles were heading to
the exit on the basis of having a
worse disciplinary record than Zambia.
The only people raising a sweat
were the millions of viewers. A goal
for Ethiopia or Zambia would have
sent the Eagles home before reaching
the quarter finals for the first time in
25 years.
After the match Eagles captain
John Obi-Mikel said of the Africa
Cup of Nations, “It’s been great for
us.” He described a camp that was together and praised Coach Keshi for
instilling a sense of purpose in the
team. “You have to want to play for
Nigeria, 110% to be here.”
JUSt BE SENSIBlE
Ade is very, very lucky to have so much
help and support in his career, according to Kalpna, “There are so many
children and adults who don’t get the
support they need. Without the right
education, treatment and support they
will have less chance of survival.
“There’s a lot of stigma around families, particularly among men, because
of lack of knowledge about the condition. They can be isolated and avoid
going to hospitals because sometimes
people think they’re on drugs and
come in because they have a habit. It’s just that they are in so much pain
and need strong pain killers. Because
they often don’t get treated properly in
hospitals they stay at home and try and
manage it, which can be dangerous if
they’re self-medicating.”
Ade’s brother and two sisters both
have sickle cell disease and by joining
the Society he hopes he can help people
with the disease, by raising awareness
and fundraising.
“I want to do everything in my
power to help the Society,” he says. “I
want to speak to as many people as
possible, to help children and parents
to understand the condition,” he said.
“I’m not saying, ‘do what I’ve done’,
because what’s happened to me is exceptional, I had this mental toughness
at an early age because of rugby
league. But sickle cell disease shouldn’t
stop people going out, going for walks,
and running, going to the gym or trying to get into a team. “In the past people have treated it as
a bad thing, but you just have to be sensible and manage it. I’m proud to say
I’ve played rugby professionally and
I’m still doing it”.
For further information or to make a donation please contact the Sickle Cell Society on 0208 961 7795, email
[email protected], or visit their
website www.sicklecellsociety.org
43
AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS
of Wilson James where he now works.
“Having sickle cell disease, its tough
trying to find a career,” admitted
Ade. “Sometimes, when you have to be
in meetings you may be in hospital but
Wilson James gave me a chance.
“They have supported me in every
aspect of my life. They even sponsor
the Skolars, which they do to support
me. Anything I try and do in life Mark
supports me.”
CAPTAINS’ ROLE: Biyadiglign Elyas of Ethiopia and John Obi Mikel of Nigeria
As to the forthcoming quarter
final against Cote d’Ivoire he said,
“It’s going to be tough, but hopefully
Manus van Dyk/Gallo Images/Getty Images
and rugby is a tough sport.
“Years ago people with sickle cell
disease would be told they couldn’t
play sport and youngsters told they
couldn’t go out and play. Now we say
‘go out, live your life but learn about
your condition, learn to manage it and
know your limits.’
Ade can relate to that because his
Mum used to stop him from doing
what he wanted to do when he was
young. So what did she think when he
took up Rugby League? “She didn’t
know I was playing professional rugby
for two years. Me, my uncle and everyone kept it from her because she was
scared!”
NIGERIAN WATCH
February 2013
SPORTWATCH
Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images/Getty Images
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SUPER EAGLES TEAM LINE-UP: Nigeria v Burkina Faso
READING HOPE TO AVOID
RELEGATION WITH AKPAN
hope Akpan, aged 21, signed
for Premier league side Reading on a three-and-a-half-year
contract during the January
transfer window. he stated his
desire to help his new club
avoid relegation.
Reading manager Brian mcDermott told the club website:
'I'm delighted to have signed
hope, we have known all about
him for a very long time.'he has
a great pedigree coming
through the ranks at a top Premier league side in Everton.'
Despite being born in England, Akpan has declared his intention to represent Nigeria –
the country of his parents – at
international level.
we’ll make it.”
The Eagles will have to raise their
game a good deal to stand a chance
against the torunament’s hot
favourites – who sailed through the
group stage, qualifying with a match
to spare.
Keshi added, “Now we face title
favourites Ivory Coast. I have a game
plan, but that is for the players.
He added, “This is a victory for
Nigerians wherever they are in the
world. This is a time for celebration.”
Coach Keshi has a clause in his
contract which mandates him to at
least get to the semi finals of the
African Cup of Nations. If his team
fails to beat Cote d’Ivoire, he will undoubtedly be replaced before the
World Cup qualifiers restart in March
when Nigeria hosts Kenya.
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GOALY MOSES
February 2013
nigerianwatch.com
GOAL: Victor
Moses celebrates
scoring his second
penalty to secure
Nigeria’s place in
the quarter-finals
By AJ JAMES
Amazing sickle cell Super
League pro – full story inside
Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images/Getty Images
With just over 10 minutes of normal play left it
looked depressingly as if Nigeria would be crashing out of the African Cup of Nations – having
not raised a sweat.
Thankfully two late penalty strikes, earnt and
scored by 22-year-old Victor Moses means the Super
Eagles proceed to a quarter-final showdown with
tournament favourites Cote d’Ivoire.
On this showing they won’t progress much further
unless Coach Keshi changes his philosophy.
Throughout the group stage Nigeria have played too
conservatively and too slowly and the midfield has
never managed to get a grip of the game.
The match against Ethiopia was a classic in that
regard. The Super Eagles, so often in the past celebrated for their flowing, expansive football, gave a
passable impersonation of the England international
team. Defensive, cautious and lacking creativity, they
didn’t make their superiority count.
Yet they were clearly the superior side – both
physically and more technically Turn to page 43
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