YOUR “LOOT” OUR TREASURES BIYI BANDELE

F
R
E
E
BIYI
BANDELE
Me, Beyoncé and the making
of Half Of A Yellow Sun
Your next
NIGERIAN
WATCH
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April 11th
NIGERIAN WATCH
March 28th 2014
THE UK’S LEADING AFRICAN NEWSPAPER WITH THE LARGEST CIRCULATION
Issue No 026
nigerianwatch.com
fortNIghtly to Inspire, Inform and Entertain
INSIDE
YOUR “LOOT”
T-BOY
The Nigerian comic
fronting London’s
new TV channel
Page 18
OUR TREASURES
Diary reveals “[S] is wondering round with a chisel &
hammer knocking off bronzes and all sorts of rubbish
as loot”
– Campaign for return of Benin Bronzes boosted by the
generous gift of a British Army Captain’s grandson – pages 4&5
HOW TO KEEP
AN AFRICAN
MAN HAPPY
Mrs Omosevwerha’s
Naija food odyssey
NEW Foodwatch
WAYS TO FUND YOUR
DEGREE COURSE
see page 20
2
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
NEWSWATCH
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NIGERIAN ACADEMICS IN THE UK TO GIVE Easter documentary
SENATOR TINUBU RECOGNITION AWARD series to feature west
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;
Ayo Akinfe; funmi odegbami; Samuel Kasumu;
Ngozi Mbana; Ekanem robertson, Jessica onah,
laura Adenuga
Chief Cartoonist
harold ogbeide
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Nigerian Watch is a monthly newspaper owned by
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Views expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the publisher.
Nigerians rise up the
big spenders’ league
Nigerians accounted for four percent
of shopping in the UK in February,
spending an average £628 pounds per
transaction – shooting them ahead of
their Russian counterparts.
According to latest statistics by Global
Blue – a specialist firm, which works with
retailers to help provide tax-free shopping for
foreign visitors – Nigerians were the third
biggest spenders in the UK after the Middle
East Arabs and Chinese. Russians now
occupy the fourth place.
NIGERIAN academics in the UK are to
present a recognition award to Lagos State
Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the
former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu, at a
special ceremony in London on April 5. Senator Tinubu will be presented the
award by the Association of Nigerian
Academics in the UK (Anauk), the
umbrella body for diasporan lecturers. Anauk chairman, Cllr. Adedamola
Aminu said, “This is to appreciate her
commitment to the development of
education in Nigeria and her poverty
alleviation and empowerment initiatives,
especially for young females who lost out
on education either through poverty,
cultural/religious attitude to girls, rape,
abuse, forced marriage.”
The event has been organised as part of
Anauk's annual activities to support
education in Nigeria. Among other things,
Anauk tries to impact Nigerian education
policy decisions and their implementation
in order to enhance sustainable growth and
development across the sector. “We hope
this award will serve as encouragement to
other democratically elected office holders
in Nigeria to deliver dividends of
democracy,” Councillor Aminu added.
According to Councillor Aminu, Senator
Tinubu's sustainable projects and support
for small and medium scale enterprises, are
also worthy of praise.
The ceremony is to be held at the Hilton
Metropol, Edgware Road, April 5, at 5pm.
African churches
A new Channel 4 documentary is to explore
the growing popularity of west African
churches in the UK – and will feature
churches from Woolwich, Tottenham, Elephant and Castle and New Cross.
Britain on a Mission is fronted by
Paralympic medallist and presenter Ade
Adepitan. The lead programme, set to be
broadcast on April 4, is a 30 minute
documentary and will be followed by a
further 16 three minute shorts to be
featured in the 4-thought slot which is
broadcast after C4 News.
Adepitan will look at how churches of
west African religion in the UK are bucking the trend of dwindling attendance in
more traditional churches.
The programmes will look at what is
driving the success of these churches plus
the doctrines they preach, examining what
they offer congregations that other forms
of worship don’t.
Ralph Lee, Head of Factual TV at C4
explained the reason for the programme;
“Last year, the Ramadan season gave
voice to Britain’s Muslim community and
saw a group which is under-represented on
television given airspace in a non-judgmental and inclusive way.
“This Lent season is again bringing an
under-represented community to a wide,
mainstream audience.”
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NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
3
ACHEBE INSPIRED A GENERATION
ICON’S LEGACY IS ONE OF PRINCIPLE AND INTEGRITY AS MUCH AS A WRITER, INAUGURAL MEMORIAL LECTURE HEARS
Scores of Nigerians and literary
enthusiasts gathered in central
London on March 22 for the
inaugural Chinua Achebe
Memorial Lecture, to mark the
first year anniversary of the
iconic writer’s passing. At a colourful event held at
the Hilton Hotel in Green Park,
speakers discussed the impact
Professor Chinua Achebe had
on the lives of millions of
people in the world.
Titled Getting over the
Colonial Hangover in Africa
Over the Last 100 Years – The
Legacy of Professor Chinua
Achebe, the lecture featured
speeches from several members
of the diplomatic core among
others. Apart from the speeches,
there were traditional displays
from the Anambra Women’s
Association, the showing of a
30 minute video of Things Fall
Apart and the singing of the
school song by the Government
College Umuahia Old Boy’s
Association. Professor Achebe
was one of their students and in
line with tradition, they sang
the school song in his memory. Among the dignitaries who
attended were the Bishop of
Southwark, the Rt Reverend
Christopher Chessun, who
brought a special message from
the Archbishop of Canterbury
Justin Welby.
Minister Uchenna Gwam,
the Head of Political Affairs at
the Nigerian High Commission
represented
the
High
Commissioner Dr Dalhatu
Sarki Tafida, while Margaret
Lesuuda,
the
Education
Counsellor at the Kenyan High
Commission, represented the
Kenyan High Commissioner. In
his
speech,
the
Archbishop of Canterbury
praised Professor Achebe for
his
literary
work
and
accomplishments, describing
him as an “icon whose work
transcends
national
boundaries”.
He said that through his
work “Professor Achebe had
brought hope and encouragement to millions of people and
started a renaissance in African
literature”.
The Archbishop also paid
special tribute to President
Goodluck
Jonathan
for
encouraging literature and for
the Bring Back the Book
Initiative
introduced
to
encourage reading and writing
among Nigerian youths, in
search of future Achebes.
In conclusion, the Archbishop prayed for the repose of
the late Professor Achebe.
In his speech, Minister
Gwam said Professor Achebe
made him proud to be a
Nigerian, as wherever he went
on diplomatic duty, everyone
had read Things Fall Apart.
He added that the novel is
seen as one of the world’s top
three classics, alongside the
Bible and Animal Farm. Ms Lesuuda said, “I
remember reading Things Fall
Apart as a 15-year old and I
cried and cried over the death
of Ikemefuna. What Achebe
did was leave behind a legacy
for us, connecting our past with
our future and leading an
exemplary life, showing that
Africa can be a great place.” Chief Bimbo Afolayan, the
chairman of the Central
Association of Nigerians in the
UK, added, “Professor Achebe
not only wrote the problems of
our country, he also lived by his
principles. When he went into
politics, he resigned from the
People’s Redemption Party
when it strayed from its
founding principles and he
twice rejected national awards.”
Richard Odusanya, the
chairman of the Leadership
Rescue
Initiative,
said:
“Professor Achebe saw the
black man with a rich culture
that must be recognised and
promoted rather than one that
is of no consequence.
“Through the books he
wrote, especially Things Fall
Apart, he motivated and
inspired millions of people to
greatness
and
impacted
positively on others.” Nigeria’s former Senate
President Ken Nnamani, who
chaired the occasion, said,
“Professor Achebe was a man
of unalloyed integrity who once
said that one of the truest tests
of integrity is its blunt refusal to
be compromised. He lived what
he preached and the principles
he stood for are just as
important as the great works he
left for humanity. “All of these were given
expression by his disgust for
bad governance. He pressured
the governments of his time to
provide accountability and
transparency, and to abide by
the right democratic ethos and
justice for all citizens.” Alex Ubaka Achebe, the
literary icon’s nephew, who
convened the seminar, gave an
insight into the kind of man his
uncle was, pointing out that he
was always a family man and
would always ask after every
member of the family. He
added that Professor Achebe
tried to attend every family
engagement and always insisted
that he never be identified at
such functions or be called to
the high table.
DON’T TAKE OUR VOTES FOR
GRANTED LABOUR WARNED
African Caribbean Labour activists expressed
anger and resentment at being taken for
granted and sidelined by the party at the launch
of the Black Labour Network on March 25,
writes Jon Hughes.
“We’re going backwards in terms of
parliamentary representation and it’s even
worse in council elections,” declared Patrick
Vernon OBE, Hackney Councillor of eight
years and one of the founding members of the
organisation established to reverse the trend.
Fellow founding members, Councillors
Sanchia Alasia and Josie Channer and
Professor Cecile Wright were equally forthright
in expressing their frustration with the party.
Professor Wright told the meeting, “The
contempt with which we are treated by the
party demands we step up and tackle the
hierarchy and become involved in the party
machinery at all levels.”
The meeting had earlier heard Labour MP
Chuka Umunna say that under Ed Milliband’s
leadership there would be more black MPs in
parliament in 2015.
Mandy Richards, a Labour Party branch
chairman and vice chair of the Ethnic Minority
Forum wondered where he got his confidence
from. There was dismay among the more than
50 people present at the fact that of 106
prospective parliamentary candidates selected
to contest the 2015 election only two are black.
An activist from Hackney complained that
with not one black member on the council
cabinet he was not prepared to do the donkey
work of getting out the black vote “if I’m
subsequently going to be ignored”.
Chester Morrison, who has launched an
organisation called Ticket to get ethnic
minorities to engage with the political process
and register to vote, told the meeting, “As a
Jamaican, I am familiar with garrison politics.
Where the vote can be taken for granted, they
are the people who receive the least. We are
being taken for granted.”
The facts of electoral life were laid out in
forthright fashion by the founding father of
Operation Black Vote, which last year issued a
report revealing that the black vote could swing
election results in over 150 parliamentary
constituencies.
“It’s a numbers game,” he said. “When you
go to a [branch or constituency] meeting how
many turn up.” The biggest number the floor
could muster was 30. “The reason why Asian
communities have been able to select and elect
their candidates is for one simple reason –
numbers. If they had to wait for Labour to
say we need more Asians they’d still be
waiting.”
His advice was, “Go out and get the
numbers; recruit in your own branches. get
more than ‘30’ and you run the show, you have
control of the selection panels.
“Let’s not be here in a year’s time. It’s
down to us to organise and get the numbers,
otherwise it is all emotional and cloud cuckoo
land.”
Summing up Diane Abbot MP agreed. And
while she said “of course the Labour party is
institutionally racist”, she said that “with all of
its problems” it was the only one who had ever
and would ever deliver on issues important to
black voters. “But,” she added, “we need to
support each other more.”
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4
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
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NEWSWATCH
DIARY REVEALS
THE “LOOTING”
OF BENIN EMPIRE
Two priceless Benin Bronzes are set to be imminently returned to Nigeria –
thanks to the generosity of a British Army Captain’s grandson and the assistance of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK Dr Dalhatu Sarki
The rise and fall of the Benin Empire
was brought to life at a remarkable ceremony at the High Commission this
month. The grandson of a Captain
who was on the “punitive mission” to
loot the empire said he wanted to return two bronzes bequeathed to him –
and presented his grandfather's diary
of the raiding party, which describes
the operation in detail.
It is hoped this generous gesture will
lead to the repatriation of up to a thousand bronzes, believed to be in the possession of the British Museum. The
return of the bronzes are being campaigned for by distant relatives of the
Oba (King) of Benin and the Richard
Lander Society.
The delegation to the High Commission included Steve Dunstone of
the Richard Lander Society and Dr
Tafida, OFR, CFR. LAURA ADENUGA reports on the extraordinary act
of generosity and remarkable story of Captain Kernel Herbert Sutherland
Walker of the 1897 Punitive Mission on the Benin Empire.
The Benin Bronzes delegation, LtoR; Dr Samuel Eshareba, Princess Efe Akenzua, Princess Oriri
Akenzua, Timothy Awoyemi, Mr Steve Dunstone, Dr Mark Walker, Dr Taiwo Idemudia, Rev
Perpetual Tdahu, Pa Stephen Obarise, Mr Charles Omorudeon, Elder Ibude Monday
Mark Walker, the grandson of Captain
and later retired Kernel Herbert
Sutherland Walker.
They had come to the High Com-
mission to seek the assistance of Dr
Dalhatu Sarki Tafida OFR, CFR, in
arranging the return of the treasures to
Nigeria.
Dr Walker spoke movingly about
what had motivated him to return the
treasures that he had inherited.
Dr Walker said, “Although they are
of great value to me, they are of even
greater value to the historical and cultural context of Benin. Therefore,
through the Richard Lander society, I
sought to find a way of returning them
into public ownership in Nigeria,
where they are of greater cultural significance to the people there than they
would be to my children and my
grandchildren.”
The treasures are an Ibis – a
hugely symbolic bird in Benin culture – and an ornate ancestral altar
bell. Having produced these from his
back pack Dr Walker told the gathering, “They are fairly modest objects,
but I think the symbolic importance
of the return is perhaps more important than the value of the objects
themselves.”
Dr Walker went on to explain how
his family came into possession of the
bronzes. “I spent most of my childhood in South Africa, Johannesburg.
When I came back to London in 1960,
I lived with my grandmother, the
widow of the man who collected the
bronzes and wrote the diary. She told
me a lot about Benin and was clearly
of a similar mind to me, because she
had arranged for the return of a six
foot ivory tusk.”
He continued, “I know about these
bronzes because my grandfather was a
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NEWSWATCH
5
thE broNzES &
brItISh MuSEuM
CAPTAIN WALKER’S DIARY OF THE “PUNITIVE MISSION 1897”
“12th March Starlin, RN, turned up early this morning, having marched from Gwato, 23 miles,
during the night. Mad as a hatter. Has lost escort & carriers, but quite fresh himself. Is now
wondering round with a chisel & hammer, knocking off bronze figures & collecting all sorts of
rubbish as loot.”
So reads the entry (top right) in Captain Walker’s diary of the punitive mssion to Benin in
1897. It was a revenge attack by the British for a rout they suffered at the hands of Benin warriors three weeks earlier when, without permission, General James Philips led an invasion
force to end the stranglehold on trade and monopoly of wealth enjoyed by the Oba of Benin.
It resulted in the death of all but two of General Philips’ troops. The punitive raid of Benin
City was launched shortly afterwards. To justify the raid, the British press portrayed the Oba
and his people as ‘savages’. The second raiding party was instructed to loot the Kingdom to
cover the costs of the expedition, which was led by Admiral Sir Harry Rawson with a force of
1,200 men. This resulted in the unfortunate demise of the Benin Kingdom.
From l-r: Captain Walker, standing centre, back row behind seated General James Philips. The page from his diary detailing the taking of “loot”. And a picture from Capt Walker’s diary
showing ivory tusks lined up ready for shipment, captioned in handwriting, “Loot”.
junior officer. During the expedition,
he finished as one of two officers who
were still healthy in Benin and his diary
recounts his contribution to the expedition and makes it clear that in his
memory there was no unnecessary
slaughter.”
He explained the British advance
was a purely military operation and
having achieved their objectives “my
grandfather notes that he found it very
difficult to persuade the people that he
had captured that they were not going
to be shot or killed or tortured.”
He told a well appreciated tale to
underline this. “On one occasion,
when leading a small party of Nigerian soldiers to try and find the Oba of
Benin, who had fled, in order to get
directions, he raided a small village
and captured a man, who became
convinced he was going to be killed.
“His family were too, or feared he
was going to be sold into slavery, and
followed him with the goats and children. When he had not found the Oba,
my grandfather returned the captured
man to the village and the family were
so grateful, he records in his diary, he
had to accept the man’s biggest and fattest goat. Much to his embarrassment.
He didn’t want to accept the goat but
he thought it would be rude to refuse.
“I mention this because his diary
makes it very clear that there was no
racial hostility it was merely military
hostility.”
Dr Walker concluded by saying,
“My objective is to find out whether
there is a way I can return these in a
spirit of friendship and also into an environment in which they will be secure.
Ideally, I would like to hand them back
to the Oba himself.”
His remarks were greatly appreciated with a round of applause from the
delegation and High Commissioner Dr
Tafida.
Thanking Dr Walker for his generosity, Head Counsellor of Education
and Welfare, Minister Elege said,
help facilitate the return of the bronzes,
by writing to inform the current Oba.
He added, “I have heard of this important issue since I was a child. Now I’m
over seventy years old.”
“I say that, because his diary makes it very
clear that there was no racial hostility,
it was merely military hostility”
“Looted brass plaques, ivories and
bronzes are still scattered far and wide.
An ongoing battle for Nigeria to get
back their bronzes has been a whirlwind rollercoaster. This magnificent
gesture from Mark is highly commendable on every level.
“This is a very generous gesture by
Mark that shows that people today still
make moral decisions and take cultural
values into account before money. Dr
Walker has put honour completely
above materialism to come and return
our 'missing now recovered' artefacts.
We are very grateful.”
Dr Tafida thanked Dr Walker for
his “good intentions” and pledged to
As leader of the Lander International Foundation Steve Dunstone
(pictured) has been campaigning
for over a decade to have the
Benin Bronzes returned to Nigeria.
His passion for Nigeria was
fired when he heard of the
Richard Lander story. Lander was a
pioneer and explorer, who in
1837 mapped
the Delta and
fell in love with
Nigeria and
Nigerians. He
was an outspoken anti-slaver.
Following in
his hero’s footsteps, Steve joined
an expedition to Nigeria in 2004,
to mark the bi-centenary of Lander’s birth. On the expedition local
people told him the story of the
stolen Bronzes.
Ever since he has been campaigning for their return. While
the bronzes are scattered round
the world, with Germany reputed
to have most, and some appearing
at auction – commanding five figure sums – he hopes the British
Museum will take the lead.
It has a wonderful display of
Benin Bronzes in its Sainsbury
African Gallery, and is reputed to
have 100s more in store in the
basement. The British Museum has
a memorandum of understanding
with their counterparts in Nigeria,
but for Steve this raises the question as to why at least the bronzes
in storage shouldn’t be returned?
Made in the fifteenth to the
late nineteenth centuries by craftsmen working for the Oba of
Benin, the bronzes consist of
plaques and sculptures, with some
magnificent busts and masks –
with the Festac being probably the
best known. Before the unfortunate expedition in 1897, Benin was
one of the most important kingdoms in West Africa and the work
is seen as a significant cultural
milestone in art and is believed to
have influenced Picasso and Matisse.
To pay for the punitive mission,
some of the looted treasures were
sold all around the world. In 1898,
the Foreign Office and the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty
gave the British Museum a significant part of their Benin collection.
Approximately 2400 objects were
taken from Benin in 1897.
Dr WAlKEr’S trEASurES: thE bIrD of ProPhECy AND thE ANCEStrAl AltAr bEll
The Ibis-like bird took on huge
symbolic importance during the
reign of King Esigie of Benin, c.
1504-1550. It serves as a reminder of King Esigie’s victory
over the Igala at the beginning
of the sixteenth century.
As King Esigie and his warriors were going to battle, they
heard the “bird of prophecy”,
whose cry signals disaster. The king was not
afraid and ordered the bird to be killed and his
army went on to a great victory.
After that, Esigie commissioned his royal
metalcasters to create clappers surmounted by
the “bird of prophecy”. He decreed that his
chiefs should sound them at court ceremonies
to celebrate the Oba’s divine nature, which enabled him to protect his people. The clapper is
played by striking the bird on its beak with a
metal rod. The Ibis that Dr Walker presented at
the High Commission is believed to have come
from such a “clapper” as that pictured (left).
Brass bells, such as the one Dr Walker produced at the High Commission, like rattlestaffs, are an essential feature of Benin
ancestral altars – whether for kings, chiefs, or
wealthy commoners.
Traditionally, several bells are placed along
the front of each altar, and they are rung in
order to summon the ancestors to hear the
prayers of their descendants and to partake of
the offerings made at the altar.
The more elaborate or unusual the form or
decoration of the bell, the higher the rank of
the altar it is placed upon. Small brass bells,
such as this one, were also worn by chieftains – the sound of the bells announced chieftains’ arrival or appearance. This marvelous
brass bell is intricately sculpted and decorated.
6
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
NEWSWATCH
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loCAl hEro NKEMJIKA EKA
US LAUNCHES PIDGIN DIPLOMACY
The Royal Borough of Greenwich recently named 18-year-old
Nigerian Nkemija Eka Young Achiever of the Year for turning
his life around and helping young vulnerable people in the borough,
which a few years earlier could have described him.
At the age of 13, Nkemjika Eka looked set to have a promising
career in football, having earned a position to play for Charlton
Athletic Football Academy. Unfortunately, after playing a couple
of seasons for the academy,Nkemjika suffered a back injury which
to his disappointment halted his career. Nkemjika said, “When I
got my injury, my dream of playing professional football collapsed. Because I felt
that dream was gone I started going the
wrong way. I basically lashed out because
I was angry at the world, but it wasn’t the
world that got me injured.”
As a result he started to go off the rails
and flirt with crime and local gangs,
something he now bitterly regrets. But
thanks to the Crime Reduction programme, Nkemjika, now 18, was rescued
from that life and succeeded in securing
qualifications in FA level One and Two Coaching and is a volunteer member of staff at Charlton Athletic Community Trust
(CACT).
In working with and helping vulnerable young people,
Nkemjika shares his life experiences with the youths he coaches
to steer them clear of the mistakes he made and in hope of showing where persistence and dedication can get you.
“Nkemjika is an example of a young person who has come
through a turbulent period and taken advantage of the many opportunities available to young people through our partnership with
Royal Greenwich and other agencies. Nkemjika is a credit to himself and his family. We at the Trust are very proud of him and will
continue to support him through his development.”
For more information on the work of CACT visit www.cact.org
US ambassador to Nigeria James Entwistle
caused a stir in Lagos recently when he
spoke in Pidgin English on a Wazobia
Radio programme during which he was
being quizzed about Nigeria's new gay
rights law.
Invited to explain Washington's stance
on the matter amid reports that the US
might impose sanctions on Nigeria for
passing the Same Sex Prohibition Law,
Mr Entwistle reverted to Pidgin English
to explain his government's policy. Widely
regarded as the native vernacular and
lingua franca across anglophone west
Africa, Pidgin English is understood more
than any other language across the subregion.
On January 7, President Goodluck
Jonathan signed the draconian anti-gay
Football Coach
bill into law, making anyone convicted of
being homosexual liable to 14 years in
prison. Since the law came into effect, the
police across Nigeria have swung into
action arresting lesbians and gays, while
homophobic vigilante groups have also
stepped up attacks on suspected victims.
In response to this, Washington has
called on Nigeria to review the law as it is
tantamount to a breach of the country's
human rights obligations. Last week, Navi
Pillay, the UN’s High Commissioner for
Human Rights, called on the Nigerian
government to observe a moratorium on
prosecution of lesbians and gays.
Mr Entwistle said, “The US government
no say sanction go dey for Nigeria because
of same-sex palava-o.”
His phone-in caused a great stir as
Onimisi Adaba, the coordinating manager
of Wazobia FM, said he was surprised
when he received a call from the US
embassy suggesting the live studio interview
in pidgin. He said he was told the
ambassador was practising, trying to pick
up the language.
Omotunde David, the show host, was
delighted to converse in pidgin with the
ambassador live on the air. A selfconfessed aficionado of pidgin, she said
that although it may not be the language
of diplomacy, it reaches people at the
grassroots level.
Ms David said, “When we’re talking
about reaching everyone, pidgin English is
a language just like our culture. A language
like the beautiful clothing that we wear, very
colourful and very expressive.”
Exporting expertise from London’s Square Mile
In collaboration with UK Trade &
Investment, Nigerians in the Square Mile
have been visiting Nigeria on a trade
mission to showcase the UK’s excellence
and innovation in the finance, professional
and business services sectors.
The visit showcased the vast array of
opportunities in Nigeria and gave first-hand
insights into forthcoming business
developments and current opportunities in
key sectors of the economy.
Paul Onifade, mission leader and
Chairman of Nigerians in the Square Mile
(NISM), remarked that ‘It is NISM’s goal,
to celebrate the success of the Nigerians in
the City by promoting higher standards,
knowledge sharing, mentoring and
fostering a sense of community amongst
Nigerians in London and Nigeria through
focused networking’. Nigerians in the
Square Mile is an organisation of highly
successful Nigerian professionals in the
leading London City institutions.
Commenting, Mike Purves, Director of
Trade UKTI Nigeria said ‘We hope that
this mission will provide delegates with a
better knowledge of the Nigerian market
and give them a fuller appreciation of the
many and varied opportunities on offer’.
As the government organisation that
supports companies in the UK doing
business internationally, UK Trade &
Investment is dedicated to helping
companies realise their international
business potential through knowledge
transfer and on-going partnership support.
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NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
NEWSWATCH
7
HERE COMES THE SUN
With his first big screen
feature set to open across
the UK on April 11, AJ
James hooks up with writer,
director Biyi Bandele and
chokes over Beyoncé
Biyi Bandele caused a global media
firestorm when he cast Thandie Newton in
the lead role of the film adaptation of Half
Of A Yellow Sun. “An American and a very
light-skinned American at that,” screamed
the Twitterati, expecting a Nollywood or at
least African star to be cast in the role of
Olanna. Good job they didn’t know he had
rejected Beyoncé for the role.
When Biyi let this slip I choked on my coffee
in exclaiming, “What?! you turned down
Beyoncé?” Biyi locked me with a disbelieving
stare, “Who the @**@ am I to turn down
Beyoncé?!” And exploded with laughter at the
thought.
The truth of the matter is the producers of the
movie wanted him to write a love-letter to
Beyoncé, asking her to take the role. The
producers can’t have been happy when he didn’t,
I suggest.
“We had a stand off for about a year,” says
Biyi. “They wanted me to write but I dug my
heels in for Thandie. The press assumed she had
been imposed on me but she wasn’t. I wanted
Thandie in the film right from the start.”
It has proved to be a good conviction. Ms
Newton puts in a stellar performance, which has
resulted in many critics saying it’s one of her best
ever screen performances.
That took some courage. Although he agrees
it would have taken a wholly different kind of
courage to order Beyoncé around on set.
But Biyi is not short of courage. That’s how
he got to make the movie of Chimamanda
Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name
and not one of the many big name directors who
wanted the job. Ms Adichie has given his radical
take on the novel her seal of approval but it
hasn’t all be plain sailing. “When I first told
Chim I was going to do the story from the point
of view of the sisters, she was furious,” he says.
“But when she saw the film she said, ‘My God,
you’ve got to the heart of the book.’”
When I had written to request
an interview with Biyi I had
likened the film to Gone With
The
Wind;
a
simplistic
comparison on one level, both
are love stories set against a civil
war. Case proven. But Biyi says
excitedly, “That’s exactly how
Thandie describes it.”
But the resonance runs deeper
than the simple narrative.
Bandele’s handling of the story is
incisive – the characters
are tossed like a pair of
birds in the eye of storm.
The sweeping panorama
of events and instability
of a country that goes
from the euphoria of
independence to seven
years later fighting a brutal
civil war is handled with a
sureness of touch that belies
Biyi’s experience.
This is his first major
feature film. And stunning as
the movie most certainly is,
Biyi’s accomplishment is even
greater when considering this. He
has delivered a bona fide
blockbuster.
“I set out to make a film for
people who work 9-5 and go to
the movies once or twice a
month,” Biyi explains of his
approach. “I want people to go
in, have a great time, maybe learn
something, but have a great
time.”
With another great guffaw he
suggests, “Gone With The Wind
would be a better movie if it was
shorter.”
It has been a long albeit
glittering and acclaimed road to the
big screen for the avowed cine-film.
Those thousands of hours spent
attending all-nighters at the Brixton
Roxy’s legendary film club, and
devouring the contents of
Blockbuster have certainly paid off.
Bandele describes himself as an
“accidental playwright”, as prior to Biyi Bandele’s Half Of A Yellow Sun is the greatest love
persuading Chimamanda to let him story on film since Gone With The Wind, writes AJ James.
take her international bestseller to
Aside from being a love story set against the backdrop
the big screen it is for that and of a civil war it is the panoramic, sweeping direction that is
writing novels that he is known for.
the most striking similarity.
Born in 1967, Bandele was 22
The joy and horror of the period, when Nigeria went
when he came to the UK, courtesy from the euphoria of achieving independence to falling
of winning
a playwriting into division and a bloody civil war, is reflected in the docompetition organised by the British mestic strife of the lead characters, Odenigbo and Olanna
Council.
for which both Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton have
As a result he was invited to the won rave reviews.
UK for a reading of the play at Alan
In Bandele’s life-affirming take on Chimamanda
Ayckbourn’s famed Steven Joseph Adichie’s international best-seller, love not only conquers
Theatre in Scarborough. That’s everything but we come to understand it is forged by our
some journey, to Scarborough – experiences – both good and bad, cultural and social.
famed for its quintessential English
The Biafran civil war lurks in the background as the
fair – from Kafanchan near Abuja, Nigerian marriage of independence hits its seven year itch.
via Obafemi Awolowo University in But this is a war story without (too many) soldiers.
Ife. He had in his suitcase another
In embracing that narrative Bandele has given us a timemanuscript – for a novel. “I had less love story about people surviving, getting on with life;
written it when I was like 16/17 but people who have high ideals and expectations of the world
I hadn’t been able to find a publisher and find themselves not living up to their own high ideals.
for it in Nigeria but within weeks of It’s about love between flawed human beings.
getting here I had a publisher in
At a screening of the movie in Europe, when the comGermany, Italy and then France.”
parison with Gone With The Wind was put to the author
The book was called The Man Chimamanda Adichie she made the telling aside, “Better
Who Came In From The Back Of than that, I hope.”
Beyond, which doffed its cap to a
On reflection, having the luxury of time to allow it to
favourite author of Biyi’s, John Le percolate in my mind, I think I agree.
Carré, who wrote The Spy Who
Came In From The Cold.
“I actually met him about three
years ago and spent a weekend with him and his casualty of modern revisionist history. Some
family in Paris. How he laughed when I told him,” would say it has been air-brushed out of history.
Biyi describes Burma Boy as the most
recalls Biyi.
Another favourite on his childhood bookshelf “autobiographical thing I’ve ever written”.
“My father was in Burma in 1944. He came
was Hemingway. “I came with no intention of
staying in the UK. Hemingway was a hero and back in a straitjacket. People forget in 1944 there
like him I wanted to travel the world but there were 120,000 west African soldiers in Burma,
were two things that militated against it at the 80% of them Nigerians.
“My dad was a great guy but haunted by the
time. One, I was travelling with a Nigerian
passport which meant it was war and what he had seen. He sustained burns all
impossible to get visas anywhere. over his body. What’s even crazier was he seemed
And the second thing was – that happiest when talking about Burma; it was
made it a completely redundant something he was proud of.
“When
I
tried to explain
that to my
editor
he
wanted there to
be
more
bitterness. But
they
weren’t
bitter. We can’t
plan - was that I was offered with the benefit of hindsight and our own prea job as arts editor of a conceptions impose an outlook on them, say they
newspaper [now defunct] were thinking another thing. People were
surprised about how funny the book was but
called Nigeria Home News.
“I stayed there for about two years and gallows humour is how soldiers survive.”
And there is evident the singularity of mind
thought well this is what I want to do with life,
write. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since, and great vision and empathy that makes for a
great movie director. Biyi would love to make a
writing and directing.”
That allowed him time to write and direct and film version of his own book. We can only hope
he has had some notable successes. He has written he gets the backing.
Biyi is one to watch, as is his Half Of A Yellow
and directed several acclaimed plays, including
Brixton Stories, and his novel Burma Boy is one Sun.
of the great books about WW2, terrifying in its
realism. Criminally it is out of print although still Half Of A Yellow Sun opens at cinemas nationwide
available as an e-book. The Burma war is a on April 11. See local listings for details
rEVIEW: hAlf of A yElloW SuN
“Biyi locked me with a disbelieving stare, ‘Who the @**@ am I to
turn down Beyoncé?’”
BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NOVEL BY
CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
“ THE GREATEST LOVE STORY ON FILM SINCE
”
GONE WITH THE WIND
NIGERIAN WATCH
“
A MUST-SEE FILM,
BASED ON A MUST-READ BOOK”
COMPANY
SUPERB PERFORMANCES”
“
VARIETY
AN EPIC
“
AND STRIKING
ADAPTATION ...POWERFUL
& MOVING PERFORMANCES”
SCREEN DAILY
+++++ ++++ ++++ ++++
VISION MAGAZINE
LITTLE WHITE LIES
GLAMOUR
PRIDE MAGAZINE
®
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEe
& BAFTA WINNER
BAFTA WINNER
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Thandie Newton
®
Anika Noni Rose
®
Joseph Mawle
John Boyega
Genevieve Nnaji Onyeka Onwenu
15
CONTAINS STRONG VIOLENCE AND SEX
in cinemas nationwide APRIL 11
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KASUMUWATCH
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
9
The SAMUEL KASUMU Column
thE CAP oN bENEfItS WIll hElP to
ENCourAgE bEttEr CoMMuNIty
The UK government has recently
passed a law meaning that there
will be a £120 billion cap on
benefits, and any future
overspend will need to be justified
and voted on.
For the millions of people across
the country that rely on the benefits
system they need not worry
about the immediate impact of
this, as the figure is actually not
too far off the current benefits
budget.
What it does mean though,
is that the country can plan for
a future where the net spend on
benefits is more balanced, and
where community organisations will increasingly have to
play a part in supporting the
very poorest where the
government has done all that it feels
it justifiably can do.
We will need to all be more
vigilant about the challenges of our
neighbours, and will have to find ways
to support each other more when
times are tough. It is the way that
things are done back in many of our
countries of heritage, and it is how
things were previously done in
Britain.
Churches and charities have
become increasingly relevant when
it comes to tackling poverty in
recent times with food banks
seemingly now in every corner of
our communities.
Organisations like Christians
Against Poverty (CAP) have also
been able to grow nationwide
networks of representatives helping
to deal with the debt epidemic that
affects a diverse range of people in
the UK today.
The Chancellor also announced
a number of other initiatives
designed to encourage more people
to save instead of spend, including
allowing people to save up to
£15,000 tax free in an ISA.
The country is going
through a transition as we
refocus on what is important
for a good society. We should
embrace the challenges of these
changes, and realise that we as
a country will be better for it.
What we should never forget
is that a something for nothing
culture,
with
constant
borrowing, led to very difficult
times. Now that the economy is on
the up, it shouldn’t be seen as an
opportunity to take things back to
how they were, but an opportunity
to build on the foundations that
have been laid over the last 4 years.
Victor Moses and the World Cup
I’ve supported Liverpool FC since a very young age
and am very proud to see the team playing fantastic football and challenging for the Premier League
crown this season.
Many people doubted that we would have the
ability to do such a thing when we consider the
current depth of our squad compared to our
competitors. As pleased as I am about the situation, I must say that one thing perplexes me.
Nigeria’s star player Victor Moses has been reduced to cameos from the bench,
mainly because of the resurgence
of young Raheem Sterling and
the undoubted talent of Brazilian Coutinho.
Moses’ bench-warming could
work out to be a blessing in disguise for Nigeria as we look
ahead to the World Cup. He
could be fresh and ready to play
a leading part during the tough
group stages.
He’ll also have something to
prove to the coaches at both
Chelsea and Liverpool that have
never really played him in his
best position, cutting in from
the left of midfield.
Moses should look for a club
outside of England after the
World Cup. The alternative
would be to once again play for
a team lower down the league
table within the Premiership,
but this will inevitably mean forgoing the opportunity to play in
Europe.
The only other realistic option would be for his former
Wigan manager, Roberto Martinez, to sign him up for Liverpool’s arch rivals Everton FC.
In the meantime, I dream of
travelling to Brazil this summer
to cheer on Moses, Sterling, Gerrard, and all of the other Liverpool players representing club
and country at the World Cup.
Nigerians fight
to the death for
a better future
March saw horrific scenes in Nigeria as
over 500,000 people were invited to
apply for 5,000 immigration related
government jobs. Sadly, at least 16
people were thought to have died as
an overcrowded stadium of jobseekers
became chaotic.
What we saw was the manifestation
of desperation within a country that is
supposed to be on the up. With GDP
growing by at least 6% year on year,
theory would suggest that there
should be an abundance of new jobs
being created to reflect such growth.
However there continues to be a
gap between those who are benefiting
from the country’s prosperity and
those who continue to suffer.
We have a number of billionaires
that have continued to amass great
wealth at the expense of the very
poorest, and the government of the
day should not allow such profiteering
to continue without jobs being created
in direct correlation with this.
I remember looking on in amazement during my last visit to Lagos as I
went to visit someone from the
telecommunications industry living in
splendour on Banana Island.
People are prospering in Nigeria,
but too many of the rich are becoming
richer as the poor have to wait for jobs
to be created.
To make things worse, it is people
from abroad, particularly Asian countries, that are benefiting most from
skilled employment opportunities.
The richest black man in the world,
Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote, recently
pledged to focus his efforts on creating
more jobs within the country.
It is my belief that every entrepreneur should have at the centre of their
mission the objective of job creation.
The amount of people that you employ should be seen as the yardstick of
how well you are doing and not how
many houses and hotels you have
within your asset stockpile.
A final note on this topic must be
the diversification of the Nigerian
economy. We need to see more efforts
on this topic, and for the country to
offer subsidies to entrepreneurs with
innovative ideas that will increase the
pace of building new sectors.
10
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
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GISTWATCH
Madam Amebo
Still stuck in Naija
THERE is a popular saying that you
can take the man out of Naija but you
cannot take the Naija out of the man.
So, thousands of Nigerians within the
UK somehow manage to continue
with their lives as if they have not
moved countries at all.
Their mannerisms, language, cuisine, dress mode, cultural outlook and
methods of social interaction is as if
they are still living in Ajegunle, Surulere or Agege. One lady from Enfield recently caused a stir at a public
debate on relationships when she revealed details of how Nigerian men
were hitting on her on certain social
media with typical big man vibes.
She added that true to type, they
resort to talking big, promising
heaven and earth, boasting about
what they can offer and bragging
about what influence they have. Summing up her submission, the lady created further laughter by saying, she
listens to all that and then politely
asks the man doing all the bragging if
he is a relative of the queen.
Discussants at the debate agreed
that more work needs to be done to
bring some first generation migrants
up to speed with the rest of the community. Those old Nigerian ways simply do not cut it in 2014.
Watch what you eat
WIth the plethora of Nigerian
events, awards ceremonies, parties
and old school reunions that have
now become part of the diasporan
landscape in the uK, it is important to
pay attention to culinary matters. Increasingly, the fear of food poisoning
has become a matter of concern and
event organisers are taking note.
because of the combination of the
volume and the wide array of food
we eat at our events, Nigerian caterers have taken to preparing their
dishes well in advance of parties. If
for instance a caterer has a large
event on Saturday that involves say
500 people, she starts cooking on a
Monday just to be able to cope.
this means that a lot of the jollof
rice, yam porridge, fried meat, egusi,
edikaikong, fried rice and pepper
soup gets cooked days in advance of
the event. Now, this is not a problem
if you have the proper storage facili-
ties but when all your have is a
household fridge and an accompanying freezer, wahala dey.
Apart from the fact that the food
loses its original freshness and taste
with such storage, there is also the
danger of poisoning. No one is yet to
come up with a solution though. Do
we eat less at our gatherings or come
up with an interest free equipment
loan for our caterers?
Daddy babysitting
AS Nigerian women in the diaspora
become increasingly involved in community activities, many a daddy is
finding out that his babysitting activities are increasing. In line with the
growing rise of female empowerment, more and more women in the
diaspora are getting involved in community groups, educational projects,
charitable organisations and faith
groups.
This has automatically led to an increase in busy weekends, during
which these mums have to be at functions where their presence simply cannot be avoided. This in turn means
that dads have to take on the role of
Got a story for Madam Amebo? Send
it to [email protected]
We pay for every story that appears
sole parent for the day, which many
typical Nigerian men in the UK are
finding hard to adapt to.
Apart from changing nappies,
making feeding bottles, running
round the park, and putting lovely
ones to bed at night, the task sometimes involves sleepless nights if
mummy is away overnight.
Many are the husbands who grew
up watching the man of the house
being waited on hand and foot as he
approached middle age and are flabbergasted by this dramatic and “unfair” turnaround.
Well, such objectors cannot have
their cake and eat it as one great
thing to come out of this women’s
empowerment is that our Naija ladies
are climbing up the corporate ladder,
earning more and subsequently improving the quality of family life.
Maybe it is time to start organise
daddy babysitting classes to bring the
level of men’s knowledge up to the
level of the womenfolk.
Busy Nigerians
KENT is no different from any other
part of Greater London in that of
late, it has seen a huge increase in the
number of ethnic minorities that have
flocked to it from London. Statistics
have just come to light that there are
about 300 Nigerian families in the
Swanley area, most of them going
there to buy houses in response to
the price escalation in central London.
Like most other members of the
Nigerian diaspora in the UK, these
new arrivals in Kent are professionals
who leave home at 7am in the morning, drop the kids off, commute into
London and then come back at night,
just in time for bed. This leaves the
local community with a huge problem
of figuring a way to involve them in
local activities. It is thus not unusual
to turn out to a community event and
see practically no black faces there,
which in turn means the programme
ends up not being multi-cultural.
Well, the good thing is that the
county council and the parish council
are both doing something about it, as
they plan to hold a series of African
events over the summer. Hopefully,
our people will take some time off
their busy schedules to attend such
events.
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YOURWATCH
Letters to the Editor
Let us know what you think. Put pen to paper and send your letters to: the Editor, Nigerian Watch, Chartwell
house, 292 hale lane, Edgware, Middlesex hA8 8NP, or email us at: [email protected]
Letters to be included in the next issue must be received by no later than April 7, 2014. Anonymous letters
will not 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.
Tony Benn MP – a personal tribute; “He truly inspired us”
On hearing of the death of Anthony Neil
Wedgwood Benn, universally known as Tony
Benn, I recalled a very insightful anecdote
about how no other person than Daniel in the
Bible had inspired him to become the towering
political figure he became in post war Britain.
As a child Tony Benn’s mother read the
Bible to him every night before he went to bed.
After a while, he began to loathe the kings and
adulate the prophets. Of all prophets in the
Old Testament, Benn revered Daniel the most;
the rank outsider who rose to the lofty position of Governor in Babylon.
Which is why on the day his death was announced (March 14) , the eulogy of Margaret
Beckett, the former Labour Foreign Secretary,
was particularly telling; “He had many enemies and he kept them.”
But even Tony Benn’s many enemies will
admit there was something of the prophet
about him. Indeed in all probability, it is what
they sorely hated about him.
A thorn in the flesh of all Labour prime
ministers from Wilson to Blair, proof that he
was a man of ideas above all else. In spite of
his loathing of Blair and New Labour, meeting Cherie, Tony Blair’s wife, a few days after
she was vilified in the press for finding common cause with young Arabs over the issue
of suicide bombings in the occupied territories, Benn thanked her for having the courage
to express ‘a truth’, which many are too
craven to admit. After 51 years in the House of Commons
as an MP, in 2001 with a sick wife to look
after, he announced that, “I am standing
down as an MP to spend more time on poli-
tics.” And if anybody thought he was joking
at the time, Benn was at the forefront of the
million man march in London against the invasion of Iraq. Somebody, somewhere, will construe his action on that occasion, as always, as that of a
selfish man. I am not so sure. Over the years I
have read a number of Tony Benn’s Diaries; an
assiduous chronicler of contemporary history,
I owe a lot of my knowledge of British politics
to his priceless literary genius. On the subject
of his selfishness or otherwise, I will share with
you a story from one of his diaries.
Blair had just won his second term in 2001,
Westminster running amok with news of who
is getting what post in government, Benn calls
his son to express his fear that his politics will
be an impediment to his progress.
Hilary’s response, “Don’t be silly, Dad, I am
proud of you. And if people think anything
you have done should impact on my life adversely, well, it speaks volumes about them and
not you.” Touching. Thank God Tony Blair did the right thing
and gave the wee Benn the opportunity he
quite clearly deserved; who as Secretary of
State at the Department for International Development, DFID, was elected by his peers in
the House as Britain’s best politician in 2006.
I have read many things about Tony Benn’s
faith over the years. The last time I checked, he
was an agnostic. That said, he was always at
pains to tell anyone who cared to listen that his
ultimate teacher was Jesus Christ. My hope, a
profound one at that, is that during his many
tutorials with The Messiah, he came to appreciate the essence of the Person of Christ. I suppose that none of us can know this side of
eternity. There are many quotes of Benn that I like,
but none more than the one encompassing politics and faith,
his two abiding interests in life.
“The Labour Party has never
been a socialist party, but it’s always had socialists in it, just as
there are some Christians in the
church.” Ouch.
Matters of ego aside, I will
be doing this piece a great disservice if I don’t mention my
own personal encounter with
the man. In the early 90s after
an MA degree in politics at
Hull, I went to the House of
Commons to work for Ann
Clywd, one of Tony Benn’s
Labour colleagues, as a research assistant.
A week into that experience,
I spotted Mr Benn in the distance and made a bee line for
him. “State your business,” he
boomed, ever so charmingly,
with a broad smile on his face. I
did. “Listen, young man,” he
said, as he plucked his pipe out
of his mouth. “I suppose you
are under the misapprehension
that you have come to the most
democratic institution in the
land?”
Misapprehension? I was
confused. Putting his right
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
11
W
hand on my right shoulder; in a manner not
far removed from Elijah passing his mantle to
Elisha, he said, “Here, they are Red sheep
(Labour), Blue sheep (Tory), it doesn’t matter.
They all first arrive with a semblance of independence of mind, but in no time, through the
whipping system, they all start bleating. They
do as they are told.”
I was mesmerised. In the manner of all
great orators, knowing fully well that he had
my full attention, looking at me straight in the
eye he continued, “Young man, in life, it is important to have the courage of your conviction.
Whatever that is. Anything short of that, is a
life not worth living.” The degree to which I have taken his advice
on board is debatable, but few have moved me
with their words the way he did that gloriously
sunny afternoon on the steps of the House of
Commons
In one of his many interviews, Tony Benn
was asked how he would like to be remembered.
The man who was born into aristocracy
who sent all his four children to state schools,
said, “If on my tombstone ‘He Inspired Us’ is
written, for me, it would really have been a
world worth living.”
Who can possibly begrudge him that! As a
matter of fact I’d go one word better: He
Truly Inspired Us. Adieu, Tony Benn! Anthony Ojolola, via email
hen the Nigeria high Commission
hosted a special screening of the
london Nollywood movie LABO: Life
is a Journey on March 14, Minister Ahmed
Inusa spoke about Nollywood having helped
turn Nigeria into a ‘cultural superpower’ (p.12).
And he is right! Nigeria’s ‘soft power’ in the
world is being driven by a myriad of talented
artists from the worlds of film, music and
literature, who deliver work that is worthy of a
global audience and is changing the perception
of Nigeria and Nigerians in the process.
A case in point is Half Of A Yellow Sun, the
epic blockbuster film based on Chimamanda
Adichie’s bestselling novel. After acclaimed
showings at several film festivals, it is set to
captivate audiences worldwide this year.
And let’s not forget Adichie’s most recent
achievement: she won the American National
book Critics Circle award for her novel
Americanah – a sweeping masterpiece
spanning three continents addressing the
critical issue of the 21st century, identity. the
prize is one of the most prestigious in the uS
and her win confirms her as one of those very
rare things – a global literary superstar. her
legacy as the successor to the late, great
Chinua Achebe assured.
Soft power has become the lingua franca of
international relations, because it is played out
on a level playing field. Anyone from
anywhere can excel.
that Nigerians are is
a sure sign of even
better things to
come.
Maryanne Jemide, MD
12
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
EMBASSYWATCH
Follow us on Twitter
@NigerianWatch
NEWS FROM THE NIGERIA
HIGH COMMISSION, LONDON
Nollywood film heralds celebration of
Nigeria’s growing cultural influence
A special screening of London Nollywood movie LABO; Life Is A Journey
was held on March 14 at the High
Commission in honour of Hajiya Salamatu Tafida, wife of Nigeria’s ambassador to the UK Dr Dalhatu Sarki
Tafida, OFR,CFR.
The screening was used to celebrate Nigeria’s growing cultural influence around the world – with its
films, music and literature being acclaimed on the global stage, making
Nigeria a “soft power super power”.
Introducing the production the
High Commission’s Head of Chancery,
Minister Ahmed Inusa said, “In 1968,
Nigeria signed and ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Then
people thought we had shot ourselves in the foot by denying ourselves the opportunity to become a
superpower. Now, countries with nuclear weapons consider them a liability. When we talk about the cultural
aspect of soft power, this is where we
have a lot of resources and the Nollywood industry has helped to make us
into a cultural super power.”
Labo is symbolic of this in many
ways as a London produced Nollywood movie, featuring a cast
of Nollywood royalty; Jide
Kosoko, Lanre Hassan and
Remi Oshodi star.
But also as a multi-lingual,
African Caribbean, British
movie based on a family battle for cultural supremacy, focusing on inter-racial family
issues and relationships.
It is about what happens
when a Nigerian-born diaspo-
ran returns home and orders his
British born daughters to come too.
Producer and lead actress in
Labo, Roseline Sanni-Ajose (pictured
left with Mrs Tafida and below with
Dr and Mrs Tafida) said, “When you
see the audience cheering and feeling happy, that means that their connection with your movie is there.”
Thanking Roseline Mrs Tafida
said, “The film projects the tradition
that has made the Nollywood industry a household name not only in
Nigeria, but in Africa and the rest of
the world."
BEST PRACTICE CONFERENCE
A delegation from the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
(ICAN) visited the High Commission
this month to inform Nigeria’s
ambassador to the UK Dr Dalhatu
Sarki Tafida, OFR, CFR, why they were
staging the ICAN UK Zonal
Accountants’ Conference (IUZAC) in
London – the first time it has ever been
held outside Nigeria.
As Nigeria is predicted to be the 25th
largest economy in the world overtaking
South Africa, ICAN UK is using the
forum to highlight the gaps and
opportunities for all stakeholders and
build cross border links between
Nigeria, the UK and Europe by sharing
innovative solutions and ideas.
It was explained that ICAN UK is
playing a pivotal role in bringing
together key stakeholders and
professional leaders from Africa, Europe
and the UK into a very conducive forum
to discuss the challenges posed to the
Nigerian economy specifically and
developing countries in general.
Dr Tafida welcomed the delegation
and their attempts to ensure that Nigeria
benefitted from the changes in the hope
of achieving international standards for
the benefit of investors, the economy
and Nigeria’s development.
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NIGERIAWATCH
POLITICS Watch
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
13
Delivering cutting edge comment, opinion and analysis
SIxtEEN DIE IN StAMPEDES to lAND A StEADy Job
Sixteen people are known to have died in stampedes when half a million people were invited to
apply for fewer than 5,000 Nigerian government
jobs, during a recruitment drive for the immigration service. The official News Agency of Nigeria
quoted Interior Minister Abba Moro as saying the
16 died in five locations around the country on Saturday March 15. He said they “lost their lives
through their impatience”. Calls for Mr Moro to be
sacked have gone unheeded. The Education Rights
Campaign blamed his ministry for inviting more
applicants than centres could accommodate. It said
65,000 people were invited to the Abuja National
Stadium that has a capacity for 60,000. Seven died
there. The stampedes show the desperation for
jobs in Africa’s second biggest economy and most
populous nation.
National Conversation
landmark journey
into the future
On March 17 President
Jonathan launched Nigeria’s
National Conversation. Here is
an edited version of his speech
I am delighted to welcome you all to the inauguration of this historic National Conference, which
promises to be another significant landmark in
our efforts to strengthen national unity and consolidate democratic governance in our beloved
country.
I also believe that this National Conference is
coming at a very appropriate time. Having just
celebrated the first centenary of our country, the
most compelling task before us, as we move ahead
and contemplate what our nation will be at the
end of its second century, is to lay a much
stronger foundation for faster development. This
we can achieve by building a more inclusive national consensus on the structure and guiding
principles of state that will guarantee our emergence as a more united, progressive and prosperous nation.
In our history as a political entity, we have experienced highs and lows but have always forged
ahead. To my mind, the fact that we have weathered all storms and continued with the mission of
evolving a truly national identity signifies that we
are going in the right direction.
The strongest nations in the world today also
went through their own formative stages; some
for decades and others for centuries. We must
learn from them that nationhood will not happen
overnight, especially given the circumstances of
our birth as a nation.
History also teaches that nation-building is a
journey of dedication, commitment, diligence,
perseverance and patriotic vision. To be successful, nation-builders must continually strive to
evolve better and more inclusive societies in which
every citizen is a proud and committed stakeholder. This coming together under one roof to
confer and build a fresh national consensus for
the amicable resolution of issues that still cause
friction amongst our people must be seen as an
essential part of the process of building a more
united, stronger and progressive nation.
We cannot continue to fold our arms and assume that things will straighten themselves out in
due course, instead of taking practical steps to
overcome impediments on our path to true nationhood, rapid development and national prosperity. Many more young and articulate
Nigerians who previously had little access to the
traditional mass media have now joined the conversation, motivated by patriotic concern for
good governance, peace, stability, justice, equity,
fairness and the harmonious co-existence of the
diverse groups that make up our great nation.
In inaugurating this national conference today,
we are not unmindful of the argument of those
who say that we do not need such a conference
since we already have an elected Parliament and
an elected Government in place.
The power we hold is, without question, in
trust for the people. Sovereignty belongs to the
people. Their voices must be heard and factored
into every decision we take on their behalf.
Over the years, well-meaning Nigerians have
drawn attention to inadequacies in our current
constitution. Some have described it as a militaryinspired document which does not take into full
consideration the genuine desires and wishes of
the people. While opinions on the matter can be
as diverse as rain showers, I believe that irrespective of our personal views on the issue, no one can
deny the fact that every constitution is a living
document that needs to be revised and improved
upon from time to time. The United States, which
is the model democracy in the eyes of many, has
amended its constitution 27 times since it was first
adopted in 1787.
This conference is open for us to table our
thoughts and positions on issues, and make recommendations that will advance our togetherness. The issues range from form of government,
structures of government, devolution of powers,
revenue sharing, resource control, state and local
government creation, boundary adjustment, state
police and fiscal federalism, to local government
elections, indigeneship, gender equality and children’s rights, amongst others.
We must not approach these issues with suspicion and antagonism. Rather, we should be openminded and work to achieve what is best for
Nigeria. Even though you come to the Conference as nominees and representatives of different
interest groups, I urge you all to make a more
united, stronger, indivisible and prosperous Nigeria your preoccupation and reference point at this
national gathering. Whatever the pressures on
you may be, I call upon you to put the best interest of Nigeria before all other sectional or group
interests.
Yesterday’s prejudices should die with yesterday. Today is a new day. This is the dawn of a new
era. This is an opportunity to think anew. Let us
seize the opportunity of this Conference to do
more to further turn our diversity and plurality
into unique national resources for strength and
greatness.
I have always affirmed that our ability to stay
together despite our acknowledged differences,
when other countries are finding it difficult to
meet that challenge, is a powerful statement by
Nigeria to the world on the virtues of tolerance
and unity.
I am confident that we are embarking on a
landmark journey that will make us stronger as a
nation if we undertake it with all sense of purpose
and sincerity. Let us do that which is selfless, purposeful and patriotic so that history will remember us for having served our nation well.
In conclusion, I urge all officials and participants in the national conference to work extra
hard to ensure that their deliberations are completed on schedule, well ahead of the schedule of
events for the next general elections already announced by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC).
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NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
WOMEN’SWATCH
15
Ekanem Robertson is
co-presenter of The Woman
TV Show on Ben TV.
Write to
[email protected]
ER with the eagle eye
frontier mentality
Over the last few weeks I have
reserved my comments over the
National Immigration Services
(NIS) recruitment drive disaster,
which unfortunately resulted in the
death of 16 applicants. When the
story broke, like many of you I’m
sure, I moaned and exclaimed to
myself ”not again!”
I read the media reports on the
incident, the Minister’s response, the
survivor accounts and comments from
the public. I even set up a telephone
interview with a survivor, so I could
ask a few more questions. Like you, I
screamed about the ridiculous odds,
that people engaged in such a normal
activity as searching for work, could
lose their lives in such a brutal manner.
There are many voices calling for an
official investigation or the head of the
Minister, or both. Many more remain
unimpressed by the President’s overtures to the victims’ families. As with
earlier incidents and occurrences these
voices will probably eventually go quiet
and we will return to business as usual.
I reserved my comments because I was
looking for something deeper. If this
incident can finally lead Nigerians to
embark on some objective selfexamination, then these youngsters
would not have died in vain.
In the process of ruminating on
this matter, I came across an article by
one Mr Nwike Ojukwu, titled Arise, O
Cowards, Nigeria’s Call Obey in
Sahara Reporters, March 21. One
particular paragraph therein inspired
me to write this article, and I quote:
“The same Nigerian who pushed
and pulled to get on the airplane at
Lagos or Abuja or any other airport
in Nigeria knows orderly conduct
when he or she arrives in New York,
London, or Amsterdam. The same
Nigerian, whose luggage would not be
subjected to a search in our airports
because he or she is “Oga or Oga’s
wife”, would humbly submit the same
luggage for a search outside the
country. The same Nigerian who
would employ the services of touts
rather than stand in a queue with
“bloody citizens” because of his or her
perceived status would form a queue
outside our shores to receive services.
You wonder if there is something
wrong with our soil or the air we
breathe in this part of the world. My
theory is that there is nothing wrong
with us except that our system
conditioned the way we react.
Therefore, you find a Nigerian
behaving differently as soon as he
arrives in the country because our
system does not accommodate
civility”
The quote highlights the fact that
most Nigerians are quite capable of
behaving properly and doing things in
an orderly fashion, suggesting that
“Nigeria is a sort of frontier
oil rush place where all that
matters is that you win”
Nigerians know exactly what they are
doing and can do and do better in
other climes. I agree with Mr Ojukwu’s
observations but disagree with his
conclusion that the fault is not in us
but the system. Is it not people that
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE MOTHERS
“Sweet mother, I no go forget you for the suffer wey
you suffer for me”– a line
from the much loved song,
Sweet Mother, a bitter sweet
song written in 1976 by highlife musician, Prince Nico
Mbarga (Nigerian mother
and Cameroonian father).
This well known song depicts
so beautifully the way in
which women endure so
much for their children. The
words resonate in the hearts
of most African children.
I wanted so much to find a
new angle on the story of
motherhood in the 21st cen-
tury, but I could not because
there seem to be no fundamental changes.
There are some things,
that will never really change,
and motherhood seems to be
one of them. In talking to
some mothers, however, I
constantly hear them say that
they feel a greater pressure
to be ’perfect’. Perhaps that
is the 21st century syndrome.
I believe that all manner
of mothers should be celebrated. I want to applaud the
various types of mothers that
we do not always think
about. There are many
create and uphold systems?
In all honesty Nigeria as a sort of
frontier oil rush place, where anything
goes and all that
matters is that
you win. A
frontier
town
conjures
the
picture of brash,
unruly
inhabitants,
disheveled and
disrespectful,
uncaring and ruthless. Their only goal
is to strike oil. They are packed
together in a hard, unforgiving
environment and many thrive in this
chaos, while others die. It is an ad-hoc
place, not intended for permanence
women out there who have
not and may never have the
experience of being actual
physical mothers, but never
the less fulfil the role of a
home maker, to children who
are not their own.
We have blended families;
we have surrogates who have
been incubators for other
people’s children, and we
have women who have lost
their children to other carers
or welfare institutions,
through various situations. I
want to take a moment to
also remember them this
Mother’s Day.
Most people have a story
about their mother that they
hold dear; the one thing,
that makes their mother
stand head and shoulders
above the rest that makes
the song Sweet mother ring
so true.
For me, I remember the
one year I spent living with
my mother in Nigeria as an
adult, attending a one year
programme. Each day, she
would have a hot and freshly
prepared meal ready as I
walked into the house, exhausted and drained from
the exam and the journey to
and from the school.
Her simple act of timely
provision was a real comfort
to me. She did it without
and usually when the oil/gold runs
out, the people leave and the town
dies. The consequence of this
‘anything goes’ lifestyle is a chronic
inability to execute, which in turn
shows up in almost all aspects of lifethe economy, politics, education,
social life and so on. It is not a lifestyle
that is meant for developing any of
these goals anyway. It works for
prospecting
and
get-rich-quick
endeavors
I believe that the many afflictions
of Nigerian society – lack of power,
water, unemployment, poverty, poor
healthcare, illiteracy, instability,
inefficiency of public/private services
stem from this underlying problem of
a prevailing and chronic inability to
execute!
This leads me back to the subject
of the NIS job recruitment exercise
and its failings; is this not a clear
example of our inability to execute?
To my mind until strenuous efforts are
made to change the fundamental
mindset of the Nigerian and inculcate
in them an appreciation for principles
and values that are suitable for nation
building, then we may have to
continue to live with these avoidable
faux pas and lack of socio- economic
development
In conclusion, I suggest that this
change can be realised over time, by
use of the following channels and
methods:, schools (ethics for nation
building), National Youth Service
Corps (perhaps the best ever
opportunity to further reorientate the
youth before they enter the country’s
workforce). mass media (films,
documentaries, adverts etc) and the
local film industry, Nollywood
(edutainment)
We need to let go of the frontier
mentality and replace it with the
nation mentality that believes that –
“we all succeed, if you succeed and
your success makes me better.”
being asked and because she
wanted so much to be part of
that moment in my life.
She could not take the
exams for me, but she
could ensure that I
did not have to worry
about anything but
the exams. Thanks
mum!
A mother provides security and stability to a child; a
sense of belonging, and inner
peace, someone
to run to on a
cold day and
when the world
rejects you. A
mother provides a
listening ear. A
mother will always support
you and be proud of
you no matter how
small your achievement. When
mothering is done
right, it is the closest thing to
heaven.
To those
of you who
do not have a
positive story
to tell, in this
regard, I hope
that you can be the
kind of mother that
you wished for, to
someone else. So,
to mothers everywhere, Happy
Mother's Day!
16
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
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LEISUREWATCH
The Fortnight
FASHIONWATCH by Obah Iyamu
What to see and do over the next 14 days...
Spring has
sprung and
this week’s
fashion charts
will quickly
rejuvenate
a tired wradrobe, so get
cracking with our picks...
Kingston 14
A timely new play about police
corruption starring goldie follows the story of a black british
police officer who is sent to
Kingston to investigate the
murder of an English tourist.
Written by bAftA award winner roy Williams.
Theatre Royal Stratford East,
28 Mar -26 Apr, From £6
http://stratfordeast.com
fIlM
Half Of A Yellow Sun
and original music, Nadia
Fall’s new play asks what it
really means to call somewhere home.
The Shed, National Theatre
26 Mar - 30 Apr. From £12
theshed.nationaltheatre.org.uk
ExhIbItIoNS
Pangaea: New Art from
Africa and Latin America
Distressed Denim Denim is
perhaps the most indispensable fashion item a person
can own and the biggest
template for spring is a distressed or unfinished denim
piece. This season, trousers
come cropped and unhemmed and denim jackets
should be worn buttoned
up but frayed at the seams.
The double knee tear is
buzzing again but a fitted
denim skirt with authentic
rips is top of my wish list.
Chunky Midi heels Dubbed the ugly shoe, clunky heels are
back on trend so make them a key part of your
spring/summer look. Style to perfection with feminine
pieces to soften the chunk or go slightly higher than a
midi-heel if you definitely need the extra height, but be
sure to keep it ladylike and stumpy. Pair with an equally
ladylike/Queen Elizabeth-style handbag and cement the
look with a whole lot of attitude.
You’ve read the review
(p7), here’s your chance to
see ‘the greatest love story
since Gone With The
Wind’ on the big screen
In cinemas across the UK from
11th April.
Opening in Nigeria 25th April
Ortega and His Enemies
Described as an original
and intriguing British
drama with some Nollywood twists, set in London
and Essex, Ortega, an
anger management patient
tries to overcome his fiance’s adversaries. Will he
make it to the altar?
Paintings, drawings, photography and sculpture by
artists including Leonce
Raphael Agbodjelou,
Fredy Alzate and Antonio
Malta Campos.
The Saatchi Gallery, 2 Apr-31
Aug, FREE
www.saatchigallery.com
Designs of the Year 2014
The annual awards celebrate the most innovative
and inventive work in the
worlds of architecture,
V&A Museum, 22 May-14 Jun,
FREE
www.vam.ac.uk
thEAtrE
Home
fashion and more. This
year's 76 nominations include a floating school in
Nigeria: Whanyinna Primary School is kept afloat
by 250 empty barrels and
is made of bamboo and
timber.
jazz, Africa and Brazilian
music into an extraordinarily unique sound.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch,
Tue 8 Apr 8pm, From £10
www.queens-theatre.co.uk
Afrobeats Live
Hosted by DJ Abrantee
(CapitalXtra), the first installment of Afrobeats
Live will feature explosive
performances from some
of the hottest UK
Miguel Kohler-Jan: Works
from the 70s and 80s
If you enjoy the art of oil
paintings and natural sand,
the work of late innovative
artist Miguel Kohler-Jan
will be of interest to you.
Kohler-Jan's work incorporates a combination of letters, numbers and
pre-Columbian designs.
Gallery Elena Shchukina, Mayfair,11 Apr - 6 Jun,FREE
www.galleryelenashchukina.com
Magiciens de la Terre:
reconsidered
Marking the 25th anniversary of what proved to be a
hugely controversial show,
the selection of screenings
offer a reflection on the
cinematic history and
legacy of colonialism.
Premiere Apr 4th, Odeon Greenwich, From £15
www.benalexmedia.com/
After a sell-out run last
August, the critically acclaimed Home returns to
The Shed. In 2013, homelessness amongst young
people in the UK is at a
record high, so when the
big society doesn’t work,
where do you go? An inner
city high-rise hostel, Target East, offers a roof.
Home brings to life the
unheard voices of the
young residents and staff
who live and work behind
the anonymous concrete
walls. Using real testimonials alongside existing
nary photographers. This
year’s exhibition presents
70 works by 11 photographers, including finalist
Abraham Oghobase from
Nigeria.
London-based Adriano
Adewale returns to the
Queen’s with his own
group who brilliantly blend
Tate Modern, Fri 11 Apr – Sun
13 Apr
£5, concessions available
www.tate.org.uk
MuSIC / gIgS
Adriano Adewale
A fantastic percussionist,
Afrobeats artists including
Moelogo, Rotimo, Nizzy,
Teejay, Zafi B, Vicky Sola,
Tyroon Da Prince, FT
Fresh Music, Gizmo and
more.
The Jazz Café, Sun 13 Apr 7pm,
From £10
mamacolive.com
Lokkhi Terra Presents
CubAfrobeat
CubAfrobeat, featuring
Nigerian keyboardist, Dele
Sosimi, presents a new musical mash-up between
heavyweights on the London scene. This is the
world premiere of an
album due out at the end
of 2014. Rich Mix, Thurs 10 Apr 8pm,
From £12 Richmix.org.uk
Design Museum, 26 Mar-27
Jun, From £6
www.designmuseum.org
Prix Pictet 2014
Ayo: ticket to the World
The annual photographic
award raises awareness of
social and environmental
issues through extraordi-
After selling one and a half million records, filled with a
collection of sixteen breathtaking songs, Ticket To The
World is the latest album release from Nigerian singersongwriter Ayo.
Bush Hall, Wed 2 Apr, £13.50 Bushhallmusic.co.uk
AFROHITS
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Critical Mass EP Launch
Party
Percussionist and band
member of Jamiroquai,
Sola Akingbola, takes
centre stage with his explosive new funky roots
band Critical Mass. Add
your name to the guest list
and have a good time.
Cargo, Thurs 3 Apr 7pm, FREE
The Best From Africa:
Dakar
Enjoy a night of West
African music and dance.
Focus organisation presents a special set from the
Songlines Award Nominee
Simo Lagnawi from Morroco. Music on the night
will include Afrobeats and
Soukous.
Rich Mix, Sat 5 Apr 8pm,
From £8 Richmix.org.uk
KIDS
Dressmaking workshop
The dressmaking workshops delivered by the
African Cultural Associa-
LEISUREWATCH
tion are aimed at children
aged 7–18 years (parents
of children aged under 14
will need to stay at the session).
African drumming and
dance workshops
Willowbrook Primary School,
Leyton, 8 Apr, 10am-12.30pm.
Mayville Primary School, Leytonstone, 8 Apr 1.30pm-4pm.
Larkswood Primary School,
Chingford 10 Apr, 10.30am 12pm. Chapel End Infants
School, Walthamstow 10 Apr
1.30-4pm www.mbillaarts.co.uk/
17
w w w. a f r o - h i t s . c o m
Sessions take place every Friday
from 28 Mar. Grahame Park library, Colindale.
www.africanculturalassociation.net
Learn traditional WestAfrican drum rhythms and
how to perform authentic
African dance movements.
Over the Easter holidays children aged 5-11
will get the opportunity to
broaden their awareness of
musical instruments and
important cultural aspects
of the countries where the
dances originated.
They can join in and accompany the dances by
clapping and singing the
rhythmic patterns as well
as playing on African
drums.
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
African Children’s Choir uK tour
touring the entire country, catch the children performing
well-loved childrens songs, hand clapping, traditional
spirituals and contemporary tunes. Come away feeling
inspired and invigorated with their enthusiasum!
Tour ongoing until May 23. See website for venues.
www.africanchildrenschoir.org.uk
othEr
Ntiense Eno Amooquaye,
Creating The Local Space
What impact does the environment have on the act of
creation?
Contemplate the concept of local with our current exhibition artist
Ntiense Eno Amooquaye,
Sam Jones from Intoart,
writer Mary Paterson, poet
Tom Chivers and Poetry
Librarian Chris McCabe.
Apr 2, Free, book your place by
emailing [email protected]
Exhibition ongoing until 13 Apr,
MAgIC SyStEM - MAgIC IN thE AIr ft
ChAWKI
Now for something completely different,
as the saying goes. this has got that feel
good, could work as a World Cup anthem
vibe to it. Choc full of football references
and imagery this could get a good few
spins from now until well after rio 2014.
that’s not to mention some of the beautiful scenery shown in the video. It just
makes you wanna, dance and kick a football. heck, maybe even try dancing and
Tues-Sun 11am -8pm
Saison Poetry Library at Royal
Festival Hall
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
The African Contemporary Auction
The Auction Room will
feature work from Nigerian photographers, J.D.
Okhai Ojeikere and Uche
James-Iroha in the inaugural auction of African
Contemporary Photography.
The Auction Room, from Mon 28
Apr - Wed 28 May
www.theauctionroom.com
kicking a football simultaneously. And talk
about multicultural chops this track shows
that whether you are black or white you
can still have an understanding and love
for African music. Please, go watch this
video and support this new entry to the
Afrobreakers’ chart.
AfrohItS ChArt
1 fuse oDg - Million Pound
girl (badder than bad)
2 Magic System ft Chawki Magic In the Air
3 Kcee ft Wizkid - Pull over
4 tiwa Savage ft Don Jazzy Eminado
5 Iyanya - le Kwa ukwu
6 olamide - Anifowose
7 timaya - ukwu
8 Kcee - hakuna Matata
9 olamide - Sitting on the
throne
10 os Detroia - bela
11 r2bees - love
12 Shatta Wale - gal Wuk It
13 uhuru ft Dj buckz, oskido,
Professor & uri-Da-Cunha - ytjukutja
14 Dee Moneey - finish line
ft Sarkodie & J town
15 gallardo ft Davido - runtown
16 goldie ft J Martins - give
It to Me
17 Sneakbo ft l Marshall her Name
18 May D ft Davido - ur Eyes
19 E.l - Ayayaa
20 Seantizzle - Kilogbe
Spring Beauty Trends
These gorgeous makeup and beauty trends will be on all our faces
before you know it. With recommendations for every budget you
can start practising your favourite looks now!
orChID lIPStICK
Orchid is definitely the lipstick
shade of the season and it looks
fabulous on those who dare to
wear it. In addition to looking
great, it also gives the added benefit of making teeth look whiter.
In case you didn't know, Pantone's
official colour of the year for 2014
is also radiant orchid; so the
colour is here to stay.
low budget: Top Shop Lip Cream
in Double Take (£7)
Mid range: MAC Show Orchid
Lipstick (£15)
luxury: Yves Saint Larent Rouge Pur Coutour Vernis À Lèvres
Glossy Stain – Rebel
Nudes in Violine Out
of Control (£25)
brIght EyElINEr
Bright eyeliner is the new statement look. A bold flick in an intense shade will set your eyes
alight. Spring is the time to try
something new, and what better
way to look at things differently
than with a bright hue adorned
on our peepers. Swap the black
for green, blue or any other
wild colour that takes your
fancy. Vibrant jewel like tones
make the eyes appear brighter
in a beautiful, modern way.
low budget Sleek Kohl Eyeliner
pencil in bright blue (£1.99)
Mid range: Avon Super
Shock Gel Eyeliner Savage Bright Turquose Teal Shade
(£3.94)
luxury: Chanel Stylo Yeux
Waterproof in Iris (£19)
CAt EyES
Bust out your black liquid liner,
because perennially chic cat eyes
are especially big for spring. My
personal tip is to start the line
from your lower lash line and follow it up to the point where you
want your eye liner to end. Then
continue across the top lash line.
low budget: Bourjois Erasable
liner (£7.99)
Mid range: MAC Penultimate Eyeliner (£17)
Seventa Image Stiletto Eyeliner
(£18)
luxury: Eyeko Liquid Metal Eyeliner in Black Onyx (£21)
gloWINg SKIN
Skin should have a nice glow this
spring so apply less powder on top
of your makeup. Try using a radiant tinted moisturiser with a liquid illuminator instead of
your foundation for a
more dewy finish to the
skin. Tinted moisturisers
are great for black skin
because they even out
skin tone and their minimal pigment content
means they won't give
black skin that flat, dull, ashy look
you can often get with certain
foundations. When you choose a
tinted moisturiser, opt for one a
shade warmer than your natural
skin tone.
budget: Sleek Beautiful Blemish
Balm (£8.99)
Sleek Glo Face and Body Highlighter (£6.49)
Mid range: Makeup Forever Face
and Body liquid makeup (£29.95)
Makeup Forever Uplight Face Luminizer Gel (£25)
luxury: Becca Luminous Skin
Colour (£35)
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector
(£33)
Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted
Moisturiser (£33.50)
hAIr JEWEllEry
With your hair, anything goes this
spring. From short to long, sleek
bobs to voluminous afros we
have seen it all.
But what is
emerging is the trend for hair jewellery. Spearheading the trend is
rising star Lupita Nyong’o with her
effervescent style.
Lupita's hair jewellery, a look
which culminated in a delicately
gorgeous headband at the Oscars,
introduced the element of whimsy
to natural hair.
The key to looking cool is texture and shape. Which means naturally curly hair is the perfect foil
for coiffure glitz. To create your
own Lupita princess moment, pin
your hair up, but make sure it's
not too perfect—leave a few curls
out nonchalantly, then top with a
beautiful hair accessory.
And there you have it. My
makeup and beauty trends for
spring 2014.
Bringing good food closer to you
BEAUTYWATCH by Funmi Odegbami
Cafe and African Restaurant
Famous Tuwo / Amala Abula Spot
6 Beckton Road
Canning Town London
E16 1EW
TEL: 0207 476 5591
TEL: 0207 476 8808
Opening Hours
Monday – Thursday
11:00am – 11.30pm
Friday – Saturday
11:00am – 12.30am
Sunday 11:00 – 10pm
272 Barking Road
East Ham, London E6 3BA
Tel: 0208 5522865
Mobile: 07814472757
Opening Hours
Sunday – Saturday
12noon – 10pm
285 – 287 Heathway
Dagenham RM9 5AQ
TELPHONE: 0208 984 8141
Opening hours
Sunday – Saturday
11:00am – 9pm
Tasty Authentic West African Flavours
at Affordable Prices
www.squiresrestaurant.co.uk
18
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
Celebrity Watch with HARRIET OGBEIDE
Mrs O’s food odyssey
How to keep an
African man happy
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right? Well
that is easier said than done when the man in question is Nigerian and you are not, or you were simply not taught how to cook
Nigerian food. In an ideal world, my husband would be teaching me how to cook his favourite dishes, but alas, he doesn’t
know how to cook them either!
So here I am, taking my first step into a culinary and cultural journey into Nigerian cuisine.
I am not entirely unfamiliar with the food, as I’ve been exposed to, and have sampled, a fair number of dishes over the
years. I remain however unfamiliar with many of the exotic ingredients and am flat-out scared of others; the giant snails
mentioned by my excellent predecessor Ngozi from Ngozi’s
Kitchen are one of them.
My own staple dishes have served me well so far, but it’s
time to branch out and embrace the full spectrum of flavours
and textures Nigerian food has to offer. If anything, I should
have an even happier man at home.
Join me on my journey and if you have any suggestions for
dishes that I should try then email me on [email protected].
It’s only apt to kick off my food column with Nigeria’s most
famous dish. There are as many versions of Jollof rice as
there are cooks, so feel free to change the recipe to your
own specific tastes: add tomato paste to the stew to give the
rice a deeper colour, use shop-bought Jollof seasoning instead of the spices and herbs mentioned below, or add
things like carrots, prawns etc. (fry these for a minute or
two before adding the rice).
JOLLOF RICE
Ingredients
1 can of tomatoes
1 large onion, roughly
chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly
chopped
3-4 Knorr cubes
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper
(to taste)
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LEISUREWATCH
8 tbsp. sunflower oil
1½ tsp. thyme
500 gr. easy cook long
grain rice (washed)
500 ml water or stock (approx.)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. paprika
1 bay leaf
Cooking Instructions
1 Firstly make the tomato stew, which will give the Jollof
rice its distinctive colour. Empty the canned tomatoes in a
blender and add the onion, red bell pepper, 2 stock cubes
and the Scotch Bonnet pepper (add as little or as much to
taste and remember that the seeds will add heat as well).
Blend it all well together for a
minute or so.
2 Heat 4 tbps. of sunflower oil in a
pan and add the tomato mixture.
The hot oil will cause the tomato
mixture to splatter so protect your
hands/arms. Bring it back to a boil,
add ½ tps. of thyme and give it a
good stir. Then cover the pot, turn
down the heat and cook for about
15 minutes.
3 In a larger pot, heat the remaining
4 tbsp. of oil and add the washed
rice. Cook for a minute whilst stirring to coat the rice with
oil.
4 Add the reduced tomato mixture, ground coriander, paprika, bay leaf and remaining thyme. Add the water or
stock and then season with the remaining stock cubes (to
taste). If using stock you will probably need less of the stock
cubes. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook until all the
water has been absorbed. Check the rice after 10 minutes or
so and add a few more tablespoons of liquid if necessary.
(Be careful not to add too much liquid. If in doubt, add less
but check the rice regularly to prevent it from burning; add
small splashes until the rice is cooked. Covering the pot with
foil before placing on the lid will help to steam the rice
more evenly)
5 When done, turn off the hob and leave the rice to rest for
10 minutes, and then stir through before serving it with
tomato stew, beef or chicken, fried plantain and salad.
Social media superstar don’tjealousme hits london
book, and before 10 minutes, it got shared
over 100 times and got loads of comments. So I thought this is really cool, I’m
gonna try and make another video and
see how it goes and that’s basically how I
started my comedy career.
how did your parents react when they
discovered you were no longer studying
nursing?
Comedian Tolulope ‘T-Boy’ Ogunmefu,
popularly known as don’tjealousme, made
a name for himself as a laugh-out-loud comedian through his online videos on
YouTube and other platforms. His widespread popularity is evidenced by the high
number of views and subscribers to his online channel. Here the 24-year-old trailblazer tells Harriet Ogbeide about his life
as a comedian so far and becoming the
face of London’s newest TV channel.
how did you get into comedy?
I got into comedy in 2008; I was at university studying nursing because I had no
idea what I was gonna do with my career.
I had to wake up at five in the morning to
go to placement. So one day I thought to
myself, I’ve had enough of this, this isn’t
for me, this isn’t my future. I respect people who do nursing, but I decided nursing
just wasn’t for me. I dropped out of university but was still staying there, and
never told my parents. One day I went to
my friend’s place, eating a burger like a
typical African man, and my friend’s girlfriend was laughing at the way I was eating the burger. She brought out her
camera and started recording me. So I
told her Don’t jealous me because you
don’t have burger in your country. She
said she was going to upload the video on
Facebook, I didn’t really care, because I
didn’t think it was funny, but she was crying with laughter. She put it on to Face-
One of my mum’s friends saw the video in
the States, so she called my mum and was
like, “Ah, your son is making video, talking about funny issues.” Then my mum
saw the video and called me saying,
“What are you doing? You are meant to
be studying, delete that video.” And I was
like mum I can’t delete the video, I’ve got
so many views. From then on she saw that
I was very interested in comedy and it
took off, so she really appreciates it. The
great thing about my parents is that
they’ve always been supportive of what
I’ve done, which is really good.
tell us about your new show, the t-boy
Show
It’s like The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, but
the opposite. It’s about a young man from
a rich family coming from Africa to live
with his broke family members over here.
The show will premiere on London Live,
a new TV channel funded by the Evening
Standard. The show is produced by MTA
production, who also produce Meet The
Adebanjos which I’ve starred in.
Who are the comedians you admire?
Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Kevin Hart and Basket Mouth
to check out the comedy
market there. I don’t want to limit myself
to just Africa; I would like to do comedy
worldwide.
What’s your greatest fear?
I have the fear of fear; I don’t like being
afraid to do something. Also skydiving, I
don’t understand why people would jump
out of a moving plane.
how do you feel when Nigerians get a
bad name in the press?
It tarnishes us as a people, so it doesn’t sit
well with me. It’s really important for people to know that not everyone is the way
they portray one or two people. There are
a lot of Nigerians that are great people.
It’s just sad to see our name get tarnished
because of one person.
other than the much-anticipated t-boy
show, are there any other projects you
are currently working on at the moment?
I’m currently touring the States doing different shows. I just came back from doing
shows in Boston and Baltimore, where I
did stand up comedy. I like doing live
shows because I love to connect with my
fans and the audience. I’ve also been
headlining with other comedians, doing
club appearances, and entertaining at universities, and I am looking forward to setting up my own one-man show. I also
plan on doing some more serious stuff, to
show people that I’m versatile.
Catch Tolulope on The T-Boy Show premiering
this April on London Live, Sky 117, Virgin 159 and
Freeview 8. For more information on his live
shows, visit http://dntjealousme.com.
When was the last time you were
in Nigeria and would you relocate if you had the chance to continue your comedy career
over there?
The last time I was in
Nigeria was in January
2013. It’s changed a lot
from last time I visited,
but the sun is still scorching. I don’t necessarily
have plans to settle
down there, but I plan
RELIGIONWATCH by Pastor David Ogbueli
7 HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL
CHRISTIANS
1. rEJoICE EVErMorE Create a habit of rejoicing always. If you want divine direction,
create an atmosphere of joy. With joy, you
draw out from the wells of salvation. The
peace of God is the umpire of our heart.
Once you start making mistakes, the peace
will be taken away from you as an umpire.
2. PrAy WIthout CEASINg Prayer helps
you maintain the right calm and keep in
touch with God. This means remaining in
constant communion with the Holy Spirit.
3. IN EVErythINg gIVE thANKS For this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. Maintain an attitude of gratitude. It
doesn't matter what is going on, give
thanks. Thanksgiving is a seed for more
and whatever you are thankful for will multiply.
4. QuENCh Not thE SPIrIt He is your
guide and comforter. Train your human
spirit to follow the leading and direction
of the Holy Spirit. You will become a
master in the supernatural. The Holy
Spirit can give you directions on what to
do or to give. Start practising how to
obey the instructions of the Holy Spirit,
it is what is called training the human
spirit.
5. DESPISE Not ProPhESyINg Hearken
to prophetic instructions. In the journey
into the deep things of God, He starts
with prophesying and tongues. Yet people despise it because sometimes there
could be mistakes that is why we have the
sixth quality.
6. ProVE All thINgS hold fast that
which is good. Test before trusting. The
Bible which is our sure Word of
prophecy should guide you
always.
7. AbStAIN froM All APPEArANCE of EVIl Flee from anything
that looks like evil.
PrAyEr
“Lord, I ask that your divine nature will
spring forth endlessly in the lives of everyone here today. Let none of them stray
away from their callings like Judas who
was found unfaithful. Install in the tablets
of their hearts the values of your kingdom. Faithful is he that has called you,
who will also establish you by the word of
His power, IN THE NAME OF JESUS”
David Ogbueli is senior pastor of Dominion City
Church Worldwide
Read his daily devotional at
www.facebook.com/pastordavidogbueli
Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/NigerianWatch
TRAVELWATCH
Holiday FLIGHT & HOTEL OFFERS
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Umrah Packages
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4 Star package
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More options available - call NOW for details
For Flights
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NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
FLIGHTS
SPECIAL OFFERS
Jeddah ...............£415
Harare.................£499
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Prices are including taxes & subject to availability
For Holidays
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OUR RATES ARE TAKING THE WEEKEND OFF
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STAY HILTON, GO EVERYWHERE.
19
20
NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
Follow us on Twitter
@NigerianWatch
EDUCATIONWATCH
Funding your place at University
Starting University is big step for any young person and
all the bigger for International Students, Cathy o maps
the minefield to make this right of passage easier
Y
ou’ve completed your UCAS form, received your offers and, unless your applying for UCAS extra, your head
should be in a book as the exams loom large.
But you should also be making sure that all the
other requirements for you to start your course
are in place.
ChECKlISt
1. further offer conditions
On top of exam results, subjects or grades,
course providers might give further conditions.
These could be health or financial requirements,
DBS checks (formerly CRB) or proof of your
qualifications.
2. finances
You might be wondering how you’ll afford
everything during your studies. There’s a lot to
handle – from tuition fees and accommodation
to food and course materials, plus a social life.
Plan ahead and take a weight off your mind.
3. Accommodation
If you’re leaving home, to find somewhere to
live, whether it’s halls or privately rented, it will
involve more than paying rent; your fuel bills
may or may not be inclusive, and you also have
to think about insurance, broadband and mobile, and TV licence.
4. travel arrangements
If you’re moving across the country or indeed
to the UK you’ll need to plan a date and how
to get there with all your stuff.
International Students will need to book
flights and secure their visa.
5. Social options
Check out your university website for events
such as Freshers’ Week, clubs or societies you
might be interested in joining.
UCAS Connect includes blogs from other
applicants and students and info on students’
unions too.
6. Course materials
Check if you were given any work to do in
preparation – maybe some reading or research.
And you might need to get books or equipment.
Inspired in Hull
Established in 1928, the University of Hull has a
distinguished history of providing a quality education and
rich life experience to students from around the globe.
Now promoting a range of new oil and gas courses
• Over 900 courses • 6 Faculties • 18,000 students • 100 nationalities
Come and find out more:
Book an appointment with Christopher Cagney ([email protected])
who will be in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja between 10-23 February.
“A very important thing about the city of Hull is
just how affordable everything is.”
www.hull.ac.uk/international
Read more: http://hull.ac/testimonials
bIg StEP
University websites offer a wealth of information about student life, welcoming you to their
campus. Glasgow University has a 4-page fact
sheet aimed at Nigerian Students as well as information about their African & Caribbean
Network and African Culture, food stores and
services in Glasgow. Reading University’s
RUNSS (Reading University Nigerian Students’ Society) has an energetic Facebook site
reflecting an active student body.
uK StuDENtS
Student loan
You need to apply for student finance and you
don’t have to wait until your place is confirmed
at university or college to apply. You can apply
now for courses starting this autumn.
Tuition Fee Loans pay for your course.
Maintenance Loans and Grants help with living
costs (eg accommodation, books, bills). You
have to pay back loans but not grants.
Apply online (or download forms) at
Study Engineering
in London
London South Bank University offers a wide
range of engineering courses at both degree
and masters level in areas such as:
ɜī-šŠ{m-ŸsÙtJYt--ŠYtJ
ɜÙm-šŠYmt)Ùm-šŠ{tYÙtJYt--ŠYtJ
ɜΟYm)YtJĶ-ŠªY-ŽÙtJYt--ŠYtJ
ɜÏYªYmÙtJYt--ŠYtJ
ɜĶšŠŸšŸŠmÙtJYt--ŠYtJ
ɜÏV-sYmt)īŠ{-ŽŽÙtJYt--ŠYtJ
We also offer a wide range of scholarships
to help with the cost of tuition fees.
In our 6000m2 of workshops and
laboratories we teach our students real
practical hands-on engineering techniques
that will prepare them for the real world.
It’s not all about reading textbooks!
To chat about your options or to
request a face-to-face meeting
with one of our team contact
us on the details below.
Apply now
for September
Call: 0044 800 923 888 or visit us
at www.lsbu.ac.uk/engineering
the brighter choice
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NIGERIAN WATCH
28 Mar - 10 Apr 2014
EDUCATIONWATCH
www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance. Within
six weeks you’ll get a loan declaration in the
post, which you need to sign and return.
international scholarships each year and has very
comprehensive funding information including
UK government and International awards specific to Nigerian students on its website.
A key component of winning a Scholarship
is to apply often and early. This particularly applies to awards made by higher education institutions themselves, who will often specify
application deadlines around April and May for
awards starting the following academic year.
Suzanne Alexander, director at University of
Leicester’s international office states that, “Universities often offer far more than meets the eye,
so it’s very important that students look at departmental websites and not just the university’s
own website. Definitely look for the deadline of
any scholarship. It’s very frustrating to find that
you would have qualified but that you missed
the deadline. It happens often!”
further funding options
Visit www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk to check
for awards, scholarships and grants available
specific to the university and course you are intending to do. Many universities have a staggering range of funding available. Liverpool Hope
University, one of the most economical places
to study in the UK, has a myriad of scholarships available to students. Awards have different criteria and this is detailed on the
scholarship hub and universities own website.
Women in further education around the
globe can apply for grants and scholarships
from the International Federation of University
Women (IFUW) which has national affiliates in
120 countries throughout the world.
Val Considine of The British Federation of
Women Graduates, the British affiliate of the
IFUW, says, “We provide maintenance grants
to women graduates to help with living expenses
while registered for study or research at an approved institution in Great Britain. We award a
maximum grant of £6,000 for main foundation
grants, or £2,500 for emergency grants.”
International organisations, such as UNESCO and the WHO administer some schemes,
as do a range of voluntary organisations.
INtErNAtIoNAl StuDENtS
funding for Nigerian residents
For international students coming to the UK
21
Visa application
from Nigeria it is very important that you plan
for how you will pay for your tuition fees and
living costs. It is something of a vicious circle.
As part of your visa application, you need to
show you have enough money, and most institutions will expect you to pay your tuition fees,
and in some cases your accommodation fees, in
advance.
The Home Office and UK Border Agency
rules are clear; you should not come to the
UK without knowing that you will have
enough money to pay your fees and support
yourself.
For those struggling to find the required
funding there are plenty of avenues to explore.
Where to look
Start with the Nigerian Federal Scholarship
Board http://fsb.gov.ng/contact-fsb and then go
to your state website as they may offer support
to study abroad.
Next go to the British Council website or the
Nigerian Embassy or High Commission office,
where you will find a wealth of information
about potential funding depending on what you
will be studying.
university Scholarships
Reading University offers £4M worth of it’s own
Queen Mary University has a 60 page document to help students apply for a visa. The
process has been amended 55 times in recent
years, so do not rely on friends or family who
have applied before.
Essentially you need to apply once you have
a place and funding sorted, you need a valid
passport, must be able to speak English and
have proof of a test for tuberculosis. The visa
will cost £298 (www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa).
You cannot come to the UK to begin your
course without a visa, so allow up to 60 days for
your application, although the majority are resolved much more quickly.
LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY
We offer an exciting range of undergraduate
degree programmes, postgraduate taught and
research degrees and PGCE courses.
A generous range of scholarships is available.
Meet our representatives at:
• SI-UK University Fair, Saturday 1st March, London
• Brooke House College University Fair,
Thursday 1st May, Market Harborough
YOUR FUTURE STARTS WITH HOPE
Study at Reading
Home to your future
Welcome to one of the top 1%
of universities worldwide. The
University of Reading is one of the
UK’s leading research institutions,
enjoying a world-class reputation for
teaching, research and enterprise.
Subjects offered include:
Located only 25 minutes from central London,
the University boasts an award-winning
campus. Our support includes: guaranteed
accommodation for all new students (deadline
applies), subject specific scholarships and an
International welcome week.
Economics
Agriculture
Biological Science
Business & Marketing
Chemistry
Electronic Engineering
Environmental Sciences
Finance and Banking
Food Science
Food Security and Development
For more information, or to arrange
a visit to campus:
www.reading.ac.uk/international
www.facebook.com/AfricaAtReading
or email [email protected]
T: 0151 291 3389
E: [email protected]
www.hope.ac.uk/international
Study in the UK with a scholarship of
up to £2500 (Glasgow and London)
GCU offers scholarships of up to £2500
for self-funded international students.
High-quality programmes and award-winning
support make us a top choice for students
from over 100 countries.
Law
Oil and Gas Law
Pharmacy
Systems Engineering
Brighter futures begin with GCU
www.gcu.ac.uk
+44 (0) 141 331 8630
[email protected]
BUSINESS
DIRECTORY
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FUELLING THE DELTA FIRES
Based on the real life
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Niger Delta, Fuelling the
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world's sixth largest
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AVAIALBLE NOW AT:
amazon.co.uk, chapters.indigo.com, waterstones.com,
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whsmiths.co.uk, borders.com
For those in Nigeria
Ring Peter Agbor of walahi.com on (234)805 361 0533
Paperback £9.30 Hardback £13.60 E-book £2.60
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bIrthDAyS
JEMIDE, MARYANNE (April 8th)
Happy Birthday To the woman with the
invisible cape who has proven to be more than
Super Woman to me, Isabel, Nicole, Kimberly
and baby Justin. Thank you for being our super
hero as words cannot express our love for you
as we wish you Happy Birthday. tevin, Isabel,
Nicole, Kimberly and Justin Jemide
0208
588 9699
Email: [email protected]
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020 8574 3990
0RQGD\WR)ULGD\DPWRSP
Personal callers welcome by
appointment only:
83 South Road, Southall, Middlesex UB1 1SQ
Website: www.alvinlawrence.co.uk
HEALTH & BEAUTY
Treat and Prevent unsightly painful
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KALE, VICTOR (April 9th)
Happy Birthday to the greatest Dad in the world!
May God continue to bless you with many years
ahead. Have a great day. lots of love from bolu,
bukky, bisi & Abisola
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SPORTWATCH
KING DAVIDSON
Continued from page 24 difficulties,
the
southpaw believes he should be much further on in his career but is delighted by his
new promoters, having recently signed for
VIP Promotions and is promising fans they
will see something special when he makes his
VIP debut at the Wythenshawe Forum in
Manchester.
“My dad always told me to never worry
about an opponent, just let them worry
about me,” said Davidson, who has the
moniker ‘Hand of God’. “I'm looking forward to stepping into unknown territory
and showing my boxing ability. I can box or
I can fight. I'm a very stylish boxer; I like to
entertain and I want people to love boxing.
I'm a very big puncher, and I can also take
punches and am not scared of anybody
punching me.
“Since I've been a pro I've have never
been so happy or excited. I think my career
has now taken an upturn and I am so excited
to be working with VIP Promotions. Everybody will see the real King Davidson now.”
“I think we could have a world champion
with this fighter,” revealed VIP promoter
Steve Wood. “He's a phenomenal talent,
and the fans in Wythenshawe will be witnessing something special.
“King has a good sponsor in Arik Airlines and their support means we can move
him along at a faster pace than normal.
With the troubles all behind him, King is in
a good place and I expect him to deliver.”
King will be facing 27-year-old Sandor
Micsko at Wythemshawe. The Ukrainian’s
fight record reads won 22, lost 5, drawn 2.
Davidson V Micsko for the WBO International light-middleweight title is at the
Wythenshawe Forum on April 5. Tickets,
priced at £30 (General) and £60 (Ringside),
are available from www.vipbe.co.uk or can
be purchased on the door.
This showdown will be streamed live,
free, on VIPBOXING.TV
NIGERIAN WATCH
14-27 Mar 2014
23
ODEMWINGIE
In Nigeria there is
a growing movement calling for osaze to be
named in the rio 2014 Super Eagles’ squad.
Midfielder Waidi Akani told this Day newspaper, “I think the experience of osaze will
come to fore in brazil if invited. Experience
counts a lot in tournaments. [Nigeria coach]
Keshi is aware that odemwingie wants to
give his best for Nigeria.”
former Nigeria midfielder Mutiu Adepoju
also says coach Stephen Keshi needs to include
odemwingie in his squad in order to have a
balanced team at the World Cup. “I will be
happy if he can extend an invitation to osaze
odemwingie now that he is also doing well
with his club in England. We must go to the
World Cup with our best legs,” he declared.
the only voice of dissent comes from
bosnia-herzegovina’s goalkeeper Asmir begovic who might well come up against his
Stoke City team mate in rio; bosnia and Nigeria have been drawn together in group f.
begovic said, “Me and Peter have been
teasing each other a little bit but he’s not
quite sure he’s going to be in the squad yet
and we all have to keep working hard to
make sure we get our places for brazil. once
the squads gets finalised I’m sure the banter,
the texts and the jokes will be flowing. Peter’s
been flying and he’s given us a bit more pace
and skill as well. he’s been a huge signing for
us and that’s great work by the coaches to get
him here." osaze will get an indication as to whether
he will be in the squad when Keshi announces
his team for the May 28 friendly against Scotland at fulham's Craven Cottage.
Continued from page 24
JOIN WOOLWICH UNITED
Residents from across Woolwich are being encouraged to
try out seven sports on Monday (March 31), at the launch
of Woolwich United – a project launched to bring different communities together in
the aftermath of the Lee
Rigby killing. The Waterfront
Leisure Centre on Woolwich
High Street, will host the
launch of the Integration
Through Sport scheme, from
6-8pm.
The sports on offer will be
sailing, rugby, football, dance,
cricket, basketball and athletics, with programmes running
over 15 months in four
wards – Woolwich Riverside,
Woolwich Common, Glyndon
and Charlton. Dance has been
included because it plays a
strong part in most cultures
and was found to be the second most popular activity
after football in a survey of
50,000 14-year-olds.
The project, aimed at people aged 14 and upwards, has
been set up by a £150,000
grant from Sport England and
government funding, after
the Royal Borough’s bid was
put together by Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT).
Cllr Peter Kotz, the Royal
Borough’s cabinet member for
culture and creative industries, said, “There are a great
many different cultures in our
community. Sport is a fantastic
way of learning skills such as
teamwork.
“This project is an excellent
way of bringing people from
different backgrounds together when they otherwise
might not have met, then
using the bonds built through
sport to break down social
barriers, with the idea of
bringing communities together in different ways.”
Greenwich was the only
London borough to receive
such funding.
Last shout out for Team
Nigeria U-15 open trials
Young footballers of Nigerian descent have a last
chance to be selected to represent the Super Eagles’ UK at the inaugural African Nations Cup
UK U-15 tournament.
If you have a pair of moulds or astros and shinpads and want to be in one of the best amateur
football competitions in Britain, then let coach
David Doherty know at [email protected] Trials are scheduled for the weekend of
April 5 and 6 at the Meridian Sport and Social
Club, Charlton, SE7 8QS. On Saturday April 5
the trials start at 12 noon, and on April 6 at 3pm.
The finals of the African Nations Cup UK
will be played at Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road
ground in the summer.
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Have you got guests, friend
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Are you looking for shortlet holiday
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Or.. are you going away and would like to rent your
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Look no further as Maclawrence
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NIGERIAN WATCH
15-28 Feb 2014
SPORT WATCH
March 28th - April 10th 2014
nigerianwatch.com
INSIDE
LEE RIGBY
SPORTS
LEGACY
KING OF THE RING IS
THE “SPECIAL ONE”
‘I’M STYLISH, A BIG PUNCHER AND SCARED OF NO ONE’
By AJ JAMES
Ahead of fighting for the WBO International
title – a stepping stone to a world title
challenge – Nigerian boxer King Davidson
has issued a challenge to all-comers.
“I want the best fighters to step up,” said
Davidson, 29. “If anyone feels they can beat me
I will box them any time, any place. If any lightmiddleweight in this country feels like they can
beat me then step up. I am ready to call anybody
out. I was born to fight, I was born to be a
champion and nobody can take that confidence
away from me. If anybody thinks they are
capable or has the talent, then the door is open.
Pick up the phone and call my manager or my
promoter. Any light-middleweight in Britain.”
Davidson turned pro in 2007 and has racked
up 18 wins from 19 bouts, with 12 victories coming early. Blighted by managerial Turn to page 23
Osaze plays himself into
World Cup contention
on
fire
striker
Peter
odemwingie is making an 11thhour bid to be on the plane to
rio by doing his talking on the
pitch. Since joining Stoke City in
January his confidence is back
and he is back scoring for fun –
netting three in the last two
games, against West ham and
Aston Villa.
“I am a confident player
again,” he said after the Villa
game at the weekend. “It is important to me how the manager treats me. from day one
Mark hughes gave me 90 minutes, the next game, 90 minutes. I made a lot of errors in
the beginning but he only encouraged me.
"So I have been putting in a
bit more effort and I have scored
a few goals and the confidence
Turn to page 23
is back.”
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