Why Cultural Consciousness Is High Among The Yoruba

Azuka Onwuka. Image: Facebook

BY AZUKA ONWUKA

Most Nigerians, like most Africans, love to imitate Western ways because of the long-held view that Western ways are better. This manifests in our lifestyles: dressing, food, language, religion, education, personal names, holidays, and the like. For example, it is a thing of pride to speak English, French, Spanish and other European languages. A young and educated Igbo can proudly say: “I don’t know how to speak Igbo.” But no young and educated person will proudly say: “I don’t know how to speak English.”

When school owners want to advertise their schools as premium, they show off their White connection. If there is only one Caucasian child or a child of mixed race in that school, such a child must be used in the photograph or video of pupils or students for advertisement. If the head-teacher or any teacher of the school is from Europe or North America or Asia or North Africa, their picture must be displayed to show that the school is “international”. In addition, flags of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other foreign countries will fly proudly beside the Nigerian flag. On the signboard of the school, there is usually a large announcement that the school is a Montesorri school or uses the American syllabus or the British syllabus, and takes Cambridge examination and other international examinations. If the school has gone on an excursion abroad, the photos of such a trip are proudly displayed within the school and in all communication materials.

This also applies in all facets of our life. When people visit Europe, America, or some parts of Asia, they proudly display their photographs on the social media. At social events or religious events or business events, people drop comments that suggest that they were away in Europe or America on holidays or business meetings. Local trips are hardly mentioned because they do not add any weight to the status and magnitude of the storyteller.

However, in spite of the pervasive nature of this in Nigeria, it seems the people of the Yoruba ethnic stock in Nigeria are the least affected. Even though they accepted Western civilisation and modernity, the people of the Yoruba ethnic stock seem to make a conscious effort to fight back the erosion of their way of life by Westernisation. Let us look at some examples to make this clearer.

The first is the way local names are spelt. Of all ethnic groups in Nigeria, it seems to be only Yoruba town names and personal names that are not anglicised. Igbo names like Awka, Orlu, Owerri, Enugu should be correctly spelt as Oka, Olu, Owere, and Enugwu respectively. Urhobo should be Urobo, while Itsekiri should be Ishekiri, and Ijaw should be Izon. Sokoto should be Sakwato, while Zaria should be Zazau. Similarly, in personal names, Okafor should be Okafo; Ejoor should be Ejo.

Conversely, Yoruba town names are spelt the Yoruba way: Ibadan, Idanre, Osogbo, Owo. In other ethnic groups a town like Owo could have been spelt as Orwor or Orwaw, while Ilaro could have been spelt as Ilaroh. Similarly personal names like Omowunmi could have been Omorwunmi, while Adebayo could have been Adebayor. There are efforts to ensure that a few Yoruba town names which are not spelt exactly the Yoruba way are changed. Examples are Otta, Ebute Metta (with double t) and Shagamu, Shade (with “sh”). The double t is being replaced with only one “t”, while the “sh” is being replaced with an “s” which has a dot underneath.

Similarly, it is easier to see Nigerians from other ethnic groups bearing foreign names than the Yoruba. A Muslim from the North is more likely going to have their first name and surname as Arabic names. That makes the person feel like a true Muslim. Examples of such names are Ibrahim Abubakar and Aisha Abdulsalam. A Christian from the North-Central, the South-East or South-South is more likely going to have a first name or middle name that is European or Jewish to make the person feel like a true Christian. Some may even have two English or Christian names. Examples are John-Paul Okeke, Henry Osagie, Akpoghene John Kome, and Judith Peters.

However, it is hard to use names to determine if a Yoruba is a Muslim, Christian, animist or even an atheist. The reason is that unlike in other parts of Nigeria where Muslims insist on bearing Arabic names, the Yoruba Muslims believe that having Yoruba first name and surname does not make them less Muslim. So when you hear names like Mr Fola Adeola, Mr Tayo Aderinokun, Chief Akin Odunsi, and Senator Gbenga Ashafa, nothing will tell you that they are Muslims. They do not flaunt Arabic names nor flaunt the “alhaji” title to prove that they have gone to Mecca for hajj. Christian Yoruba also flaunt their Yoruba names over Jewish and European names.

Similarly, the Yoruba do not flaunt Arabic attire or European attire to prove that they are good Muslims or good Christians. They flaunt their Yoruba attire whether in mosque or church. It is rare to attend an event like a wedding, a church service, or a funeral and see a Yoruba person who is above 30 years dressed in jeans, T-shirt, dress shirt, plain trousers, skirt or even suit. The Yoruba person is most likely going to don the traditional Yoruba attire. For most men, such dressing is incomplete if the agbada and fila (cap) are not worn. The women’s wear is also incomplete without the gele on the head and the ipele on the shoulder.

Note the reference to “gele.” Even though the English name for female headgear is scarf, the Yoruba have ensured that the Yoruba name overrides the English name. This name has been copied by even Igbo people who have the name “ichafu” for the female headgear. Gele has become so common that many Igbo women who are under 30 do not know that there is an Igbo name for it. Similarly, the three-wheeled vehicle which is called tricycle in English has been effectively named keke in Nigeria courtesy of the Yoruba.

Let us look at the foods. Yoruba people are not known to have the best cuisine in Nigeria. The contest for that title should be between the Akwa-Cross and the Igbo. But the Yoruba have ensured that none of their local dishes is given an English name. For example, there are no English alternatives for amala, gbegiri, ewedu, efo riro, and the like. However, a meal like usi has been given the awful name “starch”: a name that will make someone lose appetite. How can you tell someone to eat starch when you can excite the person’s imagination and appetite by calling it usi? Akpu has been christened “fufu” or “swallow”; ofe nsala has been given the horrible name “white soup;” ofe onugbu has been baptised and upgraded to “bitter leaf soup;” ogbono is now “draw soup” (whatever that means); while nkwu enu is now “up wine” (as if there is any type of palm wine got from the ground).

Meanwhile, those who created pizza, cappuccino, sushi, samosa, spaghetti, macaroni, sake, shawarma, etc, did not bother to give them English names.

Why is it important for a people to be proud of their culture and project it? It fires a people up to be more innovative, thereby creating things that will make them stand out. That belief drove the Romans to fabricate and construct superior weapons that helped them to overrun much of Europe, Asia and Africa and plant their language and civilisation all over the known world. The United Kingdom used it too. The United States took over from the UK. Today, China is using it. That was why Daniel Patrick Moynihan said: “The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society.”

No culture is superior to the other. However, if a people do not feel proud of their culture and project it, they will be subsumed by the prevalent culture. The duty of every ethnic group is to ensure that members project the essence of that ethnic group.

–Twitter @BrandAzuka

SOURCE: PUNCH

Dissecting Ihedioha’s Steps Towards Industrialising Imo

Emeka Ihedioha

BY EMMANUEL MGBEAHURUIKE

The application of Western technology to the developmental process of developing nations has proven to be not only an essential catalyst but as veritable pillar.

Apparently conscious of this, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and incumbent governor of Imo State, prior to his inauguration on May 29, this year embarked on economic and diplomatic visits to the United Kingdom and Germany.

While there, the governor interacted with development /investment partners and donor agencies. He also met with the World Bank, the French Development Bank (AFD), the UK Department for International Development and the German Embassy who all expressed, their willingness to partner with his administration to get the Eastern Heartland (Imo State) out of the woods and make it the pearl of the south-east.

Not a few indigenes of the state are worried that it, over the years, did not leveraged on multi-lateral development assistance on account of its inability to comply with some basic requirements such as payment of counterpart funding and lack of transparency in the administrative process.

Interestingly, the positive perception of the Rebuild Imo government of Chief Emeka Ihedioha has attracted the interest of International Development partners in partnering with the state to achieve its strategic development plan.

Not done yet, the government also led a small team of government officials and private sector entrepreneurs on an investment trip to Russia where he held meetings with the AfriExim Bank - the leading pan-African trade financial Institution that had since pledged support in the form of a robust credit line for prospective investors in the state.

That the state under the leadership of Ihedioha is now being viewed as open and good for business is evidenced on the visit of a team of prospective investors to the Imo modern poultry, Avutu, Obowo council area who showed keen interest to revamp the project established by the late Chief Sam Mbakwe administration.

There is no doubt that if fully operational, the poultry would provide over 2, 000 jobs, catalyse local economic growth create job opportunity ties for the teeming unemployed graduates, increase the revenue of the state.

To add impetus to his industrialisation drive, the governor has engaged the transmission company of Nigeria and the Enugu Electricity Distribution company to complete the Oguta 33KV line from Egbu which is expected to be completed in no distant time.

This will unquestionably supply reliable electricity to the Oguta environs while freeing the old Oguta 33kV line to make available more electricity for the new Owerri areas.

The governor is emphatic that "only a reliable and adequate power supply will guarantee the industrialisation agenda of our government through our intervention, further work has commenced at the 132 and 33 KVA, such stations located at Ideato & Aboh Mbaise respectively with a view to completing them by the end of this year," the governor was quoted as saying.

It is equally gratifying that the state government has set up a power and Rural Electrification Agenda (aka 1-POREA) to evolve strategies to remove barriers to adequate exploitation of the power generation potentials.

The state government has also empowered I-POREA to take advantage of the State's supply to some areas of the state where they were non existent in the last seven to eight years.

This included the replacement of 79 failed transformation across the state, completion of electricity supply to Inyishi Aluminum Extrusion Company and its environs as well as the Oguta 33KV line electricity project.

Lamenting that for many years now, the state had been the ugly bride in the area of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country, the governor disclosed that his administration has designed a framework for implementing the necessary reforms to improve the position of the state on the World Bank Ease of doing business ranking.

Furthermore, the government has concluded plans to inaugurate the Imo State Enabling Business Environment Council (ISEBEC) which is expected to draw up, implement and oversee agenda for business process reforms.

To crown it all, the governor, conscious of the indispensability of effective and all season motorable road network has awarded contracts for the construction of 14 critical roads across the state.

These include: Naze Federal Polytechnic Road, Ihiagwa-Obinze road, Ahiara Junction Okpala Road Aba Branch Ahiara Junction road and the Imo State Teaching Hospital Road, the Umuowa Old Orlu Road MCC -Toronto Road, Mgbidi Oguta Road, Ogwoghoranya, Avutu with a spur at Avutu Poultry farm Road and the Douglas- Emmanuel College -Naze Junction road.

Also slated for reconstruction are the Assumpta Port Harcourt Road, Okigwe Okpara Road- police station, Road, control post world Bank-Umuguma Road, Okigwe Road - IMSU Bishop Court Roundabout Road and the Concorde Bondevard Ring Road-Zuma-PH Road with a flag-off of these projects.

In fulfillment of his promise to address the dilapidated infrastructure in the state, with a view to ensuring economic development, Ihedioha flagged off the construction of 81km urban roads project worth N23.4b in the state

This is as the governor has promised that his administration would not consider geographical divisions while addressing the developmental needs of the state.

The governor stated this while performing the flag-off of the projects, "said part of his administration's cardinal agenda is to run a one-stop state, where democracy dividends will be evenly distributed across the 27 local government areas of the state".



Others are Control-Post/World Bank; Ahiara Junction/Okpala; IMSU/Bishop's Court; Okigwe Town/St. Mary's Catholic Church, MCC/Toronto Junction, Aba Branch/Ahiara Junction, Concorde/Zuma/Port Harcourt, among others.

The governor also flagged off the reconstruction of Government Technical College, Okporo, Orlu, Government Technical College, Owerri, Dan Anyiam Stadium and Grasshopper International Handball Stadium, Owerri.

"Today, we are commencing construction of urban roads and comprehensive roads rehabilitation across the state to address the sorry state of our roads. We have tried to provide palliative measures on the roads ranging from the desilting of drainages to address the perennial flooding to filling the failed portions.

"We have deliberately chosen state roads while we have also commenced discussion with the federal government for the federal roads including Owerri/Orlu/Akokwa Road," he went further to say.

"In order to ensure that a good job is done and to guarantee the durability of the project, painstaking processes were observed. The process of getting to this point was transparent and followed due process. All these were done to ensure not just quality assurance but value for money.

"It is significant again that we are flagging off this project in Orlu Zone. We are running a one stop state. For us all, Imo belongs to Imo people and geographical divisions have nothing to do with our unity as a people."

Ihedioha gave an assurance that the construction of both the government technical colleges, and the stadium would meet the international standards to boast technical education and sports development in the state.

The governor also charged the contractors handling the projects to deliver to specifications and guarantee their durability, pointing out that his administration is committed to providing durable projects.

Speaking at the flag-off of the Assumpta roundabout - Port Harcourt road project, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, His Grace, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna commended the governor for his achievements and urged him to ensure that the projects are supervised for quality delivery.

In their remarks, the state Commissioner for Works, Engr. Ben Ekwueme, Special Adviser to the governor on Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Hon. Oliver Enwerenem, , Chairman, Imo State Sports Commission, Chief Fan Ndubuoke, and top notch traditional rulers in the state hailed the governor on the projects.

Ekwueme assured on behalf of the contractors that the project would enjoy life span of 15 to 20 years when completed, adding that all would be delivered fully between 12 to 18 months of the commencement.

The above measures not withstanding governor Ihedioha has begun to mobilizes communities in the state for Agricultural Revolution.

This, the governor intends to achieve by unveiling an Agricultural Revolution programme with a target of 500 million palm trees in the next 5 years.

Already, the government has engaged the services of some consultants to install an agricultural road map for the state, just as a world class technical partners had similarly been engaged to assist re-position the multi million Naira Ada Palm Nigeria Ltd Ohaji.

Uche Odozor, Senior Special Assistant (Agricultural Development) to the governor disclosed this while briefing newsmen in his office.

Odozor who identified agriculture as the key and pivotal pillar of the nation's economy with core direct impact areas as food security, employment, foreign exchange earnings, poverty reduction and raw materials for industry regretted that in spite of this obvious fact, the sector had been literally dead for dose a decade in the state.

"Farm productivity has simply stagnated in the last 8 years and what we have now mostly are poor farmers producing only what they can eat with small families and this reality has had horrendous impact on the economy and on the life style of the people as a whole.

"His Excellency, the governor of Imo State's position on this is that of a revolutionary and aggressive intelligent approach to the situation so that speedy recovery can happen for the benefit of our people".

According to him, the proposed agricultural revolution would demand data capturing of the people across the 27 LGAs of the state within the next one month, adding that at least 500,000 individuals would be needed in the first tranche.

He explained that the central objectives of this governments agricultural policy is to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of agricultural production and the optimum utilisation of the factors of production with particular emphasis on labour, ensure a rapid improvement in the standard of living for the agricultural community by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture, assure the availability of supplies and also ensure that supplies reach the consumers at reasonable prices.

Odozor disclosed that the state government is currently focused on riving in this initiative in the areas of oil palm, ginger, cassava, soya beans, cashew pig farming, Beeking, Rice, maize, Tilapia, watermelon, cucumber, Aqua culture, mushroom, fresh vegetables, pineapples Dairy farming, Goat farming, shea butter business, Isabella grape, and Agro based e-commerce.

He added "everything we do will be based on inclusive agriculture productivity growth, improved nutritional outcomes, enhanced livelihood for people as well as foreign exchange income earning capacity".

Others he said were: youth empowerment, climate smart agriculture, using less land to produce more food and preservation of land and soil saying "we will check consistently that all our strategies align with these core guidelines. People must be empowered and removed from poverty. Wealth must be created in communities, food must be amply available for local consumption and for export to other communities and aboard for foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture must once again become the core pillar and pride of our economy," he concluded.

SOURCE: LEADERSHIP

Review: For These African Immigrants, Life Is A Haunted House

Ron Canada and Patrice Johnson Chevannes in “In Old Age,” No. 8 in Mfoniso Udofia’s Ufot cycle.Credit: Caitlin Ochs for The New York Times

BY JESSE GREEN

In ‘runboyrun’ and ‘In Old Age,’ the latest installments of Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play cycle, America is no place to hide from the past.

When we first met Abasiama in Mfoniso Udofia’s play “Sojourners,” it was 1978 and she had come to the United States temporarily, to study biology at Texas Southern University. But when she showed up again in “Her Portmanteau,” 36 years had elapsed and she still hadn’t returned to Nigeria.

“Sojourners” and “Her Portmanteau,” both extraordinary, were presented in repertory at New York Theater Workshop in 2017, announcing not only a formidable dramatic talent in Ms. Udofia but also a formidable main character in Abasiama. Pregnant with the child of her wayward first husband, she had to decide in “Sojourners” whether to leave or stay — and, either way, how to make a home out of nothing.

Though “Her Portmanteau” left Abasiama seemingly settled in middle age, with a second husband — Disciple Ufot — and four adult children, there was still much to learn about her and her family. “Sojourners” was merely play No. 1, and “Her Portmanteau” play No. 4, in a projected nine-part work called the Ufot cycle.

Now, with the opening on Monday of “runboyrun” and “In Old Age,” New York Theater Workshop brings us installments No. 3 and No. 8. (Two more have been written and three others are still “under construction.”) Together, the new plays deepen our understanding of the invisible burdens that can weigh down the lives of even the most successful immigrants.

That the burdens are not as fresh or surprising as in the earlier works may be the inevitable result of time’s passing within the world Ms. Udofia created. “Sojourners” already established the incipient mental disarray threatening to undermine Disciple (Chiké Johnson) and thus his uneasy new alliance with Abasiama (Patrice Johnson Chevannes). By the time “runboyrun,” directed by Loretta Greco, finds them locked in the same struggle decades later, there is little drama left in it.

Indeed, Disciple’s life in 2012 is not a new disaster. Though a brilliant scholar of African history, he finds himself at 56 an adjunct teacher at a community college, where he has recently been the subject of complaints by students about his hygiene. At home, in a careworn old pile of a house in Worcester, Mass., he alternates between muteness and mania, trying to cleanse the rooms of unwelcome spirits but also wildly accusing Abasiama of sleeping with men at her church.

In response to years of this treatment, Abasiama has become almost larval in her despair. As the play begins she hibernates on the living room sofa, so bundled under blankets (the house is under-heated) that she seems to have become a part of it. Even so, she eventually bestirs herself to tell Disciple that she wants a divorce. If it is the first time she has done so, it will not be the last.

But “runboyrun” complicates this domestic drama with what amounts to a ghost story; there are other characters living in the house, or at least in Disciple’s delusions of it. These are his mother and siblings and younger self, in 1968, noncombatants caught in the midst of Nigeria’s civil war over the breakaway region of Biafra. Nearly starving, frequently shelled, unthinkably brave, they help us identify, reasonably but perhaps too neatly, Disciple’s lifelong problems as a form of post-traumatic stress.

“Sometimes peace cannot exist,” his mother tells him in one of these flashbacks. Though she is referring to the unhinged animosities of war, we understand the phrase to apply to individuals as well.

Ms. Greco does a smart job of abutting and gradually intertwining the stories; at times, under Oona Curley’s lighting, they almost appear to be shot on two different film stocks. But the staging is unable to overcome a static quality in the 2012 scenes, which keep repeating the same dynamic — accusation and resignation — until finally Abasiama pulls herself together in an effort to end the abuse.

Though it’s a moving moment when she begins to get through to her husband with tough love, the play nevertheless leaves you doubting her success. The story, Ms. Udofia suggests, is destined to repeat itself; there is only so far one can run from the past.

That thesis is put to an extreme test in the second half of the double bill, “In Old Age.” Set “in a future far removed,” it picks up Abasiama’s story some years after Disciple’s death, when you think she might at last be free from his chaos. But no, just as he was forever haunted by the war he once lived through, she is forever haunted by him; using the voice of the house itself he shouts at her day and night in a symphony of clangs and creaks that would drive anyone crazy. (The sound designer David Van Tieghem should get an award, or a summons.)

However dark the subject, “In Old Age” is structured as a comedy, and a familiar one at that: a comedy of attrition. Over the course of a week’s worth of visits, Azell Abernathy, a handyman hired by Abasiama’s adult children to replace the old house’s creaky floors, gradually wears down her terrifying resistance and opens her up to renewal. You can tell how little independent function Azell (Ron Canada) has in the proceedings by keeping an eye on his “work”; as directed by Awoye Timpo, he keeps measuring the same few inches without getting anything done.

A character like that, central neither to the Ufot story nor, it appears, to his own, could only get work in a play. He is a prop, there merely to jimmy Abasiama into conflict with forces he has nothing to do with: the deceased Disciple and the noisy house itself. No amount of charm — and Mr. Canada is charming — can make that dramaturgical device stop creaking.

Luckily, Ms. Johnson Chevannes can; she is spectacular throughout the two plays. Sometimes this means suggesting the encroaching frailty of a hollowed-out woman; sometimes the way such a woman nevertheless corrals her remaining strength to resume a lifelong fight against despair.

Between these two extremes she creates a character who is pitiable and yet too awesome to be pitied. When she is finally granted a moment of joy, you understand why Azell (and the playwright) keep coming back to her despite her forbidding qualities; sometimes, if only briefly, peace can exist, and it’s beautiful.

Tickets Through Oct. 13 at New York Theater Workshop, Manhattan; 212-460-5475, nytw.org. Running time: 3 hours 15 minutes.

Jesse Green is the co-chief theater critic. Before joining The Times in 2017, he was the theater critic for New York magazine and a contributing editor. He is the author of a novel, “O Beautiful,” and a memoir, “The Velveteen Father.”

Millennial Virgin Islanders Are Reviving Cultural Pride With Modern Madras Styles

Cloth Weaving, An Igbo Textile Art. Image: Ohuzo/Vanguard

BY JEAIZA M. QUINONES

Madras, a cultural fabric often used in the U.S. Virgin Islands and many of its sister islands in the Caribbean is a dyed plaid fabric that dates back to the early 14th century. Originating in the Indian city formerly known as Madras, it was handwoven and often worn by the working class as a light-wear clothing option for hotter tropical environments.

The fabric made its way from India to the Middle East and eventually Northern Africa after becoming a commodity for European trade. The fabric’s popularity led to its introduction to West Africa by the Portuguese.

English author Paul Crask cites members of the Igbo tribe from Nigeria as those responsible for bringing madras to the Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade. They bore the tradition of wearing madras on Sundays — their days off — or during festivities. Madras also grew in popularity in Louisiana as well as in French-Caribbean islands, where strict Tignon Laws barred African women from displaying their hair as a way to curb European men from pursuing them.

Required to wear headdresses at all times, African women’s creativity allowed them to create ornate wraps made of silks and other fine fabrics and decorated with feathers and beads. When the Spanish governor of New Orleans attempted to further suppress them by prohibiting the use of feathers, silk fabric, and jewels, they began sporting colorful headwraps made of madras with manipulated folds and points as a form of self-expression.

The style trickled down to the islands of Martinique, Dominica, and Guadeloupe — eventually spreading throughout the rest of the Caribbean.

In the centuries following madras’ introduction to the Caribbean, the fabric has become a staple of West Indian culture. Madras served as both a fashion statement and a message of availability, with headdresses traditionally bearing a specific number of folded points to signify whether a woman is married, engaged or available to be courted.

While the U.S. Virgin Islands code does not specify madras as the official fabric of the territory, it has been the most commonly used fabric in traditional festivities and celebrations. Over time the traditions of old have faded with the rise of modern customs.

For much of the last decade, younger Virgin Islanders have been accused of being less involved or disinterested in traditional activities and even less likely to wear madras or incorporate it into their clothing outside of annual festival activities. In my own upbringing, I remember madras as something worn by elders or quadrille dancers. The only glimpses of madras being incorporated into modern fashion by younger locals were during our annual agricultural fair or in pageants where certain segments required cultural wear.

Despite the apparent decline of cultural traditions, homage must be paid to tradition bearers like Bradley Christian, Valrica Bryson, the late Janice Tutein, former Senator Shawn Michael Malone — and many more — who have been continuously promoted Virgin Islands cooking, music, and traditional wear.

Joining the ranks of our tradition and culture bearers is a growing group of millennial U.S. Virgin Islanders who have found ways to merge modern art, the evolving digital landscape, and fashion of the 2010s with the territory’s most recognized traditional fabric.

Shamari Haynes, the founder of the #SimplySAVAGE brand on the island of St. Croix which is comprised of two separate carnival troupes, Simply Sophisticated and SAVAGE Festival. Haynes became one of the frontrunners of the modern madras movement in 2008 when he premiered “Crucian Cocktail Party,” a madras costume section of his Simply Sophisticated troupe designed to reflect local waitresses “with the showgirl flair.” He later went on to premiere a madras-themed section of his troupe in 2017.

“I’ve always had a love for madras and how beautiful it looked when worn casually in the day or elegantly at night. Our [original ] traditional fabric is 100% cotton and Gingham,” Haynes said. “It’s a part of our story not only as Virgin Islanders but as West Indians in general.”

This year Haynes passed down the reigns of #SimplySAVAGE to Wendy Aurelien to begin work with the newly established Division of Festivals of the Department of Tourism. Before the transition, the group held its annual Festival of the Bands costume premiere which gave the public a first look at the 2019/2020 edition of both troupes.

The festival included a fashion show by another millennial Virgin Islander and #SimplySAVAGE collaborator known for her use of madras, Giana Christopher — also known as “designs by Regal.” In the world of social media, Christopher’s designs have drastically grown in popularity. In a recent interview, Christopher cited a lack of local pride in madras fabric as the reason she incorporated it into her designs.

“I saw the growth of African print fabric used in fashions and realized we [the Caribbean] have not been promoting our identifying cultural fabric as well as we should,” Christopher said.

Christopher, who typically creates freehand sketches her designs, sourced from local fabrics combines online fashion trends with traditional looks from a number of Caribbean islands. Local models have begun sporting her off-the-shoulder madras tops, maxi skirts, and necklaces. She hopes not only to bring more attention to the fabric as a unique aspect of Caribbean culture but also hopes to “inspire interest, research and conversations [about] the Caribbean diaspora.”

Christopher’s designs have been shared across dozens of social media pages and have even been sported across the globe by local bloggers during their travels in an effort to share U.S. Virgin Islands culture with the world.

The connections among millennial Virgin Islanders seeking to increase madras’ popularity continue in collaborations among designers and local photographers. Markida Scotland, owner of creative brand “Local Lady Media” based in St. Croix recently began utilizing Christopher’s designs in her shoots. “Years ago [someone] said madras wasn’t fashionable and we needed to retire it,” Scotland said in reference to her desire to shoot the fabric.

Scotland partnered with Christopher to make her designs available to clients wanting portraits around the island. She is also an advocate for celebrating neglected locations on island, often ignored in photoshoots.

“I think what really irked me is that we want to take from all these outside sources when we can actually brand and market our culture, Scotland said. “Kente fabric is a hot item in the states but we treat madras like some kind of stepchild.”

Photographer Chalana Brown is another tradition bearer on St. Croix who has been a strong advocate of madras and other Virgin Islands traditions. She is known for a recent photography project entitled “The Madras That Binds All Ahwe” — after local poet Richard Schrader’s piece of the same name — which utilized madras and recognized it as a cloth that binds all of the Caribbean islands.

“Photography and fashion [have] enabled me to expose young Virgin Islanders to cultural traditions […] to illustrate that traditional wear can be fresh and appealing,” Brown said. “Frida Kahlo, the famous painter, always walked around in her native Mexican traditional wear […] She was featured on the cover of Vogue in 1937. We should take pride in our identity; it sets us apart.”

Through the efforts of tradition bearers like those mentioned in this piece, madras has made a refreshing comeback in Virgin Islands culture and a “debut” of its own on social media. The most widely used social media network in the world — Facebook, who now boasts 2.7 billion monthly users as of 2019 — is just 11 years old. Meaning much of the world’s population of over 7 billion people likely have never experienced traditional madras stylings in a Virgin Islands context.

Designers and photographers have found ways not only to incorporate the fabric with modern fashion but have also advocated for cultural pride and the celebration of local traditions. The growth of digital media may be seen to some as the death of local culture and traditions.

These Virgin Islanders, however, see it as an increased opportunity to market those traditions to the younger generation and the rest of the world — effectively making them digital culture bearers.

It is time for the U.S. Virgin Islands to brand itself in ways other digital brands and social media influencers have found impactful: utilizing images, video, fashion, and technology in order to send a message and create an identity in the online world. Madras, a fabric that has made its way from rural India over the course of seven centuries into the very fiber of Caribbean culture, continues to be a valuable aspect of that identity.


SOURCE: STATE OF THE TERRITORY NEWS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

The Man Allen Onyema

Allen Onyema. Image via Google

BY LUKE ONYEKAKEYAH

If I have gold medal, I will, unreservedly, award it to Allen Onyema, Nigeria’s burgeoning world-class business tycoon, bestriding Africa’s aviation industry through his airline Air Peace, for his unprecedented patriotism in boosting Nigeria’s image to the world, by single-handedly evacuating over 300 traumatised Nigerian victims from South Africa. This could be among the largest peace time repatriation of Nigerians from anywhere in the world.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, extended the commendation of the House of Representatives to the Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, for offering free air services to the Federal Government in the evacuation of Nigerians under xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The House recommended Allen Onyema to the Federal Government for higher honours in Nigeria. When called upon to address them, the lawmakers gave Onyema a standing ovation. “You have brought tears to my eyes again. I have never been so honoured in my life,” Onyema said in the opening of his speech.
Chief Allen Onyema deserves every honour and accolade. I am provoked by the selfless acts of this nationalist. Many Nigerians have equally been provoked. I have the privileged to honour him with this commendation in my column.

The decision by Allen Onyema, CEO and owner of Air Peace, to voluntarily evacuate victimised and troubled Nigerians from South Africa without charging a dime, is a feat that no one has ever accomplished in Nigeria. The act sets a historical landmark that cannot be erased. It takes extraordinary humans to accomplish extraordinary things. Mr. Onyema’s act has raised a new hope that all is not lost in Nigeria.

It is such extraordinary acts of love that provoke God to act in one’s favour. For instance, it was after the biblical Jewish King Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings at Gibeon that the LORD appeared to him in a dream by night and asked him to request whatever he wants. He asked for wisdom, which God granted him in addition to riches and honour beyond measure (1 Kings 3: 4-13).

The uncommon patriotic act by a truly patriotic Nigerian has inflamed passion for love of the fatherland. Nigerians are overwhelmed and could not believe that there are still good and patriotic citizens in a country that seems to have been written off because of selfish unpatriotic acts in high places; a country where the guiding principle is selfishness and primitive acquisition of wealth, to the detriment of the masses. As I said earlier, I am personally provoked, and this tribute is for Allen Onyema, an uncommon patriotic citizen.

Prior to 2013 when Air Peace was founded in Lagos, few Nigerians knew Allen Onyema. The steady rise of Air Peace brought Mr. Onyema to the limelight, as the new airline provides reliable passenger and charter services, serves the major cities of Nigeria and flies to several West African destinations and the Middle East.

There is no doubt that Nigerians are looking forward to the manifestation of goodness from whosoever could provide it. A good and reliable airline is needed to fill a gap in the wobbling aviation sector. Who is this Allen Onyema that has left indelible mark in the heart of Nigerians?
His full name is Allen Ifechukwu Onyema. A native of Mbosi town in Ihiala Local Government of Anambra State, Nigeria. He was born to fantastic parents who instilled discipline in him by their exemplary ways of life. He is the first of nine children, which in Igbo culture placed much responsibility on him, more especially, after he lost his mother at the age of 44 in 1991.

A lawyer by profession and a stylish businessman and conflict resolution expert, it was in recognition of his profound commitment to the common good that the 10 towns in Ihiala Local Government conferred on him with the prestigious traditional title of Ide (Pillar) of Ihiala.

The young Allen Onyema lived his early life in the old Bendel State, principally, in Benin and Warri, where he attended several primary schools. He also attended several secondary schools including St. Anthony’s Secondary School, Azia; Urhobo College, Effurun and Government College Ugheli.

He attended the University of Ibadan where he studied Law. Thereafter, he attended the Nigerian Law School between 1987/88 and was called to the bar in 1989. Allen resisted the pressure from his parents and uncle to work for Shell after Law School. Instead, he opted for a free life to be able to make decisions for himself, rather than remaining under parental care.

Consequently, in 1990, he left Warri for Lagos to seek “greener” pastures! According to him in one interview he granted a newspaper, while in Lagos, he had no money and could not afford accommodation. He squatted in Oshodi and could not even afford bus or taxi fare. He was going to Lagos by train and retuned by trekking to Iddo to join the overcrowded train back to Oshodi.

He wanted to practice his profession as a lawyer but couldn’t find a law firm to join. He was nearly frustrated before help came through the late Chief Vincent Amobi Nwizugbo, who allowed him to come to his chambers on Martins Street in Lagos to learn. Though, he was not on salary, he was very happy that he had a place he could go every morning.

By dint of hard work and brilliant performance, he was soon placed on a salary of N500 monthly after he surprised his principal by winning a high court case, which the law firm had regarded as a bad case. That case cut his teeth, being his first as a lawyer. He was then made head of the chambers after two years.

By that time, he had become big in real estate business, and so, he opted to resign to avoid conflict with the law firm. He left and floated his own law firm and other businesses. That was how it all started and he began to unfold to greater heights.

By 2008, Allen Onyema had garnered enough financial muscle from his businesses, which was yielding much interest on his deposits. The decision to float an airline, according to him, was “to create jobs for the people.” Earlier in 2007, he was informed that one commercial Boeing 737 could give jobs to over 150 persons. Trusting in God and his desire to touch people’s lives through massive job creation, he went on to found Air Peace. He said, Air Peace is for the welfare of mankind and not really for him.

Today, Air Peace has become the biggest airline in Nigeria and a household name. With 23 aircraft in its fleet including three Boeings 777, the airline offers very competitive fares and flies into the major airports in Nigeria, in addition to Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It was therefore not surprising that when the xenophobic attacks broke out in South Africa against Nigerians and other African countries, Chief Allen Onyema was ready to intervene. Thus, as soon as President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the evacuation of Nigerians, without providing aircraft, the man of the people, Chief Allen Onyema, immediately offered to use his Boeing 777 aircraft to evacuate the troubled citizens free of charge. He has accomplished this task to the chagrin of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora. He said, when asked, that he put down over N280 million to do this job.

That there are still Allen Onyema’s out there, who are more interested in sacrificing their hard earned money to serve public interest, is most encouraging. All hope is not lost judging from Chief Allen Onyema’s act of patriotism.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Let’s Unite To Rebuild Imo, Ihedioha Woos Opponents

Emeka Ihedioha

BY THE SUN

OWERRI (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- Governor Emeka Ihedioha has asked those he defeated at the tribunal to join forces with him in restoring the glory of Imo.

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal two days ago in Abuja validated his victory saying the cases of the defeated candidates lacked merit.

Speaking in Owerri, Ihedioha said the support of all especially that of other constestants is needed to put Imo in proper shape.

“I call Imolites across party lines and opinion divides, my opponents in the last election especially those I defeated in tribunal to join hands with us and make Imo great again. For me, there is no victor, no vanquished,” Ihedioha said.

In a statement, the state secretary of PDP, Ray Emeana, while congratulating Ihedioha and the state chapter of the party, said the verdict of the tribunal was a reflection of the will of God and the people as evidenced by the spontaneous jubilation all over Imo and beyond.

“I commend the chairman and members of the tribunal for standing on the rule of law and defending the integrity of the judiciary and the ideals of democracy.

“Now that the legal battle has been won and lost at this stage, it’s time to focus unwaveringly on the task of rebuilding Imo.

“I implore all the gladiators to sheath their swords and call on Imolites, irrespective of political leaning, to join hands in the gargantuan but inexorable task of rebuilding our dear state after eight years of despoilment, ruination and official pillage”

Former governors, Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, joined Ihedioha at a brief party in the Governor’s Lodge, Owerri, immediately after the judgments.

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has urged his supporters to remain calm.

In a statement, yesterday, Uzodimma said his supporters should not despair but be confident that justice will be served at the end of the day.

Why Ndigbo May Embrace IPOB In 2023 — Ezeife

Chukwuemeka Ezeife

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

FORMER Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, weekend, said that the elderly people in South East may embrace the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB if the other parts of Nigeria conspire and deny the zone Presidency in 2023.

The elder statesman also said that the agitation and crusade being carried out by Mazi Kanu and his group where they are demanding for a referendum was forced on Ndigbo by the country. 

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Speaking exclusively to Vanguard in Abuja, the former governor said that even if entire Nigeria rejects Ndigbo, the people would not reject themselves. Commending the non-violent approach by the IPOB leader and his group, Dr Ezeife said some of the elite in the South East had distanced themselves from the Mazi Kanu’s approach because they believed that there should be more mature ways of addressing the marginalization in the zone.

 He accused the Nigerian government of making deliberate efforts towards pushing the Igbos out of the country by denying them occupying sensitive positions including leading any of the security agencies.

 Asked whether agitation by the IPOB was genuine, he said, “Yes, you can’t beat a person and say don’t cry. What Nnamdi Kanu and co are doing is crying because they are beaten and they are doing it in a way that is non-violent. 

 “Therefore, Nigerians should appreciate their method. I am happy the rest of the world, Europe, European Union, they met with Nnamdi Kanu and they saw point with what he was saying. 

“The (United Nations) UN also met with Nnamdi Kanu in Switzerland, I don’t know whether they have changed their mind they invited him to the United Nations General Assembly, but now having met with him in Switzerland, they may not meet him again in New York. 

“So, I think Nnamdi Kanu is doing what is forced on us (Ndigbo) because some of us believe that we should find out more mature ways of going about it.

 “But the ideal is very lawful, they are crying for a referendum, that is a democracy. I think if Igbo people are denied the Presidency in 2023, then, no matter how unpopular IPOB may be among the older people everybody may rush it.”

 On the 2023 Presidency and the agitation by the South West and the North to go for the plum position, he said,” If you want to deny them (Ndigbo) 2023 Presidency, then deny them citizenship of Nigeria. 

“I am feeling that it is because of rejection that other Nigerians reject Igbo Presidency that (Mallam Nasir) el-Rufai wants to be President, that (Asiwaju Bola) Tinubu wants to be President and it will favour them. If that happens, the real meaning is that the Igbos should cease being citizens of Nigeria. 

“That there is no point belonging where you are rejected. One rejected does not reject himself. Among those who reject you, you don’t want to force yourself to belong. 

“So, there is this talk about Biafra. IPOB is promoting Biafra because of various problems and punishments against Ndigbo. Because of many problems cause the Igbos in Nigeria, they are trying to leave. But the Federal Government of Nigeria has been very busy pushing the Igbos out of Nigeria. 

“We are traders, we import like containers etc, but when our people import things, the things are seized and auctioned. Ibeto was one of the strongest people in cement, after some time, he was crippled. Instead of going up, he was going back to give advantage to Non-Igbo. 

“Look at this man who is building cars, (Innocent Chukwuma) Innoson… he was taken like a tout in the paint from his house to Abuja. Emzor Pharmaceutical was closed down for days because they say that boys and girls or youths were inhaling something that was produced and had been in the market for decades, some people discovered that they can inhale it.

“When the National Security Council of Nigeria is to meet, you don’t find one Igbo man there, what kind of National Council is it? You come to employment, if there is a new list of people employed by the Federal Government, you will see that Igbo is non-existent in the list.

 “27 Judges were appointed recently, mostly northerners. There were two from the West, two from the South-South, non from the Southeast. But if it were people disengaged like they are removing military (officers) from South mostly, if it were disengagement, you will see a dominance of Igbo names in the list of people being removed. 

“There is something Nigerians should learn if you want to be one country and grow, it is a quotation I will take from Russian women. They say, they too have mothers. There was a misunderstanding between Chechnya and Russia and the news is all over the place on how many Chechnyan men are being killed every day, slaughtered because of course, the Russians are bigger. 

“After some time, the Russian women said, please stop killing all those Chechnyan men, they too have mothers. That is the kind of feelings that make for rapport and cooperation and development. They too have mothers. You have put yourself in the place of the other person, that is how Progressives think.

 “So, only Edwin Clark and recently Adebanjo and Balarabe Musa have thought about they too have mothers. They too are Nigerians,

 Igbos too are Nigerians.” Reminded that zoning and rotational Presidency are not in Nigeria’s Constitution, he said, “We have been going about it as a matter of agreement. Not everything done is in the Constitution.

 “Do you know that one of the justifications for Buhari to come back was to complete Northern rotation. The point is that not everything done in government is in the Constitution. 

“One of the main problems of Nigeria is the constitution because it is never accepted as genuine, it is not accepted as the will of the people. So, even if it is not there, it doesn’t matter.”

Things Fall Together: Chinua Achebe Is Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart – Part 2

Chinua Achebe

BY JIMANZE EGO-ALOWES

The only difference is that while Achebe was Okonkwo-specific in his reportage, it is Achebe’s composite class of ex-colonials that were granted unimaginable wealth, position, and power. And this was typified by their moving into Government Reserved Areas, GRAs, after the white man left. The plain fact is that the Achebe composite class had no hand in building such a civilization or country. They merely inherited the rump of a British Empire and civilization. And as it turned out, they just could not run it. Achebe confesses to this even if obliquely. In his There was a Country, he writes: “Here is a piece of heresy: The British governed their colony of Nigeria with considerable care… British colonies, more or less, were expertly run.” (43). Of course, they ran it and handed it over to the Achebe composite class of ex-colonials.

Today alas, Nigeria is run like chaos. The Nigeria – the Achebe composite class of ex-colonials, inherited – that was once expertly run by the colonial power is today alas run as disorderly as the gates of hell. Perhaps it is that this Achebe composite class of ex-colonials, came suddenly into a fortune they could scarcely imagine, not to speak of manage or organize or run, and it all collapsed on their heads – and ours too.

One is forced to conjecture that it was the downside of a sudden meteoric rise in fortune that laid Okonkwo low and out. Okonkwo could not handle the new and unbelievable wealth and power he ran into by his industry. Both the Achebe composite class of ex-colonials and Okonkwo were like modern Mike Tyson. A famed American boxer, Tyson’s unimaginable good fortunes was beyond and blighted him, fatally, unto ruins. Perhaps, all too perhaps, these types make up one class.

And it is not out of place that the Achebe composite class, an heir of the rump of a perishing British civilization never came to knowledge that they were merely a band of adopted heirs. They were not truly of the bloodlines. Yet, alas, they deluded themselves that they were. The fact of this delusion is their mother sin. That explains in part, perhaps, why Achebe, one of the best of the rot that is their class, wrote his prose, even if apocryphal masterpiece, The Trouble with Nigeria. His tract above all was aimed at rationalizing the shameful failures of his class, the merely adopted, not true heirs of British or any civilization. In other words, the Achebe ex-colonial composite clan lacked a dialectical knowledge of even who they are. So, how could they generate the leaders to lead the unknowns, themselves?

And that was similar of course to Okonkwo, one can extrapolate. If Okonkwo were to author his own The Trouble with Umuofia, it would have been as un-dialectical as Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria. But the truth of the fall of Umuofia is closer to this dialectical short-circuit than to whatever Okonkwo, would as Achebe, have conjectured. For Okonkwo as much as for Achebe, they are never to be complicit of errors. Umuofia’s fall is in their cosmological not leadership failures. They did not fully comprehend what the world was made of. Thus, they could not defend themselves on the “ecologically” indicated, even if to them, mutant manifestations. Therefore, if one editorialized, substituting Umuofia for Aztec, etc., the truth of Carlos Fuentes, a Mexican Achebe if you liked, rings perfectly true:

But the Umuofians didn’t know the world existed outside the boundaries of the Igbo universe. When the white man arrived, they died of fright. There was another world they never thought of, and they were paralyzed to death. (Moyers 1989, 507).

And this concludes and summaries the counterfactual history of Umuofia and the current and resistant reality that is Nigeria. This is a Nigeria procured and bequeathed by the Achebe ex-colonial class to present and succeeding Nigerians. However, it is on record that Nobel Prize winner, Professor Wole Soyinka, member of the Achebe class of ex-colonials, was more forthright, more honest, in admitting to, not rationalising, his own and his group’s complicity in the shameful Nigerian tragedy:
BBC: “Has your generation of older Nigerians failed the people?”
WS: “Yes, I believe so.”

The following question may be indicated. How did Achebe write accurately of his future unto his death, when he was only 28? The answer is simple. It is in the nature of the artist to be both analytic and a seer. Most great artists– Achebe is indisputably one – have Delphic insights and hints of who they are and the likely unfolding of those seed personalities.

One of the most immediate in our national memories, must be of the poet Christopher Okigbo. His last book Labyrinths was declared as ‘’prophetic’’ by his publishers in their blurb. And the facts of Okigbo’s future actually matched his fears as he prerecorded them. So, the rite of the writer as prophetic is nothing strange or exotic. And this is also known in other climes. For instance, in his essay on Richard Wagner, Thomas Mann, a German Achebe if you liked, writes:

It has seemed to people that Tolstoy, in his old age, fell into a kind of religious madness. They do not see that the Tolstoy of the last period lay implicit in characters like Pierre Besuchov in War and Peace and Levin in Anna Karenina. (Mann 1958, 200.)

So, an Achebe foreseeing his future is neither odd not outlandish. These things happen. And the Latin American author ties it all up in his half dream world of characters: ‘’Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave the room…” (Marquez 1971, 383). Look, we are all doomed. Our greatest men are those who foresee these ends and try to counsel us on ways about or out of our fated tragedies. Achebe and Okonkwo were two of such, each after his own way.

Perhaps, why the self-evidence of Okonkwo as Achebe’s autobiographical double has eluded us is because of the elephant in our brains. We just could not think of comparing Okonkwo, a common ‘’wrestler’’, with Achebe, one of the world’s greatest minds. The error comes as follows. We are wrongly seduced by forms and categories. We gave up too easily, too suddenly, on content, on development; and content and development ironically are the defining assets.

First, it serves well if we came to knowledge that being an artist is not due to form. The conventional category of denoting artists by form may only be self-serving at best. The point is that not all novelists [that is users of the novelistic forms] are artists. Some novelists are in it, legitimately, for the money. Writers – or if you liked fabricators – of Mills and Boon titles are such types. Sometimes, other users of the novelistic forms are no artists too. But that is because they have no talents whatsoever. They remain journeymen, not artists, not masters. The German example of the so-called, The Good and the Bad Mann brothers are telling.

The analogue to the above is this. The so-called non-traditional categories or forms that are considered non-art, like wrestling, business etc. abound with visionary artists. Perhaps, they are rare, but history records they have been there. Fact is, if any man or maker advances the form, whatever form, or uses the current forms, for the search for perfection in whatever area, such as one is an artist, is a poet. Thus, it is not the form that creates the artists, the poets, the geniuses. It is the content, the innovation, the genius a given practitioner brings to the form.

For example, Donald Trump who is America’s current president once gave an insight in his autobiographical work, The Art of the Deal. It is now said that it was ghosted. However, the point is that he said it right: ‘’Deals are my art form.’’

Even if it is not true for him, the fact of it has been and still remains. Long before Trump for instance, one of the greatest banker-businessmen of all time have had his biography written. And an excerpt goes:

When I remarked that on how unusual it was to find a banker who was also a genuine man of letters, [Raffaele] Mattioli’s…: ‘’I see no difference whatsoever between a poem and a balance sheet…. At best, each is a work of art…. When I look at either a poem or a balance sheet, I try to see the center of gravity, the focal point. (Wechsberg 1966).

And it is not a matter exclusive to professors as Mattioli was. A signalling report on boxing reads:
Once, in answer to the Irish fighter Roger Donoghue, who asked how [Archie] Moore could throw punches out of a position that kept his arms crossed in front of his face, Archie replied, ‘’You’re talking about technique, Roger, and what I do is philosophy.’’ Editorialising Miller writes: ‘’Moore was to boxing what Nimzovitch had been to chess. (Mailer 2000).

And we can recall that Plato, rated as one of the finest minds ever, started out as a boxer. In fact, his name, Plato, originally a nickname which he finally assumed, is said to be derived from the fact that he had a broad chest, was a boxer. That Plato was so proud of his boxing endowment that he signed it as his proper name, should make us circumspect in dissing physical or martial grace. Let us suppose that Plato deployed to boxing, his strength and genius. Imagine what innovations he would have purchased for the world by that form, the form of boxing. That he finally chose the philosophical form against the martial kind, does not make him thus a greater genius or innovator. It was his content that was at work and play, and that same content would have been played out in whatever fields he has a knack for – and boxing, a martial-arts, like wrestling, was one of those.

In other words, that Okonkwo was a wrestler and farmer should not automatically degrade our assessment of him in contrast to other parties, say novelists and mathematicians. Rather, what should count is what innovations he brought to his trade, and the data is in his favour. Okonkwo achieved a deed, an upset, an innovation, that ranks him with the founders of the clan. In summary, Okonkwo was a supreme martial artist; and, by this fact merits comparisons with even the gods, literary or otherwise. So, we have to quickly slaughter the elephant in our brains and make meat of it, rather than allow it to decimate our minds as a scarecrow.

In conclusion, it is apparent we can see that Achebe’s and Okonkwo’s lives run nearly as one in character and in fate, essentially. The only differences are in matters of Achebe’s management of his family for which we have no firm data. Anyway, that rather closet, even petty detail, does not detract from the dominant broad strokes in the essential lives of these two characters. And a novel need not conform to the least commas and periods to be autobiographical. Just the essential details, and “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.”

In all, it may now be safe to say and in justice that the author of Things Fall Apart is [Professor] Chinua ‘’Okonkwo’’ Achebe, not Chinua Achebe. Ahiazuwa.

Ego-Alowes is a notable critic and Nigerian publisher

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Ugwuanyi: Taking Democratic Dividends To Grassroots

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

BY LOUIS AMOKE

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s priority is rural development. In this piece, Louis Amoke examines the administration’s rural development strategy, which has impacted on the grassroots.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade Constituency of Osun State, has given a good account of the policy thrust of the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and its positive impact on the lives of the people of the state.

Oke, who led members of the Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation and Monitoring of Recruitment of Nigerians by MDAs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to pay a courtesy call on Gov. Ugwuanyi, when they visited the state on their oversight assignment, disclosed that the governor has concentrated massive development more in the rural areas “unlike what we have in other states where a governor will concentrate development in the state capital”.

The parliamentarian extolled the leadership qualities of Gov. Ugwuanyi as a peaceful, humble, focused, hard-working and grassroots politician, stressing that they were impressed with the level of progress going on in the rural communities of Enugu State.

Oke’s remark on Ugwuanyi was not only candid but also a true reflection of what his administration stands for. His assessment has reechoed the intrinsic aspect of the governor’s vision, strategy and untiring endeavor in reconnecting the people with reality and act of good governance, irrespective of class or socio-economic background.

Ugwuanyi, in spite of the nation’s daunting economic challenges, the state’s lean resources and recent security challenges, has remained undaunted and resolute in his sustained efforts to build Enugu State of the founding fathers’ dream, where peace, harmony, inclusive governance and rapid development hold sway.

His vision and passion for the well-being of the people of the state, irrespective of class or social status, as major stakeholders in the development project, gave birth to the massive infrastructural rebirth being witnessed in rural communities since the inception of his administration.

As Oke rightly stated, Ugwuanyi’s grassroots development initiatives have truly ensured more concentration of infrastructural developments in rural areas than in urban centres.

This reverse in the development strategy, which is novel in the annals of the state and seems to be alien to some urban residents, was in view of the fact that past administrations concentrated development largely in Enugu city, neglecting the majority of the state’s population who live in the rural areas. The governor’s rural development agenda have addressed to a reasonable extent, the unorthodox imbalance between urban and rural dwellers in terms distribution of infrastructure and other basic amenities.

The success of the strategy, especially its direct positive impact on the lives of the rural dwellers was no doubt responsible for the over 94.5 percent votes Gov. Ugwuanyi garnered to win his reelection in 2019, which was adjudged the most peaceful and transparent electoral exercise in the history of Enugu State.

In clear terms, the landslide victory which was unprecedented in spite of the fact that it was the first time the state went to the polls as an opposition political party to the ruling party at the national level was indeed a referendum on the governor’s outstanding performance.

The outcome of the 2019 governorship election went beyond parochial sentiments in proving that the overwhelming majority of the people of Enugu State appreciate the good works of Gov. Ugwuanyi and his uncommon panache of humility, peacefulness, godliness and inclusiveness, which he brought to bear in the governance of the state.

Standing on his vision to channel the bulk of development projects to the rural areas, Ugwuanyi in his inaugural address in 2015, promised to pay a special attention to rural development; open up the rural areas; create more urban centres; develop fresh economic opportunities and reduce pressure on Enugu metropolis for socio-economic expansion.

The governor’s policy direction, which became the fulcrum of his administration’s success story, made it possible that citizens/communities in Enugu State who have not felt the positive impact of governance for many decades did so in an ambiance of peace and harmony.

It was indeed a deliberate step anchored on the core values of justice, equity and fairness in an uncommon zeal to “take up the gauntlet of the struggle for the emancipation of the Wawa man from where our heroes past stopped”.

On Ugwuanyi’s modest achievements, in spite of the recurring decimal of paucity of funds, coupled with the inherited huge debt profile and other enormous wage bills to be serviced, considering the state’s status as a large and the oldest city in the South-East, Ugwuanyi’s administration has remained regular in payment of state workers’ salaries and retirees’ pensions, including the 13th month salary, even without receipt of federal allocations.

His administration has covered about 550 kilometers of roads scattered all over the nooks and crannies of the state with some ongoing projects such as the Enugu State Secretariat Annex building in Nsukka and the administrative building of the Enugu State University of Education in Ihe, Awgu L.G.A – first university in the South-East zone that would be a degree-awarding institution in the area of education and a centre for training of teachers for primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Other include, some internal roads in Enugu and the University town of Nsukka and the 200-bed Igbo Ano Specialist Hospital, Enugu North Senatorial District, which when completed with other proposed infrastructural development in the site, will serve as facilities for the ESUT College of Medicine that has been relocated to Nsukka, etc.

In keeping with its commitment to zero tolerance for potholes on roads built by past administrations and maintenance of existing infrastructure, the state government, acting on professional advice, has announced plans to commence fixing of potholes created recently by persistent rainfalls, once the rains subside.

Three months into his first term, Ugwuanyi spearheaded the massive development of urban and rural roads across the three senatorial districts of the state, in Emene, Abakpa-Nike, 9th Mile Corner and Nsukka.

Shortly after, his administration, in line with its rural development strategy, simultaneously executed 35 grassroots development projects across the 17 Local Government Areas of Enugu State, which ensured that every council benefited at least one project from the programme.

There was also the N10 million “One Community, One Project” scheme, which has made it possible for every community in the state to execute one or two priority projects of her choice.

All these were going on as completion of works on projects started by previous administrations were given adequate attention, such as the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre (completed), the International Conference Centre Enugu (ongoing), the Poly General Hospital Asata, Enugu and the Udi General Hospital now completed and scheduled for inauguration.

Besides the foregoing, the following were among the development projects successfully delivered to standard by Ugwuanyi’s administration in the last four years.

The Nike Lake road and Abakpa Nike road in Enugu East Local Government Area, which were hitherto in deplorable conditions; the two 9th Mile Bypasses in Udi L.G.A, which have relieved travelers the stress of traffic gridlock in the area, especially during festivities; the Opi-Nsukka Dual Carriageway in Nsukka Local Government Area with state-of-the-art underground drainage and other facilities befitting a University town and the second largest city in the state – the first of its kind to be delivered by a state government in the entire south east. The New Market-Milliken Hill-Ngwo-9th Mile road, an ancient, historic and undulating road, modernised with streetlights and other safety measures after decades of neglect to showcase its potentials as a tourist attraction and the state’s natural roller coaster, which now serves as an alternative gateway into the city of Enugu, from Onitsha-Enugu expressway.

The Agbani-Amurri road in Nkanu West LGA (Phase one), constructed for a community that has never experienced any form of development on its land in the past 100 years. The Ogonogoeji-Ndiagu-Akpugo road (from Atavu Bailey bridge to Afor Onovo), in the same council, which has a historic and symbolic attraction as the first state government road project in the entire Akpugo zone since the creation of Enugu State.

Development projects of significant importance to the lives of the lowly and neglected were also executed in high density suburbs such as Ngenevu, Iva Valley, Ugbodogwu, Ogwuagor, Abakpa Nike, Emene, among others.

The 49km Udenu Ring road (ongoing) linking over 10 adjoining communities with three bridges equally stands out as one of the legacy projects of Ugwuanyi’s administration in the rural areas.

Today, the people of Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area are in jubilant mood as they await the inauguration of the 8.8km road connecting their agrarian community with Nkalagu, Ebonyi State, which was reconstructed to high standard by the Ugwuanyi administration after it was abandoned for over 36 years.

Others include the Ogbaku road in Awgu Local Government Area, which was constructed on a difficult terrain that is both hilly and undulating; the Ebonyi River Bridge in Isi Uzo Local Government Area; the Nkwo Inyi-Akpugoeze-Mamu Forest road in Oji River Local Government Area, and the Nike Lake junction-Harmony Estate-Adoration Pilgrimage Centre road (Phase one), with five river crossings, which when completed will link Abakpa and Emene and decongest traffic in the areas. Numerous development projects have also been executed in the urban areas.

Apart from road projects, Ugwuanyi’s administration has also taken bold steps in other spheres of development which have endeared the governor to the people of the state.

The areas include, the Enugu Traders Empowerment Scheme which has so far assisted 3600 genuine traders with the sum of N50,000 each to grow their various businesses; construction and renovation of over 589 primary and secondary school blocks in the state, with more than 260 ongoing, as well as procurement of learning tools; employment of over 5000 teachers; empowerment of 750 youths under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme and engagement of 1000 youths, additional 1000 underway, under the Enugu Clean Team Project.

Others include award of scholarships to 680 indigent engineering students of Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo, Ezeagu L.G.A and the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, for four years of academic studies as well as the recent scholarship offered to 22 post-secondary school indigent students to study at Mewar University, India.

Others still include, construction and renovation of district hospitals and health centres in the state, especially in the rural areas under the primary healthcare programme; construction of over 14 new court buildings and open registries in the judicial divisions and magisterial districts across the state, which the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Ngozi Emehelu, described as “unprecedented infrastructural development that has not been witnessed in the entire Southeast” and “the largest single intervention in infrastructural development in the Judiciary of Enugu State for over 20 years”.

Following the recent odd security challenges, which attempted to undermine the enviable status of Enugu as one of the most peaceful and secure states in the country, Ugwuanyi has grabbed the bull by the horn by initiating measures and strategies to decisively tackle the situation with the establishment of the Forest Guard operation (a first in the entire country); reorganisation of the Vigilante/Neighborhood Watch groups; creation of a new Ministry of Security Affairs; appointment of the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo as Security Consultant to the state government; purchase of 360 security vehicles for community policing as well as the Security Trust Fund, among others.

With the submission of the weighty reports of the 12 sectoral ad-hoc committees set up by his administration on assumption of its second term to review government’s programmes, policies and activities in the last four years and make recommendations that would assist it to reposition the state’s public service for optimized service delivery and advancement of good governance, Gov. Ugwuanyi is set to commence more aggressive polices and strategies. These are expected to usher in further rapid development and take Enugu State to the next level for Ndi Enugu to continue to enjoy democracy dividends. Enugu State is truly in the hand of God.

SOURCE: THE NATION

'The Lost Okoroshi': Film Review - TIFF 2019

Image: TIFF

BY JOHN DEFORE

A revered spirit possesses a frightened man in Abba Makama's semi-comic take on tradition versus contemporary mores.

A security guard who spends his days lamenting urban detachment has a startling encounter with the past in The Lost Okoroshi, Abba Makama's semicomic tale of spiritual possession. Set in Lagos, it imagines the man transforming into a spirit that, for generations, has been represented by masked dancers in Igbo ceremonies. The result is low-key mayhem whose impact on characters' lives has a fable-like quality, weighty only in its reflection of real-world cultural concerns. Certain aspects of the film sync up well with hipster American tastes — though the label "Afrofuturism" doesn't quite apply here, its use will draw appropriate attention — making this the rare Nigerian film with some potential in stateside art houses. (The kinship is especially strong in the film's synth-heavy soundtrack, which pairs new music by Shay Who with recent rediscoveries by the late Nigerian funkster William Onyeabor.)

Raymond (Seun Ajayi) is plagued by nightmares in which costumed men dance and chase him, catching up to him just as he jolts awake. When he shares these dreams over palm wine with Okonkwo (Chiwetalu Agu), a man he calls "chief," the older man chides the "city boy" for knowing so little about his heritage. These are the kind of masquerades that routinely visited communities in the past; though the city's evils now prevent spirits from manifesting fully, these dreams are ancestors sending Raymond a message.

Maybe Raymond, who lives in the country but works in a Lagos high-rise, is sensitive to such visions because of his skepticism about the lives of those he works for: He and a co-worker spend their days (when not ogling the women who pass by) mocking the smartphone-zombies who rush through their building's lobby without looking up. Whatever the reason, the spirits of the past soon do more than send messages: Raymond awakens from one dream wearing the costume of his main pursuer, a figure with an Okoroshi mask and a cloak of purple-dyed raffia. He can't take it off, and he can't speak, so it takes an uncomfortably long time for Raymond's wife Nneka (Judith Audu) to understand the creature in her bed is her husband. Before she can get him help, though, Raymond vanishes — teleporting against his will to some strange part of the city. (Nneka literally falls out of her seat when Raymond disappears, which gives you an idea how slapstick and magic collide here; playful jump-cuts extend the vibe of art-conscious farce.)

Voiceless but gifted with some supernatural powers, the Okoroshi seems at first like an accidental superhero; he saves a prostitute's life and, when that's not enough for her, he comes up with the money her homicidal trick refused to pay her. A young boy called Willy Willy (Ejetareme Ajotubu Micheal, giving the film's most entertaining performance) takes the mystery man under his wing, aiming to monetize his attention-getting appearances. He rambles energetically about "packaging" while the Okoroshi dances on street corners, being showered with bystanders' money as if he were a stripper.

Willy Willy isn't the only stranger with his own agenda for the costumed man. A local academic who learns of the phenomenon quickly weaves it into his understanding of the "conduits" through which traditional tribal energies emerge into "the chaos of urban Nigerian life." And a secret society of Igbo traditionalists actually kidnap the spirit, bringing him back to their headquarters to worship him and debate how he can aid their agenda.

In a very long scene, the squabbling among these activists seems to reflect Makama's own amused dismissal of those who would lay personal claim to vanishing cultures. But as the Okoroshi encounters more of Lagos' dark side, witnessing poverty, pollution and violent crime, it's clear the movie isn't just a joke. The scholar returns at the film's end, promising that in a world as imbalanced as this one, further eruptions of ancient spirit energy are inevitable. As the credits roll, we see images of a menagerie of wildly costumed performers. What the film doesn't acknowledge is that these photos are from ceremonies held not in Nigeria but all over Europe; they're from a dazzling photo book called Wilder Mann, whose author Charles Freger has shot similar subjects in Asia and the Americas. The tacit implication is that central Africa isn't the only place where ancient knowledge and technology-driven civilization are in disharmony, and that things are going to get weirder until cultures everywhere do a better job reconciling modern preoccupations with timeless concerns.

Production company: Osiris Film and Entertainment
Cast: Seun Ajayi, Judith Audu, Tope Tedela, Ifu Ennada, Chiwetalu Agu
Director-producer-editor: Abba Makama
Screenwriters: Abba Makama, Africa Ukoh
Executive producers: Rimini Makama
Director of photography: Mike Omonua
Composer: Shay Who
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery)
Sales: Osiris Film and Entertainment

In Igbo, Pidgin English and English
Rated PG, 94 minutes

SOURCE: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

In Nigeria, Dreadlocks Are Entangled With Beliefs About Danger

Flavour, a popular Nigerian musician, can wear his dreadlocks in peace because they are seen as a temporary fashion statement. Elizabeth Farida/Wikimedia Commons

BY AUGUSTINE AGWUELE

A grown man wearing his hair in dreadlocks is bound to attract attention in Nigeria. And it’s not always positive attention. Many Nigerians, regardless of their education and status, view dreadlocked men as dangerous. The hairstyle sometimes even gets a violent reaction.

This bias is deeply rooted in traditional religious beliefs and myths, especially those of the Yoruba and Igbo people.

My book on the symbolism of dreadlocks in Yorubaland tries to explain what knotted hair means to Yoruba people, and where these ideas come from. Numbering around 40 million, Yoruba people predominantly occupy southwestern Nigeria. In West Africa, they are found in Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In the diaspora, they are significantly present in the US, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and the Caribbean.

An affront to society’s orderliness

A popular phrase used by Yoruba people to describe dreadlocks is “a crazy person’s hair”. The language also has an idiom that shows how people feel about madness. A person will ask, “kini ogun were?” (what is the cure for madness?) and get the response, “egba ni ogun were” (whip is the cure for madness).

Mentally disturbed people often wear dreadlocks due to neglect. Because they are unpredictable, they are avoided as they roam the streets, and sometimes beaten. Their knotted hair show disharmony with the community; being unkempt and unruly, they are viewed as an affront to societal norm of orderliness.

Adult men with dreadlocks are viewed similarly. They are perceived as volatile and dangerous. Their untamed hair connotes wildness. Therefore, they are associated with the wilderness; uncultivated and unruly. In traditional Yoruba and Igbo worldview, unkempt hair is akin to the forest – mysterious, dark, and to be avoided.

There are exceptions: musicians and athletes who wear these hairstyles are “tolerated” as they are presumed to be assuming a persona that matches their brand. Essentially, theirs is a temporary fashion statement. And because they are famous and successful, they are protected from attacks on the streets.

Dark and frightening by tradition

The Yoruba thought system has it that some children are raised in the forest by gnomes and other mysterious beings. They come back into the community with supernatural powers, strange mannerisms, and sometimes knotted hair. Since they traverse the physical and spiritual worlds, it is believed that they can discern the destiny of others and can negatively influence them.

These knotted-haired people are avoided, more so when their dreadlocks are greying because “normal” adult Igbo and Yoruba males shave their heads completely, or they cut their hair very short. Deviating hairstyles are viewed suspiciously.

Unlike adult males, children born with knotted hair are revered and welcomed as a gift of the gods and not a product of the wild. Such children are called “dada” among the Yoruba in western Nigeria and the Hausa in the north. In south eastern Nigeria, the Igbo call them “ezenwa” or “elena”.

In Yoruba mythology, Dada is the son of Yemoja, the goddess of the sea, wealth, procreation, and increase. Dada is said to be one of the deified Yoruba kings. His younger brother is believed to be Shango, the god of thunder, who wears cornrows.

Children-dada are presumed to be spiritual beings and descendants of the gods by virtue of their dreadlocks. As such, their hair is not to be groomed and can only be touched by their mothers. They are the bringers of wealth, which is symbolised in both Yoruba and Igbo cultures by cowrie shells. They are celebrated. Feasts are held in their honour.

Their time on earth is special. It is marked by special rites that define different phases of life. In nearly all cases, their hair is shaved before puberty in order to integrate them into the community. The shaving ritual takes place at a river, where the shaved head is washed. The cut hair is then stored in a pot containing medicinal ingredients and water from the river. The concoction is believed to have healing properties and needed when they fall ill.

After the hair-shaving ceremony, the dada wears “tamed” hair in conformity with societal expectations. The child is still recognised as special and mysterious but is now integrated into society. The visible sign of their spirituality is no longer present. Any grownup, therefore, who still wears their dreadlocks is deemed to have been possessed by evil forces, or chose to do so malevolently; in either case, dangerous.

Challenges to the culture

Despite their negative associations, dreadlocks increased in Nigeria’s religious and popular cultures in the 1960s. Itinerant priests of the Celestial Church of Christ appear in white gowns and knotted hair. The famous musician and talented artist from Osogbo, Twin Seven Seven, performed on stage and television with his dreadlocks and white attire. He was the sole survivor of seven (considered a mysterious number in Yoruba tradition) sets of twins.

Yorubaland has the highest rate of twins in the world. Twins are considered spiritual beings, so they are also revered and celebrated. Being a twin, having knotted hair, and only wearing white clothes (like the gods or ghosts), further mystified Twin Seven-Seven in popular imagination and fanciful stories about him spread. For example, it was said that he was raised in the forest by spiritual beings, hence his creative imagination and hairstyle.

In the 1970s and 80s, other Nigerian musicians like Majek Fashek were inspired by the fame of Jamaican reggae artists to begin styling their hair the same way. From the 1990s, Nigerian footballers joined in by wearing cornrows and dreadlocks.

Barring these exceptions, adults with unkempt hair are judged deviant beings who have become conduits for evil. Since it is difficult to differentiate between adults wearing dreadlocks as fashion statement from those with “evil dreadlocks”, people either flee from them or attack them out of fear and self preservation.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION