Salif Keita giving up music to fight albinism stigma, says wife
Malian musician, Salif Keita, known as the “golden voice of Africa” is retiring from the music industry into his Salif Keita Global Foundation set up to support people with albinism in their home country of Mali and other African nations, his wife, Coumba Makalou, has said.
She said her husband is giving up making albums so he can spend more time fighting the stigma that some fellow albinos in Africa face.
Keita, 69-year-old had made the decision after completing his last album Un Autre Blanc (Another White), which was released earlier this month. Mrs Keita runs the Salif Keita Global Foundation,
People with albinism – a genetic condition leading to a lack pigment in their skin – are hunted down in several African countries, including Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania because of the belief that potions made from their body parts can bring good luck and wealth.
Mrs Keita told the BBC: “He is incredibly important to the foundation because of who he is in the world, in terms of his music and his accomplishments.”
The foundation is based in the US, but provides grants for health services and legal assistance for those at risk of persecution – and distributes hundreds of tubes of sunscreen, sunglasses and hats each year.
Mrs Keita said: “Because of this and his fame it definitely helps to bring a focus and media attention to people with albinism in Mali and other places in the world, so his presence is very important, his name is very important.”
When he is in the process of making an album, it eats up a huge about of his time, she says.
“He writes and composes all his own music.”
Born into an aristocratic Malian family, Keita – known as “the golden voice of Africa” – has dedicated much of his music to promoting the rights of people with albinism.
Mrs Keita said: “The title of the album Another White was definitely linked to his albinism because he’s white but he’s not a white man, a white race – so he’s another type of white.”
The concert where he launched the album in the town of Fana, 126km (78 miles) east of Mali’s capital, Bamako, where a five-year-old girl with albinism, Ramata Diarra, was ritually killed and beheaded in May.
He dedicated the concert to Ramata – and the shocking murder prompted him to take his activism more seriously.
Keita has been a fighter since he was young – disowned by his father for choosing music as his career he has become one Africa’s most influential musicians with his unique style of blending a range of local African music with popular genres such as jazz, rhythm and blues.
His wife says his retirement from album making won’t mean he’ll stop performing altogether, but it will give him more time to concentrate on another of his surprising interests – farming.
Quote Message: “We have a lot of land in Mali and his father was a farmer so he’d like to do some work on that too.”
“We have a lot of land in Mali and his father was a farmer so he’d like to do some work on that too.”
Louvre Museum at Night: Paris France – French Museum
Senegal demands return of looted arts from France
Following an opening by France, recommending that African treasures taken without permission be returned to their countries of origin, Senegal’s government has said it wants all of its art currently in French museums to be returned.
Last week an experts’ report, commissioned by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, recommended that African treasures taken without permission be returned to their countries of origin.
The move comes as the new Museum of Black Civilisations is about to open in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.
The site will offer nearly 40,000 sq ft of exhibition space.
Senegal’s Culture Minister Abdou Latif Coulibaly told the BBC he welcomed the French report as “every piece from Senegal is in France”.
“We’ve read it and we consider it’s a positive report – it’s legitimate and follows the course of history”.
The minister says they’ve already asked the French government for more than 100 artifacts.
Very few countries have put in formal requests for the return of their art, but this could quickly change.
The country with the highest number of art pieces in France is Chad.
For years Dakar has been aiming to position itself as a cultural capital in the region – and now with a president running for re-election, the government is attempting with this museum to make that happen.
The Museum of Black Civilisations was the idea of Senegal’s first President Leopold Sedar Senghor.
More than 50 years later, the project is coming to life, after a $20m (£16m) Chinese investment.
Ikeogu Oke, winner 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature, an annual competition sponsored by NLNG. [Photo credit: Independent Newspapers Nigeria]
Nigeria mourns the passing of, Oke, award-winning Poet
Following his passing on Saturday at the Abuja National Hospital, affected Nigerians have expressed shock and grief award-wining performance poet, Ikeogu Oke.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday sympathised with the Oke family.
Oke won the 2017 NLNG-sponsored Nigerian Prize for Literature.
The President in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, extends condolences to the literary and creative community.
Buhari said Oke, who was a journalist, exuded vibrancy, intelligence and innovation in his works as a social commentator.
“On behalf of the Federal Government, President Buhari extends heartfelt condolences to Oke’s family, the literary and creative community on the painful demise of the award-winning poet,” his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said in a statement on Monday.
“The President affirms that as an author, journalist and poet, Oke exuded vibrancy, intelligence and innovation in his works as a social commentator, constantly in search of plausible answers and solutions to contemporary issues bedevilling his society.
“Through his poetry, the President believes that Oke enriched Nigeria’s literary genre and his legacy will live on in his works, which he was incredibly proud of and committed to, as he wrote in his epic Epitaph: ‘‘Here lies a man who loved virtue and art, And gave to both his fortunes and his heart…’’
“The President encourages all Nigerians, the literary community and lovers of art to honour Ikeogu Oke’s memory by imbibing the didactic message of his works.
“He prays God to console all who mourn the departed poet and grant the soul of the departed eternal rest,” Mr Adesina stated.
Oke wrote his epitaph on September 16 barely two months before he died.
It read, “‘MY EPITAPH’
“My Epitaph. Here lies a man who loved virtue and art, And gave to both his fortunes and his heart. Ikeogu Oke (1967 –).” Yes, even now my bellows puff out fire: The flames of life and not for the pyre.”
Jonathan says mischief-makers circulating fake version of his new book
Jonathan says mischief-makers circulating fake version of his new book
About 48 hours after the launch of his book, ‘My Transition Hours’, the former Nigerian President has said ‘mischief-makers are circulating fake version of his book online.
In tweets on Thursday, Jonathan compared the fake version and the original one, urging the general public to be wary of the circulation of the fake one, especially online.
The book which reminiscences Jonathan’s last moments in power has caused some stir following some people who have disagreed with some of the issue raised in the book and the perspectives favoured by Jonathan.
Also Read:
Jonathan’s last hours in power berth in his memoir ‘My Transition Hours’
Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan, will be remembered for many things. Easy-going, unassuming and moderate. But top among them will be choice for peace over power.
Since he left office on May 29th, 2015, he has said little about his experiences that led to his defeat at the poll.
Although circumstances have pricked and picked at his gums to talk, he has held back his comments until his book, ‘My Transition Hours’ comes to say the much on his 61st Birth Day celebration today, November 20th, 2018.
His media aide, Ruben Abati captures this in a review of the book:
“There was no bitterness in him after he left power. He did not look back. He did not look down. Instead he looked up and after looking up, he looked forward and went on pressing ahead. That forward movement has resulted in this work of statecraft and statesmanship of which I am privileged to write the foreword. Though there are many themes in this book, My Transition Hours, the theme that most excites me is the one on youth and the next generation” – John Dramani Mahama, President, Republic of Ghana, 2012 -2017.
Those are some of the words with which former Ghanaian President John Mahama introduces the long-awaited and much-anticipated book by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. President Mahama is President Jonathan’s close friend. In a way they both share a similar destiny. Their bosses died and they both went on to become President. They also both won election as President and later lost their re-election bids. But they are perhaps more united by the shared affinities between Nigeria and Ghana. President Mahama is eminently well-qualified to write the even-handed, thoughtful foreword to President Jonathan’s first book, out of office.
Jonathan is Nigeria’s first President from the South South, first Ph.D holder in Nigeria to become President, first Nigerian President to rise through the ranks from the position of Deputy Governor to Acting Governor, Governor, first Gubernatorial candidate nominee to become Vice President, Acting President and eventually President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. No other Nigerian, dead or alive, has gone through such trajectory, or rite of passage. President Jonathan was Acting President 2010-2011, following the death of his principal, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, in circumstances that threw the country into a quandary and raised issues about Nigeria’s geo-politics and the matters of ethnicity and geography, indeed more importantly the right of minorities to also “rule” Nigeria, and if and when they are allowed to do so, whether or not they will be treated fairly.
I have enjoyed the privilege of reading President Jonathan’s first memoir out of office, which will be publicly presented today in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and I can report that it is a book about how Nigeria and vested interests treated him badly. He is the villain in the book: badly treated by entrenched interest groups, treacherous party members, a propaganda and hate-driven opposition and a badly constructed political ecosystem. The book is titled “My Transition Hours.”
In 2011, after much ethnic uproar and conscientious objection by progressive forces, Jonathan won Nigeria’s Presidential elections and remained Nigeria’s President till 2015. He lost the 2015 Presidential election, according to the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but despite his prompt concession to General Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, Jonathan has suffered badly under his successor’s watch. He has been maligned, persecuted, harassed, intimidated, humiliated and insulted. His wife has been abused, maligned, criminally tagged and many of his associates have been labelled crooks and thieves. In 2015, in the lead up to the general elections. Jonathan announced that his “ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian.” He signed a document to respect the outcome of the process. He kept his word. His successors have rewarded him with odium and abuse. They have done their best to discredit and destroy him.
In this book, “My Transition Hours”, President Jonathan fights back. His public persona is that he is a meek, gentle personality who lacks the guts to fight. Indeed, after the 2015 elections, everyone deserted him. The Aso Rock Villa became ghost town. Nobody picked our calls again. Giants in the corporate sector who used to beg for access to President Jonathan were reportedly now on the Buhari side. Only the Attorney General of the Federation, the security chiefs and a few others came around. The President was left with just his main body, that is – his innermost circle of aides.
We felt hurt by the fact that many of the persons who benefitted from President Jonathan had jumped ship and were now sucking up to the other side. We saw some of the people who called President Jonathan their brother and friend, on the Buhari side less than 24 hours after the election was decided. They were laughing and grinning! It was a painful moment for us. That was the real “Transition Hours” and that was when President Jonathan started threatening that he will write a book on his “Transition Hours”. He chose the title of the book at that very point. He wanted to tell his own story. I am intrigued that he has refused to change the title, but I recall how tough those transition moments were for us. On our return trip to Otuoke, we were treated shabbily by the newcomers. We had to struggle to be recognized. We were treated like regular passengers! The people who took over from President Jonathan were determined to humiliate him. It got much worse later.
In this book, President Jonathan tries to fight back and set the records straight. I am glad he is doing this. I once went to him and asked that we should put a team together to protect his legacy. His response was that “God will fight for us, after God it is government, these people will crush us because they don’t know God, but let us rely on God.” Some people, who thought we should help our boss, ignored this advice tried to put a team together. They ended up in underground cells, and got labelled as thieves! Others fled into exile. It is good to see President Jonathan himself, more than three years later, speaking up. The man that comes through in these pages is the real Jonathan. and that is perhaps the big point: a Jonathan that is confident, strong, clear-headed and assertive, who does not take nonsense and who is very clear in his mind about leadership options. If he had won a second term, Nigerians would have seen a different Jonathan. He worked hard to hold the country together and to prevent mischief from over-running the country. He makes his case in this book as he addresses some of the strong issues that came up during his tenure.
It is not standard practice for a President to justify himself and his tenure. It is also not standard practice for a President to be discredited by his successor. President Jonathan has every reason to write this book. He has chosen the right moment to go public: his successor’s most vulnerable moment. What he does majorly is to tell Nigerians that most of the things said about him were fake news. He insists that he did not abuse power as Nigeria’s President. He argues that every negative thing that has been said about him is an attempt to give him a bad name in order to hang him. He argues that “real strength is power under control”. He adds: “This book is not my biography, as that will come later. This book reveals how I used power as shield in the service to our nation and God.” Jonathan’s argument is that power should never be abused.
The book is defensive and reactive on the vexed issues of fuel subsidy, Boko Haram, “stealing is not corruption,” governance and so on. President Jonathan takes on the major criticisms of his administration. He doesn’t quite provide hard facts but he talks back. The key issues that the book addresses are noteworthy. This is a book that every Nigerian should pay attention to. In this book, a former President of Nigeria is saying that he was badly treated and he became a villain, because he came from a minority part of the country. He states that “people (are) working against our interest”. In this book, a former President of the country tells us that the idea of “one Nigeria” does not exist because we are a divided country. My boss insists: that “there is no patriotism in Nigerian politics”.
He refuses to pull punches. Nobody is spared. In Chapter 3 titled “Politics and Patriotism: The Fuel Subsidy Dilemma”, he argues that “politics in Nigeria and some other African nations is conducted like primitive war”. His major reference is the battle over fuel subsidy in 2012. He argues that the protests over the fuel subsidy proposals were “politically motivated.” Donald Duke should read this chapter. There are some references to him here. Chapter Four is titled “The Chibok School Girls Affair.” The Governor of Borno state needs to read this chapter. He is accused of seizing an “opportunity to politicize an unfortunate incident”. The APC also allegedly indulged in “psychological programming”, making President Jonathan look like a “villain”. President Jonathan rejects the labels. He pointedly accuses the Barack Obama administration in the United States of working against his administration and he provides evidence to back his claims. He accuses President Obama thus: “For some strange reason, the Obama administration had tactically penciled Nigeria and my administration down for failure”.
Hadiza Bala Usman, now in charge of Nigerian Ports Authority, should also read Chapter Four of this book. President Jonathan is convinced that the Chibok girls matter is an act of grand conspiracy, because whereas he took every necessary step, the Governor of Borno State had a different agenda. In Chapter Five, he deals with the question of stealing and corruption. He provides an explanation on that particular matter. The irony is that many of the initiatives now being adopted by the Buhari administration– Treasury Single Account, IPPIS and the BVN were all Jonathan’s initiatives. Jonathan discloses that his government did better on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Chapter Six is focused on “Power Struggle in Nigeria”. Here, President Jonathan talks about he “strayed into power” and the attack of he majorities on the minorities. In Chapter 7, he offers an account of his “Presidential election campaign”.
He goes further to describe what happened during the 2015 presidential election and how he personally took the decision to save Nigeria from a descent into imminent chaos. Too many persons have tried to write the story of that significant moment in Nigerian history. I am glad that President Jonathan has now given his own account to correct the many lies that may have been told. He records the responses from the international community. It is a rich and detailed account. In this book, ,President Jonathan puts on the table his credentials as an internationals statesman and the goodwill he enjoyed among his peers before and after the election of 2015.
To be fair to him, making Nigeria look good in the international community was one of his major achievements. But President Barack Obama of the United States did not help him, and he refers to this more than once in this book. In Chapter Ten, President Jonathan talks about what he and his team did with the 2014 National Political Conference and his personal commitment to the peace and stability of Nigeria. Needless to remind us that the Buhari administration upon assuming office threw away the report of that conference. In Chapters 11 to 13, President Jonathan takes on other interesting subjects including the youth bulge, private sector reform and the African Renaissance.
This must be a book close to his heart. He uses it to settle scores and to explain the main issues of his era as President. I consider this a must read for all Nigerians and students of the Nigerian process. President Jonathan offers a personal portrait of his own politics, career and achievements. I may have read the book through the prism of a man who was his staff and who was involved, but I can tell that this is a honest and forthright reportage of what transpired. President Jonathan gave to Nigeria his very best. He was conscious of his humble beginnings and he wanted to make a statement. He was a poor man’s son who made it to the highest level in Nigeria. He was an embodiment of the Nigerian dream.
But Nigerian politics is vicious and dirty. You will find a sense of that in this book. He projects himself as a “victim”, but he probably does not tell the full story, which is okay. It means he can tell more stories. There are persons who will read this book and throw tantrums, but may such persons, like Nasir el-Rufai and the Governor of Borno state and all the deceitful associates who fooled the President during the 2015 elections, for reasons of religion and ethnicity, be reminded that this is all told a very kind book. President Jonathan playing the statesman has refused to tell it all. He has held back much more than he has given away. Some of us who were part of his “Main Body” may have now been unwittingly empowered to tell more stories.
I know that my boss is excited by this book. He wants to be remembered for the right reasons and not for the fake news that his opponents reported about his Presidency. President Goodluck Jonathan was President at a unique moment in Nigerian history. His emergence and experience both mark a special moment in Nigerian history. I urge you to read this book, his first one, on what he encountered as Nigeria’s President, before, during and after. Despite the travails of his post-office experience, Goodluck Jonathan, his legacy and value, will survive beyond his “transition hours”. He will, beyond everything else, find a good place in Nigerian history”.
Jonathan’s last hours in power berth in his memoir ‘My Transition Hours’
Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan, will be remembered for many things. Easy-going, unassuming and moderate. But top among them will be choice for peace over power.
Since he left office on May 29th, 2015, he has said little about his experiences that led to his defeat at the poll.
Although circumstances have pricked and picked at his gums to talk, he has held back his comments until his book, ‘My Transition Hours’ comes to say the much on his 61st Birth Day celebration today, November 20th, 2018.
His media aide, Ruben Abati captures this in a review of the book:
“There was no bitterness in him after he left power. He did not look back. He did not look down. Instead he looked up and after looking up, he looked forward and went on pressing ahead. That forward movement has resulted in this work of statecraft and statesmanship of which I am privileged to write the foreword. Though there are many themes in this book, My Transition Hours, the theme that most excites me is the one on youth and the next generation” – John Dramani Mahama, President, Republic of Ghana, 2012 -2017.
Those are some of the words with which former Ghanaian President John Mahama introduces the long-awaited and much-anticipated book by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. President Mahama is President Jonathan’s close friend. In a way they both share a similar destiny. Their bosses died and they both went on to become President. They also both won election as President and later lost their re-election bids. But they are perhaps more united by the shared affinities between Nigeria and Ghana. President Mahama is eminently well-qualified to write the even-handed, thoughtful foreword to President Jonathan’s first book, out of office.
Jonathan is Nigeria’s first President from the South South, first Ph.D holder in Nigeria to become President, first Nigerian President to rise through the ranks from the position of Deputy Governor to Acting Governor, Governor, first Gubernatorial candidate nominee to become Vice President, Acting President and eventually President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. No other Nigerian, dead or alive, has gone through such trajectory, or rite of passage. President Jonathan was Acting President 2010-2011, following the death of his principal, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, in circumstances that threw the country into a quandary and raised issues about Nigeria’s geo-politics and the matters of ethnicity and geography, indeed more importantly the right of minorities to also “rule” Nigeria, and if and when they are allowed to do so, whether or not they will be treated fairly.
I have enjoyed the privilege of reading President Jonathan’s first memoir out of office, which will be publicly presented today in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and I can report that it is a book about how Nigeria and vested interests treated him badly. He is the villain in the book: badly treated by entrenched interest groups, treacherous party members, a propaganda and hate-driven opposition and a badly constructed political ecosystem. The book is titled “My Transition Hours.”
In 2011, after much ethnic uproar and conscientious objection by progressive forces, Jonathan won Nigeria’s Presidential elections and remained Nigeria’s President till 2015. He lost the 2015 Presidential election, according to the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but despite his prompt concession to General Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, Jonathan has suffered badly under his successor’s watch. He has been maligned, persecuted, harassed, intimidated, humiliated and insulted. His wife has been abused, maligned, criminally tagged and many of his associates have been labelled crooks and thieves. In 2015, in the lead up to the general elections. Jonathan announced that his “ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian.” He signed a document to respect the outcome of the process. He kept his word. His successors have rewarded him with odium and abuse. They have done their best to discredit and destroy him.
In this book, “My Transition Hours”, President Jonathan fights back. His public persona is that he is a meek, gentle personality who lacks the guts to fight. Indeed, after the 2015 elections, everyone deserted him. The Aso Rock Villa became ghost town. Nobody picked our calls again. Giants in the corporate sector who used to beg for access to President Jonathan were reportedly now on the Buhari side. Only the Attorney General of the Federation, the security chiefs and a few others came around. The President was left with just his main body, that is – his innermost circle of aides.
We felt hurt by the fact that many of the persons who benefitted from President Jonathan had jumped ship and were now sucking up to the other side. We saw some of the people who called President Jonathan their brother and friend, on the Buhari side less than 24 hours after the election was decided. They were laughing and grinning! It was a painful moment for us. That was the real “Transition Hours” and that was when President Jonathan started threatening that he will write a book on his “Transition Hours”. He chose the title of the book at that very point. He wanted to tell his own story. I am intrigued that he has refused to change the title, but I recall how tough those transition moments were for us. On our return trip to Otuoke, we were treated shabbily by the newcomers. We had to struggle to be recognized. We were treated like regular passengers! The people who took over from President Jonathan were determined to humiliate him. It got much worse later.
In this book, President Jonathan tries to fight back and set the records straight. I am glad he is doing this. I once went to him and asked that we should put a team together to protect his legacy. His response was that “God will fight for us, after God it is government, these people will crush us because they don’t know God, but let us rely on God.” Some people, who thought we should help our boss, ignored this advice tried to put a team together. They ended up in underground cells, and got labelled as thieves! Others fled into exile. It is good to see President Jonathan himself, more than three years later, speaking up. The man that comes through in these pages is the real Jonathan. and that is perhaps the big point: a Jonathan that is confident, strong, clear-headed and assertive, who does not take nonsense and who is very clear in his mind about leadership options. If he had won a second term, Nigerians would have seen a different Jonathan. He worked hard to hold the country together and to prevent mischief from over-running the country. He makes his case in this book as he addresses some of the strong issues that came up during his tenure.
It is not standard practice for a President to justify himself and his tenure. It is also not standard practice for a President to be discredited by his successor. President Jonathan has every reason to write this book. He has chosen the right moment to go public: his successor’s most vulnerable moment. What he does majorly is to tell Nigerians that most of the things said about him were fake news. He insists that he did not abuse power as Nigeria’s President. He argues that every negative thing that has been said about him is an attempt to give him a bad name in order to hang him. He argues that “real strength is power under control”. He adds: “This book is not my biography, as that will come later. This book reveals how I used power as shield in the service to our nation and God.” Jonathan’s argument is that power should never be abused.
The book is defensive and reactive on the vexed issues of fuel subsidy, Boko Haram, “stealing is not corruption,” governance and so on. President Jonathan takes on the major criticisms of his administration. He doesn’t quite provide hard facts but he talks back. The key issues that the book addresses are noteworthy. This is a book that every Nigerian should pay attention to. In this book, a former President of Nigeria is saying that he was badly treated and he became a villain, because he came from a minority part of the country. He states that “people (are) working against our interest”. In this book, a former President of the country tells us that the idea of “one Nigeria” does not exist because we are a divided country. My boss insists: that “there is no patriotism in Nigerian politics”.
He refuses to pull punches. Nobody is spared. In Chapter 3 titled “Politics and Patriotism: The Fuel Subsidy Dilemma”, he argues that “politics in Nigeria and some other African nations is conducted like primitive war”. His major reference is the battle over fuel subsidy in 2012. He argues that the protests over the fuel subsidy proposals were “politically motivated.” Donald Duke should read this chapter. There are some references to him here. Chapter Four is titled “The Chibok School Girls Affair.” The Governor of Borno state needs to read this chapter. He is accused of seizing an “opportunity to politicize an unfortunate incident”. The APC also allegedly indulged in “psychological programming”, making President Jonathan look like a “villain”. President Jonathan rejects the labels. He pointedly accuses the Barack Obama administration in the United States of working against his administration and he provides evidence to back his claims. He accuses President Obama thus: “For some strange reason, the Obama administration had tactically penciled Nigeria and my administration down for failure”.
Hadiza Bala Usman, now in charge of Nigerian Ports Authority, should also read Chapter Four of this book. President Jonathan is convinced that the Chibok girls matter is an act of grand conspiracy, because whereas he took every necessary step, the Governor of Borno State had a different agenda. In Chapter Five, he deals with the question of stealing and corruption. He provides an explanation on that particular matter. The irony is that many of the initiatives now being adopted by the Buhari administration– Treasury Single Account, IPPIS and the BVN were all Jonathan’s initiatives. Jonathan discloses that his government did better on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Chapter Six is focused on “Power Struggle in Nigeria”. Here, President Jonathan talks about he “strayed into power” and the attack of he majorities on the minorities. In Chapter 7, he offers an account of his “Presidential election campaign”.
He goes further to describe what happened during the 2015 presidential election and how he personally took the decision to save Nigeria from a descent into imminent chaos. Too many persons have tried to write the story of that significant moment in Nigerian history. I am glad that President Jonathan has now given his own account to correct the many lies that may have been told. He records the responses from the international community. It is a rich and detailed account. In this book, ,President Jonathan puts on the table his credentials as an internationals statesman and the goodwill he enjoyed among his peers before and after the election of 2015.
To be fair to him, making Nigeria look good in the international community was one of his major achievements. But President Barack Obama of the United States did not help him, and he refers to this more than once in this book. In Chapter Ten, President Jonathan talks about what he and his team did with the 2014 National Political Conference and his personal commitment to the peace and stability of Nigeria. Needless to remind us that the Buhari administration upon assuming office threw away the report of that conference. In Chapters 11 to 13, President Jonathan takes on other interesting subjects including the youth bulge, private sector reform and the African Renaissance.
This must be a book close to his heart. He uses it to settle scores and to explain the main issues of his era as President. I consider this a must read for all Nigerians and students of the Nigerian process. President Jonathan offers a personal portrait of his own politics, career and achievements. I may have read the book through the prism of a man who was his staff and who was involved, but I can tell that this is a honest and forthright reportage of what transpired. President Jonathan gave to Nigeria his very best. He was conscious of his humble beginnings and he wanted to make a statement. He was a poor man’s son who made it to the highest level in Nigeria. He was an embodiment of the Nigerian dream.
But Nigerian politics is vicious and dirty. You will find a sense of that in this book. He projects himself as a “victim”, but he probably does not tell the full story, which is okay. It means he can tell more stories. There are persons who will read this book and throw tantrums, but may such persons, like Nasir el-Rufai and the Governor of Borno state and all the deceitful associates who fooled the President during the 2015 elections, for reasons of religion and ethnicity, be reminded that this is all told a very kind book. President Jonathan playing the statesman has refused to tell it all. He has held back much more than he has given away. Some of us who were part of his “Main Body” may have now been unwittingly empowered to tell more stories.
I know that my boss is excited by this book. He wants to be remembered for the right reasons and not for the fake news that his opponents reported about his Presidency. President Goodluck Jonathan was President at a unique moment in Nigerian history. His emergence and experience both mark a special moment in Nigerian history. I urge you to read this book, his first one, on what he encountered as Nigeria’s President, before, during and after. Despite the travails of his post-office experience, Goodluck Jonathan, his legacy and value, will survive beyond his “transition hours”. He will, beyond everything else, find a good place in Nigerian history”.
Sketch of Princess Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye by Elizabeth Ofosuah Johnoson
African Princess, Anta, Became Wealthy, by Elizabeth Ofosuah Johnson
Princess Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye was captured in her Senegalese kingdom and sold into slavery, and it took more than two centuries for her people to relocate her
In many African traditional cultures, it is believed that an African never strays too far from home and that he or she will surely find his or her way back either in the world of the living or the dead. It is the reason why the rites of passage are taken very seriously in the African traditional setting and why during the slave trade, many traditional ceremonies were held to bid farewell to the captured Africans and to give them strength until they make it back home again.
Princess Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye was captured in her Senegalese kingdom and sold into slavery, and it took more than two centuries for her people to relocate her and welcome her spirit back home through grand celebrations in 2018.
One day in 1806, King Buri Nyabu, the ruler of the Wolof Kingdom, popularly known as Jolof Kingdom of Ancient Senegal and his wife Queen Madjiguène would be devastated with the news that their daughter, Princess Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye Jie had mysteriously gone missing. After a few searches in the kingdom as well as neighbouring kingdoms, all hope was lost in ever finding Princess Anta, and a ceremony to guide her spirit was held.
Princess Anta was born in 1793 in the powerful Wolof Kingdom in modern day Senegal, West Africa. She lived a royal life and had guards and servants that followed her to protect her from the many raids by the Tyeddo raiders from the nearby Foula Tooro Kingdom. Unfortunately, in 1806 she was captured by the raiders along with two young girls who could have been her servants. Anta was only 13 years old at the time of her capture, and it is very unlikely that the raiders were aware of her social status.
After her capture, she was taken away to Goree Island along with other slaves and kept in hostage until slave merchants purchased her after being displayed at the slave market. She was then sold to a European slave ship before sailing off to Cuba. After a few days in Cuba, Anta was sold to Zephaniah Kingsley, a wealthy plantation owner, businessman and slave ship captain from Florida.
Zephaniah fell in love with Anta, and by 1811 they were married with four children. By then, Anta was 18 years old and was now known as Anna Kingsley. Many of Zephaniah’s friends were against his marriage to Anna and many laws in Florida at the time did not permit that a white married a slave; but Zephaniah went ahead with a traditional wedding in Cuba and granted Anna her freedom giving her authority over his property in his absence before moving back to his plantation in Florida. Anna thus became a wealthy former slave in a matter of 5 years.
Anta and her family relocated to Haiti after the Spanish sold Florida to the Americans who made their marriage illegal and their life difficult because Anna was left in charge of his businesses. While in Haiti, Anna set up a new plantation with the help of her husband and started new businesses. She also purchased slaves and set up a colony for free Blacks.
Anna’s husband died in 1843 and left a will leaving all his property for her and his sons. Anna returned to Florida to fight for her property and won after a few years of battling in court.
Anna Kingsley amassed more wealth and helped set several slaves free in north Florida by purchasing their freedom and giving them work to do on her several plantations. She was much celebrated in north Florida, Cuba and Haiti but hated by the westerners.
In 2003, Daniel L. Schafer, a History professor at the University of Florida published his book Anna Madgigne Jai Kingsley: African Princess, Florida Slave, Plantation Slaveowner based on the life of Anna. A few years later, after more than two centuries the story of the lost princess travelled home to Senegal.
In 2015 and 2017, mayors, lecturers and royals from the Wolof kingdom visited the Kingsley Plantation and cemeteries where their Princess ended up to reconnect with their daughter. Today parts of the lands that Anna once owned now exist as Jacksonville University, Florida.
In 2018, Mayor Niang and the city council organised a celebration to mark the return of Princess Anta. In her honour, her story was retold to complete its history, and a street from the city hall that leads to the market and sea where Anta was sold and carried off to Cuba was named “La Rue de Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye/Anna Kingsley.”
The story of Anna is a captivating one. It is believed that she was destined to live a life of wealth and comfort and that is why she ended up with Zephaniah Kingsley after being captured into slavery and stripped off her royalty.
Chimamanda Adichie will be having a live chat session with Michelle Obama
Adichie to moderate Obama’s book event on December 3rd
Michelle Obama has an event for her new memoir Becoming at Southbank Centre, London, and Chimamanda Adichie will be having a live chat session with her. The news was announced on Southbank Centre’s event page. As you can imagine, Adichie’s fans are beyond delighted.
The event will take place at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 3 December 2018 at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m., Thursday, 8 November. But Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles can get their tickets one day earlier.
At £30 – £125 (+£3 booking fee), the tickets are not the cheapest, but you get a hard back copy of Becoming and you get to breathe the same air with two of the world’s most important feminist figures.
Becoming is published by Crown Publishing Group and comes out on November 13. The book promises an intimate look into the life of one of the world’s most powerful women.
According to the Amazon blurb, Becoming is “a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling.” In the book, Mrs. Obama “invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address.”
Again, tickets go on sale on November 8. Mark your calendars. (Brittle Paper)
Femi Kuti for Live Concert at Lagos Sheraton on Sept. 22
Partners with Media and Entertainment company Chocolate City Group to Create Exclusive Access and A Once-In-A-Lifetime Afro Beat Jazz Experience for Loyalty Program Members
Sheraton Lagos Hotel (www.Marriott.com/hotels/travel/lossi-sheraton-lagos-hotel) will host the living legend Femi Kuti (www.Facebook.com/femikutiofficial), live in concert, on 22nd September, 2018. Curated in partnership with media and entertainment company Chocolate City Group, the critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and four-time Grammy Award nominee, is set to enthral music lovers, Afrobeat enthusiasts and members of Marriott International’s award-winning loyalty programs – Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), with an exclusive live performance of his seventh studio album, One People One World.
Marriott International has been focused on stepping up its experiences game, creating exclusive Moments that help connect with members through their passions, be it culinary, music or sport. From Masterclasses with renowned chefs, mixologists, DJs and photographers to behind the scenes access to concerts, to experiences around your favorite sport or an immersive experience of the local cuisine or culture, there is a lot to explore and discover what makes travel more enriching.
“We are committed to creating unforgettable moments for our loyal members, and what better way to do that than to connect with them through their passions,” said Neal Jones Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. “This is an opportunity for us to engage with our loyal members and build a strong emotional connection with them by creating a once-in-a lifetime experience while amplifying the benefits of our Loyalty Programs. Through this very special experience created by Sheraton Lagos Hotel, we want our members to carry back a memory that ties back to the destination and our brand.”
“Chocolate City is happy to collaborate with Marriot International and Sheraton Lagos to give its guests and Marriott International loyalty members an exclusive live music experience with its artist and Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti. His music and brand embody Africa’s rich culture and we have tried to replicate that in the set up, management and curation of the event. We expect guests to remember the event for the energy and excitement that Femi’s music brings” said Edward Israel-Ayide, Senior Marketing Manager Chocolate City Group.
Members can redeem their points for an experience package on the Moments platform which includes the following
Front row seats and access to special viewing area at the Femi Kuti concert at Sheraton Lagos
Complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres during the concert
VIP backstage passes
Exclusive breakfast with Femi Kuti at the Club Lounge at Sheraton Lagos Hotel on 23rd September, 2018 with a photo opportunity with Femi Kuti.
A one-night stay in the Sheraton Club Room for two people at the iconic Sheraton Lagos
Airport transfers
A goody bag and a bounce-back F&B voucher
“As a city landmark hotel and a hotspot for the local community as well as the international traveler to Nigeria, we are excited to bring this concert to the hotel and create transformative moments for our guests and loyalty program members, through the reverberating rhythm of Afrobeat” said Barry Curran General Manager Sheraton Lagos Hotel.
In addition to Femi Kuti there will be performances from five other popular artists. Invited guests and loyalty members will be treated to an eclectic selection of expertly crafted cocktails and finger favorites.
Many people, especially in Nigeria woke up recently to a new buzz on the social media: Na Dem Dey Rush Us. #NADEMDEYRUSHUS. It is as hilarious, the same way it is confusing.
Na Dem Dey Rush Us
It is a pidgin English slang which means ‘they are the ones who want us badly’.
Many people have started tweeting the statement without knowing how it started.
If you haven’t heard of Na Dem Dey Rush US it is most likely you are badly out of step with happenings in Nigeria.
a Nollywood actor, Charles Inojie, in a clip said: Fine boys like us, we, we no dey too look for women like that, na dem dey rush us, na dem dey rush us, Fine boys and girls.
Comparing Captain Von Trapp portrait with Dennise Ornelas photograph of a Nigerian family
Accidental Von Trapp Portrait, By Tersoo Gundu
It is very likely you are familiar with the 1960’s Music Classical Sounds of Music, even if you are not a movie lover or are a millennial. It’s a movie about a free-spirited Maria, a young lady studying to be nun, a widowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children.
Popular Von Trapp family portrait
Maria is sent to the villa of Captain Von Trapp to carter for his seven children, who were being raised in a military style up bringing by their single parenting father, a retired Naval Captain. Maria’s love for music, the mountains and her youthful enthusiasm will collide with the regimented culture in the Von Trapp home. She would encourage free expression and creatively introducing music, in which, in the end the Captain will find again his love for music and his love for Maria as well. A family portrait of the Von Trapp is pictured above
The Von Trapp family portrait depicts, Captain alongside Maria and his seven children standing side by side. A jovial and smiling Captain, which coincidentally bears an almost photocopy resemblance to this image made by Dennis Ornelas. An identical picture, However, obviously different in the characters, dressing and location. This picture was exhibited at the Photocarrefour exhibition in Abuja themed “Photography my medium”, October, 2017.
Photograph of a Nigerian family by Dennise Ornelas
Dennise, who is a Mexican living and schooling Abuja, might not have referenced the Von Trapp image before creating this one, but an intriguing group of a large family of seven children and two parents is something any photographer cannot ignore, you have to be aware of it. “I took the picture because i could see the father was proud to share a moment with his family and Daughters”, she explains. Even though some might say it’s a Cliché image or may not be a technically “Wow!” image, yet it captures a true story worth telling. She did something from a spur of the moment, a creative instinct. “The balance and the exact moment was instantaneous and everything was so natural and magical, it happened so fast”. She says about the time of the exposure.
This image was taken at the Millenium Park in Abuja. Abuja, in its Master plan has designated areas for park and recreation in all the districts of the Capital City, however, the Millenium Park is the King of all parks; with eighty acres of green vegetation, a children play ground, a giant fountain and various walk-ways leading to various nooks and crannies. Residents come here for a quiet time, to relax or picnic, Saturdays are very busy and rowdy; essentially it becomes an amusement park with parties, games and other side attractions.
While there are a number of difference in the two images, such as time and location, a movie (inspired by a true story) as against real people and real circumstance, there are boxes this images check in terms of similarities. For instance, there are exactly seven children. Apart from the ratio of the sexes, the children seem to be about the same ages as the Von Trapps. The Oldest probably sixteen “going on seventeen”, could only be off by an inch, not a mile, down to the youngest – the boy, who clings tightly to his father. In addition, it’s an image caught in motion, it is not posed, enabling us to make out personalities and behavior based on their postures. The three little girls to the left, in the way they are frozen in their stride and angling of their bodies suggest that they might have strayed away at some point and are only rejoining the line, with the rest of the family. The curious gaze of the mother, the look of wonderment of the eldest sister and the cheerful smile of the father, who is almost laughing, are all drawn to something to the left beyond the frame, some sort of spectacle, something that could have attracted the three little girls. Apart from the little boy, no one seems to be aware of the camera, as he curiously strains his neck to make sense of the camera and photographer
Dennise takes a direct frontal approach with this image, cropping it at the edges of the subject, only revealing the trees in the background, the green lawns to the sides and the curvy path way in which they are walking. It is carefully framed, placing the mother front and center, creating some balance in the arrangement of the subjects, a pyramidal form further emphasizing the mother, as your eyes move to the top of the pyramid. In some way, making her the main subject, subtly referencing Maria. The curved lines of the walk way that moves from the background and expands the width of the image in the foreground, creates movement within the image.
This image presents a very happy family, dressed in northern Nigerian attire; women veiled in hijab to knee level, only revealing their faces and the men in caftan, with traditional Hausa cap. While in African societies large families could in theory extend to an entire society, this image raises some interesting questions, like what kind of relationship the father will have with his daughters? Does he have another wife or wives as allowed in Islam? Does he have other children? “Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to talk to him, because everything was very fast and partly I did not want to put out the magic that was happening at that moment” Dennise regrets. As photographers, we all struggle with the decision of being a detached observer and injecting ourselves in the subject matter. “I would have taken pictures of different angles or even been able to talk with the family” she added.
It will be interesting to get some insight into this family, but within this one frame we are able to share in their private fun outing, solidarity and a memory of a movie that gave us wonderful music. As in the final scene of the movie, where the Von Trapp family makes their escape from Austria on foot , crossing the Swiss border in the Swiss Alps, I can imagine an image of this Nigerian family, from an elevated point of view, looking down as they walk in the green fields of millennium park, singing “Edelweiss”.
Tersoo Gundu, PhotoCarrefour
This year’s PhotoCarrefour ‘s Exhibition is themed “Framing Common Identity “. Open Call is on till the 8th of September, 2018. Send your works to photocarrefour.abj@gmail.com or visit Photo Carrefour on Facebook, Photocarrefour.abj on Instagram for more info.
![Ikeogu Oke, winner 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature, an annual competition sponsored by NLNG. [Photo credit: Independent Newspapers Nigeria]](https://i0.wp.com/discoverafricanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ikeogu-Oke.jpg?resize=580%2C371&ssl=1)
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