Over to you guys

As seen on Facebook.

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'Thank you for your constant care and unconditional love'- Omawumi celebrates Mother-In-Law's birthday

Friday, March 31 was the birthday of Omawumi's mother-in-law, Madam Chio Yussuf and the singer had very nice words for her. In celebration, Omawumi wrote, 'Happy Birthday to My Dear Darling Mother in Law.... Thank you for your constant care and unconditional love for us your children. May you continue to flourish as you carry the banner of Christ'.

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Photo: Don Jazzy and his brothers step out in White garment robes

This is a cute photo of Don Jazzy and his brothers D'Prince and Jay Mavin all dressed in their flowing white garment robes. And just so you know, Don Jazzy used to be a drummer at a white garment church many years ago before he traveled to the UK.

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Nigerian Pilot fulfills his life-long ambition of becoming the first African to fly around the World alone

In October 2016, LIB reported about Ademilola “Lola” Odujinrin; the  Nigerian pilot whose lifelong ambition was to become the first African pilot in history to fly around the world solo. (Read  Here). Fast forward to March 2017 and he has achieved the seemingly impossible mission. Odujirin who works for Air Djibouti completed the final leg of his historic journey on Wednesday afternoon, landing

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Veteran journalist, Duro Onabule appointed Chairman of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)

Veteran journalist; Mr. Duro Onabule, has been appointed as the Chairman, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). The appointment was among many others approved by President Muhammadu Buhari. Chief Duro Onabule, the new chairman of the board of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was the former newspaper editor and ex-presidential spokesman  to former President Ibrahim Babangida. Other

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Blac Chyna obtains work permits for her children, son King Cairo and daughter Dream Kardashian

Blac Chyna who has a four-year-old son named King Cairo with rapper, Tyga and a four-month-old daughter named Dream Kardashian with Rob Kardashian was, according to TMZ seen leaving the Van Nuys Courthouse in Los Angeles, California on Thursday to pick up work permits for her children. According to California labor code, children between the ages of 15 days and 18 years can receive an

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Jidenna hints at collaborations with top Nigerian artistes

Nigerian-American singer, Jidenna at the Vibe.NG forum titled ``Community Meeting With The Chief: Album Versus Singles In Digital Era” recently held in Lagos said that his music, lyrics, sounds and collaborations are all geared towards building a bridge between people, races and nations. He further explained that it is the reason his songs have a blend of different cultural sounds especially

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Nigeria and the problem of adaptation by Frederick Lawrence

The term 'suffering and smiling' has been often used to describe Nigerians as a people but is this a compliment or a damning indictment? Let's examine this from another perspective. Average life expectancy is 54, human development index is way below average, 67% or about 112 million of us live below the poverty line, basic amenities and civil rights remain a mirage so what do we have to smile

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Spot the celebrities in this throwback photo

Can you spot the celebrities in this photo? They are in the music industry now.

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Photo: Three Nigerian nationals arrested in India for online job and matrimonial fraud

Rachakonda police’s cyber cell from Bengaluru on Monday, March 27, arrested three Nigerian nationals for committing online job fraud and matrimonial scam. The accused, identified as Emeka Santos, Chika Mitchille and Noah Simisola were also found to be living illegally in India as they had come to the country with a two-month visa in 2011, which was not renewed post its expiry. "

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Pres Buhari approves deployment of four ambassadors to UN headquarters, Geneva, AU headquarters

President Buhari made the announcement in a statement shared on his Facebook page today. Read below: I have approved the immediate deployment of four of the newly-appointed Ambassadors-Designate, as follows: 1. Professor Tijjani Bande (Kebbi State)—Ambassador/Representative to the Permanent Mission of #Nigeria to the United Nations Headquarters in New York 2. Itegboje Sunday Samson (Edo

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Photos of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum in Paris

Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was one of the guest speakers at the OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum in Paris on Thursday. According to him, 'International collaboration is the smartest and most effective approach to ensure restitution of stolen assets'. More photos after the cut..

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Photos: Two suspected motorcycle thieves escape lynching in Abia State

Two suspected thieves escaped lynching Friday after they were caught while trying to sell a stolen motorcycle for N8000 at Akara Junction in Isuikwuato Local Government Area. According to Abia Facts Newspaper, the duo stole the motorcycle from Uzuakoli and came down to Isuikwuato to sell it before they were apprehended. The mob were about to set them ablaze when a detachment of policemen

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First female SAN in Nigeria, Olufolake Solanke celebrates 85th birthday (Photos)

Chief Olufolake Solanke who became the first female lawyer to be conferred with Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1981, turned 85 years on Wednesday and was celebrated by the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his wife, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, among many others.  Chief Solanke, born on 29th of March 1932, has numerous achievements, including the National honour

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Photos: Gov. Shettima, Borno prominent leaders pay courtesy visit to Bukola Saraki

Borno State Governor led other prominent leaders from the state on a courtesy visit to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki Thursday night. It is not clear if the visit has anything to do with the suspension of Senator Muhammad Ndume. It will be recalled that the Senator representing Borno South District was suspended for six months after he asked for investigation of allegations of importing a

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Two fraudsters busted at their shrine on Ogun State

Operatives of the Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS), while on routine Patrol along Owode Obafemi Ofada Road Ogun State on March 27, 2017, at about 10pm, discovered a sienna bus packed in  a suspicious manner, the operatives accosted the occupants, and upon inquiry discovered that the occupants are suspected fraudsters whose modus operandi was to lure people into a shrine and dupe them of their

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See what happened to this snake when it tried to snack on a porcupine

This snake clearly doesn't know its limits. The boa constrictor probably thought it had stumbled upon an easy snack when it came across a small porcupine, but the prickly prey put up a big fight with the help of its sharp quills. A video captured the boa constrictor squirming as dozens of quills protrude from its skin in Brazil. As if its agony wasn't enough, it had to defend itself from an

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Photos: Kenyan Police arrests suspected Islamic State terrorists

Police in Kenya have arrested a terrorists linked to the Islamic State terror group, whom they described as a key link in its financing as well as human trafficking cartel. Ali Hussein Ali, alias “The Trusted One” was arrested on March 27 together with his accomplices Ibrahim Abasheikh Mukhtar and Abdi Mohamed Yusuf (aka Dader) in Malindi during a joint operation by Kenyan and other

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Photos: Police parade four men who specialize in placing order for expensive phones online and then robbing the sellers at point of delivery

The operatives of Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested four suspects who specialise in tricking sellers of expensive mobile phones, by pretending to be online buyers and thereafter rob the sellers at the point of delivery. The suspects, Wilfred Ehis, 30; Bright Eloho, 24, Emeka Egbemedu, 22 and Olanrewaju Kamilu, 33, were arrested on Wednesday evening in

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Eww! Check out this yucky baby shower cake

Ugh! Will you eat this cake?

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Suspended lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin advises Pres Buhari to resign, says Nigeria can't afford a partime leader

Jibrin gave the advise via his twitter handle. He says pictures of President Buhari that have been released in recent times, shows a man that seriously needs home care and not someone that should be burdened with office work. He says President Buhari should be advised to resign and then allowed to nominate someone who can be Vice President. He also advised that Aisha Buhari should be given a

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China bans its Muslims from having 'abnormal beards' or wearing veils

China's Xinjiang region is home to a Muslim majority and the area has been plagued with religious restiveness in recent years. As part of the new 'Regulations on Extremisation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region', the country has introduced a ban on 'abnormal' beards and wearing of veils in public places. Refusal to watch or listen to state media has also been outlawed. The new rules which

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Photo: Dead body of newborn baby found dumped in drainage

An angry Nigerian Facebook user posted the photo, raining fire and brimstone on women that commit such dastardly act. Another photo after the cut..

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Photos: Scores wounded in disastrous accident along Owerri-Onitsha road

A Sienna bus conveying passengers to Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education for their wards' matriculation, was involved in a disastrous accident along Owerri-Onitsha road, Umuahia axis in Mbaitolu Local Government Area on Friday evening. It was gathered that the front tyre burst and the Sienna collided with other vehicles, leaving scores wounded. According to Ifeanyi Njoku, Federal Road

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Woman shares heartwarming video with her grandma who is suffering dementia and it's gone viral for all the right reasons

From time to time, Maryanna Hallom shares videos of her grandma Anabelle who is suffering from dementia in order to raise awareness about the disease. She recently shared a video where she called on all caregivers and family of those suffering from dementia to show love to the sufferer because that is all they need. The heartwarming video has been viewed over 4.5 million times in just 4

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The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill on Electronic Voting; Here's all you need to know about it

The Senate passed the Electoral Act No. 6 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2017 into law. The passage of this Bill in the Senate is a bold, innovative and common sense step on Electoral Reforms designed to guarantee free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria. Below are some of the highlights of the Bill: 1. There shall now be full biometric accreditation of voters with Smart Card Readers and/or

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Halle Berry poses braless in sheer outfit

The 50 year old gorgeous actress and mother of two shared this photo on her page and captioned it:"Me when someone says "I'm coming over and I've got snacks."<!-- /react-text -->

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Photos: Fake corporal arrested in Kaduna for extortion, currency counterfeiting

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Kaduna Zonal office, has arrested one Hussaini Mohammed of Tanko Road Barakallahu Kaduna State following a petition received from the Kaduna State Vigilance Service for alleged case of extortion, currency counterfeiting and impersonation of the Nigerian Police Force. The accused, Mohammed, is alleged to have on several occasions disguised as

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Happy New Month!

Amen!

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Happy April Fool's Day

Y'all be careful with the pranks you play today. ;-)

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50 Cent rubbishes TMZ report over his exclusion from Chris Brown's tour

Early Friday, TMZ broke an exclusive story that 50 Cent never signed to Chris Brown's Tour because Chris 'couldn't afford' him. Now 50 Cent has taken to his IG page to debunk the report saying that TMZ didn't handle the run correctly. He wrote: 'I would never say my friends can't afford me. This run wasn't handled correctly, I'm still on set filming Den of Thieves. #effenvodka.' 50 cent is

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Please stop hugging transformers - APC pleads with Nigerians

Due to viral photos of people posing with transformers over the lack of constant electricity since President Buhari came to power, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned Nigerians to stop hugging transformers. According to the statement made via the party UK Twitter account, the Minister of  Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola is working non-stop to improve power services

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Saint West is so adorable

Kim K shared the photo on her page. He's growing into a lovely, little boy!

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Photos: Abisola Kola-Daisi shows off her customized Hermes Birkin bag

Oyo state Governor, Ajimobi's daughter, mother, wife and businesswoman, Abisola Kola-Daisi, showed off her expensive customized Hermes Birkin bag via social media Friday evening. More photos after the cut... Check out her YSL pumps!

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Check out this epic throwback photo of DJ Khaled

The American recording producer, shared the throwback photo of him rocking a Sean John brand outfit, back in the day.

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Joseph Yobo and Adaeze Igwe-Yobo celebrate their son as he turns two years old

Former Nigerian professional footballer, Joseph Yobo, and his former beauty queen wife, Adaeze Yobo, celebrated their second son as he turned 2 years old. They held a private celebration for the cute little tot, Jayden, who was born in the morning of the 31st of March 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. More photos after the cut...

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Photos: Man swallowed by python in Indonesia identified as 25-year-old father of two

The man swallowed whole by a 23-foot python in Indonesia earlier this week has been identified as Akbar Bin Ramil Salubriong. Akbar, 25, was trying to harvest palm oil so he could provide for his wife and two children when the python swallowed him, the Tribune Timur reports. Akbar’s death went viral on Wednesday, after footage of villagers slicing open the cold-blooded killer emerged online.

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Six people dead in Abuja Meningitis outbreak

Thursday, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board confirmed the death of yet another person due to Cerebrospinal Meningitis in Abuja. The board recorded four deaths on Tuesday in Durumi area of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), while another death from the disease occurred in Dakwa, a border village of Bwari Area Council and Niger state on Wednesday. The

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EPL: Iheanacho, Iwobi cut friendship ties

As Man City battles Arsenal

By Paul Erewuba

It promises to be another interesting football weekend in the entire leagues across the world.

In the English Premier League, (EPL), Chelsea would attempt to consolidate on their leadership position, as they confront relegation threatened Crystal Palace today at the Stamford Bridge.

Keen EPL watchers expect Chelsea to get even better as the players continue to adapt to Antonio Conte’s methods and ideas, despite the team closing in on the Premier League title.

A 2-1 win at Stoke City last Saturday protected Chelsea’s 10-point cushion at the top of the table, with just 10 games remaining.

The Italian believes his team has bought into his philosophy and he backs Chelsea to continue to improve as he spends more time working on the squad.

Second placed Tottenham HotSpurs will be away to hard fighting Burnley who are 13th on the log with 32 points.

Also, top four chasing Liverpool will confront Everton while Manchester United will lock horns with West Brom.

But top of the class encounter is the ‘fight’ between Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi in London, as Arsenal host Manchester United tomorrow at the Emirates Stadium.

Pep Guardiola and Arsène Wenger are two managers whose pass-pass-attack ethos is about as identical as can be expected so this match would fascinating.

Already, the match is generating a lot of interest amongst both teams’ fans and players as well.

Manchester City striker Iheanacho has sensationally fired a warning to Iwobi that they are coming to fight with the same fighting spirit they produced against Liverpool, insisting that they will fight – to – the finish.

Indeed, Manchester City played well against Liverpool and showed good character. They are in a good position in the Premier League, all they need do is to keep fighting and focus on the games, as they come.

Man City defeated Arsenal 2-1 at home in December and have an opportunity to go 10 points clear of the North London club with a win tomorrow.

Iheanacho has made 16 league appearances for City this season – netting four goals in the process.

He certainly will perform if Guardiola goes ahead to field him.

But will Iwobi’s Arsenal just fold their hands and see their top four ambition further crashing on their faces?

Arsenal must mirror the never-say-die attitude and work-rate of forward Alexis Sanchez if they hope to salvage their faltering campaign.

The north London club were knocked out of the Champions League 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich and lost ground in the race to finish in the Premier League’s top four after a run of four losses in five games left them sixth on the log. But a winning attitude might see them gravitating into Top Four.

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The untold story of Nigeria Football Supporters Club

by Paul Erewuba

For many years the Nigeria Football Supporters Club was embroiled in leadership crisis. But on December 10, 2016 elections held to reconcile aggrieved members, Reverend Samuel Ikpea emerged the new chairman after polling 168 votes to beat rival, Alarape Muritala.

He did not leave any one in doubt of his mission and vision of the 62 years old club.

Recently, he spoke to Saturday SunSport in Lagos.

Q: Tell us about yourself.

I am Reverend Samuel Ikea, married with three kids. In 2000, after I finished my Bible course with Faithful Bible Theological School, I was ordained as a Reverend in the Assembly of Faithful Church.

I am from Esan, Edo State and I joined the Supporters Club in 1991. By the year 2000, I became the second Assistant National Secretary, and later in 2004 the Secretary General. In 2016, I emerged the National Chairman.

Q: Before now, people thought Supporters Club was Rafiu Ladipo’s property, but with your emergence as the chairman, what is the significance of your election in the life of the Club?

Yes, as you said, for about 30 years or more, all you heard about was Rafiu Ladipo.

On the 10th of December, 2016, there was an election and I was elected the National Chairman. To me, the Supporters Club would be re-branded. We are going to witness a re-birth of the club. It is not going to be like those days when we used to concentrate on supporting the national teams alone, this time around, we are concentrating also on grassroots football and other sporting activities that will encourage the youths of Nigeria.

Q: How will you cope as a Reverend gentleman with the responsibility of being chairman?

As a Reverend, it becomes an easy job for me. Being a Reverend is not all about preaching in the church. As a Reverend, and Supporters Club Chairman, I share the word of God with them. People love sports. We talk sports and after that I share the word of God with them. I feel very happy that in a very big opportunity for me in fulfilling my calling. And Supporters Club work is not suffering.

And I know that many lives are always touched. I do communicate with converts and we pray together. They call me to pray for them.

Q: The Supporters Club had been tainted with allegations of visa racketeering, and members flirting with other people’s wives and husbands. How do you intend to curb these?

First, let me correct the impression that the Supporters Club had been embroiled in racketeering and all what not. There has never been anything like that since the existence of the club.

People will always talk, and people who peddle such rumours are those who are too ambitious looking for one or two things from the club. And when they don’t have their way, they look for a way to tarnish the image of the club.

I have been with the club for close to 30 years and I can tell you there has never been any time that members are having immoral acts among themselves. Any time we travel, especially when the Super Eagles have crucial matches, we go there fasting and praying for the team to succeed.

We are more joyous when our team wins. We don’t go with the aim of committing immorality; we go in with prayers and supplications to God.

We have Lawyers, National Assembly members, sports administrators, Reverends, Journalists, Doctors, Businessmen, etc. These are respected gentlemen and women who cannot descend so low. And on the issue of visa racketeering, there is no time such has occurred. The Embassies are there for you to verify. If we travel to any country, we have a procedure. We seize the passports of those who came with us and when we are going, their passports are given back to them.

All the allegations are unfounded and they are meant to rubbish the club’s image for reasons best known to them.

Q: There has been talks of someone else claiming to be the Supporters Club Chairman. Between the two of you who is the authentic chairman?

We do not have two Supporters Club Chairmen. Two captains cannot be in a ship. I want the public to know that Vincent Okumagba was never elected as the national chairman of the Supporters Club.  He was appointed as an acting chairman. Before we did our elections, there were a lot of anti-club activities by him. One was the submission of names to the Brazilian Embassy during the Olympics. After he was impeached for anti- club activities, he went away and ran to the NFF. The NFF called us for a peace meeting and it was presided over by Bola Oloyede. We entered into an MOU which was widely publicised that we should conduct an election on December 10. He was also asked to apologise to us. He was brought back and asked to pick a form. He complained of the composition of the 13-man electoral committee. He was asked to pick his choice and removed three names which the NFF approved. Out of the 12-man electoral committee members that he approved for himself, 11 were in Lagos to conduct the election, only one was absent. We held the election in Lagos and I won. The election was supervised by Dr. Amos Adamu, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, Chief Ojo-oba and other prominent sports men and women including journalists.

Q: What are the high and low points in the course of supporting the Super Eagles?

The passion you have for a particular thing keeps you going. And this is one thing that has been encouraging me. The saddest moment in my life was in 2002 Mali Nations Cup. We went to Mali by road with six luxurious buses from Lagos. And with all the support, the Eagles crashed out in the semi finals.  In fact, the whole world came crashing on me. When I looked at all the sufferings we had, I looked up to heaven and shed tears. I was so emotional that I fell sick.

Q: Pinnick’s victory at CAF, what is your take on that?

It is a great one. And I am so happy that he defeated boastful Anjorin of Benin. Pinnick’’s victory will definitely attract positive things to Nigerian football, I have no doubt about that. We should therefore support him.

Q What is the real name of your club. Some say Nigeria and other sports while others, Nigeria football Supporters Club. Which do we call it?

In 1999, our Grand Patron, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said we had been supporting only football; it was time for us to support other sports. That was the year; we change our constitution and changed the name to Nigeria Football and other Sports Supporters Club. The two clubs are registered by us, but for now, the real name we are maintaining is Nigeria Football Supporters Club.

Q: What are the challenges facing the club?

Finance is one of our challenges. We spend our own money traveling all over the continent and the world to support the Super Eagles. Sometimes, when we land in some countries, they up the prices of the hotels, claiming we are giants of Africa, that we have money. We use our individual money and it is not funny. I would say Government has not supported us and I want the federal government to do so.

Q: What changes do envisage for the club?

This administration will not only focus on supporting the national teams alone. We are going to be involved in supporting grassroots sports. We would be partnering with the NFF in organising friendly matches and team up with the NFF.  We are also going to have Supporters Club museum where we will have our relics displayed. These and many more are some of the things we would be doing aside supporting the teams.

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NPFL: Winning title still achievable -Enyimba

After winning the 2014/15 season, Enyimba have endured struggles against other clubs moving from 8th to 15th position.

But last Sunday, the People’s Elephant climbed to seventh position on the table after a 1-0 win over Rivers United.

The 2015 champions required a 63rd minute penalty by captain Mfon Udoh in their adopted home ground – UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar to move up the ladder.

One of the key players of Enyimba,  Kelly Kester believes the league title is still within their reach. He attributed their new form to continuity and harmony in the team.

“I think it is mainly due to continuity in the playing personnel and also love (among the team) which has led to us working for each other.”

Despite their position on the table, Enyimba Kester believes winning the title is still achievable. Our ambition is to win the league or at least get a continental ticket and with the quality of the players and our new found form, I believe it is achievable,“ he said.

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Free Throw: Meet first woman to coach men’s national team in Africa

Stories by Joe Apu

Benin may not have qualified for the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Final Round, but the team etched its name in the sand of times due to head coach Brigitte Affidehome Tonon.

While Tonon’s name may not be popular in basketball circles, she surely has her path clearly laid out as the first female head coach of a men’s national team on the African continent, after making her introduction during the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Group C Qualifiers.

There have been cases of female coaches taking charge of men’s teams at club level and winning national titles.

But it is Tonon who no doubt has made history in coaching by this singular feat. It shouldn’t come as a surprise given that her father, Pierre Coffi Tonon, has a rich basketball history.

He is the current Secretary General of the Federation Beninoise de Basketball (FBBB) and has been a respected technical hand in coaching, refereeing and a FIBA match commissioner.

‘’I see them as players that I am working with and nothing more.’’- Tonon

By virtue of having a parent with such an impressive basketball CV, Tonon learnt on and off the court and has contributed immensely to her growth in the game coupled with her professional career as a coaches’ instructor at the Benin Sports Institute in Porto Novo.

Early this month, she made a statement to announce her arrival into the exclusive world and men dominated coaching field by leading Benin men’s team to a historic 69-61 win over Burkina Faso.

While she and her wards travelled to Abidjan for the second leg of the regional qualifier with a 1-1 record, they failed to win any game in the Ivoirian city.

Tonon insists the experience was worth it. Talking to FIBA.com in Porto Novo’s Hall Des Arts where the first leg of the regional qualifier took place, she shed light on the experience.

She does not see herself as a woman when she is coaching a men’s team. “I see them as players that I am working with and nothing more,” she said. “That they are men and I am a woman does not bother me. Coaching is coaching and there’s no two ways about it. I just do my job and that’s it. I don’t allow myself to be intimidated by them.

“As much as possible, I try to relate with them for us to get the job done and that’s where it ends. I respect them and they accord me the same.”

Tonon’s assistant, Basile Comlan Klegou has no problems working with a woman as the head coach. For him, it’s all in the service of the nation.

“I have a good working relationship with her and I give her the cooperation she needs, my observations during practices and games. The important thing for me is that I am rendering service to my country and the capacity I serve doesn’t matter.”

Romaric Quenum, the captain of the Benin men’s national team,  spoke glowingly about his head coach. “It was my first time to play on a team with a woman in charge of the team but I must say that she did not do badly,” Quenum explained. “She likes taking charge just like any male coach would, and always wants the best for the team. It was nice working with her on the team.”

 

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FIBA Africa charges D’ Tigers, others on 2019 World Cup

The FIBA Africa Central Board during the week in Abidjan held its annual meeting in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire during which time it reviewed the activities that took place in 2016 and approved programs for 2017.

The Board launched an urgent appeal to the national teams that have achieved qualification for the Final Round of FIBA AfroBasket 2017 and those that will qualify in the coming days to register on FIBA’s platform dedicated to the African Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

It recommended a number of initiatives to be implemented in the coming days for a better organisation of FIBA AfroBasket 2017 in the Republic of Congo as well as gave the green light to the Executive Committee of FIBA Africa to allocate the wild cards for FIBA AfroBasket 2017.

The Board also provided guidance with regards to the challenges of developing competitions, devising training programs as well as restructuring national federations.

It indicated that a rethink is needed in order to have a better balance of the number of places on offer per group for the continental competitions including the FIBA AfroBasket, FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, FIBA Africa Champions Cup, FIBA Africa Champions Cup and the Youth competitions and issued a mandate to FIBA Africa Zone 2 for the organisation of qualifiers for youths and clubs competitions.

All Sub-Zone Presidents were charged to organise workshops on the FIBA’s New Competition System for their National Federations members, which should take place alongside FIBA Africa’s Mid-term Congress taking place in Bamako, Mali on April 20-21.

The Board praised the excitement and interest around the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Qualifiers, particularly in Zone 2, and recommended that all necessary measures be taken in order to achieve a better coverage of the continental competitions in the future.

FIBA Africa’s National Federations were also encouraged to become more involved in the promotion of 3×3, by signing up and participating in the discipline’s planned competitions on the continent in 2017.

The Board announced the creation of a 3×3 national team tournament for U18 men’s and women’s national teams. The winners will receive a trophy that will bear the name of the late Salamatou Maiga.

In the area of Support for National Federations Development, the Board invited the Sub-Zones and National Federations to get involved in the distribution of materials and equipment and instructed the National Federations Commission to help Federations identify five of their developmental priorities and tasked FIBA Africa’s coaches and referees instructors to become more involved in the organisation of training in their respective National Federations.

 

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Ndoye excited over W/Cup 2019 Qualifiers

In September of last year, Maleye Ndoye outlined how FIBA’s Competition System 2017+ will be of great benefit for fans and for basketball in Senegal. Last week, the 36-year-old – who had never played in front of his fellow Senegalese on home soil – got a glimpse of what lies in store come November.

The new system will only come into effect at the end of the year, but Ndoye got to experience playing at home for the first time in his career in last week’s FIBA Africa Zone 2 Qualifier for FIBA AfroBasket 2017.

The experience only served to confirm what he expressed six months ago in stressing the importance of playing at home. “Can you imagine how crazy it’s going to be to play in front of our fans?” he said at the time.

Thousands of Senegalese fans flocked into Stade Marius Ndiaye in Dakar to watch their heroes

As Senegal hosted Guinea, Cape Verde and Mali for the second leg of the regional qualifier at Stade Marius Ndiaye in the capital city of Dakar, local fans turned up in big numbers and the team responded accordingly.

Senegal rallied from a 1-2 record from the first leg in Bamako, Mali to close the qualifier with a commanding 4-2 success in Dakar and, more importantly, they secured their place in the Final Round of this year’s FIBA AfroBasket.

After helping Senegal achieve qualification for FIBA Africa’s flagship event, he explained why the new system matters.

“I am 37 years old and it’s my first time to play in front of my home fans. That’s a great experience. The new competition system is a good initiative,” said the 2.03m forward who has played in seven consecutive FIBA AfroBasket events. “I saw very happy people cheering us on and I am sure that this will definitely help grow the game in our country.”

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Priceless photo of Ciara, her husband and her son at her baby shower

Ciara had her baby shower over the weekend and shared this cute photo on her IG page Friday. Beautiful family!

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Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo (1960-2017)

The death of Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, veteran journalist, playwright, author, gubernatorial aspirant, as he tried to flee from armed robbers a few miles from Akure, is a sad reminder to all Nigerians of the precarious security situation in the country.  He was on his way home from Abeokuta where he had attended the inauguration of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library when he, alongside others, ran into an armed robbery operation.  He and his two companions abandoned the car they were travelling in and tried to take cover in the bush, but he ran headlong into an oncoming vehicle also fleeing from the robbers, and died of injuries.

The shock of Adinoyi-Ojo’s death is still reverberating in journalism and literary circles, which still do not comprehend how such an illustrious life could end so abruptly.  The Lagos State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has scheduled special events in his honour, including A Day of Tributes, in Lagos and Abuja.Veteran journalist and popular columnist, Sonala Olumhense, has instituted the Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo Memorial Trust Fund also in his honour.  He described the deceased as “an exceptional human being… you do not remember him without remembering just how genuine he was.”

Condolences have come from far and near.  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo expressed sadness that Nigeria has lost a gem. Former governor of Lagos State and Leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, issued a moving statement extolling the virtues of Adinoyi-Ojo. With his passage, he averred that journalism has lost one of its best and brightest. Minister of Labour, Chief Chris Ngige, said Nigeria would miss his services as a journalist and a journalism teacher.  The All Progressives Congress, his political party, paid its tribute through its National Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, consoling the Kogi State Chapter of the party through its governor. Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, described Adinoyi-Ojo as “a brilliant and incorruptible journalist.  He stood out among his colleagues as aviation correspondent for The Guardian where he met and struck a friendship with Obasanjo.”

Dr. Adinoyi-Ojo lived a life crowded with achievements and activities.  Born on March 9, 1960 at Oboroke-Ihima, Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, he obtained a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1982 under the tutelage of Prof. Femi Osofisan who was said to have been instrumental to his joining The Guardian, where he quickly distinguished himself, in 1983.  In three years, he had been promoted News Editor of The Guardian and in 1989, he proceeded to the United States for graduate education at the New York University.

In New York, he served as Research Officer at the African Leadership Forum and also as the Information Officer, Division of Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) between 1994 and 1995.  He obtained his Ph.D in 1996 from New York University and was subsequently appointed Adjunct Professor of Mass Communication at the School of New Resources, College of New Rochelle, New York, in 1997.  He was later appointed a press officer of the United Nations Department of Public Information, which sent him to Iraq as Humanitarian Co-coordinator.  It was during that posting he chanced upon the Chaldean seer and the dire prophecies about his future wife, which tragically came to pass when his wife, Rachel, died five years ago.  He re-married in 2015 to Memunat, who along with his three children, are his survivors.

He was one of Nigeria’s most productive journalists and playwrights, leaving behind an awesome number of plays and books including Born to Run, a biography of Dele Giwa, the famous Nigerian editor murdered in 1987 by a parcel bomb, which he co-authored with Dele Olojede.  He wrote two biographies: In the Eyes of Time, a biography of the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo; The Story of Atiku Abubakar, a biography of former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar.  He wrote many plays including a literary masterpiece such as The Killing Swamp, which got listed in 2010 among the three finalists for the 2010 NLNG Literature Awards.  Other Plays are Her Majesty’s Visit; A Resting Place; Tower of Burden; The Virginity Flee;  The Lone Ranger; Bargain Hunting, and Soommalliyya.

Dr.Adinoyi-Ojo returned to Nigeria at the advent of democratic rule and got appointed as Special Assistant on Media to the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar.  Indeed, his friendship with President Obasanjo and Vice-president Atiku Abubakar must have influenced Onukaba’s foray into politics.  And, although he was yet to achieve his dream of governing his home state, Kogi, the hope was that if he had lived longer, he would have achieved his ambition as he did in everything he tried to do in life.

The circumstances of his death will remain like a fresh wound in the psyche of Nigerians who will always remember that the absence of security on Nigerian highways robbed the nation of one of its most creative, hardworking and humane citizens.  Adieu, Onukaba-Adinoyi Ojo.

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Hope Eghagha: How Wole Soyinka, J.P. Clark created literary revolution at Unilag

The Department of English of the University of Lagos has was reknown for its literary and linguistic excellence. Founded fifty-five years ago, Professors Wole Soyinka and J.P. Clark, who, at various times, served as the departmental head in the 1960s, were among the pioneers who set the ball of creativity running. Professor Hope Eghagha, a literary Houdini himself, is the current head of the department. He shared with Henry Akubuiro how Soyinka and J.P. Clark’s magical moments in the department provided the impetus for academic and literary exertion, which the department has become synonymous with in the academia and the world of letters.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Department of English of the University of Lagos, having taken off in 1962. How do we situate this epoch in the university’s annals?

This is one of the point we should clear. There are two narratives at this point: that the university took off in 1962, while another historical account has it that English was a servicing unit to the university, but it started admitting students in 1964. So, if we take 1962 as a take-off point, that means we are 55 years. Then, if we take 1964, it is 53 years. We opted to celebrate 55 years of service to humanity.

Before then, the English Department used to be under Classics at the University College, Ibadan, which was the pioneer institution in the country. At what point did it become imperative to go a different way at Unilag?

The University of Lagos was created by an Act of Parliament in 1962, and it defined its focus. It was not tailored after the University of London, which gave birth to the University College, Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan). So, it seemed to me that, right from the outset, the University of Lagos decided to have its own character; and when it took off, it wasn’t, strictly speaking, the Faculty of Arts. It was the School of Humanities, in which you had History, English, Geography, among others. Gradually, the Faculty of Arts emerged. I have to put it on record.

Who were the pioneers when the department when it took off?

You can see from the roll call here [Professor Dunn, the first HOD of the department; Professor Wole Soyinka, from 1965-1967; followed by Professor Bruce King and Professor JP Clark], who later became prominent persons in the literary world. After JP Clark, it was his wife, Ebun, and, later, Professor Theo Vincent. Those were the persons we met. Of course, they were other teachers who didn’t become the HoD. We would like to beat our chest to say we have made our contributions.

And what legacies did the pioneers leave in the department?

They created a platform for us, their grandchildren as it were. The fact that Professor Wole Soyinka and JP Clark were here was a big plus. They established a tradition of excellence. They were able to combine both literary and linguistic studies effectively. So, it was not a mono-programme department. We have continued to run courses in literature and language. That tradition started then. When it comes to writing, the fact that Professor Soyinka was here at a time contributed. Professor JP Clark retired from here. So, the tradition which they started –excellence in teaching and creative writing –were built upon, and we continue to build. We have a good relationship with them. Professor JP Clark has a building named after him here, and he comes in sometimes once every week. The 55th anniversary lecture we had on Tuesday was in his honour because of his immense contributions to the development and the establishment of the Department of English.

A department is measured, parts, by the progress and successes of their graduates. To what extent has the department contributed in literary scholarship in the country?

We have produced quite a number of persons who went on in life to become professors in different universities. We have also produced persons who did not become professors but excelled in their different fields. If I can take a professor of sociolinguistic, for instance, Tope Omoniyi, who is at the University of Roehampton, he has made enormous contributions to linguistic studies. We can easily recall one of our students, G. Ogunsanwon, who became a popular journalist in Nigeria and became the editor of Daily Times. There are quite a number of others. We have produced actors, too, people who schooled here. Let me start with Wunmi Obe –she is an artist, and I taught her here. Tony Umez, who is in Nollywood, was also my student here. Tope Makinwa is also a product of this place; she has gone into writing and social media activism. They are so many. We have persons who graduated here and are abroad teaching in American and British universities. Some are working in banks. Some are in the media. Louis Odion, the former editor of Sunday Sun, is also a product of this department – I taught him.

English is not a professional course, yet students keep drifting to the department in their hundreds every session. What’s the attraction?

There must be something about English that prepares a graduate of that discipline for all facets of life. You take a degree in English, and you can work in almost any industry in Nigeria and in the world. It has also provided a platform for some of our students who went into communications studies and IT. Last December, the set of 2006 had a reunion here in Lagos, which I attended; and I found that quite a number of them had gone into different fields. I am going to bring some of them here so they can interact with our students, let them know that your studying English does not limit you. We have our graduates in banks, television, teaching, business, journalism, among others. English prepares you for life as a degree in the Humanities where you can appreciate the sociology of the environment in terms of communications, language and culture, so that you can fit into any aspect of life.

Against the backdrop of growing unemployment in the country, is there anything the department is doing to prepare its students to face the diminishing labour market or to fend for themselves thereafter?

We are exposing them to communications studies, business communication, editing, printing, and understanding the book industry. They also take some practical in theatre. They are also exposed to phonetics, phonology and creative writing. These are things they can exploit upon graduation, so they can fit into the labour market. Some could be on their own in certain minor sectors of the economy. We make them realise that, when you are studying a text in literature, you don’t study it in isolation; you study it in relation to your environment so that whatever lessons in it can be applied to the environment upon graduation. The highest number of our graduates are in the teaching profession, both public and private, within and outside the country. So, we give them skills that will prepare them for life, so they are not circumscribed or limited because they studied English.

Creative writing has become a big thing round the world and, in the western world, we now have thriving creative writing schools who churn out budding writers. What is the department doing to tap into this creative boom?

We are working hard on creative writing, but there is a lot that still need to be done. We are working in that direction as well.

The culture of literary journals is no longer as robust as it used to be in those days in English departments of Nigerian universities. How is the departmental journal fairing?

We came out in January this year, and we are in the process of accepting essays now that will be sent out for peer review, so our journal is still at it; but you know that we also suffer the hiccup which the financial meltdown in the country has brought about in the university system. So, funding is an issue; but we do hope that, in the years ahead, we are going to have seed money. Our plan is to make edition of LARES an online journal. We do hope that the next edition of LARES (Lagos Review of English Studies) will also be online. In the university system, you cannot have career advancement if you don’t write and publish in reputable journals. So, we have a lot of our colleagues contributing both from within the university and outside of it. But we believe that, in line with contemporary thinking, you would be widely read if you went online. So, we are working in that direction. We are working hand in hand with the TRS, which is the computer wing of the University of Lagos.

What has changed from the inception of the university till the present? Are there innovations that have been brought to bear on the curriculum and method of impartation?

Texts have changed.  The focus has remained the same –to produce manpower –but there have been new courses introduced, for example. Oral Literature is now a course. Modern discourses and contemporary novels have also been introduced. You see that many things have changed in Nigeria. At the time the department started, we didn’t have so many text books, novels, plays, poems written by Nigerians and Africans. In the last 30, 40 years, a lot of Nigerian writing have gone into the pantheon or the canon. By that, we have expanded the syllabus, contemporize it and, of course, we have also tried to teach using modern equipment, for instance, power point presentation. When we teach Shakespeare, for example, we try to do an intertextual study between the film and the original text. So, the dynamics of the 21^st century have also impacted positively on the programme that we run here.

What efforts are you making to ensure that your masters and Phd programmes are faster, because, in Nigeria these days, graduate students are drifting towards overseas to do their masters and PhD programmes abroad when we have thriving English and Literary Studies departments in Nigeria?

It is a two-way thing. The fact that students come in and hardly does anyone ever make it through the prescribed 3-4 years. A lot of factors militate against completing the PhD programme within the stipulated time frame. For the MA, it is fairly straight. It is a one-year programme –twelve to fifteen months. People easily do that and finish up. It is when you come to the PhD that it becomes harder. One is that there are too many distractions to the students. A lot of them don’t concentrate; they don’t do it fulltime. Of course, we can’t run away from the fact that some supervisors are distracted. But the university is trying to introduce some institutional mechanisms to ensure that you face your work. One, they keep reinforcing that you cannot stay more than two years beyond the prescribed time for the programme.

If, for instance, the programme is four years, and you are going to seven and eight years, there is a query to find out why you have been slow. For post-graduate students, because there are no grants and scholarships, as you have abroad, people are allowed to fend for themselves here; and, because they work –some of them are married, and they have families they maintain –they don’t give full attention to the work. Then, the typical Nigerian university lecturer is overburdened, teaching so many courses, supervising so many students, and the resources to go on field trips are not adequate. All of them are contributing factors.

I agree some teachers across the country are more effective than others. That’s the fact. Some are more committed. We do know that there are some teachers who are too busy to read the chapters submitted by these students until there is a query from within the system. If we have enough grants and scholarships that are tied to certain projects in terms of time –in order words, you are entitled for grants for three or four years –it will go a long way, because you would lose the grant if you don’t deliver.

On a personal, when did your romance with the Department of English start?

I first came here as a student in the 1983-84 section and, in 1988, I went to the University of Ado-Ekiti for six years and came back in 1984. I went out again in 2009 and came back in 2015.

What would you describe as two of your most memorable days in the department?

[They were] When I got my PhD and when I got my professorship (laughs). Those were memorable days. To become a professor in the university, which is a result of hard work and based on the significant contributions you have made to the academia, not politics, nothing can beat that.

The Department of English marked its 55^th anniversary early this week with a keynote speech dedicated to Prof. JP Clark. What other activities are lined up for this anniversary?

We are going to have a roundtable on drama: dramatic literature, dramatic production and film. This roundtable will examine what has happened to stage plays –it seems to have lost its popularity. Our readings will celebrate our 55^th anniversary. We are going to have another lecture before the end of the year, to be delivered by Professor Munzali Jubril, on a topic that is related to language and national development. Those are the activities lined up for the rest of the year.

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Telling the Nigerian story in pictures: Dayo Adedayo fflaunts Nigeria 2.0

By HENRY AKUBUIRO

The reality has finally dawned on us that nobody can tell the Nigerian story more than Nigerians themselves. Overseas, the image of Nigeria the world is fed with is rather bleak. If it isn’t Nigerian conmen swindling unsuspecting foreigners, it is sex trafficking or the Boko Haram enacting a macabre dance in northern Nigeria.

Enough is enough! Dayo Adedayo seems to be saying with his latest whopper, Nigeria 2.0, which was presented last Saturday at the Quintessence Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos. It is a photographic account of the beautiful country called Nigeria, the pride of the black race. The book is a product of eleven years of painstaking journeys across the length and breadth of the country.

“There is nothing like this in Nigeria,” he said to an enthusiastic crowd who had gathered to see his pictorial documentation of Nigerian culture, tourist attractions and historical monuments. “There are no images of Nigeria on the internet,” he lamented, which made him to take the risk of snapping the memorable pictures he has in the book.

Tell you what: here is one patriotic Nigerian who will go at any length to restore the battered image of the country. He said, “For me, I see challenges as opportunities. Nigerians like talking down on ourselves and our politicians.” But his is a positive approach to counter the Nigerian stereotype.

Foreigners hear bad stories about Nigeria abroad, but when they get in, it is a different experience altogether, he echoed. “We don’t have money, but we are happy, even though there is a recent case of somebody committing suicide, something unheard of in Nigeria before now,” he noted.

The book, he added, is a tale of his love for Nigeria, the country of his birth. “It is not the beginning that matters,” he said. The bottom line, according to the photographer, is that we can rise from the nadir of our hope to sing aloud the song of glory.

Excerpts from the book of photographs were read by the radio presenter, Titi Oyesan, who moderated the event. She informed that Adedayo’s amazing shots were taken and produced without photoshopping.

The photographer regretted that Nigerian leaders were used to living in their comfort zones, and not wishing photographers to gain assess into these places for documentation purposes. Getting permission, he said, to shoot Aso Rock, was a daunting task before he succeeded.

The same could not be said of government houses elsewhere. Citing example of the American White House, he said several documentations and movies had been done on it without any backlash. He lamented that Nigerian journalists had not been doing their jobs effectively when it came to scrutinising political appointments in Nigeria, for there were so many people in government who had no business being there. “The younger generation has a lot of work to do,” he said.

Responding to questions during an ensuing interactive session, he reiterated that he had a passion for Nigeria. Regardless of being locked up on several occasions in the course of producing the book by security agents and escaping an accident, he soldiered on till the end.

Having visited the Ojukwu bunker built during the Nigeria civil war, he said the 29- feet deep edifice was a reminder of the Nigerian ingenuity. Given the successes recorded by the Igbo in different facets of life and everywhere they have domiciled, he prayed Nigerians to eschew ethnicity to give the Igbo a pride of place to transform the fortune of the country.

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Essay : New realism, new barbarism: A retelling of a bloodied history in Achike Chude’s Twilight of Darkness (II)

By Chijioke Uwasomba

Continued from last edition

Twilight of Darkness as a radical novel 

As noted at the beginning of this essay, this novel belongs to the radical tradition of the Nigerian novel. Again, this novel as highlighted earlier on is truly a “factional” experience of events that took place in Nigeria during the dictatorship of General Ibrahim Babangida. Nigeria is a post-colony with its grave challenges. Its ruling elite is very bankrupt and unpatriotic that in spite of all the resources available to the country, the latter has remained clay-footed and dismally under-developed. Little wonder the Nigerian state is described in various ways by scholars as a Rentier State (Falola and Ihonvbere 1985), Prebendal (Joseph, 1997), Rouge (Joseph, 1995), Lame Leviathan  (Callaghy, cited in Ibrahim, 1988), Neo-patrimonial  (Medard in Ibrahim, 1988) among other epithets.

The upshot of all these is that the Nigerian state has been reduced to a centre of struggles for private primitive accumulation by the forces and individuals  that have hijacked it. Its military and civilian wings while misruling the country have accumulated massive wealth for imperialism, its agents and for themselves.  The state has become an anti-developmental structure which suffocates the people and destroys their hopes and aspirations as its activities encourage and deepen the misery of the people. Olorode (2016) notes that:

With state power in the hands of indigenous collaborators of the departed colonialists, private and primitive accumulation became the pre-occupation of the ruling circles in the succeeding post-colonial governments. These collaborators were driven constantly by the illusion of becoming effective partners and even competitors of the international plunders (8).

It is the ruinous activities of this class with their foreign collaborators represented by the IMF, the World Bank, WTO, etc. that have reproduced the state of insecurity and antideluvian displays that Chude retells in his novel.

Even before Dike sets his feet on the university of his choice, the reprehensible activities of the touts at Iddo park where he has gone to board a vehicle to Port-Harcourt constitute a sign that the country is in a mess. The touts are said to be used by politicians to rig elections and assassinate political rivals and create mayhem. The ruling clique does not see government as a ramifying social contract but, as a bully that must be obeyed. These campus bullies that Dike later confronts in his University are mimicks who see themselves as the Lords of the university enclave. Fashina (1999) has characterised them as “mini-models of neo-colonial small groups with a quasi-religious but autocratic orientation” (107).

Dike, apparently because of his exposure to reading, was already politically conscious and, therefore, finds it easy to have an anchor with a political platform of the Left with a sound political orientation. He is not given to fear even when his life and that of his girlfriend, Adaorah, are threatened by the cultists. In the university portrayed, the fear of the rampaging cultists is the beginning of wisdom. In the same vein, the political platform he has chosen to identify with is a fearless one whose credo is to espouse values of progressivism and to defend the interests and welfare of the students.

The influence of Youssan is total as can be seen in the novel. At all times, the movement is seen to be taking risks even when threatened by the murderous cultists. The cult groups are everywhere and have frightened the wits out of every student and other members of the community:

They had wrapped the entire community with a cloak of fear. Students were scared, lecturers were terrified, the school authority (sic) didn’t want to get involved.  They were growing in boldness and daring by the day. Perhaps the greatest testimony of this was their new-found penchant to strike even in the day time. In doing this their hit men no longer bordered to hide their individual identities during operations (69).

The de-proscription of students’ unionism is also as a result of the struggles and vanguardist roles of Youssan.

In Nigeria’s higher institutions of learning, especially the universities in the 1980s up to the late 1990s, students were up in arms against the neo-liberal policies of the various military regimes in the country. Chude recalls these battles and assigns the successes of these struggles to organisations with social conscience as the motivators and that in places where they do not exist, society is doomed. Youssan provides the students with historical, theoretical and intellectual perspectives on the students’ movement in Nigeria, issues of development and under-development, the political and economic world order, imperialism, the Bretton Woods institutions and such other issues with ramifying philosophical, and socio-political dimensions. Without organsations as focused as Youssan, universities would be like grave yards and the state and its representatives would undermine the people the more.  Higher institutions, especially universities have a historical role in moulding their students to appreciate their responsibilities to themselves and the society in general.  In developing societies such as Nigeria, these public spaces cannot but be, active in helping to build a society worthy of emulation.

Having realised the strategic roles of organisations like Youssan, the university administration in cahoots with the military regime plans all sorts of stratagems to neutralise the students. One of the stratagems is to encourage students-on-students violence. Another, among other various ways is infiltration by encouraging agent provocateurs.  Unknown to the leadership and members of Youssan, Priye Darlington, a member of Youssan is a state agent who has been planted by the state. Priye has all along pretended to be a student. His studentship is an arrangement secretly worked out between the state and the university administration. It is obvious that he links up with his office (the SSS office) in town every day to divulge a lot of information detrimental to the students. Agents of Priye’s hue are many in higher institutions in Nigeria. They spend many years in school and even when they have graduated they continue to hang around in schools.

As a political novel of radical persuasion, Chude tries as much as possible not to imbue the protagonist with heroic values and qualities to the exclusion of Youssan, the quartet of Adeyemi, Johnson, Briggs and Dike, the students and the leaders of Abumog. The quartet of Adeyemi, Johnson, Birggs and Dike are vibrant. Leaders of Youssan are always churning out ideas to rescue the students from the vice-grip of the cultists. But a clear reading of the novel attests to the fact that this is a novel that is constructed within the philosophical plank of collective heroism. Dike is no doubt the protagonist of the novel but the heroic deeds of the students lead to the dismantling of cultism in the university of the novel. The collective responses of the students constitute a big challenge both to the state and the university administration.

It bears repeating that were it not for the revolutionary and collective efforts of the students engineered by Youssan, the students would not have got their union restored and the menace of cultism would have been on the rise. The value of the political education offered by Youssan is made manifest by the responses of the students to the various economic policies of the regime in power.

The novel bristles with the heroic and patriotic displays of students, Gani Fawehinmi, Aka Bashorun and other public-spirited Nigerians that fought military dictatorship to a standstill. The novel is really a documentation of Nigerian history during the dictatorship of Babangida/Abacha. Twilight of Darkness is truly a committed novel that dwells on facts and socio-historical realities that have arrested Nigeria’s march to greatness and development.  The complete lack of defamiliarising tropes should be seen within the context of the new realities that have defined decadent societies like Nigeria. In societies of this nature, realities take the shape of fiction.

Conclusion

An attempt has been made to locate the first novel of Chude within the domain of radical aesthetics. Though the novel cannot by any standard be considered as a truly fictional exercise, but it reflects the emerging novelising tradition in Nigeria which treats facts as if they were fictive events.  Facts are competing for equal spaces with fiction and new Nigerian writers like Chude perhaps, have not been able to extricate themselves from the damaging impact of these realities on their creative consciousness. The level and impact of the new realism are very destabilising not only on creative writers but also on all who have been affected.

A succession of civilian and military power mongers with their neo-liberal international and local agents have looted and misgoverned Nigeria. The 1980s’ policies prepared the ground for the current barbaric realities that the country is confronted with. And as Kagarlisky  (1999) has noted, “so long as neo-liberalism retains its ideological hegamony in the society, despite proving a failure in economic terms, the only alternative to it is a new barbarism which is becoming a reality…”(viii).

Chijioke Uwasomba is with the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria 

NOTES

1. Part of the title of this essay is taken from the book of a Russian writer, Boris Kargalisky. The book is titled New Realism, New Barbarism. It is a blistering attack on globalisation and the new imperialist order after the fall of the former Soviet Union.

2. The Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a controversial judgment in favour of Alhaji Shehu Shagari and warned that the judgment should not be quoted anywhere as a legal precedence. Many people were of the view that Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo did not want Chief Obafemi Awolowo to succeed him. Richard Akinjide, the then Attorney-General of the federation argued the case for the NPN.

3. General Babangida’s Independence Day anniversary officially marked the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Attempts by many Nigerian patriots to provide an alternative was rebuffed by Babangida and his advisers like Olu Faleye, Chu Okongwu, Idika Kalu, etc.

4. In 1978, Nigerian Students through their Association, National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) and with the support of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) embarked on a National Protest that rattled the Military Regime. Col. Ahmadu Ali, the then Federal Commissioner of Education who announced the policy of the withdrawal of Subsidies targeted at the Students became the object of criticisms by the protesting students hence the protest was named “Ali Must G”. Many radical lecturers and workers were sacked by the regime in UNILAG, UI and UNN for allegedly supporting the students.

5. Youssan was a Marxist/Leninist organisation of University Students in Nigeria. It had its headquarters in UNIJOS and actively participated in the struggle against Apartheid in Southern Africa. It was also involved in the NANS politics at the PYMN politics. (The Popular Youth Movement of Nigeria was the core of NANS).

Works Cited 

Adewumi, F. (ed.) Trade Unionism, Development and Military Rule.  Lagos: Friedrick Embert Foundation, 1998.

Aluko, S. National Concord,  December 12, 1984, p. 11

Amuta, C. “Ideology and Aesthetics in the Contemporary Nigerian Novel”. New Left Review (14): 1 – 22, 1985.

Attai, U. SAPRITES. Ibadan: Heinemann, 1989.

Chude, A. The Twilight of Darkness. London: Olympia Publishers, 2016.

Falola, T. and Ihonvbere, J. The Fall of Nigeria’s Second Republic 1979 – 1983. London: Zed Books) 1988.

Fashina, O. “Economic Crisis, Social Unrest and the (sic) Academia: Contextualizing the Cult Nenace in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions” in Ogunye, J. et al. (eds.) Citadels of Violence. Lagos. CDHR, 1999.

Fatunde, T. and Iyayi, F “Literature, Class Struggle and National Liberation in Nigeria: An Introduction” in Raji, W. and Bello, I. (eds.). An Idea We Must Not Forget: A Celebration of Fectus Iyayi.  Ibadan:  Kraft Books, 2016.

Fedrici, S. and Alidou, O. (eds). A Thousand Flowers: Social Struggles against Structural Adjustment Programme in Universities.  Trenton: African World Press, 2000.

Ibrahim, J. National Party of Nigeria: From Primitive Acquisition of Power to Primitive Accumulation of Capital.  Faculty Seminar Series, FASS, ABU, Zaria, 1988.

Ihonvbere, J. “Structural Adjustment in Nigeria” in Turok, B. (ed.) Debt and Democracy (Alternative Strategies for Africa, vol. 3). London: Institute of African Alternatives, 1991.

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Playlet : The King and the subject

By Nwokedi Nwokedi

CHARACTERS

King

Subject

The scene opens with the king sitting on his throne, his legs placed on the back of the subject who is bent before him.

A variety of food and assorted brands of drinks are litered on a table placed beside him. The King is dressed in green white green attire while the subject is dressed in green, red and black attire with spots of yellow.

The king is enjoying himself with the food and drinks while the subject is starving in pain.

SUBJECT

Your Highness, this is not fair; how can you be eating alone while I am suffering and starving?

KING

(Takes a bit from a chicken lap that he is holding, and then drinks from a glass of champagne before him) You see your problem, impatience! Impatience!! Impatience!!! I told you that this land will be better and you are here talking about suffering and starving (licks his tongue) listen, this land must be better (takes another bite from the chicken lap).

SUBJECT

(Tries to raise his head but the King pushes him down with his legs) But your highness we, the subjects, have been having patience since this land was created.

KING

More patience! More patience!! (drains the champagne in the cup, and opens bottle of beer with his teeth and begins to drink from the bottle) This land must be better.

SUBJECT

Your highness for how long shall we wait…

KING

You see, the king before me spoilt the land, desecrated and pillaged the land, so it will take me time to repair and consecrate the land. This land must be better. Patience! Patience!! Patience!!!(Takes a swig from the bottle of beer)

SUBJECT

Can I, at least, have some food to eat while I am being patient?

KING

This is the problem with you: my subjects, always thinking about now and not about tomorrow. I have told you that this land will be better and you need patience (drinks) patience is the food you need now. Remember that the test of fire makes fine steel.

SUBJECT

But Your Excellency, you are eating real food. Why are you not having patience?

KING

I need to eat to nourish and strengthen my body spiritually and physically for the task of nation building. You, my dear subject, need patience, patience and prayer.

SUBJECT

But now can I pray on an empty stomach…?

KING

I will tell you, (Takes another swig and drowns the remaining content of the beer. He quickly opens a bottle of whisky and a plate of steaming goat pepper soup, takes a spoonful of it) You see, research and experience has proven beyond reasonable doubt that prayer made on an empty stomach is very effective, speedy and is very sure to get to God. So pray, pray on an empty stomach. This land will be better. (Pours a whisky for himself and begin to drink) Hmmm, great whisky…. Leave me to concentrate and think about the never ending problems of the land. (Scoops a spoonful of the pepper soup and continues to talk while chewing). But this land must be better.

SUBJECT

Your Highness, if you cannot give me food, can I, at least, have my salary so that I can take care of my family?

KING

Have you not heard about the economic meltdown? Do you not know that the price of palm oil and groundnut oil have fallen drastically and, so, our land is no longer making money? Patience, my brother! Patience!

SUBJECT

But you are eating and drinking…

KING

Because I need the strength; I need to be strong. Do you know the energy that I lose on basis just thinking about the problems of this land. I travel around the world looking for solutions to the many problems of this land. But you, on the other hand, have nothing to think about, because I am thinking for you. My brother, we cannot all enjoy at the same time. Let your king enjoy, so that you will enjoy tomorrow when this land has become better. After all, Jesus Christ said it in the good book that the poor must always be amongst you. Did he not say it? (Takes another spoonful of pepper soup).

SUBJECT

He said it, but your numerous travels have not yielded anything so far.

KING

Patience! Patience!! Patience!!! (Takes a swig of whisky) my foreign friends have made promises, I am sure that they will fulfill them and then this land become better (Scoots a spoonful of the pepper soup into his mouth) this land will be better… it will be better.

SUBJECT

But one the kings in one of the lands you visited said that we are fantastic and beautiful thieves. How do you think that they will help us?

KING

Are we not thieves?

SUBJECT

Including you?

KING

Shut up!

SUBJECT

Sorry sir.

KING

Better… (Drains the last drops of whisky in the cup and pours in another one) What that stupid king said is a stupid truth, uttered in a stupid manner.

SUBJECT

Did you tell him what you just said?

KING

Why should I? Do you want our land to lose out from the largesse he promised us? Do you want him not to return the money stolen by the former kings of our land which they kept in his land? (Drains the whisky in one gulp)

SUBJECT

Your Highness, please, give me something to eat; I am dying.

KING

No ooo… you are not dying… You are merely going through a life-saving transformational and transfigurational change and it is good for your health and longevity. My dear subject this land will be better.

SUBJECT

I am dying…!!!

KING

You are changing…!!!(Sips the whisky and chews some meat) what you are feeling now is change, life giving change (Scoops a spoonful of meat into his mouth) Change!! Change!! Change!!!

SUBJECT

Your Highness, this land is dying.

KING

No, my subject; this land is experiencing change. There must be a cross before a crown is given (Opens a bottle of beer and begin to drink straight from the bottle).

SUBJECT

My lord, you need to do something to save this land, because the people are very angry; they will soon rise against you.

KING

(Laughs hoarsely) No…. No…. No…. they will not rise; they do not have the capability to rise against me… (Gulps some beer) they cannot rise against me.

SUBJECT

Why….?

KING

Because they are divided, I have successfully divided them against themselves. (Picks a chicken lap and begins to chew greedily). People are living in confusion. A good king creates division amongst his people so that they will not rise against him.

SUBJECT

What do you mean, sir?

KING

Feed some, starve some, and the job of division is perfectly done. Hahahahaha (Chews the remaining part of the chicken and drowns some more beer) This land will and must be better. (Opens a bottle of champagne fills his glass and drowns it in one gulp).

SUBJECT

How long do you think you can keep up with this deception?

KING

It is not called deception.

SUBJECT

What is it called?

KING

Superior art of politics and leadership (Guffaws). This land must be better. (Pours another glass of champagne and begins to drink). 

SUBJECT

Sir, I am very thirsty; can I have water to drink?

KING

Yes… yes… of course, but that will be after I have deregulated and liberalized water distribution and consumption, then you will drink as much as you want.

SUBJECT

Please, sir, I am…

KING

Shhh… be patient so that this land will be better.

SUBJECT

But you are already enjoying yourself drinking and eating, while the deregulation and liberalisation have not taken place.

KING

(Hits him on the head with the chicken lap) Because I need the strength of food and drink to think and solve your problems.

SUBJECT

(Begins to grumble faintly) Your Highness, I don’t know what you are saying, I am hungry ooo,  I am hungry ooo.

KING

(Chewing the meat) What did you say?

SUBJECT

(Shouting)I am hungry!!!

KING

Patience! Patience!! (Drinks from the bottle of beer)

SUBJECT

(A bit louder) I am hungry!!

KING

Pray! Pray! Pray for your leaders and be patient (Drinks the whole pepper soup from the plate and beings to smack his lips).

SUBJECT

I am hungry ooo!! Oga, I am dying ooo!!!

KING

Patience… I honestly understand your suffering, I also understand the colours and shape of your hunger, but you must have patience, maximum patience.

SUBJECT

(Shouting) Your Highness, give me food; give me water; I am hungry; I am thirsty.

KING

Patience… You will eat, but be patient and be prayerful. Pray for your leaders as the holy book instructs you to always do. Pray for your leaders (Opens another bottle of champagne and begins to hurriedly drink straight from the bottle) Patience! Patience!! Patience!!!

SUBJECT

(Suddenly summons all the energy and anger in him and rises up to the shock and surprise of the king) Your highness enough is enough…

KING

Did you just shout on me? Who gave you the temerity and the effrontery to stand up? Who gave you the authority and audacity to stop being patient?

SUBJECT

(Angrily kicks at the table) Your Highness, do you know that there is a time for a man’s cup of patience to be empty; there is also a time for that same cup of patience to be half; there is another time for that same particular cup of patience to be full and, finally, there is a time for that specific cup to be over filled and, then, it begins to spill and run over. Your Highness, my cup of patience is overfilled and it is spilling and running over. Your Highness, I will no longer have patience while you eat alone (He begins to furiously scoop meat from the pepper soup into his mouth).

KING

What… What are you doing? Have you gone mad?

SUBJECT

According to Esiaba Irobi, the late cerebral playwright, who lived in exile in Nigeria till he died, “there is madness in all of us” (Opens a bottle of champagne and begins to drink straight from the bottle).

KING

This is preposterous, this is sheer thievery

SUBJECT

There is a thief in all of us (Greedily grabs a chicken lap and begins to hungrily chew it, then opens a plate of jollof rice and begins to eat from it).

KING

Oh no! This cannot be, I must be dreaming, my special chicken and jollof rice imported from Kentucky, my French and Italian exotic champagne, No… No… I must be dreaming.

SUBJECT

Keep on dreaming, sir.

KING

(Greatly enraged, grabs the subject and begins to push him away from the food and wines). Get out, get out, you incurable idiot, everlasting pig, get out (He is stopped in his tracks by an angry voices coming in from outside. The voices are singing a song).

All we are saying

No more patience

All we are saying

No more patience

KING

(Releases the subject) What is that? Who are those people singing?

SUBJECTS

Your subjects… My fellow subjects (Continues to drink the champagne nonchalantly)

KING

(The song gets louder and nearer) My subjects? What do they want?

SUBJECT

Their share (The song reaches crescendo)

KING

Their share? How?  No, no, this is not possible. I told them to be patient (The song comes up again).Patience! (He begins to run away) Patience!! Patience!!! (The song continues to go higher and higher while the king runs away shouting patience! Patience!! Patience!!!)

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How life-threatening accident made me an author –Obiora Madu

By Simeon Mpamugoh

Miffed by the need to fill the huge knowledge gaps in the global trade industry in Nigeria, banker, publisher and author, Dr Obiora Madu, embarked on writing books. Today, he has written over six books, with more to come in the months ahead, which chronicle competency-based learning opportunity in the area of global trade, logistics and supply chain management.

The Chief Executive Officer, Multimix Academy, Lagos, who began his career in banking, was enthused to write when as a staff of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the apex bank instructed all banks to set up export desk.

Speaking to The Sun Literary Review in his Surulere office, Lagos, he recalls how his journey to being an author and publisher began, “I was working in the import desk when CBN gave the directive to start an export desk, and I was among the three people selected, which was, actually, the first desk set up by any bank in Nigeria in 1984. It was quite a task, because it was new, and people did not understand how to go about it.”

He was to midwife the first export academy in Nigeria, going round Nigeria teaching and running programmes on export. “At some point, I felt posterity would judge me on the wrong side if I were not able to put something down in a book format. But I kept postponing it until I had an accident on my way to University of Ife, where I was collaborating with the university at that point in time,” he recalls sadly.

Afterwards, he presented his first set of two books, followed by additions of books. He adds, “I have two new books in the press and a revised edition of Export Financing, into Export Chain Financing. There are also Warehouse and Inventory Management, and Fundamentals of Logistics and Supply Chain Management.” These books will be presented to the public at his 60th birthday lecture this year, including the title, My Story.

“I believe that one cannot be everywhere, but books can travel. I get calls from people across the world telling me they’ve read my books. I don’t know where they may have bought them, but I know the books are in the bookshops. One good thing about authors is that they don’t die. People like Chinua Achebe would never die. Because one would either keep seeing, meeting or reading their books,” he says.
He observes that self-publishing is the way to go for Nigerian authors, because the protocols involved in the publishing company are such that no private sector person has the patient for it. “It is my company that publishes my books. When the manuscripts are ready and edited, we go get the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), then to press. It is faster and less stressful,” he says.

The adjunct lecturer of University of Port Harcourt Centre for Logistics and Transport submits on the battle between digital book and hardcopy, “My thesis is in digital platform. The hardcopy is selling for 49 euro. We can print and send to anyone who wants it. You know technology has changed everything; you can get it in 30 minutes. I think hard copy books cannot die, no matter how digital books thrive. This is because a lot of people are more comfortable reading hard copy books.

“But I don’t know how long that is going to last, because everybody is carrying smartphone that can turn the books in different forms and give different views; everything, including the Bible, is in a smartphone. On the go, the digital books are quite exciting, but it would take a long time before it can take hardcopy books out. Again, the advantage of digital books is prizing. It is not printed, so nobody is going to charge so much.”

While the hardcopy of the aforementioned book sells for 49 euro, the digital copy probably goes for 20 euro. “So, you can see the difference,” he echoes. “The cost is also going to be one of the factors that would make digital books overtake the hard copy format. I have two of my books online, and currently working on having all of them on digital platform.”

The author, who launched three titles at a go few years ago, explains what he had in mind writing them was to enlighten people, because international trade has become knowledge intensive such that what you do not know can hurt you badly. “And success in international trade is step by step,” he adds.

Obiora, however, canvasses more investment in the publishing industry, adding that the challenge with publishers was that “we don’t read”. He further says, “I don’t envy them, because that is why they say, ‘If you want to hide anything from a Blackman, do so inside a book.’ So, publishers will have a hell of time recovering their cost of production and, at the same time, record profit on investment.

“Today, people think twice before going into publishing. I’m sure there are many of the publishing companies that had folded up as a result of not been able to break even. There is need to generally encourage investors. All the great minds in this country read. If you want to write, you must be reading other people; that is how you build your vocabulary and writing style; but, again, our people don’t read. There is no useless book. No matter how useless a book looks, if you read it, there is something to learn from it.”

He is disappointed that, “In Nigeria, we have monetised everything such that books and knowledge don’t matter again; it is all about how much money one has in his bank account. A young man would tell you, ‘With all the books you have read, how much do you have to show for it.’ This is equally affecting our children when they are asked to read their books. Some of them would be quick to remind you of those who had graduated many years ago without a dime in their pocket.”

Infrastructure, he says, is key if we want to develop the publishing industry, while pointing out that our national economy isn’t   competitive because of infrastructure. He explains, “There is so much cost being expended on power yet technology has made a lot of things easier. For instance, Amazon is no longer concentrating press in one place. I understand they plan to site a press in Nigeria so that if you need a book and pay for it online, they’ll contact their people and in 48 hours, you have your books.

“The infrastructural requirement is no longer as heavy as it used to be. In one room, one can actually have a press. We need to look into the new technology. Digitisation has made book publishing easy that it is no longer print and store on shelf; it is now print-on-demand. Such technologies need to be considered by operators in the industry.

“It reduces investment, because, now, publishers print and hang and, if they don’t sell, it is gone; but, if they have the capacity to sell to their clients; they will deliver in 48 hours or less, and the person would be glad. So, modern technology, in this direction, needs to be introduced in the industry. Even those who have the big old press in the country need to rethink their art.”

But one thing that gladdens his heart is that almost everyone who reads and speaks to him commends the style and arrangement of his books. “This means that the purpose we had in mind writing them has been realised,” says Obiora, fondly called Mr. Export.

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