HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOLLYWOOD DIVA " VIVIA LADY -V ANANI"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOLLYWOOD DIVA

VIVIA LADY -V ANANI

Congolese Actress “Rachel Mwanza” from From 'War Witch' to Attend Oscars

Congolese Actress “Rachel Mwanza” from From 'War Witch' to Attend Oscars

Rachel Mwanza

Sure, Jennifer Lawrence, Steven Spielberg and George Clooney will be attending the Oscars on Sunday. But how about this for an inspirational trio: Somali refugees Harun and Ali Mohamed from "Asad" and Congolese actress Rachel Mwanza from "War Witch."

Mwanza, the 16-year-old star of Kim Nguyen's Foreign Language Oscar nominee "War Witch," has just been granted a visa to travel from the Congo to attend awards shows in North America. The film is a nominee at both the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards this weekend and is nominated for multiple awards at a pair of Canadian events in March.

Mwanza was living on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, when the filmmakers cast her in the film to play a young girl captured by rebels and forced to become a child soldier.

Meanwhile, Harun and Ali Mohamed, who fled Somalia for Cape Town, South Africa, will attend the Oscars on behalf of "Asad." The brothers, ages 14 and 12 respectively, star in Bryan Buckley's film, nominated for Best Live Action Short.

Inspired by a United Nations documentary short, Buckley's film follows a young boy in a wartorn Somali fishing village who must decide between piracy and an honest life.

"South Africa is a relatively young democracy only recently emerged from the shackles of tyranny and prejudice," Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a statement. "We have much to learn and we also have much to teach. 'Asad' is at once a painful reminder of the xenophobia that shamefully still exists in South Africa and a heart-warming tribute to our special ability as members of the human family to heal

OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER CHARGE

Oscar Pistorius with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2012 

Oscar Pistorius fought his disabilities and became a super star and now he could not fight his greatest disability and that is his temper. Why not let her go, why do the thing you know you will regret. You would have as well shot yourself than to be alive to face this global shame and might end up hanged or spend the rest of your life in jail. You are just a victim of self inflicted wound and you deserve no pity. 

BOMB BLAST IN LAGOS

BOMB BLAST IN LAGOS

Explosion Rocks Amuwo/Festac Town Bridge In Lagos.

There is a reported explosion suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the Festac Town and Amuwo Odofin Link Bridge in Lagos. This is about 5 Minutes walk from Either Mile 2 or Dubar Hotel from Rasaki Estate end of Lagos.

A man, Mr Oladele Pius, a sand seller was confirmed killed by the explosion, while a police officer was injured.

The explosive was reportedly planted in a car.Sources said 

the sand sellers association has been engulfed in crisis in 

the last few months.

THE SUN SET ON OUR GOLDIE

GOLDIE

As I woke up this morning and after praying I decided to open my facebook page to know what is going on,never was I expecting this rude shock that our Goldie is gone.Initially I was thinking it was a mere rumour, until I heard her music in my car stereo as i was racing to my office and looking around if I will see a vendor on traffic because I was looking for a contrary news that our Goldie is alive after all.But to my greatest dismay it was true that the sun has set on our golden Goldie.This is a young girl that have carved a niche for her life through her unique kind of music.Baby we are already missing you.What a sad end of a song Diva.May God remember you on the last day.

"Candle In The Wind"

Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something as more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe. by Elton John Lyrics   
...... BY 

The Evolution of Nollywood

The Evolution of Nollywood

THE BURKINA FASO MONKEY

BANCE

The Burkina Faso monkey claims that super Eagles were lucky, what an insult. Why couldn't you reply in 94 minutes, when you busy jumping from one corner of the field to the other, instead you guys would have been embarrassed with goal s if not Emenike’s injury.

You are a learner.

ONIONS! I HAD NEVER HEARD OF

ONIONS! I HAD NEVER HEARD OF

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu...

Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser. She said that several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the flu, and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note. Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.

Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that, when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!). Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

— with Adonain Danny Rivera.

BRITISH COUNCIL ANNOUNCES FIRST EDITION OF LAGOS THEATRE FESTIVAL

BRITISH COUNCIL ANNOUNCES FIRST EDITION OF LAGOS THEATRE FESTIVAL

British Council Nigeria, in conjunction with three of Nigeria's most

exciting theatre companies, and award-winning British-Nigerian actor,

Inua Ellams, presents the Lagos Theatre Festival 2013.

For 2 days, on the 16th and 17th of February, 2013, Renegade Theatre,

Black Soul Performance Company, House of Tales and Fuel Theatre will

bring to life amazing performances across a number of unconventional

spaces - the Presidential Suite, Car Park, Petanque Area, and Casa

Chianti Restaurant - at the Eko Hotel & Suites.

"We're infusing cutting-edge techniques and tools to bring theatre,

historically a rich part of Nigerian culture, to an even wider range of

arts consumers," says Ojoma Ochai, Assistant Director of the British

Council. "The idea is to create a platform for theatre away from

conventional theatre spaces, which sadly are in short supply in these

parts."

Renegade Theatre's 'The Waiting Room' (Directed by Wole Oguntokun) is a place where luck will save no one; where natural cunning and innate

intelligence must be put to the ultimate test. In it, even the most

street-wise will come face-to-face with frail mortality. An exciting,

thought-provoking performance on the meaning of existence and

pre-destination, it was the Festival play for the Lagos Book and Arts

Festival, The Festival of Nigerian Plays (FESTINA) and the Lagos State

Government-sponsored Black Heritage Festival all in 2011.

In the pidgin English comedy Grip Am (Directed by Deleke Gbolade), an

experimental reworking of Ola Rotimi's classic, revolving around a

scatter-brained trickster who uses his wits to con death into giving him

and his ever-belligerent wife eternal reprieve. Black Soul Performance

Company's production, strewn with brazenly loud eccentric action, has

gripped audiences into frenzied laughter over a dozen times since 2012.

The magic continues at the Lagos Theatre Festival where this rebellious

production will be transformed in a unique way, leaving only chuckles

and smiles in its aftertaste.

House of Tales (led by Ifeanyi Dibia) makes an ambitious debut with Bode

Asiyanbi's 2011 BBC African Performance winning play 'Shattered', a

deeply moving story which exposes in a powerful way the silence that

often surrounds the issue of rape, when victims are often reluctant to

come forward and disclose what has happened to them - especially when

the perpetrator is someone very close. Without preaching or

condescension, Shattered sheds generous light and heart on what is,

across and beyond Africa, a truly complex issue.

To complete the line-up will be the Nigeria premiere of The 14th Tale,

by British-Nigerian playwright, poet and actor, Inua Ellams. Ellams, who

was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK as a child, describes himself as

being "from a long line of troublemakers, of ash-skinned Africans, born

with clenched fists and a natural thirst for battle, only quenched by

breast milk."

Tickets for the Lagos Theatre Festival will go on sale on Tuesday 5th

February 2013 at British Council Office (Ikoyi), Terra Kulture (VI) and

Bogobiri (Ikoyi)

"If you want to see Nigerian theatre in ways you have never seen it

performed before, then you want to be hanging out with us at Eko Hotel

on the 16th and 17th of February, 2013," says Ochai.

For more information, and to stand a chance to win free tickets: Follow

the Lagos Theatre Festival on Twitter @LagosTheatre13

Like the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/BritishCouncilNigeriaArts

Call us: Toyin - 07067061972, Bukky - 08107803938 or Fusi - 08035250515

Ticket Price: N2,000 (Students: N1,000)

The inaugural edition of the Lagos Theatre Festival is produced on

behalf of the British Council by Ben Evans for BeCreative, and in

partnership with Eko Hotel & Suites, BEAT FM and Classic FM.

*UK-based Inua Ellams and the Lagos-based Directors (Wole Oguntokun,

Ifeanyi Dibia and Deleke Gbolade) will be available for interviews, on

request.

The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We are a registered charity; 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

This message is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. 

THE TIWA SAVAGE ENGAGEMENT.

THE TIWA SAVAGE ENGAGEMENT. by Charles Novia

In the past few hours, the social media and entertainment blogs in Nigeria have been agog with the news of Tiwa Savage's engagement to TJ, her Manager and now husband-to-be. For those who don't know, Tiwa Savage is arguably the leading female musician in Nigeria today, in the present heirachy of things. Personally, I love her songs and her obvious dedication to hard work. I have seen her perform as a top billing act in some concerts and her stagecraft and energy is awesome. A little bit of her backstory is also inspiring. She's an internationally-acclaimed songwriter who decided to relocate back to Nigeria to showcase her talents and found almost instant fame ,success and fortune. She came at the right time to fill up a yawning gap between the male artistes, who were having a field day and the female acts who were practically struggling to keep up. With songs like 'KELEKELE LOVE' and 'LOVE ME, LOVE ME', Tiwa showed us the power of her songwriting talent and got the airwaves on fire! Personally, I have always admired her talent and *cough* her innate beauty. She glows from within.

It was a befitting crown to her hard work and efforts, when on her birthday yesterday, she got engaged to TJ. Watching the attached video from the bellanaija blog got me really thrilled. Being a movie director, I know all about improvisations and the 'boom' moment. That moment when the unexpected happens in a scene or movie and takes all watching by surprise. TJ going down on his knees to propose was the one of the best 'Boom' moments I have ever seen. Tiwa was literally stunned and transparently touched! This was a pure expression of love and marital intention by TJ and her acquiesance to his proposal was as touching as his kneeling down. She knelt down to hug him. Symbolically, both of them on the ground in that moment, was a testimony of their intentions to start their marriage on a humble start; from ground up! To build, love, honour, cherish and obey.

Why am I writing about this? ( And this is not gossip, for the unelevated minds. This is a commentary on a celebrity reportage). I write because first, I think Tiwa Savage deserves all the happiness she gets, her man too. They both worked hard to build her brand and God has rewarded them with success. Secondly, I believe millions of Nigerian women (among others) of marriageable age dream of a Prince Charming engagement such as this. I prophesy that it will come true for such. But there is a caveat to that prophecy. Like Tiwa and TJ, build on your emotional brand. Today, many indolent ladies in the society just want a 'ready-made' husband; one that has acquired wealth or some form of success. Their image of a fairy-tale Prince is that guy who drives the flashiest of cars and has houses in Lekki or Maitama or London. Most don't care if the guy is a 'Yahoo' exponent or a thieving Politician's son or even a Government official! The desperation to 'just marry' as long as he fits the bill is what is important to those kind of ladies. There is a second breed of single ladies who are desperate to even be second wives or by-all-means 'husband snatchers' just to bear the title of 'Mrs Somebody'. I am told that most who fall under this category actually 'set belle' for the men; a compulsory pregnancy to hook the fellow and scream blue murder if the guy tries to back out. In most of these two examples, one cannot really rule out the 'Jazz factor' too! And those who think by 'Jazz' I mean Kenny G, should see a shrink!

The men are also not blameless in this analysis. It is shocking today to see most young men turning into Professional Gold Diggers. Some of these guys prey on unsuspecting women of means and toy with their hearts and emotional dysfunctionalities just to get their fingers on the woman's treasury ( no pun intended). Before you know it, the love sick lady begins to 'clean up' the repressed Gigolo. New clothes, Cars and a live-in-lover status come with the bill. Sometimes, even marriage! And when the Scallywag lover has fixed himself all well and good, he takes a hike from the lady. Its just a vicious circle out there. So vicious.

There's another type of relationship/marriage which is fast becoming a trend in Nigeria. Its called the 'Open Marriage' or 'Open Relationship'. These two terms are as different in definition as they are as endemic in our socio-cultural life. I will not dwell on this in this post. I will expound in another write-up soon.

In all of these, I still believe that marriage is sacrosanct. Folks, it is not so much the act of getting married that is the issue, it is the sustenance of that union. That's some food for thought.

Coming back to Tiwa and TJ, I wish them all the best of life. They have unwittingly become a 'Publicly Engaged Couple' and would be a staple reference of celebrity relationships in Nigeria for a long time. I am sure they are up to the task. There's evidence of genuine love in their union. And may God bless their love.

And oh...isn't Praiz a fantastic singer? His rendition of the 'Happy Birthday' song for Tiwa at the beginning of the video was absolutely mind-blowing. I predict that Praiz will be the biggest star in Nigeria within a couple of years, with the right musical direction and focused management.

I align with many of the happy comments for TJ and Tiwa which say; 'Everybody time go come'. It is well with you all.

DESMOND ELLIOT

DESMOND ELLIOT

KENYA HAS BEATEN NIGERIA TO THE OSCARS WITH 'Nairobi Half Life"

Kenya has beaten Nigeria to the Oscars with "Nairobi Half Life"

WHAT IS NOLLYWOOD WORTH - (by Orikinla )

They say Nigeria has a US$250 million per annum movie industry, churning out some 200 videos for the home video market every month.

They say Nollywood is Africa's largest movie industry in terms of both value and the number of movies produced per year. Although Nigerian films have been produced since the 1960s, the rise of affordable digital filming and editing technologies has stimulated the country's video film industry.

If the whole Nollywood movie industry is only US$250 million which is less than the total budget of Avatar ($280 million), Tangled ($260 million), Spider-Man 3 ($258 million) or Pirates of the Caribbean sequels ($300 million) then Nollywood is still a far cry from being a global film market.

All the thousands of movies made in Nollywood since "Living in Bondage" in 1992 to date have not even made up to the

$2,782,275,172, the estimated amount James Cameron's "Avatar" made at the box office!

See "Nollywood: The Nigerian Film Industry by Harvard Kennedy School on http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/Student_Projects/Nigeria_Film_2008.pdf, which every literate person in Nigeria and abroad who is interested in the film industry should read.

No Nollywood movie has even made up to US$1 million and the highest grossing Nigerian film so far "Ijé" by Chineze Anyaene did not even make up to US$500, 000 whereas in South Africa, Shucks Tshabalala’s "Survival Guide to 2010" set a new box office record for South African films, raking in R37.5 million (US$5.2 m), while Spud topped R16 million (US$2.2m), Liefling is over R10 million (US$1.4 m), Bakgat topped R5 million (US$700,000) and Jakhalsdans earned over R2 million (US$280,000). And the South African film industry is now worth about R8 billion per annum.

Kenya has beaten Nigeria to the Oscars with "Nairobi Half Life" by David 'Tosh' Gitonga. The film was selected as the Kenyan entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.

When will Nigeria make it?

Until Orikinla makes his first feature?

See "Na-ked Beauty" on http://www.lulu.com/shop/michael-chima-ekenyerengozi-and-christian-chika-onu/Unclad-beauty/paperback/product-20582799.html

The Indian film industry Bollywood is worth over US$850 million per annum.

IGBO NIGERIAN KILLED IN INDIA

 The Victim Mayor Christian Onwudinjor

 Mayor Christian Onwudinjor: He was a young lad who came to India in search of greener pastures,but death laid his cold hands on him.In recent times there's been incessant attacks on Nigerians by indian locals,police harassment and constant arrest with no reasons.

Our Consulate has done nothing to protest,they are only keen on the budget which they will share within themselves. The murdered lad was working home when suddenly some locals tried robbing him,he ran but couldn't lose their trail and faith ran against him and he was caught and beaten to death.Uptill now our embassy has heard but did nothing. His name is Peter. State: Imo State, Local Govt: Ngor Okpala, Community: Ihitte Okwe, Village: Amauku Ihitte Okwe.

IS IT NOW IHEJIRIKA'S TURN

IS IT NOW IHEJIRIKA'S TURN - by John Okiyi Kalu

There is this piece circulating online on army promotions under General Ihejirika. The author, apparently sponsored by faceless failures, alleged that Ihejirika was promoting his Igbo brothers over Northerners to achieve an "Igbo agenda".

Lt. Gen. Onyeabor Azubuike Ihejirika

Nigerian Chief of Army Staff

Here is what I know.

Unlike other past Army Chiefs, Ihejirika insisted on competence and merit as a basis for promotion to very senior positions in the Nigerian Army. To give teeth to that policy and engender competence and professionalism, he invited an external body to administer promotion examination for those within the relevant cadres.

If Igbo or Yoruba man passed that exam and the author's sponsors fail to make it, should we promote the olodos and sacrifice competence and professionalism? All the while "federal character" and "we we" were used as basis to promote all manner of misfits in the army, how did Nigeria benefit? Apart from coup plotting induced pot bellies and class looting of the nation, what did we gain from past promotions?

Let the author of that vile piece summon the courage to publish all promotions made in the Army from 1979 to date. It will help the whole world see why everything is wrong with Nigeria. Don't forget that even out of power, militicians replaced themselves with their civilian minions made up of slightly more incompetent people at all levels. Even then they still find themselves retiring and contesting elections to continue the suffocation of Nigeria to death. To them, merit is haram.

For Christ sake people should also stop insulting our sensibilities by flaunting fake population figures in public discussions. We are not in the dark ages and anyone who cares to know the truth about Nigeria's population should simply go to google earth and see how many buildings are there from Abuja to Sokoto. Even the British have long accepted complicity in this census fraud. I challenge any living Nigerian to swear that those figures we bandy about as census figures truly represent Nigeria's population distribution. If you lie let your story be Nigeria's story. Great potentials but negative growth for 52 years.

Let it be known that any system that is based on merit will favor the Igbo man and competence driven Nigerians, naturally. If the rest of the country is not ready for merit based progress let them reconsider keeping Igbos in Nigeria. It is wrong to force them to remain in Nigeria while living in mortal fear of them. Like I've said severally, a key reason Nigeria is not moving forward remains her fear of the Igbo man. That mind set have led to a situation where every single national system must have a viral program that says "keep Igbos down". A country committed to keeping one section down will remain down to keep that section down. It is better to seat down and tell them to go and form their own country so that those who choose to remain will progress (or retrogress) without Igbophobia.

Even our national football team is now a victim of this "I love, I no love" attitude towards Igbos. One so called activist recently posted thrash on how the match allowance paid to the national ogbono team mean enriching the Igbo nation. The emergency activist forgot that the glorious USA 94 team was also an "Igbo team". With the exception of Yekini and 2 others,, the rest of those who made up the first team were of Igbo Origin. I can tell anyone without fear of contradiction that the team excelled because Westerhoff made his team selection based on merit. All the coaches after him were forced to operate under the "national agenda".

Not long ago, we saw similar propaganda being circulated against the former head of immigration. She was sacked two weeks ago. It was also deployed against Barth Nnaji and he lost out. Such propaganda is hardly deployed against the locust and cankerworm of the Nigerian nation. They can steal N37b police pension money and get 2 years with option of N750k fine. Billions of new naira notes can disappear at CBN and nobody will talk about the CBN governor but EFCC will look for Soludo over N750m contract awarded by Obasanjo.

Sincerely, if Nigeria is not ready for merit based growth and development, let's sit down and talk. Lord Luggard's 100 years expires next year, 2014. If because of hypocrisy we cannot shake hands and say "you are still my brother no matter your new republic" let us agree a regional government where each region pursues the type of development suited to it. While some might choose the Sharia model, others will be free to pursue Awolowo style development socialism or apply the American Capitalist model based on merit and competence. If one region is making progress others will copy or at least visit that region to borrow wisdom. Who knows, after AD 2140, our great grand children might decide to come together and propagate and pursue merit as a basis for reward, promotion and appointments..

God forbid that my children will belong to a country where merit and competence are punished.

Make una respect una self with Ihejirika. To avoid "in those days when Igbos were here".