Nigerians and Birthdays: How We Celebrate

+Nigerians are, by nature, celebratory animals. Point black. We love our parties, the +Owambes with no apologies. And when we party, we party real big.

Recently, a number of events kept me thinking about how we celebrate, as a people, as a nation. As I researched the topic, I came across Prof. Niyi Akinnaso's beautifully written piece on Nigerians and Birthday Celebrations and thought it's worth sharing, albeit abridged.

"The celebration of birthday anniversaries is one of the acquired cultural practices from the West that NIgerians have overextended in the process of domestication, just as they have overextended the use of titles and honorifics. This is particularly true of the +Yoruba ethnic group, whose cultural and linguistic practices I have had the privilege to study professionally as an anthropologist and linguist. A unique feature of the Yoruba is the encapsulation of their rich cultural tradition in various genres, such as Odu Ifa, Ijala, and Oriki. Unfortunately, much of it has been sidelined by Westernisation, Christianity and Islam.

...perhaps no acquired Western practice is as elaborated by Nigerians as birthday anniversary celebrations. Our forefathers never celebrated birthdays. To start with, in the absence of writing and accurate record keeping, they did not know their exact birthdays... Birthdays are the most ubiquitous and the most elaborated among person-oriented events. In today's literate families, birthday celebrations begin at age 1... The elaboration of these celebrations is particularly evident in adult birthday parties, especially at ages 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80.

Lagos na Waa. Eko for Life

"Lagos has never been, will never be, and has never aspired to be like New York, or anywhere else for that matter. +Lagos has always been indisputably itself, but you would not know this at the meeting of the Nigerpolitan Club, a group of young returnees who gather every week to moan about the many ways that Lagos is not like New York as though Lagos had ever been close to being like New York. Full disclosure: I am one of them. Most of us have come back to make money in Nigeria, to start businesses, to seek government contracts and contacts. Others have come with dreams in their pockets and a hunger to change the country, but we spend all our time complaining about Nigeria, and even though our complaints are legitimate, I imagine myself as an outsider saying: Go back where you came from! If your cook cannot make the perfect panini, it is not because he is stupid. It is because Nigeria is not a nation of sandwich-eating people and his last oga did not eat bread in the afternoon. So he needs training and practice. And +Nigeria is not a nation of people with food allergies, not a nation of picky eaters for whom food is about distinctions and separations. It is a nation of people who eat beef and chicken and cow skin and intestines and dried fish in a single bowl of soup, and it is called assorted, and so get over yourselves and realize that the way of life here is just that, assorted."

"The first commenter wrote: Rubbish post. Who cares? The second wrote: Thank God somebody is finally talking about this. Na wa for arrogance of nigerian returnees..."

 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

What do you say?

Fela's Right?: Shuffering and Shmiling, and the God Question

Remember that 2003 New Scientist survey which suggested that Nigerians are the the happiest people on earth? I'm not sure how many Nigerians actually believed that. But a lot of us did reference it once in a while to buttress our bonhomie nature. Well, Forbes magazine thought ten years was enough for us to bask in that euphoria. So, in January this year Forbes burst our bubble by informing us that Nigeria is now twentieth among the saddest nations on earth. So much for (un)happiness surveys!

Well, my intention is not to ask what, if anything, has changed with the Nigerian peoples and/or character in the last ten years to warrant such a swift shift from one extreme to the other, but to revisit the perennial question: How is it possible for such happiness (with or without the New Scientist survey) that we witness in Nigeria to co-exist with the obvious hardships most Nigerians experience?

No doubt, there are as many responses to the question as there are Nigerians, and more. It's said that joy and smiles are of God. Cheerfulness has a gravitational pull to it, like nectar attracting the bee. Little wonder we are naturally drawn to joyful people. Joy is spiritual, as well as valuable in our spiritual life. And as James Martin, SJ, puts it in his Between Heaven and Mirth, "Joy is happiness in God." This joy exists even in the midst of suffering.

Now That We Have A Jesuit Pope...

It’s now a month since the world was pleasantly surprised (on Wednesday, 13 March) with the election of Pope Francis, the 266th Roman Catholic pontiff.  The new pope said in good humor afterwards that his fellow cardinals had chosen him from “the end of the world.”

And by that singular auspicious act of God, the cardinal electors set Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the pope of many firsts: the first non-European pope in almost 1,300 years, the first pope from Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, the first pope to take the name of Francis, and the first Jesuit pope. Ever.

I emerged from the library, where I had been all day, on time to join the BBC’s live coverage wait for the white smoke from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. My eyes glued to my mobile device on my commute home; I couldn’t thank God enough for digital media technology. The intersection of the mundane and the spiritual.  All serving one purpose.  God’s.  And then my delight, my joy about twenty minutes later at the pronouncement of the much-awaited “magic” words: Habemus Papam! (“We Have a Pope”).

London School of Economics Screens First Nollywood Movie

(Entertainment Express)--"This is definitely a cheering news for all lovers of the Nigerian motion picture industry globally known as Nollywood. Recently, the prestigious and famously revered London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), United Kingdom, proudly screened its first ever Nollywood movie, Ije: The Journey...to its multiracial students and stakeholders."

"The Nollywood-Los Angeles collaboration, produced and directed by youthful Chineze Anyaene, a multiple-award winning filmmaker,  was shown at the Global Media and Communications post-graduate program's weekly interaction. The duo of Omotola Jolade-Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji are the lead acts in the pulsating and suspense-filled flick. The diverse audience in attendance at the event in the Graham Wallace Room, spanned four continents (Africa, Asia, Europe and North America). Also in attendance was the Program Director, Prof. Terhi Rantanen.

"At the post-screening discussion afterwards, the viewers, most of whom were encountering Nollywood for the first time, offered pointed and critical reviews of the film. They discussed its framing of contemporary socio-cultural issues of transnational migration, legal justice, gender representation, identity, stereotypes and family, among others.  Some expressed

Africa My Africa?

"Can the African continent truly afford the luxury of glossing history or sweeping its painful lessons under the carpet in an endeavor to enter mainstream world acceptance, especially of the 'progressive,' 'radical' affirmation? If the history of the African peoples has no significance, then the continent's present claims to existence are sham and do not matter to anyone."

Wole Soyinka, Of Africa

Mediocrity: The Bane of Nigeria's Trouble

"What has consistently escaped most Nigerians in this entire travesty is the fact that mediocrity destroys
the very fabric of a country as surely as a war--ushering in all sorts of banality, ineptitude, corruption, and debauchery. Nations enshrine mediocrity as their modus operandi, and create the fertile ground for the rise of tyrants and other base elements of the society, by silently assenting to the dismantling of systems of excellence because they do not immediately benefit one specific ethnic, racial, political, or special-interest group. That, in my humble opinion, is precisely where Nigeria finds itself today."

Chinua Achebe, There Was A Country

With this, Achebe acknowledges that the trouble with Nigeria does not rest with its leadership alone. Any Nigerian who accommodates, tolerates, and/or encourages mediocrity in any way contributes to the trouble with Nigeria and the resultant decay in our society. 

Arise, O compatriots

Nigeria's call obey

To serve our fatherland...

The labor of our heroes past

Shall never be in vain...

The Trouble With Nigeria

"The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically
wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership."

Thus, Chinua Achebe diagnosed Nigeria's problem in 1984. Almost thirty years after, what has changed?

O God of creation
Direct our noble cause
Guide our leaders right...

You're What You Read

I had a most beautiful week, two weeks ago.  It was a week of reading.  I read like never before in a very long while.  Voraciously.  It’s like the Spirit, a holy one, of the books, possessed me.  Indeed, an angel of the books touched me. I had woken up at about 2:00 AM and literally pounced on my books, devouring everything on my path.  I read till daybreak and then through the whole day.  I just read and read.  And I am still reading. 

Ah, the joy my reading brought me that first day.  An enduring joy.  You see, my day is most made whenever I’m able to read something before hitting the sack at the end of the day.  But often my busy schedule and the exhaustion it occasions don’t allow me that little indulgence of mine.

So this particular day, as soon as the angel of the books woke me up, all I did was read, read and read.  I read. I kept turning the pages.  I completed two books I’d been reading and started new ones.  I read everything from history to politics, economics, biographies, leadership, personal development, and short stories.  I read Prof. Kenneth Onwuka Dike’s cerebral classic, Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta 1830-1885 and his selected speeches, Issues in African Studies and National Education.  I read Robert Greene’s amoral, cunning, ruthless, and equally instructive bold volume, The 48 Laws of Power and Robin Sharma’s international bestseller, Greatness Guide 2: 101 Ways to Reach the Next Level.

Few days later, at a book fair organized by the youth of my parish in view of an essay writing competition (I worked with them on that), I bought three books: Fela: This Bitch of Life (by Carlos Moore) The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011 To See the Mountain and Other Stories, and The Whispering Trees: Short Stories (by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim). I immediately set down to devouring them. That Spirit of reading that possessed me won’t just let me go.  And those three too, I was done with in no time.  I savored the moment.  Every bit of it.

Chinua Achebe: Lessons From A Personal Encounter

I first encountered Professor Chinua Achebe in the early 1990s—through his works, that is.  I had read Things Fall Apart in secondary school and was fascinated by the story of the tragic end of Okonkwo, its main character. Partly, my fascination owed its spark to Pete Edochie’s first-rate interpretation of Okonkwo in the 1980s NTA’s adaptation of Things Fall Apart.

That chance encounter with what is today the most widely read book in modern African literature set off an enduring relationship with the literary giant behind the book.  Ever since, I have read that enduring masterpiece, my all time favorite, countless times. 

My love affair with Things Fall Apart goes beyond its stellar records: an all time bestseller, with over 12 million copies sold in more than 50 languages in 55 years. Its attraction for me lies in its audacity to tell the African story from within. And it tells its story in a way that is as facile as it is fascinating.  Written in 1958, the book boldly challenged the arrogance of the Outsider who arrogated to themselves the right to speak for Africa and by so doing denied its history. 

Africa has a past; it has a history. And that’s what Achebe wants his African readers to know, that “their past…

Yes! Magazine 2nd Annual Lecture: One Month After

Almost a month after the 2nd Annual Yes! International Lecture/Cocktail Party held at the Niteshift Coliseum in Lagos on June 19, accolades still pour in from all corners of the world for an exceptionally successful event. The event, which the media have dubbed "a winner on all fronts," attracted dignitaries and stars from all works of life and had the Guest Speaker, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh speaking on Running A Successful Business in Nigeria. It also saw the unveiling of the rich and colorful 2nd Anniversary Edition of Yes! International Classics magazine.

In its post-event press release expressing their gratitude to the guests, who arrived "from the East, West, North and South, including those from outside our shores," Yes! International states: "Having confirmed and re-confirmed that they would spend that Wednesday, June 19, 2013 with the Yes! family, some of our special guests blew our minds with their acts of kindness and love.  The Guest Speaker, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, flew into the country from the United States of America hours before the event--just so that he doesn't disappoint us; Apostle Anselm Madubuko rushed in from Kenya just to say the opening prayer and fly back again; Lady Apostle Helen Ukpabio had to defer her appearing before the panel investigating the gruesome murder of her three brothers just to show us love; Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya had to cancel a previous appointment just to accommodate ours; Bashorum Dele Momodu arrived from Ghana that morning to let us know that he truly cares; Oba Dokun Abolarin had to depart Osun State and his kingdom on time so as to give us his royal blessing...We could go on and on."

First-Ever Bowler Hats Bash Holds in Lagos

Leading entertainers will headline the maiden edition of Bowler Hats Bash at the upscale Niteshift Coliseum, Ikeja, Lagos on August 3. The event, powered by Contacts Communications, promises to live up to its billing as an evening of comedy, music and more, what with its line up of performing stars, among whom are the Limpopo exponent, KCEE, Solidstar, Okey Bakassi, Gbenga Adenyinka, Basorge Tariah, AY, African China, Mr. Raw Nwanne, Segun Arinze, Bovi, Elenu, and AB Cowboy. The trio of D-Don, D'Lectura and Charles Inojie will anchor the special evening groove.

What's in a name? Soyinka Rejects "Nollywood"

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet..." Shakespeare asserts in Romeo and Juliet. Really? Well, Nigeria's Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka agrees, especially with regards to the enduring moniker, Nollywood, given to the Nigerian video-film industry in 2002 by The New York Times journalist, Norimitsu Onishi.

In his "Everything is Oversize in the Birthplace of Nollywood" Keynote Address at the FESPACO's CODESRIA-Guild of African Filmmakers workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in February 2013, Soyinka lamented the '''N' word [that] constitutes a mutative explosion that I consider most unfair to others in the same creative field--the cinematic--more especially as there have been predecessors who impacted on our cinema world without burdening themselves with such a verbal albatross."

The Nobel Laureate further clarified his disappointment: "My complaint therefore is not against borrowings and adaptations as a principle, but against the lack of originality that translates as plain, unmediated imitation, or a tawdry, unenhanced borrowing that is conceived and delivered on the very edge of the pit of banality, and out of which it has no wish to clamber, once it has fallen in.  It indicates a pre-set mind, a basically unadventurous mind dressed up in castoff clothing, of which nothing can be expected except as a breeding ground, a reproductive automatism of its own kind--especially in taste."

Adichie Roots for Nollywood

"Fred was talking about Nollywood, speaking a little too loudly. 'Nollywood is really public theatre, and if you understand it like that, then it is more tolerable. It's for public consumption, even mass participation, not the kind of individual experience that film is.' He was looking at her, soliciting her agreement with his eyes: they were not supposed to watch Nollywood, people like them, and if they did, then only as amusing anthropology.

"'I like Nollywood,' Ifemelu said, even though she, too, thought Nollywood was more theatre than film.  The urge to be contrarian was strong. If she set herself apart, perhaps she would be less of the person she feared she had become. 'Nollywood may be melodramatic, but life in Nigeria is very melodramatic.'"

Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Americanah

NollyCulture Launched

Welcome to the NollyCulture blog, the discourse arena for everything Nollywood, everything Africa. NollyCulture explores the critical socio-cultural questions at the intersection of media, religion, and culture, with particular emphasis on contemporary Africa (continental and Diaspora) as framed and portrayed by Nollywood--the Nigerian film industry.

In little over its twenty-years existence, Nollywood has become Africa's most dominant and transnationally accessible expression of popular culture, telling African stories, with African voices, to African (and growing global) audiences.

Africans are said to be notoriously religious; and religion plays complex roles within cultures. NollyCulture therefore concerns itself primarily with how Nollywood articulates, frames and portrays Africa and the Diaspora through the creative tension within and between religion and culture.

Sometimes it's subtle and at other times brazen in its representations, raising for itself admirers and critics in equal measures. But Nollywood never shies away from its message: religious and socio-cultural normative forms underpin the framing of the discourse, the language, and the representation of gender, class, and power in Africa.

Let's talk Nollywood then--its movies, narratives, and stakeholders (actors, producers, marketers, audiences, etc.). Let's discuss Africa--its peoples, cultures, and societies. Bring your passion for Nollywood and for Africa. Have your say. Express your opinions. Show some love. Agree. Disagree. But don't hate on anybody.