Face of Okija: Africa and Celebration of Culture

Prof. Lumumba: Celebrating Ndigbo & Nigeria, At The Face of Okija in Anambra, 2019

Benin Monarchy: History and Significance

Oba Ewuare II, 40th Oba of Benin kingdom

(By Femke van Zeijl) - A wooden staff thumps on the landing in front of the temporary palace. "Long live the king!" bellows Chief Osa, as he raises his fist. The sun reflects off the golden decorations on his horn-shaped red hat.

The other Iwebo chiefs who have followed Osa in a procession onto the palace grounds and now stand behind him say "Isee" in agreement. 

Then Osa and Chief Osuan, the crown prince's escorts on his way to the ascension, enter Usama palace, a nondescript bungalow on fallow terrain in the centre of town.

It is 8am and it will be at least seven hours until Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa shows himself in public, but his subjects have already come out in great numbers. Thick crowds clog the roads in the heart of Benin City in the south of Nigeria, in expectation of the coronation of the new Oba of the centuries-old Benin Kingdom.

 Coronation day in Benin - not to be confused with the West African country that used to be known as Dahomey - on October 20 was preceded by 10 days of ceremonies and rites. 

Banners with the crown prince's portrait and flags with his name fluttered all over the city, the pavements received a new daub of black and white paint and the lawns in front of the cultural centre were trimmed. It didn't matter which local radio or TV station you tuned into, all of their bulletins started with what the crown prince had been up to that day on his way to the throne.

"The Oba is a father to all of us," says 24-year-old student of mass communication Esosa, who left home at 5am on coronation day to get a good view of the proceedings.

Uzama: Edo Chiefs and Benin Kingdom

Oba Ewuare II, 40th Oba of Benin Kingdom

(By EdoFolks.com) - The Uzama are the most ancient and the highest ranking order of Chiefs in Benin. The origin of Uzama dates back however to the era of Eweka I. In the thirteenth century. They perform the function of crowning the king, The idea that they make a king by crowning him may be correct but they do not choose a king as the Oyomesi of Oyo Empire who can make and unmake a monarch. Eweka I ordered that every Oba of Benin should be crowned by Chief Oliha, the most senior Uzama, because it was he who led the team of elders to Uhe (Ife) to persuade Izoduwa to return to Benin, to rule.

After Empire: Achebe and African Novel

(By Ruth Franklin) – After Empire: Chinua Achebe and the Great African Novel

          In a myth told by the Igbo people of Nigeria, men once decided to send a messenger to ask Chukwu, the supreme god, if the dead could be permitted to come back to life. As their messenger, they chose a dog. But the dog delayed, and a toad, which had been eavesdropping, reached Chukwu first. Wanting to punish man, the toad reversed the request, and told Chukwu that after death men did not want to return to the world. The god said that he would do as they wished, and when the dog arrived with the true message he refused to change his mind. Thus, men may be born again, but only in a different form.

          The Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe recounts this myth, which exists in hundreds of versions throughout Africa, in one of his essays. Sometimes, Achebe writes, the messenger is a chameleon, a lizard, or another animal; sometimes the message is altered accidentally rather than maliciously. But the structure remains the same: men ask for immortality and the god is willing to grant it, but something goes wrong and the gift is lost forever. “It is as though the ancestors who made language and knew from what bestiality its use rescued them are saying to us: Beware of interfering with its purpose!” Achebe writes. “For when language is seriously interfered with, when it is disjoined from truth . . . horrors can descend again on mankind.”

Nollywood: 2018 Ten Most Loved Movies

(From Channels TV Updates) -Top 10 Nollywood Movies People Loved In 2018

2018 was yet another big year for Nollywood as the industry continues to get better and better.

With a lot of movies increasingly hitting the big screens and receiving more recognition globally, many say the Nigerian movie industry is now truly coming into its own.

Here are 10 of the most liked and successful movies of the year according to Google’s viewer ratings, in no particular order.

The Women Driving Nollywood in 2019

(By Daniel Okechukwu) - These Are the Women Pushing Nollywood to Greater Heights in 2019

From Mo Abudu to Ema Edosio, these women are transforming Nollywood for the better.

          Women have had a place in Nollywood since its inception, but that was mostly in front of the camera. Behind the scenes, things have historically been governed by men: they produce and direct the biggest films and generally dictate the market for Nigerian film.

          In 2019, the era of overwhelming male dominance is over, thanks to a new type of female mogul personified best by Mo Abudu. Since the release of her first film Fifty in in 2015 she has ruled the Nigerian box office. Three films she executive produced—The Wedding Party 1, The Wedding Party: Destination Dubai and Chief Daddy—sit atop the list of highest grossing Nigerian movies of all time. The original Wedding Party grossed ₦453 million, its sequel did ₦500 million, and her latest Chief Daddy made over ₦300 million in three weeks. 

          Four of the films produced by her film company EbonyLife are among the top 10 highest grossing Nollywood films. Mo Abudu's success has ushered in a new trend of women making boss moves in Africa's biggest film industry.

Nollywood: The Benefits of Quality Productions

(By YomiKazeem) - Nollywood’s focus on movie quality over quantity is starting to reap box office returns

          The global claim to fame for Nigeria’s Nollywood movie industry has typically been its volume of production, ranked behind only India’s Bollywood.

          While that emphasis on low-budget, high-volume production saw Nollywood movies become hugely popular at home and across Africa and the diaspora, it also fostered low standards. But the past decade has seen a new generation filmmakers shift focus from quantity to quality—a move that’s yielding increased international recognition and has seen Nollywood movies increasingly become a big draw for audiences at local cinemas.

          Most emblematic of that trend perhaps is The Wedding Party, a 2017 romantic comedy, which became the first Nollywood movie to gross over 400 million naira ($1 million) at local cinemas. Its sequel, released only a year later, did even better. The trend of high earnings have largely continued as Nigerian movies are on track to record gross cinema earnings of over a billion naira ($2.7 million) once again last year after first doing so in 2016.

What Village People Did To Me

(By Immanuel James Ibe-Anyanwu) I arrived Umueze Umuhu 30th December, 2018, after a three-day stay at a hotel in Owerri. Off Aba-Owerri highway lies Umueze, home of my ancestors, 15 minutes to the Imo airport sited in Ngor-Okpala, our local council area. The road is untarred, the colour of a rising sun, parting rich vegetations left to thrive around rural homesteads. There is notable treenocide from housing developments, but much of the greenery is intact. I love trees, love watching the harmattan push their branches to a side like women’s hair.

          Our earth is flat, literally. No gullies, no flooding. No drainage, yet rainwater knows its way to the farm. The road runs a long stretch before bending, so that, standing at your entrance, you can see a kinsman several meters away; you can call his name, raising your hand in greeting. Our road reflects a sense of ancestral geometry, a sense of kinship.

          Because my arrival is being expected, a hot oha soup is asked to wait for me at the table. My stepmother. Oha, your leaves are green and true, I think to myself, eating without any waste of time. Dry fish, the one they call nwa-urubiri, with its colleagues is lounging in the soup. The fufu is pure white, pampered into a round edibility. I am officially welcome to the place I grew up, reminded of Grandmother’s culinary offerings.

For Aduke: Life's Purpose People Find In Religion

(By Kenny Brandmuse) - When my mom passed, I had a request from home that we needed to make donations to her church - a Pentecostal church. In fact, I converted most of my family members into the Pentecostal movement when I was a preacher boy. Serendipitously, Aduke, my mom was one of my many converts. Unfortunately, since I became fully aware of my sexuality, I knew I had no future in the church. I never wanted to take the liberty to interpret the Bible my own way. As a former Bible school graduate and student, I know there are no two interpretations to certain doctrines in the scriptures. 

Twist it or turn it, the Bible is clearly against same sex relationships. The Bible is also clear about the relationships between women and men in the body of Christ. There’s an order and a pattern: the man first, and the woman comes after. In fact, the pronoun ‘HE’ is attributed to the unseen God. In Billy Graham’s own words, “Metaphors used to describe Him in the Bible include: King, Father, Judge, Husband, Master, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chris.” It’s the way the world was when the Bible was written. We can kumbayah around it all Sunday long, the Bible was never written for our private interpretations. 

Ok, I digressed. 

Wise Women Also Came, by Jan L. Richardson

Epiphany by Jane McKenzie

                      Wise women also came.

                      The fire burned
                      in their wombs
                      long before they saw
                      the flaming star
                      in the sky.
                      They walked in shadows,
                      trusting the path
                      would open
                      under the light of the moon.

                     Wise women also came,
                     seeking no directions,
                     no permission
                     from any king.
                     They came
                     by their own authority,
                     their own desire,
                     their own longing.
                     They came in quiet,
                     spreading no rumors,
                     sparking no fears
                     to lead
                     to innocents’ slaughter,
                     to their sister Rachel’s
                     inconsolable lamentations.

Adichie: Stories, Diversity, and What Matters

Inbound

Lionheart: A Movie for Business and Film Schools

(By Toni Kan) - Three years after her first award winning feature film, Road to Yesterday, Nollywood screen goddess, Genevieve Nnaji has returned with her sophomore feature, Lionheart starring a slew of Nollywood greats – Pete Edochie, Onyeka Onwenu, Nkem owoh, Chika Okpala aka Zebrudaya, Kanayo O Kanayo as well as music star Phyno and award winning young actress, Jemima Osunde.

The film which was rejected by a section of film distributors in Nigeria made its worldwide debut on Netflix on Friday January 4, 2019.
My friend and brother, Wilfred Okiche has described Lionheart as “the feel good movie of the year” and he is correct but there is a lot he did not say.
            Genevieve Nnaji teaming up with Ishaya Bako (who directed Road to Yesterday) and Chinny Onwugbuenu has given us a very important movie. Lionheart, as its title suggests, is that rare and brave thing, a stereotype defying movie, a business primer and a very, very wise movie.
            Kudos must be given to the writers – Genevieve Nnaji, Chinny Onwugbuenu, CJ Obasi, Ishaya Bako and Emil Garba – for providing a unifying vision around the original idea.
            I have described Lionheart as an important movie because it speaks to the future in an eloquent voice.

Lionheart: Lessons for an Impressed Fan

Genevieve Nnaji and Nkem Owoh

(By Nkechi Bianze) - I watched #LionHeart on Netflix yesterday.

The movie is a breath of fresh air. Away from the usual stale boring storyline.

1. The uncle came to actually contribute his bit to saving the company. He didn't come to kill the brother and take over the company and money.

2. Pete Edochie didn't die suddenly by a heart attack or something. He fell ill and got back on his feet.

3. Pete Edochie and his wife recognized the strengths of their children. The son wasn't victimized for choosing not to manage the family business. He was allowed to follow his own dream of a music career. He wasn't taunted like a lost soul or prodigal son as a result of his choice.
Genevieve, even as a woman was given the freedom to manage the family business and source of wealth. There was no sexism in this case like most other Nollywood movies would have shoved down our throats.

4. There was no family feud. Sister inlaw and brother inlaw weren't fighting their brother's wife. Son wasn't trying to claim he is the man and in charge of the family wealth, either by crook or real.

5. The storyline is simple yet engaging. It was all about saving a drowning family business. The struggles were realistic, and the journey to finally being able to save Lionheart was quite realistic too.
A Billion Naira didn't suddenly appear from nowhere for them to clear their debt. They fought, tried and tried, and they triumphed.

Lionheart: Of Family, Culture, and Industry

The Obiagus

(By Obianuju Okafor) - Enugu takes centre stage in Genevieve Nnaji’s directorial debut with lighting and colouring made to reflect the mood and feel of the town. It is one of the things that Lionheart gets right from its beginning and the first sign that the audience is about to get a film that mixes the technical improvements that have attended more recent Nollywood releases with a more old school, locally flavoured, story, and (this bears stating right of the bat) superb, superb acting.

Adaeze is an adept and excellent right hand for her father in the bus transport empire that he has built. When his health is severely threatened, Adaeze’s assumption that she will be appointed as the acting leader is disappointed by the arrival of her uncle who is then appointed in her place, and whose presence initially irks her. Still, the two band together to solve a problem left by her father and compounded by the owner of a rival transport company, who hopes to make a gain from their troubles. Ada slowly has her perspective changed as she interacts more with her uncle and comes to the end of her own rope.

Lionheart is a slowburn, walking leisurely through every occurrence even when a clock is introduced to heighten the stakes. Genevieve Nnaji is a great lead as Adaeze giving a great and completely unforced performance and leaving room enough for the roster of other veterans to shine.

King of Boys: A Compelling Lagos Story

(By Obianuju Okafor) - King of Boys had a lot to live up to from day one of its announcement. Kemi Adetiba’s previous feature film project was the successful Wedding Party film. That particular project had been a collaborative win with EbonyLife Films tag teaming other major production houses – FilmOne Distribution, Inkblot Productions and Koga studios – and all of them together trusting the project to the hands of the director who had, for the most part, cut her teeth directing music videos. She delivered then, and it’s easy to say that with King of Boys she has performed an even greater feat.

An effective trailer built anticipation for King of Boys, and the gangster royalty themed premiere managed to also heighten conversations about what was to be expected. All this background is necessary to point out the tall expectations that followed King of Boys, and why it is amazing that it did not disappoint. There is a common Nigerian parlance used in discussing films that have been well marketed and therefore well talked about prior to a bulk of people actually seeing it. It is this concept of over-hyping, where people who watch a movie after an explosion of compliments for it condition their enjoyment by claiming that it is merely ‘okay’ and unable to live up to the particular tall order or hype that had so far followed it.

#Lionheart and the Metaphor of the Possible

Adanna and her uncle, Godswill

(By Pius Adesanmi) - NIGERIA is notorious for her belief in the indestructibility of a project that everybody purports to hate, dislike, disavow or disown. Somewhere in the core of the Nigerian psyche lies the belief that we are the only people on earth whose country will always survive our unquenchable hate, bitterness, and hostility expressed along our three most intractable fault lines: ethnicity, faith, and political affiliation, worsened by the democracy of social media and the conquest of that space by millennials – Nigeria’s most populous demographic – who no dey look Uche face.

However, I do not believe that Nigeria could have survived another week of hatredvaganza and the attendant cursefest that has happened upon us because of the presidential election season had art and the artist not intervened this week to do what they have done for humanity and society since the beginning of time: provide instrumental catharsis and place in front of  a society on the brink of implosion through self-inflicted injuries a mirror showing pathways of the possible.

That is the symbolic role that Nigeria’s cultural icon, Genevieve Nnaji, played this week with the release of her new movie, #Lionheart, on Netflix. I do not intend to explore the plot of the movie here. Go and watch it like millions of Nigerians have already done. When you are done watching it, join the commentariat on social media who have been busy dissecting scenes, characters, and other elements of the movie in a moment of national cultural jouissance that has united home and diaspora. My intervention is necessitated by a pattern of misses I have noticed so far in the social media commentary.

Netflix: What's in it for Nollywood?

What Netflix’s involvement in Nigeria’s massive film industry really means

(By Alessandro Jedlowski) - Big investors seem to be mainly interested in Nollywood's already established popularity with African audiences

Global streaming service Netflix set its eyes a few years ago on Nigeria’s film industry, better known as Nollywood. Distribution of Nigerian movies on Netflix started around 2015. At the time the American giant bought the rights of blockbusters such as Kunle Afolayan’s October 1st, Biyi Bandele’s Fifty and several others, after they had already been distributed in Nigerian cinemas.

          During the Toronto International Film Festival 2018, Netflix announced the acquisition of worldwide exclusive distribution rights for Nollywood star Genevieve Nnaji’s debut film as director, the comedy Lionheart. The film marked the first Netflix original film from Nigeria. Many saw this as the beginning of a new era in the relationship between one of the world largest streaming platforms and Africa’s most prolific film industry.

The Average Nigerian Christian

(By Nkechi Bianze) - The average Nigerian Christian does NOT worship God, they worship their pastors, Daddy/Mummy GO/Prophet, Bishop or Evangelist.

The average Nigerian Christian does NOT interpret the Bible on their own. They wait for their pastors and GOs to interpret it for them. For instance, if a verse of the Bible says "Eat and merry to the Glory of God" and their daddy GO tells them that it means "Bring all your money to me", then that verse means that they should bring all their wealth to daddy GO. Any other interpretation of that verse is ignorant and not inspired by the Holy Spirit. That's why different churches can have different interpretations for same verse of the Bible. It is what the pastor or GO says that the church members go with.

Even the Bible says that "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Nigerian Christians are languishing for lack of knowledge and all to the glory of their pastors and Daddy/Mummy GOs. The average Nigerian (former Christian) atheist knows more Bible than the average Nigerian Christian.

Somewhere in Nigeria, a VERY POOR Nigerian Christian is preparing to give his/her January (VERY MEAGRE) salary to his/her billionaire pastor or daddy GO. Then they will start bugging our lives and those of their relatives for money to survive and pay their kids' tuition fees.

Genevieve Nnaji: Twenty Years In Nollywood

"As 2018 comes to an end, I mark 20 years in the art of film making. I’m grateful for my life, journey, and growth thus far. I’m happy I could celebrate with you through a product that embodied all of me, mentally and spiritually; for all of your pleasure. May 2019 be our best year yet. 🎉Happy New Year! ❤️"

Genevieve Nnaji

Of Africa and Witchcraft Mentality

"Witchcraft mentality ... account[s] for misfortune, or anything inimical to a person's well-being, as traceable to the activities of witches. [A]ll causality is deemed to have originated primarily from the spiritual realm; the material causes are considered secondary.... This then creates a mindset that attempts to account for misfortune not in the actions, behaviour or attitude of the victim, but rather in the activities of an enemy or malefactor. ... [T]his mindset, which is becoming more popular with the advent of neo-Pentecostal and charismatic theology, [personalizes] events and occurrences in everyday life.
          ... The consequence of such a mentality is that it absolves people from taking responsibilities for their own actions. The usual explanation is that the victim has done the right things, but that a witch has intervened to turn a well-calculated and well-intended act into something dangerous, negative and harmful. Today, this idea has been incorporated into much of charismatic theology, which teaches that it is the right of a born-again person to have access and prosperity and, therefore, failure and lack of success must be the work of demons or witches. In the final analysis, the witchcraft mentality ... provide[s] a very simplistic scheme for the interpretation of life, where the good things that happen to someone are deemed to have escaped the attention of witches, while the bad things can be traced to their activities."

Abraham Akrong, 2007, 59-61

"A Phenomenology of Witchcraft in Ghana," in 

Imagining Evil: Witchcraft Beliefs and Accusations in Contemporary Africa, ed. Gerrie ter Haar