bell hooks: foundational Black feminist, writer, professor, activist, and truth teller
(1952-2021)
Friday, December 17, 2021
In Memoriam: bell hooks
bell hooks: foundational Black feminist, writer, professor, activist, and truth teller
Asaba: Nigeria's New Hub of Filmmaking
(By Sylvester Asoya) - Asaba: Nigeria’s New Hub of Filmmaking 
Asaba, capital of Delta State is now Nigeria’s newest film hub. This development is not only exciting but also a great news to many young people, filmmakers, moviegoers, small business owners and even Delta State government that is already waiting in the wings. To many people, Asaba is a natural destination for movies, tourism and entertainment generally, and the reasons are not far to seek.
Before now, the Delta State capital showed promise with its location, growing infrastructural development, proximity to Onitsha, a major movie centre, and the relative peace and stability everyone living in Asaba, enjoys. But there is also the factor of geography, a bustling young population, the state’s new status as holiday haven and the changing landscape within the capital territory. This new standing of Asaba is therefore not only a welcome development but also a boost to social life, tourism and leisure. There is also the economic angle to this growth that is already attracting visitors and increasing employment opportunities in the arts and entertainment world.
It is already evident that very few smart and resourceful film directors and producers can resist Asaba’s alluring scenery and tranquility. This, in recent times, has been heightened by a booming real estate market that is decorating the beautiful capital territory and providing irresistible locale for shooting.
Nollywood and Pentecostalism: Preaching Salvation, Propagating the Supernatural
CrossCurrents. 2020. 70 (3): 206-219
"Since the inception of cinema, religion has constituted an essential element of screen images. With the production of its inaugural film, Living in Bondage (1992), Nollywood —the cinema of Nigeria and the world’s second largest film industry—established itself within cinema’s tradition of enchanting the world. The supernatural (often explored in Nollywood films through the occult and witchcraft) has remained one of its staple genres and distinctive features, a hallmark that speaks to the quotidian beliefs of African Christians who navigate their everyday interactions in a milieu where religion not only permeates the daily social life but also the economics and politics of the continent. It constitutes a key factor for plumbing Nollywood’s constructions of popular religion or the understanding of religion in public space, given how Nollywood films position the occult as the force against which different religious traditions (Christianity vs. African Traditional Religions) and denominations (Pentecostalism vs. Catholicism) battle one another for supremacy. Nigeria, which accounts for about a fifth of Africa’s population and a sixth of its Christian population, presents a significant site for the interrogation of religion.
Chijioke Azuawusiefe: Profile in Catholicism
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| Chijioke Azuawusiefe, SJ |
--Profiles in Catholicism (Published December 29, 2020; Updated January 26, 2021)
Wamara Mwine: Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, was known for his crusades with followers through harsh conditions to achieve a spiritual connection with others. What experiences have you had that resembles Ignatius' journey?
Fr. Chijioke Azuawusiefe: St. Ignatius of Loyola lived in a different time. He led a remarkable military life as a soldier prior to his conversion experience following the Battle of Pamplona (1521) where a cannonball shattered his left leg. However, although some aspects of his Spiritual Exercises, like the “The Call of the Eternal King” (93), might have a crusading flavor to them, Ignatius never traveled as a soldier post his conversion.
That said, I do not have any experiences that approximate his soldiery background. Nevertheless, as a Jesuit and following in the way of the Spiritual Exercises (a foundational prayer and spirituality text for Jesuits and many Christians, which evolved from Ignatius’s own prayers, meditations, and reflections), I bring the energy and the grace of the Exercises to my life and encounters with people, seeking, as St Ignatius put it, “to find God in all things.”
Rev. Fr. Ojefua: Making of a Saint
(By Sylvester Asoya) - Rev. Fr. Anselm Abraham Ojefua:
The Making of a Saint 
He is easily remembered by the older generation for always praying the Rosary in front of the imposing entrance to St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, Delta State. This regular ritual associated with Reverend Father Anselm Abraham Isidahome Ojefua held when students would have entered their respective classrooms after the morning assembly. After that customary prayer session, Father Ojefua would return afterwards to the classroom to teach. This priest and monk from Igueben, Edo State, was highly respected by his colleagues, students and parishioners.
For instance, in the early 1950s, this remarkable priest already had his first and second degrees, but he remained a classroom teacher at St. Patrick’s College, Asaba under Reverend Father O’ Rouke. An amazing polyglot, though Esan by birth, Ojefua spoke perfect Latin, English, Igbo and had a working knowledge of many local and international languages.
In the old Catholic Diocese of Benin, Ojefua was a well known intellectual and radical priest who left his mark on many institutions. He was also a prolific writer and a great editor who edited Catholic Life, a very popular magazine that was very critical of the then Western Nigeria government and the ills of society.
He was without doubt, an important Catholic priest who had a very positive impact on the lives of many people. Like his Irish, American and Italian predecessors and contemporaries, he mingled freely with his parishioners and host communities, and even spoke their languages.
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