Dora Akunyili: Sacrifice for Love of Nation

When pictures of gaunt-looking Nigeria’s former Minister of Communication and Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Dora Akunyili surfaced on the web months ago while she was attending the ongoing National Conference in Abuja, I was concerned that she needed to have taken enough timeout from the public glare to fully recover from whatever ailment it was that had so visibly ravished her frame.

A recently published Yes International interview (excerpts follow below), has, however, helped me understand why the dogged professor might not have contemplated such an option: her unflinching love for Nigeria and a willingness to lay down her life in the service of her beloved country. In a tribute informed by a personal encounter of the Amazon, former Presidential Liaison Officer to the Senate, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, alludes to this love when he writes that Akunyili “defiantly, patriotically [took] up a national assignment, disregarding the odds, the hazards and even the encumbrance of a debilitating ailment.” Her body might have been ravaged by cancer, but not her spirit. And so, like the great lioness (alumna of the University of Nigeria Nsukka) that she was, she resolutely determined to fight on. Till the end.

We will remember and celebrate her for her positive impacts in our lives, fighting to rid Nigeria and, to some extent, the world of fake drugs (when one takes into consideration the awareness campaign she waged on the export countries of such counterfeited drugs, getting the authorities concerned from such countries to realize the horrendous effects on human life the unconscionable businesses originating from their countries wreck on Nigeria). This is hoping that her labors (labors of our heroes past) would not have been in vain. Rest in eternal peace, worthy lioness. Africa mourns you.

What’s the greatest sacrifice you’ve made as the boss of NAFDAC?

I think I sacrificed everything. When you ask me of sacrifice, it is difficult for me to give you a straight answer. From the first day, I knew that this is a job that can take my life – but that is if God allows. So, I can now call it the sacrifice of my life. 

Yes! Magazine Celebrates 3rd Anniversary

Azuh Arinze

Mr. Azuh Arinze is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of YES INTERNATIONAL!, one of the leading and most respected soft sell journals in the country. In this interview with some members of the press, the affable gentleman shed some light on the 3rd anniversary of the magazine, which comes up on Thursday, June 19, 2014, his career as a journalist and more. Excerpts…

First, why did you resign as the Editor of Encomium Weekly?

I will go straight to the point – because it was about time. I edited Encomium Weekly for almost 10 years and after that I felt I needed a new challenge. It may also interest you to know that I remain the longest serving Editor of the paper – and the legacies I left there are still very, very visible. My two predecessors, their tenure combined, is not up to 10 years. I worked for Mr. Kunle Bakare for 17 years; 10, out of which I was his Editor. Again, I didn’t want to become a sit-tight Editor. I felt that having done about two terms, I should give way to others to also show what they can do.

Currently, what is your relationship with your former boss and mentor, Mr. Kunle Bakare like?

Point of correction – Mr. Kunle Bakare is still my boss and my oga at the top. My relationship with him is fantastic and will continue to remain so. As a matter of fact, I never get tired of saying this – all I have for Mr. Bakare is appreciation. Do you know what it means to entrust a young man of 26 with the editorship of your paper? Like I always say, I will be eternally grateful to him. I also thank God that when I clocked 40, he attended the surprise birthday party my wife organized for me, with this sweet wife, Madam Desola, where he said I didn’t do anything wrong and that he was only emotional about my exit because of his likeness for me. I truly thank and appreciate him.

Whither African Education?

“African educational systems have surprising outcomes. The smartest students pass with first class and get admissions to medical and engineering schools. The 2nd class students get MBAs and LLBs to manage the first class students. The 3rd class students enter politics and rule both the 1st and 2nd class students. The failures enter the underworld of crime and control the politicians and the businesses. And, best of all, those who did not attend school become prophets and everyone follows them…” — Anon.

What do you say?

On Father's Day: Tribute to my Dad

Onowu Ezeoma: Dear Father, Friend, and Mentor

Born: 12.12.45. Buried 12.12.12

Chief Azuh Chimezie

Onowu Ezeoma (Chief Azuh Chimezie, Ichie Onyeokwereomume). I still recall it all. The hour. The day. Saturday, November 3, 2012. The call.  The news. The shock. The tears. The disbelief. And then. The reality check. The thanksgiving, for your life.  The prayer, for your eternal rest. It all happened in one quick succession.  So quick, it sometimes still feels dreamed-up.  But shortly before that telephone call informing me of your transition, you had communicated your departure.  I had experienced this sudden and unexplainable restlessness that jolted me from my reading desk, where I had been at work all day.  Standing up from that call, I went straight to the chapel.  There, before the Blessed Sacrament and strengthened by the hope of the Resurrection, I thanked God for your life, and prayed for the forgiveness of your sins and repose of your soul.

When later that night my superior invited my Jesuit brothers in the community to the chapel to pray the Psalms for you, I was consoled as I imagined the choirs of angels already welcoming you to their sweet and melodious heavenly alleluia.  My consolation grew in the following days as phone calls, emails, text and other messages poured in from Jesuit companions, friends, and acquaintances from across the world with assurances of Masses and prayers for you.  And when I informed my school, the London School of Economics, Global Media and Communications Program Director Professor Terhi Rantanem led a lecture hall filled with international students and professors to observe a moment of silence in your honor.  With all of this, I could only ask God to look kindly on our prayers for you and grant you eternal rest in his presence. 

Jeta Amata Reveals Nollywood's Success Secret

In a recent interview with Azuh Arinze, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Yes International magazine, prolific film director, Jeta Amata (Inale, Black Gold, Amazing Grace, Alexa Affair, Mary Slessor) reveals the secret behind Nollywood’s amazing success.

What makes a good story? A good story is a good story. Every other thing can come later. The technicalities don’t matter. That’s why Nollywood is amazing. They say we have bad quality, but we have good stories.


How do you tell a good story? One – it has to be real and it has to be relatable. People have to identify with it. Even if it’s an alien story, there has to be some human part of it that people can identify with. With Nollywood, when you watch a film, you will see and say oh, that person is like my brother, that person is like my sister, that person is like my cousin. Ah, na so my mama dey behave. That is what makes it good.

Keep Smiling

In all things, smile, and give thanks!

In Memoriam: Amaka Igwe, Nollywood's Finest

Nollywood mourns the death of Amaka Igwe, one of its pioneer movie makers. The celebrated film director, screenwriter, and producer, died on Tuesday, 29 April, at the age of 51, following complications from an asthma attack.

We will remember the doyen of Nigerian screen industry as a visionary and pioneer of modern Nigerian TV drama and film, particularly for her award-winning classic TV soap, Checkmate and its spinoff Fuji House of Commotion as well as for her critically-acclaimed Nollywood blockbusters, Rattle Snake 1 & 2 and Violated. 

The accomplished entrepreneur who died doing what she loved most (she reportedly died on the set of a movie in Enugu, southeast Nigeria) founded the Amaka Igwe Studios, BoB TV Expo, and was the chief executive officer of  Top Radio 90.9 FM and the recently-launched Q Entertainment Networks.

Nicknamed GOC (General Officer Commanding) as a kid by her father, because of her leadership qualities, Amaka Igwe started making money as an A-Level student at Idia College, Benin City, organizing house variety shows. She later studied education and religious studies at the then University of Ife and got her Masters in library and information services from the University of Ibadan.

Following her national youth service in the 1980s, Amaka Igwe pursued her interest in television at the then Anambra State Broadcasting Service, Enugu (home to Basi & Company and New Masquerade). It was there that she got the inspiration for Checkmate after watching the popular soap, Mirror in the Sun.

African Beauty: Lupita Is PEOPLE's Most Beautiful

"She may have won an Oscar for her role as the slave Patsey in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and recently landed a contract with Lancome Paris, but Lupita Nyong'o 'never dreamed' she would be touted as 'Most Beautiful' for all the world to see.

"'It was exciting and just a major, major compliment,' the 31-year-old says of gracing this year's cover. And especially, 'I was happy for all the girls who would see me on [it] and feel a little more seen.'

"Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Nyong'o first equated beauty with what she saw on television: 'Light skin and long, flowing, straight hair,' she says. 'Subconsciously you start to appreciate those things more than what you possess.' Her mother, Dorothy, who is the managing director and head of PR for the Africa Cancer Foundation, 'always said I was beautiful,' Nyong'o adds. 'And I finally believed her at some point.'

"As a teen, Nyong'o dyed her hair every color – except blonde – and even went as far as shaving her head bald. 'It was very strange and very cold!' she says, laughing. 'It was scary but I like to dare myself.'

"Now she says the best compliments are 'when I have been called beautiful with not one drop of makeup on,' she adds. 'And also before I comb my hair or put on a pretty dress. Happiness is the most important thing."

It's Igbo not Ibo

Dear Editor

Since I first read your magazine in 1999, my month begins in effect with my buying a copy of New African.  I am very grateful to New African for undauntedly bringing an African perspective to bear on its stories, articles and reports; and, by so doing, correcting centuries-old skewed opinions on Africa and Africans.

However, I was disappointed that the November 2006 issue of New African used the colonial English-created paternalistic name, “Ibo” to refer to the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria.

Igbo refers to the people and their language.  But “Ibo” appeared five times in Lindsay Barrett’s Presidential hopefuls seek ethnic relevance and once in Ejiroghene Barrett’s Nigeria, why the troubles in the Niger Delta.

This is all thanks to New African’s ignorance that “Ibo” was the result of the colonizers’ inability to pronounce the double-character Igbo “gb”—considered as one letter—hence opting for just a “b” instead.  What an arrogant and a patronizing way to treat a people’s name and disrespect them! Certainly, New African does not want to perpetuate this disrespect.

Akua Djane: Being Proudly African

Akua Djane

The problem with African society today is the right to choose. In reality this should not be a problem, but it seems all the people's choices are about not being African anymore.

I recently engaged a group of people in a conversation in which I was lamenting the loss of our culture in Ghana. I made a comment that today fried rice is considered a national meal in Ghana, to which a young lady replied that if people wanted to eat fried rice, that was their business. In as much as I agree with that sentiment, I also think that we need to look at this at a deeper level. I have no problem with people eating fried rice. The problem arises when traditional meals, such as plantain and kontomire (a type of spinach) stew, are downgraded in favour of fried rice. Why should this bother me? I will tell you. 

The rice we consume in Ghana is imported from America and Thailand. For as long as we promote fried rice over plantain, it means our plantain farmers (if we have any more left in Ghana) will have less of a market. And this will lead to unemployment, which can lead to crime. And in the long run, this can affect me when I am mugged by a young boy who should be on a farm.  

The problem with the world is that we are all becoming so me, me, me that we forget how some of our actions can affect society as a whole. Each time a woman in Africa buys Brazilian hair, she empowers the Asian economy because it is not Africans who are producing these products. Rather than buy local Shea butter and black soap, which is suitable for the maintenance of our natural hair, our women in Ghana will wear Brazilian hair and buy all the products needed to make the Brazilian hair look nice!

Your Voice, Your Story

"I believe it's a lot easier to be successful through your own voice. you don't have to wake up in the morning and try to be someone else. You are able to use your culture and who you are to tell your story. The reality is we are telling our own stories now, in a way that's accessible and we are not losing the meaning and we are not losing our voice."

(Alex Okosi, Nigerian-born media executive credited with developing and launching MTV Africa [MTV Base] in 2005)

For the Love of Igbo and Igbo Culture

"Igbo Child in Finland" by Adebanji Alade

I recently recalled a conversation I had with a good friend of mine some years ago. I had expressed a desire to study Igbo (language, literature, culture, anything) at the university level but my friend immediately dismissed it as a "stupid" thought. "What? Are you crazy," he asked me in utter disbelief. He had not understood why people go to the university to study English language, much less French, he said. And there I was expressing an interest in Igbo language. I must be crazy, he concluded.

Thank goodness I'm as sane as they come. My sole insanity is my passion for a culture that I love so much--its language, its history, and its people. I remember an equally great passion and pride with which the likes of Nigeria's literary giant, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and celebrity journalist, Bashorun Dele Momodu (who actually studied Yoruba in the university), speak of their Yoruba culture. I remember a similar fervor with which the 17th century English playwright, William Shakespeare wrote about English culture and by so doing preserved it for posterity in his plays. I remember a comparable enthusiasm that prompted a group of French men in 1883 to found Alliance Francaise "to promote French language and culture around the world." I remember all this and I wonder at my good friend's disdain for the study of his own culture.

Yes! Magazine Announces 3rd Annual Lecture

In an enviable tradition that is fast becoming a history in the making, Yes International magazine has
continued to deliver on its promise to be "more than just a soft sell."

This morning, Azuh Arinze, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, announced the June 19th date for the third edition of the Yes International Annual Lecture Series/Cocktail Party themed "Running a Successful Business in Nigeria: My Experience."

The high-octane event which attracts dignitaries from the business, banking, media, and entertainment sectors--among others--will be chaired by Sir Steve Omojafor (Chairman, Zenith Bank, Plc.), with  Bismarck Rewane (MD, Financial Derivatives Company Limited) as the guest speaker and Barrister Taiwo Adeluwa (Secretary to the Ogun State Government) the guest of honor.

The event, which holds at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, had great achievers like Udeme Ufot (Group Managing Director, SO&U Saatchi and Saatchi) and Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh (Chairman, Zinox Technologies Limited) deliver its 1st and 2nd annual lectures, respectively.

Nkali: The Danger of "Power" in Adichie's Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's phenomenal 2009 TED Talk, "The Danger of A Single Story," is just simply that: phenomenal. With over seven million views on TED website alone it represents one of TED's most popular talks. 

Every now and then friends and acquaintances from around the world watch the video and, knowing my passion for Africa, send me a link, wondering if I have seen the video and what's my take on it. My response is always, "amazing," "phenomenal." And then I'm prompted to watch the video again, relieving the joy of having a sister tell her African story with pride and joy in her Africanness.

As I watched the video the umpteenth time this morning, I was struck anew by Adichie's insightful location of power at the root of telling a single story. She emphasizes that "it's impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power." Using nkali, an Igbo noun that loosely translates as "to be greater than another" to illustrate this power structure, Adichie brilliantly points out, "power is the ability not just to tell a single story of a person, but to make it the definitive story about that person."

"So Many Things Confuse Me About You"--Charly Boy: A Letter to God

Dear God,

 I had to muster a ‘lotta’ courage to write you this letter, please don’t get pissed with me, because there is no way on Earth that I can stand your vex, as one of your authentic sons. First of all, I ‘wanna’ thank you for all thou have given me, beautiful children, a beautiful and soulful wife, a family filled with love, Mum and Dad, nice motor bikes, belief in Self. But most importantly that gift, the ability to shift gears when the context calls for it and being able to generate and evaluate several different options in order to respond effectively to any situation, adjusting to any condition that I face instead of struggling with the way things are. Thank you God for all your mercies, but shey you also know that I have worked hard for all that I have today, with the talent you blessed me with. In short BABA, you built me for the Nigerian roads, no shaking, who born dem.

There are so many things that confuse me about you which brings me to the real reason why I’m writing to you. But I guess you already saw this coming, no be you, Alfa and omega.