Oraukwu: Igu Aro, Iro Mmuo, Iwa Ji, et al

(Oraukwu.comOraukwu.com)--Ofala (Igu Aro)

The word "Ofala", as one of those non-indigenous Igbo words, probably Igala derivatives, but more precisely origin unknown, would best be defined as a Royal outing involving communal celebrations, in a carefully planned program wrapped in a grandeur and outpouring of respect, revelry and as established by custom and sponsored by the with the benefit of hindsight, it is easy and safe to say that Ofala festival represents the apotheosis of Eze, Igwe or Obi in Igbo land. The event is used to celebrate in royal fashion the reign of the Igwe unprecedented for its length, its glory, its prosperity and let it be added, its goodness and peaceful tenure.

The Danger in Worshipping the Wrong God

(Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo)--Eureka!

I’m going to found the Empirical Proof Foundation. Our job will be very simple. We will crisscross Africa and collect specimens from every phenomenon that needs further investigation so that we will help establish empirical proof.

Here is a good example: last week, Nigeria’s Sun newspaper published a fascinating story of a young woman who vomited a padlock and gave birth to a turtle right inside a church. The newspaper told the story of the woman, the prophet who made it happen and the congregation who joined in the celebration of the miracle.

Igwe Osita Agwuna III: For the Love of Culture

(Okey Ndibe)-- …It was in that ancient town [of Enugwu Ukwu] that my awareness of the depth, beauty and pageantry of Igbo language, customs and culture was awakened. Every traditional ceremony in the town was marked by an enchanting festive air featuring a parade of hundreds of masquerades of different sorts, sometimes including the majestic Ijele.

Remembering Christmas

(Ruben Abati)-- …[Christmas] was also that time of the year for the reinforcement of family values. People whom you had not seen for the whole year travelled home from their stations to be part of Christmas. You got the chance to meet cousins, make new friends, and sing till you almost went hoarse.

I wasn’t much of a singer or drummer- my friends used to laugh each time I missed a note or a beat and we would spend weeks afterwards mimicking each other. In short, Christmas was real fun. But it was relatively a simple, inexpensive celebration, year after year. Our parents did not have to borrow, or go bankrupt, or agonize, for Christmas to be meaningful.

We got one or two new clothes and shoes: those were the usual Christmas gifts. On Christmas day, after church, lunch didn’t have to be anything extra-ordinary: it was no more than rice and chicken. In those days, chicken was a special delicacy, reserved for Sundays, or special occasions like birthdays or Christmas, very much unlike now that every child acquires the taste for tasty chicken from the womb! On Boxing Day, we either visited friends or stayed home, and played with firecrackers and bangers on the streets. Those children who could not afford bangers were not left out. They improvised with local devices made by blacksmiths. That contraption produced even better effect.

Why History Should Be Taught

(Reuben Abati)-- …I have had similar encounters in more recent times: young Nigerians who do not know the author of Things Fall Apart, and who have never heard of Lord Lugard, Ahmadu Bello, Bola Ige or Kaduna Nzeogwu….

This is one of those self-inflicted omissions in our development process. Close to two decades ago, history was removed from the primary and secondary school curricula as a core subject.The teaching of history also became threatened at the tertiary level, as it got labeled as one of those disciplines that cannot get anyone a job in the oil and gas sector or the banks.

The Muslim Whose Presence Defiled Christ

Source: loonwatch.com

(Pius Adesanmi)-- ...Modees, obviously, is a Muslim. His best friend who was getting married is a Christian. A Muslim was going to be best man in a Christian marriage! The Christian groom and his Muslim best friend thought nothing of this until wedding day and the officiating Pastor somehow caught wind of the faith of the best man and refused to proceed with the ceremony.

It was bad enough for Modees, a Muslim, to have come to defile the body of Christ in his church! To approach the pulpit as the best man in the wedding was adding insult to injury! All entreaties to the Pastor failed. No Muslims allowed here!

The story of this foolish fundamentalist Christian Pastor in Calabar is the story of Nigeria. It is indeed the story of Africa. It is the story of the failure of critical intelligence. It could very easily have happened the other way round. It could have been Modees getting married and his Christian friend being bundled out of the ceremony for defiling a Mosque.

The trouble with Nigeria, the tragedy of Africa, is that in a world of mutual connectivity and global influences and interactions, we have not figured out a way of making whatever we accept from the outside, whatever is forced on us from the outside, sit on the solid foundation of our own worldviews and humanity.

SWAG: Smiling With All-Compassionate God

In the course of my priestly ministry few years ago at Christ the King Catholic Church, Ilasamaja, Lagos, I acquired the sobriquet, “Father Swagger.” I was wont to encourage the warm and friendly parishioners to "ginger [their] swagger for Jesus.” If you heard Nigeria's bell-ringing hip-hop artiste, Terry G, in that phrase, you’re right. Why not. After all, God does move in mysterious ways.

Some people wonder what a priest like me is doing associating himself with swag and popular (if not street) culture. Well if they knew where I’m coming from, they’d understand the why of the association.

First, I’m a Jesuit. And Jesuits find God in all things. As one wise Jesuit once wrote: Jesuits are in the show business showing off for Jesus. Bill O’Malley was writing about his brother Jesuits engaged with the world and working in the media, theater, and cinema. A prolific author of more than 40 books, Father O’Malley is best known for playing the role of Father Dyer in the 1973 blockbuster film, The Exorcist. He is said to be the first Catholic priest to portray a priest in a commercial movie.

Sugabelly, Rape, and Audu's Sons

Anti-rape protesters in Lagos; source: Reuters

(Reuben Abati)--You probably don’t know Sugabelly. I don’t know her either. But it is the twitter handle of a Nigerian lady: @sugabelly, who in the wake of the death of former Governor Abubakar Audu of Kogi State felt the urge to go public with her story. My foregrounding her/story as opposed to his/story, is further affirmation of an earlier submission that Audu’s death is “inconclusive” (The Guardian, Nov 27).

As the rest of Nigeria mourned the death of Abubakar Audu and pondered the implications of an inconclusive electoral process, Sugabelly showed up on social media and started celebrating his death. Her message was that the death of the man was good riddance to bad rubbish. “I feel so amazing”, she wrote. “Like God actually answered my prayers… That’s usually how it is. Powerful people rarely remember the people whose lives they destroy.”

Igbo Hospitality: Kola Nut and White Clay

Bowl of kola nut; source: www.oraukwu.com

“Kola nut, oji (Cola acuminata), and white chalk, nzu, are two of the most frequently used and

culturally important substances in the Igbo world, and both figure prominently in initial hospitality ceremonies crucial to the success of any social or ritual undertaking.

Both substances are regarded as having ritual power, are sacrifices, and function as facilitators of communication between men and between men and their gods. The two substances are different but each is indispensible, and it is difficult to imagine Igbo like without them.

The cultural preeminence of kola nut and chalk has inspired the Igbo to devise special containers for their ceremonial presentation. While these serving dishes are optional and not always artistically elaborated, the substances are mandatory.

Don't Preach to me, Show me Compassion Instead

Pope Francis washes an prisoner's foot on Maundy Thursday in Rome

(Abiodun Kuforiji Nkwocha)--Did I even mention to you guys that I was once a banker? Ages ago.

If I attempt to take all my gist from that side, the stories will never end. I learnt something vital; whenever someone walked into my branch to cash a third party cheque with no ID and the prefix Pastor or Imam was written on that cheque, regardless of the amount, one of my bosses would not honour the cheque.

Introducing Adesua "Sunshine" Etomi

(Shaibu Husseini)--She is nicknamed ‘Sunshine’ and that is exactly what this new acting dynamite Adesua Etomi brings, to any picture she is cast to feature in. From an appearance in her short film, ‘Brave’ to a leading performance in that engaging telling by Royal Pictures Academy, ‘Knocking on Heavens Door’ and the ground breaking television series ‘Gidi Up’, Adesuwa has shown stuff and has proven that she is that actress any good producer should engage if he or she wants an actress who can live a role believably.

Born in Owerri, Imo State to a father who is from Edo State and a mother who is Yoruba, Adesua acts with a lot of depth. She throws herself into a role and makes every role she has played seem as though it was written with her in mind. Indeed, most directors who have worked closely with her since she returned from abroad to join the industry after her university education affirm that she is good and that the humble, friendly and amiable actress who also sings, has brought some spark to the Nigerian stage and screen acting firmament.

Of Gods, Economics, and Power

"Economics and power have always played a large part in the championing of new deities throughout human history. The struggle for authority in early human society with its prize of material advantages, social prestige and the establishment of an elite has been nowhere so intensely marked as in the function of religion, perpetuating itself in repressive orthodoxies, countered by equally determined schisms. 

In the exploration of man's images of essence-ideal, fashioned in the shape of gods, we cannot afford to jettison our cynical faculties altogether. Adapting The Bacchae of Euripides quite... for a production--The Bacchae is of course the finest extant drama of the social coming-into-being of a semi-European deity--I found it necessary to emphasise this impure aspect of the priesthood. 

There is a confrontation between King Pentheus who is properly opposed to the presence and activities of the god Dionysus in his kingdom, and the seer Tiresias who is already an enthusiastic promoter of the god. Here are a few lines from King Pentheus's denunciation:

This is your doing Tiresias; I know

You talked him into it, and I know why.

Another god revealed is a new way opened

Into men’s pocket, profits from offerings,

Power over private lives - and state affairs –

Don’t deny it! I’ve known your busy priesthood
Manipulations.

Wole Soyinka (1976: 12-13), Myth, Literature and the African World

Chiwetalu Agu: Film Character Vs Real Life

(Tofarati Ige)--Popular Nollywood actor, Chiwetalu Agu, often acts the role of a wicked man in movies. And his depictions are so real that many fans believe that is his real character. In this chat with Showtime Celebrity, he explains that the negative reaction of fans towards his wicked roles is what actually led him into acting comic roles. Excerpts…

You seem to have an affinity for comedies; why is that?

I wouldn’t call it affinity. Years ago, I found out that most of the scripts that were brought to me didn’t have comic relief; I was always given roles of a wicked man and I got to understand that most of my fans were not pleased with it. Some of them felt it was something real, and the consequence was that whenever I stepped out in public, I was caught in embarrassing situations.

I then decided to be infusing comic relief even when I’m playing wicked characters because I’m a veteran screen writer. In the early 80s, we were operating in NTA Enugu, which was formerly Anambra Television Channel 50, so the talent is there, and I combined it with the wicked roles they were giving me. The result is that when you are watching me play a wicked role, you will still have cause to laugh, and ease your tension. In fact, I have achieved a lot by doing that.

Nollywood: Shooting for Better Picture Quality

(Samuel Abulude)--The movie industry is evolving and so are its practitioners. In recent times, great movies inspired by creative directors have crafted what is referred to as the new nollywood.

The Nigerian movie industry has without doubt evolved over the years. With new technology and ideas in movie making, Filmmakers and men behind the camera have been part of the process. The film industry that was pioneered by different personalities like Hubert Ogunde, Ola Balogun and others have become an enterprise and the second employer of labour after agriculture. Thanks to the passion and focus of the great brains that wanted to tell the Nigerian story through films.

A Taste of Nollywood's Medicine

Source: irokotv.com

(Judd-Leonard Okafor)--The man in white lab coat runs a blood test and delivers the verdict: the girl is pregnant. The woman in blue scrubs steps out of the theatre, pulls off her face mask and gives the dreaded announcement: I'm sorry; we've done all we can.

Such scenes are easily recognizable in Nollywood, and millions of avid fans eat them up. But they have doctors fuming at the portrayal of medicine in Nollywood. Medical scenes in movies are a constant. Nearly every other story involves a doctor, but it is how movie doctors approach their work that has the Nigerian medical establishment biting its nails.