Nigerian Feminism: An Alternative Voice

(By Esther Chioma Uwandu) - In discussing the issues of women in relation to various factors, what comes to mind is the term “feminism”. And feminism is the belief that men and women deserve equal rights and opportunities in all spheres of life. It aims at defining, establishing and defending equal opportunities for women. It also denotes the activities of women and male “sympathizers”, and its aim is to combat all forms of discrimination -social, personal, economic, legal, health, literary, which women suffer simply because of their sex.
          Essentially, feminism is two things. First, it is a theoretical paradigm in social theory that seeks to advocate and enhance women’s emancipation and equality with regard to gender; hence, feminism encompasses many varied activities and contexts. According to Elizabeth Ogini in Feminism and Black Women’s Creative Writing (1996), feminism has two main ‘axes’. As a belief, it emphasizes equality for men and women in all areas among which are legal, economic, political and social affairs. As a social movement, it advocates gender equality and is widely known as woman’s liberation or women’s rights movement.

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.