₦airaland Forum

xcitedjay: Building Bridges and Civil Works is not the same as running Commercial Airline 'Business'. Please enlighten me on how this move is gonna solve our greatest problem of insecurity.

naptu2: They are already doing that. Haven't you heard of Amebor 1 and Amebor 2?

Going into commercial ventures will help them generate the funds to further develop Amebor 1 and Amebor2, rather than waiting for funding from government, which could take forever to come.

berem: It doesn't make sense na! Is there limit to which one can post topics? shebi na my MB i dey use? o ga o!


OAM4J, i still dey wait o!

Ndipe: 1st runner up not 2nd runner up.

Mustay: E o ni gbe ede yin laruge, se ni e ma ma gbe asa oyinbo soke
^^^This, my friend smacks of neo-colonialism.

I don't need to write the reasons anymore. Others have highlighted it. As usual, you'd get tribalistic, silly and ignorant comments.

Was 'surprised' the day I first heard China Radio International's hausa service. If there's one thing I respect about the Hausas, it's preservation of languages. A recent research in one of the dailies highlighted how Nigerian languages are dying especially because they have no documentation.

Professors of languages have warned us against not knowing our languages and how evidences show that learning one's language aids a child's development.

I applaud the graduation lecture speech delivered at AAUN, Akungba recently. The professor delivered his entire speech in Yoruba language.

Some people are not aware that literacy is not just about this English of a language, a person ia literate if he can speak,write and read in his or her language!!!

In US, some Americans are studying Yoruba language and I can't forget the highlight of this, it was said, "very soon,your children will not know your languages, we will be the ones to come back and teach them".

It's only a matter of time. . .

aurenflani: Borno:-
1 The Deribes
2 Indimi
3 Ali Modu Sherif
4 Waziri Ibrahim
5 Bukar Mandara

Pls some1 update Borno has some very rich families.

nagoma: The widely spoken languages like Hausa remain and have 3 programs daily

360command: This is part of the investment investors are seeing that locals are not seeing. We (nigerians) need to think critically and see how we can tap into resources that are not tapped.

ylaa: AM SURE THESE WOMEN ARE SO POOR THAT THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY CLOTHES.

[size=14pt]‘Black Heritage Festival will never die’[/size]

Posted by: Ozolua Uhakheme on December 19, 2012in Life (Midweek Magazine)2 Comments

Unlike past editions, next year’s Lagos Black Heritage Festival will begin on December 22 and run till October 2013 to ensure active participation of Brazil, the country in focus at the festival. Five years on, private sponsors are coming in trickles, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME

Despite seeming lack of corporate sponsors of the yearly Lagos Black Heritage Festival (LBHF), Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has promised that the festival will never die. He said the absence of private sponsors would not kill the festival’s dream, adding that though the Lagos State government still funds the festival, the organisers have a special and very energetic sponsor team charged with the responsibility of marketing the festival.

This year’s festival, which is the first in the series on the theme: The Black in the Mediterranean Blue, focuses on the cultural exploration of Italy. It featured dancing, drama, masquerade parade, music, boat regatta, carnival, art exhibition, poetry and symposium. Next year’s theme is Bring back Brazil, which unlike this year’s, will begin on December 22 and run till October next year.

Soyinka, who spoke last weekend in Lagos, said most corporate bodies are not interested in sponsoring festivals but in items that will promote their goods and services. “Many people are nibbling at certain events in the festival, but the problem with corporate bodies is that they don’t fund festival; they look at the items which can promote their own stuff. And if somebody else has grabbed it, then the response you get is ‘it is okay, too late and too bad.’ Some items are more the favourites than others,” he said.

He said that The Vision of a child, a children painting competition segment of the festival, has been taken off the shoulders of the Lagos State government.

According to him, an arrangement has been reached with Diamond Bank, who did it this year and they want to continue. He noted that the mentorship programme has not been inaugurated because there is no sponsor for it yet.

He said that a Brazilian Samba troupe, Thobias de Vai Vai from Sao Paolo would perform on December 22 at the Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos by 7pm as part of the inauguration ceremony for the year of Brazil. From next year, he said, a competition in Yoruba rhetoric would be introduced in the festival

Soyinka, who is the festival consultant, explained why organisers’ of the festival chose to focus on Brazil in next year’s edition. Brazil’s culture in Nigeria is not only formidable but also remarkable. He said Nigerian culture in Brazil, especially the Yoruba culture is truly remarkable and the retentions are staggering and mind-bogling. He noted that on the streets of Brazil one finds akara je being fried and sold, adding that many institutions are named after Yoruba deities such as Osun, Sango, Orunmila among others.

“We feel it is a shame that many Nigerians look toward Europe far more than Latin America and the Caribbean,” he added.

“As I said very frankly, Portugal is merely a half way house to Brazil. Next year, we will feature the most vibrant of Brazil because the Brazilian culture is very formidable with components in Nigeria; and Nigerian culture in Brazil, especially the Yoruba is truly remarkable. The retentions are really staggering and mind-bugling. We are talking about areas in Brazil, which are effectively blacks. But Brazil of course is a genuine rainbow culture, rainbow people… You find names such as Babalola, Bamgbose in Brazil and the pride with which Brazilians hold and approach African culture is really unique.”

He said the decision to flag off the festival on December 22, was to allow Brazil to mobilise and participate fully in the festival. He noted that notwithstanding the extension, all the aspects of the festival would still hold while acceding to Brazil’s plea for more time. “We think we should accede to Brazil’s plea to make it a real huge family re-union. Most enthusiastic for me is the acceptance of the festival by Brazil. And on competitive level, is that Brazil wants to invade Lagos, but pleaded for postponement to allow full participation and mobilisation. However, the Lagos State government is not wishing to lose the festival dates on the tourism calendar,” he said.

He stressed that if the state must insist in wooing tourists to Lagos, then it must be ready to compromise in terms of date. “If you want tourists to invade the festival, I think we should really consider very seriously some kind of compromise. We could still have our cake and eat it,” he said.

[size=14pt]Black Heritage Festival brings back Brazil[/size]

On November 22, 2012
By Prisca Sam-Duru

As it continues its tour round countries , culture lovers in Nigeria will enjoy yet another opportunity of cultural extravaganza as Lagos State hosts the 2013 Lagos Black Heritage Festival (LBHF).

Still on the theme, The Black in the Mediterranean Blue, the 2013 edition which will have its focus on Bring Back Brazil, according to the festival consultant Professor Wole Soyinka, is to map out how Nigeria and Brazil influence each other.

Prof. Soyinka who spoke during a conference at Freedom Park, Lagos, disclosed that the festival will celebrate African creativity by featuring traditional and contemporary dances, music, art exhibition, photo exposition, drama, symposium and several other artistic and intellectual programmes.

Explaining reasons why Brazil is in focus, the Nobel laureate pointed out that “Our children do not understand why we have people who practice Nigerian cultures in Brazil, all they know is that in Brazil they have blacks who are descendants of slaves from Nigeria. They are astonished to see traditions of the Yoruba on streets of places such as Salvador during carnivals”, adding that the whole idea is to come and recover all enriching things the ancestors left behind.

HRH Erelu Dosumu Fernandez who is the festival chief host said that most of the cultures practiced in Brazil are of Yoruba origin. She expressed her excitement about the festival adding that the title alone conjures peace, love, celebration, grandiose just as Brazil conjures Nigeria’s relationship with their culture.

She described Brazilians as promoters of the Nigerian cultures due to the way and manner they display with passion, most of the cultures and traditions of the Yoruba, stressing that they are more loyal than Nigerians and disclosed that plans are in place to bring cultural representatives from Brazil to come and show Nigerians during the festival, the need to appreciate their cultures. This she added will be a continuous exercise.

patriot4: I think the north needs to do that on its own.
Because the South is not going to waste its money on "ressurecting the noth".
You guys keep killing our people and expect to be paid for it ! To hell !!!