Saturday

Gosh i love saturdays! Even though i never seem to see it nowadays. I graduate this summer which means i am currently engaged in the notoriously awful bit of the process..i.e. studying incredibly hard. Incredibly hard meaning writing three lines and taking a thirty minute break to catch up to the latest happenings on Youtube and of course, nibbling kit-kats with fervour! I wonder, can several bars of kit-kat be referred to as kit-kats?
Its been an eventful time (for everyone it seems), these last couple of weeks not least of all for Heather Mills and Sir Paul. By now everyone knows the sordid affair that has been the heather-macca divorce/heather demands loads of dosh off macca/macca says no and goes to court/Heather fires her lawyers and gets a pittance/Heather gets slightly over 24million pounds/Heather tips a jug of water over macca's lawyer-Fiona Shackleton/Heather stands on the steps of the court and rants to the media/end of/!/ Phew!! I'm shocked i could get it out in one breath. Interesting thing is the perspective of the public to the whole affair. Don't get me wrong, i am not partial to money grabbing ex-spouses, least of all the ex Lady Mcartney but cmon, surely Sir Paul saw it comin and went for it anyway? Apparently not! My views being too long to cram into one post i have decided to post a link to Marina Hyde's take on the issue which echoes my sentiments to the letter....

There appears to be a sudden awakening to the issue of rights within the Nigerian context. Gistmongers Niyi Tabiti and the devine Stella Dimoko K appear to only just have realised that their work has/is being plagiarised and i am sorry to "report" that it has lead to drastic consequences. Whilst Niyi has carried on with his work, Stella the firebrand insists that her blog will close down; much to the dismay of many. Still, Niyi's acceptance of the status quo regarding plagiarism appears to counter this great loss to the literary world of gossip...hurrah anyone?

I had the grave misfortune of seeing the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2008 live courtesy AIT/Sky last night and hopefully, i will never see it again!It was atrocious. Most of it anyway. Whilst i didn't like the song Dbanj performed, i will give it to him that he is a show man. Otherwise, it was a disaster...end of! Bella Naija appeared to like it though, so if you want a full run down of the event....

On the subject of glamour, or a lack of as the case may be; Carla Bruni didn't do Sarah Brown any favours. The press, the paparazzi, the nation and even the queen are totally enamoured by the french "beauty" and for good reason too. There was the notorious picture first and then it went downhill from there. The telegraph have a thorough account of how this has functioned here.

British summer time officially begins tomorrow and i cannot wait. The promise this summer holds is more special than the previous ones. I am stocking up on plans already. Went to Borders yesterday to pick up some books which included the N1LDA which i plan to read this summer. Also, i will also be readingin imagine this by sade adeniran...details of the book could be found here

It ain't half racist mum?

I love my housemate to bits but at times his behaviour is a bit worrying! He's your typical white boy just out of uni, clever, 'damaged', drinks too much, parties too much and carries on like he thinks he is still at uni. He's great fun and extremely helpful in many ways, giving advice and even helping with my uni work at times. Problem is he is 'typical' in every sense. Perhaps this is what Barack Obama so uncharacteristically failed to eloquently allude to in his speech on his grandmother being a typical white person. What is a typical white person? Well it is difficult to say, as i am not white. My step-mother was white, my brother is half white; does that mean he is half a typical white person? It is indeed a difficult question.
My reasons for this post are as follows. Friend one (who is aforementioned housemate) goes clubbing with friends (i should mention i was asked to come but couldn't as i couldn't afford it) and meet random people who turn out to be white South Africans. Friend one invites them back to his flat (which is mine too) and they carry on with their partying all through the weekend, which i do not mind. I do not interfere as i am wary of white South Africans, and with good reason it appears. My housemate makes the oddest statement (as he regales me with stories of their mad bank holiday weekend). He says, "I told M (who is a mutual friend) that those South Africans are racist as f*** but they were good fun though!!". I was gobsmacked, even though in light of what mr Obama's underlining message was trying to say, i should not have been. Trying to take the steel out my voice, i replied "How fortunate that you are able to reconcile the dichotomy to their existence". He mumbles something, and leaves. This mutual friend goes away this weekend for a while and wants to go out with the gang. He has asked me on a few occassions to come out with them and i had previously agreed but if those SA's are coming as well, good manners out the window, i will refuse to go!
Friend two at work. Pleasant, funny, charming. He however makes fun of Indian accents betrays uncomfortable ignorance of the world outside Europe and America, which is often unsettling. He is young, white and male. This is not to say that we do not get on swimmingly, we do. There is however a problem.
Barack Obama came under fire recently for suggesting that all good white people are a little racist (invariably thats what he meant). whilst his delivery was questionable, i understand what he meant. It is nearly impossible to grow up in Western society and not be conditioned into believing the white supremist ideology that is prevalent in this part of the world. I will not go into detail about how wrong the ideology is as it would be a waste of my time and anyone reading this. However, It is funny that many should subscribe to it. The idea being that white people have created advanced styles of government, technology and so on. Agreed, but what about the individual? My housemate has graduated with a lower second, drinks and parties and isnt in a great job, so how does he qualify as great? This is same for mostwhite people who subscribe to this ideology. As was quoted in the movie Irobot where sunny (the robot) is confronted by Del (played by Will smith who was in the movie) on his not being human. Del shouts, can a robot paint a canvas or create a symphony like a human? Sunny simply replies, can you?

N1LDA Revisited

Just to let everyone know that the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency is now showing on the BBC website via iplayer. What you could do is visit the website at BBC.co.uk. or select the UK version when you get to the website and it should automatically allow you to view it!
For young people/or old even, looking to relocate to Africa for work and other things, the Global Careers Africa summit is holding in London at the end of May. They are taking applications now though, so complete one asap if you are looking to get a job on the continent. Click here for more details!!

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

Overall, I thought it was great! Last night, the BBC had the Number one ladies detective agency; a film adaptation of Alexander Mcall Smith's novel and i would like to believe it was a success...barring a few problems. Yes some of the actors struggled with the accent, some scenes were conveyed in an awkward manner and some performances were stilted, however, the movie left you with the lovely feeling of a feel-good movie....set in any part of the world. I particularly liked how simple the stories were with their subtle references to daily problems in Africa. Daily is the key word. The reference to people in Africa living basic lives and doing normal things was the highlight for me, a situation i believe would not go down well with the average British viewer. Sam Wollaston reflects this in his review of the movie, sentiments we see across the media (see the Times and so on...). It was not news when most friends i asked about it had either not seen it or were watching something else. It is a bit difficult being confronted with an Africa that isn't wracked with AIDS or howling for help. This episode emphasises the imperative for effective communiction of Africa to the world, o when will we learn?
Back the film, the performances that were top notch were by Lucian Msmati and the devine Nikki Amuka-Bird, whom i had never seen looking so fierce! Usually when she's on the telly, its in some rag tag costume with dodgy make up (re: torchwood) but here, she was sophisticated, well dressed and beautiful! The acting i have to say was brilliant! The scene stealer for me was Idris Elba who played Charlie Kgotso. Powerful, charming and danm fine! I will be honest to admit that Anika Noni Rose and Lady Jill didn't do it for me, however, the story charmed away their akwardness. I dare not forget the gorgeous Bongeka Mpongwana who played Happy Bepetsi...stunning, graceful, brilliant!
It is ironic that professionals in the media whose sole purpose it is to inform betray outright ignorance on the subject of the African continent when confronted with the task. This is what Chimamanda Adichie aludes to when she argues that Africans should tell the story of Africa and not the blonde Westerner who claims to the 'African expert'. It is therefore a shame that the No.1 ladies detective agency is dismissed by these so called experts as a fictional account of the true Africa, existing within Alexander Mccall Smith' head. The truth is i know and appreciate the validity of these representations as would most Nigerian viewers of the programme, the question is, what are we going to do about it?

The show that's putting me on the edge of my seat!

tonight, it is on! So i am putting my books away for a bit and settling into my comfy sofer for an hour or two to enjoy this..i hope i do. Verdict tomrrow. See here for details!

Ama Sumani, 39, has died in Ghana. She may not have directed any award winning films, or created master-pieces of any sorts, but she was a human being and that counts for a lot. The story around Ms Sumani's death which can be read here is such a painful one, that i am at a loss as to how i feel. What are the answers in situations like these? Should the questions be directed to the British government for having faulty processes in terms of deportation or to the inept Ghanian government who have failed their citizen so miserably. The questions abound but the need for development on the African continent becomes more urgent. How many more unecessary deaths like this will it take to show our leaders that it is not the West, nor aid nor China that can help us, but ourselves only!
There are several debates on the best strategy for alleviating poverty and promoting development across the African contient in its entirety. My investigations suggest that the Aid process although kindly, is not working. In fact it is failing miserably. Observers suggest a trend in areas that have recieved Aid that suffer from bad governance and wasteful spending. This is particularly evident in the failed states of Somalia and the DRC. Similarly, the conditionalities attached to the Aid process by Western governments is not helping either, why should societies different to theirs run on policies formulated by these governments (the west)? Amity Shlaes has written severally, that Aid is not the way to African development and even goes on to criticize its alternative, free/fair trade?
What is the alternative? Pan Africanism as suggested by the clever Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem? Perhaps not. Ideal as it may seem, could the many ideologies existent on the continent be absorbed into a homogenous culture in order to achieve our shared objective of development? What is the likelehod of an EU style cooperative effort within a continent with so many levels of inequalities? Africa historically, has been built on difference and not on the opposite.
Trade is not free and definitely not fair. The concept of liberalized trade is a myth suggested by the big guns who run the WTO, aided by the inept leaders who are either clueless with regards to the mechanics of global economics or just can't be bothered to take their minds of the central banks they hold the cheque books for. Trade in itself is problematic. The economic development it is suggested to bring does not guarantee overall development as can be seen all over the continent. On paper, Sub-saharan Africa's GNP grew rather healthily in the last few years as opposed to the 90's but this was driven by an increased oil output, and in essence, the few oil producers on the continent. But as Mabogunje puts it, what does this mean for long term development? He asks that as petroleum is a non renewable resource, how can this be interpreted for sustainable development and managed for the future? The gulf states have seen this and are taking effective action in this regard through sovereign wealth funds and an egagement in the otherwise exclusive club barred by the TRIPS agreement. The problem is indeed complex.
Ama has died, and millions of others along with her. They say that nearly ten million children die before the age of five each year and the amount increases every year. The question here remains the same, what are we going to do about it?

Nayo!

Anyone reading this, please go and buy Nayo's cd..I bought mine!!
Here or here

Roisin Doing her thing in convent garden...the girl is fierce!

Roisin Murphy rules!!

Here she is performing live on later!





here's her album containing the album (real version) of 'you know me'...