YORUBA LANGUAGE IS DYING!-THIS OMOWE SAYS STOP MIXING YORUBA WITH ENGLISH!-ADALU YORUBA KO DA! -FROM GLOBAL EXCELLENCE MAGAZINE,NIGERIA

YORUBAS! - THIS OMOWE SAYS WE MUST STOP MIXING YORUBA WITH ENGLISH,DESTROYING IT- FROM GLOBAL EXCELLENCE MAGAZINE,NIGERIA

OMOWE MOSES MABAYOJE   FIRST IN DASHIKI

 

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‘WE MUST PLACE VALUE ON THE YORUBA CULTURE’ -America based Lecturer, Moses Mabayoje

Posted by globaluser in Cover Stories on August 1, 2013 11:43 am / 0 Comments

Moses Mabayoje, a Nigerian from Ibadan, Oyo State, is a teacher of Yoruba Language in one of the universities in America. He studied at University of Ibadan to Master’s level and was pursuing his Phd before he left for America. In this Interview with AKIN SOKOYA, Mabayoje speaks on his passion for the Yoruba tradition, his family and many more. Excerpt.

Please, introduce yourself.
My name is Moses Mabayoje. I’m from Ibadan, Oyo State in Nigeria but I live in the United States of America. I am a teacher of Yoruba Language in one of the Universities in America. I’m teaching at Rodgas University; a State University of New Jersey. I’m also into study abroad programmes. I bring American Students once to learn the Yoruba language or who want to perfect their knowledge of the Yoruba language in Nigeria precisely to The University of Ibadan where we started the Yoruba language centre in 2010 with five students who have been studying Yoruba at the University of Winscon Madisson in America. They’ve been in Yoruba Class for about three years but they came for what we called immersion; to know more about the language and the culture of Yoruba and they were in Nigeria for nine months. And after that, they became better speakers of the language and they appreciate the Yoruba language more. I studied at University of Ibadan to master’s level I was pursuing my Phd before I left for America.

To what extent has the students been cooperating in learning in a simple way?
They are very serious and are putting all efforts and attention. We have a three months programme called African Language Initiative. The two months programme is called Yoruba Good Study Abroad. The one year programme is called Yoruba Language Flagship. We bring them to Nigeria and pair them with Yoruba host parents. The students will mix-up with them. At times, they would even be bearing their names. At the end of the programme, we see a great improvement. Language is not learnt in the classroom. Though, we introduced it in the classroom but we learn it in the society.

In spite of Yoruba language being taught in our schools in Nigeria from primary schools, yet the students don’t seem to understand it deeply, what do you think is wrong?
I was a teacher in Nigerian secondary schools for about 30 years and I’m an author. I have a book jointly written with some scholars for the students but our students have two major problems, one has been corrected.

What are the problems?
The problem is that when we separated the language with literature. What we are teaching in the language is more of applied linguistics. If you know about a language, you can explain the structure of the language, you can pick some words in the language and write up but that doesn’t mean you can speak it. That is what has been happening since 1984. Now we’ve brought the rhythm and the literature back into it and also the culture. That would help the students to learn the speaking right, and also write better than when it’s only language. That is why I say one of the problems is been solved. The second problem is that looking at English as a language that you must learn, speak at the detriment of your own language. In Nigeria, there are many families that their children don’t speak Yoruba language. The family came to America and we are living in the same house, it was my children who have being living in America who started teaching those children Yoruba, whereas they first came fresh from Nigeria. As parents we have to wake up. English is called a feeler language: Many nations are struggling not allow English to tell their own language but Yorubas are not conscious of that. You can see few of filmmakers are insisting on the language, but many of them don’t care we have to talk to this class of people too. We have to tell them the danger of what they are doing. You can do your Film in Yoruba language and subtitle in English or make it in English and subtitle in Yoruba. You don’t mix. Though you can switch from one language to another but it should not be too much. We are losing many other things but we must not lose our language, so our government has to wake up. In many Universities that offer Yoruba as a course, you hardly see students coming to study it. The students who are studying Russia, French are more than those studying Yoruba, why? If we abandon our heritage, it’s like we are uprooting ourselves from our source. Look at Japan, China, Korea and even the Arabs; they hold their language in esteem. If you are good in your languages you will be better in English, but if you are not good in your language, you will even speak quack English. In Nigeria, many of us speak bad English, imagine a parent who does not have a secondary education but wants to speak English to his/her kids.

What advice would you give to our filmmakers who muddle up English language with Yoruba?
It’s because the society they are producing for is an hybrid, they mix languages and they want to give them what they want. Few of the filmmakers are insisting on the language but many of them don’t care, but we have to wake them up and tell them the danger of what they are doing. You can subtitle but it should not be too much. When it is too much you are killing your language.

OMO YORUBA-KILO DE?-SHOW US REAL AWOLOWO QUALITIES-NOT THIS NONSENSE!-OWU O!

"KAKA K EKU MA JE SESE S AWADANU!


(THE RAT SCATTERS SESE(A BEAN SEED) if IT IS PREVENTED FROM EATING IT!)

YORUBA PROVERB!



FROM PUNCHONLINE.COM

Aketi and Oke incur additional deficits

May 7, 2013 by Niyi Akinnaso (niyi@comcast.net) 16 Comments





Anyone who has been following Ondo politics would have observed that the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party entered last year’s governorship race with different motives. The ACN wanted to “capture” Ondo State by all means, while the PDP was anxious to regain power, which it lost to the Labour Party in 2007. In the course of the campaign, however, the media focus was on the ACN, partly because of the large number of aspirants; partly because of the externalisation of the process beyond Ondo State; partly because of the visible role of the National Leader of the ACN, Bola Tinubu; and partly because of the various tactics employed during the campaign, including negative propaganda.



However, after investing substantial human, financial, material, and political capital in the October 20, 2012, governorship election, Jagaban returned to Lagos empty-handed (The PUNCH, October 22, 2012). I did not write that piece to deride my friend, Tinubu. As the ACN’s National Leader, he should encourage his political party to participate in elections throughout the country. My grouse was with the tactics used by the ACN, particularly the location of the planning and logistics of the Ondo election in Lagos and Osogbo and the massive negative propaganda which defied decorum and truth.



You would have thought that, having lost the election, Tinubu would have advised his political party to desist from making additional investments in a lost battle. Why, you would ask, would the ACN candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, go to court to challenge an election that was universally adjudged to be free, fair, and peaceful? Why challenge the victory of the Labour Party candidate, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, given the overwhelming evidence in his favour?



Unfortunately, however, Jagaban, Aketi, and the ACN decided to behave like Kurunmi in Ola Rotimi’s play of that title, in which Brother Tortoise’s futile adventure was used to illustrate the tragic irony of Kurunmi’s engagement in a war he should not have fought. In his blind anxiety to disgrace the Alaafin and the Ibadan Lords, Kurunmi likened his enemies to Brother Tortoise as he derided them: “When Tortoise is heading for a senseless journey, and you say to him, Brother Tortoise, when will you be wise and come back? Tortoise will say… Not until I have been disgraced”. As it turned out, however, it was Kurunmi himself who was disgraced as his army was soundly defeated.



In further pursuit of their attempt to “capture” Ondo at all cost and perhaps “teach Mimiko a lesson”, Jagaban, Aketi, and the ACN headed for The Election Petitions Tribunal after Mimiko was officially declared as the winner of the October 20, 2012, governorship election. It is quite understandable why the electoral defeat was painful for them. On the one hand, Akeredolu would have loved to become the Governor of Ondo possibly in order to atone for his controversial services as the state’s Attorney General during the ignoble Abacha regime, when Akeredolu participated in the universally condemned arrest of Pa Adekunle Ajasin, his townsman and the first civilian Governor of Ondo State, for his leadership role in NADECO.



On the other hand, Jagaban, would have loved to add Ondo to his ACN empire in the South-West, perhaps in order to use the entire region as a bargaining chip in the 2015 presidential election. There are even speculations that he also wanted Ondo for its mineral and agricultural resources. His election campaign speeches, especially during the so-called Redemption Rally held at the Akure Democracy Park a few days before the election, also indicated that he wanted to settle scores with the governor for not crossing over to the ACN, despite his (Tinubu’s) “assistance” during the mandate fight in 2007.



However, as in Kurunmi’s case, disgrace came again when the three-member Tribunal, led by Justice Andovar Kaaka’an, dismissed the petitions of the ACN and the Peoples Democratic Party in succession on Friday, May 3, 2013. The senselessness of the petitions is evident in the grounds for their dismissal. For example, many of the petitioners’ witnesses, who testified before the Tribunal, did not actually witness the alleged acts but relied on what the judge described as “bundles of primary and secondary hearsay”, which is not admissible in law. Moreover, the testimonies of the petitioners’ witnesses were said to be full of contradictions and at variance with the pleadings in the petitions, which made the testimonies unreliable. The judge added,“No single witness testified that he or she did not vote or that the votes were taken away to unauthorised places after the election while no police report, which indicated violence during the election, was tendered by any of the parties”.



In a unanimous ruling, the Tribunal concluded that the petitioners failed to prove that their complaints substantially affected the outcome of the election. It added that the petitioners also failed to show that they would have won the election or that Mimiko would not have won it. A careful reading of the judgment shows that the Kaak’an-led Tribunal further enhances the credibility of the court as a desirable arbiter of electoral disputes.



The petitions and the Tribunal’s judgment raise important questions. First, why would electoral losers file petitions, when it was clear that they had no evidence to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that they would have won the election or their opponent should have lost it? This question is the more important when it is recalled that the candidates for both the ACN and PDP in the Ondo case are lawyers. There are two possible answers: Either they are still desperate to win or they want to prevent the governor from concentrating on the business of governance. The latter point reminds one of a Yoruba saying, Kaka k’eku ma je sese, a fi s’awadanu (The rat scatters sese (a bean variety), if it is prevented from eating it).



This leads to an even more fundamental problem, namely, the abuse of the judicial process. True, it is the legitimate right of the ACN and PDP candidates to go to court to seek redress, if they were truly aggrieved. However, it is a waste of time, money, and other resources to file petitions against an election that was well acknowledged by local and foreign observers as free, fair, and peaceful. Why conjure violence in a petition, when there were neither police reports nor eyewitness accounts of violence anywhere during the election? Where do we draw the line between a peaceful and a violent election or between a good and a bad election?



I raise these questions because the time has come when candidates should begin to accept electoral defeat with equanimity, as in Ghana and South Africa. Otherwise, we would normalise the practice of petitioning every election, no matter the quality of the electoral process and the sanctity of the outcome. Besides, if Aketi and Oke keep pursuing an election they lost badly at the polls and in court, what would they have done if they lost as incumbents? The state probably would have been confronted with a Laurent Gbagbo situation. On the basis of the present evidence and the Tribunal’s careful ruling, this matter should be regarded as closed

SAVE YORUBA LANGUAGE!- OJOGBON ADEBOYE BABALOLA(LATE) GIVES US THE BEST WAY WE EACH CAN SAVE IT!-EACH ONE CORRECT ONE-EVERYTIME A PERSON MIXES YOU SUPPLY THE CORRECT YORUBA PHRASE SO THAT THEY KNOW NOT TO MIX!

That the Yoruba language may not die
SIR: The article of Yeye Olade published in your issue of August 8, 2005, treads on familiar ground. Her suggestions are most welcome. It will surprise her to hear that as far back as 1926 (when I was born) letters and articles have appeared in the Yoruba weekly AKEDE EKO on the pollution of the Yoruba language through admixture with English words. Past copies of AKEDE EKO available in the African Section of the University of Lagos Library are my source of information on this.

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I hold that the Inspectorate Divisions of Federal and State Ministries of Education are to blame for the non-implementation of the decreed government policy on the use of the mother tongue or local language as the medium of instruction at the very start of primary school education. We continue to give kudos to Prof. Babs Fafunwa for the research on mother tongue education done at the University of Ife in the 1960s. One thing those who turn up their noses upon this research fail to note is that the students taught other subjects in Yoruba were taught the English language in English by specialist teachers, in view of the importance of English language in the Nigerian political, social and economic system.
Yeye Olade's appeal to all Yoruba parents to speak undiluted Yoruba at home in bringing up the children as lovers of the mother tongue is well taken. For her information I go down memory lane and recall that in 1957, a society named Egbe Ijinle Yoruba was founded in London by Yoruba students studying and living in London. The motive force was their desire to keep their secret . All meetings of the society were conducted in Yoruba and a standing rule was that undiluted Yoruba should be spoken. Should any member admix his contribution with an English word or phrase, someone else present would supply the correct Yoruba equivalent in correction.
As the students successfully completed their studies and brought home to Nigeria the golden fleece, an Ibadan branch of the society was inaugurated. Dr. Esan and Dr. (now Prof. Emeritus) Akinjogbin were in the vanguard of the inauguration. My humble self and the late Chief Folahan Odunjo among others became members of the society. When I moved from the University of Ife at Ibadan to the University of Lagos, I spoke with the late Pa Sobande, Mr. Oladipupo Yemiitan and others with a view to starting the Lagos branch of the society which was launched in 1965.
Our desire is to see a branch or more than one branch of the society flourishing in every Yoruba town or village. However, this desire is yet to be achieved. We declared over and over again that Egbe Ijinle Yoruba is not a secret society. What 'Ijinle' refers to in its name is deep Yoruba, idiomatic Yoruba.
Prof. Olugboyega Alaba of the University of Lagos, in his article on the Yoruba language published in the March 1995 issue of the B.B.C. Focus on Africa magazine, merely regards the admixture of English words with the spoken Yoruba of many a Yoruba person as interesting. Says he: "Another interesting by-product of the contact between English and Yoruba is code-mixing. To show that they speak some English, which is the more prestigious language, many speakers of Yoruba often put English lexical terms into Yoruba phrases".
Yeye Olade calls for research on modernising Yoruba. Inadequate supply of funding for such research has been a bane, but in the 1980-1983 period, the Yoruba Studies Association of Nigeria spearheaded a research project funded by the Nigerian Educational and Research Council for the production of suitable terminology for legislative purposes in the three major Nigerian languages. An outcome is A Quadrilingual Glossary of Legislative Terms (English, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba) published by the Council in 1991. The onus is on the National Assembly and the state Houses of Assembly to make use of this Glossary after the production of a core of trained, simultaneous interpretation experts for each language.
Prior to this research on legislative terms, the Yoruba Studies Association of Nigeria had succeeded in reaching consensus on appropriate meta language for teaching Yoruba language and literature in Yoruba at the tertiary level of education. The terms were published in two volumes to start with.
To round off this response of mine, I want to bring to Yeye Olade's attention the laudable enterprise commenced by Dr. & Mrs. Onayemi in Canada starting a Yoruba literacy (reading and writing) club with well-illustrated bilingual publications: Mo on ko, mo on ka primarily to acculturate their own children as Omo Oduduwa. I believe there is a web-site for the club on the Internet.
Adeboye Babalola, Lagos

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

SAVING YORUBA LANGUAGE
Oloogbon Adeboye Babalola's response to my article "The Death of Yoruba Language?" in Guardian,August 8th,was enlightening. It is the tiredless efforts of such Yoruba Scholars that has academically placed Yoruba on the World map. Now we have Google in Yoruba as a result of such hardworking scholars! We want to build on this solid foundation that Oloogbon Babalola,Akinwunmi Isola, Oladipupo Yemitan, Adebayo Faleti and so many others have laid. In an ammended version of the same article I have advanced that all State legislatures in Yorubaland must declare Yoruba as their lst language of discourse. Here the legislative terms already worked out in Yoruba,Ibo and Hausa will come into use! Also it should be noted that Yoruba on the World Wide Web is booming. Tiwantiwa,(uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tiwantiwa), created by Sister Molara Wood in London is protecting the purity of the Yoruba Language and should be supported by clicking on and joining its growing membership.

The response to the article has been tremendous from all over the Yoruba World, so look forward to a soon to be announced Conference on "Saving Yoruba Language" to be held both in Nigeria and the USA. I have talked on the web and in workplaces where I go in Nigeria to many people as a result and have received many suggestions on how we will save Yoruba and other Nigerian languages. One female security guard, after reading the article prompltly declared that from that day forward all Yoruba speakers on the staff would be corrected and fined by her to make sure they stopped polluting Yoruba! The she proudly correct herself and addressed me as "Iya" instead of the "Mama" she had minutes before been calling me! One large Lagos company I visited and took time to pass copies of my articles around to read, had the Female receptionist orgtanizing staff there to a meeting where"ogas" of each section would be convinced to stop mixing and to issue fines for any mixture to be collected and used for charitable donations!

On the Net I was written to about the heavy assault of "born-again" churches on Yoruba speaking in the church and outside. I replied ,as a Christian myself that "righteous " members should organize "Yoruba Services" and evangelize so much in the community that these services would become the most attended, a feat which I am embarking on in my own church.

Keep the suggestions flowing and act on solutions that occur to you O Great Nigerians and Yoruba, Urohbo, Ogoja,Ibo,Gwari and all other endanged Nigerian languages will be saved!

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

EDITORIAL/OPINION

Monday, August 08, 2005                        HOME       ABOUT US       SUBSCRIBE       MEMBERS       CONTACT US

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The death of Yoruba language? By Yeye Akilimali Olade "Kilo happen? Ma worry. Mo understand. Kosi problem. Mo sorry gan. Ma expect me. Ke e nice day" - (a GSM conversation) Surely this is not Yoruba that this man is speaking? Definitely not! Yet everyday Yoruba speaking people are killing Yoruba like this. Is this the new (English) pidgin for Yorubaland, joining other sections of the country, who have specialised in killing their own Nigerian language by using mainly "pidgin" in the name of "communicating" with other groups? Oyibo culture has brought Nigerian culture to its knees in so many ways - now a foreign language seeks to kill our own God-given languages, using Nigerians as the executioners! Eewo! That English, the ready-made weapon of British-American cultural imperialism, is not just trying to destroy African languages, but is attacking all other languages worldwide, I agree. Ojoogbon Akinwunmi Isola, the newly-appointed Chair of Oyo State Arts and Culture Board, related to me during a discussion with Ojoogbon Babatunde Fafunwa, the problem the French are having with English. He stated that the French government had recently warned all French broadcasters to stop polluting French with English, as is now popular in general French conversation, or face dismissal. But I doubt whether the French would think of slaughtering their language to the extent that Yorubas daily have begun to do. The greatest tragedy in Yorubaland today however regarding language is the dominating trend to speak only English to their children, making it their first language, then sending them to private nursery school, who only teach in English and causing Yoruba children to value English above all other languages! (After all their WAEC will not be in Yoruba, one highly-educated Yoruba man told me!) And see the result! These English-speaking children will rudely use English to disrespect all and sundry (after all English does not have pronouns of respect for anybody). Hear them saying "Shut up Daddy! - Give me back my candy!" in an authoritative way. And hear this one told by Oloogbon Ishola - an semi-literate (in English)) parent says to his child, "Say hello to Daddy". The child replies "Ye 'llo Daddy". Olodumare! Yoruba children now do not know proper Yoruba and even as a result of this mixture do not know the real Yoruba words for "ma worry", "check result" etc.. Ask them or some of their parents and they will tell you they don't know the original Yoruba for the popular phrases that many literate and non-literate leaders and followers commonly use throughout Yorubaland. As a Black-American, who has come back to her Yoruba roots these past 26 years in Nigeria, I want to break down in tears over this "iyonu"! How can Yorubas kill their own language? What sort of curse is this? Obviously the curse of european-american imperialism/colonialism/slavery! As a result I have declared "War Against Destroying Our Nigerian Languages" from today. And it must start from Yorubaland. Are not the Yorubas the "wisest and the greatest"? As everything good seems to start from Yorubaland in Nigeria, "let it be so". I am appealing to all full-blooded Yoruba, as of today to consciously seek not to mix English with their Yoruba. Yoruba leaders must slowly speak, watching their tongues, not to include any English words inside their Yoruba. It has gotten to a state where such leaders cannot avoid mixing English as they speak Yoruba and their every sentence includes whole English phrases! The late Yoruba leader, Oloye Bola Ige was a pure Yoruba language speaker and other Yoruba leaders should follow his example. This is a "War Against English words entering Yoruba"! All clubs and organisations in Yorubaland should hold bi-annual and annual Yoruba Speaking Competitions for the "Best Yoruba Speaker", with heavy monetary prizes (N20,000 plus) to get Yorubas to consciously practice speaking Yoruba without any English mixture. Yoruba broadcasters are guilty of promoting this deadly trend. Yoruba stations must have quarterly courses in Correct Yoruba Speaking for they are one of the biggest offenders of mixing heavily English into Yoruba. In schools Yoruba teachers must stress the importance of not mixing Yoruba. All private schools in Yorubaland must be required to have classes in Yoruba language from nursery through secondary school levels. There is a "famous" private school in Lagos, owned by Lebanese (or is it Syrians), which does not teach Yoruba on the secondary school level, as required by law. Law enforcement is necessary with frequent unannounced inspections on this crucial issue. And any student who fails to pass Yoruba in Yorubaland must not be allowed to graduate! The Yoruba Press must be commended for indeed holding the banner high and not polluting Yoruba with English, especially Alaroye, Alalaye, Ajoro, Iroyin Yoruba, Akede must also continue the struggle to save Yoruba language. More effort however must be made to eliminate "pasito", professor "dokita" words as most of them have genuine Yoruba words that can be enlisted and popularised among their readers. Aworen must be resurrected by Alaroye, for use in all schools in Yorubaland as it was in the '50s to inculcate love of Yoruba language among children. Yoruba departments in Nigerian and foreign universities must start churning out more research on modernising Yoruba for technical, scientific and other vocabulary and making it available through special courses for the media and the general Yoruba public. Yoruba writers must begin to write and publish bilingual publications. For any publication they publish in English, its Yoruba equivalent must be done. In the same book (Yoruba-from the front, turn upside down, English from the back) is one way to do it or in a title simultaneously released. More books, magazines, other publications like club histories, year books must be published in Yoruba. (Do you know that Alaroye sells many more copies than English newspapers in Yorubaland?) For example why is a prominent Yoruba Club issuing their history in English? If they must have English, then it must be a bilingual edition, in Yoruba from the back. Who but Yoruba should promote publications in Yoruba? We must stop promoting a foreign language over our own God-given language. Yoruba music too, has been assaulted by Yoruba artists, unknowingly killing Yoruba language. The mixture of English has reached a new high in Fuji, Yoruba Gospel has started mixing English inside Yoruba songs within Yoruba cassettes, adding along side complete English songs! Olodumare! Such artists must be warned - no more killing of the language in this manner. If it is English you want then put that on an English cassette. Do not replace our God-given Yoruba in a Yoruba music cassette! Yoruba movie practitioners are perhaps the biggest offenders and must take up this challenge to save Yoruba language. English mixing should absolutely be banned in all Yoruba films. I have not researched the topic but I suspect that Hausa, is probably the most unpolluted language in Nigeria, and in all their films that I have seen no English there at all. The beauty of the Yoruba language must be showcased by having more Yoruba Cultural Festivals to be held by all clubs and organisations in Yorubaland annually. Odua's People Congress and other enforcers of law and order in Yorubaland must be in the vanguard, not only by stressing among its members that Yoruba should not be polluted but by holding bi-Annual Yoruba Speaking competitions for the "Best Yoruba Speaker". They must lead the way in correct Yoruba speaking and have literacy classes for all their members to learn to read in Yoruba and encourage them to speak Yoruba in the home to their children: Yoruba must become again the first language of Yorubas at home and abroad. Finally a private, Yoruba school system must be set up. These schools will teach all subjects in Yoruba from nursery up to the university eventually. If it must be like a "mushroom school", starting with nursery school first and adding class by class this must be done. This Yoruba Academy can be supported extensively by Yorubas abroad, eventually having board houses were Yoruba children from abroad can join their counterparts here, including all "classes of children, street children etc.) This Yoruba Academy will inculcate Yoruba culture into our children also. With the help of our Yoruba scholars we can build on Ojoogbon Babatunde Fafunwa's successful "Mother-tongue Education" at University of Ife in the 60s. Afterall, even UNESCO has proven that Mother-tongue Education is the best for all children. Let Yoruba Language not die! God has given the Yoruba race a language to be proud of, anywhere in the world (there are at least 60 million or more Yoruba speakers throughout the world). Let's not destroy it with our own mouths! Let us pass it on in its richness to our children, daily in our home. Let us proudly speak it daily, read it daily, champion it daily. Yorubas cannot remain great without our language. And let us be in the vanguard of saving all Nigerian/African languages. Biu, Ogoni, Urhorbo, Igele, Ogoja, Ebira, Idoma, Efik, Tiv, Langale, Tangale, Kagona, Kutep, Oron, Legdo, Bubiaro, Esan, Afima, Isekiri, Ijaw, Edo, Ikenne, Joba, Gwari, Ibo, Igala, Hausa, speakers are you listening? *Mrs Olade is the Chief Librarian of African Heritage Research Library, Adeyipo Village via Ibadan.

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Rites of passage: ceremonies can help our kids cope with today's turbulent times

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Rites of passage: ceremonies can help our kids cope with today's turbulent times



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Rites of passage: ceremonies can help our kids cope with today's turbulent times





Synade Jackson, a divorced mother of two, was filled with anxiety as her 14-year-old daughter, Kemikaa, moved toward womanhood. So to reinforce the lessons she had been teaching her at home about being a strong Black woman, Jackson enrolled Kemikaa in the Sojourner Truth Adolescent Rites Society (STARS) in New York City.



"I had wondered whether my daughter would choose education over adolescent pregnancy," Jackson says. "I wanted her to learn African history and spirituality. I wanted these values to be ingrained in her."



Jackson seems to have gotten her wish. As Kemikaa and 13 other girls finished the ten-month program (which included classes on spirituality, sexuality, cooking-and even quilting), Jackson says she watched her daughter become a more confident, responsible young lady. And Kemikaa, too, was happy with the results. "I got a lot out of the group," she says, "especially the self-love and self-esteem class, where we talked about our ,body temple, and how we feel about ourselves."



Jackson is not alone in her desire to play a greater role in the socialization process of her child. According to Audrey "Ayo" Hunter, founder and executive director of the Kabaz (Black Jewels) Cultural Center, Inc., in Detroit, African-American rites-of-passage programs like hers have been going on since the 1960's. Meanwhile, the Afrikan National Rites of Passage United Kollective, a St. Louis, Missouri-based umbrella organization that has been conducting these programs for ten years, has annual meetings to develop and hone African-American passage programs around the country.



"Historically our people have always used certain requirements or tasks to move on to the next level," says Darryl "Kofi" Kennon, executive director of the Baltimore Rites of Passage Kollective. "African people have been doing rites for thousands of years."



Bruce "Olamina Osatunde" Stevenson, assistant director of operations programming of the Baltimore rites group, adds "As a direct result of the enslavement of African people, our rites of initiation were stolen. Every culture has a process where children must become adults. We use these rituals to let children know that it's time to take on roles and responsibilities."



There are other benefits as well. Because negative images of the Black community abound, says Dr. Nsenga Warfield-Coppock, a Washington, D.C., psychologist who has written several books on African-American rites of passage, these programs help ensure that our children have healthy self-images. "Society does not provide a mirror for our kids to see themselves positively," says Warfield-Coppock, whose three children have all participated in these rituals.



"With these programs," sums up Dr. Wade W. Nobles, executive director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family Life and Culture in Oakland, "our children belong to something greater than themselves. And that's important."



ESSENTIALS OF A RITES PROGRAM



While there is no "correct" way to do it, Stevenson of the Baltimore Rites of Passage Kollective recommends the following components for a successful passage program:



* Let African traditions or influences be at the core. At the African Son-Rise Rites of Passage Manhood Training Program in Washington, D.C., for example, boys learn about the history and culture of Africans in the diaspora through lectures, films and visits to museums. * Involve parents, relatives and guardians in the process. For instance, the West Dallas Community Centers have bonding sessions between the children and parents or guardians to emphasize the importance of extended family and mentors. * Make the rites program an ongoing one. "Rites of passage are lifelong," says Warfield-Coppock. Consequently, the process is continuous, spanning birth and adolescence to marriage, eldership and finally death. Although programs typically revolve around young adolescents, they can be performed with toddlers, 7-year-olds and late teens too. * Give the participants tasks to master. Use emotional, spiritual and physical tests to prepare children for adulthood. At Detroit's Kabaz Center, children go to the woods to become more attuned with nature and also participate in precision drills that instill discipline. * Let the community witness the ceremony. At the STARS program, Kemikaa and her friends dressed in African attire for their final ceremony in New York City's Abyssinian Baptist Church, where they shared speeches with their families and other witnesses. * Include rituals and ceremonial activities. Children at the Baltimore Rites of Passage Kollective, for instance, form a unity circle to give thanks to the Creator and offer libations to remember their ancestors.



PASSAGE PROGRAMS NATIONWIDE



While we can't list all rites-of-passage programs around the country, here are a few: * Baltimore Rites of Passage, Kollective, Harambee Kollective Services, Inc., 3645 Cottage Ave., Baltimore MD 21215; (410) 462-1494. With "positive, preventive and proactive" curricula, the Kollective trains boys and girls (ages 7 to 18) to become strong, responsible adults. The program, which lasts at least 20 weeks, is broken down into five major phases: family orientation, rites of separation, curriculum, retreat and naming ceremony, and the transformation ceremony. * HAWK Federation, 175 Filbert St., Ste. 202, Oakland CA 94607; (510) 836-3245. HAWK--High Achievement, Wisdom and Knowledge--was designed initially as an African-based manhood training program, but today, HAWK's female counterpart, the Aset Society, offers a parallel operation for girls. Based on a series of tests that each child must master to build courage, character and consciousness, Hawk targets 12-to-14-year-old boys. Both programs, however, are open to children between the ages of.5 and 18. * West Dallas Community Centers, Inc., 8200 Brookriver Dr., Ste. N704, Dallas TX 75247; (214) 634-7691. After receiving a $1.4 million grant in 1989, the West Dallas Community Centers developed a rites-of-passage program that focuses on youths who have been involved with the correctional system or in family intervention. The curriculum incorporates the Nguzo Saba (the seven principles celebrated during Kwanzaa), counseling, and language, karate and history classes. This coed program generally lasts two years and targets children between ages 9 and 17. * Kabaz (Black Jewels) Cultural Center, 3619 Mount Elliott, Detroit MI 48207; (313) 924-1140. Kabaz, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary last year, claims to teach "the art of manhood and womanhood by connecting to our past." The coed program, lasting from three months to a year, trains children starting at age 5, using a 12-formula Dlan to in still Afrocentric values and norms. * Concerned Black Men, Inc. (D.C. Chapter), 1511 K St., N.W., Ste. 1100, Washington DC 20005; (202) 783-5414. The five-year-old African Son-Rise Rites of Passage Manhood Training Program is a year-round operation in which 8-to-13-year-old boys meet two Saturdays a month. It's based on five principles: economic intuition, leadership, health and physical fitness, cultural awareness and academic competence. * African American Women on Tour, 3914 Murphy Canyon Rd., Ste. 216-B, San Diego CA 92123-4423; (800) 560-AAWT. At five conferences around the country, AAWT holds rites-of-passage programs for 12-to-19-year-old girls. The three-day workshop focuses on self-empowerment, teen sexuality and African culture and history.



For information on how to set up a passage program in your community, contact one of the organizations listed above. If you want to read up on the topic, check out Transformation: A Rites of Passage Manual for African American Girls by Mafori Moore, Gwen Akua Gilyard, Karen King and Nsenga Warfield-Coppock (STARS Press, $15) and Bringing the Black Boy to Manhood: The Passage by Nathan Hare and Julie Hare (Black Think Tank, $6). Warfield-Coppock can also provide a wealth of information; she can be reached at Baobab Associates, Inc., 7614 16th St., N.W., Washington DC 20012.



COPYRIGHT 1996 Essence Communications, Inc.S

__________________

All is Well. Workin' Hard - Tryin' to Save Time for Fam. Check in Periodically.



Photos of members wearing Hands Off Assata Shirts 6/3/06

Buy: Afrikan Spirituality Books & Videos (300+ in stock)

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#2 (permalink) 08-08-2005

STUDENT

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HELP: Searching For Rites-of-Passage in LA



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Hello everyone. I am just coming out of the "Matrix". I have a 10yr old son



that I want to help stay clear of it. I am looking for a rite-of-passage group



in LA to put him in. If anyone can help, please write back or phone me @



858-414-3434. Thank you so much for any and all assistance given.



Oh, I am also looking for an African based church, thanks again.





#3 (permalink) 08-08-2005

Im The Truth

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I worry the same about Atlanta, GA I heard about a rites-of-passage a while back but I'm not sure of the details or if it still exsist. If anyone knows let a brotha know.



Uhuru Sasa!!!

__________________

"If the enemy is not doing anything against you, you are not doing anything"

-Ahmed Sékou Touré





"speak truth, do justice, be kind and do not do evil."

-Baba Orunmila



"Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it political? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular - but one must take it simply because it is right."

--Dr. Martin L. King







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#1 (permalink) 08-29-2004

IfasehunReincarnated

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Rites of passage: ceremonies can help our kids cope with today's turbulent times



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Rites of passage: ceremonies can help our kids cope with today's turbulent times





Synade Jackson, a divorced mother of two, was filled with anxiety as her 14-year-old daughter, Kemikaa, moved toward womanhood. So to reinforce the lessons she had been teaching her at home about being a strong Black woman, Jackson enrolled Kemikaa in the Sojourner Truth Adolescent Rites Society (STARS) in New York City.



"I had wondered whether my daughter would choose education over adolescent pregnancy," Jackson says. "I wanted her to learn African history and spirituality. I wanted these values to be ingrained in her."



Jackson seems to have gotten her wish. As Kemikaa and 13 other girls finished the ten-month program (which included classes on spirituality, sexuality, cooking-and even quilting), Jackson says she watched her daughter become a more confident, responsible young lady. And Kemikaa, too, was happy with the results. "I got a lot out of the group," she says, "especially the self-love and self-esteem class, where we talked about our ,body temple, and how we feel about ourselves."



Jackson is not alone in her desire to play a greater role in the socialization process of her child. According to Audrey "Ayo" Hunter, founder and executive director of the Kabaz (Black Jewels) Cultural Center, Inc., in Detroit, African-American rites-of-passage programs like hers have been going on since the 1960's. Meanwhile, the Afrikan National Rites of Passage United Kollective, a St. Louis, Missouri-based umbrella organization that has been conducting these programs for ten years, has annual meetings to develop and hone African-American passage programs around the country.



"Historically our people have always used certain requirements or tasks to move on to the next level," says Darryl "Kofi" Kennon, executive director of the Baltimore Rites of Passage Kollective. "African people have been doing rites for thousands of years."



Bruce "Olamina Osatunde" Stevenson, assistant director of operations programming of the Baltimore rites group, adds "As a direct result of the enslavement of African people, our rites of initiation were stolen. Every culture has a process where children must become adults. We use these rituals to let children know that it's time to take on roles and responsibilities."



There are other benefits as well. Because negative images of the Black community abound, says Dr. Nsenga Warfield-Coppock, a Washington, D.C., psychologist who has written several books on African-American rites of passage, these programs help ensure that our children have healthy self-images. "Society does not provide a mirror for our kids to see themselves positively," says Warfield-Coppock, whose three children have all participated in these rituals.



"With these programs," sums up Dr. Wade W. Nobles, executive director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family Life and Culture in Oakland, "our children belong to something greater than themselves. And that's important."



ESSENTIALS OF A RITES PROGRAM



While there is no "correct" way to do it, Stevenson of the Baltimore Rites of Passage Kollective recommends the following components for a successful passage program:



* Let African traditions or influences be at the core. At the African Son-Rise Rites of Passage Manhood Training Program in Washington, D.C., for example, boys learn about the history and culture of Africans in the diaspora through lectures, films and visits to museums. * Involve parents, relatives and guardians in the process. For instance, the West Dallas Community Centers have bonding sessions between the children and parents or guardians to emphasize the importance of extended family and mentors. * Make the rites program an ongoing one. "Rites of passage are lifelong," says Warfield-Coppock. Consequently, the process is continuous, spanning birth and adolescence to marriage, eldership and finally death. Although programs typically revolve around young adolescents, they can be performed with toddlers, 7-year-olds and late teens too. * Give the participants tasks to master. Use emotional, spiritual and physical tests to prepare children for adulthood. At Detroit's Kabaz Center, children go to the woods to become more attuned with nature and also participate in precision drills that instill discipline. * Let the community witness the ceremony. At the STARS program, Kemikaa and her friends dressed in African attire for their final ceremony in New York City's Abyssinian Baptist Church, where they shared speeches with their families and other witnesses. * Include rituals and ceremonial activities. Children at the Baltimore Rites of Passage Kollective, for instance, form a unity circle to give thanks to the Creator and offer libations to remember their ancestors.



PASSAGE PROGRAMS NATIONWIDE



While we can't list all rites-of-passage programs around the country, here are a few: * Baltimore Rites of Passage, Kollective, Harambee Kollective Services, Inc., 3645 Cottage Ave., Baltimore MD 21215; (410) 462-1494. With "positive, preventive and proactive" curricula, the Kollective trains boys and girls (ages 7 to 18) to become strong, responsible adults. The program, which lasts at least 20 weeks, is broken down into five major phases: family orientation, rites of separation, curriculum, retreat and naming ceremony, and the transformation ceremony. * HAWK Federation, 175 Filbert St., Ste. 202, Oakland CA 94607; (510) 836-3245. HAWK--High Achievement, Wisdom and Knowledge--was designed initially as an African-based manhood training program, but today, HAWK's female counterpart, the Aset Society, offers a parallel operation for girls. Based on a series of tests that each child must master to build courage, character and consciousness, Hawk targets 12-to-14-year-old boys. Both programs, however, are open to children between the ages of.5 and 18. * West Dallas Community Centers, Inc., 8200 Brookriver Dr., Ste. N704, Dallas TX 75247; (214) 634-7691. After receiving a $1.4 million grant in 1989, the West Dallas Community Centers developed a rites-of-passage program that focuses on youths who have been involved with the correctional system or in family intervention. The curriculum incorporates the Nguzo Saba (the seven principles celebrated during Kwanzaa), counseling, and language, karate and history classes. This coed program generally lasts two years and targets children between ages 9 and 17. * Kabaz (Black Jewels) Cultural Center, 3619 Mount Elliott, Detroit MI 48207; (313) 924-1140. Kabaz, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary last year, claims to teach "the art of manhood and womanhood by connecting to our past." The coed program, lasting from three months to a year, trains children starting at age 5, using a 12-formula Dlan to in still Afrocentric values and norms. * Concerned Black Men, Inc. (D.C. Chapter), 1511 K St., N.W., Ste. 1100, Washington DC 20005; (202) 783-5414. The five-year-old African Son-Rise Rites of Passage Manhood Training Program is a year-round operation in which 8-to-13-year-old boys meet two Saturdays a month. It's based on five principles: economic intuition, leadership, health and physical fitness, cultural awareness and academic competence. * African American Women on Tour, 3914 Murphy Canyon Rd., Ste. 216-B, San Diego CA 92123-4423; (800) 560-AAWT. At five conferences around the country, AAWT holds rites-of-passage programs for 12-to-19-year-old girls. The three-day workshop focuses on self-empowerment, teen sexuality and African culture and history.



For information on how to set up a passage program in your community, contact one of the organizations listed above. If you want to read up on the topic, check out Transformation: A Rites of Passage Manual for African American Girls by Mafori Moore, Gwen Akua Gilyard, Karen King and Nsenga Warfield-Coppock (STARS Press, $15) and Bringing the Black Boy to Manhood: The Passage by Nathan Hare and Julie Hare (Black Think Tank, $6). Warfield-Coppock can also provide a wealth of information; she can be reached at Baobab Associates, Inc., 7614 16th St., N.W., Washington DC 20012.



COPYRIGHT 1996 Essence Communications, Inc.S

__________________

All is Well. Workin' Hard - Tryin' to Save Time for Fam. Check in Periodically.



Photos of members wearing Hands Off Assata Shirts 6/3/06

Buy: Afrikan Spirituality Books & Videos (300+ in stock)

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#2 (permalink) 08-08-2005

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HELP: Searching For Rites-of-Passage in LA



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Hello everyone. I am just coming out of the "Matrix". I have a 10yr old son



that I want to help stay clear of it. I am looking for a rite-of-passage group



in LA to put him in. If anyone can help, please write back or phone me @



858-414-3434. Thank you so much for any and all assistance given.



Oh, I am also looking for an African based church, thanks again.





#3 (permalink) 08-08-2005

Im The Truth

Organizer Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Atlanta, GA by way of Afrika

Posts: 5,910

Blog Entries: 11

Thanks: 2,684

Thanked 1,843 Times in 1,052 Posts

Gender: Brother

Rep Power: 591





Member's Picture Albums



I worry the same about Atlanta, GA I heard about a rites-of-passage a while back but I'm not sure of the details or if it still exsist. If anyone knows let a brotha know.



Uhuru Sasa!!!

__________________

"If the enemy is not doing anything against you, you are not doing anything"

-Ahmed Sékou Touré





"speak truth, do justice, be kind and do not do evil."

-Baba Orunmila



"Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it political? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular - but one must take it simply because it is right."

--Dr. Martin L. King







Get Involved!







Add caption



FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI -OUR GREAT NIGERIAN MUSICIAN COMES BACK ALIVE THRU BROADWAY SHOW SHOWING AT HIS AFRICAN SHRINE IN LAGOS!

http://www.nigeriamusicmovement.com/index.php/nigerian-music-nigeria-from-broadway-to-afrika-shrine-a-feast-for-fela-in-lagos

Source: The Sun, Feb 1, 2011 Ordinarily, any public show in honour of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is a crowd puller. Particularly when it holds at the New Afrika Shrine where everyone believes the spirit of Fela still hovers round. And for the British Council Nigeria which played host to Fela! For the first time in the country last Sunday, the screening of the musical show was indeed a cultural feast for Afrobeat lovers. Although a musical menu prepared and dished in the Diaspora, Fela! was well served in Lagos for his kinsmen and fans who trooped to the Shrine in celebration of the late Abami Eda. The show attracted notable Nigerians, artistes, culture workers and journalists, among whom were Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi; former National Planning Minister, Robin Gwynn; British Deputy High Commissioner, David Higgs; Country Director,British Council, Rukki Shein; Fela’s Manager at the musical show tagged Fela Event, Lanre Arogundade; former NUJ chairman in Lagos State and Fela’s children; Yeni Anikulapo – Kuti and Seun Anikulapo – Kuti. After a brief welcome address by Yeni, the musical opened via a large screen with a number of young female dancers emerging on stage, ahead of their leader and hero-Fela. The dancers wore captivating costumes depicting the essentricity and versatility of Fela’s musical world. They took positions on stage while one of Fela’s classics; Rere Run, played rhythmically at the background. Minutes later,Fela the lead singer/dancer was ushered to the stage in a heroic manner by some male dancers. With his two hands raised, Fela stormed the stage amid a loud ovation, and saluted the crowd with the familiar refrain ‘’Everybody say Yeye’’ . And an elated crowd dominated by whitemen and women responded ‘’Ye-ye’’. An energetic and boisterous performer, Fela soon dazed the audience with a heavy dose of his music, which he boosted with songs, dancesteps and talks that reminisce on Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s vision and philosophy. In the same way, the other male and female dancers complemented his efforts in highly creative and elaborate choreography. At intervals, the dancers sang tunes and wriggled their waists provocatively to echo some of the features of the late Fela’s live shows. And while doing these, some of the best songs of the late musician, such as I No Be Gentleman, Break It Down (BID), Water No Get Enemy, Palava, Teacher, Don’t Teach Me Nonsense and Kerekeke Ji Keke, were creatively played and interpreted through mimes and gestures. On another level of creativity, the hero of Fela!and the entire National Theatre, London ensemble recalled some of the issues that Fela addressed through his music. Popular subjects like Igbo(Marijuana), 419 (Advanced Free Fraud), ITT(International Thief Thief), Yansh(An euphemism for bottom power), Colonial Mentality and Lagos life were all illustrated by the artistes in the Nigerian context. Also using the narrative technique, the lead character paused at intervals to engage the audience. His joker in this area was proved by his mastery of Fela’s stagecraft, voice modulation, dexterity on saxophone, his brandishing and inhaling of the long wrapped substance as wellas his simple Afrobeat attire of a long sleeve shirt over a pair of long James Brown (JB) trousers. On the technical side, the Broadway and award winning show made creative use of virtually all facilities in the theatre. It explored generously the use of the round stage, the staircases, steps, cubicules, the cyclorama and ladders. The huge modern equipment on stage expectedly complemented artistes’ versatility and speed, just as lighting helped greatly in depicting moods and highlighting historical situations and events. The audience also savoured a fair dose of highlife music from which Fela discovered Afrobeat as demonstrated in several scenes that reminded of Fela’s relationship with the Koola Lobitos, James Brown, Tony Allen, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti(His mother) among many others. At the end of the two-part show, which lasted about two hours, the audience were thrilled beyond expectation. Some of them engaged in a debate over the incredible energy and vigour with which the cast celebrated Fela and his Afrobeat in a single entertaining musical show. They also wondered how the show could have been if some of Afrobeat’s disciples in Nigeria, such as Dede Mabiaku, Kola Ogunkoya and others featured in the musical show. But the fact that it was an entirely a Broadway project seemingly ruled out the possibility of featuring Nigerians in it. Produced and widely showcased on Broadway in London, Fela! had won three Tony awards including Best Choreography. It explores dance, music and drama to celebrate the life and times of Afrobeat legend who was better known as political activist and lover of the masses. The February 6 screening in Lagos was part of the British Council’s work in the Arts, aimed at showcasing the best of United Kingdom’s creativity overseas while at the same time, working with the best creative talents to develop innovative events and collaborations for artists and cultural institutions across the globe. Nigerian Music Nigeria Fela Kuti Straight From The Source Nigerian Music Nigeria – FELA – At The Broadway Musical (0) Nigerian Music Nigeria – Fela Bitchy Life (0) Nigerian Music Nigeria – Fela On Broadway Hits Lagos (0) Nigerian Music Nigeria – Fela Kuti Returns On Eve Of Election (0) Nigerian Music Nigeria – FELA Opens 2011 Lagos Black Heritage Festival (0) :Fela Kuti Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Notify me of followup comments via e-mail No comments for this entry yet... SEARCH powered by Custom Search Control Web       Crowd Attah Rishante on Youtube Nigeria Video Nigerian Music – Naydo – Personal Person http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =fL9V16xE-vg&feature=relat ed Nery Colyer on Nigerian Music Nigeria 2Face Idibia TV Playlist Album Download Free Great blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like Wordpress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely confused .. Any... Yung Chocolate on New Nigerian Music – Nigeria Music Movement Artist Promotion Pls how can we send our track, picture etc….. if we want to promote our songs. sunkysunaro@yahoo.com Yung Chocolate on New Nigerian Music – Nigeria Music Movement Artist Promotion We are an upcoming artist known as Yung chocoate(sunky,sunaro)R&B Hiphop singer. We already have three hot track titled Oloju Tirin Chocolate Sexy lady It will be a very great pleasure if any Label or promoter could give us a trial. Our contact are 08081996522, 08085335770. Email... y jay on Nigerian Music Nigeria – Eldee Presents Top Talent my name’s are jude yakubu oshmoma ,stage name:y jay and ma genre:hiphop/rap,i gat ma own single titled:fly away haters and i need a manageing record company to make me found,hoping to get a rely from you eldee d don. edwin on Youtube Nigeria Video Nigerian Music – Chocolate City Boyz – Fooling Around Love to u all the chocolate people am sending a kudos to u all Toyin on Nigerian Bank Nigeria – Cornerstone Mortgage Bank Bags Sector Award This award is deserved..i give it to those guys in Cornerstone..they are good and very reliable Ola on Nigerian Bank Nigeria – Cornerstone Mortgage Bank Bags Sector Award I have been banking with Cornerstone for 16 years now and i have can say they are very reliable. In fact, they deserve that award perry on Album Music Nigeria – Da Grin – CEO Review REST IN PEACE DAGRIN, WE LOVE YOU BUT GOD LOVES YOU MOST !!! dada morris lawiya on Youtube Nigeria Video – P-square – Who Dey Here iam an experiene of music and my name dada morris. Ray on Youtube Nigeria Video Nigerian Music – Frank Edwards – You Too Dey Bless Me Frank, you are really a star sent from above to proclaim the news through music. Keep it up the lord has your reward. bezaleel on Kennis Music – Record Label – Profile i am happy i am in your website today, and am proud of your job well done bring up young singers, i no you dont remember me but i called you few years back tru the help of tuface CD cover your numbers were there… telling you that i want you to pls make me great like you did to any singer you come across… Sir… pls i... high prince on Chocolate City – Record Label – Profile pls i will like to be sign Clement on Nigeria Phone Card MTN – MTN Nigeria History please i want to register my MTN sim card but there is no where in my destination/area were they do so please kindly help me on how to do so online. I will very greatful if my request is beign granted 08169671300 clementntumonu@yahoo.com G-sung on Hypertek Entertainment – Record Label – Profile Guday sir,everyone want 2 b on ur label includg me,dis is to show u are doin great.G-sung is my name from delta.just finish recordin some of my tracks and one is out 4 promo via online, dj mix and radio stations.i sing rnb/hipop but more of rnbs.Pls sir my aim of writin is to u is to me give me a chance to here me out or to... Just Added Nigerian Music Nigeria – Latest Music News May 20, 2011 Nigerian Music Nigeria – Latest Music News May 19, 2011 Nigerian Music Nigeria – Latest Music News May 18, 2011 Bad Behavior has blocked 2629 access attempts in the last 7 days. 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Nigerian Music Nigeria – From Broadway To Afrika Shrine – A Feast For Fela In Lagos

Source: The Sun, Feb 1, 2011

Ordinarily, any public show in honour of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is a crowd puller. Particularly when it holds at the New Afrika Shrine where everyone believes the spirit of Fela still hovers round. And for the British Council Nigeria which played host to Fela! For the first time in the country last Sunday, the screening of the musical show was indeed a cultural feast for Afrobeat lovers.
Although a musical menu prepared and dished in the Diaspora, Fela! was well served in Lagos for his kinsmen and fans who trooped to the Shrine in celebration of the late Abami Eda. The show attracted notable Nigerians, artistes, culture workers and journalists, among whom were Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi; former National Planning Minister, Robin Gwynn; British Deputy High Commissioner, David Higgs; Country Director,British Council, Rukki Shein; Fela’s Manager at the musical show tagged Fela Event, Lanre Arogundade; former NUJ chairman in Lagos State and Fela’s children; Yeni Anikulapo – Kuti and Seun Anikulapo – Kuti.
After a brief welcome address by Yeni, the musical opened via a large screen with a number of young female dancers emerging on stage, ahead of their leader and hero-Fela. The dancers wore captivating costumes depicting the essentricity and versatility of Fela’s musical world. They took positions on stage while one of Fela’s classics; Rere Run, played rhythmically at the background. Minutes later,Fela the lead singer/dancer was ushered to the stage in a heroic manner by some male dancers. With his two hands raised, Fela stormed the stage amid a loud ovation, and saluted the crowd with the familiar refrain ‘’Everybody say Yeye’’ . And an elated crowd dominated by whitemen and women responded ‘’Ye-ye’’.
An energetic and boisterous performer, Fela soon dazed the audience with a heavy dose of his music, which he boosted with songs, dancesteps and talks that reminisce on Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s vision and philosophy. In the same way, the other male and female dancers complemented his efforts in highly creative and elaborate choreography. At intervals, the dancers sang tunes and wriggled their waists provocatively to echo some of the features of the late Fela’s live shows. And while doing these, some of the best songs of the late musician, such as I No Be Gentleman, Break It Down (BID), Water No Get Enemy, Palava, Teacher, Don’t Teach Me Nonsense and Kerekeke Ji Keke, were creatively played and interpreted through mimes and gestures.
On another level of creativity, the hero of Fela!and the entire National Theatre, London ensemble recalled some of the issues that Fela addressed through his music. Popular subjects like Igbo(Marijuana), 419 (Advanced Free Fraud), ITT(International Thief Thief), Yansh(An euphemism for bottom power), Colonial Mentality and Lagos life were all illustrated by the artistes in the Nigerian context.
Also using the narrative technique, the lead character paused at intervals to engage the audience. His joker in this area was proved by his mastery of Fela’s stagecraft, voice modulation, dexterity on saxophone, his brandishing and inhaling of the long wrapped substance as wellas his simple Afrobeat attire of a long sleeve shirt over a pair of long James Brown (JB) trousers.
On the technical side, the Broadway and award winning show made creative use of virtually all facilities in the theatre. It explored generously the use of the round stage, the staircases, steps, cubicules, the cyclorama and ladders. The huge modern equipment on stage expectedly complemented artistes’ versatility and speed, just as lighting helped greatly in depicting moods and highlighting historical situations and events. The audience also savoured a fair dose of highlife music from which Fela discovered Afrobeat as demonstrated in several scenes that reminded of Fela’s relationship with the Koola Lobitos, James Brown, Tony Allen, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti(His mother) among many others.
At the end of the two-part show, which lasted about two hours, the audience were thrilled beyond expectation. Some of them engaged in a debate over the incredible energy and vigour with which the cast celebrated Fela and his Afrobeat in a single entertaining musical show. They also wondered how the show could have been if some of Afrobeat’s disciples in Nigeria, such as Dede Mabiaku, Kola Ogunkoya and others featured in the musical show. But the fact that it was an entirely a Broadway project seemingly ruled out the possibility of featuring Nigerians in it.
Produced and widely showcased on Broadway in London, Fela! had won three Tony awards including Best Choreography. It explores dance, music and drama to celebrate the life and times of Afrobeat legend who was better known as political activist and lover of the masses. The February 6 screening in Lagos was part of the British Council’s work in the Arts, aimed at showcasing the best of United Kingdom’s creativity overseas while at the same time, working with the best creative talents to develop innovative events and collaborations for artists and cultural institutions across the globe.
Nigerian Music Nigeria Fela Kuti

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