TONI KAN'S NEW SONG

Toni Kan

Only recently,he woke up from The Nights Of The Creaking Bed. Now prolific writer Toni Kan Onwordi is singing Songs Of Absence And Despair,a new collection of Poetry.This is Toni Kan's second collection of poetry.He had earlier written When The Dream Lingers Too Long

This tireless writer's pen won't just stop scribbling.Kudos to Toni for this one as we look forward to more great works from him.

Pictures courtesy of Jeremy Weates

MADONNA:PLEASE,CAN YOU COME AND ADOPT ME!

Mercy James..soon to be adopted by Madonna

Madonna and David Banda

...An African child..waiting for the next Celebrity adoption

Music diva,legend and mum-extraordinaire,Madonna is heading back to Malawi to adopt a 14-month old baby girl named Mercy James,who is an orphan in the Mchunji Home of Hope Orphanage.

In 2006,Madonna adopted then 11 months-old David Banda.Ever since,the little boy have been enjoying a good life in New York,far from the maddening poverty fate would have subjected him to if Madge hadn't reached out to alter his destiny.I honestly commend Madonna for her kind-heartedness.

Madonna is facing a lot of opposition and criticisms from Children charities and adoption groups both from and outside Malawi, since her recent adoption plans were made public. Maxwell Matewerere of the Malawian rights group,'Eye of the child' seems most vocal.According to him:

''In the absence of a husband,it is important to properly access the scenario.She really needs to demonstrate...that despite her being a single mother she has got a capacity to care for the child she is trying to adopt.'' Andrew Cate of SOS Villages laments that 'for the cost of bringing up this child (Mercy) in Madonna's lifestyle,you could pay for 50 children in Malawi to have a secure upbringing and a nice home..'

Madonna is expected to be in Malawi on March 30th to complete the adoption process. In most typical African settings,growing up as a child could be really harrowing.Poverty and civil strifes are the order of the day.Corrupt leaders who have long lost their conscience are not bothered by the plight of the African child.Today,the African child looks up to no future as there is barely none to look up to.If truth must be told,a lot of Africa parents will willingly give up their entire families for adoption to the likes of Madonna and Angelina Jolie,if only to ease them of the harsh realities of raising these kids in the face of gruelling poverty,political crisis and corruption.There have been cases where parents have been forced to sell one of their child just to enable them cater for the rest or give them out as House-helps to strangers in order to keep life going.

So,when Western celebrities like Madonna and Angelina Jolie give some of these African kids a new lease of life through adoption,they must be highly commended and encouraged.

ADIEU JADE GODDY!

Did Jade Goody intentionally waited for today,being Mother's Day to keep her destiny with death or that death waited till this day to take her away?

She did put up a very courageous fight in the face of an imminent death.

Goodbye Jade.May you find eternal rest in the warm embrace of the Lord.

Adieu!

NOLLYWOOD OR NOLLY-STICK?

Nollywood..not yet what it ought to be.

FESPACO 2009

Nigerian born Newton Aduaka with The Stallion award..at FESPACO 2007

At the recently concluded African film festival- FESPACO,held in Ouagadougou,Burkina Fasso,Ethiopian film,Teza won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga.Coming second was South Africa's entry Nothing But The Truth,while Algerian comedy Mascarades won the Bronze.There was nothing Nigerian near even the least brass that was for picks at the festival.Yet,the Nigerian movie industry was reported to have had the highest representation of officials and celebrities who graced the occasion-from Nigeria's films Corporation's Afolabi Adesanya to Joke Jacobs to Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze (of the Aki and Paw-paw fame),to Peace Anyiam-Osigwe,C.E.O of the African(?) Movie Academy Awards-AMAA,Keppy Epeyong and Fred Amata,to mention just a few.That was quite ridiculous.If Nigeria was not picking the festival's top prize,what then was that Nollywood crowd doing at Ouagadougou? Just to strut the red carpets in self delusion as Africa's best movie stars? I learnt that the 2009 AMAA's nominees list was unveiled at Ouagadougou.Haba!

The first and only time a Nigerian won the African films top prize was in the 2007 edition when Nigerian born British based film director ,Newton Aduaka won the Golden Stallion for his film Ezra,which was about the Sierra Leonian war.

The truth must be told:Nigerian home made vids,erroneously called movies, are grossly marred by ineptitude,lacking in technicalities and contents.Most painful is the fact that nothing is being done to correct this anomaly.Instead,we are so proud showcasing much of this mediocrity and even equating it to Hollywood. This is where the Nollywood problem lies.

By now,I expect those that call the shots in Nollywood to be very much concerned about why and how a South African made movie named TOTSI, won an Oscar some few years back or why Franco-phone and North African made movies are always dominating FESPACO and what then can be done to make Nigerian movies as good or even better than what other leading African film-makers are doing.

WHEN THE DEVIL STRUCK!

The young girl in the above picture is little Miss Elizabeth Lawal,aged 9.She was killed by a very close friend to her family,Mr Abudulahi Olalekan,25,who allegedly raped her,by penetrating her through the anus at about 8pm on 18th January right at her home in Ibadan.

According to reports,Olalekan who was very close to the victim's family had visited when the father of the girl was not around.The girl's mother who works in a local hospital,had trusted the man so much that she left her two children in his care until her husband returns from work,while she left for her work at the hospital where she was on night duty.

As soon as Olalekan realised that the coast was clear to perpetrate his diabolical act,he sent Elizabeth's younger sister on an errand. With the little girl now at his mercy,he went ahead to rape her,not through the vigina but through the anus and warned her sternly not to tell anyone unless she was ready to die.

Scared stiff of dying,the little girl didn't tell anyone what transpired until when she started having pains and bleeding from her anus.

As is always the case,the accused is blaming the Devil for the act.He has been remanded in custody while hearing has been adjourned to 30th March 2009.

It is most likely that the accused will be sentenced to life imprisonment which is the punishment for child rape in Nigeria.I feel this is just not enough.Why not start by 'manually' castrating and severing his Devil's instrument of havoc before the court sentence him to Hell!

SOUNDCITY PREMIUM:STEPPING UP NIGERIAN MUSIC

Better part of last week I was hooked unto the test transmission of Soundcity's SoundcityPremium Music Television on DStv's channel 133.Now,it has resumed full transmission on channel 327.I feel really happy and proud of this development.

What makes SoundcityPremium unique is that it is a truly Nigerian thing,with lots of 'Naijacentric' flavors.

Soundcity is Nigeria's foremost music channel that has encouraged the production of quality music video by Nigerian acts and have equally projected many of these act on the global stage.With what I have watched so far,Soundcity has good programming and presentations.There is a good mix of Nigerian and foreign content.

The emergence of Soundcity on the same platform where South Africa's Channel O,Trace,MTV and MTV Base have held sway is a very strong indication that Nigerian music television has finally come to maturity.

Tajuddeen Adepetu and his team at Souncity must be commended for this bold step aimed at putting Nigerian Music television where it should rightly be.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2009

Imagine a world without women!

8th March is observed as International Women's Day. Men use the day to honour the special women in their lives-their mothers,wives,daughters and (Girl) friends.

Use this day and opportunity to thank and appreciate all those special women in your life.

I am starting here: Special thanks to all the great ladies who have made life so beautiful and interesting in Blogsville-Standtall,Yankeenaijababe,Jaycee,Vera,Remi,Stella Dimokokorkus, Bellanaija,Linda,Funmi,Exschoolnerd,Overwhelmed,Uzezi,Solomonsydelle,Afrobabe,Zoe,Diamondhawk,Good Nigerian Girl,Pink-satin,Oyin,Rita,Aloted......

List is endless...

Happy Women's Day!

HORROR:NINE-YEAR-OLD BRAZILIAN GIRL TO ABORT FOUR MONTHS OLD PREGNANCY FOR STEP-FATHER!

A nine-year-old girl pregnant after years of alleged sexual abuse by her stepfather is likely to abort twins she is carrying in a case that has shocked Brazil, reports in Sao Paulo said on Saturday.

The Brazilian girl, who was not identified because she is a minor, was found to be four months pregnant after being taken to hospital suffering stomach pains, the news websites G1, pe360graus and the Diario de Pernambuco reported.

She was being cared for by a medical and psychological team in the Maternal-Child Institude in the northern city of Recife, close to her hometown of Alagoinha in Pernambuco state, they said.

"We don't know if she will develop the pregnancy up to the end because of the structure of her body. It is a big risk for her," the doctor who confirmed her pregnancy before she was taken to the institute, Jose Severiano Cavalcanti, told the Diario de Pernambuco.

"She doesn't have a pelvis able to support a gestation of twins," he explained.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil except in cases of rape or if the woman's health is in danger.

The institute in Recife was unable to immediately confirm information about the case, telling AFP that authorised spokespeople were not available on the weekend.

According to police accounts reported in the media, the 23-year-old stepfather was believed to have abused the girl since she was aged six, paying her one Brazilian real (about 57 US cents) for each sexual relation. He also allegedly abused the girl's physically handicapped 14-year-old sister.

He was arrested on Thursday as he attempted to flee to another region in Brazil, and was being kept in protective custody.

Pernambuco's state secretary for social development and human rights, Roldao Joaquim, was quoted on the website JC Online as saying the suspect "should pay for his savagery".

If convicted, the suspect faces up to 15 years in prison.

(c) AFP 2009

HMMM.THE EVIL THAT SOME MEN DO...

NIGERIA MONITOR-FOR A NEW AND BETTER NIGERIA

''It makes you angry when you hear that billions of dollars are siphoned by corrupt government officials who are getting filthy rich at the expense of native Nigerians who are starving, can’t get drinking water and don’t even have basic toilet facilities.Your heart hurts for your family and friends back home, who are oppressed, miserable and poverty stricken under tyrannical rule despite being surrounded by rich oil resources.You cringe with guilt for having the benefit of a good education and a comfortable life while your countrymen live in shanties, can’t learn to read, can’t leave and don’t have a decent road on which to travel.It makes you ache to think you might never step foot again in the country you love and call home.The problems and government in Nigeria seem so insurmountable, far away and massive in scope, you feel utterly powerless to do anything.We can make a differenceBut you are not powerless. You are not alone. You can do more than talk. You can inspire change. Peacefully. And who else other than us will have the passion to inspire such change?

Your Participation Counts .Absolutely nothing you have ever done or will ever do in your entire life will mean more to you than this.

Check out how you can get involved and ensure a better Nigeria here.''

Special thanks to Kwasi Akweapong of The Blacklist Pub who sent the above piece to me.

MARGUERITE BARANKITSE:AFRICA'S UNSUNG MOTHER TERESA

Ms. Marguerite Barankitse,Founder of the Maison Shalom NGO
An outstanding Burundian! Ms. Marguerite Barankitse, holder of an honorary doctorate from Université de Louvain, carries on a courageous battle for peace and reconciliation in her native Burundi. A tireless worker, she has dedicated her life to child victims of war. Marguerite—or Maggie as she prefers to be called—was born in 1956 in the village of Nyamutobo. Orphaned at a tender age, she attended a convent boarding school in Bujumbura, where she received a top-notch education. Having resolved to devote herself to teaching, she traveled 12 km on foot every day to attend normal school in Ruyigi and after graduation taught from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1983, she undertook lay religious training at the Auxilium in Lourdes. Once back in Burundi, she took up teaching again in Ruyigi, but her teaching license was revoked when she refused to apply the policy of separation by ethnicity. She left to study in Switzerland on a scholarship before returning to Ruyigi to become secretary to the bishop.
Called to lay celibacy, Marguerite Barankitse adopted seven Hutu and Tutsi children, including a Hutu girl named Chloé Ndayikunda, whose parents had been killed during the genocide of 1972. In October 1993, with the political situation deteriorating, Maggie hid dozens of Hutu adults and children at the bishop’s palace in Ruyigi. On Sunday morning, October 24, Tutsi assailants armed with clubs, machetes, and rocks attacked the palace. Maggie tried to intervene, but they knocked her aside and tied her to a chair in the courtyard, then slaughtered 72 people before her eyes and set the building on fire. After the massacre, a Rusengo student freed her in exchange for the keys to the storeroom. Bribing the rebels with money, Maggie managed to save 25 Hutu children from the burning building and hide them in the cemetery. Then as night fell, she went to get help from a German aid worker, Martin Novack, who provided them with a safe haven. Finding unexpected strength in her anger and outrage, but above all in her unwavering faith in divine providence and her love of life, she slowly but surely, in constant peril of her life, established Maison Shalom. She first set up in a run-down school on loan from the Bishop of Ruyigi. As the genocide persisted, dozens and then hundreds of children sought refuge with Maggie. To feed them all, Maggie harvested crops from family land. As the war dragged on, Maggie decided to work the land with the children to produce food. She organized a mutual assistance system irrespective of tribe, religion, and social origin, in which her older charges looked after the younger ones.
At first, her work was funded by grants from Germany. Later, thanks to friends she had made during her time in Europe, international aid has helped support many additional projects. She opened two more centers for traumatized and injured children: Oasis of Peace and House of Peace. To help provide a future for these growing children, Maison Shalom developed into a network of “villages,” where the children could grow and develop within “families,” and take their lives in hand. For Maggie, the top priority remains to teach these children peace and forgiveness. To date, Maison Shalom has helped over 50,000 children and adults. In July, 2007, the mother-child center—built by the Belgian and Burundian armies on land belonging to Maggie’s family and donated to the Maison Shalom NGO—was inaugurated. In addition, a 120 bed hospital called “Rema,” (an expression of comfort and support in Kirundi) is slated to open in 2008.
Maggie is both the Mother Theresa and the Abbé Pierre of Burundi. Her message, “Love always triumphs,” echoes time and again as she travels the world. “Evil will never have the final word. Faith and love can move mountains of hate.” Maggie is proud to display her faith. “It is prayer that keeps me going. The Eucharist is my source of true courage,” she says. In recognition of her humanitarian and peace-building efforts, Maggie has received numerous international awards.

Excerpted from www..cei2008.ca/en/biomargueritebarankitse.