Lagos storm Notting Hill Carnival in London

The sound and sight of Lagos will on Monday dominate the popular Nothinghill Carnival in London as the #LoveLagosWeekend campaign enters Day three.
To this end, the popular Nigerian Corner on Adelaja street at Nottinghill carnival will on Monday transform to Lagos Corner courtesy of the Lagos branding campaign by the Lagos State Government that has taken the city of London by storm since Saturday.
The #LoveLagosWeekend started on Saturday with a town hall meeting and media parley addressed by Lagos State top officials and continued on Saturday evening at I Laugh with MC Abbey and the Love Lagos Crack Ya Ribs with Julius Agu on Sunday.

Promoter of the Lagos Corner, Mr. Ayo Sonaiya said that Monday’s event coincides with the Nothinghill Carnival’s 50th edition.
“We are happy that at a time that Lagos State is counting down to its 50th anniversary, the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is using the huge platform of Nothinghill Carnival, which is also celebrating its 50th edition this year to reach out to millions of Nigerians and Lagosians in particular about the emerging powerful brand that Lagos has become in the areas of arts and entertainment and in connecting with the Diaspora about the great things being recorded in Lagos,” he said.

The Lagos Corner will provide a veritable platform for performing artistes from Lagos State to showcase their talents and further give verve to Brand Lagos as the home of creativity.
The Love Lagos Weekend, according to the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, is a three-day event designed to communicate the Lagos tourism brand initiative to the world.

Sally Mbanefo, endorsed moves by Nigerian producers to shoot movies at the nation’s numerous tourism sites.

Director General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, recently endorsed moves by Nigerian producers to shoot movies at the nation’s numerous tourism sites.

She spoke during a visit by a delegation of Black Tower Gong Production Limited, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Odera Ozoka, and Nollywood producer, Mr. Mahmood Ali Balogun, to the headquarters of the corporation in Abuja. Mbanefo stated that the move would boost the campaign towards promoting the country’s tourism industry.

While commending the initiatives of the executive producer of the film, A Forgotten Place, (a film that articulates Nigeria’s tourism potentials) in complementing government’s tourism promotion efforts, Mbanefo said the initiative would help drive the industry. Apart from showcasing Nigerian culture and creative ingenuity, the D.G maintained that the setting of such movies also provides vital information about the country and its other potentials.

ADIRE HERITAGE FESTIVAL 2016

WHAT IS ADIRE?

Adire is the name given to indigo dyed cloth produced by Yoruba women of south western Nigeria using a variety of resist dye techniques. Adire translates as tie and dye, and the earliest cloths were probably simple tied designs on locally-woven hand-spun cotton cloth much like those still produced in Mali. In the early decades of the twentieth century however, the new access to large quantities of imported shirting material made possible by the spread European textiles merchants in certain Yoruba towns, notably Abeokuta, enabled women dyers to become both artist and entrepreneurs in a booming new medium. New techniques of resist dyeing were developed, most notably the practice of hand painting designs on the cloth with a cassava starch paste prior to dyeing. This was known as Adire Eleko.

Alongside these a new a new style was soon developed that speeded up decoration by using metal stencil cut from the sheets of tin that lined tea-chest. Another method was to use sewn raffia, sometimes in combination with tied sections, while other clothes were simply folded repeatedly and tied or stitched in a place.

How and what made Oyo Empire colapse

Shortly after Oyo Empire expanded her influence westwards, capturing Port Novo and making Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic) a vassal state pay tributes of 40 guns and 400 loads of cowries and corals regularly to Oyo, of course after phases of wars that made Oyo army a dread to the Dahomeyans, Alafin (Emperor) Labisi appointed a new Basorun (Prime Minister). 

To check the Alaafin from becoming too dictatorial, the Prime Minister according to the constitution could pass a vote of no confidence that would turn the Oyo Mesi (Legislators) against the Alaafin and an empty calabash would be handed to the emperor signaling that he was required commit suicide and pave way for a new Alaafin since the Oyo Mesi had lost confidence in his rule.

The Basorun was a high priest controlling all the cults except Sango and Ifa, so this could make him declare that the ancestors and Heavens had lost confidence in an Alaafin. Prior to the appointment of Ga, the unwritten constitution of the empire had been amended from the more ancient style that the Aremo (heir apparent) ruled after an Alaafin passed on.

The new constitution demanded that the heir apparent died with the Alaafin so as to pass on succession without disputes and in a way make the monarchical system a sort of republic. This made Basorun Ga more powerful. Ga became despotic and power drunk and from the slightest accusation that an Alaafin or his Prince disrespected the Oyo Mesi to the accusation that an Alaafin was assuming airs of superiority, Basorun Ga raised five Alaafins to the throne and successively destroyed four of them.

He and his family ruled despotically for twenty years, almost as if they were the Alaafins. By the reign of the fifth emperor, Alaafin Abiodun, the people were fed up of Ga’s dictatorship. On an appointed day, with the support of Are-Ona Kakanfo (Military Commander of Oyo army) Oyabi, the Alaafin and the people broke the jinx of Ga’s powerful magic and rounded up all his family (except Ojo, Ga’s first son) and were seized and killed, Ga himself was burnt to death in his house.

Abiodun’s reign then went on peacefully and lasted from 1774 to 1789, his was a golden reign. However, the center was no longer holding the seams of the Empire together after 20 years of internal imbalance triggered by Ga. Taking advantage of the lawless years, Egba province under the warrior, Lishabi, had proclaimed their independence and migrated towards their present location in Abeokuta. The Egbas had been aggrieved by the oppression of the resident Ilaris (governors) in their three provinces within the empire and the absence of any authority to hold them in check.

African Teams that Lit up the Rio Olympic Opening Ceremony

The Rio 2016 opening ceremony began with a bang. As the first Olympics to be held on South American soil came to life in stunning fashion after months of negative publicity on and off the track.

207 countries took part in the famed parade of nations (including a team made up of refugees) as each team soaked up the grandeur before the hard work of competition started. Some African teams at the ceremony came out in formal suits, but we take a look at five teams that rocked their local attire.

1.

Burundi

Not to be mistaken for javelin competitors, the Burundi team stand out in this beautiful two-piece attire finished off with neon trainers. Stylish!!!

Members of Burundi walk during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games © Jamie Squire /Getty

2.

Cameroon

Colourful ensemble by the Cameroonian women at Rio. No doubt a post-ceremony party played a role in the choice of this outfit.

Cameroon’s delegation parade during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games © Olivier Morin
AFP/Getty

3.

Mali

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The Mali team show that they will be competing clean at Rio with their all-white attires.

UNWTO to Help Boost Tourism in Nigeria

The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has rolled out a number of measures, including technical assistance, capacity building and the revision of the country's Tourism Master Plan, as part of efforts to ensure the development of tourism in the country.

The UN Agency announced the measures, which also include the organisation of international conferences in Nigeria and the certification of tourism courses, at the end of a recent two-day meeting between the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the global tourism agency in Madrid, Spain.

At the meeting, held at the headquarters of the UNWTO, Nigeria also expressed interest in hosting the 60th meeting of the global Agency's Commission for Africa in 2018 in order to attract global attention to tourism in the country.

In addition, the global agency is widening access to its e-library for Nigerian tourism officials and offering support for relevant tourism institutions and agencies in Nigeria.

Miss BumBum 2016 contestants brought traffic to a standstill

The annual Miss Bumbum contest, Brazil’s most popular beauty pageant, contestants put on ‘butt-

iful’ display on the streets of Brazil yesterday by running in their own 100-metre sprint – in nothing

but skimpy, bum flaunting bikinis. this brought traffic to a standstill as they ran down the famous 

Avenida Paulista, the main street of the country’s biggest city Sao Paulo. It was quite an eye-popping 

time yesterday in Brazil when the 27 women competing to win the title of best buttocks in Brazil got 

into the Olympic spirit. 

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