Which reminds me…earlier this week, MEND issued a statement threatening to carry out attacks on muslims and mosques in Nigeria “in defense of Christianity”, a response to the terror Boko Haram has waged in the northern states. 

nigerianostalgia:

West African wisdom stories and animal fables.

1. The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter
2. How a Hunter obtained Money from his Friends the Leopard, Goat, Bush Cat, and Cock, and how he got out of repaying them
3. The Woman with two Skins.
4. The King’s Magic Drum
5.

So excited to read these!!

I just had to comment on the manner in which Ghana lost their game to Burkina Faso. You know, I can’t even be mad, because Burkina Faso was putting in work, but REALLY? I was shipping a Ghana v. Nigeria final. Would have loooovvveeeddd to see all the sad internet fights over that one. 

All I know is that Asamoah Gyan is like “Y’all can’t blame this one on me” OH YES WE CAN. I need a scapegoat and I’ve picked you. Though I am sorry that the ref wasn’t looking when homie with the braids was kicking you. Ain’t nobody got time for that. 

prepaidafrica:

How mobile phones are being used to combat the trade in fake medicines - mPedigree invented by Ghanaian Bright Simons.

“When the patient picks the medicine off the shelf they scratch the panel to reveal a unique number or code,” says the Ghanaian entrepreneur Bright Simons.

“The consumer takes out a mobile phone and sends the code to a toll-free number,” he explains.

Standing in a market in Lagos, the founder of the organisation mPedigree tests out the technology.

Within two seconds of texting the number from a pack of anti-malaria medicine, a message appears on his phone with the word “YES” - a simple response meaning the drug is genuine.

“This allows even illiterate people to latch on,” says Mr Simons

(via BBC News - Nigerian texters to take on the drug counterfeiters)

nigerianostalgia:

More Vintage Nigerian photos

(via dynamicafrica)

cosmicyoruba:

courtneyyaa:

Whole Foods what the FUCK is this? If you’re going to attempt to recreate food from my culture at least get it right! First off, when has there ever been potatoes in jollof? Second, just stop. Stop. I hate pretentious people, usually white people, who like to come across as ‘cultured’ by saying they eat ethnic food. “Oh I love Indian food!” “Thai is my ultimate FAV” like -_-

It’s these same people who say there are starving children in ‘Africa’ as if the continent were a super country.

If there’s one thing I’m very protective of its my culture and continent which I still have VERY strong ties to.

But we should be happy that white people are showing interest in our foods because this gives our culture legitimacy. You know we all need that white stamp of approval, and if our culture is loved by white people, it will be internationally recognised…or something.

#sarcasm o

I’m just waiting to come across people who say they don’t like jollof rice based on the travesty above.

WHOLE FOODS. WHOLE FOODS WHAT ARE YOU DOING??

STOP IT YOU ARE TRAUMATIZING ME.

(via thefemaletyrant)

heritage1960:

CNN | Hey Big Spender, Nigerians Shop Till They Drop In London

On African consumers who shop at Selfridges:

“Africa is growing from strength to strength and particularly in the last 12 to 18 months we’ve seen Nigeria come through incredibly strongly,” explains Sue West, director of operations at up-market London department store Selfridges.

Continue reading here.

(Source: woodyallenslovechild, via )

More than a century ago, as European powers competed for Africa’s resources, ancient art treasures from an ancient kingdom were stolen. 
 
What was once the ancient Kingdom of Benin is now the heart of the Nigerian art world, with statues adorning the streets and an art museum in the Benin City town square.  But locals say the displayed art is only part of Benin’s collection.  They say British colonials stole nearly 4,000 pieces more than a century ago.  
 
“Originally these objects belonged to the Benin people, and the Benin people want them back,” stated Umogbai Theophilus, curator for Nigeria’s National Museum in Benin City. “So I am using this opportunity to send that message across that the objects taken away in 1897 through raw aggression by the Europeans should come back to their rightful owners, the Benins.”

Theophilus says after decades of negotiations, some Benin art has been sent back to Nigeria. “In the past we have had successes, but they were very modest compared to what was taken awa,” he said.

The art was taken at the end of the 19th century when the British launched a “punitive expedition” in retaliation for what they said was Benin aggression, sacking the city and deposing the king or “Oba.”
 
Local artist Williams Edosowan says art in Benin is more than just decoration.  It is how they record their history. “They stole many of our art-craft from the palace.  During those days any event that happened, we used to create art work to [remember] the event,” he recalled.
 
Collectors argue that the history of Benin Kingdom is kept alive by the art as it travels the world.  Critics also say repatriating the art requires more commitment from Nigerian officials.  Artists in Benin City say every piece lost is a lost piece of their history.

Source: VOA

Photos: The year’s 25 most dramatic moments in world news

I loved this. Great photos and a wonderful variety of news stories from all over the world. 

Africa: Where Black is Not Really Beautiful 

South Africa is marketed to the world as Mandela’s rainbow nation, where everyone is proud of their race and heritage. But for some black South Africans there is such a thing as being too black.

A recent study by the University of Cape Town suggests that one woman in three in South Africa bleaches her skin. The reasons for this are as varied as the cultures in this country but most people say they use skin-lighteners because they want “white skin”.

Local musician Nomasonto “Mshoza” Mnisi, now several shades lighter, says her new skin makes her feel more beautiful and confident.

She has been widely criticised in the local media and social networking sites for her appearance but the 30-year-old says skin-bleaching is a personal choice, no different from breast implants or a having nose job.

…The World Health Organization has reported that Nigerians are the highest users of such products: 77% of Nigerian women use the products on a regular basis. They are followed by Togo with 59%; South Africa with 35%; and Mali at 25%.

Read full article here

Source: BBC

10 Contested African Images of 2012

As it prepares to release more moribund figures, RIM is looking to Africa for insulation 

Research in Motion is set to unveil a third straight quarter of losses on Thursday, and as well as touting the launch of its BlackBerry 10 smartphones as the solution to falling market shares in the US and UK, the Canadian group is looking for regional growth pockets. It seems to think it has found that in Africa.

The company does not publish revenue from Africa, but RIM’s performance in the region, where it is the number one smartphone vendor, has been strong. South Africa, where it holds a 45 percent market share, is the company’s fourth biggest world market, after the UK, Indonesia and the US, according to Canalys, the research group; and in 2011, buoyed by preferential tariffs, BlackBerry shipments to the country grew 523 percent. In Nigeria, where huge mobile market growth rates recently prompted RIM to open its first retail store in the country, BlackBerries account for half of all 4m smartphones subscriptions, Informa Telecoms & Media says.

As one of the few regions in which RIM is still dominates, the continent is clawing its way up the group’s priority list. When it releases BlackBerry 10 – the next-generation devices it hopes will revive its fortunes – on January 30, South Africa and Nigeria will receive the new phones in the first sales wave.

Read on here

Some civil society groups in West Africa have condemned the ‘undemocratic conducts” and “utterances’ of former President Olusegun Obasanjo during election monitoring assignments in the sub-region. They have asked the sub-regional political organisation, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to axe the former President from subsequent assignments.

In an open letter to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) said it is “[deeply] concerned” by the “utterances, positions, recommendations and past records of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while on Elections Observation duty in several countries across the West African region.”

Read on here

See letter here