SPICE debuts!

SPICE is an all fashion and style magazine for the discerning. Grab your copy; call 0803-328-6604, 0702-808-9176, or visit your nearest vendor. More outlets soon!

EKO DIALOGUE now available worldwide!

Hi bloggers!

You can now get your copy of EKO DIALOGUE, a witty collection of short stories anywhere you are in the woooooooorllllld!!!!

Visit http://www.naijareads.com and place your order today. We deliver to any destination in the world!

Eko Dialogue is fast-paced, brilliant and fluid you almost feel the blares, toots and cynicism of Eko (Lagos) literally come alive and jump straight at you. Promise me you'll get your copy *wink*

Looking forward to hear from y'all!

Happy reading!

Isi.

NNENNA OKORE HOLDS FIRST MAJOR EXHIBITION IN NIGERIA

Nnenna Okore, the talented and internationally acclaimed sculptor and installation artist, returns to Nigeria to hold her first major art exhibition beginning June 20th, 4pm, at the Goethe Institut in Lagos. After a successful series of exhibitions at galleries in the US and the UK, the Assistant Professor of Art at North Park University, Chicago will bring her vibrant and constructive approach to sculptural and installation art to a keen Nigerian art audience. The exhibition will be opened by her former professor and mentor at the University of Nsukka and famed art sculptor in his own right El Anatsui. Nnenna often uses materials found in urban environments. Her artworks reflect the way that natural and man-made materials evolve, decay and transform, while other pieces can take on the character and flowing shape of traditional woven cloths or elements of nature. She has received several awards and residencies worldwide, and has been exhibited in several prestigious galleries and museums including the Museum of Art and Design, New York and the October Gallery, London. The German Cultural center, the Goethe Institut are her hosts for this show presented by Kachifo Limited, publishers of Farafina Books.
This event is sponsored by DANA AIR and proudly supported by FARAFINA.
The show runs at the Goethe Institut from June 20th until July 10th. Learn more about this artist by logging on to www.nnennaokore.com

Hiya peeps!

Be my darls and check out http://jollykids-isi.blogspot.com/

My experience as a mother has taught me one thing: mothers need all the help they can get!
Oh yes, I have had many challenges as a mother; like most other mothers out there, it is a problem keeping a day job because nannies and helps quit on me at dare moments; and sometimes it's hard to think straight with the kids jumping all over the place, turning your once spotless home into a hub of chaos!
And when kids want something - THEY WANT SOMETHING! It never crosses their mind if you can give them that 100% attention they desire.

So Jolly Kids is a business I will be dedicating all of my efforts.

Apart from your weekly shopping, we spend hours with mothers in caring for their little angels.
If you need to celebrate your babies birthday and you do not wish to raise a muscle, we are here to make it work!

Do check out the blog and give me a call!

Motherhood is bliss!

The Hushed Voices.

It just doesn’t feel contextually appropriate to pick up a typical fashion/lifestyle magazine and be weighed down by the shocking true life story of a minor, barely six, repeatedly abused by an uncle, only to flip through the other pages and see the smiling faces of ‘fashionistas’ in their usual pomp and swish garbs. Cant really pinpoint my grouse here, but there just seemed to be no consistency in the theme, how could I for the love of humanity, have been expected to read a thing as despicable as that in one minute, shrug my shoulders, with a deep stomach wrenching sigh, make the sign of the cross and pray it doesn’t happen to my child, and in the next minute flip on to read other cheerful things about, well, fashion extraordinaire? How convenient could that possibly be? Were it a script from Nollywood, perhaps it might have been tolerable to have inserts of commercials jabbering irrelevantly. It is not something that took place in a foreign land that alienates me from the surrounding area; it is a true story of a 28 year-old Nigerian girl, an undergraduate of the University of Lagos who may never get her life straightened out for the reason that her uncle turned her into a sex slave to relieve himself of his most perverted fantasies many years ago when she was a child. That this story appeared in a fashion magazine is in itself nothing to raise hue about, but that it was rendered mechanically without any apparent interest or intent to bring the perpetrator to justice, the victim to solace or the readers to justification is perhaps the heart wrenching aspect. How are we supposed to get over such an issue if it is obvious that the status-qou is not being questioned, and justice is not being sought? Perhaps we are only expected to turn away and pray the news spreads to every home in Nigeria in the hope that mothers will be alerted that paedophiles are everywhere, but untouchable?
Who are these paedophiles? Our uncles, fathers, cousins, nephews, teachers, priests, and nannies? The people who should protect the little ones? The ones whom the children put their utmost trust in?
My grouse spreads across my face like a scar. Issues like paedophilia is not a ‘Super Story’ episode on Thursday evening when dad and mum leaves work early enough to sit with the kids with an accompaniment of soft drinks waiting to be entertained; it is an issue that should incite, provoke and bring forth tangible answers and pragmatic results.
Why are these things happening? And most of all why do we keep ‘quiet’? We talk, but we hide under pseudonyms that protect identities…and ultimately shield these psychologically imbalanced offenders. Our shame is in our silence. Nobody is talking. Our dishonour is in the culture that protects the depraved adults.
There are many stories of this kind, children abused by relatives, and the most horrifying detail is in the fact that it goes on for years, scarring the child emotional and leaving him/her traumatised for many years to come. And when it is time to voice out the pain which may now be too heavy to bear, the offender is either dead, sorry, or ‘untouchable’ – you know, an important figure in society; or in many cases the victim is unwilling to go the whole mile. She is still cautious, counting her losses, while society overwhelms her with its role of tradition.

I had interviewed a victim of paedophilia once. She was sexually molested by two uncles on different occasions. She talked about the episode, capturing details of the horrific incidents, I cringed. Apart from the article which was featured on, yes, a lifestyle/fashion magazine, she was going to write a book about her experience. I was glad, at least her identity was not concealed and I am certain the offenders will not be either as they are now exposed to the family and the world in general, it gives hope that some child will be saved soon enough from their grip, what relief!

But that is just one case out of a hundred quiet ‘pseudonym-ized’ circumstances.

What are the other victims doing? Some have been able to move ahead leaving their ‘shame’ behind, marry the men of their dreams and have their own children, they are sheltered; and a large number of husbands are not even aware of what had transpired between their wives and that 65 year-old uncle who they (the wives) plainly refuse to speak to beyond a ‘hello’ whenever they meet at family gatherings. Uncle is happy she is ashamed, his act is protected. He can go ahead and continue in his abominations; like her, the little ones will not be able to speak either, time will pass and their pain will dissipate and the chain remians unbroken.

Others end up like Kate, the unreal name of the 28 year old abused, who swears never to get married. She is in pain, her life is altered, but her uncle is untainted by his past. He has moved on to greater heights – of course he has his family, a doting wife, I presume, children he buys sneakers for, who travel to Dubai for vacation, and now he sits in a position of influence. His secret will die with him, he is certain of that because he knows you are a coward.

Oh dear, but that is what it is. That is the bed in which paedophilia rests on, unlike other crimes like robbery and drug abuse where people cry foul immediately it happens, a woman is concerned of how she is looked upon if the world knows she has been tampered with - men will not propose, friends will run away, society might even blame you. Like in cases where the child is said to be dressed provocatively, she is blamed partly for her abuse. Have you heard anything so sick? It is as off-coloured as the act itself!

Be rest assured that even if you are 3 years old and a relative beats you to submit to a shameful act of abuse, there are still some people, psychologically imbalanced individuals, who will assume the act to be minor, and tell you, ‘maybe, in some ways, it was your fault.’
It is true, a larger number of the society will interpret your cause in many ways vexing of the spirit. Still, it is your duty to save the next child and not camouflage in a garb that makes you a fictional character - one they are unable to relate with; be the heroine who stands and makes her voice heard in the hope of restoring a society of its madness.

Our love for ‘family’ that makes it impossible for us to point out the rotten eggs in our midst for proper penalty is probably the pits of it all. It is those ‘family’ roles we play that is most shameful – mothers who will not listen to their children when they cry out, ‘Do you know what Uncle did to me?’
Kate was slapped across the cheeks when she tried to speak to her mother years ago about the abuse, so goes her tale.
A society that refuses to pry – oh, we pry alright into the closets of celebrities. But while we are busy dissecting the livee of super stars, we should take the time to look through the windows of our neighbours. What do you see?

Report to the authorities if an uncle has his manhood inserted in the mouth of his five-year old niece!

This thing that i talk about...

A couple of friends who read my blog are worried about my ‘sudden’ stance against get-some-money-and-blow-your-trumpet conduct that is all the rage these days. I made them understand that I have always had a problem with this kind of mentality, and have only been talking to ears that would listen…it just so happens that there are more ears listening now (probably because my cry is now on a roof top? Lol!).
But anyway, they are concerned that I stand out like a sore thumb.
Point of correction: ‘I stand out like a bright star,’ I say and laugh my heart out.
‘You see,’ Cee says, ‘You are just as vain as they are, you blow your own trumpet…’

Now that’s a good point. But I then realise that Cee and the rest of them do not understand my grouse. I am not against vanity; you cannot rid humans of a little pride whether it is in the form of a power-bike, posh ride, high-paying job, high-class friends or elite livelihood of any form. It is in our nature to want to fly our kites and get the world to see.

What I insist we do when we swank and swag is to be cautious of the ingenuous, gullible youth who sits back and watches our ways only to mimic and imitate.

We need to guard this generation of enthusiastic youths, who are looking to learn and grow, from our own insecurities - we owe them that much.

What really are we teaching them?

Last weekend I was in a club with my hubby when Eldee’s song Big Boy was played (yes, I dance to it! lol!) and whilst the beat was on, the DeeJay stopped the music which created a momentous pause, and he said…

‘Who amongst you own a Bentley?’ (a couple of silly hands actually went up)
‘All y’all recognise that they are BIG BOYS!’ the Deejay roared.

Then someone from the crowd screamed, ‘I own a Rolls Royce dawg, I’m a big nigger!’

That negro, with his jeans below his butt revealing grotesque underwear couldn’t be any day older than 27… he is in the league of an arrested generation trapped in a hollow world; and so is the ignorant bearded DeeJay!

Last week, my fifteen year old cousin who schools at UniLag came over to pay my family a visit, and we got talking about school and his choice of friends…

‘so who is your best friend now that Deji (his childhood friend who had relocated to the UK after secondary school) is away?’ I ask.

‘My new friend is Bayo.’

‘Ok, so tell me about Bayo,’ I say

Then my cousin goes… ‘Oh, he lives in lekki, he’s mum drives a range rover – hot piece of metal! He’s got a camry for himself, and his older brother actually lives in that house that’s got a swimming pool on the roof!’

If that is the best description a 15 year old can give about his best friend, then we are all in trouble – we just don’t know it yet!

So please if you don’t like what I preach, move over!

My point is clear: there’s nothing wrong in a little ego-stroking; MI says ‘I make green/you go green’ (or something like that) – that’s ego-stroking, it would have little effect on the mentality of a child. It’s just a feel-good verse which is permissible.

But I stand against blatant words that segregate and inflate, creating pomposity that wrecks the common sense of modesty that should be left unhindered. We should not encumber our youths with the leftovers of our own exaggerations, void of any substance.

Na wa! Too much grammar, but you get my drift? Lol!

Lyrically speaking...

2008 was a high for Nigerian music and artistes; I wonder what’s going to be thumping this year, and ask Nigeria’s critically-acclaimed music authority Ayeni Adekunle his thoughts on music, beats, awards, lyrics, and the bang and eruption of our acts.


I like the graffiti on Ayeni’s dark jacket, a tattooed embellishment with sudden glitters. He holds a smile and a cup of tea that he watches over with caution. Ayeni’s thoughts on music is fair, without unnecessary prejudice; a trait that eludes the many jaundiced-eye reporting of our time.
So naturally, I ask the first question on flawed information.
‘So MI’s CD raked thousands of sales in only thirty minutes?’ this was rhetorical, of course.

‘Come on Joy, don’t tell me you believe that.’

I shrug.

‘It isn’t as simple as it sounds,” Ayeni says, “vendors coming to pick CDs in the market doesn’t necessarily translate to money in the bank. It has to get to the buyers…”

‘ah, but I thought…” my words trail off.

I was a top fan of music in 2008, a lot of surprises and experimentation that worked. Ayeni agrees, taking me back to prophesy he made in January 2008.
“It was an article in ThisDay and I stated that 2008 was going to be a year of music.”
9ice had dropped Gongo Aso in October 2007, Asa had also released her songs - two remarkable albums free of bogus claims, faux or needless airs.
“I love Asa,” I say.
“Oh yes, she’s a good one,” Ayeni agrees, “she brandishes high hands and everybody from carpenters to mechanics, shoe makers, and bankers, all love her music; that means you can still do good high-profile music and still capture the Nigerian fans, the larger audience who we think are apathetic to first-class materials. 9ice proved the same point – local music doesn’t have to be pedestrian. ”

I remember my introduction to 9ice’s Gongo Aso in 2007; he’s style was novel, puff of air with a difference. And with his lead, 2008 emerged with a new wave sweeping through the entire industry.
Timaya was part of that current.

“Timaya proved us all wrong. He made us believe that no matter where you are, whether Port Harcourt or Bayelsa state, if you make good music you can still conquer Lagos,” Ayeni states.

No doubt, Lagos is the music nerve-centre, and Timaya was on everyone’s music list even without having a single video!

“Without a video Timaya took over the clubs! We already knew who he was before the video he featured with 2shots was aired,” Ayeni says.

Indeed 2008 was a year of redefinition, one that will unveil its intent in the new year.

We talk about MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARD which held its debut in Nigeria. Of course, it is a general consensus that when an MTV comes to town, it brings with it bags of largesse, one that contains high-class professionalism, expertise, flair, and high-speed, better quality production and performance. But what did we get?

“It was a big disappointment,” Ayeni frowns, “Everyone can tell that they squandered all of 6 million dollars. It was a let down. This is a body that has a global reputation; they have held events all over the world. We are supposed to be learning from them, but they come to Nigeria and can’t even get their sound system right, they have no clue who the respected music shakers are in this part, and they couldn’t even get something as simple as categorization right!”

This categorization would have something to do with 9ice winning best Hip Hop act – a genre he obviously shouldn’t be labelled under. But he won it, winning acts like Nas – one of the world’s best lyricists, and Lil Wayne - the hottest Hip Hop act of the moment. “Ridiculous,” I cackle.

“They also had P-square, Alicia Keys and Rihanna in the same category. They had no reserved seats for people like Dele Momodu or Ben Bruce, but had six reserved seats for Munachi Abi.”

I intend to ask if the rest of Munachi’s reserved seats were for her crown, the tail of her evening gown, a boyfriend, a best friend, and um… her best sibling, but I go ahead and ask about a more sober question.

“Who was your favourite artiste for 2008?”

“It would be 9ice. Young people these days suffer from a very dangerous complex, we think anything foreign is better than ours. We wear foreign labels, listen to foreign music, we speak in tongues. We don’t even speak our dialect. 9ice got everybody speaking his dialect, we love him for that. I was happy that someone in my own time can teach young people how not to dump your culture, language, or lifestyle; for me it was a revolution. Dbanj, I am not particularly a fan of his music, but Dbanj is teaching young artistes the act of entrepreneurship. You see, I grew up in a home where no one will do anything for you, I grew up in a polygamous home, where you have to know where you are going to and what you are doing, so I can liken it with the music industry in Nigeria. The structures are not there, there are no labels, no managers, so as an artiste you need to learn to be an entrepreneur. So for me Dbanj is using the attention he has now to build an empire for himself. He’s definitely still on our radar!
In 2008, for the first time ever, he had a sitting governor and a past governor attend his album launch. He is building his brand, importing his own line of phone, packaging water, therefore expanding his brand; and that is the future! Dbanj teaches his colleagues and young people that it is not all about playing shows and doing hit songs, you need to establish yourself so that when your reign is over, when the fans put you in a corner and embrace another act, you will still be in the business of money-making. As I was driving down I was listening to Blackky’s song, ‘Rosie’. When Blackky was the reigning king nobody would have thought there will come a time when his songs will be trite. When Michael Jackson did ‘Thriller’, who would have imagined it would all be over? So no matter what you are, some day some kid will come and kick you away; what will you fall back on then, especially at a time when most artistes do not have the grace to trade? So they need to establish themselves as entrepreneurs. For that, Dbanj earns my respect. I will also give a lot of respect to Asa, who made high music fashionable again.”

It dawns on me that apart from Asa, every other female act seems pale. But I am quick to mention to Ayeni that I do not consider Ashionye a musician.

“Ashionye might not have found the right way to express her talent. She is trying to be a …”

“Beyonce!” I interrupt, bursting into uncontrollable laughter

“Yes, and it is obviously not working for her,” Ayeni continues. “She has a little bit of talent, she has more talent than Omotola, more talent than Goldie.”

I ask his predictions for 2009, and tell him how soulful Dare Art Alade’s new single ‘Not the girl’ is; but the song is like de ja vu, it sounds too familiar.

“It is written by Cobhams and Dare…” he mentions.

And I remember Cobhams must have done a rendition on it the year I received a LEAP Africa award at the Agip Hall in Muson.

“Almost all the artistes out there are not always sure what will sell, so you need to balance your song with a little bit of raggae, and a little bit of this and that. As far as I am concern that is for the immature. If you are going to see an Aretha Franklin show you know what to expect, if you are going to see a Jay Z show you know what to expect. This year, I hope many of them come into their own and be recognised for their genre. After a couple of hit and miss, someone like Dare is trying to build his brand and his kind of music, it is risky but that’s the way to go,” Ayeni states.

I chuckle as I mention the whole brouhaha between Modenine and Ruggedman. But seriously, I ask if truly Ruggedman is a rapper or just a ‘beefer’ – complaining about wack emcees… But hasn’t his nemesis arrived, spiting a lot more venom than he can ever imagine?

“He can rap,” Ayeni states, “he is an ok rapper; but everybody has their own limitations. Modenine is the hardest working rapper on this continent. I do not like Modenine as a person; I think he is very arrogant. Modenine also has a lot of personality issues. Rugged man is a regular guy, if he comes in you will flow with him like a regular guy; but you can not hide the fact that Modenine is hard working, he hons his skills with the diligence of a bee. That was what attracted every body to Nas; at a point in which people are saying rappers are never-do-wells, Nas came and brought up intellectual issues on astronomy, medicine, metaphysics, literature, and the world was loving it. That is what Modenine has. He works really hard and he is a better lyricist than Rugged man, but that does not mean Rugged Man is not a good artiste; but at the end of the day how will history books remember them? Rugged man will be remembered as the guy who saved rap music in Nigeria. He saved us from the likes of Eedris Abdulkareem; but having said that, he needs to reinvent himself. Modenine is the guy who says you can do art for the love of art. Modenine will not compromise his quality, he will not say because he needs to sell he will experiment with stuff. He is proud of his art and he knows what he can do!”

And then I giggle all the way to my office miming the lyrics – ‘I’m the shit-man, you are the shit packer.”
Classic!