One Needle, One Syringe, Only ONE Time

One needle, One syringe, Only ONE Time


Healthcare Coalition Launches New Training Video to halt spread of infections and address a serious public health problem


ATLANTA, May 26, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — To help healthcare workers improve patient safety, the Safe Injection Practices Coalition (SIPC) is launching a new educational video for U.S. healthcare providers that is a straight-to-the-point, 10-minute lesson on safe injection practices.

The video is targeted to healthcare providers who regularly administer or supervise injections and is about their responsibility to protect patients from healthcare-associated infections. The video is based on evidence-based and common sense safe injection practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recent outbreaks and patient notifications show the need for continued training about unsafe injection practices.

The 10-minute video promotes safe injection practices by showing healthcare providers working in situations where injections are given. By dispelling common misperceptions, such as the belief that it is safe to administer medication from single-dose vials to multiple patients, the video discusses basic, evidence-based precautions, that must be used at all times to protect patients and prevent disease transmission due to unsafe injection practices.

“One infection due to unsafe injection practices is unacceptable,” says Dr. Michael Bell, deputy director for infection control at CDC and narrator of the video. “Every healthcare provider has the responsibility to ensure that all injections given to patients are safe, and we hope that this video will help make that happen.”

Dr. Evelyn McKnight, Au.D., president and co-founder of the Hepatitis Outbreaks National Organization for Reform (HONOReform) Foundation, and a SIPC member who is featured in the video, was battling a recurrence of breast cancer when she became one of 99 Nebraska cancer patients to be infected with hepatitis C virus because her healthcare providers reused syringes to access a shared bag of saline.

“By addressing the urgent need for education and heightened awareness about safe injection practices, we hope to avoid further tragedies,” says McKnight. “Through this and other Coalition-led educational activities, we hope to make outbreaks due to syringe reuse ‘never’ events. No patient should ever have to worry about contracting a disease while seeking medical care or treatment.”

The video is part of the One & Only Campaign, a national public health education and awareness initiative developed by the SIPC. SIPC is comprised of patient advocacy organizations, foundations, provider associations and industry partners, together with CDC, and has united to halt disease transmission caused by unsafe injection practices in United States healthcare facilities. The campaign name refers to the importance of healthcare personnel using “one needle, one syringe, only one time” to protect patients from bloodborne viruses and other pathogens.



Toll of Unsafe Injection Practices
Since 1999, more than 125,000 Americans have received letters alerting them of potential exposure to infection with hepatitis viruses or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to unsafe injection practices such as the reuse of syringes, according to CDC.

A lack of understanding of and adherence to safe injection practices by healthcare personnel has resulted in more than 30 outbreaks of viral hepatitis and other healthcare-associated infections in the United States since 1999. Most of these outbreaks and infections occurred in non-hospital healthcare facilities, according to CDC. A patient notification resulting from unsafe injection practices at an endoscopy clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008 required health officials to alert more than 50,000 patients who had been potentially exposed to bloodborne viruses.

In addition to the toll on physical and emotional health, these outbreaks are costly. The patient notification, response and testing of the hepatitis C outbreak at the Las Vegas, Nevada endoscopy clinic is estimated to have cost between $16 million and $21 million.

The video can be viewed at the One & Only Campaign Web site, www.oneandonlycampaign.org.



About the Safe Injection Practices Coalition
Founded in June 2008, the Safe Injection Practices Coalition is comprised of patient advocacy organizations, foundations, provider associations, industry partners and CDC, and united to halt unsafe injection practices. The Coalition focuses its efforts on advancing and promoting safe injection practices by informing and educating healthcare professionals and the public, especially in outpatient settings. Issues of particular concern include the reuse of syringes and misuse of single-use and multi-dose vials. In addition to creating and distributing the Safe Injection Practices Video for Healthcare Providers, the Coalition has launched pilot campaigns promoting safe injection practices in Nevada and New York, two states in which disease outbreaks have occurred.

Coalition partners include the following organizations: Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), Ambulatory Surgery Foundation, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC), BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC Foundation, Covidien, Hospira, HONOReform Foundation, National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO), Nebraska Medical Association (NMA), Nevada State Medical Association (NSMA), and Premier healthcare alliance.



Media Contacts:
Janet Skidmore
215-658-4915 (landline)
215-429-2917 (mobile)
skidmorecomm@earthlink.net

Karen Orwin
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karen.orwin@kynecommunications.com

Charles Shagi Wins 2010 Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research

25 May 2010 21:00 Africa/Lagos


2010 Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy Presented to a Pioneering Community Educator Who Brings the Voices of Community Members and Participants to Research Process

PITTSBURGH, May 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A community educator who developed innovative ways to link women in Tanzanian villages with life-saving HIV prevention information and with HIV prevention research trials has received the second Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy. The award was presented during the closing ceremony of the Microbicides 2010 Conference in Pittsburgh, USA.


Charles Shagi, a Program Officer for the African Medical and Research Foundation based in Mwanza, Tanzania, was honored for his significant contributions to developing and sustaining community engagement and education programs that empower women and their communities to advocate for themselves and to become vital partners in HIV prevention research trials.


"Bringing HIV prevention research to communities is an essential part of our work to develop new HIV prevention options for men and women," said Sharon Hillier, Microbicides 2010 Co-chair and a member of the award selection committee. "Charles embodies what this award was created to recognize: leadership, commitment and passion in community advocacy. He works tirelessly not only to help women advocate on their own behalf and to become involved in research, but also to educate and empower researchers to understand the needs of women, their families and communities."


"I am very humbled to accept this award, and for me, it really underscores the value this field put on the importance of reaching out to the women - in the villages of Tanzania and around the world - who participate in these trials," said Shagi. "This award is important because it proves that people do care about them. It is the courage of those women that is being honored today. I look forward to continuing to share the voices and experiences of vulnerable women with the research and advocacy communities."


"I urge all HIV prevention researchers to listen to the community. There is need for all of us to change attitude, but especially the researchers and our leaders since we have a long walk left. Communities should be at the center of research, not at the periphery," Shagi added.


The Omololu Falobi Award highlights the essential role of community advocacy and leadership in HIV prevention research. It celebrates the life and values of the late Omololu Falobi, a long-time HIV advocate and journalist who founded Journalists Against AIDS in Nigeria, was an instrumental pioneer member of the Nigerian Treatment Access Movement, and co-founded the New HIV Vaccine & Microbicide Advocacy Society. Omololu was killed in Lagos, Nigeria in October 2006. The award was conceived as an ongoing legacy that recognizes his commitment and lasting contributions to HIV prevention research advocacy.


"Omololu was a visionary leader and activist, who accomplished much in his too short a life. He dedicated himself to powerful advocacy for HIV and HIV prevention research in Nigeria, Africa and worldwide," said Funmi Doherty of NHVMAS in Nigeria. "It is gratifying to see his ideals and vision live on through this award. I know he would be immensely proud of the work that Charles and the past recipients are doing to simultaneously advance human rights and HIV prevention research."


Shagi was chosen from among an impressive group of almost 20 nominees by an independent international panel of HIV prevention research advocates, policy makers, and scientists. The selection committee noted his instrumental role in pioneering new ways to bring the voices of community members and participants into the research process.


"Charles' enthusiasm is infectious, and he has been committed to helping recruit and mentor new people to the movement to expand the range of HIV prevention options," said Lori Heise, former Executive Director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides and one of the inaugural recipients of the award and member of the 2010 selection committee. "We need more people like Charles who can ably bridge the gap between researchers and community members."


Charles and his colleagues have also documented and published peer reviewed articles about their model for community representation and participation in HIV prevention trials among women. This research is an important guide for those working on community engagement plans for HIV prevention trials around the world.


"Charles is the epitome of science meets advocacy. In his work with community, he is able to provide important and accurate information as well as collect evidence that is directly applicable to advocacy and policy," said Salim Abdool Karim, Director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and a member of the 2008 and 2010 selection committees.


The 2010 Omololu Falobi Award Recipient was honored at the M2010 closing ceremony with a plaque and a cash prize. The M2010 Secretariat also provided a full scholarship for the Award recipient to attend the Conference in Pittsburgh.


The Omololu Falobi Award For Excellence In HIV Prevention Research was conceptualised and the process coordinated by the African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG) in partnership with AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention Research, the Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM), Journalists Against AIDS in Nigeria (JAAIDS), the New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS), and the Treatment Action Movement Nigeria (TAM). Financial support for the 2010 Award came from AMAG, AVAC, GCM, Family Health International and NHVMAS, Open Society Institute in South Africa and UNAIDS.


The 2010 selection committee included Alex Menezes of Brazil, Chibuke Ameachi of Nigeria, Sisonke Msimang and Salim Abdool Karim of South Africa, Cate Hankins of Switzerland, Lori Heise, Polly Harrison and Sharon Hillier of the U.S., and Shaun Mellors of the UK.


The award honors Omololu Falobi, a visionary leader who continues to inspire many people and projects. He was a leading HIV/AIDS activist, an advocate for prevention research, and an exceptional journalist. Omololu made enormous impact in Nigeria and beyond - he nurtured and/or led campaigns related to prevention, treatment and research; won multiple awards nationally and internationally; and earned a tremendous reputation from all who had the privilege to work with him. He established Journalists Against AIDS in Nigeria (JAAIDS), co-created the Nigeria-AIDS eForum, co-founded the Nigerian HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Group (NHVMAG), was an instrumental pioneer member of the Treatment Access Movement (TAM) Nigeria and a key leader of the African Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS.


Financial support for the 2010 Award comes from Microbicides 2010 conference, AVAC, GCM, Family Health International, NHVMAS and The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).


Source: AVAC

CONTACT: Manju Chatani, +1-413-923-8674, manju@avac.org; or Kay
Marshall, +1-347-249-6375, kay@avac.org, both of AVAC


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The Nomination for Global Education Award 2010 Open

The nomination for Global Education Award 2010 open



CCLP Worldwide has come up with global Award to recognise individuals, non-governmental organizations and degree granting institution from throughout the world that demonstrate extraordinary effort, innovation, leadership, and excellence in initiating and supporting educational efforts or support or campaign or project to humanity. CCLP Worldwide not only recognizes prominent and famous international NGOs and celebrity, but also the smaller, lesser-known NGOs and not very famous in the least developed countries, whose valuable contribution may have gone unnoticed and unappreciated on social front. The Global Awards are presented each year at the time of the CCLP Worldwide Annual Conference or similar events as planned time to time. The following are awards which are presented: Global Award for advancing education for livelihood-Individual Category Global Award for promoting education for livelihood-Organisational Category Global Award for supporting and expanding the scope of education-Degree granting institution An Awards Jury composed of experts drawn from international diplomat, social activist and person from education profession, select the winners from among nominations received. Last date for submitting nomination closes on 31st July 2010

The Winners of Global Education Award 2010 shall receive Award Plaque, Award Certificate, High Merit medal, and entry in Education Charter Edition (Individual Category)

Award Jury
Call for nomination
Winners of Global Award 2009
Nomination may be filled online from here

Unregulated Internet Automobile Sales Are A Ticking Time Bomb

26 May 2010 11:18 Africa/Lagos


Unregulated Internet Automobile Sales Are A Ticking Time Bomb

Automotive Recyclers Association pushes lawmakers to close loopholes and to review outdated vehicle regulations.

MANASSAS, Va., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is calling upon state lawmakers to review and update gaps in laws that allow: (1) vehicles to be sold and transferred without the proper paperwork; (2) allow total loss vehicles, vehicles damaged so severely that the cost of repairs and the salvage value combined exceed the current value of the vehicle, back on the road and (3) allow individuals to bypass important environmental regulations regarding the safe disposal of vehicles. Last year alone, some three million-plus total loss vehicles were sold at salvage pool auctions throughout the United States - many of which were sold to unregulated buyers via the Internet.


In a steep departure from past practices, these severely damaged motor vehicles are now electronically bypassing state laws and regulations. "Most of the safeguards in place across the country were instituted before the explosion of the Internet and don't take into account the ease and reliance of our society on Internet commerce. Every day in the United States, individuals and entities are using the Internet to bypass safety standards and circumventing state statutes designed to protect consumers and the environment," says Michael E. Wilson, Automotive Recyclers Association's Chief Executive Officer.


Terrorist networks and organized crime syndicates are exploiting loopholes to fund their criminal activities. In fact, many severely damaged total loss vehicles that are sold through salvage auctions are fetching huge sums because criminals merely want the VIN plate and paperwork that go with these vehicles. The purchasers can then use this information to cover up undamaged stolen vehicles by replacing the VINs and corresponding paperwork from the total loss vehicle -- securing tens of thousand of dollars in financial gain from the sales of clean stolen vehicles.


Based on press accounts, the Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad purchased the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder through a cash deal made on the popular consumer website Craigslist. No documents were exchanged and no vehicle registration was recorded. The $1,300 deal was finalized at a Connecticut shopping mall where the buyer handed over the money to the unsuspecting seller and drove off. Shahzad then destroyed one Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the Pathfinder, not realizing it had many others. This mistake gave investigators the ability to trace the car to the Connecticut seller. Shahzad also used a stolen license plate to drive the car into New York City.


"Loopholes like this result in the defrauding of consumers on motor vehicle sales and purchases, criminal activity of all sorts, and even the bypassing of safe environmental regulations regarding the disposal of retired vehicles. The Time Square bombing attempt should be a wake-up call to elected officials throughout the country to review motor vehicle sales statues," Wilson adds.


Ultimately, ARA will continue to advocate for the protection of the consumer and the automotive recycling industry from potential fraud and environmental hazards that modern technology and commerce opportunities have created, and also continue to highlight loopholes in outdated laws and regulations.


Established in 1943, the Automotive Recyclers Association ("ARA") represents an industry dedicated to the efficient removal and reuse of "green" automotive parts, and the proper recycling of inoperable motor vehicles. ARA represents over 4,500 auto recycling facilities in the United States and fourteen other countries around the world. With programs such as the Certified Automotive Recycler Program (CAR) and other partnerships, ARA members continue to provide consumers with quality, low cost alternatives for vehicle replacement parts, while preserving our environment for a "greener" tomorrow. To learn more about the Association, visit ARA online at www.a-r-a.org or call (571) 208-0428.


This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/.


Source: Automotive Recyclers Association

CONTACT: Anthony Livingston of Automotive Recyclers Association,
+1-571-208-0428, anthony@a-r-a.org


Web Site: http://www.a-r-a.org/


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7 Facts About Mike Adenuga Towers

7 Facts About Mike Adenuga Towers located at plot 1, Mike Adenuga Close, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.


1. It was unveiled on August 30, 2004 by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar when he was the Vice President of Nigeria.


2. It has 13 floors and was designed by Harcourt Aduke, an indigenous building and civil engineering works consultant.


3. It has helicopter landing pad and a unique gold colour glass canopy supported by galvanized cast iron.


4. The bull, the personal totem of Globacom Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr, is etched on the gold glass and is most visible at night when the installed revolving multi-colour light beams on the building.


5. The building took 13 years from the dream to the construction by Otunba Michael Adeniyi Ishola Adenuga Jr


6. It is the most magnificent building in Lagos.


7. Mike Adenuga Jr is in love with his most prized property in Nigeria.



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima



The Profile of Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr.: The Octopus...by Roland Ogbonnaya and Malachy Agbo

Otunba Mike Adeniyi Adenuga rose like a meteor. Though son of a wealth trader, he started the art of making money as a student in United States where he took on two jobs - as a taxi driver and security guard - to sustain himself in school. Regarded by many as a man with the confidence of getting the proverbial honey out of the rock, Adenuga is also regarded as a man who at a young age believed in his ability to reach out to anybody who can help him realise his goals.

This confidence has seen him penetrating the ranks of the top brass of the military in the 1970s to see how the men of power could award him contracts. He partnered with Femi Akinrinade, the young brother of the Lt-Gen. Alani Akinrinade, then Genral Officer Commanding, First Division Kaduna. Adenuga had a constrution firm which won contracts in the newly established Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. As it was with those who successfully broke into the ranks of the military then, more and more contracts were to follow such that by age 26, Adenuga had become a millionaire. The man decided not to limit himself to construction. He went into marketing clothes, wine and tomato puree. He later went into manufacturing of those items. However, the beginning of Devcom and later Equatorial Trust Bank marked a turning point in his investment portfolio. He simply leaped into the ranks of the big fish, swimming in the wealthy oceans of business.

Adenuga's rise from a contractor to a business mogul has, however, been attributed to his wide connection in the right places. This explanation could be dismissed as being too simplistic. His determination to succeed as demonstrated in his bold moves, the tenacity of purpose which prevented him from selling his oil bloc despite pressures from several credible quarters and his decision to seek the SNO after he lost his GSM licence, show a man who has foresight and who has set his gaze on noble goals and will not blink.

The Adenuga personae is also that of a man who has utilised the virtue of absence to create a king of myth around himself. He is so elusive, yet his companies surround the nation with their essential services. He also appears to be a good talent hunter. He has the best brains working in his establishments. Some close associate believe that beneath the gentle surface Adenuga portrays, he is the steely frame of an aggressive businessman - a man who thrives when he is challenged and a man who remains undaunted in the face of apparent failure.

Globacom's present contractual involvement is over US $2 billion (about N266 billion), while the cost of the licence for the business was $200 million (N26.4 billion). The turnover of Conoil Marketing, the downstream oil company for the year ended December 31, 2003 is N34 billion, while ETB assets at the end of last year was N47.41 billion. The assets of Conoil producing and Southern Airlines were not immediately available, while his huge investment in real estate was not readily available to THISDAY. The assets of Devcom are also not available at press time. But suffice it to say that the man indeed has a very deep pocket.

With his involvement in the crude oil exploration, production and export and the heavy equipment dependence of Globacom, the MA Group as Adenuga's conglomerate is known paid well over N10 billion in duty in the last fiscal year, ended December 31, 2003. Adenuga has in direct employment over 8,000 people. And because Adenuga is involved mainly in capital intensive, high intellectual businesses, majority of his employees are graduates cutting across all strata of careers.

Born April 29, 1953, Adenuga was educated at the Ibadan Grammar School where he bagged the the nickname "Gold Digger," a nickname he has adopted to his choice of business and even use as appellation on his Ibadan country home. He later went to the United States in search of the golden fleece. In the US, he attended North-western University, Alva, Oklahoma and Peace University, New York. He also holds an honorary doctorate degree from Ogun State University.

The Bull Invades the GSM Sector

Adenuga joined the market as an endangered specie, having entered the telecommunication sector and indeed the GSM business as the fourth entrant and two clear years after the other operators had been in the market.

But before he joined, he counted the cost of joining late. People close to him say that the man had analyzed the effects of late coming and noted that a late entrant must either come with a bang or fizzle out as quickly as he came. According to associates, Adenuga believes that you cannot be a goat and go to the house of a leopard to fight him. You need to be a lion. Adenuga decided to be a lion. He is also called "the bull", an unyielding animal. Investigations from Mike Adenuga Towers revealed that commitments and contracts for ongoing work on the Globacom Project are in excess of $2 billion. This is staggering in this clime. Even by US standards, the amount is mind-buggling. An official of the company who said he had worked with at least two other GSM networks in the country before joining Globacom said, "In other networks, the major constraint to projects is finance. In Globacom, what we need are the ideas and time to execute the projects, not the finance. It is not that the finance is unlimited, but it is readily available, provided it is meant to be used to achieve the Chairman's dream of providing the most sophisticated network in Nigeria and Africa".

For example, it took over 36 African networks in Africa, led by Telcom of South Africa, to build the SAT3 submarine cable which is currently being used by many African networks. Globacom has signed a contract to build a submarine cable, singlehanded, that will link Lagos and London in the shortest possible, thereby providing an alternative to the SAT3.

This was the driving force when his Globacom launched with per second billing when competitors said that the platform was not going to be possible until 2007 and even when it was more profitable to join the statuesque. But Adenuga is not a man to be caught in the statuesque. He is a trailblazer.

Not done yet, he introduced the TalkNow instalment offer through which he not only crashed the cost of SIM from about N20,000.00 to N7,000.00 but even spread the payment over a period of time to make initial financial outlay for entry very convenient and comfortable. In the industry today, experts alike acknowledge that Globacom has the most advanced network in the market today. This has gived the company the capacity to offer some of the most sophisticated products in the market. This includes Magic Plus, an information, entertainment and commerce offering, MMS, Glo Mobile Internet and Glo Direct which makes the Glo Mobile phone a modem for accessing the World Wide Web. Adenuga has just landed one of the most virulent uppercut punches which has kept its competitors on its toes. It is his N1.00 offering. Already, the proceeds have started rolling in. In record time, the company has reported a subscriber mark of 1.8 million, effectively becoming the current number two network in the land and edging the troubled Vmobile to the third place. MTN, acknowledged as number one in Nigeria, certainly has to watch its back.

No advertising agent will argue that the acquisition of Globacom account is the beginning of riches for it. Newspaper organisations, magazines, radio and TV and the various soft sales are enjoying these benefits today as Adenuga's Globacom is arguably the biggest advertiser in the country currently.

The Oil Sheik

While it appears that Adenuga had just arrived the scene with the Globacom breakthrough, the man actually showed what he is made of with his oil business. At a time many Nigerians were mere agents for foreign oil companies, as the sector was thought to be the exclusive preserve of Foreign Oil companies like Shell, Total, Elf and Texaco, Adenuga plunged into the murky waters of the black gold. He hit it big and thus became the first Nigerian oil explorer to locate oil in commercial quantity.

At the moment, he is seriously prospecting oil in Sao Tome and Principe and inside sources say the man hopes to hit it big in this oil rich country soon. Again, he is not a man to get into a sector half way. He puts his arsenal together and becomes a major force in the sector. For him, there are no second measures. He is either a winner or nothing else. By the time he indicated his interest in National Oil and Chemical Company Nigeria Plc (now renamed Conoil Plc), many thought that the man had gone astray. "How could an astute business man and investor like Adenuga ever come close to look, how much more touch National Oil?" a broker had asked then. Today, it is a different story. A broker, who was asked by his client to buy Conoil shares for him, retorted: "Even with an AK 47, it is impossible to get Conoil shares at the stock exchange." Conoil has not only been brought back to life, it has enriched investors of the company who for years had been hearing stories of the unfavourable economic climate which hampered profits.

Financial experts say if Adenuga decides today to sell his shares in Conoil, he will naturally walk away with $500 million in his portfolio. This alone is big cash by all standards. But the man will certainly not walk away...

The Financial Guru

Adenuga has controlling interests in two major banks in Nigeria. They are Devcom Bank which recently joined universal banking from its former merchant bank licence and Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) which has etched itself in the league of ten biggest banks in Nigeria. In this season of N25 billion capital base fever, ETB and Devcom are just cool doing their business. These two banks,THISDAY learnt, will meet the new capital base requirement without going into any merger. No customer of the banks is in any doubt that the banks will not be here next year. The economic stability at the two banks has made sure that staff of the two banks are not threatened by the sack fever making the rounds in the banking industry presently. Adenuga's investment in banking is a cash cow, no doubt.

And the Others

While it is common knowledge that Adenuga is a major investor in the Oil Sector, both upstream and downstream, telecommunication, both the fixed, Mobile, gateway and carrier and banking, only few people know that the man runs a chartered flight company called Southern Airlines. He also owns World Span with interests in Real Estate, merchandising, manufacturing etc.

Nollywood Missing When Hollywood and Bollywood Dazzled At the Cannes

Photo Credit: Celeb Buzz

Nollywood Missing When Hollywood and Bollywood Dazzled At the Cannes



The highlights of the closing ceremony of the last Cannes Film Festival were colourful. Hollywood and Bollywood stars had a lot to show at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, but no single Nollywood star was on the red carpet. Aishwarya Rai was turning heads at the publicity for Raavan and at the screening of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and another Bollywood sex symbol Mallika Sherawat was in the news for Love, Barack. Nollywood was missing in action, except for Stephanie Okereke whose romantic comedy Through the Glass was promoted by her Canadian distributor at the Cannes Film Market.



Indian actress Aishwarya Rai arrives for the screening of the movie 'Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps' during the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, 14 May 2010. The movie by US director Oliver Stone is presented out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2010, running from 12 to 23 May. EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA


There were few Nigerians at the festival and they came from the new Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Lagos State government, The Guardian, The Nation and Supple magazine.


"Most of the Nollywood stars shy away from the Cannes, because they are not recognized as stars there. In fact, even if Genevieve Nnaji came, the paparazzi will not notice her," said Hope Obioma Opara, the Publisher of Supple magazine and President/Co-founder of Eko International Film Festival who was at Cannes for the second time.


Hope is the co-producer of Letter to the Professor, a new Nigerian big budget film featuring the first African Nobel laureate in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka.


Nollywood stars can only shine at local awards events and some events in Africa, but they are not recognized at the major film festivals in the world.
The fact that the richest Black woman on earth Oprah Winfrey mentioned Genevieve Nnaji as one of the most popular people in the world only made Nigerians to go gaga and Genevieve Nnaji was over the moon, but not in Hollywood or Bollywood. Nollywood videos are the laughing stock of world class filmmakers.


The fact is most of the Nollywood stars will fail auditions and cannot face the tough challenges in Hollywood or Bollywood where you cannot use tribalism to gatecrash into acting like Igbo and Yoruba actors do in Nollywood.



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima


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When There Are Six Women Chasing One Man

When There Are Six Women Chasing One Man


Read the following extract from a recent report from the U.S.

Real life is more complicated, of course, but this simple model illustrates an important truth. In the marriage market, numbers matter. And among African-Americans, the disparity is much worse than in Mr. Harford’s imaginary example. Between the ages of 20 and 29, one black man in nine is behind bars. For black women of the same age, the figure is about one in 150. For obvious reasons, convicts are excluded from the dating pool. And many women also steer clear of ex-cons, which makes a big difference when one young black man in three can expect to be locked up at some point.

Removing so many men from the marriage market has profound consequences. As incarceration rates exploded between 1970 and 2007, the proportion of US-born black women aged 30-44 who were married plunged from 62% to 33%. Why this happened is complex and furiously debated. The era of mass imprisonment began as traditional mores were already crumbling, following the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the invention of the contraceptive pill. It also coincided with greater opportunities for women in the workplace. These factors must surely have had something to do with the decline of marriage.

But jail is a big part of the problem; argue Kerwin Kofi Charles, now at the University of Chicago, and Ming Ching Luoh of National Taiwan University. They divided America up into geographical and racial “marriage markets”, to take account of the fact that most people marry someone of the same race who lives relatively close to them. Then, after crunching the census numbers, they found that a one percentage point increase in the male incarceration rate was associated with a 2.4-point reduction in the proportion of women who ever marry. Could it be, however, that mass incarceration is a symptom of increasing social dysfunction, and that it was this social dysfunction that caused marriage to wither? Probably not. For similar crimes, America imposes much harsher penalties than other rich countries. Mr. Charles and Mr. Luoh controlled for crime rates, as a proxy for social dysfunction, and found that it made no difference to their results. They concluded that “higher male imprisonment has lowered the likelihood that women marry…and caused a shift in the gains from marriage away from women and towards men.”

http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15867956

In Nigeria, there over 50,000 men in prison and these men left behind girlfriends and wives who are now desperately seeking companionship from other men. So they join the pool of hundreds of thousands of other single women who are searching for men to date and marry.

Let us add the girlfriends and widows of the thousands of Nigerian Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) soldiers killed during the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Then include the thousands languishing in hellish police cells all over Nigeria. All these unfortunate victims of foreseen and unforeseen circumstances had sweethearts who must continue with their lives.

Then finally, how can millions of jobless single women date and marry millions of equally jobless single men in Nigeria?
Therefore, the millions of jobless single women are desperately chasing the gainfully employed single or married men to make ends meet.
So a gainfully employed single man is now facing 6 to 10 single women who have no other man available to date or marry.

There is scarcity of eligible bachelors and the cause has nothing to do with the SPIRIT OF LATE MARRIAGE or whatever many opportunistic pastors have been using to lure desperate single women to their churches and milk them dry of their hard earned money in the guise of sowing for the miracle of getting married.
Tell the pastors to go and set the bond men in jail free and then give jobs to the millions of jobless single men first and stop preaching lies to single women in Nigeria.

For every single woman who gets married, there is another woman with a broken heart caused by the same man you are calling husband.

There are more single women than single men in these interesting times of economic, social and political vicissitudes.
We cannot escape from the present realities in Nigeria and the U.S.

We do not have enough eligible single men for our single women.

Six single women may have to share one man or languish in loneliness.

SHARING IS CARING.


~ By Ekeneyerengozi Michael Chima

Curtain Comes Down on the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival

The highlights of the closing ceremony were colourful. Hollywood and Bollywood stars had a lot to show at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, but no single Nollywood star was on the red carpet. Nollywood was missing in action.



Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL with the Palme d’Or

The 63rd Cannes Film Festival ended with the thai filmmaker, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL winning the Palme d’Or, the highest prize for his film “LUNG BOONMEE RALUEK CHAT (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives)”.

If Thailand can go as high as winning the most coveted prize at the Cannes, then Nigeria can produce the films that can qualify for competition and win top prizes.

What is the benefit of producing thousands of movies since 1992 to date and not a single Nollywood movie has even qualified for the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival?

Nigerian filmmakers must step up to compete with the best in the world or go and dump their mediocre movies in the Atlantic Ocean before coming to the Côte d’Azur and get dazed and fazed by the outstanding filmmakers from all over the world.

Congratulations to all the worthy winners.

Complete List of the Winners at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival

Feature films
Palme d’Or
LUNG BOONMEE RALUEK CHAT (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) directed by Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL



Grand Prix
DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX (OF GODS AND MEN) directed by Xavier BEAUVOIS


Award for Best Director
Mathieu AMALRIC for TOURNÉE (ON TOUR)


Award for Best Screenplay
LEE Chang-dong for POETRY



Award for Best Actress
Juliette BINOCHE in COPIE CONFORME (CERTIFIED COPY) directed by Abbas KIAROSTAMI



Award for Best Actor Ex-aequo
Javier BARDEM in BIUTIFUL directed by Alejandro GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU
Elio GERMANO in LA NOSTRA VITA (OUR LIFE) directed by Daniele LUCHETTI



Jury Prize
UN HOMME QUI CRIE (A screaming man) directed by Mahamat-Saleh HAROUN



Short Films
Palme d’Or – Short Film
CHIENNE D’HISTOIRE (BARKING ISLAND) directed by Serge AVÉDIKIAN



Jury Prize – Short Film
MICKY BADER (BATHING MICKY) directed by Frida KEMPFF


Un Certain Regard :
Un Certain Regard Prize – Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema
HAHAHA directed by HONG Sangsoo


Jury Prize – Un Certain Regard
OCTUBRE (OCTOBER) directed by Daniel VEGA, Diego VEGA



Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress
LOS LABIOS (THE LIPS) played by Victoria RAPOSO, Eva BIANCO, Adela SANCHEZ



Cinefondation :
1st Prize Cinéfondation
TAULUKAUPPIAAT (THE PAINTING SELLERS) directed by Juho KUOSMANEN


2nd Prize – Cinéfondation
COUCOU-LES-NUAGES (Anywhere out of the world) directed by Vincent CARDONA


3rd Prize Cinéfondation Ex-aequo
HINKERORT ZORASUNE (THE FIFTH COLUMN) directed by Vatche BOULGHOURJIAN
JA VEC JESAM SVE ONO ŠTO ŽELIM DA IMAM (I ALREADY AM EVERYTHING I WANT TO HAVE) directed by Dane KOMLJEN

Golden Camera :
Caméra d’or
AÑO BISIESTO directed by Michael ROWE

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Helon Habila Leads Fidelity Bank International Creative Writing Workshop

Helon Habila


One of Nigeria's most illustrious young writers Helon Habila, the first Nigerian winner of the highly coveted Caine Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize will lead the award winning Canadian novelist Madeleine Thien and the popular Jamaican writer Colin Channer to the next Fidelity Bank International Creative Writing Workshop coming up in Abuja this July.

Fidelity Bank Plc gave the following detailed information on the international creative writing workshop.

This year’s edition of our International Creative Writing Workshop is the 3rd in
a series of efforts to redirect the energy of Nigerian youths to those values
that once made Nigeria great. The workshop is also an important component of
Fidelity’s Corporate Social Responsibility CSR through which the bank continues
to push for a better society.

Participants will be expected to read and
discuss a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, as well as complete short
writing exercises.

Participation in the forthcoming workshop is limited
to those who apply and are accepted. A public symposium featuring readings and
panel discussions will be held on the last day of the workshop.

To
apply, send an e-mail to - creative.writing@fidelitybankplc.com



Your e-mail subject should bear the title – Workshop
Application.

The body of the e-mail should contain the following –
1. Your name.
2. Your address.
3. A few sentences about yourself.
4. A writing sample of between 200 and 800 words.

Please indicate
whether your sample is fiction or non-fiction. Acceptance will be based on the
quality of the writing sample.

All writing material must be pasted or
written in the body of the e-mail.
Do NOT send any attachments.
Applications with attachments will be automatically disqualified.

Deadline for submission is June 20, 2010. If accepted, you will be
notified by July 4, 2010

Femi Odugbemi’s Bariga Boy Wins AfroPop Prize for Best film

Femi Odugbemi

Femi Odugbemi’s Bariga Boy Wins AfroPop Prize for Best film


Femi Odugbemi’s short documentary Bariga Boy has won another international award at the 5th Real-Life Documentary Film Festival (May 18th to 25th /Screening May 21st to 25th) in Accra, Ghana. Last Wednesday, it was awarded the AfroPop Prize for Best film. In April, Bariga Boy was given the award for the Best Documentary at the AMAA 2010 in Bayelsa state, Nigeria.


The AfroPop Prize of the Real Life Documentary Festival is sponsored by the National Black Programming Consortium, in the United States. The prize is connected to the US-based public television show featuring independent documentaries and short films about life art and culture from the contemporary African Diaspora.


“For Africa to catch up with the world infrastructurally, politically and economically, artistes of all shades must stand up to be counted. Our talent must speak out to challenge power and inspire change,” Odugbemi said while receiving the prize.


“I am very happy that Femi Odugbemi got the AfroPop Prize. He did a beautiful work and I really enjoyed the way he portrayed a young gifted Nigerian artiste and its neighborhood. The awards are for me very important because it is a great opportunity for the festival to give recognition to contemporary African visual productions,” said Lydie Diakhate, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Real Life Festival.