23 Dec 2010 00:02 Africa/Lagos
A Short List of Money-Minded Resolutions for 2011
PR Newswire
CHICAGO, Dec. 22, 2010
CHICAGO, Dec. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At year's end we often find ourselves faced with good intentions that just never happened. Something we wanted to do, but never got around to it. The Illinois CPA Society suggests it's not too late. Make the financial move you planned on making in 2010 your New Year's resolution for 2011. Check this short list from the Society for things you might want to do in the year ahead:
* Find a way to save. Could you take the $50 you just spent on that sweater and save it instead? Cut back on downloads or dining out? Look at what you spent this year for ideas.
* Set a reachable goal. Whether it's getting out of debt or buying a home, plan to accomplish something with your money in 2011. Put away a small amount each month towards your goal.
* Start a rainy day fund. Prepare for a layoff or health emergency by working towards having three to six months worth of living expenses socked away.
* Make a will. Not pleasant to think about, but you want to make things easier on your family and protect your assets. State rules may apply if you don't have a will. And who would have custody of your children?
* Check your credit report. You've been meaning to check it, but perhaps afraid to look. Use it as a starting point to get your credit in good shape. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com for a free report.
* Take steps toward retirement. Begin to contribute to your 401K plan at work - at least enough to get the match if one's available. If you're already contributing, consider an increase of 1 or 2 percent.
Need a little support? Turn to the Society's Find a CPA Directory online at www.icpas.org to locate a CPA in your community and to Twitter, @thriftitude, for money management tips from the Illinois CPA Society.
About the Illinois CPA Society
The Illinois CPA Society, founded in 1903, is the fifth largest state CPA society in the nation, with more than 24,000 members. It is the premier professional organization that represents CPAs in Illinois. During its over 100 years of existence, the Society has advanced the highest ethical and financial standards of the profession, and has been a leader in educating the public on financial issues.
SOURCE Illinois CPA Society
CONTACT: Judi Kulm, Communications/Media Manager, Illinois CPA Society, +1-312-993-0407 ext. 251, kulmj@icpas.org
Web Site: http://www.annualcreditreport.com
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Advantages of Nokia messaging devices over BlackBerry
Nokia E72
No additional fee for data on top of service plan; works with any service plan/data provider.
Average cost of paid app $3.47
Easy set up of work and personal email in only 3 steps
Out of the box access to consumer email accounts such as Hotmail and Gmail
Stay connected to 10 personal email accounts at once
Immediate access to most popular IM communities
(Yahoo, Microsoft Live and Gmail)
High-quality 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens and one touch auto focus
Free Ovi Maps with Walk and Drive navigation
Ultra slim line design with Stainless Steel and Brushed Aluminum
Create separate, customized home screens for work and personal life.
BlackBerry Bold 9700
Must have additional BlackBerry data plan
($4+ for RIM vs $1.85 for Nokia)
Average cost of paid app $8.26
Over 10 steps to set up email on BlackBerry
Dedicated app needed for instant messaging
3.2MP camera
No free maps and navigation
BlackBerry 8mm thicker than Nokia E72
No ability to separate/tailor home screens
Advantages of Nokia messaging devices over BlackBerry
It is important that everyone in Nokia is aware of advantages of Nokia messaging devices so that we as ambassadors of the messaging range can engage in discussions about the difference between the BlackBerry and Nokia offering. Here’s where we think we are stronger:
• While BlackBerry wants you to be a BlackBerry person with their own communications tools, Nokia lets you to be you and work the way you like by using your choice of messaging solutions - Nokia offers a wide variety of ways to communicate including email & instant messaging and to update social networks. Wide range of devices in a variety of styles. Nokia’s portfolio carries over 100 email-enabled models. The BlackBerry range of devices only includes six QWERTY devices in the UK, and one touch device. For smaller budgets BlackBerry offers nothing.
• Affordable and predictable pricing - With Nokia Messaging, all consumer email and IM is included into the operator data plan There are no hidden costs, taxes, license fees like there are for BlackBerry. Research has shown that companies can save an average of £215 per year per employee by using a Nokia Eseries handset with Mail for Exchange or IBM Lotus Notes Traveler instead of BlackBerry. (Source Nokia Internal Research).
• Easy Email and IM set-up - Nokia messaging devices have an easy 3 step email set up, directly from the home screen of the device. No downloading the application, installing it and configuring the account like on BlackBerry. With Nokia you can directly access 90% of the world’s corporate email and IM through partnerships with Microsoft Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes.
As an example, the Nokia E72 wins over the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in some important areas: It has easier email setup with more email and IM service options, it’s less expensive, has a better camera, comes with OVI Maps with free walk and drive navigation and premium travel guide content, has faster web browsing speed, features a thinner design and stainless steel build, and allows for two tailored home screens.
No additional fee for data on top of service plan; works with any service plan/data provider.
Average cost of paid app $3.47
Easy set up of work and personal email in only 3 steps
Out of the box access to consumer email accounts such as Hotmail and Gmail
Stay connected to 10 personal email accounts at once
Immediate access to most popular IM communities
(Yahoo, Microsoft Live and Gmail)
High-quality 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens and one touch auto focus
Free Ovi Maps with Walk and Drive navigation
Ultra slim line design with Stainless Steel and Brushed Aluminum
Create separate, customized home screens for work and personal life.
BlackBerry Bold 9700
Must have additional BlackBerry data plan
($4+ for RIM vs $1.85 for Nokia)
Average cost of paid app $8.26
Over 10 steps to set up email on BlackBerry
Dedicated app needed for instant messaging
3.2MP camera
No free maps and navigation
BlackBerry 8mm thicker than Nokia E72
No ability to separate/tailor home screens
Advantages of Nokia messaging devices over BlackBerry
It is important that everyone in Nokia is aware of advantages of Nokia messaging devices so that we as ambassadors of the messaging range can engage in discussions about the difference between the BlackBerry and Nokia offering. Here’s where we think we are stronger:
• While BlackBerry wants you to be a BlackBerry person with their own communications tools, Nokia lets you to be you and work the way you like by using your choice of messaging solutions - Nokia offers a wide variety of ways to communicate including email & instant messaging and to update social networks. Wide range of devices in a variety of styles. Nokia’s portfolio carries over 100 email-enabled models. The BlackBerry range of devices only includes six QWERTY devices in the UK, and one touch device. For smaller budgets BlackBerry offers nothing.
• Affordable and predictable pricing - With Nokia Messaging, all consumer email and IM is included into the operator data plan There are no hidden costs, taxes, license fees like there are for BlackBerry. Research has shown that companies can save an average of £215 per year per employee by using a Nokia Eseries handset with Mail for Exchange or IBM Lotus Notes Traveler instead of BlackBerry. (Source Nokia Internal Research).
• Easy Email and IM set-up - Nokia messaging devices have an easy 3 step email set up, directly from the home screen of the device. No downloading the application, installing it and configuring the account like on BlackBerry. With Nokia you can directly access 90% of the world’s corporate email and IM through partnerships with Microsoft Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes.
As an example, the Nokia E72 wins over the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in some important areas: It has easier email setup with more email and IM service options, it’s less expensive, has a better camera, comes with OVI Maps with free walk and drive navigation and premium travel guide content, has faster web browsing speed, features a thinner design and stainless steel build, and allows for two tailored home screens.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict
Northern Nigeria. Photo Credit: The Will
Dec 20, 2010 22:01 ET
Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict
DAKAR, December 20, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Nigeria's far north is not the hot bed of Islamic extremists some in the West fear, but it needs reinforced community-level peacebuilding, a more subtle security response, and improved management of public resources lest lingering tensions lead to new violence.
Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the region's conflict risks. Violence has flared up there periodically for more than 30 years. Mainly in the form of urban riots, it has seen Muslims pitted against Christians, confrontations between different Islamic sects, and rejectionist sects against the state. The relative calm that much of northern Nigeria had enjoyed for several years was broken by the emergence in 2009 of Boko Haram, a radical group that appears to have some links to al-Qaeda.
Nigeria's northern emirs gave Prince Charles a royal welcome on his tour of the West African country this week. Here he arrives at the palace of the Emir of Kano (4th from right). Photo Credit: The BBC News
In the build-up to the 2011 national elections, the worst-case scenario is that local violence will polarize the rest of the country. This must be avoided through actions at the local, regional and national level.
“While some in the West panic at what they see as growing Islamic radicalism in the region, the roots of the problem are more complex and lie in Nigeria's history and contemporary politics”, says Titi Ajayi, Crisis Group's West Africa Fellow.
Many common factors fuel conflicts across Nigeria: in particular, the political manipulation of religion and ethnicity and disputes between supposed local groups and “settlers” over distribution of public resources. The failure of the state to assure public order, contribute to dispute settlement and implement post-conflict peacebuilding measures also plays a role, as does economic decline and unemployment. As elsewhere in the country, the far north – the twelve states that apply Sharia (Islamic law) – suffers from a potent mix of economic malaise and contentious, community-based distribution of public resources.
But there is also a specifically northern element. A thread of rejectionist thinking runs through northern Nigerian history, according to which collaboration with secular authorities is illegitimate. While calls for an “Islamic state” in Nigeria should not be taken too seriously, despite media hyperbole, they do demonstrate that many in the far north express political and social dissatisfaction through greater adherence to Islam and increasingly look to the religious canon for solutions to multiple problems in their lives.
On the positive side, much local conflict prevention and resolution does occur, and the region has historically shown much capacity for peaceful co-existence between its ethnic and religious communities. Generally speaking, for a vast region beset with social and economic problems, the absence of widespread conflict is as notable as the pockets of violence.
The starting point for addressing the conflicts must be a better understanding of the historical, cultural and other contexts in which they take place. The region has experienced recurrent violence, particularly since the early 1980s. These are the product of several complex and inter-locking factors, including a volatile mix of historical grievances, political manipulation and ethnic and religious rivalries.
“Northern Nigeria is little understood by those in the south, still less by the international community, where too often, it is viewed as part of bigger rivalries in a putative West-Islam divide”, says EJ Hogendoorn, Crisis Group's Acting Africa Program Director. “Still, the overall situation needs to be taken seriously. If it were to deteriorate significantly, especially along Christian-Muslim lines, it could have grave repercussions for national cohesion in the build-up to national elections in 2011”.
Source: International Crisis Group
Monday, December 20, 2010
How does a stargazer paint a star-studded sky?
Shaibu HusseiniHow does a stargazer paint a star-studded sky?
Title: Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives: Clips on the Pioneers
Author: Shaibu Husseini
Publisher: All Media International Ltd. [for African Film Academy: AFA)
Year of publication: 2010.
Reviewer: Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi
Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives: Clips on Pioneers is somewhat like a sponge or a compressed towel. Its inherent absorbent capability vis-à-vis its information density, is, on the whole, remarkable. For neatly tucked into its 166 pages are: 67 biographical sketches of Nollywood stars [13 in Part 1: In the Beginning; 54 in Part 2: Nollywood is Born]; and a roll call of 17 tars [It’s a Wrap!] if we remove the 67 profiled stars in Parts 1 and 2, the balance of 120 becomes the number of stars yet to be profiled. In other words, Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives is, like Nollywood itself, a continuing project—not necessarily like the typical Nollywood story that is incomplete if it doesn’t run into part 2 and beyond.
This book carries with it the burden of experience—the experience comprising Shuibu’s beat in and around Nollywood and his years as the Chair of the AMAA College of Screeners. However, in no instance does the work sag under such a heavy under. Rather, this rarefied experience has been nuanced into the work in a laidback manner that makes the book as highly reader friendly as it is readable. What more does one ask of a book?
If it is indeed true that every book contains within it the argument for how it should be read, then the subtle argument within these pages is this: a more revealing close-up on the work can result only from the interrogation of two inter-related contexts. In the first place, the broader context of the work—its antecedents, so to say. In the second place, the significance. Since the latter proceeds from the former, both are, to that extent, coterminous.
One needn’t look too far to see all too clearly how Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives happens to be at the centre of a widening gyre of irony. In the early 90’s, Nigerian filmmakers signed a petition against Jimmy Ate, then the General Manager, National Theatre, for allowing reversal films/home videos to be screened in the cinema halls of the National Theatre—the very same National Theatre in whose banquet hall Nollywood stars gathered on Friday, 17th Dec, 2010] for the launch of this work that is to all intents and purposes a celebration of the home video. And that other blockbuster of an irony: till the middle 90’s the Nigerian Film Corporation [NFC] was still shouting from the roof tops that its statutory mandate didn’t include the video—the very same NFC whose current head and whose one time chairman have been profiled here among the stars of Nollywood.
The point here is that from 1903 when the first movie was shown in the country to 2005 when Nollywood was rated the second largest film industry in the world, the Nigerian film industry has passed through four defining stages: the Colonial Film Unit stage [the cine was the only format and the documentary the major genre]; the post-Independence period [again, the only format was the cine and the feature virtually eclipsed activities in any other genre]; the SAP [Structural Adjustment Programme] stage [the feature continued to dominate but the reversal film took over from the cine]; and, finally, the Post-SAP period [the home video completely took over the industry].
True, in the movement from periphery to social centricity, no single film, not even Living in Bondage, has done for us what The Sound of Music did for the United States. However, its short history notwithstanding, the home video has managed to become the cultural property of us all. It has joined politics and football as the admission tickets into the marketplace of social intercourse.
Herein, then, lies, perhaps, the greatest significance of this work: it provides us the much needed backward glance over the roads we have travelled.
Okome, unarguably one of the leading scholars of Nollywood, is insistent in his argument that the Nollywood film is, in effect, a broad canvass for the social history of this day and age. If we accept this argument, Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives automatically acquires the value-added significance as the compendium of the films of the period from which this social history has to be distilled.
Two structural factors killed the celluloid film in Nigeria. One: the march of technology which brought with it a rival and cheaper means of making and packaging films. Two: Babangida’s structural adjustment programme which beggared the Naira in the international marketplace—making it impossible to sustain the celluloid culture.
But even while it was thriving, the celluloid was, as it were, wrapped in an asphyxiating blanket of anonymity. For instance, the British Film Institute dossier on the African film, issued in the early 80’s, lists only one non-Francophone filmmaker: Ola Balogun. In contradistinction, the home video is being very adequately documented both in academic studies and in works that target the general reader. An example of the latter that quickly comes to mind is Orji Onoko’s Glimpses of our Stars. Shaibu’s Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives is spun from the same thread.
It is in the light of the foregoing that we must locate the gaps and dents in the work. Each profile here is like a citation. There is really nothing bad in this; but, to my mind, each profiled personality here would have come alive if only some words had been put in their mouth—if each star had spoken, briefly, on, say, their life value and or on their view of the industry, in the context of their role.
I know it’s arguable—but Nollywood is not unlike the child who stands on the shoulders of a giant and is, thereby, able to see much further than his mates: without the work done by the celluloid filmmakers, would Nollywood have been this big? I doubt it. All I am trying to say is that the tripod of the celluloid period ought to have been included or given adequate space in this work.
The tripod I’m alluding to? Ola Balogun/Francis Oladele [whose works were the first to put Nigeria on the global map of filmmaking]; Eddie Ugbomah [who holds the record for the highest number—13—of celluloid films]; and Hubert Ogunde/Ade Love [in whose footsteps the Yoruba filmmakers of today are following].
If Shaibu’s consistent featuring of Nollywood on the pages of The Guardian on Saturday and Sunday and his painstaking activities in the African Film Academy haven’t by now removed any lingering doubts about his love for the industry, this book should do that. Take it for all in all, Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives does come across as Shaibu Hussein’s passionate love song to an industry he ardently loves—Nollywood, that burgeoning industry that we praise and cavil in the same breath.
~ Hyginus EKWUAZI
Department of Theatre Arts
University of Ibadan
Ibadan.
Emotions as Nokia Splashes Prizes in Cash Dash Promotion
Emotions as Nokia Splashes Prizes in Cash Dash Promotion
Mr. Rasheed Agoro is a Lagos based retiree who is being owed the sum of 450 thousand Naira as part of his retirement gratuity. Mr. Agoro’s optimism about prospect of being paid the money gradually waned as his repeated trips to Abuja yielded no fruits. Just when he gave, up got a call from Nokia informing him that he had just won the same amount of money in the Nokia Cash Splash promotion. In this age of scam calls, Mr. Agoro almost dismissed this call as another fast one by criminal elements in town. But this was real. Mr. Agoro was almost in tears when he picked up the check of 450 thousand naira in the Zain-Nokia Cash Splash promotion at a ceremony held at the Protea Hotel Ikeja. Other winners include Mrs. Bukola Aiyesimoju who was visibly excited as she received her cash prize of another 450 thousand naira.
The Zain-Nokia promotion, which was launched during Nigeria’s 50th Independence celebration, was Nigerians carting away a total of eighteen million naira in total. 5 people won N1millionwith with several others winning cash prizes ranging from 50 thousand Naira to 450 thousand naira. Before the grand draw in Lagos, draws were held in Abuja, Portharcourt and Kano.
Tunji Ademiluyi, Retail Customer Marketing Manager for Nokia West Africa said the move is part of effort by Nokia to reward loyal customers. He said the grand draw could not have come at a more auspicious time especial this yuletide when it is customary to give and receive gifts. The event is a climax of all the raffle draws that had been previously held in which several winners emerged. The promotion was aimed at encouraging Nigerians’ sense of pride in Nigeria as well as rewarding their loyalty to Nokia products and it was carried out across several states in the Nations four geo-political zones. The cash prizes ranged from fifty thousand Naira, one hundred thousand Naira, one hundred and fifty thousand Naira to four hundred and fifty thousand Naira only.
Other winners were, Okolo Victor, a student, Mrs Ronke Ajala, Wasiu Salami, Adeyinka Oshodi, Gabriel Adu and Theodore Gyuk who mentioned that the first thing he would do with the money was to purchase another Nokia phone.
Nokia is the world’s number one manufacturer of mobile devices by market share. Beyond its leadership status as a manufacturer of devices, Nokia is fast becoming a leading solutions provider in the converging Internet and communications industries providing internet services that enable users to experience media, messaging, maps and games.
President Goodluck Jonathan is going to Bring Back the Book
Photo Credit: Puku
President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, today launches the transformational "Bring Back the Book" literary campaign to revive a reading culture among Nigerian youths and he is also presenting his own book "My Friends and I: Conversations on Policy and Governance via Facebook". The venue is the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel, Lagos.
"The time has come when educational opportunities must be for all; when knowledge must be promoted over the mad rush for materialism. Book culture, if properly put in place, will help promote a new Nigeria," said Mr. Oronto Douglas, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy. "Four months after, the interactions with Nigerians on Facebook were turned into a book containing reactions and suggestions on issues of governance. The President joined Facebook not to belong but for the desire to engage, communicate and learn from Nigerians. In fact, the idea of government and governance being impenetrable and sacred should be smashed as government belongs to the people," he added.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Who wants a MAMA when you can win the Grammy?
Nneka. Photo Credit:Nairaland
Who wants a MAMA when you can win the Grammy?
I read Lolade Sowoolu’s "Between Sasha and Nneka" in the Showtime magazine of the Saturday Vanguard on December 18, 2010, and it was quite an interesting critical analysis of how and why the Nigerian rap diva Sasha beat the more internationally acclaimed Nneka to win the Best Female Artiste award at the last MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) in Lagos, Nigeria, making Sasha the first Nigerian to win in the Best Female category after Kenyans dominated it in the last two years. Sowoolu reported that many people thought Nneka should have won the award, because she is considered a more internationally accepted Nigerian artiste as Asa .
Sasha
AsaNneka the Nigerian-German hip hop/soul singer and guitarist is a popular artiste internationally, but not locally, because presently majority of her fellow Nigerians and the rest of Africans do not appreciate her kind of music which is more of a revolutionary fusion of modern reggae and hip-hop and her unique style has taken her places from Europe to the US and then to Africa and she won the award for Best African Act at the 2009 MOBO Awards. And Nneka was on the Late Show with David Letterman in New York before her first concert tour of the United States publicized as the Concrete Jungle and she performed shows in New York City, Vienna (Washington DC), Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And she made the coveted hot list of Rolling Stone and no other Nigerian female artiste has made it and for what Nneka has achieved so far, she is ahead of Asa and Sasha in the world of music. And her ambition is above the MAMA. She is looking forward to winning the Grammy like Sade Adu has done and even a dummy knows that the Grammy is a more globally acclaimed recognition in music than MAMA, MOBO or Channel O.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
MAMA 2010 WINNERS IN FULL
Best Anglophone - Daddy Owen (Kenya)
Best Francophone - Fally Ipupa (DRC)
Best Lusophone - Cabo Snoop (Angola)
Artist of the Year- 2Face (Nigeria)
Best Female - Sasha (Nigeria)
Best Male - 2Face (Nigeria)
Best Video - Fally Ipupa (DRC): “Sexy Dance”
Best Group – P-Square (Nigeria)
Brand New Act - Mo Cheddah (Nigeria)
Best Performance - Big Nuz (South Africa)
Song of the Year - Liquideep (South Africa): “Fairytale”
MAMA Legend – Miriam Makeba (South Africa)
Best International – Eminem (USA).
Seasons Greetings from Nigeria Startup Weekend (Africa)
Seasons Greetings
The Startup Weekend Crew would like to wish our alumni, mentors, speakers, judges, sponsors, and fans a happy holiday season spent with family and friends. We have had so much fun this year and have met hundreds of amazing entrepreneurs. Here's a brief look at some of our 2010 highlights:
- We received a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which will allow us to study the science of entrepreneurship
- We officially became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization!
- We held a global summit of our key facilitators in Kansas City, Missouri
- Our core team grew from two to nine full time employees
- We launched our first Global Startup Battle, which was so successful we're planning to on making it an annual event
We have an ambitious schedule planned for 2011. Our goal is to organize 130 events in just 12 months and we would love to see all of you at one of our events this year! To stay connected please
Fan us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Visit our website
Best of luck with all of your current and future startup endeavors! If you, your team, or your startup have also had an amazing year--let us know! Any Startup Weekend alums or ventures that are rocking their startup scenes, email us atsuccess@startupweekend.org.
We hope you have a peaceful and merry holiday season!
~ From Nigeria Startup Weekend (Africa)
Friday, December 17, 2010
Top Nollywood Stars grace Shaibu Husseini’s 40th Birthday and movie book launch
Kate Henshaw-Nuttal was a gorgeous MCTop Nollywood Stars grace Shaibu Husseini’s 40th Birthday and movie book launch
Top Nollywood Stars grace Shaibu Husseini’s 40th Birthday and movie book launch
The ever graceful Nollywood black beauty Kate Henshaw-Nuttal was the mistress of ceremony as the crème de la crème of Nollywood graced the book launch of "Moviedom.....the Nollywood Narratives---Clips on the Pioneers" authored by popular Nigerian Arts journalist and film critic Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian newspaper on Friday December 17, 2010, at the National Theatre, Ignamu, Lagos. The occasion was also a celebration of his the 40th birthday.
The celebrant Shaibu HusseiniFamous Nigerian filmmaker Chief Eddie Ugbomah spoke on the brilliance and humility of the celebrant and his senior colleague at The Guardian Jahman Anikulapo said Mr. Husseini is still one of the best dancers in dance drama in Nigeria whose expertise in choreography attracted him before discovering his literary skills and editing his reports on the Nigerian film industry in what Husseini called “MOVIEDOM”.
The top dignitaries from Nollywood at the event included Okey Oguejiofor aka Paulo of the "Living in Bondage" fame, Zeb Ejiro, Greg Odutayo, Izu Ojukwu, Kunle Afolayan, Opa Willaims, Paul Obazele, Fred Amata, Francis Onwuchie, Chike Ibekwe,Segun Arinze, Fidelis Duker, Emeka Ossai, Uche Macaulay, Omoni Oboli and her handsome husband Nnamdi. These distinguished guests and other VIPs of the Nigerian film industry and news media made the occasion very colourful and a day to remember.
The event was co-sponsored by African Film Academy (AFA), organizers of the annual African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) and the illustrious Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder/CEO of AMAA was there with her associates, including Ilaria Chessa of ION international Film Festival to make sure that Shaibu Husseini had a great day.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sade’s Highly Acclaimed SOLDIER OF LOVE Marches On With Two Grammy Nominations
Sade "Soldier Of Love" Video from My Little Boudoir on Vimeo.
Lest we forget our own Nigerian born Sade Adu received two Grammy nominations for her sixth album Soldier of Love and none of the over hyped FM radio and TV stations in Nigeria are celebrating her. Wow!
May we repeat that the artiste popularly known as Sade (pronounced /ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY) is the same Helen Folasade Adu, OBE, who was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria on the 16th day of January in 1959. Her father Bisi Adu, was a Yoruba Nigerian lecturer in economics, and her mother Anne Hayes, an English district nurse.
She is not new to the Grammy Awards since she won the Grammy for the Best New Artist in 1986 with the debut album, Diamond Life that has sold over 50 million albums. Sade is the most successful solo female artist in British history.
Soldier of Love went straight to number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 502,000 copies in the United States and it is Sade’s first US number-one debut, and was at the top of music charts in several other countries in the world. For more details I have posted the official news release on the success story.
~ By Ekeyerengozi Michael Chima
Dec 2, 2010 12:26 ET
Sade’s Highly Acclaimed SOLDIER OF LOVE Marches On With Two Grammy Nominations
NEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — On the heels of an epic year for Sade, the band’s platinum selling SOLDIER OF LOVE, marks another milestone today by garnering two Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal by a Group for “Babyfather” and Best R&B Vocal by a Group for “Soldier of Love”. Holding down the top spot on the charts for three weeks upon its release, the critically acclaimed album takes its rightful place among the vast collection of iconic Sade albums.
After a decade out of the spotlight, Sade’s eighth album, SOLDIER OF LOVE exploded onto the charts in February and instantly made music history. The album ranked in the top 10 among Billboard’s 200 making them the first group since Led Zeppelin to hold this accomplishment. The attention grabbing first single “Soldier of Love” made radio history debuting at # 11 on the Urban Hot AC chart, making it the highest debut of the decade and the third highest all-time on the Urban Hot AC chart. “Soldier of Love” also debuted at # 5 on the Smooth Jazz airplay chart while also becoming the first ever vocal to hit # 1 on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown.
Entertainment Weekly featured SOLDIER OF LOVE in their “Must List” and gave the album an “A”, Rolling Stone wrote, “it’s unimpeachably excellent,” and The Boston Globe calls it, “a rich and rewarding album.” But the accolades don’t stop there. Associated Press raved, “like a long-ago lover not quite forgotten, Sade has returned to steal our hearts with more beautiful, uncategorizable music,” Billboard was quoted as saying, “it’s been 10 years since Sade released an album, but be forewarned – the giant has awoken,” while People Magazine reminds us that “Sade remains the voice of comfort to the wounded heart.”
Sade recently announced their highly anticipated return to the world’s stage. The North American leg, produced by Live Nation, begins on June 16th in Baltimore, Maryland at the 1st Mariner’s Arena. Tickets are on sale at LiveNation.com.
Known for their one of a kind timeless sound, Sade has enjoyed phenomenal success both internationally and stateside throughout the span of their twenty-five year career. Since the release of their debut album, Diamond Life in 1984 the band has seen all five of their studio albums land in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart selling a total of more than 50 million albums worldwide to date. They’ve been nominated for American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and have won three Grammy Awards – first in 1986 for Best New Artist, then in 1994 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group for “No Ordinary Love”, and again in 2002 for Best Pop Vocal Album with Lovers Rock.
SADE.COM
SOURCE Epic Records
CONTACT: Lauren Ceradini, Sony Music Entertainment, +1-212-833-7965, Lauren.Ceradini@sonymusic.com
Web Site: http://www.sade.com
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