Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Wonderful Women Are Doing Wonderful Things in the World

If women ran the world we wouldn't have wars, just intense negotiations every 28 days.
~ Robin Williams

The world is full of wonderful women doing wonderful things every day and everywhere and one of them could be your sister, niece, cousin, aunt, girlfriend, wife, mother, grandmother and even great grandmother and they have wowed us in countless ways. But in most cases, these Amazons among us have not been celebrated.

They may not be on the "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" List of Forbes Magazine and they may not be on the covers of celebrity magazines beaming at us, but they are still doing wonderful works in their own wonderful ways at home and at work and from those sweeping the streets everyday to those making straight As in the classroom and those brainstorming in the boardroom. They are all wonderful women among us.

Those who don't celebrate you will underestimate you!
And don't let anyone underestimate you in anyway!

You are the wonderful creation of God and you have been made to wow every one. So, you must be successful and be Wonderful! Don't settle for less. Lest we forget, without women, there will be no men today. Women bring men into the world!

It is past time for women to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children’s and grand children’s fates, are decided.
~ Hillary Clinton

Our wonderful women doing wonders are going to be given the respect and honour they deserve and we are going to do so every year in our awesome Women of Outstanding Wonder (WOW) Awards in Lagos, Nigeria and you are welcome to join us. You must know wonderful women in your family, community and larger society and tell us the wonderful things they have done or are doing for humanity.

Get involved, email us at publisher@nigeriansreport.com and watch out for more information on the first ever Women of Outstanding Wonder (WOW) Awards coming soon!

The 29th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

This House Has Fallen? Since When?

To understand Africa, one must understand Nigeria, and few Americans understand Nigeria better than Karl Maier. This House Has Fallen is a bracing and disturbing report on the state of Africa's most populous, potentially richest, and most dangerously dysfunctional nation.Each year, with depressing consistency, Nigeria is declared the most corrupt state in the entire world. Though Nigeria is a nation into which billions of dollars of oil money flow, its per capita income has fallen dramatically in the past two decades. Military coup follows military coup. A bellwether for Africa, it is a country of rising ethnic tensions and falling standards of living, very possibly on the verge of utter collapse — a collapse that could dramatically overshadow even the massacres in Rwanda.A brilliant piece of reportage and travel writing, This House Has Fallen looks into the Nigerian abyss and comes away with insight, profound conclusions, and even some hope. Updated with a new preface by the author.

I have already addressed Karl Maier in my In the House of Dogs that should be read by anyone who wants to know the genesis of the Nigerian crisis from the testimonies of someone born and bred in Nigeria and not from the pedestrian observations of a foreigner. A visitor does not know your home more than you no matter how long the visitor stays with you.

A journey into contemporary Africa's most powerful, most corrupt nation.. To understand Africa, you have to understand Nigeria, and few Americans understand Nigeria better than Karl Maier. In the tradition of Philip Gourevitch's bestselling We Regret to Inform You...and Redmond O'Hanlon's No Mercy, This House Has Fallen is a bracing, disturbing, evocative report on the state of Africa's most populous, potentially richest, and most dangerously dysfunctional nation.Each year, with depressing consistency, Nigeria is declared the most corrupt state in the entire world. A nation into which billions of dollars of oil money flow, Nigeria's per capita income has dramatically fallen in the past two decades. All of the money has been stolen by elites. Also stolen has been democracy. Nigeria's leaders tend to elect themselves, often with the help of a gun. Military coup follows military coup. A rare democratic election is often merely a prelude to the next seizure of power by a general who wants greater access to the state's rapidly depleted vaults. A country of rising ethnic tensions and falling standards of living, Nigeria is a bellwether for Africa. And yet some think it is on the verge of utter collapse, a collapse that could overshadow even the massacres in Rwanda.A brilliant piece of reportage and travel writing, this book looks into the Nigerian abyss and comes away with insight, profound conclusions, and even some hope. To understand Africa, you have to understand Nigeria, and few Americans understand Nigeria better than Karl Maier. In the tradition of Philip Gourevitch's bestselling We Regret to Inform You...and Redmond O'Hanlon's No Mercy, This House Has Fallen is a bracing, disturbing, evocative report on the state of Africa's most populous, potentially richest, and most dangerously dysfunctional nation.Each year, with depressing consistency, Nigeria is declared the most corrupt state in the entire world. A nation into which billions of dollars of oil money flow, Nigeria's per capita income has dramatically fallen in the past two decades. All of the money has been stolen by elites. Also stolen has been democracy. Nigeria's leaders tend to elect themselves, often with the help of a gun. Military coup follows military coup. A rare democratic election is often merely a prelude to the next seizure of power by a general who wants greater access to the state's rapidly depleted vaults. A country of rising ethnic tensions and falling standards of living, Nigeria is a bellwether for Africa. And yet some think it is on the verge of utter collapse, a collapse that could overshadow even the massacres in Rwanda.A brilliant piece of reportage and travel writing, this book looks into the Nigerian abyss and comes away with insight, profound conclusions, and even some hope. *The first significant book on this subject in decades Nigeria is strategically vital to the United States-- it is one of our major suppliers of oil.

Katy Perry's WOW Moment!

Katy Perry is famous not only for her chart topping songs, movies and concerts, but for her philanthropy and played a big role in Gucci’s A-list Chime For Change campaign, which urges women to come together for global issues such as justice, healthcare and just yesterday on Monday November 25, 2013, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Gucci announced that it has raised $4.4 million through its Chime for Change initiative for women and girls.

(RED) Brings Together The World's Biggest DJs + Pop Artists To Release DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES2 On iTunes Out Now

25 Nov 2013 21:01 Africa/Lagos

(RED) Brings Together The World's Biggest DJs + Pop Artists To Release DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES2 On iTunes Out Now AVAILABLE NOW: iTunes.com/DanceRED ALBUM TO KICK-OFF THIS YEAR'S WORLD AIDS DAY CELEBRATIONS TOGETHER WITH CALVIN HARRIS, AVICII, KATY PERRY, SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA, ROBIN THICKE, TIESTO, DEADMAU5 AND MORE

NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the global success of the 2012 DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES music compilation - which topped the iTunes dance charts at #1 in 33 countries - (RED) together with today's hottest electronic and pop artists, today release DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES ² . Produced in partnership with Capitol Music Group's Priority Records, DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES ² is available now exclusively on iTunes, where it immediately debuted at #1 on the Dance Chart: iTunes.com/danceRED.

The ultimate soundtrack to this year's World AIDS Day weekend celebrations, the DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES ² compilation features new remixes of some of the biggest names in pop and electronic music such as Robin Thicke, Katy Perry, Tiesto, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, Martin Solveig and Major Lazer, as well as original collaborations from Baauer & RL Grime, deadmau5 & Eric Prydz and Dada Life & Josh Wink. The album costs $9.99 and ALL proceeds from the sales of DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES ² go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.

Beginning on November 30 in Sydney, Australia where (RED) will be renewing its partnership with Stereosonic Festival, DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES ² will kick off the annual dance party taking place across the 2013 World AIDS Day weekend. Sets by many of the biggest names in dance music, including Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and more will be live-streamed on VICE's electronic music and culture channel – THUMP, bringing fans an unforgettable live global music experience.

The DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES ² album artwork features a collaborative design by pioneering graffiti artist and graphic designer, Futura, and German design student Ramona Ring as part of (RED)'s global design competition with Adobe Creative Cloud™.

WATCH THE DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES² CAMPAIGN VIDEO HERE

DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES² ALBUM TRACKLIST

Katy Perry - Roar (DallasK Remix)
Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Swedish House Mafia Remix)
Major Lazer ft. Bruno Mars, Tyga and Mystic - Bubble Butt (Flosstradamus Remix)
Empire of the Sun & Tommy Trash - Celebrate (Tommy Trash Remix)
Madonna vs. Avicii - Girl Gone Wild (Avicii's UMF Mix)
Bob Marley - Sun Is Shining (Jesse Rose 'Bootleg' Remix)
Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (R3hab Remix)
Dada Life vs. Josh Wink - Higher State of Dada Land
Robin Thicke ft. Kendrick Lamar - Give It 2 U (Benny Benassi Remix)
Capital Cities - Kangaroo Court (Robert DeLong Remix)
Banks - Waiting Game (Kaytranada Edition)
Baauer & RL Grime - Infinite Daps
Claire - Broken Promise Land (Giorgio Moroder Remix & Vocoder)
Bingo Players - Buzzcut (Popeska Remix)
Icona Pop - All Night (Crookers Remix)
Tiesto, Mark Alston, Baggi Begovic, Jason Taylor - Love & Run ft. Teddy Geiger (MOTi Remix)
Deadmau5 vs. Eric Prydz - The Veldt (Prydz Festival Edit)
Martin Solveig & The Cataracts - Hey Now ft. Kyle (Pierce Fulton Remix)
Gorgon City - Voltage
Felix Cartal ft. HAERTS - Slow Motion
Rebecca & Fiona ft. VICE - Hot Shots (RED Edition)
Tritonal ft. Underdown - Deep Into Black (Club Mix)
Chuckie - Skydive ft. Maiday (Candyland Remix)
Far East Movement - There Will Be No Rain (Kill Paris Remix)

About (RED)™
(RED) was founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver to engage businesses and people in the fight against AIDS.
(RED) partners with the world's most iconic brands who contribute up to 50% of profits from (RED) branded goods and services to the Global Fund. (RED) Proud Partners include: Apple, Starbucks, The Coca-Cola Company, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Claro, SAP, Telcel and Live Nation Entertainment. (RED) Special Edition partners include: Shazam, Girl Skateboards, Mophie, FEED, Nanda Home, Bottletop, Fatboy USA, Bed Bath & Beyond, HEAD.

To date, (RED) has generated more than $240 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to support HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania. 100 percent of that money goes to work on the ground – no overhead is taken. Global Fund grants that (RED) supports have impacted more than 14 million people with prevention, treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services.
(RED) is a division of The ONE Campaign. Learn more at www.red.org.

About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund is an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund promotes partnerships between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the most effective way to help reach those in need. This innovative approach relies on country ownership and performance-based funding, meaning that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing where verifiable results are achieved.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has approved funding of US$ 22.9 billion for in 140 countries. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund have provided AIDS treatment for 5.3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 11 million people and 340 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.

Video with caption: "(RED) BRINGS TOGETHER THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DJS + POP ARTISTS TO RELEASE DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES2 ON iTUNES OUT NOW AVAILABLE NOW: iTunes.com/DanceRED." Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26AYBCL174c
Image with caption: "(RED) BRINGS TOGETHER THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DJS POP ARTISTS TO RELEASE DANCE (RED) SAVE LIVES2 ON iTUNES OUT NOW ALBUM TO KICK-OFF THIS YEAR'S WORLD AIDS DAY CELEBRATIONS TOGETHER WITH CALVIN HARRIS, AVICII, KATY PERRY, SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA, ROBIN THICKE, TIESTO, DEADMAU5 AND MORE." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131125/NY23543

SOURCE (RED)
CONTACT: Holly Aubry, (RED), +1 212 405 4991, Holly.aubry@red.org
Web Site: http://www.red.org

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Kenya Protest After Alleged Gang-rapists Ordered To Cut Grass As Punishment

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Kenya's capital after police punished the alleged rapists of a 16-year-old schoolgirl by making them cut their compound's lawn. The girl, widely referred to as ..

Violence Against Women is Unacceptable – No Matter What She Was Wearing

23 Nov 2013 07:32 Africa/Lagos

Violence against women is unacceptable – no matter what she was wearing

GENEVA, 22 November 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - Violence against women remains one of the greatest scourges of our time. It is disgraceful that even today, for many women and girls everywhere, violence is lurking around street corners, in workplaces or in their very own homes. And too often, justice is elusive.

In Busia, Kenya, in June this year, a 16-year-old girl was gang-raped and thrown into a six-metre-deep pit latrine, breaking her back and leaving her with obstetric fistula. Police chose not to prosecute the men, instead ordering them to cut grass around the police station as punishment. The news unleashed a rare outpouring of public indignation and a petition was signed by 1.4 million people. The “Justice for Liz” campaign led the Chief Justice of Kenya to call for immediate action in the case. Why did it take agitation by 1.4 million people to begin the process of justice which is the victim's fundamental human right?

Halfway around the world, in Auckland, New Zealand, when a 13-year-old girl had gone to the police to report that she had been raped by three young men, one of the first questions she was reportedly asked was: “What were you wearing”. This was in 2011. Two years later, after many similar attacks by the same gang, it took a public exposé to rattle the authorities into action. The Independent Police Conduct Authority of New Zealand has been ordered to look into the handling of these cases and police are now finally conducting the investigations they should have begun two years ago.

Sadly, these are not isolated cases. Such crimes occur on a daily basis in countries across the world, but they rarely make headlines or lead to public outrage and action by high-level officials. In most parts of the world, women are too ashamed or fearful to report violence, particularly sexual violence, to the police. And when they overcome various societal barriers and taboos to file a complaint, they are all too often met with callous, insensitive official reactions, effectively blocking all access to justice.

Violence against women and girls has been perpetuated by centuries of male dominance and gender-based discrimination. Building on deeply entrenched social norms that frame women's worth around discriminatory notions of chastity and “honour”, violence is often used to control and humiliate not only the victims, but also their families and communities. It is essential to challenge such notions, which often permeate the justice system itself, resulting in a vicious cycle of impunity and further violence.

The UN Committee on the Elimination on Discrimination against Women and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women have been documenting violence against women, its causes and consequences in all parts of the world and recommending measures to eliminate such violence and to remedy its consequences. These recommendations must be taken seriously. States are obliged by international human rights law to ensure that the criminal justice system, at every stage, is free of gender bias, including in investigation, prosecution, interrogation and protection of victims and witnesses, and in sentencing.

The suggestion that women have a propensity to lie and that their testimony must be corroborated or treated with caution should be eliminated from every level of the judicial process, as must the idea that women invite sexual violence by being out late or by dressing in a particular manner.

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us do our part to eliminate the harmful gender stereotypes that help perpetuate a climate where violence against women is considered acceptable or “deserved”. Violence is simply and totally unacceptable – no matter what she was wearing.

SOURCE United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Friday, November 22, 2013

Youth Writing Winner: The Battle Against Corruption Starts from Within

Ugoh Wilson Emenike

22 Nov 2013 01:43 Africa/Lagos

YOUTH WRITING WINNER: THE BATTLE AGAINST CORRUPTION STARTS FROM WITHIN

BERLIN, 21 November 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - If young people want to see change in the world, they have to realise the battle against corruption starts with them – they must resolve to do the right thing. This is the message from Nigeria's Ugoh Wilson Emenike, 23, the winner of our 20th anniversary youth writing competition.

Emenike's essay is a semi-fictional account of a youngster who loses respect for a highly regarded teacher after he connives with a supplier and inflates the price of sporting equipment to “get his slice of the cake”. After leaving school, the youngster takes a stand against the endemic corruption he experienced by resisting to pay a bribe to get into college. Read the full story here.

We chatted with Emenike when he was in Berlin recently to accept his prize at Transparency International's 20th Anniversary Celebrations. Here are some of his insights on the power of story-telling and the importance of setting an example:

How can creative writing be used as a tool to fight corruption:
Writing is a way of drawing people in and giving them information about issues that are a problem in society, like corruption. If your writing is interesting and creative, you can pass your message across effectively. When people don't realise that corruption is a problem, they don't think of ways to solve it. Story-telling helps to make people more aware.

What was the reaction back home in Nigeria after you won this competition?
There was a big reaction – my essay was publicised widely in the newspapers and online. I was also contacted by a number of people who wanted to talk to me about it. One man's reaction said it all: “If there is one area in society where change should start, it's the education system. But when young people in the education system are exposed to corruption as if it's a normal part of life, you'll get a lot of problems.” People can now see that there are individuals like me who are not comfortable with corruption – that may change their thinking and attitudes. I hope that will help to make a difference.
Why did you decide to enter the competition?

I saw the competition as an opportunity for me to speak out about a very personal problem – the problem of corruption. Although the essay is a work of fiction, I have experienced all these events in my own life – you could say I am the main character. When money meant for paying lecturers goes missing and those lecturers go on strike for months, young people like myself are affected. These young people can no longer attend classes and some can't even graduate. Their futures are being jeopardised by corruption.
What is your advice to other youngsters who encounter corruption in their daily lives in Nigeria?
In order to fight corruption, you have to recognise it as a problem first. Then you must make the decision to change. You can't make the change when you're not ready for it – beating corruption requires a change of attitude. You can't just keep on complaining things are wrong – you must actively resolve not to indulge in corruption.

Where to from here?
I want to continue the fight. I want to continue telling stories. My weapon remains my writing – I will keep on telling people corruption is not right, and turn my messages into stories so they draw people in.
It's important that we talk about issues of corruption in Nigeria, so people know what's happening there. I hope my writing puts it in the spotlight.

More about Ugoh Wilson Emenike
Ugoh Wilson Emenike is a youth activist, writer and teacher from Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Although he comes from an economically disadvantaged background, Emenike says he believes that there is no limit to what one can achieve with determination. He works with a faith-based organisation to help young people develop their potential and make a positive impact on society. Emenike says his interest in corruption developed from his realisation that it can be the root cause of many challenges that youth face globally, including unemployment.

SOURCE Transparency International

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time

22 Nov 2013