Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Nestle Waters Sending 5.4 Million Bottles of Water for Hurricane Sandy Victims



STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More than five million bottles of water will be arriving this weekend and early next week in New York and New Jersey communities hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. Approximately 100 trucks will be converging on the region from Nestle Waters North America (NWNA) plants in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas and Maine, where employees are working tirelessly to meet the acute needs of storm victims. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the New York Office of Emergency Management made the request for bottled water to meet immediate need in the region.

In Somerset New Jersey, an American Red Cross volunteer unloads Nestle© Pure Life® bottled water headed for shelters and other emergency needs. Nestle© Waters North America has donated more than 775,000 bottles of water to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Nestle Waters North America is also donating 200,000 bottles of Poland Spring® water that had been designated for the NYC Marathon. With that event now cancelled, all of that bottled water is being turned over to relief agencies. This brings total bottled water donations by NWNA to more than 775,000 bottles, most of which have by distributed through disaster relief partners AmeriCares and The American Red Cross.

New York National Guardsman transfer bottles of NestlĂ© Pure Life® bottled water for distribution to New York City residents affected by Hurricane Sandy. Richard Drew, AP (PRNewsFoto/Nestle Waters North America)

For example, the Red Cross is using bottles of Nestle® Pure Life® purified water sent to its Somerset, New Jersey warehouse to provide assistance to people in shelters and communities in that region facing disruptions in municipal water supplies. AmeriCares has received donations of Deer Park® water to be distributed to The Salvation Army for Nassau County on Long Island, and Nestle® Pure Life® to help residents of New York City housing projects.

"The bottled water industry plays a critical role at times like this to provide large quantities of clean, safe water that can be transported and stored safely," says Heidi Paul, vice president corporate affairs for Nestle Waters North America. "We are proud of the efforts and commitment of our employees across the country who work around the clock to get water to people in need."

The 5.4 million additional bottles requested by FEMA will be arriving between Sunday and Tuesday, and will be staged from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, as well as from Lakehurst, New Jersey.

People who would like to learn how they can support relief efforts should visit: http://www.americares.org/ or http://www.redcross.org/.

About Nestle Waters North America Inc.

Nestle Waters North America is the nation's leading bottled water company. Nestle Waters offers consumers a variety of portable, calorie-free bottled waters, including Poland Spring and other natural spring water brands; Nestle® Pure Life®, a nationally distributed purified bottled water; and international brands, S. Pellegrino, Perrier and Acqua Panna. Most recently, the company has added a refreshing line of ready-to-drink iced teas. Nestle Waters North America is committed to creating shared value for society. It does so through healthy hydration, jobs and benefits to communities where it operates, and environmental stewardship, most notably responsible water management, lightweight packaging and advancing recycling in America. People's interest in reducing their calories from beverages and having a reliable second source of water has led Nestle Waters North America to be third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S.


SOURCE Nestle Waters North America


RELATED LINKS
http://www.nestle-watersna.com/
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1rRYP)










The Hague Institute for Global Justice Names Dr. Abiodun Williams as New President

Dr. Abiodun Williams.

5 Nov 2012 14:51 Africa/Lagos

The Hague Institute for Global Justice Names Dr. Abiodun Williams as New President

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, November 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Hague Institute for Global Justice has appointed Dr. Abiodun Williams as the first President of the Institute. Dr. Williams will assume the presidency on January 1, 2013. He is currently Senior Vice President of the Center for Conflict Management at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, DC.

The Board of the Hague Institute would like to express sincere gratitude to the current Dean, Professor Willem van Genugten, for his important contribution in the start-up phase of the Institute. His dedication, vision and leadership have been of invaluable importance for the development of the Institute's approach, working methods and positioning.

Launched in June 2011, the Hague Institute for Global Justice was established by the municipality of The Hague and a number of Hague based academic institutions, with the strong support of the Dutch government. The Institute is based in a city that has been a symbol of peace and justice for over a century, starting with the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899. It is dedicated to addressing significant global justice issues from an inter-disciplinary perspective, and identifying practical and effective solutions. Through its projects, the Institute seeks to underline that lasting peace, security and development cannot be achieved without global justice and respect for international law.

"It is with great satisfaction that we welcome Dr. Abiodun Williams as President of The Hague Institute for Global Justice," says Jozias van Aartsen, Chair of the Institute's Board, Mayor of The Hague and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. "With his great experience, both in the field and at the UN-headquarters, he will be an inspiring leader of our young Institute."

Dr. Williams joined USIP in 2008 and leads its work in major conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Prior to his current position he served as Vice President of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, and had primary responsibility for USIP's work on conflict prevention, Iran, and Northeast Asia.

Before joining USIP, Dr. Williams had a successful career at the United Nations. From 2001-2007 he served as Director of Strategic Planning for United Nations Secretaries-General Ban Ki-moon and Kofi Annan. From 1994 to 2000 he served in three peacekeeping operations in Macedonia, Haiti, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as Special Assistant to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and Political and Humanitarian Affairs Officer.

Dr. Williams has also had valuable experience in academia. He has served as Associate Dean of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, DC, and held faculty appointments at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, University of Rochester, and Tufts University. He has received several awards including the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University and the Constantine E. Maguire Medal from Georgetown. He is Chair of the Academic Council on the United Nations System, and has published widely on conflict prevention and conflict management. Dr. Williams earned his Master of Arts degree with Honors in English Language and Literature from Edinburgh University, and his Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, and Doctorate in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

"It is an honor to lead The Hague Institute for Global Justice which has great potential to become an internationally acclaimed think tank, and a vital force in the challenging but essential task of promoting global peace and justice. I look forward to working with the staff, the Board, and the Advisory Council to fulfill the Institute's promise," Dr. Williams said.

The chair of the Advisory Council of the Institute and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said "I have known Dr. Williams for more than 25 years as a valued colleague and friend. I am delighted at this new appointment. He is the ideal choice for this position, and will be a tremendous asset to The Hague Institute for Global Justice. Dr. Williams is brilliant, talented and an inspiring leader."

For the redaction:

For more information contact The Hague Institute for Global Justice, Laura de Meijer, +31(0)70-30-28-133.










Amnesty Uncovers Massacres of Terrorist Suspects in Northern Nigeria

Joint Task Force (JTF)on patrol in Maiduguri, the major North Nigeria.

5 Nov 2012 04:17 Africa/Lagos

Nigeria: Independent Investigation into Maiduguri Killings Vital

LONDON, November 5, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Dozens of men and boys from Maiduguri in northern Nigeria have been reportedly shot by security forces as Amnesty International published a report condemning human rights violations by the security forces in response to the Boko Haram campaign of violence.


Amnesty International has received reports that between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning scores of men were taken out of their houses by the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the younger men were then shot.


According to information received by Amnesty International at least 30 bodies have been deposited at Maiduguri teaching hospital morgue with gun shot wounds.


One eye-witness told Amnesty International that on Thursday she saw dozens of bodies on the floor of the morgue with bullet wounds. Some burials took place on Friday morning.


These reports were received as Amnesty International's Secretary General, Salil Shetty, concluded a high level mission to Nigeria. He had presented the findings of Amnesty International's latest report to members of the government and met with civil society members.


“These reports from Maiduguri are shocking,” said Salil Shetty as he prepared to leave Nigeria.


“They underline the importance of Amnesty International's call for thorough investigation into all reports of human rights violations.”


“As Amnesty International's report, launched this week, already emphasized, the security services must act within the law. You can't build security through creating insecurity.”


Amnesty International met the Attorney General of the Federation following the launch of the report where he, on behalf of the President, made commitments to investigate all reports of human rights violations by the security forces and said that any state actor found responsible will be brought to justice.


Prior to the public launch on 1 November, the findings of the report were shared in a confidential written briefing to the relevant government bodies in August.


It was sent to the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Interior, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Inspector General of Police, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Commissioners of Police for Borno and Kano states.

The document contained an appendix with the details of each case documented by Amnesty International, including the names, locations, the name of the relevant security agency involved, and requesting further information and an investigation into the reports.

The identities of some people were withheld from the final report – a public document with a global readership – to protect their safety.

“As a leading actor on the African and international stage, Nigeria must address the inherent problems with its security forces and show real respect for the rule of law,” said Shetty.


On the same day Amnesty International launched the report, delegates were granted permission to visit Special Anti-Robbery Squad police station Abuja to visit Ibrahim Umar, who remains detained there despite a court order for his release issued in August.


The delegates were told by the SARS police officers that he had been transferred to another station. After their departure, Amnesty International received information that Ibrahim Umar had, in fact, been taken to a different location within the station.


“It looks as though Ibrahim Umar was hidden from us with the express intention of concealing his whereabouts. It would be a significant step if the police could now release this man, respecting the court order,” said Shetty.


“We urge the government to act on its commitment to bring to justice all those responsible for human violations. A vital first step is to introduce a witness protection programme that makes those who are victims of human rights violations feel safe when they call on the police for protection.”


Source: Amnesty International

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3rd Eko International Film Festival Opens With Heineken's SkyFall Promo




The 3rd Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) celebrating Nollywood Divas opened Monday evening with the popular Skyfall James Bond 007 "Crack the Case" Heineken promo at the prestigious Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island in the coastal mega city of Lagos. The event attracted movie buffs and the Nigerian news media with a reception sponsored by Heineken Nigeria at the atrium of the Silverbird Galleria where Skyfall is still pulling crowds to the Silverbird Cinemas after the successful Nigerian premiere last Friday.

The Lagos State government was represented by Mr. Wale Adeniji, from the office of the Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-Government Relations. Other special guests included Mr. Fidelis Duker, the Founder/CEO of Abuja International Film Festival, Victor Okhai, the Founder/CEO of In-Short International Film Festival and others from within Nigeria and abroad.


On Tuesday there will be a special screening of award winning director Niji Akanni's romantic thriller Heroes & Zeros, starring Nadia Buari and Bimbo Manuel and also featuring Gabriel Afolayan, Olu Jacobs, Norbert Young, Akin Lewis, Funsho Adeolu and Chervel Bridgette.


The 3rd Eko International Film Festival continues with daily screenings of over 18 more films from multiple award winning filmmakers from host country Nigeria, Spain, USA, UK, Austria, France, Argentina, Haiti and Mozambique till the closing ceremony on Saturday November 10, 2012.

The ticket is N2, 000 only.











Monday, November 5, 2012

3rd Eko International Film Festival Opens in Lagos


3rd Eko International Film Festival Opens in Lagos

The much talked about 3rd Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) celebrating Nollywood Divas opens this evening at the prestigious Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island in the coastal mega city of Lagos.
The 6 day event will be declared open by the Lagos State government at 5 pm with a red carpet reception in the atrium of the Silverbird Galleria.

Top Nollywood stars confirmed to grace the occasion include Ejike Asiegbu, former president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), with Ibinabo Fiberesima, the recently elected first female President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria who will be leading an entourage of leading Nollywood divas among whom are the top twenty nominees for the maiden Nollywood Divas Awards. Other special guests and celebrities are also expected from within Nigeria and abroad.


The opening film Operation Libertad was premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, directed by Swiss director Nicolas Wadimoff. There will be screenings of over 22 selected films from multiple award winning filmmakers from host country Nigeria, Spain, USA, UK, Austria, France, Argentina, Haiti and Mozambique.

The 3rd Eko International Film Festival is supported by the Silverbird Group, Heineken Nigeria, Starcom Media, Supple Communications Limited, International Digital Post Network and other partners and sponsors.
The daily festival pass in only N2, 000 per person and available at the venue.

The annual Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) is Nigeria’s leading international film festival in the coastal mega city of Lagos in south western Nigeria.It was founded in 2009 by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima and Hope Obioma Opara and duly registered in the same year.

The mission of Eko International Film Festival is to promote the appreciation of Arts and Culture through the motion picture arts and sciences and boost tourism in the global village.

Eko International Film festival is organized by Supple Communications Limited, the publishers of Supple magazine, the first film festivals and culture magazine in Africa showing previews and reviews of movies and interviews 24 hours daily is on www.supplemagazine.org.

The inaugural edition was held in the mega city of Lagos in summer, July 7-12, 2010, at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas of The Palms in Lekki, Lagos, with filmmakers from Nigeria, Kenya, UK, Germany, France, Spain and America. The second edition was held in July 2011 at the Silverbird Cinemas of the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos.
The third edition is coming up from November 5-10, 2012.










Saturday, November 3, 2012

The American Presidential Election and the Rest of Us

The incumbent President Barack Obama of the ruling Democratic Party versus Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate of the opposing Republican Party.

The American Presidential Election and the Rest of Us

The 2012 United States presidential election is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Every American presidential election attracts the rest of the world more than others, because whatever rules in America affects the rest of us.

The American occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq have done us more harm than good by provoking Muslims all over the world to hate Americans more than ever before and hey are attacking American interests and allies such as Christians in Nigeria and Kenya and other places, because they erroneously think America is a Christian nation and the number one ally of the Zionist Israel the chosen of the God of Christians. But majority of American voters are ignorant of these facts and the liberal elites behind President Barack Obama don't really care about the global leadership of America, but about their selfish liberal idiosyncrasies they want to dictate to the rest of conservative Americans. I have been reading Paul Krugman's critical analysis of Mitt Romney and in his elitist arrogance he wants to dictate his wisdom to the rest of Americans as if he cannot be wrong. But he cannot think for American voters. If you don't like Romney, that does not mean you are wiser than those who like him and believe he deserves the chance to be elected as the next and new President of the United States of America.

The majority of American voters don't care whether their president is black or white, but that he keeps his promises, but the one who told them "Yes We Can" four years ago has failed them.











Silverbird, Heineken, Power Horse and others Support Eko International Film Festival


The Silverbird Group, Africa's leading entertainment and media organization is again supporting the annual Eko International Film Festival for the third edition after collaborating with the organizers Supple Communications Limited for the successful second edition in 2011.


Other new partners and sponsors are Heineken®, the world's leading premium beer brand promoting the James Bond on a secret mission in global Heineken® campaign, building on a 15 year relationship with the Bond franchise, the 'Crack the Case' campaign takes viewers into a moving train somewhere deep in snow-covered mountains, offering them the opportunity to become secret agents themselves following SKYFALL™, the 23rd James Bond adventure, in which Daniel Craig brings his explosive portrayal of James Bond to a Heineken ad for the very first time. Challenging consumers to defy Bond's enemies and 'Crack the Case,' viewers will be taken on an epic train journey alongside stunning Bond newcomer Berenice Marlohe.



POWER HORSE Energy Drinks, including Kiss Mix distributed by the Charvet Group Ltd. Both Power Horse energy drink and Kiss Mix are becoming increasingly popular in Nigeria's bars and nightclubs.



Silvderbird TV, Rhythm 93.7 FM, Galaxy TV, BEN TV, Channels TV, The Guardian, The Nation, National Mirror, Daily Sun, Entertainment Express, Modern Ghana, Nigeria Films, Nigerians Report, TALK OF THE TOWN, Supple Magazine and scores of other news and information media channels in electronic, print and internet are all supporting Eko International Film Festival, Nigeria's leading international film festival.

The 3rd Eko International Film Festival heralding the maiden Nollywood Divas Awards opens on Monday November 5, 2012, at the prestigious Silverbird Galleria with red carpet from 5 pm in the atrium on the ground floor and followed by the opening film Operation Libertad of Swiss director Nicolas Wadimoff. A crime thriller chronicling the botched kidnapping exploits of a militant faction in Zurich in 1978 as the members of a small revolutionary group break into a Swiss bank near Zurich. They film the entirety of the action so as to prove the collusion between the Helvetic financial system and dictators. Thirty years later, the tapes of the Operation Libertad resurface...

The 6 day film festival screening films from host country Nigeria, US, UK, Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany, Argentina, Hait and Mozambique will end next Saturday November 10, 2012 with the red carpet closing gala awards night to announce the first Nollywood Diva of the Year.
The ticket is N2, 000 per person per day.
See www.ekoiff.org for more details.








Friday, November 2, 2012

Chika Unigwe Wins $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature

Chika Unigwe.

Chika Unigwe has won the highly coveted Nigeria Prize for Literature for her novel On Black Sisters' Street.


Her novel competed against Only A Canvas by Olusola Olugbesan and Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter by Ngozi Achebe. The announcement was made by Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo, Chairman of the Advisory Board who commended the prize winner's novel as “a work of outstanding merit”, while Professor Abiola Irele, Chair of Judges said: “What is striking about Chika Unigwe's novel is the compassion that informs it.”

Unigwe said when she saw the news on Twitter, she started crying.
Unigwe was born in Nigeria, but now lives in Belgium.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature is fully sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited.

Click here to read Toni Kan's interview with Chika Unigwe as she received the good news after the announcement on Thursday November 1, 2012.

Despite the horrors it depicts, “On Black Sisters' Street” is also boiling with a sly, generous humor. Unigwe is as adept at conveying the cacophony of a Nigerian bus as she is at suggesting the larger historical events that propel her characters. “On Black Sisters Street” marks the arrival of a latter-day Thackeray, an Afro-Belgian writer who probes with passion, grace and comic verve the underbelly of our globalized new world economy.

~ By Fernanda Eberstadt, Sunday Book Review of The New York Times, April 29, 2011.

Raw, vivid, unforgettable, and inspired by a powerful oral storytelling tradition, this novel illuminates the dream of the West—and that dream’s illusion and annihilation—as seen through African eyes. It is a story of courage, unity, and hope, of women’s friendships and of bonds that, once forged, cannot be broken.
~ Amazon.

On Black Sisters' Street tells the haunting story of four very different women who have left their African homeland for the riches of Europe—and who are thrown together by bad luck and big dreams into a sisterhood that will change their lives.

Each night, Sisi, Ama, Efe, and Joyce stand in the windows of Antwerp’s red-light district, promising to make men’s desires come true—if only for half an hour. Pledged to the fierce Madam and a mysterious pimp named Dele, the girls share an apartment but little else—they keep their heads down, knowing that one step out of line could cost them a week’s wages. They open their bodies to strangers but their hearts to no one, each focused on earning enough to get herself free, to send money home or save up for her own future.

Then, suddenly, a murder shatters the still surface of their lives. Drawn together by tragedy and the loss of one of their own, the women realize that they must choose between their secrets and their safety. As they begin to tell their stories, their confessions reveal the face in Efe’s hidden photograph, Ama’s lifelong search for a father, Joyce’s true name, and Sisi’s deepest secrets—-and all their tales of fear, displacement, and love, concluding in a chance meeting with a handsome, sinister stranger.

On Black Sisters' Street marks the U.S. publication debut of Chika Unigwe, a brilliant new writer and a standout voice among contemporary African authors.

Praise for On Black Sisters Street 


“Chika Unigwe writes with moral urgency nourished by a nuanced understanding of the human condition and prose that is elegantly calibrated. And for all the dark turns her work takes, On Black Sisters' Street is suffused with warmth, hard-won wisdom, and a deep compassion.” 
 —Chris Abani, author of Becoming Abigail and Song for Night
 “ [‘On Black Sisters Street’ is] boiling with a sly, generous humor. Unigwe is as adept at conveying the cacophony of a Nigerian bus as she is at suggesting the larger historical events that propel her characters. ‘On Black Sisters' Street’ marks the arrival of a latter-day Thackeray, an Afro-Belgian writer who probes with passion, grace and comic verve the underbelly of our globalized new world economy.”
--The New York Times Book Review  (*an Editors Choice selection in the 5/10 NYTBR)
 
“Powerful....The author's raw voice, unflinching eye for detail, facility for creating a complex narrative, and affection for her characters make this a must read.”
Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Gripping....As Unigwe tells her characters’ stories in interweaving narratives and time lines, the women embody depths of fear and displacement, as well as the will to survive and prosper."
--Booklist

“A novel of desperation, sexual exploitation, and, ultimately, sisterhood. … Unigwe has a talent for capturing the dashed dreams of young women who are stronger than they imagine. … The women’s personal stories are wrenchingly memorable.”
Library Journal

“In her English-language debut, the Nigerian-born Unigwe convincingly exposes an unfamiliar world without sentimentality. Capable drama that puts a human face on the scourge of human trafficking.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Spellbinding…combines a storyteller’s narrative flair with a reporter’s eye for grim, gritty details about the sex industry. … Nigerian-born Unigwe crafts her characters’ voices with crystalline prose and compassion, in a revelatory work as tough, humane and unsentimental as its heroines.”
MORE Magazine
“Chika Unigwe’s ON BLACK SISTERS STREET is a grand and compassionate and moving work of art. The best fiction succeeds when it allows a reader to open a door, step into a different world, look about and say, finally, I feel and know this place and these people as if I have visited many times before. Ms. Unigwe has done that for us with all the men and women of her new novel. We owe her much praise and much gratitude.”
Edward P. Jones, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

"Powerfully and gently, Unigwe gives voice to African women who walk the streets of their nightmares and dreams."
--Sefi Atta, author of Everything Good Will Come

“Chika Unigwe brings an ethnographic eye and masterful storytelling to bear on this complex portrait of African sex workers in Antwerp.  Her startlingly physical prose offers a fresh look at lives made and unmade between Europe and Africa.”
--Mateo Taussig-Rubbo, University of Buffalo

“Chika Unigwe has evoked a chilling, brutal, and terrifying world with warmth, compassion, and courage. The voices of degraded African women are clearly heard, their bodies vividly rendered, their sorrows deeply understood, and their humanity ultimately realized. On Black Sisters Street is a dark tale luminously told, a stunningly moving book.”
—Lee Siegel, author of Love in a Dead Language

“A probing and unsettling exploration of the many factors that lead African women into prostitution in Europe . . . an important and accomplished novel that leaves a strong aftertaste. Unigwe gives voice to those who are voiceless . . . and bestows dignity on those who are stripped of it.”
The Independent












Thursday, November 1, 2012

Afrinolly Short Film Competition Attracts Nollywood Stars and Stakeholders



Joke Silva-Jacobs, Stephanie Linus, Kunle Afolayan and Saint Obi were among the top Nollywood stars and other celebrities who graced the Thursday morning launch of the Afrinolly Short Film Competition at the Southern Sun Hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos. Other notable stakeholders at the event included Peace Anyiam Osigwe, CEO of Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), Emeka Mba, immediate past Director-General of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Femi Odugbemi with Makin Soyinka, Founders and Directors of iREP International Documentary Film Festival, Victor Okhai, Founder/Festival Director of In-Short International Film Festival, Hope Obioma Opara, President of Eko International Film Festival, Marc-André Schmachtel, Director of the Goethe-Institut, Idy Enang, Kolawole Oyeyemi, General Manager (Consumer Marketing) of MTN Nigeria and Lanre Aina of Google.

The competition will target over 1,000 film-makers across Africa and the winners will receive rewards valued at $100,000 (in cash and kind). Top participants will be granted opportunity to sign online distribution and content publishing deals with Afrinolly.

Chike Maduegbuna.

MTN Afrinolly is the initiative of Chike Maduegbuna, founder and CEO of FansConnectOnline Limited: a Mobile Application, Digital Marketing and Social Media start-up that won the Google’s Android Developers Challenge for Sub-Saharan Africa in the entertainment category in 2011. The unique mobile phone app enables users to watch movie trailers, music videos and comedy that have been made public by content owners or their legal representatives. MTN Afrinolly has already recorded over 1 million app downloads on Android, Blackberry, Nokia Symbian, Nokia S40 and Java platforms.

The Afrinolly Short Film Competition has been endorsed by the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and powered by MTN and Google in partnership with iREP International Documentary Film Festival, Blackberry and the Goethe-Institut. Stephanie Linus and Kunle Afolayan are also supporting the competition as active collaborators.

Stephanie Linus.

Kunle Afolayan.

The goal of the competition is to:

* Showcase African talent online
* Provide a platform to foster the creation of new (online) content produced by Africans, thereby boosting local content
And to provide great visibility for some of the most gifted creators around the continent.

Entry opens - 1st November, 2012
Entry closes - 31st January, 2013

More information on details of the prizes and rules are available on the official website on http://afrinollyshortfilmcompetition.com.

JUDGES 

Femi ODUGBEMI.

Our judging panel is comprised of international film/documentary experts and influencers from various African countries and from the United States. The films submitted will be juried by this panel of professionals led by the award-winning filmmaker, writer and photographer Femi Odugbemi.

Emem ISONG.
 




Tunde Kelani Juliet Yaa AsanteBongiwe Selane

Obi Emelonye Franklin Leonard Mahen Bonetti

Nmachi Jidenma Tolu Ogunlesi Carol Kathurima

Download Afrinolly for AndroidBlackberryNokia or Java








Featuring Akon and Kanye West Will Not Help Mediocre Hip Hop Artistes in Nigeria

2face Idibia and D’Banj.

There is always a lot of noise on radio, TV and social media whenever one of the local Nigerian hip hop artistes receives the attention of top American hip hop artistes Akon and Kanye West, the most peddled in Nigeria. And millions of hip hop fans in Nigeria go gaga over any of their idols featuring Akon or Kanye West in their songs and music videos thinking that will simply catapult them into the American music charts. But none has been able to do so and when 2face Idibia won the Best African Act 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards and Best International Act: Africa BET Awards of 2011, he did not feature any Akon or Kanye West to accomplish these feats. And D’Banj has already been an international success before he featured the popular American hip hop rapper Snoop Dogg in his Mr. Endowed (Remix)and before Kanye West suddenly appeared like a black rabbit out of the hat of a magician.




Davido posing with Akon.

Featuring Akon or Kanye West will never help all these our local hip hop acts to break into America, because Americans are too knowledgeable to know what is good music from the noise being played by majority of Nigerian hip hop artistes I see as good clowns of hip hop and can be entertaining to millions of Nigerians who don't really know good music and choreography.

These Nigerian clowns of hip hop cannot rap and cannot sing without lip synching and they are not even articulate!
They can't speak, because they have no training in the basic rudiments of music, without speech or voice training.
Their live shows expose their mediocrity.
Yes they can make millions of naira which scam artists are also making in Nigeria by swindling millions of ignorant Nigerians just like our corrupt politicians have also been doing in all the rackets messing up Nigeria where corruption, ignorance and mediocrity have left the nation in rot.

Nneka.

Aṣa

Nneka and Aṣa have been able to break into America and Europe without featuring any Akon or Kanye West.
Check out Nneka and Aṣa on http://www.girlieaction.com/client.php?id=209 and http://www.girlieaction.com/client.php?id=259 and see the difference between a true artist and a hip hop racket.


~ By Orikinla Osinachi.