The city of garden

BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
IN September 2009, I was in Port Harcourt on two occasions, and something kept drawing me to the city. Last week, I had opportunity to be in the city again.
It was in the afternoon when my phone rang. It had gone on for some time before I picked the call. I was in the peak of production and was not ready to be distracted. My phone rang again. The caller this time was my friend in Port Harcourt.
After some exchange of pleasantries, he asked: “Greg, how about seeing Port Harcourt this weekend?”
In a spontaneous fit, I accepted an invitation to see the Garden City once more. But I was incredibly nervous. The image that flashed into my head was that of militants wearing headscarves and bandana dancing (maybe bobbing back and forth at best) in small tight circles, in a completely belligerent manner. There had been arguments as to whether security had really returned fully to the city.
I remembered that only recently Warri was rocked by bomb from a set of people, yet to be unmasked.
It was an opportunity to unplug, perhaps, step away from life in Lagos and explore the Garden City.
By the time the plane touched down on the tarmac, my mind was fully prepared for the Garden City experience, which has always been exciting. I got into the city and everywhere was cool.
The country had witnessed relative coolness and many flights had been cancelled these past weeks.
As soon as I got to GRA, my mind went straight to the roast yam, plantain and fish, a favourite menu in this part of the country, which I ate the last time I came.

RIVERS State has a landmass of 11,077km? Its capital city Port Harcourt is one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in Africa; is strategically situated, making it an economic hub servicing the South East and South-South regions.
The state has two major refineries, seaports, airports including an international one, and is easily accessible by land, air, rail and sea.
Politicians seeking territorial relevance without building any basis for sustainable legitimacy resorted to encouraging misguided youths to form violent gangs, which they branded as “cults”.
These criminal groups unleashed terror by day and night on law-abiding citizens in Rivers State. Indiscriminate killings, kidnapping and molestation of people where brazenly carried out.
Above all these were the inexplicable failure of the state (government at all levels) to enforce the law. The government was unwilling or unable to enforce the law. In consequence, near anarchy ensued and miscreants became laws unto themselves.
This was the regrettable state of affairs before Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, assumed office in October 2007.
Upon assumption, the government had no doubt in its minds that the principal task before it was to restore law and order in Port Harcourt and in Rivers State as a whole.
It was clear from the on-set that the provision of security through the enforcement of law and order is the primary constitutional basis for the existence of government.
Ensuring the security of lives and property of its citizenry is therefore the highest responsibility of government.
Port Harcourt, with its robust nature, has a vibrant social life with booming entertainment that is well entrenched. Just like its steaming commercial pulse, its social life is on the upswing with numerous outlets.

In the evening, my friend was in my hotel room. The time was almost 10pm and fear gripped me that I was going out in the city where “your next door neighbour may be a ‘kidnapper’, so I thought. The adventurous spirit in me urged me on.
As soon as we drove out, my friend asked, “where do we go now?”
I was silent for some minutes. “Circular Avenue,” I heaved, remembering the place I stayed when I came for the Garden City Literary Festival.
Suddenly, the car came winding down the narrow Circular Avenue GRA, and rolled up to a halt in front of a popular hotel on the street. I was excited when I saw a troupe of ladies ‘mounting guard’ on the road. It was as if the whole girls in Port Harcourt had milled down to Circular Avenue. They were all there — all shades of colour and height.
“These people will make I good story,” I muttered aloud.
“I know you wanted to see the other side of Port Harcourt; its seamy side, but nonetheless a perfect way of saying that the Garden City is safe. Don’t you think so?” my friend said.
I nodded, “Yes!”
The night was crawling in gradually and I didn’t want to miss out of the human traffic in the avenue.
Later, we moved and our first shot was D’s Place, a sit-out in D-Line. We guzzled wine for the two hours we spent there; as we waited for the night to wear on.
We sat in a far corner of the table and watched, as people streamed in and out.
There was a characteristic note of intimate conversation between everybody. I was just interested in my drink.
My friend left his seat to join them. My heart almost leapt out of mouth. I thought I would be introduced as a journalist, it would have meant there won’t be opportunity to have a little knowledge of nightlife in the city.

WE left D’s Place about 12midnight for some other clubs, Baracuda, Casablanca, name them. We were everywhere. It was more like a rehash of previous visit. The clubs we visited were all located in almost the same enclave in GRA. Actually fees are not just fixed in Port Harcourt’s club. However, every good one has its fancies. Bongainvilea is not entirely on fees, it’s about being classy and there are few restrictions. Casablanca is really all-comers, but sometimes operate on moderate fees. Casablanca is one place to catch real fun.
With a well established clientele and right balance. The girls are all gold diggers, like any place you get a mixed crowd so be firm, pleasant and select wisely.
Wine Bar is elitist and classy; The Wish is all-comers so also are Baracuda, Little Angels and Illusions. However, in all, your money tells your class and the class of girls you hang out with.
Besides, a bottle of beer or energy drink costs a baseline of N500 while a good wine or whisky goes for at least N6000; champagne is minimum of N30,000. The girls are very friendly, very hot, mostly clean, good fun and up for anything... at a price.
Some go as high as N10,000 per night, but those that enter Port Harcourt from Aba go for N5,000 or slightly less. You can drop into any of the clubs from Friday and it will be a pleasant environment to socialise.
At Casablanca, we had great time. The music was pretty good, with the DJ offering up a mixture of local hip-hop and the standard rotation of RnB/Top-40 nightclub hits. We saw a lot of ladies, who looked like drug addicts, skin weathered by crack, with bodies squeezed into body-hugging dresses. There were girls shimmying their hips to hard-hitting hip-hop bass on the dance floor, and those flinging themselves, wholeheartedly.

At about 4am when I got to my hotel, I was totally fagged out. I had somehow forgotten the reason for my visit. Port Harcourt now peaceful, come and enjoy the city.
Maybe the governor will confirm it. I was eager to hear from him the next day, which actually was when he will make a presentation to members of the Diplomatic Corps on security in Rivers State.

Amaechi: Why I go out at night without escort
THE governor said one reason he goes out to public places at night is to reassure residents of Port Harcourt that peace and nightlife have been restored to the state. Governor Amaechi,, who stated this Sunday night during a dinner with foreign envoys in Government House, Port Harcourt, said his free movement at anytime of the day was an indication that the security challenges were virtually over.
“If the security challenge is as bad as I hear, I will not take the risk of driving out in the night without escort,” Governor Amaechi said.
He cited instances of his late night movements to visit places and people. He said that as a young man, he attends nightclubs sometimes, stressing, “I do that also to reassure the citizens that they are protected, first by God, and through human instruments put on ground by the state government for the safety of their lives.”
The state’s Chief Executive thanked the envoys for honouring the state with their presence as they would exchange knowledge, which would lead to changing the perception about the state, adding that the assumption that whatever happened in the Niger Delta was in Port Harcourt was wrong.
He gave an example of the bomb blast in Delta State, which was ironically said to be in Port Harcourt in some quarters, while the kidnap incidences in the neighbouring Abia State was also painfully attributed to be in Rivers State.
Responding on behalf of the envoys, the Ambassador of Czech Republic to Nigeria, Mr Jaroslav Siro, said Rivers State and Niger Delta are very important to Nigeria, which is a major economic as well as business partner to their countries.
Mr Siro said the international community appreciated the handling of the recent constitutional problem in Nigeria and hoped that future issues would be addressed maturely, especially the forthcoming general election in 2011, which they hope to be conducted in a transparent manner.
He commended the Rivers State government for the initiative, and for what they are doing in the state, and urged the people to support the governor in achieving his laudable objectives.

A gathering of black heritage in Lagos

BY ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA
COME April 3 to 9, Lagos State will attract attention as it throws open its doors for the ‘Black Heritage Festival’. This is the third time it is holding.
Other celebrations of the black African heritage include Root Festival, which holds in The Gambia and PANAFEST in Ghana.
These celebrations, over the years, have grown to big cultural tourism events, attracting massive following from across the globe.
Lagos State first staged the Black Heritage Festival in 2001. The second edition held in 2002.
Themed Memory and performance in the Return to Source, the week long feast will hold in selected venues in Lagos, with Badagary as home of the festival.
The formal opening ceremony is at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) on April 3. Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, who is the special consultant to the festival, succinctly paints a picture of the goals of the festival and what to expect. “A festival of Reconnection, Revaluation, Revindication – this is the feast that Lagos State plans to serve up to the discerning palates from within the country, the continent and The Diaspora of the Caribbean and the Americans.’’
On the package, Soyinka has this to say: “Inspired by the spirit of convergence for which Lagos remains pre-eminent, the Lagos Black Heritage Festival celebrates the creativity of Lagos within a carnivalseque of traditional and contemporary dance, music, theatre, a children’s heritage village, a regatta and other artistic offerings both inter-state and international.’’
Soyinka speaks of the expectations of the organisers, which among others, is to attract thousands of people to the city and the ancient enclave of Badagary inspired by the muse. “The Lagos Black Heritage Festival is a seven day cultural manifestation during which hundreds of performers will animate the ancient city of Badagary and cosmopolitan Lagos in a blend of the traditional and the modern, welcoming thousands of visitors with a feast to entrance the senses and linger in the memory for years to come.’’

TO realise the theme of this edition and fulfil the essence of the festival, the organisers are celebrating three of the continent’s eminent personalities. They are Aime Cesaire, Aliqune Diop and Leopold Sedar Senghor. Cesaire, a renowned poet, dramatist, cultural activist and pan – Africanist, along with Senghor, promoted the Black race through the Negritude and Beingness of Black philosophy. His plays would be presented during the festival at the same time, readings of his poems.
A major part of the festival’s offerings is a painting competition. About 25 selected artists are participating in the contest themed City of a thousand masks.
Each artist is expected to choose a preferred location in and around Lagos and occupy him/herself with painting out the theme all through the festival.
The various works, alongside with the winning entry, will be presented at a gala night billed for April 8 at Nike Art Gallery.
Prizes and awards (Gold, Silver, Bronze) will be presented to the winners by the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, with Soyinka who is the initiator of the awards, as special guest.
The painting competition is being done in conjunction with the Caterina de’ Medici Africa, Caterina de’ Medici Company in Florence and the Lagos Black Heritage Festival.
The first edition of Caterina de’ Medici Painting Award was held in 2002 in Florence with artists from all over the world including three Nigerian artists in attendance while the second edition held in 2009 still in Florence with a Nigerian, Samuel Ebohon emerging top.

Outlook of the festival’s packages
Colloquium: Provides a platform for academic discourse on tenacity of memory in the quest for identity and explores the relevance of traditional mores and values to contemporary society and rescues the authentic history of African peoples from Centuries of denial and distortions. The session will also explore the integration of traditional healing and scientific intelligence in society and its imperatives for the present.

Arts and Crafts: Artisans of Lagos extraction and their descendants will exhibit and offer their products for sale at designated locations in Lagos and Badagary zones. Display hours are between 10am and 9pm.

Music: Performances will encompass musical modes associated with the city of Lagos from apala, juju to jazz, reggae to afrobeat. The legacy of Steve Rhodes, the first African winner of the Welsh Eistedfodd Music festival, will be featured in both choir and orchestral concerts.

Theatre: The plays of Aime Cesaire will occupy centre place, supported by African drama on the festival theme. These plays would reawaken, revaluate and rekindle our sense of the pride of the black being.
Dance: The festival aims to expand the knowledge and enjoyment of audiences in the experimental advances of African dance through a display of original and imaginative choreography, centred on historic and contemporary themes.

Boat Regatta: The boat regatta is ancient manifestation of this culture, a combination of grace, rhythm and colour.

Publication: A rare display of publications in the promotion of African history, cultures and philosophy from around the world, this segment also constitutes a tribute to the memory of the protagonists who dedicated their lives to this task of race retrieval.

Slavery Artefacts: A selection of the actual devices used to contain and degrade African humanity, reminding us of a brutal passage but also of the human resistant will. This section will feature the documentary of a West African festival that celebrates the defeat of slave raids on the African soil.

Art: A gallery dedicated to how artists have interpreted their grasp of the African past. It will also feature canvasses from the competing artists on the selected theme: ‘City of a thousand masks.’

Fitila Procession: Fitila means lamp, the traditional oil – lamp of the Yoruba. A day of contemplation is dedicated to the memory of those who left these shores, never to return. Their spirits will be evoked and placated through a solemn procession with invocations.

Attractions of Badagary
The town was founded around 1425 A. D. It is the second biggest commercial town of Lagos State and it is about one hour drive from Lagos barring any traffic gridlock. It is the gateway to the Republic of Benin and Ghana, among other, neighbouring West Africa countries on the coastal area of the state.
Slaves were ferried from the west coast of Africa through Badagary to America around 1500s with no fewer than 550, 000 slaves transported through the town

Palace of Akran of Badagary: The seat of the traditional ruler of the town is based here and holds a lot of attractions for people, as it is the custodian of the enduring and rich tradition, cultural values and history of the people. There is an ethnographic museum with age-long relics and artefacts housed in it.

Missionary Cemetery: It is the burial for many of the missionaries that served in the town.

The First Storey Building: This is one of the most extant relics of the town, an ancient building, which is believed to be the first of such structure in Nigeria. It has over the years been renovated and preserved. It was built by the Anglican church. Bishop Ajayi Crowder, a Nigerian and former slave once lived here. The wooden stairs, Missionary trust fund, a copy of the Bible translated from the English language to Yoruba can still be found in it.

Vlekte Slave Market: This was the location where slaves put on display and traded off to different slave buyers.

Other locations: This include the slave port, cannons of war, Mobee family slave museum,“Agia tree”, under which Christianity was first preached in 1842 and Badagary museum, which host a rich and vast relics and artifacts depicting the slave trade era.

… A Tourist Bird Eye View Of Okomu

BY GEOFF LOCKWOOD
IF all you think of when you hear the word Nigeria is “drugs, 419 scams and winning the Nigerian lottery again …for the eighth time this year” then maybe, like me, you need to think again!
I have just returned from a trip to Lagos and to Okomu National Park, one of the largest conserved areas of lowland forest in Nigeria and the birding experience of a lifetime.
Any trip to a new country — let alone a new region, is always exciting and the prospect of new and spectacular birds had me anxiously waiting for confirmation that my visa had been granted and that the trip was on.
Our small group flew into Lagos on the scheduled SAA flight on Friday 12th January and, taxing up to the sprawling terminal in Lagos International Airport, I saw first hand the effects of the Harmattan — the dry wind blowing off the Sahara which, for two months each winter, turns Nigeria’s skies a hazy, dust-laden yellow.

…OUR arrival in Okomu National Park after a four-hour drive was heralded by a spectacular change in scenery. The forest had been logged historically but is still largely intact and the height, structure and density of the tree cover are breathtaking.
In addition to a spectacular range of birds that was our primary target, it is still home to a number of forest elephant and buffalo, as well as a large variety of primates including a small (and very wary) troop of chimpanzees. It is also home to over 700 different butterfly species and the roads and paths through the forest were ablaze with colour and movement.
The drive through the forest to the lodge at Okomu Eco-resort was at midday and fairly rushed but we still managed great sightings of Fanti Sawwing and Eurasian Honey Buzzard plus spectacular views of the inappropriately-named Black Bee-eater — a gorgeous bird with a crimson throat and turquoise blue — streaked body.
The Okomu forest is characterised by a number of shallow lakes scattered through the forest and these have formed clearings of between 80 and 150 meters in diameter.
As two of these, viewing platforms have been built high into Cotton-Silk trees overlooking the clearings and we made for the newer of these after lunch.
The climb up is not for the faint-hearted or for anyone with a fear of heights – 36 meters straight up inside a lattice-work of wooden struts, and, with the 70 steps placed 450 millmetres apart, a great cardio-vascular workout. Once on the platform however it was all worth it. The view over the canopy was spectacular … and the birding was even better.

OVER the next two hours, I added sightings of numerous new birds. Most striking were the enormous White-thighed-, and Black-, Yellow-, and Black-and-White-casqued Hornbills whose heavy wing beats were clearly audible even across the clearing. Numbers of Piping-, and African Pied Hornbills brought the number of new members of this family to five for the trip and a host of smaller species – Velvet-mantled Drongo, Blue-throated Brown-, Buff-throated-, and Superb Sunbirds, (along with the more familiar Collared’s) plus Purple-headed Glossy-Starlings added colour and excitement.
Just before dusk forced us down from the platform, a series of calls echoed across the clearing. Parts sounded similar to those of a Red-, or Yellow-billed Hornbill but these were interspersed with a variety of eerie hooting sounds — creating for me one of the most vivid memories of this trip. Seconds later I was looking at my first Great Blue Turaco — a breathtaking bird that in spite of its large (about twice the size of our louries) size bounded with effortless grace through the canopy of an adjacent tree.
As we carefully descended, the plaintive-sounding whistles of a Fire-crested Alethe rose from the darkening forest below.
The following morning had us heading for the second platform – even higher at 38 meters above the forest floor. On the way we stopped to observe a large colony of Bristle-nosed Barbets nesting in a large dead tree stump.
There must have been at least 60 pairs of these strange dull-brown birds buzzing around and, with the possible exception of the Naked-faced Barbet, which we saw later; these have to be the ugliest members of this usually colourful family.
Great views of White-tailed Ant-Thrush feeding in the road and a tantalizingly brief glimpse of an African Pitta that flew out in front of our vehicle kept the list ticking over.
Our luck continued and our sojourn on the new canopy platform brought great views of
Cassin’s Hawk Eagle as well as the diminutive Lemon-breasted Crombec, Boiko Batis and a stunning Rufous-crowned Eremomela – a bird that makes our members of the genus look really dull and boring!
Speckled Tinkerbird – a rather large and strange-looking tinkerbird was next but this was followed by stunning views of a pair of Yellow-spotted Barbets, surely one of the most strikingly coloured members of the family.
Piercing whistles announced the arrival of a trio of African Grey Parrots and they repeatedly circled close overhead in response to Phil’s whistling.
What a difference seeing these birds in their natural setting – instead of a cramped cage! We decided to walk back to the lodge and added Red-headed-, Gray’s-, and Red-vented Malimbes an
Maxwell’s Black Weaver; Blue-headed Wood-Dove, as well as stunning views of Blue Cuckoo-Shrike and Green Hylia to the growing list.

OUR last morning saw a return to the first platform where we were treated to a spectacular show by five species of hornbill feeding opposite us. A party of Spotted Greenbuls and a single Mona Monkey later joined them.
Cassin’s Spinetail flitted through the canopy across the clearing, and the calls of Red-rumped Tinkerbird had me searching the trees – but unfortunately the bird remained elusive.
The walk back to the lodge brought great views of Red-tailed Greenbul and a brief stop at a fruiting Oil Palm gave us great views of all four species of tiny Negrofinch – Whitebreasted-,
Chestnut-breasted-, Grey-headed-, and Pale-fronted and then it was time to pack up and head for Lagos and our flight back to Johannesburg.
A Western Bluebill feeding on the road verge before we left the forest plus a flock of the local race of Village Weaver nesting with Veillot’s Black Weavers at a refuelling stop wrapped up a stunning five days.
The list for the trip stood at 127 species, but of these 56 were lifers! Not bad for a winter trip when birding is supposedly more difficult.
I can’t wait to get back to Okomu, and this time I want to also get up to the mountain forests of Cross River and, hopefully see my first Picathartes!!!

Calabar, the bliss of Nigeria’s rainforest

BY ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA
CROSS River State National Park is one of the destinations a tourist should look forward to visiting in the country. One of the eight parks managed byNational Parks Services, it has a rich palette to feast on. It is also one of the two remaining primary tropical rainforest conservation enclaves in Nigeria — the second being Okomu National Park, located in Edo State.
The richness of its vast ecosystem has made the destination to be ranked as one of the 25 acclaimed biodiversity sites in the world by the United Nations.

LOCATED on latitude 5º. 05’ and 6º.29’ N and longitudes 8º.15’ and 9º.30, the park spans a land mass of about 4,000sq kilometres.
Like most of the country’s other protected enclaves, it has two separate and non - contiguous sectors: Oban Hills and Okwangwo sector.
Among the park’s fauna and flora treasures are the forest elephants, which are always a pleasant site to behold.
Believed to migrate between the park and Korup National Park in the Cameroun, the white coloured monkey and lowland gorilla are other interesting species in the forest.

Oban Hills: In every respect, it is the biggest of the two sectors that make up the forest. It has a landmass of about 3, 000sq kilometres. Its ecosystem is also the richest and most diversified with rare variety of fauna and flora species.
It is in this sector that a visitor enjoys a trail of the forest’s elephants, chimpanzees, drills and buffalos as well as monkeys and others.
Bird watch is also another exciting activity here, as it has a rich and wide collection of bird species, which is put at over 280, with the olive green ibis making the list that includes about 42 snake species. It is also rich in epiphytic ferns and orchids.
This sector of the park, which is in the Southern ends of Oban hills, is about one hour drive from Calabar.

Okwangwo: This is the smallest sector of the park with a land mass spreading across 1, 000sq kilometres, however, its relatively small size does not remove from it, the beauty of a rainforest enclave. Just like Oban Hills division, Okwangwo sector shares border with Takamanda Forest Reserve in the Republic of Cameroun.
Located in the Boshi – Okwango end of the state, towards the northern peak of Ikom, a visitor can easily access the park, which is about four hours drive from Calabar. A tourist will have to contend with the bumpy ride through Ikom Road. Repair work, is, however, ongoing.
The park, which is one of the richest natural enclaves in the country, enjoys the support of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Nigerian Foundation Conservation (NCF).
Privately run conservation based organisations are currently engaged in different developmental projects here.
The management maintains an office within the complex of Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar where detailed information about the operation of the park and booking for tour could be sourced. The main office of the park is on Akamkpa few metres away from Calabar.

For Izoya, the show must go on

(L-R) Friburgh Film Festival official, Isaac Izoya, Dorothee Wenner, Shaibu Husseini and Joseph Ubaka at the panel on Nollywood during the festival.


BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI
He was out of town, working on the set of a Hollywood movie and also promoting a concert — the return of the Yahooze crooner Olu Maintain to Berlin. But when the Germany-based film producer showed up, three days into the Berlin International Film Festival, he proved to some members of the Nigerian delegation to the festival that his alias ‘the ambassador’ was not for decoration as it is commonly said. Izoya acclaimed to have featured, nearly all the A-list actors of the Nigerian movie Industry, from Patience Ozokwo to Mercy Johnson talked about his plans to commemorate Nigeria’s 50th anniversary on a grand scale in Germany and across Europe. He also explained why he offered his Love in Berlin for the commemoration of Black History month in Berlin.


Why Love in Berlin for Black History Month
Well, we all know that the month recognises and celebrates key individuals and achievements of black activist such as Marcus Garvey, Phillis Wheatey, James Baldwin, Richard Wright and Rosa Parks. Other being Sojourner Truth, the Black Church Black Newspapers, Martin Luther King Jr., The American Civil Rights Movement, Langston Hughes, Franz Fanon and Paul Robeson and many others. Black History Month also entertains and allows you to experience the influences of the African Diaspora through music and arts. A diverse selection of music, performance art, and visual art will offer the public a more lively and entertaining celebration. And for the first time since its commemoration here, a Nollywood movie titled Love In Berlin …the meeting point was chosen by the organisers to be screened during the festival. This, for me, is a dream come true. Call it emancipation or liberation, the key word here is love. Without love, there will be no global integration, no inter-cultural marriages between blacks and white. Love is the major force in fighting racism and hatred, which is what Love In Berlin …the meeting point is all about. If you remember Berlin conference of 125 years ago (also known as the Kongokonferenz or “Congo Conference”) that greatly influenced the fate of continental Africa and the Diaspora, you will understand why the Americans, the organisers of this year Black History Month chose to screen the movie instead of any of theirs.

You called it a premiere, but it was showing the second time?
That shows it’s a good movie with a meaningful story line. A good movie or music never fades. Look back to your youthful days, there must be one or two movies you will always like to watch repeatedly irrespective of the year it was produced. The first premiere of the film was more or less local, that is within the Africans in the Diaspora, but now, it is more international.
Are you flying any of the cast members to Berlin for this showing as you normally do?
Excluding Patience Ozokwor, Jim Iyke and Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, the other cast in the movie are based here in Germany and we don’t need the home-based stars for this event, though Jim Iyke coincidentally will be around to add colour to it.
How come you have not released the film in Nigeria, years after production?
The film has been in circulation in Nigeria since October 2009, courtesy of Sam Civic marketer. The delay in the release paid off because we are always trying to be outstanding in our productions.

After this, what’s next for Ehizoya Entertainment?
I will be featuring in a Hollywood movie titled: Unknown White Male, with Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger playing lead roles from February 9, 2010. We’ll also complete the second part of Olu Maintain (a.k.a. Yahoozee) Europe tour, which will take us across Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, France and Italy from February 20, 2010. There is also a huge project to rebrand Nigeria across Europe as part of the 50th Independence anniversary, starting from September.

There has been a lull in your hosting tours featuring top Nigerian celebrities. What’s behind this?
Ha, no! Recession or no recession, the show must go on, whether the devil likes it or not. Within the last six months, we organised two Europe tours for major celebrities. Among them were Mr and Mrs Palmer Omoruyi, Benin popular musicians; and Olu Maintain aka Yahoozee. In fact, we are waxing stronger than ever. Who’s who in Nollywood, especially the young ones have been on our tour list as the old ones in the industry can’t withstand the stress of our global tours.






Around and about Nollywood...

From AMP, a vote of confidence for Fashola
The national leadership of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP), led by Mr. Paul Obazele has assured Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, of filmmakers’ support in the on-going effort to make Lagos a mega-city. Obazele gave this assurance when members of the association recently visited the governor. Similarly, the body presented the governor, who’s still basking in the euphoria of “The Sun Man of the Year Award”, with Governor of the Year plaque, courtesy of the AMP/Eko International Film Festival. In his welcome address, Fashola hailed AMP executives for coming to rub minds with him on how to further move Lagos forward through films and entertainment projects. He also thanked them for the special award, promising to soon embark on talks with investors on how to move the film industry forward. Fashola told the team that he is already planning of setting up a world-class film village in Lagos. The governor also called for unity, understanding and tolerance among the major stakeholders in the industry, noting that a divided industry would never progress. Fashola, emphasised the need for advocacy through films. He challenged filmmakers to create more awareness on climate change in their productions. The governor, who commended the association for coming up with the annual AMP/Eko International Film Festival, also endorsed the laudable initiative and promised to add the next edition, which holds between November 22 and 26, 2010, to the Lagos State Calendar of major events. He urged AMP to encourage its members to produce films that teach moral values and constantly help to elevate the citizens as well as the nation.

From A Whisper wins best Narrative Feature Award
THE Jury, Audience, Festival, and other special award-winners of the 2010 Pan African Film and Festival (PAFF) were announced today at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony hosted by CCH Pounder (Avatar) at the Culver Plaza Theatres (9919 Washington Blvd. Los Angeles). The Kenyan narrative, From A Whisper, won for Best Narrative Feature. The movie snapped a similar award at the 2009 edition of The African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) held in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State. However a three-way tie was announced for the Audience Favorite Narrative Award for films Soul Diaspora, A Sting In A Tale, and Speed-Dating. The documentary on the L.A. Black Panthers 41st and Central: The Untold Story Of The L.A. Black Panthers won the Audience Favorite Documentary Award. With the theme Get Involved, this year’s PAFF featured 135 films representing 36 countries, including 40 in competition, 64 feature length films, and 12 world premieres. The films that received Jury Awards were selected from six categories: Best Feature Documentary, Best Documentary Short, Best Narrative Short, Best Feature Narrative, and First Time Narrative Feature Directing. All films in competition were also eligible for the PAFF’s Audience Awards as selected by Festival audiences. The PAFF Board of Directors and Programmer Festival Awards were awarded to their pick for Best Documentary and Best Narrative film. A special award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles Festival Choice Award was awarded to the film From A Whisper. Written and directed by Wanuri Kahiu, From a Whisper is by far one of the most important films made in the world in this historical period. This stunning narrative revolves around a Kenyan family caught up in the bombing of the American Embassy by Islamist terrorists a few years ago. It talks about Abu, a Muslim intelligence officer who is investigating the bombing. Abu has a complex and in deep friendship with one of the terrorists. The film gives a rich insight into the complex narrative that make up our life. The Pan African Film and Arts Festival, is America’s largest and most prestigious Black film and arts festival that takes place annually in Los Angeles during the month of February. For more information, check www.paff.org.

Go to the Galleria today, see Jungle Ride
Jungle Ride; the new movie Lilian Amah-Aluko and Ajua Dickson dotting on love, luck and the alarming cases of unemployment among the youths will be screened at a special premiere holding today at the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos. Written by Segun Michaels and directed by Kingsley Omoefe; Amah, a notable actress and writer hinted that the movie will begin its runs in major cinemas across Nigeria, immediately after Sunday’s premiere. The film features reputable actors such as Bimbo Manuel, Femi Brainard, Ngozi Nwosu, Chidi Ukwu, Omoni Oboli, Emma Ayalogu and Joseph Benjamin.



Waka pass…
Producer: Amebo A. Amebo
Director: Mr. Gossip
Actors: Nollywood Celebrities

Anyiam- Osigwe returns with good news for filmmakers
The chief executive officer of the African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) Peace Anyiam-Osigwe may have returned to Nigeria after about four weeks abroad. The filmmaker and a strong advocate for a virile industry in Africa had heeled out of the country to further promote African movies. But close sources say she stopped over in Los Angeles in the course of her networking trip to receive the African Visionary award from the organisers of the California-based Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) and from the Los Angeles-based African Channel. The AMAA boss as we gathered was also in Berlin, where she addressed officials of the German government on the best way possible to partner with African filmmakers for the development of the industry on the continent and Nigeria in particular. The AMAA head reportedly asked the authorities to fund the development of the industry, but not to dictate to the filmmakers what to produce. Peace, who is working at dropping off a well packaged AMAA/UBA nomination party in Ghana on March 6 also visited Washington to speak to diverse people at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art after they watched the now touring documentary on the Nigerian movie industry titled Peace Mission. Meanwhile members of the AMAA College of Screeners have rounded up their work. Members of the college met in Lagos to arrive at films that will be sent to the international jury of the AMAA for consideration. The jury is expected to meet over the next couple of weeks to decide nominees and declare winners for the 2010 edition of AMAA. Someone said make we ask Madam Peace whether we go go to Bayelsa on April 10 with basket to carri the award? The fellow asked because he was made to understand that the lady who wrote and directed the winning film last year has a film in the competition. Over to you, movie Amazon of the Federal Republic of our country!

That Paul Obazele and company visits to Fashola
Some members of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) have murdered sleep since the day they heard that their President Paul Obazele led his executives to see Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola. In fact, they murdered ‘dream’ when they were shown one of the august pictures taken in February — where Paul engaged in a tete-a-tete with Fashola. They wondered what Paul was telling the governor at that point in time that he could not allow other people to hear. One bad belle waka pass grudgingly mentioned (but we do as if we no hear) that knowing Presido (which is what he thankfully called Obazele throughout), he may be asking the action governor for a slot as commissioner for moviedom! Oya, oga Paul, over to you. Please told dem what you were tolding oga Fashola as captured in that august picture, so that they can allow us to drink water and keep the cup, as people from your geographical expression will say! To God be the Glory

Rwanda ... Treasure among a thousand hills

BY ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA
LOCATED in a landlocked area close to the Equator, on the eastern fringe of Albertine Rift with a bit of the Great Rift Valley on its western part, Rwanda is a beauty to behold. It has a cool temperate climate due to its high elevation and beautiful terrain with mostly grassy uplands and scenic, gently rolling hills.
The genocide of 1994, when hundreds of thousands of Rwanda’s Tutsis and Hutu political moderates were killed, remains a blight in the country’s rich history.
Lying between rivers Nile and Congo, the country’s landmass of about 26, 338sq kilometres, and its share of domineering mountaneous outlook is something to cherish with the highest peak said to be Karisimbi (4,507m) in the volcanic Virunga area protected by Volcanoes National Park. It is perhaps for this landscape that the country is fondly referred to as ‘a land of a thousand hills.’
Like most countries in Central or East Africa, Rwanda has an appealing ambience that makes ecotourism a leisurely adventure, especially for those desirous to conquer nature in its pristine stage.
The list of national parks where natural collage of fauna and flora species could be harvested include Nyungwe Forest National Park, Akagera National Park and Volcanoes National Park and many others.

Nyungwe Forest National Park: Spanning over 1, 000sq kilometres, the park, which is located in the South East end of the country is noted for its ancient outlook.
It is said to have the largest block of montane forest in East and Central Africa as well as rich floral diversity with more than 200 different types of trees, and a vast variety of flowering plants outside host of colourful orchids.
With amazing statistics of about 13 primate specifics such as chimpanzee, the L’Hoest’s monkey and troops of Angola colobus; the enclave remains a delight for tourists.
Part of its offerings is bird watch with a captivating birdlife that makes the region Rwanda’s best - kept ornithological site.
It is believe to harbour about 300 bird species with the great blue turaco — a flamboyant blue, red and green bird — enjoying pride of place.
The park also has a mass of network that makes for delightful safari and leisure walk.

Volcanoes National Park: Located in the northern axis of the country, the park is also known as ‘Parc National des Volcans’ (PNV).
With a mountaineous forest covering over 120 sq kilometres, the park is the home of the six Virunga Volcanoes —Bisoke, Mikeno, Sabyinyo, Karisimbiand, Muhuabura and Gahinga — and the world famous mountain gorillas enclave as it posseses almost half of the world’s wild mountain gorillas.
With a lush and luxurianting greenery, the park ofers tourists a life – time wild experience with gorilla tracking.
The mountaineous base of the gorilla has a series of awe – inspiring Virunga peaks ranging from 2, 500 to 4, 500 metres, making the park an exciting scape to explore.
The town of Musanze, which is located at the entrance of the park, is the starting point for anyone wishing for a gorilla safari. The town is about 90 minutes drive from kigali, the cpaital city of Rwanda.
Besides, the park is also home to the Golden Monkey, which is regarded by the world as Africa’s most endangered primate. They belong to a special species of the Guenon Cercopithecus and their presence is mostly within the lower reaches of the park.

Akagera National Park: Located on the fringes of Rwnada’s border with Tanzania on the eastern flank of the country, Akagera National Park has a powerful presence of swamps and lakes meandering through the course of Akagera River.
The park enjoys a combination of savannah, woodland and opened grassland, which provides home for variety of fauna and makes exciting watch for tourist.
Akagera Park is also said to house about 525 species of birds, four endemics specises and a large concrentration of migatory birds.
When next in Rwanda, take time to explore the natural riches of this land of a thousand hills.
A tour of any of the parks is made possible either through Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Park (ORTPN) or tour operators.

Elmina…History in pains

BY DEBO OLADIMEJI
SITTING in a large expanse of land covering about 100,952 feet or 2.32 acres, Elmina Castle is one of Ghana’s most popular destinations. A tour to Ghana without a visit to the Castle is incomplete. It is a popular historical site, and was a major filming location for Werner Herzog’s Cobra Verde.
UNESCO recognises the castle as a World Heritage Site.
Tourists from Europe and the West besiege the place during summer to enjoy its serene ambience. In fact, the mountain of white sand by the seashores gives it a stunning scenery that could make any tourist want to come back.
Built on sedimentary rock believed to be over a hundred metres deep, which explains why it is still in good condition till date, Elmina was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea.
This, perhaps, suggests why journalists from Anglophone West Africa, who were recently in Ghana for a workshop on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), visited the castle, which is just about two hours drive to Accra, the capital city.

FIRST established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Portuguese traders, led by Joao Satarem and Pedro D’escobar, came to Elmina in 1471 to trade and spread Christianity. And by 1482, Portugal erected the fort and named it São Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mine) Castle, also known simply as Mina or Feitoria da Mina. However, the Dutch seized the place from the Portuguese in 1637, and took over all the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1642.
The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1814; in 1871, the fort became a possession of British Empire. When Britain granted the Gold Coast its independence in 1957, control of the castle was transferred to the nation formed out of the colony, Ghana.

ENTERING the castle, the relic of slave trade — chains, handcuffs and clog — on display drew further hatred for the trade.
Charles Edwards Ocran, a volunteer worker, conducted his guests round. “Initially, all the rooms on ground floor were used as warehouses”, he said. “However, in the early 16th century, when slave trade was started by Portugal, all the rooms were converted to slave dungeons.” Said Ocran, “the slaves were not allowed to go out. While female slaves were locked in one enclave on the ground floor, the males were left in another with each group padlocked with iron or wooden bars.
Ocran noted that the ladies were only brought out from the dungeon when the Governor General needed to satisfy his lust.
“Whenever the governor wanted to sleep with a woman, he stood up there at the balcony of his room. He ordered the solders down to open the gates of the dungeon for the women to be assembled in the courtyard. The unlucky or lucky woman selected might have been in the dungeon for one month or two without bathing. So, the solders fetch water from the main courtyard reservoir to wash her body,” he said. “The selected lady would be forced to climb the stairs straight to the governor’s bedroom. Though the original stair has been changed, a replica of it is still there.
“After the session, she would be forced to return to the dungeon.”
A cell was even built with a danger sign, a human skull drawn on top of the entrance door, to warn recalcitrant slaves. “Some of the men were always fighting with the European solders to free themselves and others. However those caught were sent to the condemned cells, where they were killed,” he informed.
The second cell was meant for Europeans. It was like a remand home for some of the solders that misbehaved. They were punished there and later set free. Unlike the cell for condemned captives, the European cell is airy with perforated iron door.

THE Portuguese were Catholic and they built a church to worship God. Above the entrance door to the church is an inscription from Psalm 132: Heeren ruste/Dit syn woonplaetse eewighety, (Zion is the Lord’s resting place). “The Church was called St Gregory Catholic Church. But when the Dutch, who were Protestants, took over the castle they converted part of it as their Officers Mess while the other part served as slave market.
In 1948, when the British took over, they used the structure as training school for their police. But today, the whole place is a museum,” Ocran stated.

THE road to the dungeon is narrow, desolate and frightening. It is still dark today even during the day, but not for slaves to be taken to the unknown world, rather to serve as a reminiscence of the past. Behind the room of no return, is the remains of a jetty, where the ships of the barons docked and through which slaves were taken to the ship using smaller canoes.
The ships took these slaves to different countries such as the Caribbean Islands, Brazil and America to work in plantations under inclement conditions. Some of the descendants of the slaves do come to lay wreath in the room of no return.
At the castle is the epitaph of a Dutch governor, who arrived there in January 15, 1768 and died in March 12, same year, at the age of 41. He was the last Director General of the West Indian Company and took charge of the Northern and Southern Coast of Africa.
Ocran explained that the Dutch were in Elmina until 1807, when the British abolished the slave trade and in 1872 ceded it to the British. “The British came here, but they never used the Elmina castle for slave trading. Before they came here they were using the Cape Coast castle for their own slave trade. That was their headquarters. But in 1957 the Ghanaians government took over,” he said.
The mission statement for the castle reads: In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors. May those who died rest in peace. May those who love to return find their roots. May humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against

Madrid... Here’s to you, my love

BY ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA
SPAIN enjoys a pride of place in the world. And this is for many reasons. It is one of the most developed world economies with a thriving tourism that is ranked second globally and the leading destination in Europe.
Regarded as a prime city in Europe, Madrid, with its enchanting features that span politics, history, business and economy, tourism, arts and culture, sports and entertainment, events management and festivals, is a fascinating site for many, particularly tourists from across Europe and other parts of the world.
Madrid is Spain’s capital city as well as its economic nerve centre. It also enjoys the presence of royalty as it is home of King Carlos Juan.

LOCATED in the Iberian Peninsula, about 646 metres above the sea level, the city, which became capital in the 16th Century, is about eight hours drive from any Spanish city or region.
With a population of over six million comprising people from about 172 nationalities, Madrid is rated the third most important city in Europe after London and Paris. It is also the fourth largest financial city in Europe with a thriving economy.
Its tourism industry accounts for over 14 million of the 60 million visitors to Spain yearly. The country has one of the largest numbers of World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) with most of them in Madrid.
Of the 600 buildings categorised as cultural heritage sites, 350 are museums and galleries including the famed El Prado, the Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art and the Thyssen-Bornemisza as well as ARCO, the modern art fair; Five World Heritage Sites – Alcala de henares, Aranjuez, Avila, Segovia and Toledo all located within 100 kilometres of the city;
It also boasts of about 174 (4-star) hotels, 20 (5-star) hotels besides numerous apartments and budget style hotels. It also has a large array of greens made into theme and leisure parks, entertainment and sporting facilities with Real Madrid Football and its ‘out of this world’ stadium – The Santiago Bernabeu, being its most iconoclastic symbol.
In terms of access, Madrid is believed to have one of the world’s highest air links, with the Barajas Airport boasting a capacity of 120 landings/take offs per hour and raking in about 70 million passengers yearly. It is ranked fourth in passenger traffic and eight in cargo haul with a direct link to 34 destinations in Spain and 155 global links.

Capital of tourism industry

The city is home to the Headquarters of UNWTO, the world body responsible for global tourism development. It is no wonder that the Secretary General of UNWTO, Dr. Taleb Rafai urged participants at the recently concluded International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR 2010) held in Madrid to take time out to enjoy the tourism ambience of the world’s warmest and welcoming tourist sites.
The city’s inhabitants know this too, and they display it whenever the opportunity knocks. They take an immeasurable delight in travelling within the city and its regions. Fernando (Torres, the Liverpool Football Club star), a cab driver, who drove me to the airport on the day of departure, revealed that he has travelled extensively.
“Round the globe?”
“No,” he said. But with pride and smile etched on his face, he breathed!… “Round the city of Madrid.”
Going on the historical route of Madrid in the open-rooftop tour bus of Madrid Vision, was elevating to the spirit.
The rich history that has been preserved over the years in its architecture, music, art, dance and the people in their daily chores washed up.
The route, which stretched to about 21 different circuits, saw us encountering historical buildings and landmarks, which are a combination of churches, squares, monuments, parks and city gates.
The endless list include the Royal Palace, the Almudena Cathedral, Puerta del Sol, the captivating Plaza de Oriente and the Palacio Real, which is the largest Royal Palace in Western Europe.
There is also the Plaza Mayor, a magnificent Castilian square dating back to the 16th Century. There is Puerta del Sol, which is Madrid’s centrepiece and Spain’s spiritual heart. It is from this square all points on Spain’s six major national roads are measured while the Gran Vía, one of Madrid’s main shopping streets connecting the spacious Plaza de España square with the magnificent old city gate of Puerta de Alcalá brims with life always. What an amazing and interesting sight to feast on.
The city also parades an alluring array of art museums with the Museo (Museum) del Prado regarded as one of the world’s premier galleries, particularly for European art. Of all the historical sites in the city, El Prado Museum Fine Art has an amazing history, as it is the world’s largest art gallery.
Among its exhibits are sculptures, drawings, coins and other ornamental works of art of great value. It is said to house the largest collection of paintings numbering over 8, 600 with less than 2,000 on display due to space constraint.
The Reina Sofia Museum is another treasure house to view as it houses Picasso’s astounding work “Guernica” while the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, one of the most important private collections in the world, make up Madrid’s unique avalanche of art collections.
Others are San Franisco el Grande, Plaza Major, Puerta de Sol, Puerta Toledo, Tearto Real and Palacio Real. Most of these historical structures, which still retain their original texture and architectural feel and design and other others modified over times, a visitor is taken on well-blended tour and narrative of Spanish past.

Route (Ruta) two, which like Route one runs for about 75 minutes, is as extensive as it can get, taking one through some of the most modern and cosmopolitan structures and attractions of the city. Perhaps the most outstanding of them is Real Madrid Stadium, The Santiago Bernabeu.
Meandering through the 15 different enclosures of the route, one comes across such other majestic attractions as Plaza de Cibeles, Paseo del Prado, Plaza de Colon, Nuevos Ministerios, Museo Lazaro Galdino, Alcala and Puerta de Acala.
Woven into the route are other appealing spots such as shopping mall, exhibition centres, theatres and cinemas, restaurants and leisure outlets of different classes.
The distinctive nature of Madrid is such that a visitor can begin to define the many offerings along certain sections and compartments, such as:

Dining out: One can’t easily miss the presence of both Spanish and continental wines and foods in the city. For those with continental taste and appetite for a blend of culinary delight, this is one city to visit. There are lots of friendly packages available to choose from. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to try Tapa Tours for a taste of Spanish wines and foods including a combination of meal with some flamenco.

Shopping Out: Shopping out is a delightsome activity in the city with its heavy presence of classy outlets. However, for many people, the Sunday morning market, which in the local parlance is known as the ‘El Rastro Flea Market,’ is a pleasurable site to mingle with the locals and other visitors to the city. Places like the city mall also provide good options to explore.

Nightlife: This is a city that never sleeps (the Spanish would say it has “mucha marcha”). Nightlife is a simmering affair here in Madrid with its numerous spots. . There are different classes of bars, restaurants, disco halls, pubs, flamenco and dance halls. Live band tradition is also well and alive in the city with different bands and artistes both local and international making the rounds.
For a Nigerian visitor, you are sure to have a good measure of the country in Atocha area of the city. As they say in local parlance — Qué lo pases bien! (Have a good time).
I also had opportunity to tour neighbouring towns and villages such as Avila, Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial and the nearby Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caidos) — all interesting places with timeless historic town centres, great museums

Taming the Taj

BY AYODELE ARIGBABU
THE tourist thing. Standing a hundred meters in front of the Taj Mahal and posing with one hand poised as if touching its highest tip. I became the giant, the tourist who conquers one of the Seven Wonders of the World sufficiently to dwarf it while a complicit and more than willing photographer captures the optical illusion.I had sworn not to do it, when the idea was first marketed to me by one of the many photowallahs at the site. But some other guy snuck up while I struggled to frame a good shot with my handy camera and offered to capture a better shot of the building with its reflection mirrored in one of the pools before it.
Soon enough, he had arranged me in a pose that was guaranteed to take best advantage of the available light, then, another one, then with a sneaky smile, he got me to do the ‘tourist thing’ by arranging my hand like a mannequin’s and moving the camera back and forth till he got the required effect. Then came the photography lesson, he had been at the business for over 20 years, he pointed out the best angles to shoot from at different times of the day to take best advantage of the light. Of course he asked for a tip after handing back the camera; of course he asked for more when I gave him the bit I felt was fair enough, but then he smiled and accepted my thanks in lieu of extra rupees.

Taking awkward poses in front of humongous structures is only one half of the story surrounding the tourist thing. The other half will have to be understood in economic terms.
My volunteer photowahalla, had offered information to the effect that I was lucky to have come on a less congested day, I looked round the massive grounds at what I’d considered to be a decent crowd, which he now referred to as a small crowd.
Typically 35,000 people could show up at a time to see the Taj Mahal, the queue to enter the famous tomb was thus usually quite long, hence my luck for showing up on a less crowded day.

Let’s do a bit of arithmetic here: taking an average of 15,000 from his peak figure for sight seers that visit the Taj Mahal and assuming that a third of that number would be foreign tourists (yes, majority of the visitors at the Taj are Indians who pay just 20 rupees compared to the 750 rupees paid by foreigners!) and multiplying that number by the 750 rupees being charged foreigners, the Indian Department of Archaeological Survey stands to earn up to 3.75million rupees which is equivalent to 11.2 m Naira.
Let’s scale it downwards yet again, and assume that sort of revenue will only be generated on three days out of a five-day week.
Then the government of India can expect to earn 11.2 m rupees or 33.7 m Naira in a week.
If my volunteer photographer’s estimate of 35,000 visitors per day on a peak day is correct, and my rudimentary statistical calculations are passable, then we are talking about more than 45 m rupees or 135m Naira in a month and 540 m rupees or 1.6m in a year. (Checking on this later, it turns out the Taj Mahal rakes in twice the amount estimated here).
Staggering figures, yes, but what exactly is the Taj Mahal? It’s a tomb, you know, a grave, the site where someone was buried.
A massive tomb with a massive mosque on one side to ‘sanctify’ the site, a replica of the mosque mirrored as a guesthouse on the other side to keep the ‘symmetry’ and exquisite gardens on extensive grounds that could accommodate a modestly sized town.
With the central dome standing at 45m high and the four minarets that frame the building standing at 47m, employing thousands of labourers and craftsmen under the supervision of a team of architects for 22 years, The Taj Mahal’s magnificence beats the imagination till date, especially when juxtaposed against the … ehm… slightly whimsical raison d’etre behind its construction.

BUILT in the 17th Century by Shah Jahan, the 5th Emperor of the Mughal Empire which ruled most of India from 1526 till 1857 (when the last Mughal emperor was deposed by the British), Shah Jahan like his predecessors had a great taste for architecture and the arts and was known to be a great builder.
He was also madly in love with his wife Mumtaz Mahal, whom he married at 19 and from whom he could not be separated, so much so that upon her death while bearing their 14th child in 1631, he commissioned the most magnificent tomb ever in her memory, as a mark of their abiding love.
In the most outstanding blend of Persian / Islamic and Hindu architectural styles, that typified the architectural bequests of the Mughal period, the Taj Mahal, together with the Majid (mosque) and its twin — the Mehman Khana (guest house), the Darwaza-i-rauza (a three storey gateway) and the mirrored Naubat Khanas (music galleries) that flank the central Charbagh (quadrilateral garden) with its distinctive lotus pool are all bedecked with incredible geometric and floral details in white marble, red sandstone, jade, amethyst, onyx, sapphire, coral and even diamonds sourced from far flung locations.
Located on the banks of the Yamuna river in Agra which was the cultural and commercial capital of the Mughal empire, The Taj Mahal has further consolidated Agra’s position as a major destination in modern day India by being part of the major tourist route called the Golden Triangle which defines the path from Delhi to the pink city of Jaipur and the romantic sleepy town Agra has become.
The Taj Mahal barely survived attempts by an officer of the occupying British forces to take the building apart piece by piece and auction it off in England and the magnificent lawns once hosted great parties by the English elite.
The Taj Mahal has since been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Should all that explain the interest of local and foreign tourists in the massive and richly decorated tomb where Shah Jahan’s grave is located beside that of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal (after whom the Taj is named), generating considerable revenue for the Indian economy, then the irony shouldn’t be lost on us that the entire enterprise, which is now the pride of India, contributed in some way to the decline of the empire that saw its development.
The more Shah Jahan spent of his time and his empire’s wealth on his love gift to his wife’s memory, the more his influence over the large area he controlled dwindled. Meanwhile, taking his obsession with symmetry to an extreme, he had planned to mirror the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River in black marble.
Age was not on his side however, his declining influence gave room to his sons to squabble for control of the empire which was soon taken over by Aurangzeb, who summarily banished his father to the Agra Fort while struggling to put the empire back on its feet.
Imagine this short speech from son to father: ‘Dad, you’re spending all our pocket money on your girlfriend, now that would have been okay except that she’s been dead for twenty years.
You’re therefore grounded. Go to your room Dad, you shall remain there for the next seven years.’
And remain there he did, at the Red Fort in Agra with his room having a clear view of his beloved monument from across the river Yamuna — The Taj Mahal — at which he stared till he died.

For third world countries struggling to make the best use of the resources available to them and trying to hold their leaders responsible for how those resources are deployed, projects like Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal would probably be in bad taste in today’s world, and given that even the Mughal empire paid a grave price for his romanticism, then for good reason too.
However, having survived centuries to become a major tourist attraction, especially when you stack the figures, history seems to have justified the love struck emperor in a fine example of that Shakespearean buzz phrase— that the ‘evil’ that men do, will live after them.

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In Madrid… A mix of culture & tourism

BY ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA
BETWEEN January 20 and 24, Feria de Madrid hosted this year’s International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR 2010).
The event, which had participants from over 170 countries and regions of the world including Nigeria — represented by Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) — provided opportunity for tourist destinations, service and products providers in the industry and related businesses to exhibit their uniqueness and attractions to the world.
Apart from the Business To Business (B2B), a platform for participants to interact and network, a fascinating aspect of the five-day fair was cultural display.
For two days (January 23 and 24), there was a folklore festival, which provided participants avenue to celebrate their culture.
The essence of the Folklore Festival, as defined by IFEMA ((La Institución Ferial de Madrid), is to increase interest in cultural packages. And this was amply demonstrated on those two days.
The exhibition grounds, spanning over 75,000sq metres, were resplendent in colours, and filled with sounds and sights from different continents of the world.
“Art and heritage are undoubtedly among the most important attractions for many tourists when choosing their destinations. In 2010, many countries will be holding tempting events that will seduce thousands of tourists: from anniversaries, such as the birth of Chopin being honoured in Poland, to the creation of passionate exhibitions of the most outstanding works of artists such as that featuring Frida Kahlo in Brussels, Belgium,’’declared IFEMA in one of the pre-fair briefings.
In the European region, Spain, the host country, was amazing as well as Germany, which showcased what was termed an invitation to the cultural capital of Europe.
Other European countries were also outstanding in the presentations of their various natural and cultural heritages while in Hall 4, American and African countries treated everybody present to a full dose of appealing music.
Colombia, Chile, Mexico and a host of others were particularly amazing in their theatrical displays while African countries, Nigeria inclusive, chose to attract the audience with their visual art collections and cultural heritages. It was a blissful session watching the various visitors feast on the art collections on display.

WITH FITUR at 30, Madrid, which is regarded as the political, economic and socio–cultural capital of Spain has shown that it is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to tourism.
With its tourism industry on the high and the Headquarters of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in the city, it was no surprise that Madrid provided what it did.
The increasing interest in the 30 years fair proved right the vision of IFEMA when it first took the step in 1980 to stage a fair that would in years to come be a tourism show and window to the world.
From using a facility that belonged then to the chamber of commerce, IFEMA has over the years acquired and developed its own fairground known as Feria de Madrid, which currently covers about 250, 000sq metres.
The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, and his wife, Queen Sophia, formally opened the fair. The king is one of the patrons of the fair and his involvement with the yearly fair has also stood it in good stead and attracted the right patronage from across the world.

The women of Ososo

BY PHILIP OJISUA
FOR the people of Ososo, Akoko Edo Local Council of Edo State, there couldn’t have been a better way of ending 2009 than to celebrate womanhood.
Called Oviko, the age-long ceremony celebrates the coming of age of the community’s maidens, whose age ranged between 13 and 15.
With the initiation to womanhood over, these young maidens, who used to walk round the streets partially naked, now have to comport themselves in the community. They will now be considered mature ladies and also, accorded some measure of respect and responsibility. The grand ceremony, which held at the public square, was well attended by the young and old. It was cadenced by pomp and pageantry, which the people get to see once in five years.
For five days, the maiden, who participated in Oviko, were regarded as queens. They were exempted from domestic chores, and nobody was allowed to touch or beat them immediately they mounted Ude, the traditional the Oviko seat.
During this period, the Oviko stood out because they were gorgeously dressed with beads round their necks, complemented by colourful local fabrics. They also wore very beautiful hair-dos. Senior daughters of participating families wore very unique hair-do that distinguished them from the rest of the participants, who were not first daughters. Their hair had beads across the head.
Mothers of the Oviko also invited their mothers’ friends, who joined them in dance on the first day of the cceremony. The final day was colourful and entertaining. There was heavy sound of celebration, everywhere.

BESIDES the oviko, there is also a special ceremony, known as Itakpo, which is dedicated to the rites of passage for young boys into manhood. Unlike that of Oviko, which is done at certain interval depending on the numbers of maidens available for initiation into womanhood, that of the young boys holds once in seven years.
Within that seven years, the young men are expected to produce a lot of farm products that qualify them into adulthood. It also shows that they can keep their families. The Itakpo guarantees them a voice within the council of elders of the community.
The first year, whenn the group goes to the farm is called Osumeh, and this lasts for six years while the seventh year, which is the grand finale, is where every participant shows his farm produce with heap of pounded yam, bush meat and Ato, a locally brewed drink.
Every participant in the ceremony is also expected to observe certain rules such as abstaining from sexual relationship and other associated evil acts, which are detrimental to the community’s well being.
The final ceremony, just like the Oviko ceremony, also elicits a lot of excitement and theatrics. Once the man has been pronounced as having met all the requirements, he is finally accepted into manhood and he dances into the warm embrace

Ukenho unites the scattered tribe

BY CHARLES AKPEJI
THE people of Ekpan, Nyifon and Jukun may have been separated by space and time over the years, their common ancestral and cultural heritage, which is their unifying force, remain firm.
This affinity was displayed at the 2009 Ukenho Festival, held recently in Nyita, Donga Local Council of Taraba State.
The festival, which was instituted as a means of uniting the people, who due to states creation are scattered across Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states, with majority occupying the southern part of Taraba, has since been elevated into an art form; and yearly event.
The sleepy town, on this day, wore colourful ambience, with presence by royal fathers of different status.
Spectators were held spellbound by the theatrical and cultural display that brought out the elements that unify the people.
The common features of the various art forms such as dances, fashion, archery, wrestling, art and craft exhibitions added to the thrill.

Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, who applauded the performers, called for the preservation of the peoples’ collective heritage; urging the integration of the youths into the cultural fold.
Chairman of the festival committee, Rebo Usman, said the yearly convivial gathering has made it possible for the people to be united, network and celebrate their common heritage.
He said: “This event has not only brought us together as one people; for it has continued to promote peace, rapid growth and development among us and with those in the Diaspora.”
He urged the people to learn from the teachings of most of the dance steps and eschew vices capable of bringing disgrace to Ekpan Nyifon Jukun kingdom.
Chairman Nigeria Speakers’ Forum, Istifanus Gbana, in his admonition said: “This is the time for all of us to go back home to revive our culture. If the norms and values of our culture are upheld most of the vices in our society, today, will naturally give way.”
Gbana stressed the need for the various state’s House of Assemblies to enact laws that would not only protect the cultural heritage of the various nationalities within their state, but ensure a forum is created yearly, for the people to celebrate their cultural.
The event attracted massive following and high profile personalities from Taraba State and across the country, which showed the premium the people placed on it.
Among the dignitaries that witness the fest are the Senate President, David Mark; Joel D. Ikenya, Director of Finance National Assembly; David Kente; Manasseh Zorto; Joseph Mairebo; Philip D. Duwe; and Jerome Uggah Moze.