Monday, February 27, 2012
Flavour - Oyi Remix ft. Tiwa Savage [Video]
1st Video of the Week www.usafricanculturalfestival.com
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Black History- New Arrivals from Africa
In the United States of America Americas
Despite these reviling and valiant heritages African Americans and other African Diasporans in the United States
When Africans in the United States Hollywood
Interestingly, these aforementioned ideas have been ingrained in some African Americans through the influences of years of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, discrimination, and self hate. The depictions of Africans and African Americans in Hollywood motion pictures such as Tarzan and Minstrel shows respectively have ensured these stereotypes and prejudices. It is worth noting that whereas the Black exploitation or Blaxploitation movies of the early 1970’s came about when pockets of the Black Power Movements were still wearing dashiki, it only affected the image of African Americans in movies. As a result, the vestiges of division and mistrust appear to be the guiding norms between African and African American relationships. For the most part these misunderstandings are due to the impositions of the dominant patriarchal Eurocentric society like we have hitherto explored and our reluctance to educate ourselves independently of these prisms to curtail our learned prejudices.
New arriving Africans have also been affected by the legacy of discrimination and stereotypes against African Americas. We mainly grew up in periods of black dominated and centered societies that did not have to struggle against years of third/second class and none citizenship. Some Africans tend to belief the worse of our African American cousins and cannot contextualize the relationship between their marginalization in the West and our exile from Africa . It is imperative to connect the dots that results in the majority of Africans earning less than $2 a day while multinational companies are making trillion and billions from the natural resources of the continent with the collaboration of our leaders, and the economic deprivations of African American communities. We ought to also understand that the America and Europe that we come to seek opportunities from were built from the revenues of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the labor of slaves, colonialism, and the ingenuity of the preceding Africans that came on these shores. More importantly there is a need to appreciate how the life and death struggles of African Americans through the centuries have made it possible for us to arrive and strive in these societies.
Certainly, our refusal to implore and implement Kwanzaa principles such as Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) goes without saying, why our schisms seems to be infinite. Some analysts have wondered about what would be the outcomes when African Americans and African immigrants cut the bull, educate each other, exchange ideas, and organize to their mutual benefits. Indeed there are more seamless synergies between the destructive elitism in African countries and the recently adulterated Hip Hop cultures of urban America Ethiopia to Nigeria , Uganda to Zimbabwe
The nominal policies for the African leadership are to lock Africans immigrants out. Our continental custodians also want to keep African Americans at bay at all cost. Their guiding philosophies are- Do not liberalize immigration laws, encourage cultural contacts, promote people to people tourisms, support dual citizenships, foster economic corridors, and setup reliable educational exchange mechanisms. African leaders sustain the status quo guiding principles because they realize that the returning newly departed Africans (30years to present) and conscious/conscientious African Americans who get off the planes would be more inclined and empowered to oppose and change the contemporary norms of corruption by the so-called African elites. These informed African American and Africans would be more adept at challenging the imperialistic economic policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund IMF, and the worsen conditions of our African people.
In several critical thinking capacities for solutions, I have often pondered on how the United States
Similarly, our African American women should join their men to fight off the negative impacts of the liberal welfare state/poor laws that have encouraged mediocrity, unglued the black families, chased black men from families, and condemned future African American generations. The new African Diaspora needs to understand that we cannot remain nonchalant because these prevailing structures are bound to affect our children in this generation or the next generation. We need to embrace, own, and tackle some of the African American problems in strategic organized partnerships. Thus educated, economically healthy, empowered, and structured African Americans would also be essential in assisting the African continent, without sole reliance on the natural resources and animal wood (jungle) visit economic paradigms.
Nnamdi F. Akwada MSW, BA is a Social Justice Activist, Executive Director African Diaspora Institute Think Tank. www.usafricanculturalfestival.com
Reference:
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Knock! Knock! Who is that? Fuel Subsidy and/or Boko Haram
Nigerians in the Diaspora stood up from London to Washington and New York to Atlanta
Principally, the petroleum industry cabals within and outside of the governments are living off the bounties of Niger Delta oil productions. Delighted as some of us were for the unity that those back home displayed on the Pseudo Fuel subsidy removal issue in Lagos , Abuja , and Kaduna Nigeria
Consequently, some Nigerian Diasporans conjectured about the mass protest in northern Nigeria
Indeed we became angered by the tacit support that the regional Boko Haram organization has enjoyed in the north. Some of these supports were in the ambivalent pronouncements by the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III. Others like Mallam Nuhu Ribadu have disingenuously characterized Boko Haram terrorist group as rebels.
However, most Nigerians know from our histories, personal experiences, and the self reports from Boko Haram members that these current killing sprees are the continuation of decades of senseless massacres. Our recorded observations exposes the fanatical hegemonic alignment between some northern elites, some regular, and some poor northerners who have waged war under the umbrella of ethnicity, politics, religion, Sharia, fashion dress codes, beauty pageants, elections, indigenousness, segregation, Afghanistan, Iraq, and petty disagreements among others.
The following are excerpts of the personal experiences of one of our colleagues from the Occupy Nigerian Movement- Washington DC. These revelations came during our deliberations on how to address our various national crises.
Estella Ogbonna: In the spirit of our discussions let me say this, if you have never lived inside a hot, northern state, believe me, you will not understand. Keep in mind, that I actually prefer being termed a Hausa woman. Because, take away the religious intolerance prevalent in that area, the Hausa man/woman is more trustworthy to me, than an Igbo man/woman and I am Igbo by tribe.
I've lived through religious riots over the years; I did my National Youth Service Corp NYSC in the very hot Yobe State University of Maiduguri , with just one semester to graduate, I had to run away from Borno State Maiduguri
We found out she used to be a Christian before she married the Alhaji and changed her religion. We hid inside her inner room for 3days. We could not sleep due to the chants from the mob asking her to bring us 'infidels' out to be murdered like they did others on the streets. She refused and the Islamic rule forbade them from rushing into her room. Those were 3 worst days of my life. The only food we ate was the leftovers from her restaurant.
Luckily the MOPOL (special police) came out to the streets on the 3rd day. By the 4th day, the hajia gave all us wrappers and scarves for us to dress up like Muslims, and that is how we ran into the night. I returned to Damaturu, Yobe State , and the next day, I took a night bus to Onitsha , Anambra State (of course, I stood all the way to Onitsha
I spent all my senior secondary school days in Kano State Kano State Kano State Edo ), Lagos etc with their breasts sliced off by these hooligans. Once they start killing, they do not look for Igbos alone, they kill all southerners. They even killed Yoruba Muslims for crying out loud.
Sure, I've heard so many stories about the Biafra , I was not there, and I am realistic enough to agree that our parents would tell us the gist from their own angle.
That is the more reason I wish Ojukwu had said everything about that war before dying. One story that never comes out often about Biafran war is the genocide their soldiers committed. How they raped and slaughtered the Rivers State
My point is that Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria
During the Sovereign National Conference if we agree on continuing this unity, then some house rules have to be put in place. I would like Nigeria Kano State
After reading the aforementioned narrative few weeks ago I could not help but ponder the question- Knock! Knock! Who is that? Sultan of Sokoto Who? The same quandary can also be applied to statements from the conservative Arewa Consultative Forum ACF and progressives in the north such as Colonel Abubakar D. Umar (Rtd.). The proposed solution by the Sultan of Sokoto to the Boko Haram pogrom is the re-introduction of an armed and fully recognized Native Police. Col.
Maybe Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III ought to be reminded that Boko Haram is an amalgamation of remnants of some Nigerian military personnel of mostly northern or Muslim extractions, the foot soldiers of the Sharia imposition, and poorly training graduates from the madrasas. The foot soldiers of Boko Haram are elements in the north that have slaughtered innocent people time and time again due to flimsiest of reasons. Some of these soldiers that got training in our Nigerian Defense Academies with our national revenues, but have treasonously and callously turned their guns against the citizenry of Nigeria
In the case of Mr. Abubakar the pertinent question is when is enough enough? We realize that Boko Haram mass killings includes other Muslims but how do other people remain in the north when it is apparent that the Sultan and other northern elders/leaders are compromised and dare not speak truth so that justice will prevail? How can the Igbo or any other southerners be expected to remain in northern Nigeria
Some Nigerians in the Diaspora compare the on-going atrocities in northern Nigeria
African American civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton said the Republicans are like children who ate the blueberry pie and after catching them chewing, with crumbs on their hands and their mouths, they still boldly look you in the eyes and denial the overwhelming evidences. The Nigerian northern so-called elites have their hands saturated in the blood of innocent Traditionalist, Christians, and Muslims. They cannot wipe away or disguise the flaming irrefutable preponderant and circumstantial evidences, despite how hard they try.
We need to ask the Sultan of Sokoto, the Northern Elders, Governors, and Emirs why they have not used their bully pulpits to march and organize against repeated massacres in the north. There are massive Friday prayers in their mosques that have been the origins of hate crimes and crime against humanity. How come these same venues have not been used to rally the northern people towards truth and justice? The Nigerian Diaspora is of the opinion that we need to reevaluate the total disdain for the sanctity of human lives in Africa and particularly in Nigeria
Dedicate to- The victims, survivals, displaced persons, and families of all the decade long northern Nigerian terrorist attacks.
Nnamdi F. Akwada MSW, BA is a Social Justice Activist
Estella Ogbonna, Activist Occupy Nigeria - Washington DC
Reference:
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Viviane Chidid feat. Pape Ndiaye Thiopet - Boom Bye Bye
1st Music of the Week www.usafricanculturalfestival.com Boom Bye Bye to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal
Flavour - Nigeria Ebezina (Subsidy) [video]
1st Video of the Week www.usafricanculturalfestival.com
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