federal Government To establish 100 rice mills by Joke Akanmu

IN an attempt to meet the nation’s demand for rice, the Federal Government has concluded plans to acquire additional 100 large-scale rice mills across the country.

The plants, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, would have the capacity to mill 2.1 million metric tones (MT) of rice annually, equivalent of the annual rice import index in the country.

Adesina, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the rice mills would be in place in the next 12 to 18 months.

Stressing the need for the nation to grow its own rice, the minister said that by 2050, Nigeria’s annual consumption level of rice would have risen from the present five million MT to 35 million MT, adding that “unless we grow our own rice and move away from importing rice, we will be bankrupt”.

According to him, “Nigeria currently imports 2.1 million MT of rice annually. For way too long, the attitude of Nigerians has been to promote imported rice. As we spend over N1 billion daily on importing rice, we are simply using our stomachs to create jobs for farmers in other parts of the world while destroying incentives for the production of rice by farmers in Nigeria.

“So, while Nigerians smile as they eat imported rice, farmers of rice-exporting countries love us because we help to secure their own economies. But let me assure you that under my term, I will not stand for such. I am the Minister of Agriculture for Nigeria and my job is not to promote food imports into Nigeria, but to make Nigeria self-sufficient in production of its own food and export food”.

Adesina further disclosed that since the start of his administration, the government had completed three plants with the capacity to mill 90,000 metric tones of rice yearly.

Saying that some prominent Nigerian investors had started investing in rice mills, Adesina urged the private sector players in Nigeria to brace up and invest in rice production.

He mentioned that Nigerian local rice has changed from the past, as the country is growing and milling high quality rice that competes well with rice imported from Thailand or India.

Miz Gold steps Up with I love the Way

Miz Gold steps Up with I love the Way

By Tony Nwane

Talented and wave making Temitope Omolola, also known as Miz Gold has made her way back into the music scene with her new single, ‘‘I love the Way.’’ A songwriter and former dancer, she currently lives in Lagos and has a promo single, I love the Way, followed by a music video, shot outside of Accra Ghana.
Currently signed to Zomi Records Label, Miz Gold has concluded plans to feature known Nigerian and Ghanaian artistes in her works.
She plans to be successful internationally and to create a genre of music that blends the raw African beat with European House and Dance music style. According to her, 2012 will be a defining year in her career, and she hopes to release a lot music videos.

picture talk

Anyaoku, others decry nation’s woes

BY YEMI OLAKITAN

EMINENT Nigerians, including former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku have lamented the crises that have bedeviled the nation since independence, despite the availability of huge human and natural resources.

They spoke at the presentation of a book Profiles in Leadership by veteran journalist, Folu Koyi in Lagos.

The book chronicles the lives of great men and women who have contributed to the advancement of the nation in different fields of human endeavour.

The chairman of the event, Anyaoku, acknowledged the great disappointment that any serious reader of the book would feel. He wondered why a country, which has produced the galaxy of achievers described in the book, should still be in a state of underdevelopment.

He noted that the country was far from realising its true potential. According to him, the main reason for this situation is that political leadership over the years had failed abysmally in finding ways to give the country the full benefit of its indisputable human resources.

He commended the author, who he noted, had begun research into the material for the book as far back as 14 years ago. He further congratulated the author on producing such an invaluable source of reference for any one who is interested in knowing more about the leading people and professions in Nigeria over the last 100 years.

“I would like to commend Folu Koyi for the depth of his research and his admirable judgment in selecting the people to include in the book. In Nigeria, where we seem to have established a culture of self-promotion of individuals by families or groups in the form of paid advertisements in our newspapers, deciding on who are true leaders in our national life must be a tricky and demanding task,” he said.

Anyaoku said further: “I would like to observe that in my experience of having to visit over 100 countries around the world, I know of no other country where publications of all sorts of congratulations fill the national dailies. This is why Folu must be commended for taking the time to recognise our true leaders.”

Source: The Guardian, 12th October 2011

Picture talk

in Nigeria Everyone is asking where is Lagbaja. what is happening to the masked one? we miss you at home. Come back to Naija! frankly, Lagbaja do not have to leave Nigeria to become an international star. Fela never left and he was an international icon. i think relocating to foreign lands because of music is not always the best for our musicians. look at Majek Fashek, he relocated to the United States and ended up a drug addict, Dizzy k Falola left for the UK and he abandoned music and became a preacher, Evi Edna left and we never heard of her beautiful voice again, and so many others. our musicians should stay at home in Naija and let the world come and meet them here. They always loose at home and never seem to find their feet abroad, aside the ones that are born there.

Animal farm: The tragedy of the ruled

Animal Farm: The Tragedy of the Ruled
By Yemi Olakitan

The plots in Animal Farm, an iconic novel written by British author, George Orwell in 1945 were re-enacted to fit the Nigerian context by Austrian trained, Nigerian Actor and Director, Nick Monu who gives a new touch to the novel and created a theatrical performance out of it. The play, written by Monu was produced by Terra Kulture, Nigeria Cultural center as part of their monthly weekly productions for the advancement of theatre arts in Nigeria. Adapted for the theatre to fit the Nigerian socio-political milieu, Animal Farm is originally an allegorical novel that largely made fun of the British ruling class at the time. It discusses corruption in high places and exposes the fruitlessness of regime change without individual rejuvenation in the face of greed and personal aggrandizement.
Monu’s version takes the plots of the original novel and wove it around the challenges of leadership in Africa, particularly Nigeria. It addresses the corruption of leadership in governance and portrays corrupt leadership as the major reason for societal backwardness. The story makes the audience realize that political change can only be beneficial to the majority if the leadership is upright and sincere. By changing the setting to Nigeria and reflecting his home country in the play; Monu is able to show his directorial artistry and the fact that the problems of leadership are largely universal. The playwright also made use of Pidgin English in his use of language and ensure that the audience and the actors were able to get an emotional connection to the issues discussed, ensuring that they see themselves in the scenes and the entire acting.
In the Original story, Old Major, the Old Pig on the Manor Farm, calls the animals for a meeting, where he compares the humans to parasites and enemies. He teaches the animals a revolutionary song, 'Beasts of England, in the adaptation, Nick changes the song to Beasts of Nigeria, Beast of Africa. When Old Major suddenly dies, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume command of the farm and turn his dream into a philosophy, called Animalism. The animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible Mr. Jones who becomes Mr. Obanjo in Monu’s adaptation. They also rename the farm "Animal Farm". Farmer Obanjo is the owner of the farm and he is cruel to the animals, which brings about the revolution that ousts him from his farm.
The Seven Commandments of Animalism are written on the wall of a barn. The most important is the seventh, "All animals are equal’’. This maxim did not last as eventually the story shows that some animals are more equal than the other since the pigs consider themselves cleverer than the other animals and are therefore born to rule. They begin to change the commandments to favour their corruption. The pigs steal from the farm while some of the animals complain that even in the days of Farmer Obanjo, things were better.
Snowball attempts to teach the animals reading and writing; food is plentiful, and the farm could have continued to run smoothly. However, the pigs continue to elevate themselves to high positions of leadership and set aside special food items, ostensibly for their personal comfort. They sleep in beds and drink milk set aside in the farm. Napoleon even brought in a human being named Mr. Whymper, a solicitor living in Lagos to act as the intermediary between the animal farm and the outside world. Mr. Whymper visits the farm regularly and received instructions from Napoleon. This is clearly against the philosophy of Animalism as laid down by Old Major.
Napoleon and Snowball struggle for leadership in the play, which shows the mad ambition that often exits in political rivalry. It shows how politicians sometimes antagonize one another to the detriment of the larger society. Snowball and Napoleon struggle for political power as modern day politicians do, often trying to outdo each other and to bring the other down.
Obanjo Farms, owned and managed by Farmer Obanjo whose name sounds like Obasanjo, except for the letter S that got missing, is a prototype of dictatorship and oppression. Obanjo owns and runs his farm the way he feels like, he is always cruel to the animals. It tells the story of the suppression the animals suffers and shows the effects of bad leadership. The animals decided quite wrongly that the only enemy they had in life was Man which led to a revolution on the advice of Old Major, the pig that motivated the animals before his passing. They however did not know that humans are not the problem, bad leadership was the problem of the animals, even with the change in leadership, bad leadership continues and the animals continue to suffer even more.
The production was a hilarious and thought provoking performance and a satire on the Nigerian society. It shows that even with the change from military dictatorship to democratic governance, there still remains the problem of greed, corruption, and man inhumanity to man, which keeps the governed in perpetual servitude. It was also a satire on Africa as a whole since Monu introduced Beasts of Africa to the animal anthem and the issues discussed are not peculiar to Nigeria alone. It concerns the entire continent. This fable calls for responsible leadership in a developing nation such as Nigeria and indeed Africa.
Nick Monu who acted farmer Obanjo is a brilliant actor who displayed his vast acting and directorial experience in the production. He acted farmer Obanjo. The set and costume Designs was done by Simeone Monu.The performance parades a handful of highly talented Nigerian actors and actresses such as Bayode abiflarin, Toritseju Ejoh, Titlayo Akinmoye, and Mawuyon Ogun, Nnamudi Ugbagu. It is a joint production of Terra Kulture and Monu and Monu Productions under the patronage of the Commercial Counselor of the Austrian Embassy, Ms. Nella Hengstler. Power Horse and Four Points by Sheraton sponsor it. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc provides stage elements. Supreme Lace Limited provided costume materials.
Born in 1965 in Lagos, Nicholas Monu has a career that spans the full range of his profession. He had a British education in the famous mill field and St. Andrews boarding schools; Nicholas studied Performing Arts in the United States. He studied at Webber Douglas academy of Dramatic art in London. Nicholas has been since then, one of Britain’s most demanded young actors, playing in most of the islands major theatres including the royal Shakespeare company, the national theatre, and the royal court, the Moscow arts theatre and at the National Theatre of Nigeria

Grengory, New Masqurade Actor Dies by Yemi Olakitan

James Iroha, alias Girengori who created the famous television comedy of the 80s and early 90s is reported dead. Girengor acted with famous musician and actress Kristy Essien Igbokwe and was a very humourous individual. He brought his talents to complement other actors in the TV series such as Chief Zebrudaya alias 4.30. May His gentle soul rests in peace. In the words of an admirer he was Nigeria's premier Humour Merchant, ''Chief James Iroha a.k.a. "Gringory". From ua days @ d university College Ibadan to Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting, NTA, IBC, BCA...spanning over 5 decades, u dedicated ua life to making others happy wt ua extra-ordinary talents. A compere par excellence, a peerless comedian & an actor wt a difference. U created d now rested sitcom, "Masqurade" & humbly took d role of a houseboy. U did all these not 4 money but, just 4 odas to be happy. Chief, may u find humour in eternity. Goodbye"Gringory Akabuogu"
National President of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Segun Arinze confrimed his death. He died after a brief illness.