Sociolingo’s Africa

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Archive for the 'Nigeria' Category


Nigeria: Romance books in Nigeria’s Muslim north address the meaning of love.

Posted by sociolingo on May 6, 2008

Source: Kuwait Times

Each evening, headscarf-shrouded women seeking romantic advice gather at book stalls lining a rush-hour intersection in Nigeria’s Islamic heartland. With the sun setting red behind a nearby mosque, the women thumb through northern Nigeria’s unique, female-authored literary offerings: cheaply bound but popular volumes that address issues confronting women in a Shariah society: courtship, polygamy and the meaning of love.

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Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN LITERATURE, African books, African writers, LITERATURE, Nigeria | No Comments »

Nigeria: The search for a true Igbo National Attire

Posted by sociolingo on May 5, 2008

I’ve been discovering more African bloggers. The Long Harmattan Season is a Nigerian blogger who writes informed comment about many aspects of life.

One article that caught my eye was about The search for a true Igbo National Attire

In Nigeria, there is no better way to identify people from the different ethnic regions than through their dress. Some of these dresses have since been elevated to the status of national dresses and are worn by members of other ethnic groups at weddings and other public functions.

Read the full article

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, African dress, CULTURE, Nigeria | No Comments »

Nigeria: Igbo spirituality

Posted by sociolingo on May 5, 2008

The Igbo are a people group of Nigeria. An interesting article about Igbo spirituality can be found on Assata Shakur Forums.

Igbo spirituallity

by Onyi Anyiwo

The spiritual system of Ndi Igbo (the Igbo people) is one of the oldest on Earth. The roots of Igbo spirituality is the same as the roots of every other African one; that is, in Africa. Igbo spirituality predates Islam, Christianity, Judaism and every other -ism that one can think of. If there are any similarities between the traditional practices of the Igbo and those of other religions, it is because they were borrowed from our ancestors, and not the other way around.

The ancient spirituality of the Ndi Igbo, like most other traditional African spiritual systems, has been misunderstood and demonized unjustly. Evangelical churches, with the help of Nollywood movies, have helped to paint a negative picture of traditional Igbo spirituality that dates back to the arrival of the Europeans in Alaigbo (Igboland). It is quite unfortunate that most of the people who condemn Igbo spirituality do not know much about it, and base their most of their information from the lies of the very same people who wanted to destroy it and everything about our culture. While all the misconceptions about the traditional practices cannot be corrected in one article, this introduction to Igbo Spirituality will help clear a few things up.

Read the full article

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, African religion, African traditional religion, CULTURE, Nigeria | No Comments »

African archaeology Nigeria: Lost Yoruba kingdom

Posted by sociolingo on May 3, 2008

An older article but one which may be of interest:

Source: New York Times

Eredo Journal; A Wall, a Moat, Behold! A Lost Yoruba Kingdom

]

By NORIMITSU ONISHI

Published: September 20, 1999

Off the main road in this unassuming town, a footpath that snakes through the thick bush and trees of the Nigerian rain forest leads to the remains of what is certainly one of the largest monuments in sub-Saharan Africa: a 100-mile-long wall and moat whose construction began a millennium ago.

Read the full article

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY, AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN HISTORY, CULTURE, Earthen architectural heritage, HISTORY, Nigeria | No Comments »

Nigeria: Fighting corruption - the Fix Nigeria Initiative

Posted by sociolingo on April 29, 2008

Source: Soulbeat Africa

Fix Nigeria Initiative website on April 24 2008.

The Fix Nigeria Initiative (FNI) is an anti-corruption campaign which was initiated to support the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies in their efforts to effectively fight and eliminate corruption in Nigeria. The initiative aims to involve civil society organisations (CSOs) and the private sector to become active agents in the fight against corruption. FNI is therefore working with youth, the media, faith-based organisations, trade unions and the private sector and is conducting advocacy training, encouraging anti-corruption clubs, developing media campaigns, increasing capacity in anti-corruption reporting, developing an Integrity Charter, and building general support amongst all stakeholders.

Communication Strategies

FNI believes that public participation and support is crucial to ethical reform in the country as participation ensures community ownership and a coherent philosophy, strategy, and methodology on questions of integrity and transparency.
FNI is involved in a range of activities with the following sectors:
Youth - The project is offering anti-corruption advocacy workshops in tertiary institutions and as part of the training encourages the formation of Anti-Corruption Clubs. FNI is also conducting integrity training for post-primary school students. As football is considered a rallying point for youth in Nigeria, anti-corruption events are planned at football tournaments in order to encourage youth people to become part of the anti-corruption crusade.
Media - In order to both eliminate corruption within the media and to involve the media in fighting corruption within society, FNI is involved in the following activities:

  • FNI is training journalists in investigative reporting in order to institute a culture of investigative reporting in Nigeria. After their training, 10 investigative reporters are supported with small grants which enables them to write investigative reports related to health (HIV/AIDS funding), sports, local government and multinationals (oil, telecoms, pharmaceuticals, etc.).
  • FNI is also offering training in ethics and media norms in order to institute a culture of norms among editors, reporters, and proprietors. The organisation is drawing on the expertise of international editors who, they believe, provide the needed peer influence and pressure to conform with international best practices.
  • Allied to the training in ethics and media norms, the National Press Council (NPC), which used to act as a disciplinary council for journalists, will be actively engaged to help restore its diminished influence within the parameters of a broader mandate. A bill to amend their mandate has been at the National Assembly since 1999. FNI is supporting the advocacy for the passage of the NPC act. They are also working with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to ensure the setting up of an ethics panel at the national and state chapters of its operations.
  • FNI believes that community radio can play a crucial role in the involvement of civil society in fighting corruption and building an ethical society. As Nigeria lags behind other West African countries in the development of community radio, FNI is supporting the existing activities to develop the community radio sector in Nigeria.
  • The FNI media project has developed material resources in print and digital formats for media training institutions which aim to encourage the integration of anti-corruption reporting in the training curriculum.

Media Campaigns - In order to enhance its community participation strategy, the project has developed a media campaign which encourages news stories and articles in television and radio programmes, and in the print media.
In order to gain public support FNI is also making use of endorsements by celebrities such as Nigerian footballers, other sports personalities, and influential religious leaders. These endorsements involve 30-45 second adverts during prime time on both television and radio. In addition to this, the Performing Arts and Musicians Association (the umbrella body for all musicians and actors in Nigeria) has showed an interest to partner with FNI in the initiative. They plan to compose a theme song and also organise an open air concert.
FNI is also collaborating with notable Nollywood figures to develop a strategy on how to use the resources of the film industry to design a campaign that will help stigmatise corrupt practices.
Faith-based organisations - As Nigeria is a religious society, FNI believes that it is important to use FBOs to pass on messages related to crime prevention and the effects of corruption. A consultative meeting with respected religious leaders took place to help strategise on the way forward. Other plans that will be promoted under this project will include the use of the wide networks of mosques and churches as well as their schools to spread the Integrity Charter and to set up Integrity Clubs.
Trade and Labour Unions - Organised labour is one of the driving forces of the Nigerian economy and issues of corruption, lack of integrity and accountability pose a serious challenge to any attempt to grow the economy. FNI aims to work with organised labour to develop programmes to create an efficient and accountable workforce while eliciting their support in the development of a whistle blower mechanism in the country.
Private sector/professional groups - A five-star rating system has been developed by the Convention on Business Integrity and was presented to the EFCC and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). FNI intends to follow this up with a rating system for the states and local governments. One of the major deliverables of this initiative is a national Integrity Charter which will be drawn up with the active participation of business, civil society, media, religious, and professional groups and will be used as a standard ethical framework for groups and association.

Development Issues

Democracy and Governance, Corruption, Rights.

Key Points

Several years of military misrule and mismanagement have severely weakened economic management processes and institutions in Nigeria. There is no transparency and accountability in government and in the private sector and Nigeria has become notorious for endemic corruption. The result has been the inability of government to deliver services to the Nigerian public and a lack of economic development. Most private companies both in the oil and non-oil sector have constantly evaded tax and have collaborated with public sector officials to evade custom duties and payment of taxes. In addition, widespread perpetration of economic and financial crimes like advance fee fraud, money laundering, cyber crime, banking fraud, and endemic corruption has had severe negative consequences on the Nigerian economy, including decreased foreign direct investments in the country.
This situation is exacerbated by the inability of the Nigerian law enforcement agencies to enforce anti-corruption laws and to prevent the unethical conduct that has led to the abandonment of many development projects and the looting of the treasury by public officials.

Partners

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, European Union, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, People Against Drug Dependence and Ignorance.

Contact

Fix Nigeria Initiative

Fix Nigeria Initiative

11 Niafounke Street
Off Aminu Kano Crescent
Near Access Bank
Wuse II

Abuja
Nigeria

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN POLITICS, Nigeria, POLITICS | 1 Comment »

Nigeria: Bauchi state establishes 17 TB diagnostic labs

Posted by sociolingo on April 25, 2008

Source: APA

Nigeria’s Bauchi state establishes 17 TB diagnostic labs

APA - Lagos (Nigeria) The Programme Co-coordinator of the Bauchi State Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in northern Nigeria, Dr Yakubu Abdullahi, Wednesday said that state government had established 17 tuberculosis microscopic diagnostic laboratories to ensure early detection of the disease.

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Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN HEALTH, African tuberculosis, HEALTH, Nigeria | No Comments »

Nigeria: Polio cases double

Posted by sociolingo on April 22, 2008

Source: Yahoo News

LONDON - Polio cases have nearly doubled this year in the West African nation of Nigeria as officials struggle to fight various natural strains of the virus as well as an outbreak set off by the polio vaccine itself three years ago.

Read the full article

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN HEALTH, African polio, HEALTH, Nigeria | No Comments »

African archaeology book: The African Archaeology Network

Posted by sociolingo on April 19, 2008

Source: African Book Collective

The African Archaeology Network

Reports and a Review

Edited by Felix Chami, Gilbert Pwiti

The first in the book series Studies in the African Past was published in 2001, consisting of reports produced by the archaeology research project, ‘Human Responses and Contribution to Environmental Change’. The new research initiative developed out of this project is known as the ‘African Archaeology Network’. This is investigating how ancient African societies exploited resources, developed settlements and established long-distance trade networks. A pan-African project, it aims to develop new models to understand how ancient communities adjusted and responded to political and environmental upheavals; and to demonstrate the potential for more research in the different areas of African archaeology.

Consisting of ten chapters, this volume includes nine scientific reports and one review emanating from Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, the Island of Mafia in Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. Topics covered include: dense ancient settlements along the Sahara desert; mappings of historical settlements in south-west Nigeria; excavations of the areas around Lake Victoria in Uganda; ancient iron industries; evidence of the domestication of animals and the importation of goods into Tanzania from India and the Nile Valley in the Neolithic age; contact with early European traders and travellers from 160, and how these paved the way for the extension of the western European system into African communities; and hunter- gather and pastoral adaptive strategies in the Namib desert.

ISBN 9789976604085 | 200 pages | 244 x 170 mm | 2005 | Dar es Salaam University Press, Tanzania | Paperback

Available from the African Book Collective

£21.95

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN HISTORY, CULTURE, HISTORY, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe | No Comments »

Book:Education in the Muslim World

Posted by sociolingo on April 16, 2008

This book is a general one but there is one chapter

Colin Brock, James Dada & Tida Jata. Selected Perspectives on Education in West Africa, with Special Reference to the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria

which is relevant to African interests

Source: SYMPOSIUM BOOKS
PO Box 204, Didcot, Oxford OX11 9ZQ, United Kingdom
info@symposium-books.co.uk

Education in the Muslim World

different perspectives

Edited by ROSARII GRIFFIN

2006 paperback 344 pages US$56.00
ISBN 978-1-873927-55-7

IN STOCK NOW   FREE delivery on all orders
All books are sent AIRMAIL worldwide

Click here to view further information and to order this book

This collection of articles is an eclectic selection of studies of a range of educational situations relating to Muslim populations in different parts of the world. It is intended as a selection and in no way contains any overarching theme, other than illustrating the wide diversity of situations and issues relating to education in Muslim societies. The contributors provide a wide and fascinating range of insights and problems, many of which apply to other communities as well; there is much to be shared and celebrated between ‘east’ and ‘west’, but only with greater understanding. It is hoped this book will contribute something towards that understanding.

Colin Brock, James Dada & Tida Jatta. Selected Perspectives on Education in West Africa, with Special Reference to the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria

Posted in ACADEMIC, AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN EDUCATION, African Islam, African papers reports, African religion, EDUCATION, Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone | 2 Comments »

Nigeria: Hausa online grammar

Posted by sociolingo on April 16, 2008

Source: http://sociolingolinguistics.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/nigeria-hausa-online-grammar/

Source: Hausa online grammar (UCLA)

This online grammar provides basic information about the structure of the Hausa language explained in a relatively non-technical way.

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/aflang/Hausa/Hausa_online_grammar/grammar_frame.html

Posted in ACADEMIC, AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN LINGUISTICS, African free resources, African language materials, African languages, LINGUISTICS, Nigeria | No Comments »

Nigeria: The desert is fast encroaching but why?

Posted by sociolingo on April 2, 2008

Source: AlertNet

KANO, 28 March 2008 (IRIN) - Experts agree that an estimated 35 percent of land that was cultivatable 50 years ago is now desert in 11 of Nigeria’s northern states, but what they are not so sure about is why.

“These are indications of global warming which the world must grapple with,” Igiri West, a Kano-based environmentalist told IRIN. “The level of industrial and vehicular emissions [in industrialised countries] is so high that they are capable of drastically affecting the climate [in northern Nigeria].” But Kabiru Yammama of the National Forest Conservation Council of Nigeria disagrees: “Deforestation constitutes 75 percent of the environmental problems in northern Nigeria,” he said.

Read the full story 

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN ENVIRONMENT, African desertification, ENVIRONMENT, Nigeria | 2 Comments »

Measles kills at least 165 children in Nigeria

Posted by sociolingo on March 28, 2008

Source: AlertNet

Measles kills at least 165 children in Nigeria
27 Mar 2008 19:20:09 GMT
Source: Reuters

LAGOS, March 27 (Reuters) - A measles outbreak has killed at least 165 children in the remote northwestern Nigerian state of Katsina, health officials said on Thursday. About 3,064 other children have been infected with the highly contagious air-borne virus since January when the outbreak was first reported, the state director of disease control Halliru Idris told reporters. The News Agency of Nigeria quoted the health official as saying the death toll could be much higher because many cases had not been reported. Apart from causing death, measles is a major cause of blindness among children in Africa and has the potential to damage the brain, leading to deafness and paralysis.

Read the full story

Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN HEALTH, African Child mortality, African blindness, HEALTH, Nigeria | No Comments »

Conference: Africa’s development quest and the challenges of meeting the millenium development goals

Posted by sociolingo on March 19, 2008

REDEEMER’S UNIVERSITY (RUN)
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON
AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT QUEST AND THE CHALLENGES OF MEETING THE
MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
July 14th - 18th, 2008 - Redeemer’s University, Redemption
City, Nigeria
Background:
The World Bank Statistics showed that about 1.3 million
people on earth were struggling on less than one dollar per
day. This phenomenon led the Heads of States and Government
of the United Nations member states on 8 September 2002, to
unanimously adopted the United Nations Millennium
Declaration committing their nations to a new global
partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a
series of time-bound targets, with a deadline of 2015.
Though the developed economic and multinational agencies
have voiced discomfort with this global anomaly, even as not
much determined results have been achieved in its complete
eradication.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are internationally
agreed development outcomes to elicit national responses
through initiatives, and strategies that are geared towards
reducing poverty and improving the standard of living of the
poor, especially in developing countries in Africa and Asia,
by 2015. Attainment of the MDGs requires concerted efforts
from all stakeholders, including governments, the
international community, and civil society. Library and
information professionals, especially in Africa, should also
actively contribute to the attainment of the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, on the
continent it is not yet clear as to how they are
contributing to the attainment of the MDGs.
The purpose of this conference is to serve as an avenue of
intellectual discourse on the concrete steps and solutions
to end this global malady.
INVITATION FOR ATTENDANCE AND CALL FOR PAPERS
The college of Management sciences, Redeemer’s University,
Ogun State, Nigeria will host the 1ST CMS2008 International
Conference in Redemption City, Mowe, Ogun State, Nigeria
under the theme - AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT QUEST AND THE
CHALLENGES OF MEETING THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS The
CMS2008 International Conference Organizing Committee is
inviting researchers and scholars to submit abstract and
full papers focusing on the theme and addressing any of the
following sub-themes of the conference:
-Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.
-Achievement of Universal Primary Education
-Promise of gender equality and empowerment of women
-Reduction in Child Mortality
-Improvement of maternal health
-Combat of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
-Ensuring environmental sustainability
-Development of a global partnership for development
-Indigenous Knowledge and Millennium Development Goals -
what is the significance of Africa’s indigenous knowledge to
the attainment of the MDGs?
The MDGs in the African context - Are there African specific
factors that need consideration in the discussion and in
expounding the MDGs; Is it obvious what roles libraries and
information systems play and need to brace for?
Manuscript Submission
Proposals for papers should be submitted by 15 April 2008
for review, and should include the proposed title of the
paper, author’s name(s), abstract, affiliation/institution,
contact postal address, e-mail address, telephone and fax
numbers, and a short one-paragraph biographical note
(maximum 150 words).
Notification of acceptance of abstracts will be sent by 15
May 2008. Instructions for authors will be available later
on this website. Full conference papers should be submitted
by 15 June 2008. All the papers will be reviewed and only
the authors of papers that will be recommended by the review
panel will be invited to present their papers at the
conference. Papers presented at the conference will also be
published in the conference proceedings and College Journal.
With regard to both the content and formatting style of the
submissions, prospective contributors must follow the APA
format. The length of abstracts should not exceed 500 words.
Submitted papers must be original and must not be under
current consideration for publication in other venues.
Authors should submit an electronic copy either in word of
PDF format of their complete papers via ilesanmio@run.edu.ng
OR toytundun@yahoo.com Please also ensure that you indicate
your role in the submitted project and include your contact
address and all professional details (name, position,
address, telephone and fax numbers, email).
Important date / deadlines for submission of abstract and
full paper is as indicated in the table below:
Submission deadline April 15, 2008
Notification
  May 15, 2008
Registration and camera ready
  June 15, 2008
Further Details Please CONTACT:
Ilesanmi Oluwatoyin Olatundun (PhD)
Secretary (LOC),
Department of Behavioral Studies,
College of Management Science,
Redeemer’s University,
Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Phone: 08052236377

Posted in ACADEMIC, AFRICA, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, African conferences, Nigeria | No Comments »

NIGERIA: Desperate children swamp northern cities as food price hikes bite

Posted by sociolingo on March 18, 2008