What's Reading?

I recently finished No Country For Old Men, which I really enjoyed. It was a taut, fast read - just the way I like them. It was my first Cormac McCarthy book and a good introduction to his writing. However, from what I gather, it's different from the rest of his books which meander their way through telling a story - or sometimes not, from one of the book reviews I read.

Then, I started Lionel Shriver's So Much for That, which I could not wait to read. Unfortunately, that experience was not what I expected. It was evident from the pages I read, that Ms. Shriver was passionate about the provision of quality, affordable health-care, which many would say is not available in the United States (where the book is set). However, her disdain for the American health-care system, which disenfranchises people with no money (unlike the U.K's National Health Service) was sharply evident in some of the characters' lengthy, impassioned rants. It was a bit too much for me and I've since put the book aside for now. I enjoy it when points are made a bit more subtly through the plot, as opposed through the dialogue.

Since I love Lionel Shriver's writing, I will go back to it at some point. I have since started what's her most famous book, We Need to Talk About Kevin. I am also reading Marian Christy's Conversations: Famous Women Speak Out.

I particularly want to highlight the new book by Nigerian writer Teju Cole. His first book Every Day For the Thief was published a few years ago in Nigeria by Cassava Republic. Now, he has his big international outing, Open City coming out this month, published by global publishing giant Random House. Read an interview with him on the literature social networking site Goodreads.

Contest: Blogging on Development Policy

The Communication Initiative (The CI) and the BBC World Service Trust (WST) invite entries for their first contest for blogging on development policy, soliciting persuasive critiques and encouraging discussion on development policy issues. CI Network members from around the world (as well as those who wish to become CI Network members) are requested to submit their opinion pieces to the collaborative blog at Communication, Media, and Development Policy.

THE CONTEST: OVERVIEW

The principal audience for the blogs is development policy makers and those interested in engaging with them. These include people working in donor and multilateral organisations, "mainstream" development non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations, governments, and others who inform development policy. The aim of this contest is to highlight the relevance of media and communication to wider development policy concerns, and particularly governance concerns.

Bloggers must be/become registered members of The CI Networks in order to participate in this contest and process. If you are not registered please do so at www.comminit.com/user/register.

The top 10 outstanding bloggers from the network, as judged by The CI/BBC WST, will receive a stipend of 240 UK pounds each to support them writing 3 additional blog posts between March 15th and June 15th 2011.

The top 2 controversial bloggers from the network, as judged by The CI/BBC WST, will receive a stipend of 50 UK pounds to acknowledge their skill in inspiring dialogue.

For more information, please see www.comminit.com/en/node/328581/36 or contact Deborah at dheimann@comminit.com.

Find Your Polling Unit on the Nigerian Map

Voter registration for the upcoming Nigerian elections start on January 15th.


Visit the Enough is Enough Nigeria website to find the nearest polling unit to you. The polling units are shown on a Google map with information provided by INEC. To find your polling unit, zoom in by using the + sign and zoom out with the -. You can navigate up, down, left and right with the buttons above the +/-. Please note that the INEC map is work in progress, so all polling units have not been included.

Check the EiE site for more information.

Women and Mobiles

Watch interviews with some of the presenters from MobileActive.org's Women and Mobiles Tech Salon. How can mobile phones help women around the world improve their lives? And who are some of the women working in this amazing field? The tech salon looked at both questions, bringing together women in the M4D field to present their work.

Lessons from a Radio Competition

What a great start to the new year (from December 1, I'm already living in the new year)! I entered a radio competition on Thursday on Smooth FM for free memberships to a gym. My current gym subscription ends in January and I have been thinking about whether to renew or go somewhere else.

After answering a ridiculously easy question, I knew that the winner would be selected randomly from a pool of people who got the right answer.

So much for that, I thought. Afterall some people seem to have all the luck with raffle draws and the such; and some (like myself) hardly do.

So it was a huge surprise to get a call today from the station saying that I had been shortlisted for the prize and to stay glued to the station, as the winner would be announced in 5 minutes.

That was excitement enough for me, but then as the minutes ticked by, I started to think that maybe the joy would end there.

Until my phone rang and it was the station again!! And then I was on air screaming like an unsophisticated loon. I had won a free membership to Eko Sauna - I don't know how long for as the line was crackling and of course I had to turn down my radio volume. But it doesn't really matter. It's exciting to win something, especially when it's an unexpected win. And, best of all, it meets a need that I have now. It's perhaps silly to take so much away from winning a radio competition, but it makes me feel that when we truly desire something and are open enough to go after it (in this case, entering the competition), something wonderful could happen.

Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) on the Lack of Women in Leadership Positions

Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) talks about why there are so few women in leadership psoitions and what needs to be done to address the situation.

The Options of a Woman

Thanks, O, for the link to this beautiful article by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie that neatly captures the dilemma of the modern Nigerian woman. Or rather the modern Nigerian woman who is frustrated by the pervasive system of gender inequality that typically relegates her several places behind her menfolk.

Do you react angrily to every attempt to 'put you in your place' or do you demurely defer to others?

Notes from the 3rd African Feminist Forum

The 3rd African Feminist Forum took place in Dakar, Senegal in October 2010. Here are some reflections from the meeting.

MUSON Jazz Festival

Imole Africa

It’s was a wonderfully artsy weekend for me. There was so much for me to feed my senses on.

First off, there were 2 big jazz events taking place this week: the Lagos Jazz Series and the MUSON Jazz Festival.

I would have loved to attend both, but there’s only so much time so I opted for the MUSON Jazz Festival. I had heard of none of the acts, but that was no deterrent to me. Together with a friend we went to take in the best of the scene.

The evening started off with Yemi Sax playing the national anthem. Then OluJazz, a saxophonist, covered some popular songs including hits by Asa and TuFace.


My friend asked me if that was jazz, which made me wonder what makes music jazz. Obviously, I believe I know what jazz sounds like and can quite confidently pull it out of a line-up of close affiliates.

However, I remember when the lounge Jazz Sessions was open in Lagos. For the few months that it was in operation it drew huge crows – especially considering the deplorable state of that stretch of Ozumba Mbadiwe Way at the time. The name of the lounge would suggest that the music played there was jazz. However, what I heard whenever I was there were live covers of popular songs, which made me wonder if it’s jazz when the music is played by a live band. (Obviously I know this is not true, but it feels sometimes like that’s a big criterion around here). But I digress.

OluJazz did a great job warming-up the audience and so I felt quite indignant on his behalf when the MC for the evening kept calling him “YemiJazz.”


Pure and Simple

The guitar duo, Pure and Simple, were up next and I was endeared to them almost immediately, because they both appeared nervous. Their playing was fantastic and their “short” pieces were actually not, but rather lengthy but accomplished renditions.

There were a lot of artistes on the line-up and I guess all the acts must have been given a time limit, so I wondered about the need for the MC to move onto the stage and almost drag some of the acts off the stage. It was quite distracting to see him wandering amidst the playing artistes and it did not make for a very dignified exit for many of the acts. However, it did keep things moving along quite nicely without that prolonged wait period that you often get at concerts with multiple artistes as they move their staff on and off the stage.

Mike Osadolo was a musician whom I recognized from my church and from an evening at Motherland. He confidently took charge of the audience with his dynamic playing.

I couldn’t really describe Imole Africa’s music well enough, except to say that it sounded simultaneously deeply Yoruba and avant guard. I especially loved the first piece they played, which sounded like claps of thunder set to music.

Biodun & Batik

Then came Biodun & Batik, which was probably my favourite act of the evening. It was amazing, but somehow I loved all the songs they played. Biodun is the band leader and Batik is the band and together they played both covers and original compositions. I felt I had to run out and buy their CD (alas I wasn’t able to, but I have a birthday coming up so that’s a gift idea. ☺).

Herbert Kunle Ajayi (HKA) was maybe my next favourite act. Both he and B&B played what sounded the most like traditional jazz, but with a freshness that kept them from sounding boring.

Ayinke Martins

There was a lot of anticipation built-up for the final two acts of the evening: Ayinke Martins and Lekan Babalola. Ayinke Martins was the big jazz vocalist of the night and had a voice like velvet; while Lekan Babalola had the biggest band of the night with correspondingly majestic melodies. Unfortunately, I could not stay until the end of the concert. At 11.30pm, Lekan Babalola was outlining his repertoire and it sounded like he planned on being there until 1am. I had an early start the next morning and regretfully took my leave.

It was an extremely satisfying evening for the humble sum of N2,000, however the program notes showed that due to the difficulty in raising money for the event, it very nearly didn’t take place. I felt sad about that, because the big companies appear to be stumbling over themselves to sponsor comedy and reality shows. So kudos go to the companies who did support the jazz festival. I look forward to next year being even better.

Omenka Gallery presents: Reconstruction in Reverse

Omenka Gallery presents Reconstruction in Reverse, a photographic exhibition.

Reconstruction in Reverse is an exciting and challenging exhibition analyzing the role and impact each individual Nigerian has on our collective identity as a nation and how we define ourselves in an increasingly contemporary world.

RECONSTRUCTION in REVERSE or deconstruction brings together portraits of the famous, infamous and non famous, but just as important! The intimacy of portraiture will enable the audience to gain an increased perspective and understanding on issues relating to self discovery and awareness.

The exhibition employs deconstruction as a strategy of critical analysis and seeks to challenge the displaced and misinterpreted Nigerian identity forced on us by addressing commonly held social stereotyping and assumptions. In constructing the photographic identities of the subject many of the portraits on view are taken in various environments and situations which provide a graphic beauty and simplicity as well as a distinctive narrative content in the theatricality of human action.

The exhibition will feature thirteen of Nigeria’s prominent contemporary photographers including Adolphus Okpara, Ebikware Okiy, Isaac Emokpae, Jide Adeniyi-Jones, Jide Alakija, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Lolade Cameron-Cole, Mudi Yahaya, Nnamdi Ijiomah, Tam Fiofori, TY Bello, Uche James-Iroha and Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko.

Exhibition started on November 6 and ends on November 12 at Omenka Gallery, 24, Ikoyi Crescent, Ikoyi, Lagos. RSVP: +234 (0)803.312.9276, (0)808.366.1101

Apply: Davis Scholars Program (U.S.) for JSS 3 - SSS 1 students

The Emma Willard School for girls in the United States and the Shelby Cullom Davis family have established a program to attract highly motivated, potential future leaders.

For the 2011-2012 year, the Davis family has arranged to provide two $20,000 scholarships to qualified international candidates. Grants are needs based and, if a student qualifies, she may be eligible for financial assistance up to an additional $25,000. Students may be enrolled in the 10th and 11th grades (equivalent to SSS 1 and SSS 2).

Upon graduation from Emma Willard School, Davis Scholars are eligible for continued scholarship support at any of the 89 Davis United World Scholars colleges and universities in the United States.

Emma Willard is one of the U.S' preeminent girls' schools, grades 9-12 (JSS 3 - SSS 3), fostering in each young woman a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world.

Find out more about the Emma Willard School: www.emmawillard.org. Contact Jeffrey Pilgrim, the director of admissions (jpilgrim@emmawillard.org) for more information.

Ghana Internet and Mobiles Entrepreneurs Forum‏

The PearlRichards Foundation and the University of Ghana Business School, Ghana , are organizing a one day forum on Internet and mobile entrepreneurship in Ghana. The forum seeks to showcase the innovative use of new media – internet and mobiles – by entrepreneurs to address the socio-economic and development challenges in Ghana. This year’s theme is Building Ghana through Internet Enterprises and Mobile Innovations.

The forum has two interrelated objectives, namely:
1. To offer participants an opportunity to share, discuss and learn from individual career experiences and profiles of Ghanaian Internet and Mobile entrepreneurs.
2. To educate participants on how to use Internet and mobile resources and applications to support and promote their creative ventures.

The forum will take place on November 5, 2010 at the University of Ghana Business School. GIMEF 2010 will encourage open minds, critical thinking, self-examination, creativity, and sharing ideas.

Technology entrepreneurs presenting at the forum include: Excelle Ghana, Silky Productions, Mobile Content Ghana, Txt Ghana, Funeralsinghana and Esoko Ghana. Visit TESS Africa, www.tessafrica.org to read more.

The forum is a pre-conference towards the Africa Internet and Mobile Entrepreneurs Conference in Uganda, December 10 (www.afiec.com). GIMEF and AFRIEC are both events organized by the Technology Entrepreneurs Seminar Series (TESS Africa www.tessafrica.org). TESS aims at inspiring African Youth and Graduates into Technology Entrepreneurship and it is supported by the PearlRichards Foundation (www.pearlrichards.org), PC Tech Magazine (www.pctechmagazine.com) and Uganda Telecom.

We look forward to your participation.

Richard Boateng, PhD and Longe Olumide, PhD
Forum Conveners

Click here to read online.

The Group by Mary McCarthy

I finished reading Mary McCarthy’s The Group over the weekend and I have to say that it is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time to come.

It follows eight graduates of the exclusive American college for women – Vassar – as they find their places in life. Except for the fact that The Group is set in the 1930s (and written in the ‘60s), you could almost be mistaken into thinking that it is set in modern day New York, which just goes to show that the issues that women face has changed very little (careers, relationships, marriage).

Kay, Dottie, Pokey, Polly, Libby, Priss, Lakey and Helen are very different women and although most of them share a solid friendship with the others, some relationships are rather more tenuous and their very existence speaks more to university’s ability to bring together people from very different economic and social classes, who might not otherwise meet or become friends.

The book doesn’t pull any punches at all and deals quite frankly with issues of sex, marriage, infidelity, motherhood, ambition, rape, mental illness, death and even sexual orientation. It might seem too much for one book, but with each chapter focusing on aspects of each woman’s life, it never feels overwhelming or less than believable, because you get pulled into the character’s life and worldview.

The book starts off with Kay’s wedding and ends seven years later at a funeral and during that time, the friends have matured and lost some of their post-college shiny-eyed idealism. In her foreword, Candace Bushnell writes: “As Vassar graduates, the women of The Group believe they will change the world. What they discover is that not only can they not change the world, but their survival still depends on their acceptance of being ‘the second sex.’” To put it concisely – reality bites!

I liked this book because it explored many issues that are dominant in my life – and every other woman. I also enjoyed it, because I could see myself in one or more of the characters (I identified most with Polly).

It wasn’t a quick read for me, because it was dense with description, which did not lend itself to reading within the odd 10 or 15 minutes that I could snatch during my days and nights. Rather, The Group is the type of book that you want to devote a few hours to, settled in a comfortable chair.

I Whip My Hair Mash-up

There seem to be no end to the number of hair-related videos in the news this week. This one is a mash-up of Sesame Street's "I Love My Hair" and Willow Smith's "I Whip My Hair."

Strategic Bloggers Meeting

A roundtable discussion was organised yesterday (coordinated by Adeolu Akinyemi and sponsored by MTN Nigeria). The objective was ultimately to "develop a framework for the Nigerian blogging industry." To this end, a selection of Nigerian bloggers - myself included - were invited to share their experiences, especially related to income generation (adverts and content marketing).

This was the first time I had heard bloggers referred to as an "industry." Before yesterday, I had thought of us as a loose group of people who happened to share one activity in common - blogging. So, the use of the word "industry" obviously connotes "making money", which appears to distinguish the professional blogger from the hobbyist.

Our discussions yesterday showed how this grouping by blogging intent is not even a clear demarcation as most bloggers who are now making money from their blogs started off as casual bloggers.

Anyway, I digress.

The discussions touched on the difficulty in selling online marketing to corporate Nigeria; the majority of whom tend to be more comfortable with more traditional forms of advertising.

I don't make any sort of money from my blog, so while I shared some of my thoughts, the experience for me was very much a peek into the possibilities. A few weeks ago - or was that only last week(?) - I realised how much more I want to do with this blog. Well, after yesterday my brain was ringing with thoughts of "To infinity and beyond!"

Read Web Trends for a more detailed write-up.

Tales of Lionesses: Reflections on African Feminism

As the 3rd edition of the African Feminist Forum opens, founding member Jessica Horn reflects on where feminism fits in our narrative of African experience.

I Love My Hair: An Ode to Natural Hair

This video has been making the rounds on the natural hair blogs in the last couple of weeks.

In it, a little Muppet girl (of African descent) sings a love song to her hair. She talks about all the different ways she can style her car.

"I Love My Hair" debuted on the Oct. 4 episode of Sesame Street. It was posted on the show's YouTube page — and since then the video has been shared the world over.

On NPR, Joey Mazzarino, the head writer of Sesame Street, is also a Muppeteer who wrote the song for his daughter. Mazzarino is Italian. He and his wife adopted their 5-year-old daughter, Segi, from Ethiopia when she was a year old. Listen to the interview here.

In the interview, Mazzarino references how the Chris Rock documentary Good Hair brought to his attention the pressures that black women face to wear their hair in straighter styles.

Keeping Up with the Jones

My newest TV love is Keeping Up with the Jones, the BET reality show.

The show follows Tracey Ferguson, the editor in chief of Jones magazine, a Houston-based shopping guide for women.

I stumbled on it quite by accident, as I hardly ever watch BET. However, I was almost instantly hooked after the first episode I watched. The series follows Tracey as she seeks to build-up the Jones brand and expand the reach of the magazine. In the first episode I watched, we see her moving into her new office space after years of working our of her home. One of her staff is not terribly excited about the office space as it's on the small side. That staff had a stinky attitude and I think eventually Tracey fired her or she left.

In a later episode, Tracey explores a partnership with Source magazine, which would provide a much-needed national distribution link for Jones magazine. Her potential partners share their opinions of the magazine with Tracey including the layout, choice of cover models, size and content. And they basically wanted to change everything.

I can relate to this show on so many levels, even though I don't run a magazine. Many of the issues that Tracey has to deal with on a daily basis are the same that most business owners have to - such as figuring out the best way to bring your dream to life; staying true to your vision in the face of set-backs, criticism and 'helpful' suggestions; managing her staff; taking her organisation to that next level; and most importantly balancing her work and her family life.

Tracey doesn't know it all, but I like that she is clear on what she wants for Jones. She is willing to listen to suggestions, but will draw the line if it appears to take the magazine in the opposite direction of where it needs to go. The same goes with caring for teenage son and daughter, who both have equally clearly-defined plans for their lives.

Sometimes I can feel her brain cells whirring and asking "So what do I do in this situation?" She doesn't always have the answers by the end of each episode, but she's also confident enough to let somethings work themselves out.

A Blogging Resolution

When I think about how I have neglected my blog, I become wracked with guilt. Well, not always. Most times I am. I used to be such a dedicated blogger, sometimes blogging several times in 1 day.

Many people I know have moved on from their blogs - sometimes to other social networking tools and sometimes offline.

However, I still spend a lot of time online, though most of that time is dedicated to work. And of course, I have my daily blog reads. I just don't dedicate that much time to my own blog.

Reading Ree's post on Ten Important Things She's Learnt about Blogging, I am struck that I hardly do any one of them consistently - be it writing often, being myself or pushing through my writer's block.

A few moments later, I stumbled upon 101 Cookbooks (I love food blogs, though I don't cook all that often) and discovered that Heidi Swanson, the creator of 101 Cookbooks, was the co-founder of ChickClicks an early online community targeted at young women, which among many things encouraged an interest in technology. The fact that I used to visit this site in 2000 (10 whole years ago) blew me away that I've been hanging out online for so long.

I am really going to try to post more frequently. I really will try...

Uche Eze of Bella Naija on CNN

Young Nigerians are doing big things and Uche Eze of the Bella Naija entertainment and style website is certainly one of them.

As part of CNN's coverage of Nigeria's 50th anniversary, they interviewed and profiled many individuals and organisations who are leading important social and economic changes in the country.