Ycee drops new single, “ Dakun” off his debut album

Award-winning rapper, Oludemilade Martin Alejo, better known by his stage name, Ycee releases a brand new song, ‘Dakun’, off his highly anticipated debut album set to be released in November titled “YCeevsZAHEER”.

‘Dakun’, which is a Yoruba word for ‘please’ is a pulsating easy-to-learn single which embodies a message to a beautiful lady, who is presumed to possess a charming personality laced with high moral standards and values.

The enchanted male character in this story pleads that she allows him a place in her heart and the chance to prove that he is nothing like the other men she has met.

Dakun last Friday on all music platforms. The song which is accompanied by amped-up Afrobeat resonances and hip-hop beat structures was produced by Krizbeatz.

YCee announced the release of the album via his social media handles on Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday, October 16,  putting out the album art and song listing for the 15-track body of work. Within 24hours of the announcement, the #YCeevsZAHEER hashtag had reached 2.2million people on Twitter and Instagram across Nigeria, United States, United Kingdom, Canada & France.

NFC hosts 1st Berlin-Lagos archival film fest

NFC boss, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has announced its preparedness to host the first Berlin – Lagos Archival Film Festival DECASIA. The festival which will run from Thursday, October 24 – Sunday, October 27th, 2019 takes place at the NFC Lagos office/cinema complex of the Corporation, located beside Voice of Nigeria, Obalende-Ikoyi road. This was contained in a press statement issued in Jos, on Friday, October 18, 2019 and signed by Brian Etuk, Head of Public & Intergovernmental Affairs of NFC.

According to the statement, the Archival Film Festival will feature the daily screening of films that have deployed the unique power of archival footages to drive their narratives. The objective is to also sustain the global conversation on the impact of digital technologies as well as the relationship between archives and festivals.

Other major events lined up for the four day film festival include the presentation of the draft National Film Archive Policy, Update on ZUMA Film Festival, 2019, (scheduled to take place in Abuja, December 1-7, 2019), Stakeholders Interactive Forum and workshop on Distribution Strategies & Preservation Challenges in a Digital Era, Etuk further said.

The statement quotes Dr. Chidia Maduekwe NFC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive as saying that, Nigeria was in dire need of an archival policy due to its rich cultural heritage and developmental history. The nation, he maintained, is imbued with residue of information that must be secured and documented. He lamented that, despite the volume of films produced in Nigeria, several of those films have either been lost or destroyed, and that “the emplacement of a national film policy will address these anomalies, amongst others”.

Maduekwe, on behalf of the Federal Government commended the German Government and its institutions for partnering the Nigerian Film Corporation to mount the four day event, saying that “the conversation on national archiving, kick started, with Zuma Film Festival 2018, themed Archiving for Creativity, is positively yielding the desired result and meeting its objectives”. Partnering institutions are Goethe University, (Frankfurt) Deutseches Film Institute & Film Museum, Arsenal Institute for Film & Video (DFF) Frankfurt, Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts Berlin, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Germany, and the Lagos Film Society.

The presentation of the Draft National Policy on Archiving, as well as that on ZUMA FILM FESTIVAL 2019, will take place during the opening ceremony (DAY ONE, Thursday, October 24) of the Four Day event. Attendance and participation which is free, is open to all filmmakers and enthusiasts, creative industry stakeholders, the academia, government agencies, the media and the general public.

FG pledges support for AFRIMA... as Nigeria hosts 2019 edition

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The Federal Government has promised its full support for the successful hosting of the 2019 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), as the country prepares to host the glamorous event in Lagos 20-23 November 2019, with the theme: ''Feel Africa''.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the promise in a statement in Lagos on Sunday.

''When you look at the All Africa Music Awards, it's one of the biggest awards for the music industry in Africa, and what government has done in the past is to provide the enabling environment for the awards to take place.

''We provided support services for AFRIMA, we gave them the backing they need and I think it's on record that the AFRIMA editions that have been held in Nigeria have been among the most successful.

''This year again, we are ready to partner AFRIMA professionally, give them the maximum support such as effective media coverage and also help them in reaching out to other critical stakeholders,'' the Minister said.

He said part of the reasons why Nigeria has successfully hosted the music awards is because the country has relaxed its visa regime, with the visa on arrival policy, thus making it easier for people to come in.

AFRIMA, which was first held in 2014, was established in collaboration with the African Union (AU) to reward and celebrate musical talents and creativity in Africa as well as to promote African Cultural Heritage.

Access Bank, others launch first UN Global Compact Nigeria Compendium of SDG Projects

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L-R: Head, Sustainability, Access Bank Plc., Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan; CEO and Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact, Lise Kingo; Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II; and Group Head, Corporate Communications and External Affairs, Access Bank Plc., Amaechi Okobi at the United Nations Global Compact Breakfast Dialogue held in Lagos.

Nigeria’s largest retail bank and sustainability champion, Access Bank Plc., has joined other organisations to launch the first-ever United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) sustainability compendium in Nigeria.

The compendium, which was launched recently at the UNGC Breakfast Dialogue, documents some of the stellar efforts of the Bank, its sustainability journey and its strategic collaborations to facilitate socio-economic development.

Launching the compendium, the former Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc., Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede urged corporate organisations and SMEs to invest in and practice sustainability. Highlighting this as the primary solution to achieving the SDGs in view of the critical issues around health and poverty that have plagued Africa.

“The collective will and desire for action amongst organisations has taken a giant leap from where it was few years ago. However, compared to other nations, the statistics of malaria, poverty and deaths in Nigeria paints a very gory picture. Hence, it is the responsibility of every corporate organisation, SME and individual to get involved in activities that will aid the achievement of the SDGs come 2030,” he said.

Over the years, Access Bank has facilitated a growing number of sustainability activities, including the Malaria-to-Zero initiative, issued the first ever CBI-certified Green Bond, and also funded various not-for-profit organisations and programs across all 36 states in the country’s six geo-political zones, among others.

The Head, Sustainability, Access Bank Plc., Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, assured Nigerians that Access Bank will not relent in its contributions to the achievement of the SDGs saying, “We have entrenched sustainability into every part of our business operations and activities, in addition to aligning the implementation of our sustainability strategy with the achievement of the SDGs.”

“To this end, we have made good progress in driving social, environmental and economic development locally and globally. Despite these, we will not relent, rather, we will continue to invest our time, resources and work with relevant stakeholders to provide innovative solutions to local and global challenges,” she added.

The Bank’s sustainability efforts have been recognized by several prestigious local and international bodies, becoming a four-time consecutive winner of the Outstanding Business Sustainability Award by Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards; 9-time winner of the Most Sustainable Bank in Nigeria Award by World Finance Awards; two-time consecutive winner of Most Sustainable Company in Africa by the Sustainability, Enterprise and Reporting Awards; 2-time consecutive winner of the Central Bank of Nigeria Sustainability Awards in all categories including Most Sustainable Bank in Nigeria; 2019 Gender Leader of the Year Award by Africa CEO Forum Awards, among others.

AWF hosts Eunice Atuejide,Bob Arnot

The Guest Writer Session of October 26, an initiative of the Abuja Writers Forum, will feature Eunice Atuejide and Bob Arnot at Rosebud Hotel and Suites (former Nanet Suites), from 4-7pm and is open to the public.

*Bob Arnot

Eunice Atuejide, founder of National Interest Party (NIP) and Deputy Secretary General of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), will read from her book, THE GIRL WHO SAID, I CAN. The book chronicles her early days in the slums of Iwaya, her tumultuous relationships, her sojourn through Europe and America, and the journey to Nigerian politics to contest as a presidential candidate.

Eunice studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Ibadan, in Oyo State; Business Administration in Germany, French, German and Spanish languages in different countries in Europe; Film Making, Acting and Communication skills in the USA, the GDL, LLB, LPC and LLM in the UK and completed the compulsory training at the Nigerian Law School to enrol as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She is also a Solicitor of England and Wales, an International Arbitrator, and a management consultant.

Eunice is passionate about Nigeria and Nigerians and her unwavering faith inspired the formation of the National Interest Party (NIP). She believes firmly that a government of good leaders is the surest way out of the abyss Nigeria has been in since its inception.

A polyglot, Eunice is fluent in Igbo, Yoruba, German and English languages. She has a working knowledge of French and is currently learning Hausa and Spanish languages. She has visited, lived and worked in at least 76 countries and over 130 across the globe. She holds a black-belt in Taekwondo and continues to train to keep fit.

For over 25 years Bob Arnot taught economics and political economy in the university sector in the UK. He was the Head of Department of Economics at Glasgow Caledonian University and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Caledonian Business School. For two years he worked in the former Soviet Union on a UK government financed economic development project and whilst in Russia was appointed as Visiting Professor at two Russian university institutions.

Since 2004 he has been living in Nigeria and working on UK government (DFID) financed development projects in the justice sector. He was the National Programme Manager for the Security Justice and Growth (SJG) Programme and subsequently fulfilled the same role on the successor Justice for All (J4A) programme.

Since 2017 , Dr Arnot has been the Portfolio Lead for Security Justice and Conflict for the British Council in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also the Programme Director for three EU financed programmes, valued at over €60 million, being delivered by the British Council in Nigeria: the Managing Conflict in Nigeria (MCN) programme; Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC); and Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT).

Arnot, who will talk about the five books that have impacted on his life, lives in Abuja with his wife Patience, who is an indigene of Edo State, and their two children Lara and Okalo.

The Guest Writer Session is a lively and unique fusion of readings, live music, a Q and A segment and a raffle-draw for books. The Abuja Writer’s Forum also runs a weekly Critique Session and a regular Creative Writing Workshop series.