News Desk Thursday, August 23, 2007

Uwais Heads 22-man Electoral Reform Committee

ABUJA—IN fulfilment of his promise to reform the electoral process, President Umaru Yar’Adua yesterday announced the names of 22 eminent Nigerians as members of the Electoral Reforms Committee with the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais, as chairman. MORE>>

Why Electoral Reform Will Fail - Nwodo

A stalwart of the Action Congress, Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo, on Wednesday said the planned electoral reform by President Umaru Yar‘Adua would not succeed as long as former President Olusegun Obasanjo retained his stranglehold on the administration. MORE>>

Nigerians Want Death of Abia ex-Accountant-General Investigated

SHOCK, disbelief and lamentation have trailed the death of the former Abia State’s Accountant-General (AG), Chief Gerald Anyanwoke, even as some prominent Nigerians have called on the security agencies to unravel the "circumstances surrounding his death". MORE>>

Tabu Ley - "Babeti Soukous"

In my quest to flush out African musical heritage from every aspect, I picked up Tabu Ley's 1989 release at Amoeba Records and paid attention to a music well composed by way of its rhythmical sense. An excellent vibe.

Meanwhile, I will always appreciate Steve Ntwiga Mugiri whose site inspired me to pick interest in Soukous and Rumba music, driving me to the extent of being a scholar in that category. That guy has a whole lot going on when it comes to music and it's out there at his site for everyone to see.

I have listened attentively to Ley's "Babeti Soukous" which was recorded live at New World Studios in England on January 30, 1989, and following the trend in understanding the beats, I couldn't but conclude that Ley mastered his art and left a legacy in the world of Soukous music.

Born in 1940 in Zaire of the Bayanzi tribe, he kicked off his career as a teenager joining Joseph Kabasele's African Jazz Band and parting ways with Kabasele and guitarist Dr. Nico years later, he regrouped and formed his own band called African Fiesta National Band releasing the classic "Africa Mokili Mobimba."

However, the tracks selected from this album was a mixture of Zairean and East African popular music with "snatches" of rock, R&B and jazzy tunes for over 20 years earning him series of honorary awards and political appointments in his native country.

There are 13 tracks in this very album and besides the introduction/presentation, the music is great. "Mosolo," meaning money and "Linga Ngai" meaning love me in Zairean language is a classic refined in Zaire, back in the day. Brilliant stuff and listen to it!

Port Harcourt Mayhem: Guns! Guns! Guns!

Security Operatives display firearms recovered from cultists. (Sylver Ejike, Niger Delta Standard)

News Desk Sunday, August 19, 2007

Residents flee Port Harcourt. Photo by Sylver Ejike (Niger Delta Standard)


Photo journalist Sylver Ejike captures this shot of an unidentified corpse in front of Civic Center, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt in the ongoing civil disturbance that has left scores dead and many others missing.

Soldiers Won't Leave P-Harcourt For Six Months

As the search for peace in Port Harcourt continues, with over 45,000 residents displaced, chief of the defence staff, General Andrew Azazi; army chief, Lt. Gen. Luka Yusuf; flag officer commanding, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Bodurin Raji and inspector general of police, Mr. Mike Okiro, flew into the Rivers State capital, yesterday, the second time in one week, vowing to restore peace at all costs. MORE>>

Security Chiefs Promise to Crush Killer Gangs

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, vowed on Saturday that security agencies were determined to flush out killer gangs in Rivers State who had been killing and destroying public property in the last two weeks. He made the promise after a meeting with top military and police officers in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Saturday. MORE>>

EFCC Probes Ebonyi Afresh, Invites Nine Officers

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has begun a fresh investigation of the Ebonyi State Government. Already, the commission has invited nine officers of the state to Lagos to shed light on the activities of the government in recent times. MORE>>

Port Harcourt Mayhem Will Not Be Over Soon - MEND

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has associated the crisis in Port Harcourt with the struggle by cult groups to gain government's patronage, adding that the problem will not be over soon. MORE>>

The 22nd Annual African Marketplace and Cultural Faire

Yes, I got there on time to witness the opening ceremony of the 22nd Annual African Marketplace and Cultural Faire on the playgrounds of Rancho La Cienega Park by Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. The venue which was moved last year from the historical Exposition Park was full of fanfare reminding me of the Orie Amigwes in my native land.

Sponsored by Los Angeles Metropolitan Authority, The Walt Disney Company, Western Union, Time Warner Cable, Whole Foods Market, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, 93.5 KDAY, 94.7 The vWave, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and several other related sponsors, I couldn't but give kudos to the organizers who have kept this cultural thing going for twenty-two years.

I took a tour of all the booths and you would not believe how our cultural heritage has grown over the years. I watched jazz singer Dawn Norfleet entertain the audience with her powerful lyrics. Stay tuned for updates.

PHOTO OP: Vieux Farka Toure's Magic Night @ Skirball

It was a night of magic at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles as Vieux Farka Toure entertained the audience to a spellbinding performance on August 9, 2007. For sure, it's a lasting memory.

News Desk Saturday, August 18, 2007

Port Harcourt: Rivers Govt Slams Dusk To Dawn Curfew

PORT HARCOURT — A dusk to dawn curfew has been imposed in Rivers State. In a statement yesterday the Commissioner for Information, Mr Ema Okah said the development was to enable the state consolidate on the peace arising from the deployment of soldiers to the streets. MORE>>

Robbers Kill Policeman, 5 Others in Bank Raid

LAGOS — There was bloodbath yesterday at Ketu in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos, after a 15-man robbery gang stormed a first generation bank and shot six persons including a mobile policeman to death. MORE>>

Garden City of Mayhem

Port Harcourt was a city of dreams. The Garden City, as it has been known for many years, was a place of big dreams. Peaceful environment, well-planned streets, chubby oil executives, big cars, abundant oil and gas reserves, good business environment, quick money. Those were the hallmarks of the Rivers State capital until the wave of militant insurgency infected the city. On Monday August 6, 2007, the city of dreams again erupted in a nightmare of booming guns, violence, death, fire, grief, fear. Militants. Soldiers. Riot policemen. Panic-stricken residents. In between them, trouble stalked the land like a predator. MORE>>

EFCC Should Arrest IBB, OBJ, Anenih to Fight Corruption - CD Boss

The spokesperson of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSO), Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has said that for the anti-corruption war to be properly waged, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida; and former Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih, should be arrested. MORE>>

Imo to Ban Okada Riders

Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim has said his government would soon ban commuter motorcycle operators in the state, pointing out that plans for the establishment of a job center where unemployed graduates would be retrained in specialized skills is almost concluded. MORE>>

Hear Music @ Starbucks

Now you can browse music and compile your own CD at Starbucks Coffeehouse. The Hear Music at Starbucks' Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, california, is quite thrilling and fun. You can choose from many music categories and name your own compilation with its own label. The question now is: would record stores go out of business with newer technology and stuff like this? Who wants to listen to a track in a bunch of CD one has no interest in? The record sales business may be going bananas. I hope not, though!

Stephanie Okereke's Directing Debut

Recently, actress Stephanie Okereke was in Los Angeles directing a movie. The movie about a guy who doesn't want any committment and wants to keep playing should be released here in the U.S. this fall. Okereke poses here with Dozie Obiaga at the movie set in Inglewood, California.

Malian Guitarist Vieux Farka Toure Rocks Los Angeles

In my native Amazano, where I partly grew up, Abu Owu, folklore of a cultural festival was a unique tradition. We sang the blues of life's amazing journey and tragedies. It ended there and nothing practically came out of it for the fact no one committed to its cause, and today, abu owu has almost disappeared.

Mike Ejeagha in his hey days of story telling sang the blues when "Ome Ka Agu" violated every rule losing his moral grounds and defying the traditional norms of a people meant by culture to keep afloat and keeping intact and viable a cultural heritage prescribed from time. Ejeagha's music did not go that far in that regard. It was only local, within his enclave, and no major breakthrough for universal recognition due to lack of exposure.

On August 8, I saw for my self something extraordinary ever since I have been attending concerts since childhood. Amoeba Records, now a record label in Hollywood, California, hosted world music rising star, Niafunke, Mali-born folklorist Vieux Farka Toure. Farka Toure who was promoting his self titled debut CD hit the stage for six performances in front of packed audiences, and patrons who're regulars at Amoeba's "low-key-in-store jam" experienced the young Farka Toure's magic.

Like father, like son, and following the footsteps of dad, Vieux delivered. He did not disappoint. The folklorist had the packed audience at Amoeba dancing, clapping and reflecting his father, Ali Farka Toure's vibes.

Farka Toure rocks, rocks and rocks. Farka Toure just rocks.

In jazz, I would compare him to Wes Montgomery and George Benson whent it comes to using the thumbs to make the guitar talk. In blues, I would compare him to the legendary B.B. King and Buddy Guy combining his rhythm and the blues as in "Palata Bluesio." In heavy metal, I would compare him to Eddie van Halen and AC/DC's Angus Young, the way his guitar talked to the audience. In soundtracks, I would compare him to Prince in "Purple Rain," still the biggest-selling soundtrack in history. In pure funk and all that funktified grooves, I would compare him to Rubber Band's Bootsy Collins as the baseline and bassist echoes on stage simultaneously.

Am I really missing something? Probably! How about the likes of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynot and Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore who says he "could wipe the floor up with most guitarists." Now, beware, Blackmore, there's a new kid in town and the audience has begun to holler, "Toure, Toure, Toure bring the vibe on." Toure has wiped the floor and he can play the guitar in any music category.

Playing for about an hour and half, nonstop, at Amoeba, and beginning with tracks featuring Ali Farka Toure and his mentor Toumani Diabate, Vieux was awesome when the track "Ai Du" exploded reminding me of Joe Satriani and Carlos Santana on how the guitar really talks. A duo with santana or Satriani would, without a doubt, melt every concert goer.

Absolutely no horns.

The wind was gone.

The guy just rocks.

Though his father wanted him to join the army, Vieux took his destiny into his own hands enrolling in Bamako's National Arts Institute and meeting with Eric Herman, Vieux and Eric got to work and began recording in what would be Vieux' debut album to which Toumani contributed his "talent on two of the tracks." The rest is now history.

Enter the Skirball Cultural Center on Sepulveda Blvd. intersecting the 405 (Sacramento) Freeway on August 9, which created a bottleneck around the neighborhood for the coming of Africa's newest sensation in world music. In blues, I meant to say.

The amazing structure, the museum and Noah's Ark.

The tourists, the Jewish community, oneness and organizational effectiveness.

The crowd and Fela Anikulapo Kuti's memorabilia, and the signs that read "Fela Lives."

The music of Vieux indicating "culture is not parts." That "culture is a whole and an entity."

Vieux performed to a point this Jewish community bowed saluting a legend in the making. Once again, "Ai Du" was played and the audience couldn't believe how this kid took over from his dad that quick with a magnificent choral application and powerful lyrics. He delivered and it was a hell of a show.

Vieux would continue his message stretching down all the way to Santa Monica, California where every pub was full to capacity. The night life of this amazing city. Third Street Promenade. The bookstores, talkshows, craziness and all that stuff. The fanfare. The tourists. The eateries--French cuisine, Italian reataurants, Spanish bar and grill; the dazzling sidewalks, Wilshire Boulevard and all the attractions. The beautiful Santa Monica Beach and Vieux' invitation to play at the Temple Bar on the corner of Wilshire and 11Th Street. It was magic.

The two previous shows (Amoeba and Skirball Cultural Center), I took my camera with me. But on August 10, I had no camera, not even my cell phone. I was ready to party, and I knew it would be going down.

I arrived Temple Bar at about 10:15 pm and the night's opening act was an all drum session led by Leon Mobley and his Da Lion drums-percussion group who classified his band as the "original African-American" ensemble. Mobley performed well and the show was great.

During the intermission before Vieux would be introduced to stage, Chief Priest's masterpiece, "Alu Jon Jonki Jon" began to blast all over and just like that, the mood changed. Many other notable African recordings played before Vieux and his gang stormed the stage. At approximately 11:20 pm, Vieux stormed the stage and hell broke loose. The audience chanted aloud "Toure, Toure" as he spoke in French and then Okay, going back and forth to his French and okay. He played many tunes late into the night including getting the audience recite "Palato bluesio" while waving and connecting to his bassist. The track "Ana" came with some reggae vibrations. It was incredible and one of great performances I've seen in a long time by an African.

Vieux Farka Toure, you are now a superstar. Enjoy it!

What I'm Reading

Well, I'm not really a bookworm, but a friend had recommended I should purchase Randall Robinson's latest entry into bookstores. Ok., I did go to the bookstore and listened to my friend's humble advice. I had a problem though. A book 280 pages at the price of $26 before taxes probably means a whole lot in Latin American history.

Randal Robinson's An Unbroken Promise: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnappintg of a President appears to be spellbinding as I comb through. I am now in Chapter Three and I hope by next month I will be through with a book full of agony and human tragedy.