Culture

Eight years after, abducted Nigerian schoolgirls recaptured by French artist in art exhibition

Published

2 years ago

December 6, 2022

Eight years after their abduction while preparing for the West African School Certificate examination in a school in Chibok town in the Nigerian state of Borno, an exhibition of sculptures representing the school girls was displayed by a French artist, Prune Nourry, at the an exhibition in Lagos on Tuesday.

The emotional exhibition which held at the Art Twenty-One at the prestigious Eko Hotels and Suites in Nigeria’s commercial capital, showed sculptures of the heads of the famous ‘Chibok Girls’ who were kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014.

According to Nourry, the exhibition which is billed to travel round the world to raise awareness on the plight of some of the girls who are still in captivity, is a collaborative effort between of the Obafemi Awolowo University where he is a professor, and the families of the over 250 Chibok girls who were kidnapped by the terrorists.

On display at the exhibition titled “Statutes Also Breathe,” were 108 sculpture heads by Nourry and art students of the OAU Fine and Applied Arts department, inspired by the ancient Ife terracotta heads.

“The heads so much evoke memory of the narrative/works on the Igbo Landing in Georgia, where Igbo slaves decided to drown with their masters rather than live as slaves in US,” Nourry said at the unveiling of the exhibition.

According to Nourry, the exhibition is to remember the Chibok girls as the works are “symbols of their agony which also signify love for the girls.”

“The idea is to travel the world with the army and to show all the heads that personify the Chibok missing girls. It is also an opportunity to talk about girls’ education around the world.”

“When I heard about the Chibok girls for the first time, I was travelling with a work, an “Army of girls” called the “Terracotta daughters” in China, and I heard about the Ife heads.

“As a sculptor, it was my dream to go someday to Ife and work with the clay,” she explained.

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Culture

Ghanaians react angrily as American video vixen Rubi Rose tours Jubilee House

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Some Ghanaians have been outraged following a tour of the Jubilee House, the country’s seat of government, by American entertainer and video vixen, Rubi Rose.

The visit and tour of the Jubilee House by the controversial vixen, rapper, and OnlyFans content creator who arrived in Ghana on Thursday, October 31, 2024, sparked outrage and angry reactions among Ghanaians on social media who questioned the rationale behind the visit.

The American star was a special guest for a Halloween party in Accra and during her stay, was granted access to the Jubilee House, where she met with Nadia Adongo Musah, Deputy Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, and was given a tour of the premises.

Photos of Rose’s visit to the Jubilee House circulated on social media, prompting discontent among Ghanaians, who questioned why someone with her background was allowed into the Jubilee House, also known as Flagstaff House, which holds significant historical and symbolic value as the seat of Ghana’s presidency.

Some angry Ghanaians took to social media to voice out their discontents.

A X user with the handle @fanti_boy wrote:

“Is this really Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana?”

Another user, @_blacksnow09, said:

“Foreigners have more access to the presidential residence than citizens.”

@CopsonClaude commented:

“The Jubilee House is now Oasis Lounge.”

@PositiveAt59011 said:

“Please, is the place a hotel where Americans do lodge in?”

@DanQuaye22 said:

“They told the citizens Flagstaff House is a security zone, but see who has easy access.”

Culture

Mauritius bans access to social media until after elections

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Mauritius government has placed a blanket ban on access to social media websites ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled to hold on November 10.

The ban, which was announced on Friday by the country’s national communications regulator, will be in force until November 11, the day after the election.

“The ICT Authority wishes to inform the public that in response to concerns regarding illegal postings that constitute a serious threat to national security and public safety, it has received directives in the evening of 31 October 2024, to direct all Internet Service Providers to temporarily suspend access to all social media platforms until 11 November 2024”, the Information and Communication Technology Authority said on Friday.

The move which came amid a wiretapping scandal in the Indian Ocean nation, has however, raised concerns as opposition parties and prominent figures have a ploy by the governing party to avoid defeat at the polls.

Local media say the unprecedented social media ban follows a wiretapping scandal which rocked the country last month when recorded conversations of politicians, business people, and members of civil society were leaked on social media.

According to media freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the recorded conversations of five well-known journalists were leaked published on social media, prompting the ban.

“The government of the Indian Ocean Island country, which has a population of 1.2 million, has claimed that these leaks are a threat to national security and instructed the communications authority to suspend all access to social media,” the RWB said in a statement.

In response to the bank, network service provider, EMTEL, said it would comply with the directive and user experience will be “progressively disrupted”.

“EMTEL understands the inconvenience that this action shall cause to its customers but reiterates that it has no alternative other than to comply with ICTA directive,” the company said.

Local media also quoted a statement from the office of the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, who is seeking a second term in power, as saying that the suspension of social media was essential to protect national security and the country’s integrity.