Bring Back Our Girls - Across the Globe [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, May 08, 2014

One of my readers asked me why I haven't done anything on the missing school girls of Chibok and I tolk her I hadn't thought of what to actually do concerning that. This is because I usually want to do something that's not usual but just couldn't think of anything. Besides, the whole world is already making the noise so I was thinking was there any use of me doing likewise too?

While there is an campaign that's crying out and spreading across the globe like wildfire, there are still questions that bug me about the missing girls...questions that poke holes in the stories surrounding their disappearance. It is loopholes like this that makes some people wonder the authenticity of the story but then a lot of other things have confirmed that the girls were really abducted. Out of the numerous questions asked, there is one that I'll always echo..

Why are there no photos displayed of the missing girls yet?

I guess we may never know why...

Ibrahim Abdullahi

The #BringBackOurGirls campaign was started by Ibrahim Abdullahi who was part of the audience for a speech in Port Harcourt by Obiageli Ezekwesili - a Nigerian former minister who called for the government to take action to "bring back our daughters".

The statement caught on and tweets calling for the government to #BringBackOurDaughters emerged but Ibrahim had a brainwave and thought that not everyone may have a daughter and that the afore hashtagged statement may limit people expressing it across. According to him "we may all not have daughters but everyone has a girl". Thus he made the modification which he reflected in his tweet that began the trend.

Later human rights activists and organisations began to thread along and gradually it spread across the globe till it gathered a life of its own. It was not a campaign that was marshaled for others to rise up and do the same; it just became a phenomenon that was further helped by Nigerians and sympathizers based abroad who also staged protests.

Across the world, its buzzing and the photos are numerous....

Celebrities such as the US first lady and hollywood stars and artistes also joined 'chorus' by instagramming or tweeting pictures in solidarity call for the girls to be found. 

This is probably the most trended pic for the campaign...Michelle Obama carrying her own card

Leona Lewis

P Diddy

Actors and artistes like Ashtom Kutcher, Drake, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Jamie Fox, Ludacriss etc...focused mainly on hitting back at the Boko Haram leader's threat to sell the girls. They all waded into a campaign that was an offshoot of the #bringbackourgirls trend which said, 'Real Men Don't Buy Girls'. I guess that was targeted at discouraging anyone from purchasing the girls.

More pictures from Nigeria and across the globe...

Sierra Leone Rally

Nigerian women rally be-crying the girls

  

South African Rally

Ogilvy one Africa 

The campaign is on her shirt

The campaign has been yielding results as the World Powers are standing up to help Nigeria with the situation. Social media helped herald the information with the likes of tweets from John Kerry of the US

And as we speak, the forces from the US are already arriving in Naija.

Let's all hope and pray that this marks the end for the Boko Haram menace and the safe rescue and return of the girls.

Woman Defends Herself From Robber By The Holy Spirit [Video]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, May 07, 2014

I love watching Sony Max station on my DSTV because of some of the outrageous programmes that showcase the crazy things human beings do; either by nature of just being extreme or by reason of being daring. One of such shows is the Most Daring series which showcases videos of daring stunts or acts by various individuals.

There was this particular episode that had me in awe. It was the story of a woman who overcame an armed robber by name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yes you heard me...that's what she did. What an awesome way for a testimony to become part of a TV show. The lady displayed her faith with a confident stance and command. Everything was captured on a CCTV camera in the store where she worked.

Amazing...

I can very much relate to what happened in this video because I have come across reports of similar instances that happened in Nigeria. There was a recent testimony that happened sometime this month, of a lady who was on a trip in a bus that was stopped by robbers. When they commanded everyone to come down, this lady refused and began to declare spiritually that she was a child of God and the daughter of the prophet (a powerful man of God). The robbers stopped threatening her upon this declaration. They then proceeded to rob all the other passengers and left her alone, untouched!

God never fails....and he definitely backs his word. There are other testimonies like this but I don't want to exceed this post. I'm happy to see a live one from the US. Its all a proof that the power in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit  is real.

Only In Naija 5 [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, May 05, 2014

Shit happens they say.

And in my beloved and insane country Nigeria, we smell shit on a regular basis as it never stops happening. A popular proverb says every disappointment is a blessing and in many cases the proverb fails but also in many cases, it works in Naija. 

In what ways you may ask? In the way we do things as condition and circumstances warrant. No wonder we always say na condition bend crayfish. Its probably only in Naija crazy stuff like the ones in these photos can happen.

You're walking past a junction early in the morning and you see this...
yep, its a sacrifice and its real, not a Nollywood prop.
Many times these things look scary...and delicious
(with the assorted food items placed in there)

You can't cheat nature. This is either sleeping on duty or a case of sleep
catching you in the wrong place abi? Only in Naija...

A whole building rented by 3 different Pentecostal churches...
evangelism go hot for that area. 

If you saw a laptop named after Goodluck Jonathan would you buy it?
Probably not...maybe because it may be as effective as his administration?

Nigerians and burglary-proofing...when family members become the burglars

There must have also been 'attachment' in this plane...
And these folks look like people going to the east.
Ekene Dili Chukwu airways...lol

Before officials began arresting fake Youth Service Corp members,
this photo must have raised suspicion...

Only in Naija will you see swag and fashion that'll scare you...lol.

I honestly don't know if this was a joke but at the same
time it does look like an ingenious idea

If you wanna see more weird photos like this,
visit any Lagos marriage registry on Saturdays.
Marriage is big business

    

Those perverted three have received their reward right there
for helping a Youth Corp damsel in distress.

419 on a USB level. You'll be shocked to discover that
somebody could sell this in computer village.

She should have stuck to just wearing wrapper and blouse.
See as Jeggings dey do amebo about her 'monthly visitation'
and the 'rope' wey she dey call pant.

No matter how much you try to hide the lumps in a plate of
badly prepared Eba, a photo will always give it away.

The Multipurpose bride...getting married and also serving the guests
yeah, it happens in Naija

Now I don't see any ingenuity in this...unless that cockerel is adopted.

The designer of this house/staircase needs to stop playing 'snakes and ladders' and face reality...haba!

While some are paranoid of people seeing their password
or the small change in their accounts, others forget that ATM pavilion
no be their parlour. And why didn't anyone think of the midgets?

In Naija O.Y.O (On your own) is always the case!
If you want for landlord or government to do anything,
you go wait till eternity.

Obsession with selfies...we see your tits. We also smell your shit.

Only in Naija are school kids taken to supermarkets for excursion.

What can you notice about this photo?
Yeah...abokis with swag....the ice prince generation

What they probably never told you about this stupid photo
-- that the grass the girls are lying on dey scratch person like mad for bodi

Is this proof that there are times goats have more sense than human beings?

The love of football has robbed many of their senses
...wetin concern Chelsea FC with your marital life?

The hospital staff must have thought they hired a Caucasian to do this job.

If a guy did this, I wouldn't be surprised. But a babe...???

The ice prince generation again.....swag on the mallo level.

Even Naija children won't let awoof pass them by....

Naija police and traffic wardens are also professional
stuntmen all motivated by the Naira.

Lesson: Never locally 'represent' while eating at a party
taking place in a community that has too many goats.

Car wash apprenticeship graduation ceremony.
You are all invited.

No...this is not a pair of undies discovered at an archaeological dig.
It is the 'pata' of an existing specie of women that African men relish. 

Have an awesome week y'all!

Flashback Fridays: Cheesy Video, Catchy Tune - 'Wadjo' by Nel Oliver

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, May 02, 2014

This flashback friday, we take a look at one song that resonates very well in my memory (and I'm sure in the minds of a number of Nigerians) and is hard to forget...and the reason is simple - its catchy chorus. I'm talking about the song 'Wadjo' by Nel oliver. 

Back then, it was a hit of which its video was collage of exaggerated swag and flashy outfits; you could even see the Michael Jackson influence of the 1980s reflecting all through the scenarios. The video was also popular for its ridiculousness which was quite amusing to watch. I like the way Uchenna Ikonne of Comb & Razor put it:

Most Nigerians probably know Nel Oliver primarily for the 1998 ballad "Baby Girl," but amongst my circle of friends and family, this song--or rather, this video--was a running in-joke that just got funnier and funnier with each passing year.
I mean... It was jut so priceless: exaggerated, TV commercial-style drama, overheated histrionics, naff choreography, four-for-fifty kobo Michael Jackson imitators, extreme closeups of prodigiously mustachioed lips, white-framed plastic glasses--it had been a while since we'd seen a Nigerian music video that exulted so gloriously in its unabashed early 80s-ness!
The thing is, though: this joint dropped in 1989/90, by which time it felt absurdly anachronistic. But it was still a lot of fun because it was so... Well, I can't say that we were yet familiar with the term, "camp," but I guess we recognized it when we saw it!

I watched the video again and laughed. Back then, I wouldn't know what was wrong with the video; as far as I was concerned, it could all have been a musical work of art. But looking at it again today, I realized it had many flaws. Apart from the cheesy choreography which had dudes prancing about like malnourished ballet dancers, the camera angles were mostly terrible. The lighting was also poor and in some scenes you could see the cameraman's shadow falling on the artiste and his performers.

But hey...it was in the 80s and music videos didn't look like they do today so its understandable.  

Nel Oliver...is not from Nigeria at all, but from the neighboring Republic of Benin. (Which is probably why he's singing in French, duh!) (Though to be honest, I don't remember even noticing that for a long time--we thought that on the chorus he was exclaiming music funfair! rather than musique d'enfer!) And more than that, long before Angelique Kidjo ever picked up a microphone, Nel Oliver was Benin's first international superstar.
Oliver soon established himself as a sturdy soul star, even becoming the first black African to run his own recording studio (the... interestingly named Spade Music) in Paris, where he recorded releases such as 1983's "I Got A Flash."
Oliver returned to Benin in 1987. In order to facilitate the development of the local music industry, he built Nel Oliver Studio in Cotonou, where he continues to record his own music as well as discovering and producing new artists. A true elder statesman with three decades of achievement under his belt. - Uchenna Ikonne (Comb & Razor)

A more recent pix of Nel Oliver

Definitely a true elder statesman! His 'Baby Girl' song was popular back in the late 90s. I'm not sure if it got played at weddings like such songs get played today. But it was a video that looked way better than 'Wadjo'. I'll give it up to this guy for maintaining a recording studio for over 15 years. You can barely come across any Naija studio that has lasted that long!