interesting conversation about the recent science-fiction film, District 9, can be found at Nnedi's blog here.

Just saw the movie last night and was horrified at its depiction of Nigerians, to say the least. Yes, I am used to slandering of the Nigerian brand and usually, I try to not let it bother me. However, after the horrific events that took place in South Africa in May of last year, I could not stomach the positive reviews of District 9. Last year, South Africa declared war on its immigrants, particularly Nigerians, who were deemed as the culprit for the plight of black South Africans (apparently, apartheid can take a back seat on this one....). During the month of May we were bombarded with images of the slaughter, burning, destruction of our fellow Nigerians and other Africans caught in the mayhem. District 9, for me, only served to legitimize such violence against the savage Nigerians, since in the words of the director, the tiny fraction of Nigerians living in South Africa, are indeed responsible for the MAJORITY of crime in a country that has been touted to have one of the highest homicide rates in the world...

Unfortunately, as one commenter posted on her blog, it is relatively easy to take shots at Nigerians seeing that we would not be able to come up with a concerted rebuttal or make a dent in their pockets. Previously, I have taken the Nigerian re-branding project lightly; however, scenarios such as what I have described seem to necessitate a serious look at the dangers, the baggage inherent in the mere mention of the words Nigeria, Nigerian. Rather than waste time on useless logos and mantras of "Good People, Great Nation" (or whatever they are using these days), efforts should go towards countering such portrayals of our people at home and abroad.

Note this is largely a "re-post" (like a re-tweet) from the latest of the MIMI Magazine blog.

the question most new, first-and-otherwise generation Africans/Caribbeans in America grapple with on several occasion. Documentary, the Neo African Americans seeks to debate the answers. Trailer and website can be found here.

Posted on this issue some time ago and the comments section generated some interesting debate.
the measure of blackness
on akata-ism
race before gender, gender before race

Beyond that, there are other Nigerian bloggers to tackle the meaning of being black and foreign in the United States. (Okay admittedly, I was only able to find one other blogger, but if you know of other similar discussion threads, let me know.

Unfortunately, time won't allow me to pay much attention to the much anticipated Hillary Clinton visit to the continent. On what is to be considered her biggest overseas mission to date, Mrs. Clinton started her seven-nation Africa trip in Kenya, which was then followed then by South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, today, and then Liberia and Cape Verde. As for the Nigeria trip, I will try and stay in tune with the blogosphere's reaction to her visit. So far I know know of that of NigerianCuriosity, who highlighted that Clinton's failure to meet with Nigerian "non-officials" does nothing support those largely responsible for most reforms we see in the country.****

Yesterday, a few news media outlets seemed to temporarily forget the incessant Michael Jackson death probe and highlight Mrs. Clinton's almost desperate desire to distinguish herself from her larger-than-life husband. Details found here. Anyway, personally, I could care less of her inability to stifle her insecurities - even on the public stage - and continued commitments to aid and SA-authored Zimbabwean hand-holding are so tired. What really caught my attention was her response, noted at the end of the article, to a question about the West and an apology for what is considered to be one of the most bloodiest colonial histories - that of Congo (I would recommend King Leopold's Ghost as a pretty good primer or for the moving-picture inclined, I hear the documentary, White King, Red Rubber, Black Death, is another good start.)

"...another student had asked if the U.S. and the West felt a need to apologize to the people of Congo for colonialism and postcolonial interference.

That brought a pointed rebuttal as well.

"I cannot excuse the past and I will not try," [Clinton] said. "We can either think about the past and be imprisoned by it or we can decide we're going to have a better future and work to make it."

It seems like Clinton is toeing the line of her boss, Barack Obama, who in his last visit to Africa, nearly absolved the West of its hand in Africa's problems. In relegating colonialism as a non-issue, she indirectly minimises its horrors and denies its influence on present day affairs. Yes, we should focus on moving forward, but like I have mentioned time and time again, we cannot move forward without acknowledging the mistakes of the past. Clinton and Obama refuse to acknowledge such mistakes; and through their position, they encourage the world to follow suit. To ignore the West's assault on the Congolese pre-independence, to me is more than a "glaring omission" (yes, I borrowed the term from NigerianCuriosity), it's grossly insensitive on the part of the American Secretary of State. In fact, I would almost liken it to those who continue minimise the travesty of the Holocaust. True, Hillary,or anyone in the Obama administration, has nothing to do with Congo's past....but some modicum of sympathy would at least nudge the Secretary of State to acknowledge the brutality that was meted out to the nation's citizens.

****Just learned that Clinton will be holding a town-meeting with (American Embassy selected) Nigerian NGOs. Can't wait to hear what comes out of it.

an entertaining end to a long week, post from theRoot. i don tire for these people, jare....
Does Gitmo Have Room for One More?

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and i am not talking about weed here. my thoughts on the #lightupnigeria trend can be found at the NigeriansTalk.org blog.

As some of you may already know, I am a huge Nollywood fan and have been in the business of collecting and watching these films since time immemorial... If you don't know, any time you see the name "Isong" attached to a film, expect a well-produced film. Time and time again, I have been simply dazzled by Emem Isong films.

Just as of today, I learned of another Isong in the film industry, Uduak Isong Oguamanam, the mind behind the blog, Artsville. With Desmond Elliot as director, she and Emem Isong co-produced the "nocumentary,***" Edikan, a film highlighting the ills of the "child witch" phenomenon in Akwa Ibom. The film premieres Friday, July 17th at Terra Culture by 5:30pm. The film "attempts to enlighten the parents of affected children who are themselves victims of the greed and wickedness of some fake pastors. ..." I can't imagine that the film will be anything less than amazing and kudos to the director and producers for highlighting such an important issue in a format that I am sure is accessible to the Nigerian audience. Hoping that the film will soon cross the Atlantic for my...I mean, our...viewing as well...(hint, hint...).

Below is a youtube preview of the film (Uduak, hope you don't mind)...

***Nocumentary = Nollywood meets documentary

I have been following the Akwa Ibom child witch phenomenon for some time now. unfortunately the only time i mentioned their plight on this blog was in reference to Maduekwe's incredible denial of their existence. For more information and the organization that seeks to protect our society's most vulnerable members, Child's Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), I would check out the following posts from members of the Nigerian blogosphere...

naijablog - has been following the story since 2007
bellanaija - her personal take on the situation
Nigerian Health Watch - a more recent piece on the CRARN attacks

Fortunately, the children of CRARN are taking matters into their own hands, peacefully, and protesting police brutality against the children and staff members. See the article here. Inspiring. However, I went to the comments and found that one particular fellow seemed to deny the existence of maltreatment of these children. Of course I reacted (hopefully 234NEXT will publish my comments soon). However, I began to wonder, beyond Maduekwe, how widespread is this attempt on the part of Nigerians to close their eyes to the horrible "child witch" phenomenon in Akwa Ibom? I have talked primarily to my fellow Naijamericans here who do believe that such is happening and needs to be addressed promptly (however, I have noted that many have used it as a platform to rehash their horrid stereotypes about the perceived backward-ness of some ethnic groups in the South-South - to which I whole-heartedly disagree with....).

Anyway, it may be my naivete....but how and why would someone read about the plight of these innocents and then figure that such news is not real? Am I missing something?