Gbenga Sesan continues his reports from Tunis “Yesterday we got a taste of Nollywood in Tunis”. Gbenga and his group were prevented from entering a hotel which was a venue for a meeting of the Tunisia-based Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD)
It was unbelievable and quite interesting! I would have tried to take a picture or two but my battery was flat (actually, truth is I wasn’t sure it was smart to try taking a picture at that time
See Ethan Zuckerman's post “Enroute to WSIS” for more on Tunisian security.
Naijablog reviews the film, The Constant Gardener and finds the film to suffer from the usual failings of films about white people in Africa.
the black characters are all incidental bit parts. The only major black character's role (a doctor friend of Weisz’ character) smacks of being woven into the film to avoid having a completely obvious white-foreground, black-background bifurcation. All we see of African Nairboi is a Kibera-esque slum with corrugated roofs into the distance and thousands of kids everywhere. Ultimately, Kenyans are represented as having no agency or any form of resistance to corporate power. The film is therefore racist, with that subtle brand of racism the British excel at
Nigerian Times congratulates Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on winning the Liberian elections.
Nigerian Times rejoices with Lady Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for making history as the first female head of state in modern Africa. She is the beginning of a new era in the political history of Liberia and the rest of Africa.
Nubian Soul however points out that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is not in fact the first African woman to lead her country.
Ruth Sando Fahnbulleh Perry (Ruth Perry) was leader of Liberia from 3 September 1996 until 2 August 1997 as chairwoman of the Council of State, which governed Liberia following the overthrow and murder of former dictator Samuel K. Doe
CyBlug reports on the “landmark” judgement declaring that gas flaring in the Niger Delta will stop.
“For the first time, a court of competence has boldly declared that Shell, Chevron, and the other oil corporations have been engaged in illegal activities here for decades,” declared Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action (ERA), the Nigerian chapter of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI), which backed the lawsuit.
It will be interesting to see how many years it takes for this ruling to be honoured. Shell Develoment Petroleum Corporation (SPDC) has stated that it will appeal the ruling.
Chippla's Weblog responds to those calling for President Obasanjo to run for a third term – which would require a change in Nigeria's constitution.
“why does a nation have a constitution if it would not be respected? Such a nation might just as well pretend to be a jungle and let the laws of nature dictate the pace of its activities……..The very fact that there are voices in the Nigerian political class calling for Mr. Obasanjo to extend his tenure beyond 2007 shows how disoriented and visionless a part of that country's polity is. I mean, a constitution exists which clearly states that a Nigerian president can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.
Trae Days introduces us to his new blog Traedays.com and himself “Hi there, welcome to my side of the internet. My name is TRAE (my initials actually). You could also call me trae_z cos that's my username in many sites I'm registered with. I'm 22 and I'm from Abuja, Nigeria”
And so too does Kayode of Kazey Journal. “Self Interview. Meet Kayode Muyibi”.
