The international art world is celebrating the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui in London. On 9 October, a gigantic installation of three new works – Behind the Red Moon – opened at the Turbine Hall at the prestigious Tate Modern, displaying what Anatsui is most famous for: unique, large scale sculptural hangings.
Behind the Red Moon is the 2023 Hyundai Commission, an annual exhibition where a globally important artist is invited to stage an installation at the gallery. The exhibition also kicked off the annual Frieze Week of art shows in the city staged to coincide with the Frieze Art Fair, a major international art event.
This and anothertwo significant exhibitions by Anatsui are happening simultaneously in London.
Anatsui spent decades teaching sculpture and art education at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka. As an art lecturer in the same department I have followed and taught his work to students for years – as he once taught me. Along with other former students of his, I travelled to London to view Behind the Red Moon.
The Tate installation further cements the already considerable international reputation of the 79-year-old artist, who creates enormous sculptural pieces, normally from wood and recycled materials such as discarded bottle tops. It does so in a way that establishes a powerful conversation about how history is constructed by the coming together of many cultures in a capitalist world.
The Tate show
The opening of Behind the Red Moon was a cosmopolitan event. Many came from all continents to celebrate a master artist whose practice transcends race, generation and materials. Yet the opening night crowd presented an African flavour – the kind you see at very important events in Nigeria.
In an earlier article on Anatsui, I predicted that the artist “will take your breath away by the time he is done overtaking and mesmerising the massive hall”. Expect to be dazzled! Behind the Red Moon is a magical and troubling universe, shimmering with meanings.
The installation, curated by Tate Modern’s Osei Bonsu and Dina Akhmadeeva, is presented in three acts. The works are fashioned out of over three million used, flattened bottle caps woven together with copper coils to give them the visual appearance of fabrics. They resemble kente cloth from Ghana, the woven cloths of the Akwete in Nigeria and lace from the west.
Each of the three works has dual sides and viewers can choose which side to begin with. The three acts depict imaginary scenes that begin with a blood moon and sun and progress to the earth and to a dead and exploited ocean throwing up its beautiful aquatic life.
The three acts
Let me walk you through these staged acts. At the entrance a visitor is greeted by plaques of texts cast in red against black. They contain phrases that serve as a guide to the essence of the work. One, for example, reads: “Each material has its properties, physical and even spiritual.”
The artist dwells in the urgency of the present and the planet’s crisis by interrogating the past. The works progress from shining yellow to red to browns to blacks. They speak of the interaction between the global north and south as well as conflict, war, insecurity, climate emergencies and questions of human rights.
Act I: The red moon speaks of how capitalism has driven global connections between continents through waters and sails. The title Behind the Red Moon is instantly revealed on the flipside of the red sculpture – which shows a sunny, yellowy landscape.
Act II: Anatsui writes, on a plaque, that he uses “multiple elements to talk about the world: not a world made up of just one culture, but a world shaped by all of us coming together”. Multiple continents hang from the ceiling to reveal a round earth from a particular angle.
Again there is a poetic second meaning: its flipside reveals what looks like a collection of humanoids pulling on the earth, bringing it to its knees through human activities that have brought us misery in the form of climate and humanitarian crises.
Act III: Just beyond that is a work cast in dark shades on one side, dripping right onto the floor and flowing like a black veil. (This became the backdrop for a special performance by master Ghanaian drummer Abass Dodoo and One Drum that enlivened the opening, giving it the feel of an African festival.)
This black sculpture suggests black gold – crude oil, coal and other fossil fuels – extracted from the earth. There’s an urgency here, a call to a transition to renewable sources of energy.
The flipside is magnificence itself, rich gold colours and reds that could be speaking of the opulence of the west or, for that matter, greedy leaders in poor African countries. The ocean is blackened by them, poor and rich co-existing.
With Behind the Red Moon El Anatsui offers a big picture of history and civilisation – and warns of the consequences of capitalist greed. You will struggle not to be awed by the work.
Behind the Red Moon is on display at the Tate until 14 April 2024
The Lagos State Police Command has stated that a police officer who was seen in the viral video shooting sporadically into the air at the Ladipo Market area of the state will face disciplinary action.
This was disclosed in a statement on X by the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday.
In a now-viral video on social media, a police officer was among Lagos residents jubilating on a street following the reopening of Ladipo Market.
Inspector Istifanus Kwanchi, the policeman in the video, serving with the Mobile Police (MOPOL), was reported to have been brought in for appropriate disciplinary actions.
Chronicle NG reports that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered the reopening of the Mushin local government market, which had been closed for days due to environmental and safety concerns.
Residents were ecstatic over the market’s reopening, and a policeman later identified as Inspector Istifanus Kwanchi was spotted firing rounds into the air amid the civilians.
Reacting to the video, Hundeyin said, “The police officer in this video, Inspector Istifanus Kwanchi, serving with the Mobile Police (MOPOL), has been brought in for appropriate disciplinary actions.”
The Lagos Police Public Relations Officer said such actions would not be condoned among the officers, describing them as “unprofessional and unethical.”
He also noted that the force “condemns in its entirety all forms of unprofessional and unethical behavior on the part of its officers and men and will definitely bring to book anyone found culpable.”
Many of Tonye Solomon’s compatriots questioned the veracity of his account when he claimed to have traveled 60 kilometres (37 mi) in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, while carrying a football on his head from Amassoma to Yenagoa.
Tonye made the decision to set a Guinness World Record for the most ladder steps climbed while holding a football on his head in order to disprove their claims.
Last month, he accomplished the baffling feat by ascending 150 stairs to the top of a 250-foot (76-metre) tall radio pole while deftly maintaining control of the ball on his head.
Tonye says he wanted to set this record to challenge himself and “inspire others to do great things.”
He spent two months training for it, using all his free time to practise until he was confident that he would not fail.
During the record attempt, Tonye was seemingly unfazed by the steep ascent, taking just 12 and a half minutes to complete the climb.
“I was astonished because it’s never been done by anyone before,” said Fish Jombo, a radio presenter who was part of the large crowd which gathered to watch the record attempt.
After climbing all 150 steps, Tonye threw the ball down and celebrated with a fist pump.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “I thank the Nigerian Civil Defense Bayelsa State Command for allowing me use their facility for this.”
First Bank of Nigeria has admitted that N68m belonging to Italy-based customer, Glory Omokaro was withdrawn from her account.
The bank admitted the fraud case on Monday after the victim reported the case to the popular Radio Programme, Brekete Family.
First Bank said, “We confirm the report of fraudulent activity on the account of one of our customers. This incident has been undergoing a very robust investigation since our receipt of the customer’s complaint with the goal of holistically unearthing what transpired and addressing the challenge, including satisfying the customer. Unfortunately, this has taken longer than anticipated.
“While the investigation is ongoing, we have repaired the customer’s account given the findings so far and our view that this is the best action in consideration for our customer. We regret any inconveniences this may have caused the customer and wish to emphasize that this incident is in no way reflective of the principles and ethics of our time-tested operations.”
First Bank’s Statement On The Fraud Case
Omokaro had traveled to Italy in 2005. She returned in 2013 to visit her family and opened a savings account with First Bank at the Ring Road Branch in Benin City, Edo State.
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When she traveled back to Italy, where she was based, Omokaro deposited money into the First Bank accounts and was allegedly in touch with the branch manager, Mr Gabriel.
In 2018, during another visit to Nigeria, the victim subscribed to the bank application to enable her to track her transactions from Italy.
She also applied for a debit card, which she used to perform transactions during her stay. When she returned to Italy, Glory said her account was not tampered with until 2021, when her ATM allegedly expired.
Glory contacted the same bank manager, Gabriel, to help renew her debit card. According to her, the manager gave her the option of sending someone or coming in person to renew the card.
Glory said due to Covid-19 restrictions, she could not return. However, she returned in May 2023 and visited the bank branch to withdraw and also renew her card.
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She was told in the bank that she had no money in her account with the bank.
“I met customer care and I was told that I only have N3,000 in my account and not N68m,” Peter Uvieruve, who spoke for the victim said.
She said she requested for the bank statement but the bank declined to release the statement to her.
She however, requested for the statement through a lawyer who wrote the bank. “The statement was released one week later,” Peter said.
“We discovered that on 13, October 2022, they moved N51.7m out of the account. They returned the money. We suspected that they were checking if she would complain. But she did not notice. After 24 days around November 2022, they withdrew three times from the account. The first was N9m, then N5m, N2m and another N2m until it was left with N3,000.
“We contacted, EFCC said they were only after Yahoo boys for now. We contacted the DSS and they declined. The lawyer also started behaving as though he was compromised,” he said.
The Delta state police command has released a video of the disrupted gay wedding in the state.
Recall that the state police arrested over 100 gay suspects for conducting a gay wedding ceremony in a hotel in the state, and paraded the suspects at the police headquarters in Asaba on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. read here
In a statement released, the spokesperson of the state police command, DSP Bright Edafe, revealed how the gay men were arrested.
‘’On the 27th of August, 2023 at about 2100hrs, operatives of the divisional patrol team attached to Ekpan Division intercepted a male cross-dresser who claimed to be an actor; upon interrogation, he confessed that he is a member of a certain gay club and that he was on his way to join his fellow members for a gay marriage ceremony.
Acting on intelligence gathered, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Aliyu Shaba, raided Teebolus Hotel off Refinery Road Ekpan Warri where some suspected gay members were reportedly holding a gay marriage ceremony. As the operatives arrived at the said hotel, the gay members immediately took to flight, scampering in different directions. The policemen chased and arrested a total number of sixty-seven suspects both male and female for allegedly conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony between Daniel Pius ‘m’(the groom) aged 22yrs old and Maxwel Ohwonohwo ‘m’ (bride) aged 20yrs.
The venue of the illicit event was searched, and the following items were recovered at the scene: one codeine bottle, three cups of refined Canadian loud, five sachets of SK, one sachet of tramadol, four tablets of molly drug, one crusher, gay marriage ceremonial dresses. During investigation, one of the suspects named Abel Daniel ‘m’ aged 23 yrs stated that while he was under the influence of alcohol, one male suspect who is at large had sex with him through his anus at the hotel. The suspects and exhibits are in custody and efforts are intensified to ensure the arrest of the fleeing members for possible prosecution.’’ he said
The designer of the Nigerian flag Pa. Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi has died at the age of 87.
According to his family, Akinkunmi passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, August 29, after a brief illness
One of his children announced his death on Facebook.
“Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly that you live a life with a landmark. Continue to rest, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R.): Great Man has gone.”
Born on May 10, 1936, the late Pa Akinwunmi attended Baptist Day Secondary School, Ibadan for his Primary education and Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan for his Secondary education. He started his career as a Civil Servant at the Secretariat of Ibadan and later travelled overseas to study Agricultural Engineering at Norway Technical College.
In 1958, during his stay abroad, Akinkunmi stumbled upon an advertisement in a national daily calling for the submission of designs for the Nigeria’s national flag in view of Nigeria’s imminent Independence from British governance. His entry was adjudged the best among the roughly 2,000 entries submitted.
The original design of the flag featured a white band flanked by two green ones and a red sun with streaming rays was located on the white band. The sun was eventually done away with by the overseeing committee to produce the present design.
Akinkunmi’s design was selected because of its ingenuity and profundity (the green bands represent the forests and abundant natural wealth of the country, while the white band represents peace). The flag was officially hoisted on Independence Day (October 1, 1960) instead of the British Union Jack.
Akinkunmi was awarded 100 pounds by the government when his design was selected. He has also been honoured with the MON (Member of the Order of the Niger) Award by President Goodluck Jonathan.
In these parts, public office comes with boisterous carnivals, elevated expectations, thrills, and frills. The exigency, delicacy and sensitivity of this office is sometimes lost in bouts of revelries and in the pursuit of temporal nothings. It is an office where a few have made a good name for themselves; it is also a station where a multitude have come tumbling down from grace.
Every administration since 1999 seems to have its own heroes and villains – depending on the leanings or dialectical disposition of the objurgator, disputant or interrogator. The classing of heroes and villains on disparate sides is in the conviction or view of the opinion-holder. One man’s hero is another’s villain; and the other’s villain is another’s hero.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources under the Jonathan administration, is often held as a villain of that administration. But some people may not agree. In fact, there have been protests by some groups against her prosecution by the EFCC. Here, the voltage of outrage towards any alleged offence by a public officer is measured in ethnic and religious volts. Offences are ethnicised according to the bearings of the alleged offender.
The EFCC alleged that the former minister of petroleum resources pilfered over $153 million; bought N14 billion worth of jewellery and acquired over 90 properties in Nigeria. The agency was able to successfully secure forfeiture orders against some of the properties but was not able to bring her to trial in Nigeria.
On Tuesday, the UK National Crime Agency said it had charged Diezani to court for fraud. The NCA said Diezani is suspected to have accepted bribes during her time as minister for petroleum resources, in exchange for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts. The NCA alleged she benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
According to the agency, her charges also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.
Andy Kelly, Head of the NCA’s International Corruption Unit (ICU), said: “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts. These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation. Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat.”
It is, perhaps, Diezani’s long date with destiny.
Abuse of power. This is the cardinal malfeasance of Diezani as alleged by the NCA. The ingredients for abuse of power are always abundantly available. Just one act of indiscretion or indiscipline, and a public officer plunges into the whirlpool of eternal opprobrium.
But where are other former senior government officials accused of similar offences? There will always be the principal villain in any story. So, it is pertinent that public officers take heed lest they become the guilt-sponge of any administration.
Abuse of power. Abuse of office. This is a slippery slope where many public officers fall.
Godwin Emefiele, suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, is accused of abusing his power as the head of the apex bank by veering into politics. Although Emefiele denied that he intended to contest for the 2023 presidential ticket, the undertow of his resolve was obvious.
Emefiele’s ‘’naira-confiscation policy’’ in the build-up to the elections has been alleged to be a political gambit. Citizens and businesses endured untold hardship and suffering owing to that policy.
In February, the DSS filed charges bordering on terrorism financing against him. In June, he was taken into custody and charged to court in July. Fresh charges have now been brought against him. The charges border largely on abuse of office.
But was Emefiele working alone? Was he pulling the strings all by himself? Where are those whose bidding he was doing? Where are those he was working with? Where are those he was working for. Emefiele’s torment should be a cautionary example for everyone.
It is important for public officers to be wary and maintain the highest level of discipline and integrity, recognising the fact that they could become the principal villain or the repository of the sins of any administration. Any wrongdoing could culminate into becoming the cynosure for the misdeeds or perceived transgressions of any administration.
The rise and fall of public officers should be a piercing lesson to other public officers and to those intending. Today, it is Emefiele in bastille; tomorrow, it could be anyone.
By Fredrick Nwabufo, Nwabufo aka Mr One-Nigeria is a media executive.
The despot went on to add that his former-chef-turned-number-one-enemy was a 'talented businessman' and that the Kremlin would be launching a 'preliminary investigation' into the tragedy.
While he spoke in the past tense, and paid tribute to the 62-year-old warlord, he fell short of officially confirming Prigozhin's death.
It still remains unclear exactly what happened to the jet that fell from the sky and burst into flames yesterday afternoon but US officials now believe it had been caused a surface-to-air missile.
Washington insiders, who spoke only on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, stressed that the information was still preliminary and under review.
Their assessment contradicts that of several independent Russian outlets, who argued the explosion was likely caused by a bomb placed on board.
Putin has now allegedly ordered a probe by the country's Investigative Committee, who have been reporting to him following the smash.
He said that the team had begun a 'preliminary investigation of this incident, and it will be conducted fully and completed' shortly.
The Kremlin remained silent on the tragedy for almost 24 hours, other than a notification from the Russian aviation authority, who claimed Prigozhin and his co-founder had been passengers on board the flight.
Finally speaking out over the aircraft crash, Putin said this afternoon: 'What concerns this air crash, first of all, I want to express sincere condolences to the families of all those who died.
'It is always a tragedy. Indeed, if they were there and, according to the initial information, Wagner Company employees were on board, I want to note that those people made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the Nazi regime in Ukraine.
'We remember this, we know this and we will not forget this.'
Putin has often made claims of the presence of neo-Nazis in Ukraine as a way to justify his horrendous war - but these theories have been debunked.
In his address he added: 'I had known Prigozhin for a very long time, since the start of the '90s.
'He was a man with a difficult fate, and he made serious mistakes in life. And he strove for the results he needed for himself, and when I asked him about it, for the common cause, as in these last months.
For much of the day, it appeared as though Putin would once again turn a blind eye to Prigozhins death.
This morning, while addressing leaders at the BRICS summit, he avoided the matter.
Instead, the Russian leader spent time congratulating South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on the announcement that six countries - including Iran and Saudi Arabia - will join the economic alliance next year.
Similarly, as news broke last night, there was no mention of the fatalities.
Instead, he soaked up adulation at a concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's Second World War victory at the Battle of Kursk.
A clip showed the moment the despot greeted a raucous crowd who screamed 'we are with you, we love you', before a woman dressed in a pink jacket cried: 'Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin], my favourite,' and planted an enthusiastic kiss on his face.
A day has now passed since the incident but questions still remain over what truly happened to the flight fell from the sky into a field in the Bologovsky district in the Tver region, 60 miles north of Moscow, before bursting into flames.
Russian outlet Baza, publishing schematics of the plane, pointed to a service compartment near the bathroom in the tail section of the aircraft behind the wings represented an ideal place to conceal a bomb.
It contended the theories that Prigozhin's Embraer Legacy 600 jet was shot down by an air defence missile are likely false, pointing out there were no visible rocket contrails or exhaust plumes in the skies around the crash site.
And eyewitnesses from the town of Kuzhenkino close to the location of the crash said they saw the jet explode in the sky before tumbling to the earth, but did not report any missile strike.
Kuzhenkino resident Anastasia Bukharova, 27, said she was walking with her children Wednesday when she saw the jet, 'and then - boom! - it exploded in the sky and began to fall down.'
'Something sort of was torn from it in the air, and it began to go down.'
Stewardess Kristina Raspopova, who perished in the crash, told family prior to takeoff from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport that the flight had been delayed due to a technical inspection and unspecified repairs, according to several independent Russian outlets.
It comes as several Russian sources claimed Prigozhin's usual pilot - Artem Stepanov - was on holiday in a remote region of Russia and was uncontactable prior to yesterday's incident.
But the plane's pilot and captain Aleksei Levshin, who also died in the crash along with co-pilot Rustam Karimov, had also worked with Prigozhin for many years, his daughter told Russian media.
Meanwhile, Russian media outlet rucriminal.info - a site that seeks to expose the corruption and underhand tactics utilised by Moscow's elite - claimed that Prigozhin's plane was delayed before takeoff for 'technical inspections', adding to speculation the aircraft was targeted by a bomb.
UK intelligence sources told the earlier today BBC they had reason to suspect Russia's domestic security service, the FSB, was behind the plane crash.
But Prigozhin's death has not yet been officially confirmed, leading to speculation the Wagner chief may still be alive.
Wagner Group mercenaries are now gearing up for 'full mobilisation' amid news Prigozhin, as well as Wagner co-founder Dmitry Utkin, were killed in the plane crash.
Russian outlet Readovka, closely linked with Prigozhin, reported that the private military company had a 'long-established approved mechanism of action in the event of the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin or Dmitry Utkin'.
A source confirmed: 'In the event of Prigozhin's death, there is a mechanism for ''full mobilisation'' – regardless of who was at fault for his death.'
The extent to which Wagner mercenaries will react to the death of their leader remains to be seen.
A lady has called out the OPM pastor, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere as she exposes their escapades.
She alleged that the Apostle engaged in unprotected intercourse with her multiple times which resulted in pregnancy.
She further claimed that he offered her N10 million to maintain silence about their relationship.
A lady has accused the Omega Power Ministries General Overseer, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere of having a sexual relationship with her which led to pregnancy.
The woman who boldly spoke in a video noted that her escapade with the pastor occurred when she was living in his house.
According to her, Apostle Chibuzor slept with her multiple times without condoms despite knowing she was engaged and she eventually got pregnant.
She added that the clergyman offered her the sum of N10M to keep their relationship secret.
The lady claimed that Apostle Chibuzor threatened to kick her out of his house and do harm to her if she turned down his sexual advances, and after much persuasion, she gave in.
Taking to Instagram, the boys shared screenshots of a certain Facebook user threatening to arrest Apostle Chibuzor for allegedly molesting young girls.
Happie Boys further shared an alleged voice note of the pastor’s convo with the 14-year-old girl he impregnated as he spoke on how he would exonerate himself if she chooses to expose him.
“To the public saying we did something bad or lied about the OPM pastor.. well we are among the victims of the said pastor who disguises like he is helping but ruining lives of young boys and girls.. just imagine underaged girls pregnant for a pastor and that’s minus the many girls who have kids for him. Many are in cypris here, I still saw one of them yesterday! Most of you will say we’re still kids.. This real life, be realistic and stop being judgemental.. Thank God for God, His vindicating his children.. May God have mercy on you Apostle…”
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