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Dove Media Controversy
I never threatened to sue RCCG —Ope Banwo
By Samuel Olatunji
Sunday, June 14, 2009

• Ope Banwo Photo: Sun News Publishing

Showpiece Index

Today, we bring you the concluding part of the Ope Banwo interview which we started last week. In this no-holds-barred interview, the former CEO of Dove Media spoke on the RCCG politics that drove him out of Dove Media, his deals with Charles Novia and other issues.

What went wrong with Dove Media?
First, I will like to say that I have nothing but love and appreciation for Dove Media and Redeemed Christian Church of God because they gave me the opportunity to get into the industry where I’m getting a lot of benefits from now. But I would say I made mistakes and everything was my fault because the CEO takes responsibility for everything. 

The mistake was that I trusted people I shouldn’t have trusted. Moreso, I knew nothing about the entertainment industry and I didn’t play the politics the way it was supposed to be played. Fourthly, business and religion don’t mix too well and I did not understand that very early. Dove was a great idea; Daddy G.O (Pastor Adeboye) was very supportive, contrary to what some people were saying. He never muscled me when I was running Dove Media, except towards the end based on what people told him. I have no problem with him to be honest. 

People expect me to come out and criticize him, but I’ll never do that because he’s a man of God and my spiritual father and I respect him a lot and appreciate him. Now, could I have done a lot of things better? Certainly yes. I would have played the politics better, and probably not have gotten myself to a situation whereby I became an employee because I came into Dove as a consultant to raise money for them, not to come and run the company. I came in to raise the fund which was my special area, I didn’t know anything about the entertainment industry. 

Somehow, I ended up being the Managing Director of the company after raising funds for them. We were getting powerful and prominent. Like every set-up, it had its own politics, intrigues and I think I did not play it right because really, my problem with Dove was not what we were doing, contrary to what people thought. The chairman did not give us problem, he allowed us do whatever the vision was, even though he kept changing plans at the board meetings we had, we would be told to do a particular thing. 
But beyond, that I was given a free hand and needed not seek approval from anyone before I did my things. But unfortunately, I basically picked a fight with the wrong guy. 

That is the CEO of Dove Media, USA. He was my boss, my Provincial Pastor and there were things he was doing that ultimately led to where we were which I was not happy with. I was vocal about it and unfortunately he was much stronger than me within. He played the politics better than I could play it, and had access to the G.O and had ways of doing his things because he’s been with the Redeemed Church over the years, coupled with the fact that he’s an older man. My biggest mistake was that he played the politics than me. 

Some people tried to capitalize on the Charles Novia saga. They said I was reckless, mis-managed funds by giving so much money to Charles Novia and I just laughed. To be honest, people did not know the true story. I felt sorry for Charles Novia and myself because I was naïve and I should have known better because I was better trained. I’ve been to management school, so what happens with Charles Novia? I was accused of giving him N19 million to make movies. Yes, I gave him that much, but not in the way they said it. As a matter of fact, I think Charles Novia was not even paid enough. Because N19 million was not enough for the movies, it was about 26 movies. 

How could you do 26 movies with N19 million? That was what people did not get. Charles Novia was introduced to me by another pastor. I never knew him from Adam. He was brought to me by a pastor I trusted and we started talking. Along the line, I agreed I could work with him. I wanted to use a central person because I didn’t know the whole of Nollywood. So I thoughtthat if I could use somebody I trusted, he could be the link. 

We got talking and a lot of ideas kept coming up. I was so excited, and new in the industry. We made Covenant Church with about N6 million and I think we made more than three times of what we paid him because on the first day of the film’s release, we sold about 67,000 copies. We didn’t have enough copies. We only went with about 70 000 copies. Nobody had ever done that in the industry, the movie was fantastic. It means day one we made about N7.6 million profit and we had an endorsement of about N6 million before it was released. 

Intercontinental Bank gave us money and there was a management company which paid us N3 million for the right to market Covenant. That was how I promoted the movie. They actually paid me to do the markettting right. The point about Charles Novia was that we started talking and an idea came because we felt that the strongest asset that Dove Media had was Daddy G.O and the Redeemed Christian Church of God and we felt we could leverage that into the product. There, we would dramatize the spectacular miracles that came out of the Holy Ghost service. 

It would be an evangelical movie, commercial and truly Redeemed, it meets all the criteria. I thought I was being smart, that was why I was called being naïve. Remember, one of the objectives of Dove Media was to build a satellite television network. The rest of the idea came as a means of income to service that vision because I realized even after being given the job that in 20 years, it will still be profitable, I mean the Christian television base. While we were at it, we only had N510 million which was peanuts in the TV business. We now said rather than going straight for that channel where we may not be able to re-coup more money, we should create income streams. We would then be putting that into the channel development. 

That was the strategy I came up with that brought about the idea of movie distribution, having a studio, Internet; we have the Dove Link. People don’t even know about that. Coming back to Charles, we now came about with the idea of the encounter with the Holy Spirit and that it would be in series on Dove TV. It would run for 13 weeks for a quarter, but there will be a one hour movie, a soap. I now had a deal with Charles that there would be an hour movie dramatizing miracles that came out of the Holy Ghost service. After finishing the movie, it would show as a series on Dove TV and we would market it because it came in different names. 

Out of it is what we called The Ovary, The AIDS patient, we released three before I left. So there was supposed to be 13 movies and I told Charles that one of the ways we could make money on it was that if we shoot all the movies at once. Perhaps, one month, get the cast, mix up the casts but for different story lines. So when we do that, we don’t need to pay them for individual films. He now agreed they could do the encounter for the Holy Ghost for N800,000 per movie. To me, I thought I was scoring a spectacular deal, because then I thought good English movies were made for between N2 million and N3million.

We had just agreed to pay N6 million for Covenant Church. All of a sudden, I was going to get equivalent of 13 movies for an average of N800,000 and that to me was a bargain and that was the problem. If I were to do it now, I would pay him more because you can’t make a very good movie for N850,000 . But Charles Novia, whether out of naivety on his own side or greed, I don’t know, agreed for 13 movies at N850,000 each. He now said for that to work, he would need 70 percent of the money up front which makes sense and that was what I paid him. We paid around N9 million for the Encounters with the Holy Ghost. We were supposed to come there with 13 movies, not a series neither soap. 13 individual movies with different titles, story lines; The Ovaries, Aids Patients, The Blind Man. He wrote them out and I have a copy with me. 

So, that was that. He came to my office virtually daily. There was a day he came, which was like about four days after that, he came up with idea of making parables, making movies from the parables of Jesus Christ. For example, the parable of the sower, parable of the prodigal son. We could do a 70-minute movie on the parables of Jesus Christ which we could use on the TV channel for a whole quarter. Parables also were supposed to be 13 movies that would be shot as parables series and we agreed that would cost about N650,000 per movie and that was about N9 million in addition to the first N10 million for the first movie and that was where the N19 million came from. 

Did he get some percentage from that?
Yes, he also got 70 percent of it. So the idea was that at the end of the day, I thought I was making a kill because when you have a wonderful idea and it doesn’t work, you will look stupid, but when it works they would have been hailing me as a genius because we would have gotten 26 movies for the price of N19 million, which is at an average of N750,000 per movie. These are movies that have big stars in them. He did a good job, not these chicken change movies. But now, I think where the whole thing unraveled was when it was time for delivery and Charles did not deliver. And this is where my naivety came in and I said I made a mistake. 

Rather than fighting him, I could have reached a compromise with him. I kept holding him to the contract. I should have been realistic as a business man by giving him more money provided he was out of cash that is why he was delaying. He delivered two and started telling stories because apparently he gave the remaining movies to different directors that did not deliver. 

Did Pastor Adeboye speak to you all through the saga?
No. They never let me see GO. They kept telling me he was busy. I wrote him a letter and told him I was sorry if I disappointed him in anyway because to me, the man gave us all the support we could ever hope for in terms of raising the money and promoting it. If there is anybody that should be angry, it should be the GO because he put his name on the line and supported us. I felt bad about that and wrote a heartfelt apology for that. I never got a response. I even copied Elder Ohiwerei because I believe I should take responsibility for my actions as the CEO. I let them know things I did were not out of malice or recklessness. I did my best and if I made a mistake, I was sorry. I even travelled back the second month from the US to Nigeria to see the GO but couldn’t see him, after sometime, I just gave up. 

Have you been able to see him since then?
No. But I know that one day I will. I don’t have issues with him and I don’t believe he has issues with me other than Dove Media did not go the way it was supposed to go. Dove is not dead, it is still there. It is just that it has different focus from the way I was taking it. Towards the end, I heard they complained that we were making too many secular movies. I heard people said Two Brothers and The prodigal son was too secular. But please if you are going to depict the story of a prodigal son who came back to the Lord, how are you going to do it other than smoking and carrying women? Which is what we did. Some people criticised it, wrote petition to the GO.

Did you have issues with Pastor Adeyokunnu?
He was chairman of Dove Media, US and he was Daddy GO’s brother-in-law, he could do anything he liked. I was a nobody in the Redeemed Christian Church, but I felt he caused Nigeria a very big opportunity with Wal Mart in US by writing that letter he had no business writing. The whole idea behind the deal was to control the means of distribution after which you can now control the content. We were almost on the way to controlling the content of Nollywood. We had started telling producers what we wanted and what we did not. I have no regrets. I did the best I could. There is nobody who worked then that won’t tell you I did my best. I was there 18 hours a day. 

But some people were alleging financial misappropriation.
No, I don’t think anybody is alleging that, if they are, they can come out, the records are there. What they said was recklessness, that I spent money anyhow. 

Did you speak with the new MD, Patrick Abraham after you left?
We did. We were exchanging texts and he was the one that went to tell GO that I was going to sue RCCG. I don’t know where they got that from. How can I sue The Redeemed Church? For what? I will never do that. I will not join issues with him or anybody. Like I said before, I have nothing but love, thankfulness for Daddy GO and Dove Media for giving me an opportunity to get into the industry.

Why it effects us and how does it effect us?

sleep effects us all....

A.    We sleep because  our bodies have to recharged in other to function in a  proper way.
If you do not have enough sleep, your memory goes down.
Remember your body is regulated by the sun light

B.   Different age group sleep differently:

1.   For an example: babies sleep when they are tired and to developed.

2.  high school students sleep diferent from that of an adults.

3.  Adults sleep whenever they can. adults also sleep when they are done with day work.  

4.  +65 elderly-  people in this group go to sleep very early.

Too much sleep and too little sleep can sometimes become a problem. In adulthood, sometimes too much sleep can lead to depression or could be the sign of depression.
 Our body is set to be more active when there is light out.


Bottom line sleep or lock of sleep can effect us in so many ways, either socially, emotionally,  physically etc.


I sleep 8 hours a day. How many hours do you sleep??


Feel free to leave your comments.....
        
                                  

PRAYER FOR FAITH

Hebrews 11:1 states that "NOW FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In Romans 12:3, it tell us that every man has been dealt a measure of faith. You may not think that you live by faith, but in reality, you do. When you go to the doctors, you have faith in your doctors and their diagnosis. When you buy groceries from the store, you have faith that the food is not contaminated. You have faith that your car will start in the morning. Faith

is the tiny spark inside of us that no matter what we may know, no matter what "Logic" tells us, we know that God is able. Self and the devil are very quick to send doubts and unbelief. We must be just as quick to proclaim our faith. The limit of our faith is the limit that we put on it.

Pray that the Lord would. . .

Give you greater faith
Give you understanding that your faith is not in the wisdom of men but the power of God
Help your unbelief
Help you walk by faith and not by sight
Help you to bind the spirits of doubt and unbelief in Jesus name
Help you to see with spiritual eyes and not the natural
Give you the ability to believe in Him, His Word, and His promises
Help you to live by faith
Give you peace as you put your trust in Him

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not be sight.

1 Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.


Matthew 21:21,22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto the mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

---

It is an incontrovertible fact that Cossy Orjiako remains, unashamedly, the bad girl of the Nigerian entertainment industry. Indeed, she is a bad mama jammer. Cossy, who since her emergence on the scene in the early 90s, has remained the reference point of all that is bad about womanhood, was in the news again last week. The boobs flaunting diva was the cover of a local soft sell magazine, with her photograph in a very compromising position with a dog. Since the magazine hit the newsstands, tongues have been wagging, most of them condemning her for the supposed act. Most of the comments naturally are negative and you wonder how the queen of boobs is feeling too. Though she kept a straight face, making you believe she is not in any way bothered, the looks on her face tell it all - Cossy is human after all, and she may have started to suffer the pains of stardom. With a bold face, Cossy maintained that she has no regrets because, according to her, the purported ‘doggy’ act was a mere shoot for a movie she did around 2001. And she went on to explain that she deserves an award for the movie role instead of the negative cries from the public. “I tell you, I believe that it was a really good movie that should have won me an award if it was done in Europe or the United States.” Despite her ‘bold face’, Cossy says the recent publication smacks of malice targeted at defaming her character. “As long as my parents, my fans and my friends are okay with what I do, I have no regrets”, she says. Cossy recounted all the painful experiences and the price she has to pay for being a star in Nigeria. “About four days back, a journalist called me on phone; he said there is a picture of me with a dog that he has in his possession. He said I made love to a dog. I said Oh! This old story again. I said it was for an old film I did around 2001, that it was a make-belief. Even if I am offered one billion dollars to pose nude, I would think twice about it, not to talk of sleeping with a dog.” Ojiakor continues: “He now told me that some blackmailers wanted to sell the pictures to him. But I told him that he does not need to pay the blackmailers, all he needs to do is to get the costumes and a dog, and I would pose the same way. He called me back and said he actually paid the blackmailers. That if I don’t want the pictures used, I should offset the money he paid. I said no, instead of paying him I would prefer to sleep with 10 dogs.” Continuing, Cossy said this was not her first encounter with the gentleman. According to her, she had her first encounter with him about four years ago. “When I was acting, there was this man, a popular politician (names withheld). He used to be a politician; I don’t know what he does now. He told me to bring my international passport that some people were going to Dublin for something and he would take me along. That it was government-sponsored trip and I had to pay N20,000 which I did.” At the time, Cossy was a simple and naïve village girl who had recently arrived Lagos from her base in the East after her National Youth Service programme. Eager for fame and stardom, Cossy said she was willing to do anything and receive nothing to get to the top. “When I started having all these movie roles, I was paid stipends like N3,000 or N5,000. So, I was happy when I started receiving about N30,000, N50,000 or more. So, I started telling my wakapass friends that the politician promised to take me to Dublin.” Her friends, who obviously were more street-wise, laughed at her naivety and foolishness. “They said the man does that to every young artiste that he meets. If you now go into his office to check, then he would have time to do what he wants. Maybe he loves girls with big boobs, I don’t know for him. When I heard these stories, I was disgusted. I wanted my passport back but he wasn’t ready to give me. So, I called a lady who is also a journalist with a soft-sell magazine. I told her to write about what happened between me and the politician.” “He kept telling me to come today and come tomorrow. When I told my wakapass friends what I did, they warned me to tread softly because the man was dangerous. I called the lady and asked her to forget about it. So, I said let me go and use my money to get another passport. But the girl still went ahead to speak with him about the matter”. However, it seemed the interview worked, as she was contacted and asked to pick her passport. “He said that there was this journalist in front of him saying he collected money from me. I said yes, you collected money for Dublin visa. He was now asking me if I had money to give him. It wasn’t like he came out to say I like you. He came out to say that he wanted to sleep with me”. And, the surprises continued: “I didn’t know that this journalist was recording everything. She now brought it out on the front page of the magazine. The embarrassment came in a big way and other people that he had been doing it to came out.” Then the event that would lead to her latest travails was set in motion when the politician allegedly forwarded her passport to her through the journalist. “He now told me that he would give my passport to the journalist in question. That was the first time that I heard about his name. He called me up and told me that he was the one managing the politician. He said I should come for my passport but when I went there, he told me that he forgot it in the house. “He told me that he was doing a show in Dublin and that I should pay N120,000 to take care of my accommodation or whatever. I told him that if a magazine wants to give me an award, it should be an all-expense paid trip. I cannot spend my money because I want to go and collect one stick abroad. I would rather invest the money here because that is how my brain works.” Unfortunately for the boobs queen, her brains could never have imagined that a job she did in 2001 would suddenly resurrect to haunt her almost a decade later.

http://nigeriafilms.com/content.asp?contentid=5161&ContentTypeID=1

 

 

              

                   

                   My thoughts on Obama’s speech to the Muslim World

 

     I woke up early on Thursday to watch Obama’s speech to the Muslim world. I’m glad, I did. Mr. Obama spoke forthrightly and frankly about one of the riskiest subjects in American politics: America’s relations with the Muslim world. It was a speech painful at points; brutally honest at others; and strikingly redemptive in the end. A speech this fine deserves to be mulled over and reflected upon.  That Mr. Obama chose to deliver it- while clearly aware of the political risks involved in doing so-is a testament to his courage and fortitude as a leader.

      
Governing is hard. Mr. Obama has learnt that early in his presidency. But as he has also found out; governing is not only about nuts and bolts; it’s also about poetry. It’s the poetry, people remember long after you are gone. I’m happy that Mr. Obama has found his voice after 5 months of prose. Now it’s time to follow the words with substance.

     
The man is endlessly fascinating. He is not given to cheap flattery or demagoguery. He addresses difficult problems without artifice or adornment. He chooses his words carefully and purposefully. He knows he has the biggest megaphone in the world but deploys it only when he has something meaningful to say. His willingness to push boundaries when it matters most--when it can actually make a difference-- is inspiring.

      
I love the man. I am not naïve. I know the politics of this place. The neocons would not forgive Obama for this speech. Neither will the Israeli lobby in Washington. It is a speech too mature for Washington’s sedated tastes.

    
Obama would make mistakes. He would compromise at points. That’s understandable. Politics, as Otto Von Bismarck noted, “is the art of the possible,” not the art of the impossible. It is tough to govern. You have to make decisions. Some of these decisions would not please your constituents. Sometimes it may mean breaking your own promises. But that’s what leadership is all about: the ability to look at facts-even the ones you find uncomfortable- and make decisions based on those facts.

Sometimes, the voice of the people is not the voice of God. I’m happy that it is this man-at this moment in history; not John McCain or somebody else who is making these decisions that affect us all. God bless America.

 

Leonard Quarshie is a freelance writer and a student at the University of Maryland, University College.

 

 

    

Life can be unkind here, sometimes. So it is everywhere else in the world, you may say. But in America, it is especially. We come here, compared to other places, dreaming of possibility. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses…,” the statue of liberty, beckons.    Then we face reality.

A double dose awaits the African here. Ours is perhaps the most educated immigrant group here. We come with B.A.’s and M.A.’s. We come clear-eyed; neither naïve or misty-eyed about this place. It is not for sentiments sake, we come. We do not come to admire the skyscrapers of Manhattan or because we think America is heaven.

There is a reason, we come. Sometimes, we come because we are forced by circumstances, economic or otherwise. At other times, we come because we are escaping political repression and persecution.  We come with knowledge of America’s history: the disparities between the races; the soft, subtle racism; the glaring inequality. But we come, regardless, dreaming of a better life—lured by the mystique that is America—disenchanted by the seeming hopelessness of the continent we call home.

    
Our Black American brothers and sisters look at us quizzically, intrigued by our desire to succeed at all cost. Offended at our nonchalance and apathy towards their struggle for equal rights; and our willingness to ignore the slights of white America, they become angry at us and view us with suspicion.  “Slow your roll, Bro, they warn us.  We have been here for 400 years! There is a thing or two we can teach you about this place.”  

But we brush them aside. Call them names. Criticize them, sometimes with reason; sometimes, out of context; sometimes, without regard to history. Lazy fools! Don’t want to work… Don’t want to be responsible… Don’t want to go to school…

    
Then our enthusiasm meets jarring reality. As we climb up in the work place and compete with whites, we become suddenly aware of our “otherness.”  Our accents. Our differentness.  Going through hell and high water to get the almighty green card and citizenship, we quickly discover that our citizenship is an oddity. We realize that on government forms, there is not a category for us. In the mind of the authorities, we simply do not exist.  Polite society doesn’t know what to make of us. We discover we are like an unwanted cousin; a minority among minorities.

     
It hurts but we cannot leave. We are here now. We have obligations. Our children are here. The money we send home meets critical needs. It pays school fees; it puts food on the table; it pays hospital bills.  We can’t just get up and leave. That green card; that passport helps a lot.  It saves us a hell of trouble. It saves us from the hassle of operating in the shadows of society.

   
So we turn inward. We start investing furiously at home; start building something; start owning some property. We start following the politics; we start contributing. We form ethnic and national associations. We do charity work; we start sending critically needed supplies home. But, we are not happy. “Why can’t society accept us the way we are?” we ask.

 

 “Who are you?” they ask, ever so subtly.  “An African-American?”    “An American-African?”   “Where do you come from again?” they ask after we have lived for 40 years.

 

Leonard Quarshie is a freelance writer and a student at the University of Maryland, University College and can be reached at leoghana@gmail.com

 NB: The article is based in part on the writer’s personal experience, his interactions with African Professionals in the U.S, and his observation of life in America.

 

By Leonard Quarshie

Washington D.C.  

 

For many Africans living in the U.S, Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American President is a significant milestone in history.  The election of Mr. Obama and his swearing in as America’s 44^th President on Tuesday January 20, 2009 —has touched Africans deeply and revived hopes of change in Africa.

The reaction to Mr. Obama’s election among Africans has been at turns emotional and soul-searching.   Many say their faith in the American dream and what it represents—upward mobility and personal success if one works hard—has been renewed.

“When he first started, I thought it was a wasted vote,” said Cecilia Gugu Vilakazi, a South African native and business owner.  For Vilakazi, a naturalized American who moved here from South Africa more than 30 years ago, Mr. Obama’s election “is unbelievable.”  “It’s not real for people who know the history of this country. No one thought it would happen.”   Mr. Obama’s election happened, Vilakazi notes, because 43% of white Americans overcame their fears and voted their hopes.

 
“It’s almost like waking up and wondering whether I am still dreaming,” said Kofi Okyere, 60, a chef from Ghana who relocated to the U.S, 30 years ago. “I still haven’t quite woken up yet. I’m still in a daze.”  For Okyere, who donated $500 dollars to Mr. Obama’s campaign and volunteered as an election judge at his precinct in Baltimore; the idea of an African American president in the 70’s when he moved here was unthinkable. Mr. Obama’s election, Okyere said, showed that “there is something about America that is uniquely dynamic about this country which is capable of moving people in directions we can’t even think of.”

 
“It’s a vindication of what America stands for,” said Isaac Oppong, a native of Ghana and a naturalized American who voted for the first time on November 4. For Oppong, Mr. Obama’s election means that his son who is biracial “can be whatever he wants to be in America.”

Mr. Obama’s election demonstrates, Mildred Okwo, a lawyer and a Nollywood filmmaker said by email, that “in spite of all its deficiencies,” America is “still the greatest country on earth for any human to thrive regardless of creed, color or status.”  For Okwo, who moved back to Nigeria to join that country’s burgeoning film industry after living in California for 20 years— African and minority children no longer have an excuse to fail.  “If you think it, plan it, organize, work and execute it, you may just achieve it.”

 
Africans should not expect too much from Mr. Obama, warns Vilakazi.  “I don’t think we should expect anything great. It’s going to be a continuation of Africa policy,” she said. Mr. Obama, Vilakazi notes, “has some learning to do,” when it comes to the reality of the political situation in Africa. “He is going to be like any President. He would make mistakes. He is going to falter. But he has a good team and he is very bright.”

 

 “I don’t think we can look at Obama as another conduit to a handout,” Okyere said. Okyere hopes however that the symbolism of Mr. Obama’s election motivates Africans “to take responsibility for themselves.”  “Africans should start believing in themselves again, that what everybody else has done, we are capable of doing.”

 

 “Your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy,” Mr. Obama said in his inaugural address --reminding leaders everywhere of what their people would ultimately remember them for.

 

 “He might hold Africa to a higher standard. He has a connection there that others do not. He has family in Africa, so he sees the real pain. He might put the good of America to better use,” Oppong said.  Mr. Obama possesses a unique ability because of his heritage, Oppong added “to speak beyond the presidents in Africa and reach people directly.”

 

Mr.Obama, Okwo hopes, “would recognize that Africa is the next frontier and use his influence as a person of African descent to push forth policies that will benefit both continents.”

 

   

I was there on the Mall on January 20^th.  I came with my girlfriend and her family. We arrived by Metro from Bethesda station and got off at Farragut North. We made the journey on the train along with thousands of people from all over the country to the nation’s capital to witness history.

 I woke up at 4:30 am to be there. What drew us there-away from the comfort and warmth of our beds in 17 degree weather-was the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States. It was not just the symbolism. It was what his election said about America in the 21^st century: here in this country, you can rise as high as you allow yourself; notwithstanding the circumstances of your birth or the color of your skin.

 This is not a cliché. It is real. But it is not a given. You have to assimilate into the larger society. You have to learn to read and write. Speak English. Speak properly; whatever that means.  You have to sweat it out with odd jobs to pay the bills and make the payments. To get a foot at the door, you have to earn that single most valuable American possession: a college diploma.

 All these will still not guarantee you a place at the top. If you are a black person or a person of color, you have to deal with discrimination at the workplace and elsewhere, albeit of a subtle kind.   To succeed, you need that unquantifiable element to be present: the element of luck. And a network. Talent and ability is not enough.

The 25-minute ride from Bethesda Metro to Farragut North was eventful. Hundreds lined up along the rails anxiously awaiting their turn to board the train to D.C. Winter coats. Jackets. Headwear. The very look of warmth.

 As we trekked from the Farragut North station to the Capitol, through Constitution Avenue, I could not help but reflect on what Obama’s election meant to me as an immigrant from Ghana.

You see, I came here two days before 9/11.  Once here, I sweated it out like everybody else to make a living. I’m still sweating. Odd jobs. Retail. The normal route all immigrants take when they first arrive in this country.

But wait!  Here I was, walking to the inauguration of a man, who half a century ago, would not have been allowed to sit at the front of a bus or allowed to eat at the same lunch counter with a white person. I thought about the things we black people take for granted today. Mundane, everyday things we do without thinking about it.  

Sometimes, African immigrants like myself, don’t sufficiently appreciate the sacrifices our African-American brethren had to make for us to enjoy the things we do today. The fact is-a lot of things we take for granted today-we owe to their struggle for equal and civil rights: Integrated restrooms, drinking fountains, schools, buses, restaurants, apartments.

 The fact that I as an African immigrant can apply for a job today in America -and at the very least, expect to be considered -the issue of discrimination notwithstanding-is because my African-American brothers and sisters made it possible. They paved the way for me. I can’t thank them enough.

 As we walked passed Constitution Hall, I could not help but remember Marian Anderson, the iconic African-American singer, who was denied the opportunity to sing there in 1939 by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) because she was black.

 You know, Jim Crow was not an experience unique only to African-Americans. It affected all black and dark-skinned people who happened to find themselves in America in the 1960s.

 On October 10, 1957, Ghana’s visiting Finance Minister, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, was denied service at a Howard Johnson restaurant in Dover, Delaware because he was black. The bar attendant didn’t care whether Gbedemah had an accent or whether he was a government official. All she saw was the color of his skin.  As far as she was concerned, he was just another black man up to no good.

The poor man was shocked. The press reported it. And President Eisenhower had no choice but to apologize to Gbedemah at the White House. That is the history of America.

  But these United States was now bestowing the highest office of the land on a man whose father was an African immigrant student; a man who the framers of the U.S. constitution designated as three-fifths of a human being in 1787.

 But that is the thing about America that many people do not understand. This is a country of contradictions. The founders of this nation-inspired by a higher calling-while still owning slaves-produced a blueprint for freedom and human dignity for everyman: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident,” they wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

 As the crowd roared and screamed as Obama murmured the words “so help me, God!;-I  felt the hands of Obama’s ancestors on his shoulders-men and women who had paved the way for this moment-praying for him . Olaudah Equiano… Frederick Douglas… Sojourner Truth… Harriet Tubman… Martin Luther King Jr…

 And I wondered what David Hume would have thought of this moment--the idea of a non white person—taking the helm of a majority white nation. “I am apt to suspect the Negroes,” he wrote in his 1748 essay, National Characters, “and in general all other species of men to be naturally inferior to the whites.”

“We remain a young nation. But in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness,” President Obama began, breaking my reverie.

 The speech was short, about 18 minutes long and sobering. A call to arms. A thinking man’s speech. I expected to jump and shout like the almost two million other people on the Mall. But all I could do was think. Think about my own life. My shortcomings; the many ways, I had fallen short of fulfilling my potential. The many ways I had sold myself short; been irresponsible.  

 “Our challenges may be new,” the new president continued, “the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends—honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.”

 As I rode the train back home that afternoon, the words kept ringing in my ears: “there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit… than giving our all to a difficult task.”  I resolved to work harder, to be more responsible, to be tolerant and fair to all in this nation; this place that had been generous enough to let me see this moment in history.

 Leonard Quarshie is a freelance writer and a student at the University of Maryland, University College.

 

It was a world-first when M-Net launched BIG BROTHER AFRICA on DStv, the first continental Big Brother to ever be screened. Since then BIG BROTHER AFRICA has become a reality TV sensation, the ultimate African super-series. Now a new season has been announced to begin in September. And the big news is that M-Net is now planning…

The biggest BIG BROTHER AFRICA ever.

BIG BROTHER AFRICA: THE REVOLUTION.

Prize money has been doubled and now stands at a phenomenal
USD 200 000, a breathtaking, life-altering ‘winner takes all’ fortune.

Newly introduced open castings in 18 cities will form the widest BIG BROTHER AFRICA search ever. Add 40 ‘all-seeing, all-knowing’ cameras, and 100 microphones and the new season has almost twice as much sight and sound capability as seasons 1, 2 or 3.

In addition, the old rules banning conspiracy in the house have been lifted and contestants will be free to forge alliances, discuss strategy openly and play the game in an entirely different way.

Even the voting is set to undergo a complete transformation. This year, audiences will be asked to vote for the housemates they want to see remain in the series rather than the housemates they want to see leave the house. So it’s all about being positive and keeping the great players in the game!

Top all this off with a dramatic revised format, bolder and more intense than anything audiences have seen so far. Do all this…and then you may get some idea of the sheer scale of production that’s been planned. And that’s just what the channel is willing to reveal right now.

“The team’s been working for months already, fine-tuning the latest edition, focusing on delivering the ultimate BIG BROTHER AFRICA. We’ve got quite a few secrets this time round, so you’ll have to wait and see what happens. We aren’t going to give away
all our surprises, but it’s definitely a new series and we mean new,” says
M-Net Africa Director Biola Adekanbi.

She goes on to say, “After three seasons, it was time for a fresh spin, time for bright ideas. This series is for the fans, to say thank you for supporting Big Brother since it began. So we’re giving them the best gift we can – a show to beat all the others.”

Following up on this vision, series producers Endemol SA have also been busy analyzing and observing other Big Brother successes around the world to develop innovative series elements and inject fresh new creativity into the production.

Once again, in BIG BROTHER AFRICA: THE REVOLUTION, would-be housemates from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are eligible to enter the series. This time round though, the search has been widened to include housemates from Mozambique, a dynamic and growing economy, and Ethiopia, which is home to the African Union.

To get the process started, M-Net has begun calling for entries for the new season. And, in line with its re-energized identity, the new BIG BROTHER AFRICA will include, for the first time, open castings sessions in the 14 participating countries.

Just take yourself, or a friend, or a family member that you think is perfect for the show, to a casting venue and get in line to see the selection team. Remember that castings will be held on a ‘first come/first served’ basis and to qualify for entry, you must be over the age of 21, be fluent in English, have a valid passport and be a citizen of any of the 14 participating countries.

Entrants who impress the selectors at the open castings will head into several follow-up selection rounds, before the final housemates are chosen. They’ll then head into a revolutionized BIG BROTHER AFRICA house on September 6.

91 entertaining days later, after chasing the largest reality series prize that M-Net has ever offered and almost certainly the largest reality TV cash prize on offer in Africa, one winner will be chosen by voting audiences at the series Finale on December 6.

Once again, all the action will be screened on DStv channel 198, 24/7 so audiences won’t miss a thing on the revitalized BIG BROTHER AFRICA.

For more information on BIG BROTHER AFRICA: THE REVOLUTION, to find out where to enter or to reconnect with other fans, log on to www.mnetafrica.com. And check in regularly because in the run-up to September 6, M-Net will have several major announcements regarding their biggest, boldest Big Brother yet.


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