December, 2017

• 7 December

  Future of Nollywood

  While it is true that there is much to celebrate in Nollywood’s first 25 years, Aderinsola Ajao, a Lagos-based art critic and keen follower of the Nigerian movie industry, argues that the time has come to think more about the fate that awaits the industry in the years ahead. For the past two decades, almost everything about Nollywood has evolved …

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• 7 December

  The Making of Nollywood

  The Nigerian film industry has been described as a phenomenon, an original African invention that has taken the world by storm. How did it all begin? Sunny Okim, one of the first set of Nigerian journalists to focus on Nollywood, traces the history of the movie industry.   Living in Bondage Some 25 years ago, a young Nigerian university graduate …

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• 7 December

  Nollywood at 25! Africa tells its story

  Femi Awoniyi on how the Nigerian film industry created a new popular African art form in only twenty-five years. “Africans are not banished to the margins of narrative or subsumed in landscape. Rather they become the movers of our story. Their humanity is not negotiable; it is not in the story teller’s gift to bestow, to withhold or to grant …

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• 6 December

  Thousands flee English-speaking parts of Cameroon

  Thousands of people are fleeing villages in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon less than a week after President Paul Biya declared war against Anglophone separatist groups. Fleeing villagers complain troops are engaging in rape, killings, and harassment, but the military says they are out to defend the population. The number of people travelling along the Kumba Mamfe Road in the …

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• 6 December

  Kenya offers visa on arrival to all Africans

  Nationals of African countries travelling to Kenya will no longer be required to apply for a visa before leaving for the East African country. President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the abolition of the pre-visa requirement when he took the oath of office for a second and final term on 28 November in Nairobi. “Today, I am directing that any African wishing …

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• 5 December

  Wùlu! African films’ brilliant showing in Berlin

  Within a few years, the Sahel has become a region characterized by a dangerous entanglement of fundamentalist religion, terrorism and politics. From 13-19 November, the 10th edition of AFRIKAMERA – Latest Cinema from Africa mainly presented a selection of current feature and documentary films addressing the political and societal challenges of the West African region. AFRIKAMERA 2017, christened Talking about …

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• 5 December

  Cameroon government declares ‘war’ on secessionist rebels

  Crackdown comes after Anglophone insurgents kill soldiers and police officers, reports Mbom Sixtus* from Yahoundé The secessionist crisis in Cameroon’s western region is deepening, with the government promising to crack down hard after Anglophone militants shot dead four soldiers and two policemen last week. The soldiers were killed in an ambush on a military convoy outside the town of Mamfe …

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• 5 December

  Sierra Leone’s ‘Peace diamond’ sold for $6.5m in New York auction

  A 709 carat uncut diamond discovered in March 2017 in Sierra Leone fetched a lower-than-expected $6.5m at a New York auction on Monday (4 December). The stone was found by diggers working for Pastor Emmanuel Momoh in Koryardu, located in the country’s eastern Kono district. It is one of the largest ever discovered in Sierra Leone and the 14th largest …

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• 5 December

  Russia 2018: Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia drawn in ‘tough’ groups

  Five African teams were part of 32 others entered into a draw for the group stages of the 2018 World Cup in Russia on Friday. The five African teams are Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia. It turns out that from the final draw, Morocco and Nigeria will not have it easy in their respective groups as they face top …

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• 4 December

  Thousands of Togolese to enjoy electricity as solar programme takes off

  Awagomè, 4 December 2017 – The Government of Togo’s “CIZO” initiative has made a significant stride forward as BBOXX, a new generation utility which provides reliable energy access to communities with its solar home systems, officially launched its operations in Togo today. President Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo, visited one of BBOXX’s first customers in the rural …

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