Nollywood Captured

Professional photographer Pieter Hugo traveled around Nigeria and captured rather enigmatic photos to reflect his take on the Nollywood industry in Nigeria. Here is an excerpt from Pieter Hugo's website about his exploration of Nollywood:

"In Africa, Nollywood movies are a rare instance of self-representation in the mass media.

The continent has a rich tradition of story-telling that has been expressed abundantly through oral and written fiction, but has never been conveyed through the mass media before.

Movies tell stories that appeal to and reflect the lives of its public: stars are local actors; plots confront the viewer with familiar situations of romance, comedy, witchcraft, bribery, prostitution. The narrative is overdramatic, deprived of happy endings, tragic. The aesthetic is loud, violent, excessive; nothing is said, everything is shouted."

To see the gallery of his work on Nollywood please click here

Or check out his entire website here

Nigerian beheaded in Saudi Arabia

The execution of Nigerian, Qorbi bin Mussa Adam, in Saudi Arabia has sparked serious concern with Amnesty International. According to the organization, an alarming number of foreign nationals have been executed in Saudi Arabia recently.

Qorbi bin Mussa Adam allegedly murdered a Saudi national. He was the second Nigerian to be executed in Saudi Arabia this year after another Nigerian, Jamil 'Abbas Shu'ayb, who was beheaded in May. Saudi Arabian authorities have disclosed very little information about the trial of both cases.

Another Nigerian, Suliman Olufemi was sentenced to death in 2004 and awaits execution. Olufemi's trial was held in secret and conducted in Arabic which he does not understand. He had no legal representation or any legal assistance and it is feared that he was tortured in pre-trial detention in order to force him to confess.

Qorbi bin Mussa Adam was the 51st person to be executed in Saudi Arabia this year alone, according to monitoring conducted by Amnesty International. Out of the 51 people executed in Saudi Arabia this year, 36 were Saudi Arabians and 15 were foreign nationals.

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Interview with the Father of Nollywood

Okechuku Ongunjiofor talks about how he started what we now know today as Nollywood and how piracy is affecting Nigeria's movie industry.

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Chimamanda Adichie on African Voices

 

Acclaimed Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie reflects on her career on CNN's African Voices.

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Brazil to Play in Lagos, Nigeria

The three time champions Brazil have been given special status and will play at the Lagos Centre during this year's FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Brazil have been seeded automatically as the top team in Group B. While hosts Nigeria are the top seeds in Group A and will play in Abuja.

Brazil and Nigeria are the two most successful countries in the Under-17 World Cup at this level, each having split six titles equally between them.

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