Netflix debuts Nigeria’s ‘Crazy, Lovely, Cool’ TV sitcom

The popular streaming platform, Netflix has acquired a Nigerian TV drama series titled “Crazy, Lovely, Cool” (CLC), adding to its expanding roster of Nollywood content.

The series is a joint production between The Nollywood Factory, owned by award-winning director Obi Emelonye and Trace TV.

The film was shot in 2017 inside the picturesque campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. It explores the interesting activities of university undergraduates and their lecturers in a typical Nigerian university.

The dynamic hour-long drama series is filled with many familiar faces like Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Uru Eke, Zynell Zuh, Anthony Monjaro, and Enyinna Nwigwe.

With over two decades of experience in filmmaking, Emelonye is renowned for telling Nigerian stories with a universal appeal. He has his imprint on some of Nollywood’s most successful productions, including the much-awaited biopic, ‘Badamasi: Portrait of a General’ which tells the story of General Ibrahim Babangida.

PMNews

Nigeria university lecturer sacked over sexual harassment

The University of Abuja in the Nigerian capital has dismissed one of its lecturers over sexual harassment.

A female student had alleged that the lecturer, a professor, had demanded sex in exchange for marks.

The university said it had acted after reviewing the report of a panel set up to investigate the allegations.

In October, the BBC's Africa Eye investigative programme exposed sexual misconduct by lecturers at two top West African universities.

The revelations in the "Sex for grades" documentary led to the suspension of some lecturers at both the University of Lagos in Nigeria and the University of Ghana.

A separate BBC Africa Eye investigation in December uncovered an illegal network that lured women to India from Africa, where they were then forced into sex work to satisfy the demands of the many African men living in Delhi.


BBC

Video - Conversation with chief Nike Okundaye Africa’s queen of textile

African artists who have made it big on the global stage are few and far between. Among them is Chief Nike Davies Okundaye; a Nigerian professional textile artist and painter. At 68 years of age, Chief Nike as she’s fondly referred to, is an icon in her own right. With a career spanning 5 decades, the textile queen’s art pieces grace some of the most prestigious art galleries in the world and her fabrics are celebrated as contemporary jewels of traditional African art. Today, Chief Nike is on another mission: To pass on generations of knowledge and skill to the future custodians of Nigerian cultural heritage. I sat down with Chief Nike at the Nike Art Gallery in Lagos to explore her unrivalled passion for art, her mastery in the business of textiles and the Chief’s quest for cultural preservation in Africa.

Kamaru Usman breaks Covington as he retains UFC welterweight title

Nigerian-American mixed martial artist Kamaru Usman retained his UFC welterweight title in Las Vegas after a hard-fought win against US challenger Colby Covington on Sunday, December 15, knocking him out in the final stages of the fifth round.

The Nigerian, 32, broke Covington’s jaw with a huge punch in the third round.

But it wasn’t an easy victory for Usman as he and his challenger engaged in an all-out war for nearly five full rounds before the Nigerian Nightmare finished off his opponent in style.

After an early exchange of blows and kicks, the fight took a turn in favour of the champion in the third round after catching Covington with a strong blow that broke his jaw.

But the challenger relentlessly continued to fight on and looked like he could secure a win based on the judges’ decision. Covington before the fight had received a video message from the Trump family as they urged him to win the belt.

However, Usman had other plans as he dropped Covington twice in the final minute, then finished the fight with hammer fists on the mat.

He was cheered on by fellow Nigerian UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya as they both celebrated his victory together.

The victory means Usman has successfully defended his welterweight title for the first time in his career.

He won the title in Las Vegas when he defeated defending champion Tyron Woodley after five rounds to become the new champion.

Adeolu Johnson

New Telegraph

Nigeria is trying 47 men arrested in a hotel under its anti-gay laws

Forty-seven men accused of homosexuality are standing trial in a Nigerian court, their lawyer and a rights group told CNN.

The men, who say they are innocent of the charges, appeared in court on Thursday. They are among the group of 57 men arrested by the police in a raid on a hotel in Lagos in 2018.

Xeenarh Mohammed, executive director of The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS) in Lagos, the nongovernmental organization representing the defendants, said they were at a birthday party when police invaded the establishment and rounded up guests.

"The taxi driver that was delivering a cake to the birthday party was detained. A man that was looking to book a room at the hotel was also arrested. Each one of them has a unique story to tell about that day," Mohammed told CNN.

The Nigeria Police Force, also the prosecutors, have now charged the men with "public show of same sex amorous relationship with each other in hidden places" and claim the event was a gay initiation party. Mohammed said the police also paraded them on television which she said had made them the subject of homophobic attacks after they were released last year.

"Many of them were disowned by their families after they saw them on TV. A dry cleaner among them lost clients that feared he could introduce their kids to homosexual acts," Mohammed said.
Nigeria police spokesman Frank Mba told CNN he needed to gather more information on the case before giving a response.

Anti-gay sentiments
 
Nigeria's anti-LGBT laws punishes same-sex relationships or associations with a maximum of a 14-year jail term.

In northern states, where Sharia Laws or Islamic laws, are enforced, individuals convicted of homosexual offenses could get the death sentence, according to Human Rights Watch.

Last year, a high-ranking police officer issued a warning to gay people living in the country to leave or risk prosecution.

"If you're homosexually inclined, Nigeria is not a place for you," Chief Superintendent Dolapo Badmos wrote in a now-deleted post on her Instagram page.

Mohammed said authorities have often used the law to intimidate the LGBT community and people of different sexual orientation.

"We are handling cases of people who were arrested because they had a certain hairstyle or dressed in a way perceived to be gay, being forced to pay bribes because they are threatened with 14 years in jail if they don't pay up," Mohammad said.

The case involving the 47 men has been postponed until February.

By Bukola Adebayo

CNN 

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