Nigerian talents secure Berklee College scholarships

Eighteen aspiring Nigerian musicians received full undergraduate scholarships to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the United States. The awards culminated an elite music training program in Lagos, organized in collaboration with Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage and Berklee College.

CGTN Africa

Adobe targets Nigeria’s booming creator economy with strategic Redington partnership

Magalie Meuris, Senior Channel Leader, South-West EMEA at Adobe, says the company is ramping up its Africa expansion, positioning Nigeria at the centre of a fast-growing global creative and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven economy.

Meuris said this during a media parley organised to announce Adobe’s partnership with Redington on Thursday night in Lagos.

“We are especially excited because this is not just another event, it reflects a clear ambition from Adobe to invest and grow in Africa,” Meuris said.

She highlighted that Africa’s creator economy, valued at over three billion dollars in 2023, was projected to grow to nearly 18 billion dollars by 2030, driven by rising digital adoption and mobile-first content creation.

She noted that Nigeria was a key part of this growth, with its creator ecosystem expanding rapidly as design, video and social content become essential tools for businesses and individuals.

“The creative economy is real, it is growing, and Nigeria is very much part of that,” she said.

Speaking on technology trends, she noted that Nigeria was emerging as one of the fastest adopters of AI globally, with strong usage across education, work and entrepreneurship.

She highlighted that about 88 per cent of Nigerian adults had used AI chatbots, placing the country about 26 per cent above the global average of 62 per cent.

Meuris said that the trend underscored Nigeria’s growing influence in the global digital economy and the increasing importance of local partners in shaping AI adoption strategies.

Speaking on Adobe’s strategy, she noted that the company was focused on strengthening its existing customer base, expanding into new markets and accelerating growth through AI-powered solutions.

She added that the partnership model remained critical to delivering innovation, enabling market access and ensuring long-term value for customers.

Also speaking, Ifeoma Anie, Head of Sales, Nigeria at Redington, said the partnership was aimed at unlocking access to world-class creative tools and bridging gaps in the local ecosystem.

“We are in a digital acceleration moment, where businesses are evolving, consumers are more connected and creativity is now at the centre of how brands communicate and compete,” Anie said.

Anie, who was represented by Olarotimi Faniyi, Systems Engineer at Redington, noted that although many Nigerian businesses and creators were ready to scale, they often lacked the right tools, support systems and platforms.

She said that the collaboration would combine Adobe’s global leadership in creativity and digital experience with Redington’s strong distribution network and market expertise.

Speaking on the impact, she noted that the partnership would enable partners to expand offerings, enter new markets and build recurring revenue streams, while empowering SMEs and creators to operate at global standards.

In his remarks, Mark Humphrey, Inside Channel Account Manager at Adobe, introduced new AI-powered solutions designed to improve productivity and content creation.

“We are really passionate about bringing new products to the Nigerian market and empowering everyone to create,” Humphrey said.

He highlighted that one of the flagship products, Acrobat Studio, was built as an all-in-one platform to help users comprehend, collaborate and create within a single application.

He noted that modern workplaces were facing increasing pressure from fragmented tools and information overload, leading to significant productivity losses.

Speaking on the solution, he noted that Acrobat Studio integrated AI capabilities to streamline document workflows, enhance collaboration and enable faster content creation.

He added that the platform would help businesses reduce the time spent on creating presentations and analysing documents, while improving efficiency and output quality.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the partnership is expected to deepen Adobe’s footprint in Nigeria while strengthening the country’s position in the global digital and creative

NAN

Related story: UK launches fund to boost production in Nigeria’s creative sector

UK launches fund to boost production in Nigeria’s creative sector

The UK-Nigeria Technology Hub has launched its Creative Fund, a first-phase grants initiative designed to address critical technical capacity gaps across Nigeria’s film, fashion, and music industries.
The fund will support the development of local digital production capacity, encourage the adoption of modern creative technologies, and promote the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to strengthen Nigeria’s creative value chain.

The initiative, announced yesterday, directly supports the priorities of the UK-Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership (ETIP) Creative Working Group launched in March 2025 and delivers on commitments made during President Bola Tinubu’s State visit to the UK in March 2026. It is designed to ensure that high-potential creative projects can access the technical talent, tools, and resources required to produce, scale and complete their work locally.

Funded by the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, under the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme and implemented by Tech4Dev, the Creative Fund responds directly to evidence gathered through the State of the Creative Innovation Ecosystem in Nigeria, a study in 2024. Drawing on over 1,700 survey responses and fieldwork across seven states, the research showed that Nigeria’s creative economy employs approximately 4.2 million people and contributes around $3 billion to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly.

Despite this scale, the sector continues to face structural constraints, as over 80 per cent of practitioners are self-taught, fewer than 10 per cent have access to formal financing, and high-value technical work is routinely outsourced outside the country. The Creative Fund is a direct response to these gaps and is central to the work of the ETIP Creative Working Group.

Director of the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Oyinkansola Akintola-Bello, said: “Nigeria’s creative sector already delivers real economic value, and both governments have committed under the UK-Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership to supporting its growth.

Through the ETIP Creatives Working Group, we are moving from ambition to action. The Creative Fund is a practical first-phase intervention that addresses critical gaps in skills, infrastructure, and access to advanced tools, enabling Nigerian creatives to produce and scale high-quality work locally.”

The Fund will support high-potential creative projects covering three industries: Film, Fashion, and Music and will focus on initiatives that demonstrate strong potential for impact, scalability, and job creation. It will subsidise projects that need to close technical gaps, including critical specialists like VFX artists, sound engineers, post-production editors, and design professionals, or the digital tools and resources that make professional-quality work possible locally, for example, digital asset management systems, content delivery tools, Digital Rights Management solutions, and AI-driven production technologies. The aim is straightforward: Nigeria’s best creative work should be made in Nigeria.

By Adeyemi Adepetun, The Guardian

Nigeria makes progress in recovering looted Benin artefacts

Nigeria has recorded a breakthrough in the effort to recover artefacts looted during the 1897 Benin Expedition. A joint announcement by Cambridge University and Nigeria’s Commission for Museums and Monuments confirms the transfer of legal ownership, while physical returns are planned for the coming months. The move forms part of a wider push across Europe to address colonial-era collections.

CGTN Africa

Related story: Video - UK returns stolen Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Music legend Fela Kuti becomes first African to get Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award

 

Long crowned by his legion of fans as the king of Afrobeat, the late Fela Kuti is finally being recognised by the global music industry.

The Nigerian star will posthumously receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys - almost three decades after his death at the age of 58.

"Fela has been in the hearts of the people for such a long time. Now the Grammys have acknowledged it, and it's a double victory," his musician son Seun Kuti tells the BBC.

"It's bringing balance to a Fela story," he adds.

Rikki Stein, a long-time friend and manager of the late musician, says the recognition by the Grammys is "better late than never".

"Africa hasn't in the past rated very highly in their interests. I think that's changing quite a bit of late," Stein tells the BBC.

Following the global success of Afrobeats, a genre inspired by Fela's sound, the Grammys introduced the category of Best African Performance in 2024.

This year, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy also has a nomination in the Best Global Music Album category.

But Fela Kuti will be the first African to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, albeit posthumously. The award was first presented in 1963 to American singer and actor Bing Crosby.

Other musicians who will receive the award this year include Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, the American singer known as the Queen of Funk, and Paul Simon.

Fela Kuti's family, as well friends and colleagues, will be attending the Grammys to receive his award.

"The global human tapestry needs this, not just because it's my father," Seun Kuti tells the BBC.

Stein says it is important to recognise Fela as a man who championed the cause of people who had "drawn life's short straw", adding that he "castigated any form of social injustice, corruption [and] mismanagement" in government.

"So it would be impossible to ignore that aspect of Fela's legacy," he tells the BBC.

For Fela Anikulapo Kuti was not simply a musician, but also a cultural theorist, political agitator and the undisputed architect of Afrobeat - which is distinct from, but ultimately led to, the modern sound of Afrobeats.

He pioneered the Afrobeat genre alongside drummer Tony Allen, blending West African rhythms, jazz, funk, highlife, extended improvisation, call-and-response vocals and politically charged lyricism.

Across a career spanning roughly three decades until his death in 1997, Fela Kuti released more than 50 albums and built a body of work that fused music with ideology, rhythm with resistance, and performance with protest.

His music incurred the wrath of Nigeria's then-military regimes.

In 1977, after the release of the album Zombie, which satirised government soldiers as obedient, brainless enforcers, his compound in the main city, Lagos, was raided.

Known as Kalakuta Republic, the property was burned, residents were brutalised, and his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, later died from injuries sustained during the assault.

Rather than retreat, Fela Kuti responded through music and defiance. He took his mother's coffin to government offices and released the song Coffin for Head of State, turning grief into protest.

The musician's ideology was a blend of pan-Africanism, anti-imperialism, and African-rooted socialism.

Fela Kuti's mother was hugely influential in his life, helping shape his political consciousness, while the US-born singer and activist Sandra Izsadore helped sharpen his revolutionary outlook

He was born Olufela Olusegun Oludoton Ransome-Kuti, but dropped Ransome because of its Western roots.

In 1978, he married 27 women in a highly publicised ceremony, bringing together partners, performers, organisers and co-architects of the cultural and communal vision of Kalakuta Republic.

Fela Kuti endured repeated arrests, beatings, censorship and surveillance by the security forces. Yet repression only amplified his influence.

"He wasn't doing what he was doing to win awards. He was interested in liberation. Freeing the mind," Stein tells the BBC.

"He was fearless. He was determined."

Fela Kuti's musical evolution was shaped not only by Nigeria but also by Ghana. During the 1950s and 1960s, highlife music, pioneered by Ghanaian musicians such as ET Mensah, Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas, became a defining sound across West Africa.

Its melodic guitar lines, horn sections, dance rhythms, and cosmopolitan identity deeply influenced Fela Kuti's early musical direction.

He spent time in Ghana absorbing highlife's structure, horn phrasing, and dance-oriented arrangements before fusing it with jazz, funk, the rhythms of his own Yoruba people, and political storytelling.

The DNA of highlife can be heard in Afrobeat's melodic sensibility and its balance between groove and sophistication.

In this sense, Afrobeat is not only Nigerian. It is West African, pan-African, and diasporic in origin, carrying Ghana's musical imprint at its foundation.

On stage, Fela Kuti cut an unmistakable figure. Often bare-chested or draped in the wax-printed fabric popular across West Africa, hair shaped into a crisp Afro, saxophone in hand, eyes alert with intensity, he commanded a large band of more than 20 musicians.

His performances at the Afrika Shrine in Lagos were legendary, part concert, part political rally, part spiritual ceremony.

Stein recalls that performances at the Shrine were immersive rather than conventional.

"When Fela played, nobody applauded," he tells the BBC. "The audience wasn't separate. They were part of it."

Music was not spectacle. It was communion.

Fela Kuti's visual identity was shaped in part by artist and designer Lemi Ghariokwu, who created 26 of his album covers between 1974 and 1993.

"Fela has been an ancestor for 28 years. His legacy is growing by the day. This is immortality," Ghariokwu tells the BBC, welcoming the posthumous award.

Today, Fela Kuti's music is still popular with millions around the world, and his influence is audible in modern artists such as Burna Boy, Kendrick Lamar and Sir Idris Elba.

Elba is a huge fan - the award-winning actor and DJ has curated an official vinyl box set, Fela Kuti Box Set 6, and has publicly compared him to icons such as Sade and Frank Sinatra to illustrate the point that Fela Kuti has his own unique sound.

Fela Kuti performed at major international festivals in Europe and North America, introducing global audiences to a bold and politically charged version of modern Africa.

Seun Kuti was just 14 when his father died.

"Fela never made me feel like I was a child," he recalls. "He didn't hide anything from me. He talked about everything openly."

There was no myth-building.

"I didn't even realise my dad was famous," he says. "That's credit to him. He kept me grounded."

What stayed with him most was not spectacle, but discipline, clarity and humanity.

"The human part of him, leadership, musicianship, fatherhood, that was the epitome of who he was."

One of Seun Kuti's most revealing reflections speaks to independence and identity.

"Fela was our dad, but you didn't own him. Fela belonged to himself. But we all belonged to him."

Fela Kuti insisted on being addressed by name, not by title, even by his children. Seun recalls having his pocket money docked after calling him "Pops", a moment that carried a lesson in respect.

"He always reminded us that he was in service to others more than himself."

That ethic shaped Seun's evolution from youthful ambition toward cultural responsibility.

"I used to make music to make money. But as I've grown, I lean more toward working for my people as well as my art."

Fela Kuti led multiple ensembles, most famously Africa 70 and later Egypt 80, the latter now carried forward by his son.

These were not conventional backing bands. They were musical militias, trained in discipline, endurance, and ideological purpose.

Stein recalls Fela Kuti's obsessive attention to detail.

"He tuned every instrument personally. Music wasn't entertainment to him. It was his mission."

By Mark Wilberforce, BBC

Related story: Video - President of France visits famous New Afrika Shrine nightclub in Nigeria

Nigerian stars dominate All Africa Music Awards

 

Nigerian artists secured a string of victories at the 9th All Africa Music Awards (Afrima), which concluded in Lagos on Sunday night.

Global superstar Burna Boy claimed the prestigious Album of the Year award for his latest work No Sign of Weakness.

He also shared the award for Best African Collaboration with fast-rising compatriot Shallipopi, who separately won the coveted Song of the Year for his hit single Laho, which made waves on social media.

The week-long event, which had a diverse group of music experts from across Africa and the diaspora as jurors, brought together industry professionals, culminating in a ceremony where Nigeria's current musical prowess was firmly on display.

Leading the tally for the evening was Rema, who took home three awards: Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, and Best African Artiste in RnB and Soul.

Other notable Nigerian winners included Yemi Alade, who won Best Soundtrack in a Movie, Series or Documentary for her song You Are from the animated series Iyanu, and veteran rapper Phyno, named Best African Artiste in African Hip-Hop.

The awards also celebrated emerging talent. Qing Madi was crowned Most Promising Artiste of the Year, while Chella earned the title of African Fans' Favourite.

While Nigerian stars dominated, the ceremony celebrated talent from across Africa.

Senegal's Bakhaw Dioum won Song Writer of the Year and Algeria's DJ Moh Green who scooped DJ of the Year award ahead of some notable South African DJs.

Ghana's Wendy Shay won Best Female Artiste in West Africa, South Africa's Nontokozo Mkhize won Best Female Artiste in Southern Africa and Tanzania's Juma Jux was named Best Male Artiste in Eastern Africa.

The success of Nigerian artists underscores the continued global appeal of Afrobeats.

The genre, which fuses African rhythms with Western influences, has seen explosive international growth in recent years.

Burna Boy, a defining figure in this movement since its breakthrough, remains one of its most prominent ambassadors, with his album win cementing his influential status.

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC

Video - Lagos Street art festival transforms city into open-air gallery

Participating artists want to pass the message that art ought to be accessible to everyone, not confined to indoor gallery spaces.

CGTN Africa

Video - Nigeria honors afrobeat legend Fela Kuti

An exhibition in Lagos celebrates Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat pioneer and political activist. Guests say the exhibition inspires hope, showcasing music’s power to drive social and political change in Nigeria.

CGTN Africa

Video - Nigeria's minister of art, culture, tourism, and the creative economy speaks on creative exchanges

China's Chengdu rolled out the red carpet for the second Golden Panda Awards from September 12 to 13. The film event bodes well for cross-border cultural ties through direct creative exchanges in fashion, animation, film and music, said Hannatu Musa Musawa, Nigeria's minister of art, culture, tourism and the creative economy. CGTN's Tian Wei had a one-on-one conversation with her on the sidelines of the Golden Panda Cultural Forum. The minister added that creative exchanges enable countries to tell their own stories in ways that resonate across Global South nations.

CGTN Africa

Video - Nigerian teen sets record with massive artwork

At just 15 years old, Kaneyachukwu Tagbo Okeke has made history with a painting that spans over 130,000 square feet. Titled “Impossibility is a Myth,” the Guinness World Record breaking artwork gives a voice to the nonverbal artist and a message of hope to the world.

CGTN

Video - Nigeria pushes to replace foreign cartoons with local ones

Nigerian officials say foreign cartoons are contributing to cultural dilution among the youth. To address this, the country's National Orientation Agency plans to support the production of more local content, a move experts believe could also create jobs and grow the film industry.

CGTN

The world's largest drawing is a love letter to Nigeria

Nigerian artist Fola David says he hasn't been the same since he created the world's largest drawing.

At 1,004.7 square metres — or nearly as big as four tennis courts — Unity of Diversity is a map of Nigeria filled with the country's many different styles of food, dance, music, art, history and more.

It took David six days to draw it in black marker, hunched over in front of a crowd at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, a football stadium in Lagos, in July.

But before he even started drawing, he travelled all over his home country to experience its myriad of cultures first hand.

"It did change me," David, who lives in Lagos, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "It broadened my knowledge on Nigeria. It broadened my knowledge of myself, of what I can achieve if, you know, I set my mind to something."

The artwork, done with permanent marker on canvas, broke the Guinness World Record for largest drawing by an individual, previously held by Indian artist Ravi Soni for his 629.98 square-metre drawing, Tree of Life.
 

Drawing in front of 'the whole world'

David, an artist and medical doctor whose real name is Adefemi Gbadamosi, is known for his speed painting. He says he first got the idea to go for the Guinness record nine years ago.

"I usually paint in front of a large crowd or audience," he said. "I wanted to see what it would be like to paint in front of the whole world."

Over time, he began to realize this piece could be more than a personal challenge. It could be a love letter to Nigerian culture.

But he says that's no easy feat, as there is no single Nigerian culture. The West African country is home to more than 200 million people, from more than 250 ethnic groups, speaking more than 500 languages.

David secured funding from Tolaram, a Singapore-based company that does business in Nigeria, to spend three months travelling the country during this past spring and summer in preparation for the drawing.

"I spoke to the political leaders. I spoke to cultural leaders to learn about these cultures. And then I spent time eating their food, listening to the music, the dance, the ceremonies they have," he said.

"Nigeria is just so diverse, and I fell in love with so many different parts of the country."
 

Doubled in size

The final piece was drawn over dozens of canvasses stitched together on the field, which took David and his collaborators two days to set up.

Among the imagery depicted are a Yoruba cooking pot and cultural attire; periwinkle sea snails, a southern Nigerian delicacy; Benin bronze work; an Efik dancer, a mask of Queen Idia, historic leader of the Edo people; and the Ada and Abere, the state swords of Yorubaland.

At first, David says, he planned to fill roughly 800 square metre of canvas. But as he looked at the blank pages laid out on the field, he quickly realized it was too small for what he wanted to do.

"So I told everybody to get every single support they had out and increase the size," he said. "We almost doubled it."

Those pieces, he says, have since been dismantled and put into storage.

"It's very big," he said. "We had to cut it up."

David says he's working with his sponsor to create a permanent viewing centre for the piece. But in the meantime, he's just glad to have reached the culmination of nearly a decade of dreaming.

"The people I met on my journey, the amount of time I'd spent as an artist, made this possible," he said. "I feel very relieved and, you know, enlightened and just generally happy."

By Sheena Goodyear, CBC

Artist in Nigeria transforms e-waste into art

E-waste is a growing problem, and finding uses for redundant electronics has been on the minds of sustainability experts for years. However, in Nigeria, an artist is transforming e-waste into unique art pieces.

CGTN

Related stories: Nigerian artist creates art with oil kegs in effort to reduce waste

Video - Nigerians turning waste to wealth

 

 

Nigeria bans smoking, ritual killings in movies, music videos, skits

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Tuesday announced that it would henceforth restrict the depiction of smoking, ritual killings and money rituals in movies, music videos and skits.

NFVCB’s Executive Director, Shaibu Husseini, disclosed this in Enugu at a National Stakeholder Engagement on the “#Smoke-Free Nollywood” campaign, which was organised in collaboration with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).

Mr Husseini said the federal government would prohibit the depiction and glamorisation of smoking, violence, criminal acts, immoral acts, ritual killings and money rituals in Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry.

He said the country faced a film “industry emergency requiring bold and ambitious actions” from parents, guardians, and stakeholders.

“Therefore, after a series of engagements, the NFVCB, in collaboration with CAPPA, decided to make Subsidiary Regulations to address smoking in movies since this aspect was not expressly spelt out in the extant Law.

“Today (Tuesday), I am delighted to announce to you that the Honourable Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, under Section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004, has approved the “Prohibition of Money Ritual, Ritual Killing, Tobacco, Tobacco Product, Nicotine Product Promotion, Glamorization, Display in Movies, Musical Videos and Skits” Regulations 2024. We have forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette,” the official said.

Mr Husseini explained that the goal was eradicating smoking in movies and skits.

He added, “We will work with the industry to see how we achieve zero, completely smoke-free Nollywood.”

He identified the tobacco industry’s tricks to promote smoking but expressed confidence that the government was prepared to counter them.

Mr Hussein said: “Of recent, we realised that tobacco industries hide under the banner of entertainment to flaunt smoking. The NFVCB is well prepared to take leadership in this regard and has planned and begun implementing innovative ways to achieve its mandate, especially at this crucial time when the National Assembly is insisting that there is “Need to Curb the Rising Spate of Cultism, Trafficking, Consumption of Illicit Drugs and other Substances among Youths in Nigeria”.

“The Board had been urged to undertake detailed enlightenment programs in secondary schools, tertiary institutions, local communities, faith groups and other institutions, as well as impose restrictions on home movies promoting social vices.”

Participants at the event included veteran and top filmmakers, producers, scriptwriters, marketers, and distributors from across the country, such as Zeb Ejiro, Fred Amata, Segun Arinze, Bolaji Amusan, and The Aneke Twins, as well as leaders of various guilds and associations in the Nigerian film industry.
Smoke-free Nollywood

The participants affirmed their commitment to a pro-health Nollywood by signing a pledge to ensure a smoke-free Nollywood.

CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, stressed the need for stakeholders to work towards a Smoke-Free Nollywood in the interest of a healthy future for Nigerian children.

Mr Oluwafemi said, “Shockingly, studies have shown that smoking remains prevalent in Nigerian movies in contravention of the NTC Act and the Tobacco Control Regulations 2019, which explicitly prohibits tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorships in movies and entertainment. There is also a clear provision for warnings that should accompany any tobacco depiction necessary for “Historical Accuracy and Artistic Expression.”

“With the power to tell the Nigerian story, shape our future, and build a genuinely productive society, Nollywood ensures that the growing concerns of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria are addressed. Movies and music videos must reverse the role they play in painting smoking and tobacco use as an excellent way of life.

“With more than five million young Nigerians aged 15 years addicted to smoking cigarettes, our job, not just as movie practitioners and industry experts but also as parents, is to rise to the occasion and act right to protect our children and prepare for a smoke-free future. We are at a point where we must stop the glamorisation of smoking and, instead, promote healthy lifestyles.”

In-Country Coordinator of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Michael Olaniyan, who delivered a presentation titled “A Code of Practice for Smoking in the Entertainment and Plenary for Next Steps”, urged stakeholders to be careful not to breach the NTC Act while shooting movies.

He added that the Act demands the prohibition of avoidable/unnecessary smoking scenes, avoidable/unnecessary tobacco use of any kind, glamorisation of tobacco use, tobacco brand marking, tobacco product placements and sponsorship by tobacco companies, among others.

Consensus

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC)’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ali Nuhu, backed the move to rescue “vibrant and energetic youths from the claws of smoking-related and early health challenges.”

Mr Nuhu, who was represented by the NFC’s Director, Public Affairs, Brian Etuk, lamented that most Nigerian youths have become victims of circumstances having taken to smoking habits, with consequential health challenges and damage to body organs.

“We must, therefore, use the power of film/movie to help address the gradual but avoidable drifts that are ultimately life-threatening.”

Concurring, Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke, noted the “incredible influence” Nollywood holds over public perceptions and behaviours and urged film industry professionals to promote public health by making movies smoke-free.

The Alliance Coordinator for the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Olawale Makanjuola, congratulated the NFVCB, adding, “We all know the role film, and most importantly, Nollywood, plays in our culture. For us, there is no better partner than the NFVCB and the creative industry in ensuring our screens remain smoke-free, thereby strengthening our public health infrastructures.”

By Jayne Augoye, Premium Times

Tyla's win over Burna Boy and Davido at Grammys 2024 fuels South Africa-Nigeria rivalry

 South African singer Tyla's victory at the Grammys, beating four Nigerian nominees, has fuelled the rivalry as the two nations prepare to face off at the Afcon semi-finals on Wednesday.

"South Africa won today but Nigeria will win on Wednesday where it matters most" one user wrote on X.

Tyla won for her song Water in the Best African Music Performance, over Davido, Arya Starr and Burna Boy.

Nigerians have called on their national team, the Super Eagles, to avenge them.

"No Nigerian won a Grammy, but a South African won. This is Nigerians being generous so that when we win them in AFCON, they will have something to banter with," another user wrote on X.

Nigerian Afrobeats giant Burna Boy was nominated in a total of four categories but did not walk away with a golden gramophone, yet his spellbinding performance at the award ceremony left the audience in awe.

Despite the fierce rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa, Davido extended his congratulations to Tyla on X and told her to "keep soaring".

South Africa was also represented by comedian Trevor Noah who was at the helm of the prestigious award ceremony as he was hosting for a fourth time. 

BBC

Video - Artist Creates AI Fashion Show for Elderly in Nigeria

Images of African senior citizens walking the runway created a buzz on social media, eventually going viral. These AI-generated pictures challenged the typical depictions of elderly Africans, showcasing them in an empowering way. Karina Choudhury has the story. Camera: Samuel Okocha.

VOA

Related stories: The NFT Craze Is Helping Nigerian Artists Go Global

Digital art thrives among crypto-curious Nigerian artists

Germany has agreed to return Nigeria’s looted treasure. Will other countries follow?

Video - Salsa teacher helps to dance the blues away in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the power of dance is being used to battle mental illness and the stigma attached to it. Men and women in the capital, Abuja, are coming together to attend free weekly salsa lessons for those battling trauma and depression … or even just to keep fit. Al Jazeera’s Michael Appel reports.

Al Jazeera

Seun Kuti released on bail

 

 

 

 

A Nigerian Afrobeat star facing trial on charges of assaulting a police officer will embark on a delayed concert tour after being released on bail, his manager said Wednesday.

Seun Kuti, who was in court on Wednesday, has concerts scheduled in more than a dozen countries but his departure had been on hold because of the trial, his manager Ayo Moses told The Associated Press.

The son of Nigerian musical icon and political agitator Fela Kuti, who himself was serially detained by Nigerian military regimes, Seun Kuti had been held for more than a week after he was caught allegedly assaulting a police officer in Nigeria's economic hub of Lagos.

At Wednesday's court hearing, the presiding judge ruled that it was the public prosecutor – not the police – that had the power to prosecute the musician. The judge then adjourned the case until a further hearing on July 3.

"He is on bail and as a responsible citizen, he will continue to enjoy his rights because he is presumed innocent," Femi Falana, his lawyer, said after the hearing.

Viral videos appeared to show an agitated Kuti shouting and pushing the officer along a major road in Lagos last week. It is still not clear what caused the confrontation, though Kuti alleged the officer in question "tried to kill me and my family."

While he was in detention, the police searched Kuti's house, causing an uproar among some Nigerians and his lawyers. But Benjamin Hundeyin, a spokesperson for the Lagos police, defended the search as necessary and approved by the court.

"In the course of our investigation, we stumbled on certain suspicious things that needed to be proven/disproved beyond reasonable doubt," Hundeyin said without providing further details.

AP

Video - Nigeria Football Legend Jay Jay Okocha Set For Animated Series Adaptation

Nigeria soccer legend Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha is getting animated.

A reimagining of Okocha’s childhood in Nigeria will be the basis of African streamer Showmax’s first animated series, Jay Jay: The Chosen One.

The virtuoso midfielder Okocha played for the Nigerian national team between 1993 and 2006 and let the country to Olympics soccer glory at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

His show will run to 13 episodes and follow an 11-year-old Augustine who dreams of representing his school at a prestigious football tournament with a team made up of his rag-tag group of friends. Along with his passion for soccer, he loves the animal kingdom, which bestows superpowers on him in return for his fight against illegal poaching.

The series is voiced by a Nigerian cast, led by Prince Unigwe (Glamour Girls, Samson in 2nd February) playing Jay Jay. Also cast are veteran actor Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki and PawPaw, The Johnsons), Samuel Ajibola (The Johnsons); pro-footballer turned actor Eric Obinna, Tinsel actress Mena Sodje, Lexan Peters and Pamilerin Ayodeji (The Father).

It’s already been quite the week for animated soccer series, with Deadline revealing yesterday Argentinian legend and 2022 World Cup winner Lionel Messi is getting the toon treatment at Sony Music Entertainment.

Besides Okocha’s exploits for Nigeria, playing in three World Cups and gaining 73 caps, he had successful spells for Fenerbahce in Turkey, PSG in France and Bolton Wanderers in the English Premier League. He also played in Germany and Qatar and retired back in the UK in 2008 after playing for Hull City. He is considered one of the most skilful attacking midfielders of all-time and is considered by many as Nigeria’s greatest ever player.

“I’m honoured to have an animated series that reimagines my childhood,” he said. “Jay Jay: The Chosen One is going to bring back good childhood memories as well as inspire young children who have dreams to be football players. I’m excited about the show and grateful to Showmax and the production team who worked hard to bring it to life.”

Nihilent Limited is producing Jay Jay The Chosen One in partnership with the production studio 5th Dimension as well as animation studio I-Realities.

For Showmax, the series is a first animated effort. The streamer said the show would “give Nigerian children of all ages the opportunity to see themselves represented in animated form which is positive, humorous and educational” and “enchant and motivate kids across our continent through fantasy adventures as well as the power of sport.”

“Not only is Jay Jay: The Chosen One another locally inspired Showmax Original, it marks the beginning of our adventures in animation,” said Yolisa Phahle, CEO of Showmax and Connected Video at MultiChoice. “This is a show we believe will find audiences globally and shines the spotlight on yet another world-class African achiever that we hope will be enjoyed by kids and the entire family.”

LC Singh, Nihilent Limited’s director and Executive Vice Chairman, said, “I always knew that creating a sports-based animation series for kids would be challenging and rewarding at the same time. The amount of work that goes into every single frame is immense, but seeing the final product come to life makes it all worth it.”

The news comes a week after Showmax owns MultiChoice teamed with Sky and NBCUniversal to launch a new Showmax-branded group. The service will be relaunched at a later date, powered by NBCU’s Peacock streaming technology and combining MultiChoice’s investment in local productions with international content licensed from NBCU and Sky, as well as third party content from HBO, Warner Bros International, Sony and others, and include live English Premier League football.

By Jesse Whittock, Deadline

Related story: Jay-Jay Okocha inducted as Bundesliga Legend

Artist from Nigeria turns flip-flops into portraits

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eugene Komboye, a Nigerian artist, is turning discarded plastic flip-flop sandals into colourful portraits in an effort to help clean up the environment in a country where plastic pollution is prevalent.

What started as an assignment in college in 2017, has become a full time job for Komboye, whose studio in the city of Abeokuta in the southwest state of Ogun now trains aspiring artists who want to follow in his footsteps and create flip-flop portraits.

Nigeria produces at least 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, according to government figures, with some of it finding its way into the ocean and rivers.

Flip-flops are the footwear of choice for many Nigerians and

Komboye, 30, sources his material mostly from dump sites, landfills and river banks. Back in his studio he disinfects and washes his findings before cutting them up and pasting them on a board to create a face on each one. Some customers come to his studio with photographs which he will use to create a personalised portrait.

By Seun Sanni, Reuters

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