Hardly could one get to a household at Igbo Ora, Oyo State, without seeing a set of twins. The indigenes believe that a kind of okra leaves, locally known as ewe ilasa, is capable of making women who use it give birth to twins. Taiwo Abiodun who visited the town writes on this phenomenon

Welcome to Igbo Ora, The Nation’s Home of Twins 

At the mere mentioning of Taiye or Kehinde in the public place could trigger a simultaneous response from more than four people. In other words, the names, being what twins are called (the former for the one who came first and the latter for the one who followed) in Yoruba land, unusually have more than one claimant in this land.

“If you gather about 200 people, 70 per cent of them is likely to be twins,” Taiwo, twin, told The Nation. “I am a twin and my twin brother’s wife is also a twin and she has a set of twins. My younger sister, Idowu, has two set of twins too but I don’t have twins yet. I believe that my new wife will deliver twins by God’s grace,” he said as he thumped his chest.

Chief Isaac Olurinmade Olapegba [JP],73, described the town as a unique town where God blessed the people with twins and triplets, saying “every time our women deliver babies they always give birth to twins and at times triplets. You can go and ask the medical doctors as the record is there for everyone to see. In fact, people from all walks of life do come here for research.”

Elated, the septuagenarian further told The Nation that the signs that the town is blessed with twins are everywhere. “Go to the entrance of the town and to the roundabout where we have the statue of the mother of twins and her babies on her chest and her back. Delivering twin babies is our industry here. We are the ones producing more twins than any other towns in Nigeria, and that is what our study reveals because of the symbolic reason that we prepare okra leaves as soup more than any other soup,” he said.

He noted further that: “There is no man or woman in this town who does not know how to eat okra soup. We cook the leaves called ewe ilasa (ilasa leaves) more of which we consume than any other soup. If you go to the market on market days, you will see how twins’ mothers carry their twin babies and dance around demanding for money. Hardly will you go to any house without seeing at least a set of twins. In fact, you could see three sets of twins in a house. Therefore, if you are calling Taiye, you need to be specific so that we can know whether it is the senior or junior one, or else all of the twins could rush to you to answer. It is a funny thing and we shall soon have twins fill the town. It is God’s gift; it is just blessing we cannot explain. It is incredible.”

In order to convince this reporter of his claim, the old man took him round the town, visiting about 20 houses where they have a set of twins, triplets, or two sets of twins of different age, similar and different sexes. Again, it is not uncommon to hear that a Taiye or a Kehinde is away to Lagos to buy clothes when asked about their whereabouts. The import of this metaphoric journey is simply that the person in question is dead. In some of the houses visited, such euphemistic rendition was not wanting.

A mother of twins simply called Iya Ibeji (a mother of twins) observed that the nursing of twins is quite hectic, especially at infancy. She said, “Feeding the twins and taking care of them is not easy at infancy, but it only gets better when they are growing up. When they become big men and women, say medical doctors or engineers, one can now be proud of them because they have become big men and women – important personalities in the society. Then you will appreciate them as people will envy them and you would have forgotten the stress you have gone through.”

She spoke on the idiosyncrasies of twins: “Their best foods are beans and corn meal. While growing up, they wear the same clothes and put on the same shoes. The fact is that some mothers die while taking care of them because of the rigour of stress and many other things they undergo while the children are very young. Breast-feeding them is a very tasking for the mother. Hardly does the mother have time for herself. Twins always cry at the same time and fall sick again at the same time, or one after another. And the mother has no choice but to take care of them sometimes to the detriment of her health.”

Similarly, Olapegba revealed that twins, according to the town’s traditional belief, are regarded as special creatures and therefore should be treated like gods. Hear him: “We have our own traditional way of taking care of twins. We buy them the same clothes, shoes, bangles, and do same hairstyles for them. We equally treat them like gods and therefore build a shrine for them in the corner of the living room where we use the items like palm oil, tubers of yam, and dry beans (ekuru) for ritual everyday, especially when one of them is sick or dead. When one of the twins dies, an effigy which will serve as a replacement of the deceased is carved and placed in a corner where some rituals are carried out on it everyday so that the living one is not dragged along to the grave.” According to the town’s spokesperson, this is compulsory, for many twins had been snatched by death just because the rituals were neglected.

In the words of Mrs. Kehinde Sakiratu Kehinde, her mother had three sets of twins and also built shrines for them when they were young. However, her twin brother, Taiwo, died recently and she feels his absence daily. In a quavering voice, she said: “Despite the fact we are not identical and of different sex, I still miss him.” Asked whether she has an effigy of her twin brother on which she pours libation or palm oil on so as to prevent him from taking her away to himself, the woman replied to the contrary, saying, “it was practised in the olden days but things have changed now. It is still practised by the illiterates. Not only this, Christianity has taken away all these things and education has changed many things too. But that does not mean some people are not doing it as some still believe in it. It has become personal belief for many. I cannot blame them over this.”

On why some of the twins’ mothers dance round the town, Kehinde said the mothers of these twins should not be blamed, for many are given the conditions by soothsayers or diviners called babalawo. According to her, twins are considered to be strange people who came to the world of their own and it is believed that they have different spirit that goes with them and that is why they cannot be harmed. She added, “Some of these mothers were informed before the children grow up that they must take them out and must dance round the town or market places or else they would die. I know a wealthy woman who is a trader and sells clothing materials in Lagos. But when her baby twins were falling sick everyday, she was instructed by the oracle to go and dance in the market places before they could recover. She refused and was ashamed to go so low and out of shame did not do it. But she would later regret that as one of the living twins fell sick again and was dying. She later went to the market place to dance.”

Mrs Kafaya Olawale, another mother of twins, was met breastfeeding her baby twins. Her twins, she said, are one year and two months old. She equally agreed breastfeeding a set of twins is a hard work to do. “It is not easy my brother,” she moaned pointing to them and adding, “You can imagine how they both cry for breast at the same time. Besides, they cry a lot if they find out that they are wearing different clothes. It’s like they are spirits, for one would cry if she sees her twin sister wearing clothes different from hers. So, you must wear the same clothes for them or else they will keep on crying and this could lead to sickness for them.”

To Kafaya, the claim that the eating of some special okra leaves also aide the birthing of twins in this town is not a myth. “Yes, it is true. If you want to have baby twins, just go for ilasa leaves. That is the way one can have twins. The leaves are cooked as soup and before you know it you will be pregnant with twins.”

When this reporter got to the market and requested ilasa leaves, the sellers all laughed and asked him whether his wife is aiming to have twins. The surprising thing is that most of the sellers are called Iya Ibeji. Displaying the leaves, one of the women, a mother of twins, declared: “I have three sets of twin and this ilasa leaf is the secret behind it here in this town, nothing else. That is our own industry here and people come here to ask for it even from overseas they do demand for it and take it out.”

Apart from being known for having twins, Igbo Ora is also known to be the sixth largest charcoal-producing town in Oyo State. Igbo Ora derived its name, according to an octogenarian, from verbal challenge posed to a friend. According to him, there were two friends; one lived in the town while the other lived in the forest. The latter occasionally did come to town to pass time there with his friend. He got so used to this that sometime he would not feel like going home. One day, his town-dweller friend asked him to go to the forest he bought (igbo o ra). Ever since, the saying became a household name with which the town is identified.. Those are the boldly written words that a first time visitor to the ancient town of Igbo Ora is bound to see as they course through its main entrance. A little further into the town at the roundabout is a sculpture of a woman, a mother of twins with a baby strapped to her back and another on her chest with a girdle, while the twins raised up their hands in an ecstasy of jubilation.

10 people like this post.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

The UK has implemented changes to the student immigration rules from 21 April 2011. There are now tougher Sponsorship and English language requirements for entry as a student. Also, fewer student’s will have the right to work legally in the UK

The changes follow a public consultation and were put into effect to “deliver a strong migration system which tackles immigration abuse, while allowing genuine students to study at genuine colleges.”

Sponsorship (Accreditation)

Sponsors wishing to sponsor foreign students at there college or University must have been accredited by either Ofsted or its “devolved equivalents”, QAA, the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the Bridge Schools Inspectorate, or the Schools Inspection Service. By April 2012, all sponsors must acheive “Highly Trusted Sponsor” status and be accredited by a relevant agency. Until then, there will be a limit on the number of sponsorships allowed by institutions who have not yet met the requirements.

English Language Requirements

Students must be proficient in English to level B2 in each of the four disciplines if they are studying at level 6 (undergraduate) and above. For Pathway and other lower courses, a level of B1 is required.

People trying to obtain a visa under the Tier 4 student route who are not attending an undergraduate program or above must provide a test certificate from an independent English language test provider as proof of their English language ability. A university can vouch for a student’s English language ability if they are coming to study at degree level or above.

This requirement may be waived for “truly exceptional students”.

Student funding requirements

Tier 4 visa applicants are now required to sign a declaration that they have enough funds to support their stay in the UK. Only banks statements from UK Border Agency-approved banks will be allowed.

“We shall refuse applications where the bank statements are from a bank which we cannot trust to verify the statements,” the UK Border Agency has stated in their guidance.

Work rights

Students at universities will retain their right to work 20 hours per week and do work placements where the work/study ratio is 50/50. Students at publicly funded FE colleges will still be allowed to work 10 hours per week. Other students will have no work rights, and work placements will have to be at the 66:33 Study/Work ratio.

Dependants

To be able to bring in dependents, a student must be a Government Sponsored student or enrolled in a post graduate course (NQF 7 and above) at a university. The course must be longer than 12 month’s in duration. Dependants are allowed to work.

Tier 1 Post Study Work

The Tier 1 Post Study Work route will end April 2012. This route allows students to work in the UK for up to two years after graduation. During this time the student will have the opportunity to find permanent employment and apply for a Tier 2 visa.

1 person likes this post.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

A report by the World Bank on the level of illegal importation of goods into Nigeria from neighbouring Benin Republic and other West African countries should be a major concern to the Federal Government and the agencies responsible for management of the nation’s economy. According to the World Bank, an astonishing N750 billion ($5 billion) worth of assorted goods are smuggled into Nigeria through Benin Republic alone every year.

This amount represents about 15 percent of total smuggled goods through that border. The World Bank report also claims it has “enough evidence” that over $400 million (N6 billion) representing about 25 percent of the total current annual revenue collected by the Customs Service is lost through nefarious smuggling across the sub-regional borders.

The report, which was prepared by two of its leading experts on the African Transport Unit also noted that smuggling into Nigeria will further hamper the operational efficiency of the Customs Service and cause more revenue losses if urgent steps are not taken by government to tackle it. It advised a liberalisation of trade policies which encourage smuggling across the borders.

Put together, the report is troubling but not surprising, considering the increasing rate of smuggling across our borders, especially along the Benin republic axis. A combination of factors account for this unhealthy trend. One of them is the high cost of clearing goods in our ports and the laxity of enforcement of anti-smuggling laws by those charged with responsibility in the country. It is not unkind to say that the integrity of some of the customs and immigration officials statutorily charged with policing our borders is suspect. Many compromise their positions. Bad eggs among them are more concerned with lining their own pockets than checking smuggling activities, thereby denying government much-needed revenue.

Therefore, the World Bank report should not be ignored. It should be treated as a wake-up call to address systemic difficulties in checking smuggling through the Benin Republic borders, and others in the region. In this regard, information exchange is vital. This has become crucial because available statistics reveal that 13 per cent of traffic of goods from the port in Cotonou, the capital of Benin Republic, is destined for Nigeria, while about 75 percent of the containers that land at the Cotonou Port are headed for our country.

We also believe that the current rate of smuggling through the West African sub-region is encouraged by tariff differentials. This has made it more economically viable for importers to patronise other ports in the sub-region rather than Nigerian ports. Government should seriously look into the problem with a view to formulating better policies to redress the situation.

Also, government should take a hard look at some of the treaties of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Some of these treaties encourage free movement of people without addressing its harmful effects. Often, this freedom of movement undermines the economy of other countries through unbridled smuggling of goods.

All in all, the World Bank report should be seen as a roadmap for designing new strategies for our country’s trade policy initiatives with neighbouring countries. This is crucial because inability to adequately check smuggling into Nigeria can undermine both national and economic security of the country, with attendant broad political implications.

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

There is a jobs cow waiting to be milked in Africa. It is agriculture and agri-business.

In its initial condition, Africa’s agriculture bears a striking resemblance to its telecom sector in the late 1990s. A decade on, a combination of right policies and strengthened regulatory framework has seen the sector open up to free enterprise, attracting about $60 billion in private investments and leading to today’s ICT boom: 450 million mobile phones in Africa, which is more mobile phones than Canada, Mexico and the United States combined.

As with telecom, the “early movers” into Africa’s agriculture are likely to reap the most rewards. And we are seeing significant interests from Middle Eastern, North African, South African and Asian firms seeking to establish commercial farms and agri-businesses along the value chain.

With only one-fourth of Africa’s arable land (50 per cent of global arable land) currently in use accounting for a mere 10 per cent of global food production, an agriculture and agri-business sector in full bloom is likely to result in even more transformational change in the lives of the world’s bottom billion than ICTs.

This is not some distant, future dream. Even die-hard afro-pessimists now concede that the global tide is turning in Africa’s favour, revealing a virgin market of one billion people, and a potential trillion dollar economy with enormous staying power and no less than 29 per cent of the world’s youth by 2025.

But timing matters, and huge windows of financial and economic opportunity are open to the pacesetters. Agriculture, I must reiterate, is not only Africa’s “next big thing.” It is already its life wire: it is Africa’s leading private sector. Some 70 per cent of Africans depend on it for their livelihoods, and it accounts for about 40 per cent of the region’s GDP.

During my dialogue last week with hundreds of young civil society leaders from 18 African countries, I was not surprised by their optimism about agriculture. Their eagerness to be involved in the sector was as infectious as it was enlightening for me and my colleagues. However, they were very clear as to what must be done by their governments and partners, to make agriculture work for jobs. I would summarize their views in four major areas.

First, governments (traditional, local and national) need to guarantee land rights for farmers, ensuring that large commercial farms – which are bound to employ fewer people — co-exist with the millions of smallholder farms – which preserve and maximize the job opportunities the sector offers, as well as provide the nucleus for establishing small and medium-size agri-businesses along the value chain. Attention must also be paid to ensure that male farmers – often the first to hop on a tractor and the ones most likely in rural areas to manage the money flowing from agriculture — do not marginalise women farmers, who hold the key to food security.

Valorising land and ensuring that Africa’s banking and financial sectors recognise it as one of the most tangible economic assets of Africa is just as important as building and maintaining adequate infrastructure like farm-to-market roads.

Second, young Africans do not want to be the farmers their grandparents were: hoe in hand, tilling the soil in scorching sun all year round, harvesting barely enough to feed, shelter and house their families. Making the sector more attractive to the African youth – seven-to-ten million of whom join the labour force each year – must entail modernising agriculture, raising productivity, boosting incomes, and expanding links to export markets.

Smallholder farmers would need access not only to more productive seeds and other farm inputs, but also to irrigation, research, technology and finance. Seed funding, notably in the form of grants, patient capital or loans from commercial banks guaranteed by some facility or the valorised farmland could make the difference between a farm start-up failing or prospering. Obstructionist policies, such as price controls, food export bans, and restrictions to cross-and within-border trade, need to be eliminated.

As one participant from Sierra Leone put it: “The market is the problem,” he said, complaining about the ban on his country’s food exports to such neighbouring countries as Gambia, Liberia and Senegal.

A third priority must be that of linking farmers to markets, including the sale opportunities that school feeding or food voucher programmes can generate by buying from local farmers. Pilot initiatives like the World Food Programme’s “Purchasing for Progress,” which has sourced about $1 billion worth of humanitarian food directly from African farmers over the last three years, would need to be expanded. Electronic vouchers, provided through “scratch cards” similar to prepaid phone cards and mobile phone-enabled platforms, have offered funding for food purchases for the poor in Liberia.

Connecting African farmers to Internet-based platforms such as the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange, which made deals worth $1 billion in its first three years of existence would be as essential as linking these farmers to giant global retailers like the U.S.-based Walmart, whose foundation plans to plow about $1 billion in Africa in order to have direct influence over its supply chain. So, too, would be an integrated approach to infrastructure development that combines highway or railroad construction with the setting up of vast agricultural plantations under the so-called “development corridor” model.

Devising these and other smarter ways of reaching markets and consumers would help trim the estimated 35 per cent of food supplies lost on the continent during the post-harvest, transport to market, storage, processing and conservation phases.

Fourth, reforms across Africa will work only if global food markets work for Africa and unfair trade practices are ended. The issue of subsidies by developed countries — currently estimated at $360 billion – will need to be resolved. Young African farmers entering the sector will prosper not only if they can trade, but if trade is fair and if mechanisms to promote transparency on existing stocks help prevent speculators from using food as a commodity to make money on the backs of farmers.

Success would require an integrated approach such as that offered within the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework – with the strategic pillars of land and water management, markets and infrastructure, food security and vulnerability and agricultural technology. It would also require significant investments. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says the $22 billion pledged by the G20 at the Pittsburgh Summit barely gets things started. However, while foreign investors and donors can help, African countries which committed in Maputo in 2002 to devote at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture are those who must step up to the plate.

Mali, which currently devotes 13 per cent of its national budget to the sector, is one of very few countries that have either met or surpassed this target. Too many other countries invest far too little. Cameroon, for example, devotes an estimated one per cent of the national budget to the agriculture sector, although the sector employs 70 per cent of the population and accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s GDP. Without significantly higher investments, the sector will not deliver on the millions of jobs it promises. Much worse: the 2002 World Food Summit warned that business as usual in agriculture could mean that the aim of halving world hunger by 2015 will only be met in 2150.

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

written by Pelu Awofeso

“All in all, our costumes are top of the range,” says Yemi Sule, a project consultant for the Lagos Carnival, speaking about the processes and the people that make this carnival the ‘ultimate’ in Nigeria. Sule works with about 250 tailors and embellishers who must produce costumes for at least 10,000 participants who will take part in the carnival on Easter Monday.
“It’s been a nightmare meeting these targets but it’s also been a lot of fun, because on that day when the clothes are worn you’ll see that all the hard work and dedication to duty has paid off in the end. It’s something that one will be proud of,” she says in a room full of young artisans working on multicoloured dresses.

The theme for the carnival this year is ‘Bright and Beautiful’, and a peep into the different working areas inside the Skills Acquisition Centre shows that much. The whole place is stacked with bales of chiffon, taffeta, organza, china, satin, wax print and lace fabrics in various colours.
“What we did go for are bright and striking colours that people would appreciate on the carnival day,” says Sule, who was contracted to do the same job last year. “I’ve seen quite a few costumes that have been used at other carnivals here in Nigeria and abroad; they are nice but I will stand by our own costumes, because they do stand out, in terms of concept and in terms of the quality.”
As of mid-March, 60 percent of the costume work had been done and Sule is optimistic that everything necessary for the carnival will be ready for carnival day on April 30. “I would say that people should come out and have fun. This is a once-in-a-year thing. It’s good to appreciate the beauty around us.”

Carnival buzz
Just a block away, Oji Thomas is busy co-ordinating the production of the headgears, backpacks and sails that will complement the costumes. His target: to produce 2,000 backpacks and 150 huge sails, any of which takes days to make, depending on how simple or elaborate it is. Oji’s work area is packed with carnival photographs, fibre rods and other odds and ends needed for the job.
The previous day, he presented a complete set of backpacks and sails to the organising committee; he got a green light and that means he and his team can go ahead and mass produce for the 80 or so carnival groups ready to feature in this year’s event.
“So far, working on them has been a bit stressful, going by the fact that we have a set time to build everything; but this year, I can say the work is much easier to tackle because we’re making them much lighter, using aluminium pipes and sheets and fibre rods, unlike last year when we used metal pipes which were heavy,” he says.
This new approach to the job is the result of a two-week working visit Oji and seven others paid to Flamboyan, one of the prize-winning groups at the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival, in late 2010. “They practically showed us all their secrets: how to set up the sails, how to balance them, how to do the wings,” Oji recalls. “All of that knowledge we have incorporated into our own stuff here to make them better.”
Nigeria now has four major carnivals, three of which – namely, the Abuja Carnival, CARNIRIV and Calabar Carnival – hold in November and December. The Lagos Carnival stands apart, being hosted in the Easter period. “There is a carnival buzz sweeping the entire world,” Oji says. “Almost everywhere around the globe there is a carnival of one sort or the other at certain times in the year. It is just that Nigeria is picking on it a bit late.”

Engaging local talents
Elsewhere on the premises, another group of young Lagosians are constructing the floats, some to be mounted on tricycles, others on bicycles. Framework for seahorses, butterflies, fish, tortoises, sunflowers, boats and many more litter the place. As in last year’s outing, six puppets (representing individuals who have affected Lagos positively) will be part of this year’s parade, including one for Obafemi Awolowo, Fela and M.K.O. Abiola; and to create the much needed awareness for the event there will be several effigies placed around well-appointed highways in Lagos in the weeks preceding the carnival day.
On the whole, it takes at least six months of sweat and hard work to get the carnival ready for the public but just a few hours in one day to showcase everything. Isn’t that discouraging? “Everything that is good comes to an end at one point or the other,” Oji says, “The joy is that many people will see it and enjoy it. Besides, this is like art, which is meant to be seen; it is absolutely worthless if you hold on to it.”
One person who likes to work with the endpoint in view is Disun Holloway, the organising chairman of the Lagos Carnival. He supervises all carnival activity, committee by committee and from start to end. According to Holloway, reviving the Lagos Carnival in 2011 was the idea of the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who believes some of the state’s cultural events can be better packaged and marketed to the international community and by so doing attract tourists.
“There is also the economic benefit to the local residents who are directly impacted by this event,” Holloway explains. “We have employed more than 7,000 artisans. You would be pleasantly amazed as to the pool of talents in Lagos.”
And it is that talent that will be on show at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) on 30 April.

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

The art of travelling has been made easy for those travelling to Africa. Booking an accommodation is no longer a problem, thanks to the power of the internet which enables tour operators bring their services closer to globetrotters. The Protea Hospitality Group has signed agreements with three global travel agencies in the past four months, partnering with Agoda.com, Expedia and Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA).

The agreements mean that Protea Hotels and African Pride Hotels will be listed on the agencies’ associated websites, thereby gaining worldwide exposure for all of their establishments across the African continent.

The websites will allow customers to book accommodation with any of Protea’s hotels online. They will also be able to access information related to the hotel chain.

According to Nicholas Barenblatt, group marketing and advertising manager for Protea, the agreements will bode well for the company’s plan to expand further into Africa. “Africa is our stronghold and so expansion has to be done on the continent,“ he said.

Protea already has a presence in eight African countries including Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia and Uganda and is looking to add Angola, Botswana and Mozambique to that list.

Barenblatt further stated the agreements will provide the group with the opportunity to observe how customers engage with the Protea brand in an online environment. Since consumers are more trusting of online portals these days, their task has been made a little easier.

“The agreements we have reached with such diverse global partners are a clear indication that the local hospitality market is both realising its potential and competing equitably on the world stage alongside more established markets,” said Protea sales director Danny Bryer.

Extending Expedia relationship
The first and biggest agreement of the three took place in November 2010 with Expedia, the world’s largest online travel trade company. Protea Hotels and African Pride Hotels are now listed on more than 90 Expedia travel sites.

According to Protea, the group has achieved 100% growth year-on-year with the previous arrangement, and the benefits of the expended deal are apparent after just three months.

Expedia’s global lodging strategic accounts director Christopher Michau said that the agency is pleased to extend its relationship with the South African hotel group.

“Protea Hotels’ footprint in Africa, coupled with their leadership position in the local hospitality industry, makes them a highly desirable partner for Expedia,”

More than 60-million potential travellers visit Expedia’s websites, which are accessible in more than 60 countries and 33 different languages.

Protea will also benefit from Expedia’s experts who can advise the group on online distribution strategies, merchandising and promotions.

Exposure to leisure and business travellers
The most recent agreement – with GTA – will allow tourists to book accommodation with Protea through GTA travel sites worldwide, which will feature more than 120 of the South African hotel group’s properties across the African continent and offer the agency’s global network of leisure and business travellers a range of hotels in Africa to choose from at competitive prices.

GTA has been providing ground travel products and services to role players in the tourism industry for over 30 years. Over 21 000 bookings are made each day for the agency’s 35 000 listed hotels in more than 130 countries. 

Luring Asian travellers
Protea looked to tap into the Asian market by partnering with Asian giants, Agoda.com, in December last year, and now 20 of Protea’s properties are listed on the website. This has also given the company access to Agoda.com’s yield control system propriety software, which allows management to control room inventory, prices, content and promotions.

“This partnership will create more opportunities for Agoda customers to enjoy these popular and unique travel experiences,” said Agoda president Robert Rosenstein.

Some of Protea’s establishments now listed on Agoda include safari lodges at the Kruger National Transfrontier Park and a number of the chic African Pride Hotels in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Steady growth
Now almost 20 years old, the Protea Hotel Group was founded in 1984 with just four properties – two in Cape Town and one each in Johannesburg and on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal – in its portfolio. It didn’t take long before the group was able to offer accommodation for budgets ranging from three to five stars.

Protea is today the largest African hospitality group in terms of numbers of hotels, and operates in eight countries as Protea Hotels and African Pride Hotels, the luxury division of Protea established in 2001. Travellers in South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda are able to choose from over 100 facilities in major cities, game viewing areas, and the countryside.

Besides offering a home away from home, the company is also involved with the community and has made it compulsory for every hotel as well as head and regional offices to have social investment projects. These include a partnership as sponsor with the Reach for a Dream foundation, which helps children with life-threatening illnesses to fulfil special dreams while there’s still time.

Protea also helps in-service trainees with full tuition fees and, said the company, has managed to retain 90% of graduates to date. Protea’s bursary fund is aimed at trainees at other hotel schools around South Africa, and has contributed nearly R2-million (US$290 000) to the cause.

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save



Written by Clement Idoko

THE Federal Government, on Wednesday, said it has released the sum of N1 billion as fund in trust with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to combat high level of illiteracy in the country.

Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, who made this known while inaugurating the national steering committee on revitalising adult and non-formal education in Abuja, said over 40 million Nigerian adults and youths were still illiterate.

She expressed worry that in spite of the efforts by governments at various levels to raise the level of literacy in the country, not much had been achieved in terms of access to education. 

Expressing the commitment of the Federal Government to drastically reduce the high level of illiteracy in the country, the minister said the national steering committee, headed by the immediate past Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Professor Gidado Tahir, was to provide the government policy guidelines and implementation framework on how to tackle the menace headlong.

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

A local and international research and fact finding firm, Pison Housing Company, says Nigeria ranks 125th in real estate business worldwide.

The president of the firm, Mr Roland Igbinoba, disclosed this on Wednesday in Lagos. Igbinoba said that the ranking was based on how easy local and foreign investors could invest in real estate business in any country.

He said that in the ranking Singapore came first, USA (4th), Thailand  (12th), Malaysia (23th), South Africa (34th), Mexico (51st), Rwanda (67th), Tunisia (69th) Ghana (92nd), Kenya (95th) and Egypt (106th).

According to him, the indices are derived from building plan approvals, Land Use, infrastructure, licensing fees and charges, taxation, multi agencies, location nd environment among others.

“The indices have continued to be investors’ dilemma in Nigeria. It takes time to obtain governor’s consent and to register a property.

“The indices also have continued to leave the funding of residential real estate to households incomes to the tune of 86 per cent and 10 per cent for public authorities.

“Mortgage institution funding in residential real estate is three per cent while banks and business organisations contribute just one per cent,” he said.

He said that these difficulties had changed the focus of investors to commercial developments which are in high demand.

He added that private residents had been converted to offices to meet the pressure of supplying the facility.

Igbinoba said that there was the need for the various governments to make life easier for those working hard to create opportunity for jobs through investment in real estate.

According to him, this can be achieved if the government ease the obstacles militating against investments in real estate business in the country (NAN).

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

 From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

Five white American students from the University of Wisconsin, United States of America, who are undergoing a Language immersion programme at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, were some of the guests at the 2011 Yoruba Day at the Vivian Fowler Memorial Girl’s College, Lagos. Their mastery of the Yoruba Language is raising fresh concerns among language enthusiasts on the need for parents to encourage their children to speak the language, MOTUNRAYO ABODERIN reports One man’s meat is another man’s poison is a witty saying that aptly describes the decision of some American undergraduates to obtain Bachelors of Art degree in Yoruba Language.

The American students are actually treading a path that many Yoruba parents will never encourage their children to tread. Due to civilisation, the usage of the language has become a taboo in many homes, let alone going to the university to study it. But this is not so for Lauren Halloran, Caraline Harshman, Kelvin Barry, Kelly Moses and O’Neil Keegan, all undergraduate students of the University of Wisconsin, United States of America. Apart from studying the language, they have even adopted Yoruba names. Halloran is Abike, Harshman is Titilayo, Barry has adopted Kayode, and Moses is Akinwumi while Keegan’s Yoruba name is Kolade.

Yoruba Language is the language of about 40 million people living in the South West geo-political zone of Nigeria.

But the language is being threatened with extinction because of the poor disposition of some Yorubas to it. Yoruba Language and culture enthusiasts including Prof. Wande Abimbola, Prof. Akinwumi Isola and Prof. Ayo Bamgbose had at various forums, expressed fears that if care was not taken, the language might go into extinction in some years to come.

However, these students, who are currently at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, for a one academic session language immersion programme, were part of guests that witnessed the Yoruba Day organised for pupils of Vivian Fowler Memorial Girl’s College, Lagos recently.

The school’s proprietor, Chief Leila Fowler, said that the Americans were invited for the event to motivate pupils and parents to embrace the use of Yoruba Language in their homes and in school. As each of the students from the University of Wisconsin spoke the Yoruba language with such dexterity and passion, with the American accent, the audience was forced to clap and scream for joy. “Americans speaking Yoruba, our mother tongue! Should this be a slap in the face of Yoruba girls who can’t even say a word in Yoruba?” a parent sitting close to our correspondent asked rhetorically.

The Americans have been at the UI since September 2010 to sharpen their understanding of the Yoruba language and culture. This involves living with Nigerian families for close to one year. The Nigerian families signed an undertaking to speak to the students in Yoruba as well as encourage them to speak the language.

Before coming to Nigeria, they had been learning the Yoruba language at the University of Wisconsin, in the US along with their major courses for close to three years. At their first day in the Yoruba class in America where they were taught by professors from Nigeria, they were given a list of Yoruba names to pick from, and were asked to choose the appellations that best suited them.

And since then, they prefer being called their Yoruba names.

Interestingly, they eat Yoruba food, greet in the Yoruba way, and speak the language better than many Yoruba-born persons.

Kayode, when asked what his best food was, said in Yoruba, “Any day, any time I will go for Oka and Abula (Okro and Amala). It’s divine and I love it. Nigeria is one place I’ve always wanted to live. So, being here is like a dream come true. I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anywhere else.’’

Being endowed with an unbeatable talent and skills on how to beat the talking drum came as a surprise to the audience. “I developed an intimacy with the language by listening to radio stations, reading Nigerian newspapers, and also watching Yoruba movies. I always listen to Radio Lagos 107.5FM from the US. That really helped in getting to know the Yoruba accent.

“Also, I leant through the Yoruba films, you can watch any type of Yoruba movie on YouTube from America.”

Titilayo, who was the most outspoken of the group, said someday, she wants to become a West African correspondent for one of the top media houses in the world.

“I want to be able to communicate in various African languages without any barrier. After mastering the Yoruba language, I’m going to pick up other African languages,” she said.

Living in the ancient city of Ibadan, she said, had been an interesting experience, bringing her closer to the Yoruba culture and its components,

“My experience in Nigeria so far has been better than what I expected. I never thought I would become a motivation for kids to take pleasure in learning their mother tongue. It has been a big experience. Everyone has been so warm and welcome. Well, I hope this challenges people to know that the Yoruba language is a beautiful one, and Yoruba-speaking parents especially should ensure that they teach their children how to speak the language. If I can do it, so can they,” Titilayo said.

Kolade, the most reserved of the group, said because of his nature, naturally he didn’t think he could stay in Nigeria other than the stipulated time his course required, but because of the warm nature of Nigerians, he might change his mind.

“I’m more of the quiet type, I don’t really like talking. Nigerians are really great at making you feel at home. A lot of people don’t know much about Nigeria, that’s why they have the impression that the country is wild and dangerous. But I have discovered that this impression is not true,” he said.

On some of the challenges he faces, one of their teachers, Mr. Moses Mabayanje, said despite the passion he has for his job, teaching foreigners was harder than teaching Nigerians. “I have passion for what I do, but it can be challenging teaching foreigners than Nigerians who already have an idea and the nitty-gritty of the language. For foreigners, you have to start from the scratch. Also, I have to make sure that the five of them master the Yoruba language,” he said.

Responding to fears that foreigners would one day have to teach Yoruba people their mother tongue, he said, “There is every possibility that this could happen. It may look like a joke, but it could happen. However, I don’t think this would happen as a result of me teaching foreigners the Yoruba language; rather it will be as a result of parents failing to teach and imbibe in their children the Yoruba culture.”

Also, Yoruba author, Olarotimi Makanjuola, said children now prefered speaking either the British English, or most especially the American English to their peers and parents, and that in some years’ time, there would be nothing left of the Yoruba culture if caution wasn’t taken.

“Would our grand children know the English meaning of the Yoruba word, ‘Wa’? Almost everywhere this issue is brought up, people lament on the neglect of the Yoruba language. As they speak, you can hear the pain and sadness in their voices. Very soon, the whites are going to be the ones teaching our children their mother tongue,” he said.

However, the Chairman, Association of Yoruba Language and Culture Teachers Association, Lagos State, Mr. Atanda Olawale, has called on parents and stakeholders in the education sector to fight against the extinction of Yoruba language.

He said, “The greatest tragedy regarding language is the dominating trend of parents wanting to speak only English to their children, making it their first language, and then sending them to private schools which only teach English. This makes these children to value English above other languages.”

“When I heard about the story of the five students from University of Wincosin who are currently in UI studying Yoruba, I was not so shocked because I’ve always said that if we are not careful, the Yoruba language will soon become extinct. Then we will have foreigners coming down here to teach us our own mother tongue,” he said.

1 person likes this post.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save

A new Web site by Amnesty International USA, created with technical assistance from AAAS, allows activists to see where human rights issues are occurring in Nigeria.

Eyes on Nigeria was launched on 18 March during Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary celebration. The Web site combines information gathered through on-the-ground reporting with innovative geospatial analysis.

This project arose in response to growing concerns over reports of human rights violations occurring in specific regions of Nigeria. To identify and determine the precise nature of what was occurring on the ground, Amnesty sought expertise from the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program’s Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project. Eyes on Nigeria uses high- and moderate-resolution satellite technology as well as traditional cartographic techniques and geolocated photography and video. As a result, the Web site offers a comprehensive picture of the situation on the ground in Nigeria, according to Amnesty.

Eyes on Nigeria is the third Amnesty International monitoring project for which AAAS has provided technical support. Eyes on Darfur, the first project, was launched in 2007 and used high-resolution satellite imagery to document human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan. In 2010, AAAS aided in the development of Eyes on Pakistan, an interactive spatial database of human rights incidents that can produce customized maps and identify trends for users.

While previous projects pinpointed the locations of demolished homes and villages, air strikes, and insurgent violence, Eyes on Nigeria identifies locations where forced evictions, conflict in the Niger Delta, and communal conflict are taking place. It also identifies the locations of gas flares in the Niger Delta region, introducing an innovative use of geospatial technologies that estimates the impact of high temperatures, fumes, and elevated sound levels caused by the flares on the surrounding communities.

Gas flaring occurs when the natural gas associated with petroleum extraction is burnt off as waste, a process that is cheaper than alternatives including subterranean re-injection and storage for future sale, a AAAS technical report on the project explains. However, gas-flaring releases sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, and greenhouse gases that are linked to climate change. Residents of the Niger Delta have complained for years that unchecked gas flares seriously damage their quality of life and pose health risks.

AAAS analyzed satellite data covering the Niger Delta from 2000 to 2010 to study the prevalence of gas flaring that is blamed for reducing crop yields, causing environmental damage, and disrupting life in communities near the flares.

While the Nigerian government imposed a moratorium on gas flaring in 2008, AAAS identified 41 active flares in 2010, said Susan Wolfinbarger, senior program associate with the AAAS Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project.

“We coupled published, on-the-ground measurements of a single flare in the region with the daily satellite sensor data for all flares in the region to determine the increased air temperatures affecting inhabitants and agricultural production within two kilometers of each flare,” Wolfinbarger said.

The research found that thousands of individuals currently inhabit areas where the estimated ambient temperatures are elevated as much as 12 degrees Celsius (22 degrees Fahrenheit) above the already considerable tropical heat. Moreover, flares burn 24 hours a day, forcing communities to deal with permanent light as well as noise pollution. Higher temperatures, such as those observed, also have been associated with reduced crop yields.

“The Eyes on Nigeria project is a comprehensive view of the most pressing human rights issues facing the people of Nigeria,” said Scott Edwards, director of the Amnesty International Science for Human Rights program. “We hope that people around the world will be inspired by what they learn through this new project to act in concert with the Nigerian people to demand basic human dignity.”

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

Share/Save