OBITUARIES
~ NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA (18 July 1918-5 Dec 2013). Former South African President, Chief of Thembu clan, lawyer, political prisoner, soldier.
"If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man." - Nelson Mandela
"It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world." - Nelson Mandela.
The former South African President and founder of the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), Nelson Mandela passed away after a long illness which saw him hospitalised several times in the last year. While we did not always agree with elements of his political strategy - particularly around the shortcomings on economics and land reform of the Freedom Charter - we acknowledge that his legacy has been such that he has managed to change the minds of millions of people who harboured unjustified paranoid fears about the capabilities of Afrikans to lead a country. Also many people have been drawn into political activity and encouraged to achieve their goals by learning of his struggles.
We first became aware of Nelson Mandela’s name towards the end of our time at primary school which coincided with the 1976 Soweto Uprising by schoolchildren against the racist education of the apartheid regime. When we started on more in-depth political activism we were able to link with many of the anti-imperialist, anti-nuclear and international solidarity movements. However this also highlighted some of the different trends between: those who took a pacifist standpoint; those who said that only a ruling national government has the right to use violence and so would not support liberation movements and those political prisoners who had been involved in or advocated the use of legitimate self-defence; those who were so allied to the western social democratic parties and their election chances, such as the Labour Party in Britain, that they refused to support certain direct actions such as the City of London Anti-Apartheid Group’s non-stop picket of the South African Embassy and the Edinburgh United Against Apartheid actions against the white South African Zola Budd who was fast tracked for British citizenship in 10 days so that she could run for Britain in the Commonwealth Games as South Africa was facing a sporting boycott; and those who didn’t support any real Afrikan liberation and tried to hide behind Chief Buthelezi’s Inkatha Freedom Party, who were being used by the apartheid regime to derail the anti-apartheid struggle and international solidarity. In most of the organisations we have been a part of we have either been involved in looking after the membership lists, media relations and publications or the practical logistics of event organisation so we know even to this day who fell into which category.
There are extensive biographies and obituaries of Nelson Mandela widely available. The film of his life ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ has had its premiere and is due for general release. He is survived by his current wife, Graca Machel, his previous wife, Winnie Nomzano Madikizela-Mandela, and three of his daughters. His first wife, two sons and a daughter predeceased him.
MANDELA'S LEGACY LIVES ON.
STATEMENT FROM THE MANDELA FAMILY.
At exactly 20h50 on that fateful evening of December 5, 2013, part of us departed to join the great line of our ancestors who have gone before us. Although death and its coming is always a surprise, but its nature should not be. While this event is painful we still embrace the eventuality. On behalf of the Mandela family and the whole Ngubengcuka household, we acknowledge with grave sadness the passing away of Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela two days ago. The pillar of the royal Mandela household is no more with us physically, but his spirit is still with us.
We have lost a great man, a son of the soil whose greatness in our family was in the simplicity of his nature in our midst – a caring family leader who made time for all and on that score we will dearly miss him. He made time for all of us. That great Thembu son of the soil made time for the kings and queens, the poor and the rich, the great and small, ex-political prisoners of every persuasion and that made us unique and special in our own way. Moreover, even in the midst of his busy schedule as head of state and government, he visited the various houses of the Thembu traditional leadership, and he became the very source of oral history on the traditions of our people.
Yes, Tata is gone, the pillar of the family is gone, just as he was away during those 27 painful years of imprisonment, but in our hearts and souls he will always be with us. His spirit endures. As a family, we commit ourselves to uphold and be guided by the values he lived for and was prepared to die for.
As a family, we learned from him to appreciate the values that made him the leader that was recognised by all, chief among these, is the lesson that a life lived for others is a life well lived. As a family, his presence was like a baobab tree that provided the comforting shade that served as protection and security for us. His presence was a warmth like the spring with its beauty, its phases, and blossoming flowers which diminishes the ugly July dry winds of the Thembu land.
Although he attained the status of a global icon, he was remarkable for his humility in the family. Our father had been known for his national and international campaigns against poverty, HIV/AIDS awareness, and for the love of children. What many may not know is that the very same issues were his daily focus in the household and the extended family. Above all, he believed very strongly in the value and power of education – an instrument to empower children against poverty and helplessness.
As a family, we take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the people of South Africa and the world for all the love and support we have experienced during the period of his long illness. Special thanks to President Jacob Zuma and the government of South Africa, the dedicated medical team that attended to him round the clock, the religious communities of the different faiths of our country and beyond that offered prayers and counselling to the family. Finally, as a family we are humbled by the messages of condolences and support we continue to receive from governments and people of the world. Clearly, this once more underlies the simple truth that Madiba was not just a citizen of South Africa and the broader African continent, but a global citizen. We are, however, comforted by the knowledge that our pain and sorrow is shared by millions around the world. Madiba is at home with great friends such as OR Tambo, Walter Sisulu and indeed many other great African patriots and leaders.
As to how the family is coping with the situation? Yes, it has not been easy for the past two days, and it won’t be pleasant for the days to come. But with the support we are receiving from here and beyond, and in due time all will be well for the family. Thank you.
By Lieutenant-General (retired) Temba Templeton Matanzima
(Official spokesperson of the Mandela family)
H.OGWAPITI
~ DR ABIOLA OGUNSOLA (1953-9 Dec 2013). Educator, social and community activist.
We first met Abiola in the summer of 1988 when she was working at the Lambeth Women and Children's Health Project and our job was to look after the centre where they were based. From our first conversation we found her always to be such a helpful person full of ideas and inspiration.
Whenever we spoke to her or saw her name attached to an event or article we knew it would reflect her commitment to people's betterment whether it be in health, business, politics or just achieving their own personal goals. We interviewed her 11 years ago for the first Afrikan Quest project on attitudes to crime and prison where she contributed insights from both her life in Britain and in Yoruba society. She also introduced us to her sister who contributed in-depth insights to our radio programmes on the Nigerian elections in her role as an election observer.
Abiola grew up in north London to Yoruba parents who considered the area around Ibadan as their homeland. After completing a PhD thesis on ‘Religious Change and the Reconstruction of Idoani (a Yoruba Community)’ in 1986, Abiola spent 4 years working in health education and community development for the Foundation For Women’s Health and Development Research (FORWARD) and Lambeth Women and Children’s Health Project. She then worked as a freelance research development and training consultant to a wide variety of voluntary organisations, local authorities, health authorities and colleges as well as in qualitative market research. She has also served on the management committee for several voluntary organisations. She had also been a designer for Culture Connexion from 1987–1990 where she produced comfortable clothing inspired by African dress cultures.
Abiola started teaching at UEL in 1996 on the Communication Studies Course in, what was then, the Faculty of Social Sciences in the Department of Education and Community Studies. She moved with the rest of Communication Studies into the Department of Cultural and Innovation Studies at the new Docklands Campus in 1999 continuing to teach in the Department of Education and Community Studies for the Early Childhood Studies Programme on a part time basis. In 2004 she moved into the Cass School of Education on a full time basis. She was also a tutor at Ithaca College London Centre from 1999. Abiola was a Board Member of the Africa Foundation For Development (AFFORD) since 2001. She had been a Trustee at Development Impact For Nigeria, a Nigerian diaspora development organisation that worked in partnership with Community Based Organisations, NGOs, State and Local Government Agencies, Schools and Faith Groups Organisations, in Nigeria to realise the Millennium Development Goals.
Abiola is survived by her son, Niilante, to whom she was devoted throughout her life.
AFFORD OBITUARY FOR DR ABIOLA OGUNSOLA
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our colleague and sister Dr Abiola Ogunsola, a much loved and valued member of the board of trustees of AFFORD. Abiola became ill in the summer and underwent major surgery. She recovered enough to be released from hospital and was making steady progress. Sadly, she was not well enough to undergo further necessary surgery and passed away on Monday, 9 December 2013. At AFFORD, we remember her for her commitment, energy, support and encouragement. AFFORD sends its heartfelt condolences to her son Niilante and her family, friends and colleagues.
Abiola has been involved with AFFORD for over a decade, as a supporter and a board member and trustee. Beyond her commitment to African diaspora and development causes, she brought to AFFORD extensive experience as an academic, researcher, teacher, campaigner and community development worker. She was an active supporter of grassroots organisations and served many of these groups as adviser, volunteer and trustee. For AFFORD she played a particular role in building relationships between the charity and the University of East London, which on several occasions hosted the annual African Diaspora and Development Day (ad3) events.
In community development, Abiola worked as a researcher, tutor and consultant on health, equality, gender, child welfare and refugee issues for a wide range of institutions and organisations including St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Foundation for Women’s Health and Development Research (FORWARD), National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO), Daycare Trust and Lambeth Community of Refugees from Vietnam.
From 1981 onwards, Abiola authored dozens of papers and made presentations at conferences in the UK, Europe, Africa and the USA. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sociology in 1978 from London School of Economics. She spent two years working as a social studies teacher, first at the Federal Government College Idoani, Nigeria (1980/81) and then at the Charles Wooten Centre for Further Education, Liverpool (1981/82).
Whilst in Nigeria, she was also a Visiting Research Student at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). She later spent two years as a Visiting Research Fellow (1982/84) at University of California, Berkeley. She completed her PhD in 1986 at Liverpool University, writing a thesis on ‘Religious Change and the Reconstruction of Idoani (a Yoruba Community)’. In 1995 she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship. After a decade of diverse freelance research and consultancy, in 1996 Abiola took up appointment as a lecturer at the University of East London (UEL). She also lectured at the London centres of Ithaca College and Syracuse University. At the time of her death she was a senior lecturer at UEL’s Cass School of Education and Communities.
The Board of Trustees, staff and friends of AFFORD express their deepest sorrow at the passing of Abiola and pay tribute for her immense contributions to community and African development. May her soul Rest in Peace.
Gibril Faal, Chairman of AFFORD, London – 12 December 2013.
The funeral will take place at 10.45am on Friday 20th December 2013 at Honor Oak Crematorium,
Camberwell New Cemetery, Brockley Mews, London, SE23 3RD
Following the funeral there will be a funeral reception from 12.30 at Dulwich Library, Main Hall, First Floor, 368 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8NA
~ PASCAL-EMMANUEL SINAMOYI TABU, TABU LEY ROCHEREAU (13 Nov 1937–30 Nov 2013). Singer, producer, band leader. Tabu Ley Rochereau, who has passed away after an operation for a stroke he had in 2008, was the leader of Orchestre Afrisa International. Along with guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley pioneered soukous (African rumba) and internationalised his music by fusing elements of Congolese folk music with Cuban, Caribbean and Latin American rumba. During his career, Tabu Ley composed more than 3,000 songs and produced 250 albums. His albums were full of so much energy and dynamism that even the studio albums sounded as if Tabu Ley was live in the room.
Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu was born in Bagata, in the then Belgian Congo. His musical career took off in 1956 when he sung with Joseph "Le Grand Kallé" Kabasele, and his band L'African Jazz.
Tabu Ley sang on the pan-Afrikan hit ‘Indépendance Cha Cha’ which was composed by Grand Kallé for Congolese independence from Belgium in 1960, propelling Tabu Ley to instant fame. He remained with African Jazz until 1963 when he and Dr Nico formed their own group, African Fiesta. Two years later, they split and Tabu Ley formed African Fiesta National, also known as African Fiesta Flash. The group became one of the most successful bands in African history, recording classics like ‘Afrika Mokili Mobimba’, and surpassing record sales of one million copies by 1970. Papa Wemba and Sam Mangwana were among the many influential musicians that were part of the group.
In 1970, Tabu Ley formed Orchestre Afrisa International, Afrisa being a combination of Africa and Éditions Isa, his record label. In the mid 1980s Tabu Ley discovered a young talented singer and dancer, M'bilia Bel, who helped popularise his band further. She became the first female soukous singer to gain acclaim throughout Africa. Tabu Ley and M'bilia Bel later married and had one child together. In 1988 Tabu Ley introduced another female vocalist known as Faya Tess, and M'bilia Bel left to pursue a successful solo career. In 1996, Tabu Ley participated in the album ‘Gombo Salsa’ by Africando. ‘Paquita’ from the album is a remake of a song that he recorded in the late 1960s with African Fiesta.
Tabu Ley adopted his name as part of President Mobutu Sese Seko’s Zairization of the country, but later went into exile in France in 1988. The Mobutu regime banned his 1990 album ‘Trop, C'est Trop’ as subversive. When Mobutu was deposed in 1997, Tabu Ley returned to Kinshasa and took up a position as a cabinet minister in the government of the new President Laurent Kabila. Following Kabila's assassination, Tabu Ley then joined the appointed transitional parliament created by his son Joseph Kabila, until it was dissolved following the establishment of the inclusive transitional institutions. In November 2005 Tabu Ley was appointed Vice-Governor of Kinshasa, a position devolved to his party, the Congolese Rally for Democracy by the 2002 peace agreements. He also served as provincial minister of culture. Some of his awards include Honorary Knight of Senegal and Officer of the National Order, the Republic of Chad. The day of his funeral was declared a national holiday and the funeral service took place at the parliament. Speaking during the service, musician Koffi Olomide called for 9 December to be declared National Rumba Day. Tabu Ley officially recognised 49 children, including the French rapper Youssoupha, although it is thought he could have many more.
~ MURVIN JUNIOR SMITH, JUNIOR MURVIN / JUNIOR SOUL (1949–2 Dec 2013). Reggae singer-songwriter, musician and producer. Junior Murvin, who has passed away from complications related to hypertension and diabetes, was born in St James parish, Jamaica, and moved to Port Antonio after the passing of his father. He began singing as a child influenced heavily by Curtis Mayfield, and began performing in public after his family moved to Montego Bay. He studied mechanics at the Montego Bay Technical High School, and then moved to Trenchtown in Kingston, where he lived with his aunt. He auditioned unsuccessfully for Lee Perry and Coxsone Dodd and first recorded under the name Junior Soul, (which would remain his crooning alter ego throughout his career) for Sonia Pottinger's Gayfeet label, and then began recording regularly for the Crystal label owned by Derrick Harriott, where he had a minor hit with ‘Solomon’ in 1972. He also performed as a member of the Hippy Boys, and later the Mighty Falcons and the Tornadoes, in Kingston's nightclubs and tourist hotels.
In 1976, he auditioned again for Perry with his own song, ‘Police and Thieves’. This time Perry agreed to record him and the single was released to international commercial success. Though written in the context of Jamaica's political turf wars and police violence, it became closely associated with the uprising at London's Notting Hill Carnival that year. Murvin and Perry co-wrote more songs together and completed the ‘Police and Thieves’ album for Island Records which was released in 1977. It included timeless classics such as ‘Lucifer’, ‘Roots Train’, ‘Solomon’, ‘Tedious’, ‘False Teachin’, and ‘Rescue Jah Children’. The album is regarded as one of Perry's best productions. The Clash, who were at the 1976 Carnival, recorded a cut of ‘Police and Thieves’ for their debut album which would stand Junior Murvin in good stead in the future. In 1980, Murvin's ‘Police and Thieves’ finally reached the UK singles chart, peaking at number 23 after being used in the film ‘Rockers’. Murvin recorded a few more singles with Lee Perry revisiting the ‘Police and Thieves’ rhythm on ‘Bad Weed’ and ‘Philistines on the Land’ and a highly-regarded 12in ‘Crossover’ b/w ‘I'm in Love’. He also worked with producers Alvin Ranglin and Joe Gibbs for whom he cut an early version of the evergreen ‘Cool Out Son’ – ‘Son, don’t put your hat where you can’t reach it / It don’t make no sense at all’.
Perry was however becoming more erratic. Following on from disputes with Chris Blackwell’s Island Records, to whom he was contracted several of his productions (such as The Congos seminal ‘Heart of the Congos’) weren’t released or only half-heartedly without the necessary promotion. In 1980 Perry set fire to his Black Ark Studio and soon headed out of Jamaica. Murvin, whose sound had been so closely tied to Perry’s production and engineering skills, was in a tight corner. Luckily Mikey Dread, who had dominated Jamaican radio and production in the late 1970s, had moved to Britain and was working on production, engineering and vocal duties for The Clash and Aswad. In 1982 Murvin released the Badman Possee single and a showcase album of the same title – ‘You have the Badman Possee / You have the Goodman Possee / You have the Rasta man Possee / You have the Roots man Possee / Which one you want to be in, son, make your choice / Too many men have lost their life innocently / Because of the wrong, wrong possee.’ The album cover is one of our favorites with Junior Murvin on patrol and a wanted poster of The Roots Radics as DATC lions. Soon after its release the Badman Possee group started and spray painted their name all over Edinburgh making the record even more sought after. It was roots artists like Junior Murvin who inspired us from an early age to develop our cultural output as a poet, author, musician, playwright and radio presenter.
Murvin next went to Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, the producer who invented dancehall reggae, and recorded the ‘Muggers In The Street’ album for Greensleeves. The title track was on an updated version of the Police and Thieves rhythm. Also present were tough conscious tunes such as ‘Judas And Jesus’, ‘Strikes And Demonstrations’ and ‘Stop The Crime’. Although considered a roots artist under his Junior Murvin moniker he never forgot the softer side of things and his falsetto was well suited to tracks such as ‘Jamaican Girls’. Backing vocals were by Al Campbell and Tony Tuff. As the music went digital many of the great 70s artists such as Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Johnny Clarke, The Wailing Souls, Ken Boothe, Al Campbell, Leroy Smart, Cultural Roots and Delroy Wilson had made their way to King Jammys Studio where the Super Power All Stars - Steelie, Clevie, Bobby Digital and Squeengine Francis - were building an irresistible sound that elevated Prince Jammy to the reigning producer. Junior cut the ‘Apartheid’ album in 1986 at the height of the battle of the Azanian youth to overturn the white supremacist system and their international backers. From 1975 when the Rockers rhythm was developed at Channel One any credible reggae artist had to have songs condemning apartheid, racism, slavery, white supremacy, colonialism and imperialism. Because of this reggae was the only music where the entire genre was banned from import into South Africa by the apartheid regime because they knew the content. To be involved in the reggae industry meant to be anti-apartheid and there would be no career path or record sales for a beast such as a pro-apartheid reggae artist. The album stood up well to all-comers with the title track, ‘Swell-Headed Black Man’ – ‘As a Black man get a little position / he wants to show off on his bredren’ – ‘Jah Took Six Days’ on the ‘Run Come’ rhythm, ‘Too Quick to Lick’ – ‘Me and you have a little argument / You thump upon mi face / You’re too ignorant / Too quick to resort to violence / Control your temper / Or your days will be bitter’ – ‘Third World Girls’ and ‘Handcuff’ – ‘Son don’t run down fancy things you will get handcuff / Heed not to temptation and your time will come’ – getting heavy rotation among roots connoisseurs.
The next album was ‘Signs and Wonders’ for Delroy Wright’s Live and Learn label where Al Campbell was involved in much of the production, songwriting and backing vocals duties. There were many strong tracks alongside the title such as ‘God Bless Pickney’, ‘People Of The World’, the self-explanatory ‘Anything Bad (They Call It Black)’, ‘Super Power’, a revamped ‘Rescue The Children’, ‘Jah Will Bless You’ and ‘Propaganda Minister’ – ‘All wicked and grudgeful bad-minded people / Stop spread propaganda’. Although never the most prolific recording artist Junior Murvin sang with one of Jamaica's top bands, Jah Postles, and continued to record and release singles locally in Jamaica, some of them on his own Murvin label in Port Antonio. They were always heartfelt and conscious with quality productions and backing rhythms. He released two further albums, World Cry’ on Sun Vibes in 1995 and a stripped back live set for Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith’s Inna de Yard in 2007. ‘Cool Out Son’ was featured on the soundtrack for the video game, Skate 3, which was released in 2010. As Junior Soul he released ‘Sings For The People’ on Burning Rockers in 1978, ‘Soul Man Dub’ on Burning Vibrations also in 1978, ‘Classic’ on Trojan Records in 1987 and ‘Second Chance’ on 2M Records Ltd. Among his singles was the classic ‘Gypsy Woman’.
FORTHCOMING NUBIART PROFILES
NUBIART: Focus on arts, business, education, health, political developments and the media.
DEC PROMOS
~ 'BAMAKO NIGHTS: LIVE AT BAR BOZO 1995' - Lobi Traoré [Glitterbeat Records – Out Now]
This seven track live album captures the late ‘Bambara Bluesman’ in fine form in Mali’s capital Bamako with a stripped down electric band in Bar Bozo where he had a weekly residency. Many of the tracks are over eight minutes long allowing the band space for an extended workout. The set starts out slow and meditative with ‘Ni Tugula Mogo Mi Ko’, conjuring a trance atmosphere that Lobi elevates systematically with his keening vocal and eloquent picking. However, it was when we heard the next few tracks ‘Banani’, ‘Dunuya’ and ‘Ne kele kanuba’ something strange kicked in – while Lobi is there playing his blues the rhythm section reminded us not so much of American blues but the spacey reggae stylings of the first Black Uhuru live album from 1981, ‘Tear It Up’. We pulled that album out of our collection and gave it a listen after ‘Bamako Nights’ and that cross fertilisation of Afrikan musics back and forth across the Atlantic is well and truly in play and no bad thing.
~ ANGOLA SOUNDTRACK 2 - HYPNOSIS, DISTORTIONS & OTHER SONIC INNOVATIONS 1969-1978 - Various Artists [Analog Africa – Out 2 Dec] This second instalment of ‘Angola Soundtrack’ covers a decade when the Angolan record industry had a fertile production output recovering from the ban on carnivals imposed in 1961 by the Portuguese colonialists. The album straddles the Angolan independence period and kicks off with an Os Angos instrumental ‘Avante Juventude’ but don’t let it fool you as most of the 21-tracks here are decidedly to the uptempo side and could get any party started. As with all Analog Africa output everything is top drawer with no fillers but a few of the tracks that really stood out for us are Tony Von’s ‘N’Hoca’, Urbano de Castro’s ‘Kia Lomingo’ and ‘Fatimita’, Oscar Neves’ ‘Mabele’, Levis Vercky’s’ ‘Meca’, and Africa Ritmo’s ‘Olha O Pico’.
NUBIART LIBRARY – DEC MEDIA
We will only review books we have read and DVDs we have seen and that are available at reasonable prices online or in shops or libraries. However, given the nature and current state of Afrikan publishing and film production there may be books and films on this list that are worth the extra effort to track down.
~ ‘LAGOS: A CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL COMPANION’ - Kaye Whiteman [Signal Books. ISBN: 978-1-908493-05-7] This 300-page book is part of Signal’s ‘Cities of the Imagination’ series of which there are now around 40 from across the globe and we had previously read David Howard’s ‘Kingston’ [Jamaica]. We had attended the ‘Lagos’ London book launch at the now closed Africa Centre earlier in the year. Kaye Whiteman was sent to Lagos in 1964 as a journalist with West Africa magazine and began writing for Daily Times. He has spent five decades covering Nigerian news and is currently a columnist with Business Day newspaper.
The book covers the architecture, topography, history, personalities, cultural practitioners and the future builders of Lagos. However, even defining what counts as Lagos – the islands, the city, the state, the spillover into neighbouring Ogun state and a Lagos state of mind – is as much as debated as is the population size put as low as seven million while the current Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola works on a figure of 17 million with a projection for it to rise to 25 million by 2025.
The original inhabitants are the Idejo descendants of Ogunfunminire who acquired the title of Olofin. Eko is the preferred local name for Lagos. Soon after this European travellers started recording their early impressions that included “there is no trade in the country, nor anything else from which one can make a profit.” Eventually, the Portuguese established Lagos, named after its lagoon, as a slave trading port. The British took over under the pretext of abolishing the slave Holocaust preferring their version of colonialism and racism. Backed by a military campaign they imposed a Treaty of Cession on the region and Lagos would be declared the capital of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914 under the much despised tyrant Lord Lugard.
‘Lagos’ highlights the role of two sets of Afrikan ‘returnees’ whose contribution is often overlooked in Nigerian history. The Brazilian Amaros had made their way back to Afrika and settled in Lagos. They were considered master stonemasons and carpenters building some of the city’s most iconic buildings such as the Shitta Bey Mosque on Martins Street which was designed by Amaro Joao Baptista da Costa. The Saro were Sierra Leonean Creoles rescued from slave ships and settled by the British in Freetown before making their way back to Lagos their port of embarkation. They were strongly influenced by Christian missionaries and became foremost educationalists and administrators.
Culturally the writers such as Wole Soyinka, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Chris Abani, Chris Anyanwu, Helon Habila and Chinua Achebe and the artist and sculptor Ben Enwonwu are all considered to be purveyors of Lagos culture even if their creators did not originate there. Musically there are the likes of Bobby Benson, Lagbaja and the Afrobeat originators Tony Allen and Fela Kuti and his sons Seun and Femi Kuti.
Lagos was the political heartland for progressives such as Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe but it was also the centre for political intrigue and business corruption for most of the century until Abuja finally became the political capital of Nigeria in 1991 but Lagos has remained the business and transport capital with the expansion of Apapa port and developments in Lekki and plans for more bridges from the islands to the mainland. In recent years Governor Fashola and his predecessor, Bola Tinubu, have been trying to clean up the city with a strategic plan that is seeing Lagos’ famous yellow danfo buses – seen on the cover of the book at Oshodi - gradually replaced by the larger red BRT system. They have managed to increase the Lagos tax take 20-fold in a decade and Governor Fashola has grand plans for Lagos’ rejuvenation which includes the Eko Atlantic project, a new district on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. Lagosians and observers are hoping it won’t end up like previous ‘visionary’ attempts such as Festac Town, designed for the 1977 cultural festival but it never took off the way it was intended.
~ DR ABIOLA OGUNSOLA FUNERAL. At 10.45am on Fri 20 Dec at Honor Oak Crematorium,
Camberwell New Cemetery, Brockley Mews, London, SE23 3RD. Following the funeral there will be a funeral reception from 12.30 at Dulwich Library, Main Hall, First Floor, 368 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8NA.
~ THE POWER OF DEFINITION TEAM PRESENT ‘E1838_MAKING FREEDOM FINALE CELEBRATION’. On Sat 21 Dec at 6-8pm at Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR.
~ BIS PUBLICATIONS AND THE WINDRUSH FOUNDATION PRESENT ‘MAKING FREEDOM’ EXHIBITION. A fantastic story featuring African resistance, rebellions and revolutions across the Caribbean. This is the first time that important collections from Royal Geographical Society, the National Maritime Museums, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Archives, Anti-Slavery International, and the Imperial War Museum have been brought together. The exhibition will celebrate those who resisted enslavement, those who fought to end it, and others who worked in Britain to improve social, economic and cultural conditions in the Caribbean. On Mon-Sat until 21 Dec at The Royal Geographical Society (RGS), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR. Adm: Free. Tel: 07508 903 634. E-mail: Windrush.project@gmail.com Web: makingfreedom.co.uk
~ PEPUKAYI BOOK DISTRIBUTION SERVICES BOOK SALE. This 7 Days Book sale is part of the ongoing fundraising drive to get the MAA MAAT Centre Operational and rebuilt. The Crowd Funding Campaign fall short of the target of £30,000 to get to planning consent. There will be a video presentation of the Maa Maat that will be running throughout the sale for information about the centre, come view and ask questions, get the facts, be informed. For those of you who can't make it to the sale and want to make a donation the account details are - TSB Account No: 26489360. Sort Code: 30-98-70. Account Name: Nkrumah Pepukayi. On Tues 17-Mon 23 Dec at 12-9pm at Maa Maat Centre, 366a High Road Tottenham, London, N17 9HT. Tel; 07956 052 821.
~ ‘PILOTS OF THE CARIBBEAN’ EXHIBITION. In two World Wars Afrikans from the Caribbean, Afrika and Britain volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force. These volunteers fought, and died, for the ‘mother country’ and for freedom, and thereby helped to preserve the values and the heritage they shared with their white comrades. The tradition of service to the Crown continues today, and the RAF is proud to welcome new generations of Afrikan volunteers into its ranks. In the exhibition ‘Pilots of the Caribbean: Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force’, the Royal Air Force Museum will tell the inspirational story of these volunteers, commemorating and celebrating their vital contribution to the defence of Britain, her Empire and the Commonwealth. At 10am–6pm at Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL. Adm: Free. Web: http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whats-going-on/events/pilots-of-the-caribbean-volunteers-of-african-he/
~ SANKOFA: THE TRUTH BEHIND BLACK HISTORY MONTH 1926–2013 EXHIBITION. Sankofa is the Afrikan Adinkra symbol meaning the wisdom of learning from the past to build the future. This exhibition looks back over 75 years of the history of Afrikan and Afrikan Caribbean people in this country and the rise of Black History Month, from its 1926 American origins as Negro History Week to its beginnings and development here 25 years ago. On display will be rarely seen archival material relating to grassroots, national and global campaigns from groups such as the Black Parents Movement, Teachers against Racism and Hackney Black People's Association. Find out how people came together and rose up against the injustice of discrimination; how individuals set up organisations to educate, empower and inspire a new generation of British youth, especially those of Afrikan heritage.
Alongside this you can see changes in style, fashion, music and technology from Sugar Minott to Ms Dynamite, from Hip Hop to Dubstep, from Afro's to Locs, from Super Nintendo to I-phone. Come and add to the 'Tweet' wall to tell us your thoughts for the next 25 years for Black History Month and how to build a future without racism or discrimination. On Tues-Sat until 4 Jan at Hackney Museum, Technology and Learning Centre, 1 Reading Lane, London, E8 1GQ. Adm: Free. Web: www.hackney.gov.uk/museum
~ BUNDU DIA KONGO (BDK). Afrikan cultural and spiritual group working towards the spiritual and psychological growth and development of Afrikans all over the world. Let us make a positive change now. Learn about Afrikan prophets, Afrikan history and Afrikan spiritual practices at our weekly Zikua.
- Sun at 1.30–4.30pm at Chestnuts Community & Arts Centre, 280 St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, London, N15 5BN. Tel: Makaba - 07951 059 853.
- Sun at 12.30–3.15pm at Malika House, 81 George Street, Lozells, Birmingham, B19 1Sl. Tel: Mbuta Mayala – 07404 789 329.
~ THE AUSAR AUSET SOCIETY GI GONG CLASSES. Every Monday at 7.30–9pm at Hazel Road Community Centre, Hazel Road, Kensal Green, London, NW10 5PP. Adm: £5 per class. Tel: 07951- 252-427. E-mail: Tauinetwork.europe@gmail.com
~ ‘AFRO SUPA HERO’. This exhibition of Jon Daniel's action figures, comic books and games offer an insight into the experience of a boy of Afrikan Caribbean heritage growing up in 1960s and 1970s Britain, in search of his identity. Born in East Sheen in southwest London Jon Daniel found his positive role models in the Caribbean culture of his family and the Afrikan-American culture of the US. In his late twenties, Jon began collecting primarily 1970s action figures, feeling that they most strongly embodied the era of his childhood. In the display Meteor Man, Mr T and Lieutenant Uhura stand alongside real-life icons Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Also on show are games and comics including ‘Black Lightning’, ‘The Falcon’ and ‘Lobo’, one of a two-issue series featuring the first leading Afrikan American character in the genre. Until Sun 9 Feb 2014 at 10am-5.45pm at the Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2. Adm: Free. Web: www.museumofchildhood.org.uk
~ ROYAL MUSEUMS GREENWICH PRESENT YINKA SHONIBARE MBE AT GREENWICH. The series of works include a new site-specific commission and sculptures never before seen in the UK. The works respond to the historic surroundings of the Queen’s House, National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory Greenwich, while also exploring themes of Britishness, trade and empire, commemoration and national identity, which are central to both Shonibare’s work and the Museum’s collections. There will be works referencing the life and death of Admiral Lord Nelson including The Fake Death Pictures series, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Wind Sculpture and Cheeky Little Astronomer, The exhibition will be supported by a full programme of events including curator’s tours, talks and debates. Until Sun 23 Feb 2014 at 10am-5pm at National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House and Royal Observatory Greenwich, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10. Adm: Free (except Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory). Tel: 020 8312 6565. Web: www.rmg.co.uk
~ ‘BEN OKRI ON AYUBA SULEIMAN DIALLO: A DIALOGUE ACROSS TIME’. The eighteenth-century portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is the earliest known British portrait of a freed enslaved Afrikan. Fascinated with Diallo's enigmatic story, poet Ben Okri responds to the subject in a new poem, 'Diallo's Testament', as part of his involvement in the portrait's tour of partner venues around the UK. Until Sun 16 Mar 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2. Adm: Free.
Contact: Kubara Zamani, Afrikan Quest International, PO Box 35165, London, SE5 8WU. Tel: 07811 494 969. E-mail: afrikanquest@hotmail.com Web: www.southwark.tv/quest/aqhome.asp
NB: Nubiart Diary can also be read at www.ligali.org and on the Afrikan Quest website.
External Links
Afrikan Quest International
~ NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA (18 July 1918-5 Dec 2013). Former South African President, Chief of Thembu clan, lawyer, political prisoner, soldier.
"If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man." - Nelson Mandela
"It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world." - Nelson Mandela.
The former South African President and founder of the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), Nelson Mandela passed away after a long illness which saw him hospitalised several times in the last year. While we did not always agree with elements of his political strategy - particularly around the shortcomings on economics and land reform of the Freedom Charter - we acknowledge that his legacy has been such that he has managed to change the minds of millions of people who harboured unjustified paranoid fears about the capabilities of Afrikans to lead a country. Also many people have been drawn into political activity and encouraged to achieve their goals by learning of his struggles.
We first became aware of Nelson Mandela’s name towards the end of our time at primary school which coincided with the 1976 Soweto Uprising by schoolchildren against the racist education of the apartheid regime. When we started on more in-depth political activism we were able to link with many of the anti-imperialist, anti-nuclear and international solidarity movements. However this also highlighted some of the different trends between: those who took a pacifist standpoint; those who said that only a ruling national government has the right to use violence and so would not support liberation movements and those political prisoners who had been involved in or advocated the use of legitimate self-defence; those who were so allied to the western social democratic parties and their election chances, such as the Labour Party in Britain, that they refused to support certain direct actions such as the City of London Anti-Apartheid Group’s non-stop picket of the South African Embassy and the Edinburgh United Against Apartheid actions against the white South African Zola Budd who was fast tracked for British citizenship in 10 days so that she could run for Britain in the Commonwealth Games as South Africa was facing a sporting boycott; and those who didn’t support any real Afrikan liberation and tried to hide behind Chief Buthelezi’s Inkatha Freedom Party, who were being used by the apartheid regime to derail the anti-apartheid struggle and international solidarity. In most of the organisations we have been a part of we have either been involved in looking after the membership lists, media relations and publications or the practical logistics of event organisation so we know even to this day who fell into which category.
There are extensive biographies and obituaries of Nelson Mandela widely available. The film of his life ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ has had its premiere and is due for general release. He is survived by his current wife, Graca Machel, his previous wife, Winnie Nomzano Madikizela-Mandela, and three of his daughters. His first wife, two sons and a daughter predeceased him.
MANDELA'S LEGACY LIVES ON.
STATEMENT FROM THE MANDELA FAMILY.
At exactly 20h50 on that fateful evening of December 5, 2013, part of us departed to join the great line of our ancestors who have gone before us. Although death and its coming is always a surprise, but its nature should not be. While this event is painful we still embrace the eventuality. On behalf of the Mandela family and the whole Ngubengcuka household, we acknowledge with grave sadness the passing away of Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela two days ago. The pillar of the royal Mandela household is no more with us physically, but his spirit is still with us.
We have lost a great man, a son of the soil whose greatness in our family was in the simplicity of his nature in our midst – a caring family leader who made time for all and on that score we will dearly miss him. He made time for all of us. That great Thembu son of the soil made time for the kings and queens, the poor and the rich, the great and small, ex-political prisoners of every persuasion and that made us unique and special in our own way. Moreover, even in the midst of his busy schedule as head of state and government, he visited the various houses of the Thembu traditional leadership, and he became the very source of oral history on the traditions of our people.
Yes, Tata is gone, the pillar of the family is gone, just as he was away during those 27 painful years of imprisonment, but in our hearts and souls he will always be with us. His spirit endures. As a family, we commit ourselves to uphold and be guided by the values he lived for and was prepared to die for.
As a family, we learned from him to appreciate the values that made him the leader that was recognised by all, chief among these, is the lesson that a life lived for others is a life well lived. As a family, his presence was like a baobab tree that provided the comforting shade that served as protection and security for us. His presence was a warmth like the spring with its beauty, its phases, and blossoming flowers which diminishes the ugly July dry winds of the Thembu land.
Although he attained the status of a global icon, he was remarkable for his humility in the family. Our father had been known for his national and international campaigns against poverty, HIV/AIDS awareness, and for the love of children. What many may not know is that the very same issues were his daily focus in the household and the extended family. Above all, he believed very strongly in the value and power of education – an instrument to empower children against poverty and helplessness.
As a family, we take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the people of South Africa and the world for all the love and support we have experienced during the period of his long illness. Special thanks to President Jacob Zuma and the government of South Africa, the dedicated medical team that attended to him round the clock, the religious communities of the different faiths of our country and beyond that offered prayers and counselling to the family. Finally, as a family we are humbled by the messages of condolences and support we continue to receive from governments and people of the world. Clearly, this once more underlies the simple truth that Madiba was not just a citizen of South Africa and the broader African continent, but a global citizen. We are, however, comforted by the knowledge that our pain and sorrow is shared by millions around the world. Madiba is at home with great friends such as OR Tambo, Walter Sisulu and indeed many other great African patriots and leaders.
As to how the family is coping with the situation? Yes, it has not been easy for the past two days, and it won’t be pleasant for the days to come. But with the support we are receiving from here and beyond, and in due time all will be well for the family. Thank you.
By Lieutenant-General (retired) Temba Templeton Matanzima
(Official spokesperson of the Mandela family)
H.OGWAPITI
~ DR ABIOLA OGUNSOLA (1953-9 Dec 2013). Educator, social and community activist.
We first met Abiola in the summer of 1988 when she was working at the Lambeth Women and Children's Health Project and our job was to look after the centre where they were based. From our first conversation we found her always to be such a helpful person full of ideas and inspiration.
Whenever we spoke to her or saw her name attached to an event or article we knew it would reflect her commitment to people's betterment whether it be in health, business, politics or just achieving their own personal goals. We interviewed her 11 years ago for the first Afrikan Quest project on attitudes to crime and prison where she contributed insights from both her life in Britain and in Yoruba society. She also introduced us to her sister who contributed in-depth insights to our radio programmes on the Nigerian elections in her role as an election observer.
Abiola grew up in north London to Yoruba parents who considered the area around Ibadan as their homeland. After completing a PhD thesis on ‘Religious Change and the Reconstruction of Idoani (a Yoruba Community)’ in 1986, Abiola spent 4 years working in health education and community development for the Foundation For Women’s Health and Development Research (FORWARD) and Lambeth Women and Children’s Health Project. She then worked as a freelance research development and training consultant to a wide variety of voluntary organisations, local authorities, health authorities and colleges as well as in qualitative market research. She has also served on the management committee for several voluntary organisations. She had also been a designer for Culture Connexion from 1987–1990 where she produced comfortable clothing inspired by African dress cultures.
Abiola started teaching at UEL in 1996 on the Communication Studies Course in, what was then, the Faculty of Social Sciences in the Department of Education and Community Studies. She moved with the rest of Communication Studies into the Department of Cultural and Innovation Studies at the new Docklands Campus in 1999 continuing to teach in the Department of Education and Community Studies for the Early Childhood Studies Programme on a part time basis. In 2004 she moved into the Cass School of Education on a full time basis. She was also a tutor at Ithaca College London Centre from 1999. Abiola was a Board Member of the Africa Foundation For Development (AFFORD) since 2001. She had been a Trustee at Development Impact For Nigeria, a Nigerian diaspora development organisation that worked in partnership with Community Based Organisations, NGOs, State and Local Government Agencies, Schools and Faith Groups Organisations, in Nigeria to realise the Millennium Development Goals.
Abiola is survived by her son, Niilante, to whom she was devoted throughout her life.
AFFORD OBITUARY FOR DR ABIOLA OGUNSOLA
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our colleague and sister Dr Abiola Ogunsola, a much loved and valued member of the board of trustees of AFFORD. Abiola became ill in the summer and underwent major surgery. She recovered enough to be released from hospital and was making steady progress. Sadly, she was not well enough to undergo further necessary surgery and passed away on Monday, 9 December 2013. At AFFORD, we remember her for her commitment, energy, support and encouragement. AFFORD sends its heartfelt condolences to her son Niilante and her family, friends and colleagues.
Abiola has been involved with AFFORD for over a decade, as a supporter and a board member and trustee. Beyond her commitment to African diaspora and development causes, she brought to AFFORD extensive experience as an academic, researcher, teacher, campaigner and community development worker. She was an active supporter of grassroots organisations and served many of these groups as adviser, volunteer and trustee. For AFFORD she played a particular role in building relationships between the charity and the University of East London, which on several occasions hosted the annual African Diaspora and Development Day (ad3) events.
In community development, Abiola worked as a researcher, tutor and consultant on health, equality, gender, child welfare and refugee issues for a wide range of institutions and organisations including St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Foundation for Women’s Health and Development Research (FORWARD), National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO), Daycare Trust and Lambeth Community of Refugees from Vietnam.
From 1981 onwards, Abiola authored dozens of papers and made presentations at conferences in the UK, Europe, Africa and the USA. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sociology in 1978 from London School of Economics. She spent two years working as a social studies teacher, first at the Federal Government College Idoani, Nigeria (1980/81) and then at the Charles Wooten Centre for Further Education, Liverpool (1981/82).
Whilst in Nigeria, she was also a Visiting Research Student at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). She later spent two years as a Visiting Research Fellow (1982/84) at University of California, Berkeley. She completed her PhD in 1986 at Liverpool University, writing a thesis on ‘Religious Change and the Reconstruction of Idoani (a Yoruba Community)’. In 1995 she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship. After a decade of diverse freelance research and consultancy, in 1996 Abiola took up appointment as a lecturer at the University of East London (UEL). She also lectured at the London centres of Ithaca College and Syracuse University. At the time of her death she was a senior lecturer at UEL’s Cass School of Education and Communities.
The Board of Trustees, staff and friends of AFFORD express their deepest sorrow at the passing of Abiola and pay tribute for her immense contributions to community and African development. May her soul Rest in Peace.
Gibril Faal, Chairman of AFFORD, London – 12 December 2013.
The funeral will take place at 10.45am on Friday 20th December 2013 at Honor Oak Crematorium,
Camberwell New Cemetery, Brockley Mews, London, SE23 3RD
Following the funeral there will be a funeral reception from 12.30 at Dulwich Library, Main Hall, First Floor, 368 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8NA
~ PASCAL-EMMANUEL SINAMOYI TABU, TABU LEY ROCHEREAU (13 Nov 1937–30 Nov 2013). Singer, producer, band leader. Tabu Ley Rochereau, who has passed away after an operation for a stroke he had in 2008, was the leader of Orchestre Afrisa International. Along with guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley pioneered soukous (African rumba) and internationalised his music by fusing elements of Congolese folk music with Cuban, Caribbean and Latin American rumba. During his career, Tabu Ley composed more than 3,000 songs and produced 250 albums. His albums were full of so much energy and dynamism that even the studio albums sounded as if Tabu Ley was live in the room.
Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu was born in Bagata, in the then Belgian Congo. His musical career took off in 1956 when he sung with Joseph "Le Grand Kallé" Kabasele, and his band L'African Jazz.
Tabu Ley sang on the pan-Afrikan hit ‘Indépendance Cha Cha’ which was composed by Grand Kallé for Congolese independence from Belgium in 1960, propelling Tabu Ley to instant fame. He remained with African Jazz until 1963 when he and Dr Nico formed their own group, African Fiesta. Two years later, they split and Tabu Ley formed African Fiesta National, also known as African Fiesta Flash. The group became one of the most successful bands in African history, recording classics like ‘Afrika Mokili Mobimba’, and surpassing record sales of one million copies by 1970. Papa Wemba and Sam Mangwana were among the many influential musicians that were part of the group.
In 1970, Tabu Ley formed Orchestre Afrisa International, Afrisa being a combination of Africa and Éditions Isa, his record label. In the mid 1980s Tabu Ley discovered a young talented singer and dancer, M'bilia Bel, who helped popularise his band further. She became the first female soukous singer to gain acclaim throughout Africa. Tabu Ley and M'bilia Bel later married and had one child together. In 1988 Tabu Ley introduced another female vocalist known as Faya Tess, and M'bilia Bel left to pursue a successful solo career. In 1996, Tabu Ley participated in the album ‘Gombo Salsa’ by Africando. ‘Paquita’ from the album is a remake of a song that he recorded in the late 1960s with African Fiesta.
Tabu Ley adopted his name as part of President Mobutu Sese Seko’s Zairization of the country, but later went into exile in France in 1988. The Mobutu regime banned his 1990 album ‘Trop, C'est Trop’ as subversive. When Mobutu was deposed in 1997, Tabu Ley returned to Kinshasa and took up a position as a cabinet minister in the government of the new President Laurent Kabila. Following Kabila's assassination, Tabu Ley then joined the appointed transitional parliament created by his son Joseph Kabila, until it was dissolved following the establishment of the inclusive transitional institutions. In November 2005 Tabu Ley was appointed Vice-Governor of Kinshasa, a position devolved to his party, the Congolese Rally for Democracy by the 2002 peace agreements. He also served as provincial minister of culture. Some of his awards include Honorary Knight of Senegal and Officer of the National Order, the Republic of Chad. The day of his funeral was declared a national holiday and the funeral service took place at the parliament. Speaking during the service, musician Koffi Olomide called for 9 December to be declared National Rumba Day. Tabu Ley officially recognised 49 children, including the French rapper Youssoupha, although it is thought he could have many more.
~ MURVIN JUNIOR SMITH, JUNIOR MURVIN / JUNIOR SOUL (1949–2 Dec 2013). Reggae singer-songwriter, musician and producer. Junior Murvin, who has passed away from complications related to hypertension and diabetes, was born in St James parish, Jamaica, and moved to Port Antonio after the passing of his father. He began singing as a child influenced heavily by Curtis Mayfield, and began performing in public after his family moved to Montego Bay. He studied mechanics at the Montego Bay Technical High School, and then moved to Trenchtown in Kingston, where he lived with his aunt. He auditioned unsuccessfully for Lee Perry and Coxsone Dodd and first recorded under the name Junior Soul, (which would remain his crooning alter ego throughout his career) for Sonia Pottinger's Gayfeet label, and then began recording regularly for the Crystal label owned by Derrick Harriott, where he had a minor hit with ‘Solomon’ in 1972. He also performed as a member of the Hippy Boys, and later the Mighty Falcons and the Tornadoes, in Kingston's nightclubs and tourist hotels.
In 1976, he auditioned again for Perry with his own song, ‘Police and Thieves’. This time Perry agreed to record him and the single was released to international commercial success. Though written in the context of Jamaica's political turf wars and police violence, it became closely associated with the uprising at London's Notting Hill Carnival that year. Murvin and Perry co-wrote more songs together and completed the ‘Police and Thieves’ album for Island Records which was released in 1977. It included timeless classics such as ‘Lucifer’, ‘Roots Train’, ‘Solomon’, ‘Tedious’, ‘False Teachin’, and ‘Rescue Jah Children’. The album is regarded as one of Perry's best productions. The Clash, who were at the 1976 Carnival, recorded a cut of ‘Police and Thieves’ for their debut album which would stand Junior Murvin in good stead in the future. In 1980, Murvin's ‘Police and Thieves’ finally reached the UK singles chart, peaking at number 23 after being used in the film ‘Rockers’. Murvin recorded a few more singles with Lee Perry revisiting the ‘Police and Thieves’ rhythm on ‘Bad Weed’ and ‘Philistines on the Land’ and a highly-regarded 12in ‘Crossover’ b/w ‘I'm in Love’. He also worked with producers Alvin Ranglin and Joe Gibbs for whom he cut an early version of the evergreen ‘Cool Out Son’ – ‘Son, don’t put your hat where you can’t reach it / It don’t make no sense at all’.
Perry was however becoming more erratic. Following on from disputes with Chris Blackwell’s Island Records, to whom he was contracted several of his productions (such as The Congos seminal ‘Heart of the Congos’) weren’t released or only half-heartedly without the necessary promotion. In 1980 Perry set fire to his Black Ark Studio and soon headed out of Jamaica. Murvin, whose sound had been so closely tied to Perry’s production and engineering skills, was in a tight corner. Luckily Mikey Dread, who had dominated Jamaican radio and production in the late 1970s, had moved to Britain and was working on production, engineering and vocal duties for The Clash and Aswad. In 1982 Murvin released the Badman Possee single and a showcase album of the same title – ‘You have the Badman Possee / You have the Goodman Possee / You have the Rasta man Possee / You have the Roots man Possee / Which one you want to be in, son, make your choice / Too many men have lost their life innocently / Because of the wrong, wrong possee.’ The album cover is one of our favorites with Junior Murvin on patrol and a wanted poster of The Roots Radics as DATC lions. Soon after its release the Badman Possee group started and spray painted their name all over Edinburgh making the record even more sought after. It was roots artists like Junior Murvin who inspired us from an early age to develop our cultural output as a poet, author, musician, playwright and radio presenter.
Murvin next went to Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, the producer who invented dancehall reggae, and recorded the ‘Muggers In The Street’ album for Greensleeves. The title track was on an updated version of the Police and Thieves rhythm. Also present were tough conscious tunes such as ‘Judas And Jesus’, ‘Strikes And Demonstrations’ and ‘Stop The Crime’. Although considered a roots artist under his Junior Murvin moniker he never forgot the softer side of things and his falsetto was well suited to tracks such as ‘Jamaican Girls’. Backing vocals were by Al Campbell and Tony Tuff. As the music went digital many of the great 70s artists such as Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Johnny Clarke, The Wailing Souls, Ken Boothe, Al Campbell, Leroy Smart, Cultural Roots and Delroy Wilson had made their way to King Jammys Studio where the Super Power All Stars - Steelie, Clevie, Bobby Digital and Squeengine Francis - were building an irresistible sound that elevated Prince Jammy to the reigning producer. Junior cut the ‘Apartheid’ album in 1986 at the height of the battle of the Azanian youth to overturn the white supremacist system and their international backers. From 1975 when the Rockers rhythm was developed at Channel One any credible reggae artist had to have songs condemning apartheid, racism, slavery, white supremacy, colonialism and imperialism. Because of this reggae was the only music where the entire genre was banned from import into South Africa by the apartheid regime because they knew the content. To be involved in the reggae industry meant to be anti-apartheid and there would be no career path or record sales for a beast such as a pro-apartheid reggae artist. The album stood up well to all-comers with the title track, ‘Swell-Headed Black Man’ – ‘As a Black man get a little position / he wants to show off on his bredren’ – ‘Jah Took Six Days’ on the ‘Run Come’ rhythm, ‘Too Quick to Lick’ – ‘Me and you have a little argument / You thump upon mi face / You’re too ignorant / Too quick to resort to violence / Control your temper / Or your days will be bitter’ – ‘Third World Girls’ and ‘Handcuff’ – ‘Son don’t run down fancy things you will get handcuff / Heed not to temptation and your time will come’ – getting heavy rotation among roots connoisseurs.
The next album was ‘Signs and Wonders’ for Delroy Wright’s Live and Learn label where Al Campbell was involved in much of the production, songwriting and backing vocals duties. There were many strong tracks alongside the title such as ‘God Bless Pickney’, ‘People Of The World’, the self-explanatory ‘Anything Bad (They Call It Black)’, ‘Super Power’, a revamped ‘Rescue The Children’, ‘Jah Will Bless You’ and ‘Propaganda Minister’ – ‘All wicked and grudgeful bad-minded people / Stop spread propaganda’. Although never the most prolific recording artist Junior Murvin sang with one of Jamaica's top bands, Jah Postles, and continued to record and release singles locally in Jamaica, some of them on his own Murvin label in Port Antonio. They were always heartfelt and conscious with quality productions and backing rhythms. He released two further albums, World Cry’ on Sun Vibes in 1995 and a stripped back live set for Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith’s Inna de Yard in 2007. ‘Cool Out Son’ was featured on the soundtrack for the video game, Skate 3, which was released in 2010. As Junior Soul he released ‘Sings For The People’ on Burning Rockers in 1978, ‘Soul Man Dub’ on Burning Vibrations also in 1978, ‘Classic’ on Trojan Records in 1987 and ‘Second Chance’ on 2M Records Ltd. Among his singles was the classic ‘Gypsy Woman’.
FORTHCOMING NUBIART PROFILES
NUBIART: Focus on arts, business, education, health, political developments and the media.
DEC PROMOS
~ 'BAMAKO NIGHTS: LIVE AT BAR BOZO 1995' - Lobi Traoré [Glitterbeat Records – Out Now]
This seven track live album captures the late ‘Bambara Bluesman’ in fine form in Mali’s capital Bamako with a stripped down electric band in Bar Bozo where he had a weekly residency. Many of the tracks are over eight minutes long allowing the band space for an extended workout. The set starts out slow and meditative with ‘Ni Tugula Mogo Mi Ko’, conjuring a trance atmosphere that Lobi elevates systematically with his keening vocal and eloquent picking. However, it was when we heard the next few tracks ‘Banani’, ‘Dunuya’ and ‘Ne kele kanuba’ something strange kicked in – while Lobi is there playing his blues the rhythm section reminded us not so much of American blues but the spacey reggae stylings of the first Black Uhuru live album from 1981, ‘Tear It Up’. We pulled that album out of our collection and gave it a listen after ‘Bamako Nights’ and that cross fertilisation of Afrikan musics back and forth across the Atlantic is well and truly in play and no bad thing.
~ ANGOLA SOUNDTRACK 2 - HYPNOSIS, DISTORTIONS & OTHER SONIC INNOVATIONS 1969-1978 - Various Artists [Analog Africa – Out 2 Dec] This second instalment of ‘Angola Soundtrack’ covers a decade when the Angolan record industry had a fertile production output recovering from the ban on carnivals imposed in 1961 by the Portuguese colonialists. The album straddles the Angolan independence period and kicks off with an Os Angos instrumental ‘Avante Juventude’ but don’t let it fool you as most of the 21-tracks here are decidedly to the uptempo side and could get any party started. As with all Analog Africa output everything is top drawer with no fillers but a few of the tracks that really stood out for us are Tony Von’s ‘N’Hoca’, Urbano de Castro’s ‘Kia Lomingo’ and ‘Fatimita’, Oscar Neves’ ‘Mabele’, Levis Vercky’s’ ‘Meca’, and Africa Ritmo’s ‘Olha O Pico’.
NUBIART LIBRARY – DEC MEDIA
We will only review books we have read and DVDs we have seen and that are available at reasonable prices online or in shops or libraries. However, given the nature and current state of Afrikan publishing and film production there may be books and films on this list that are worth the extra effort to track down.
~ ‘LAGOS: A CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL COMPANION’ - Kaye Whiteman [Signal Books. ISBN: 978-1-908493-05-7] This 300-page book is part of Signal’s ‘Cities of the Imagination’ series of which there are now around 40 from across the globe and we had previously read David Howard’s ‘Kingston’ [Jamaica]. We had attended the ‘Lagos’ London book launch at the now closed Africa Centre earlier in the year. Kaye Whiteman was sent to Lagos in 1964 as a journalist with West Africa magazine and began writing for Daily Times. He has spent five decades covering Nigerian news and is currently a columnist with Business Day newspaper.
The book covers the architecture, topography, history, personalities, cultural practitioners and the future builders of Lagos. However, even defining what counts as Lagos – the islands, the city, the state, the spillover into neighbouring Ogun state and a Lagos state of mind – is as much as debated as is the population size put as low as seven million while the current Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola works on a figure of 17 million with a projection for it to rise to 25 million by 2025.
The original inhabitants are the Idejo descendants of Ogunfunminire who acquired the title of Olofin. Eko is the preferred local name for Lagos. Soon after this European travellers started recording their early impressions that included “there is no trade in the country, nor anything else from which one can make a profit.” Eventually, the Portuguese established Lagos, named after its lagoon, as a slave trading port. The British took over under the pretext of abolishing the slave Holocaust preferring their version of colonialism and racism. Backed by a military campaign they imposed a Treaty of Cession on the region and Lagos would be declared the capital of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914 under the much despised tyrant Lord Lugard.
‘Lagos’ highlights the role of two sets of Afrikan ‘returnees’ whose contribution is often overlooked in Nigerian history. The Brazilian Amaros had made their way back to Afrika and settled in Lagos. They were considered master stonemasons and carpenters building some of the city’s most iconic buildings such as the Shitta Bey Mosque on Martins Street which was designed by Amaro Joao Baptista da Costa. The Saro were Sierra Leonean Creoles rescued from slave ships and settled by the British in Freetown before making their way back to Lagos their port of embarkation. They were strongly influenced by Christian missionaries and became foremost educationalists and administrators.
Culturally the writers such as Wole Soyinka, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Chris Abani, Chris Anyanwu, Helon Habila and Chinua Achebe and the artist and sculptor Ben Enwonwu are all considered to be purveyors of Lagos culture even if their creators did not originate there. Musically there are the likes of Bobby Benson, Lagbaja and the Afrobeat originators Tony Allen and Fela Kuti and his sons Seun and Femi Kuti.
Lagos was the political heartland for progressives such as Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe but it was also the centre for political intrigue and business corruption for most of the century until Abuja finally became the political capital of Nigeria in 1991 but Lagos has remained the business and transport capital with the expansion of Apapa port and developments in Lekki and plans for more bridges from the islands to the mainland. In recent years Governor Fashola and his predecessor, Bola Tinubu, have been trying to clean up the city with a strategic plan that is seeing Lagos’ famous yellow danfo buses – seen on the cover of the book at Oshodi - gradually replaced by the larger red BRT system. They have managed to increase the Lagos tax take 20-fold in a decade and Governor Fashola has grand plans for Lagos’ rejuvenation which includes the Eko Atlantic project, a new district on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. Lagosians and observers are hoping it won’t end up like previous ‘visionary’ attempts such as Festac Town, designed for the 1977 cultural festival but it never took off the way it was intended.
Nubiart Diary
~ DR ABIOLA OGUNSOLA FUNERAL. At 10.45am on Fri 20 Dec at Honor Oak Crematorium,Camberwell New Cemetery, Brockley Mews, London, SE23 3RD. Following the funeral there will be a funeral reception from 12.30 at Dulwich Library, Main Hall, First Floor, 368 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8NA.
~ THE POWER OF DEFINITION TEAM PRESENT ‘E1838_MAKING FREEDOM FINALE CELEBRATION’. On Sat 21 Dec at 6-8pm at Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR.
~ BIS PUBLICATIONS AND THE WINDRUSH FOUNDATION PRESENT ‘MAKING FREEDOM’ EXHIBITION. A fantastic story featuring African resistance, rebellions and revolutions across the Caribbean. This is the first time that important collections from Royal Geographical Society, the National Maritime Museums, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Archives, Anti-Slavery International, and the Imperial War Museum have been brought together. The exhibition will celebrate those who resisted enslavement, those who fought to end it, and others who worked in Britain to improve social, economic and cultural conditions in the Caribbean. On Mon-Sat until 21 Dec at The Royal Geographical Society (RGS), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR. Adm: Free. Tel: 07508 903 634. E-mail: Windrush.project@gmail.com Web: makingfreedom.co.uk
~ PEPUKAYI BOOK DISTRIBUTION SERVICES BOOK SALE. This 7 Days Book sale is part of the ongoing fundraising drive to get the MAA MAAT Centre Operational and rebuilt. The Crowd Funding Campaign fall short of the target of £30,000 to get to planning consent. There will be a video presentation of the Maa Maat that will be running throughout the sale for information about the centre, come view and ask questions, get the facts, be informed. For those of you who can't make it to the sale and want to make a donation the account details are - TSB Account No: 26489360. Sort Code: 30-98-70. Account Name: Nkrumah Pepukayi. On Tues 17-Mon 23 Dec at 12-9pm at Maa Maat Centre, 366a High Road Tottenham, London, N17 9HT. Tel; 07956 052 821.
~ ‘PILOTS OF THE CARIBBEAN’ EXHIBITION. In two World Wars Afrikans from the Caribbean, Afrika and Britain volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force. These volunteers fought, and died, for the ‘mother country’ and for freedom, and thereby helped to preserve the values and the heritage they shared with their white comrades. The tradition of service to the Crown continues today, and the RAF is proud to welcome new generations of Afrikan volunteers into its ranks. In the exhibition ‘Pilots of the Caribbean: Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force’, the Royal Air Force Museum will tell the inspirational story of these volunteers, commemorating and celebrating their vital contribution to the defence of Britain, her Empire and the Commonwealth. At 10am–6pm at Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL. Adm: Free. Web: http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whats-going-on/events/pilots-of-the-caribbean-volunteers-of-african-he/
~ SANKOFA: THE TRUTH BEHIND BLACK HISTORY MONTH 1926–2013 EXHIBITION. Sankofa is the Afrikan Adinkra symbol meaning the wisdom of learning from the past to build the future. This exhibition looks back over 75 years of the history of Afrikan and Afrikan Caribbean people in this country and the rise of Black History Month, from its 1926 American origins as Negro History Week to its beginnings and development here 25 years ago. On display will be rarely seen archival material relating to grassroots, national and global campaigns from groups such as the Black Parents Movement, Teachers against Racism and Hackney Black People's Association. Find out how people came together and rose up against the injustice of discrimination; how individuals set up organisations to educate, empower and inspire a new generation of British youth, especially those of Afrikan heritage.
Alongside this you can see changes in style, fashion, music and technology from Sugar Minott to Ms Dynamite, from Hip Hop to Dubstep, from Afro's to Locs, from Super Nintendo to I-phone. Come and add to the 'Tweet' wall to tell us your thoughts for the next 25 years for Black History Month and how to build a future without racism or discrimination. On Tues-Sat until 4 Jan at Hackney Museum, Technology and Learning Centre, 1 Reading Lane, London, E8 1GQ. Adm: Free. Web: www.hackney.gov.uk/museum
~ BUNDU DIA KONGO (BDK). Afrikan cultural and spiritual group working towards the spiritual and psychological growth and development of Afrikans all over the world. Let us make a positive change now. Learn about Afrikan prophets, Afrikan history and Afrikan spiritual practices at our weekly Zikua.
- Sun at 1.30–4.30pm at Chestnuts Community & Arts Centre, 280 St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, London, N15 5BN. Tel: Makaba - 07951 059 853.
- Sun at 12.30–3.15pm at Malika House, 81 George Street, Lozells, Birmingham, B19 1Sl. Tel: Mbuta Mayala – 07404 789 329.
~ THE AUSAR AUSET SOCIETY GI GONG CLASSES. Every Monday at 7.30–9pm at Hazel Road Community Centre, Hazel Road, Kensal Green, London, NW10 5PP. Adm: £5 per class. Tel: 07951- 252-427. E-mail: Tauinetwork.europe@gmail.com
~ ‘AFRO SUPA HERO’. This exhibition of Jon Daniel's action figures, comic books and games offer an insight into the experience of a boy of Afrikan Caribbean heritage growing up in 1960s and 1970s Britain, in search of his identity. Born in East Sheen in southwest London Jon Daniel found his positive role models in the Caribbean culture of his family and the Afrikan-American culture of the US. In his late twenties, Jon began collecting primarily 1970s action figures, feeling that they most strongly embodied the era of his childhood. In the display Meteor Man, Mr T and Lieutenant Uhura stand alongside real-life icons Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Also on show are games and comics including ‘Black Lightning’, ‘The Falcon’ and ‘Lobo’, one of a two-issue series featuring the first leading Afrikan American character in the genre. Until Sun 9 Feb 2014 at 10am-5.45pm at the Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2. Adm: Free. Web: www.museumofchildhood.org.uk
~ ROYAL MUSEUMS GREENWICH PRESENT YINKA SHONIBARE MBE AT GREENWICH. The series of works include a new site-specific commission and sculptures never before seen in the UK. The works respond to the historic surroundings of the Queen’s House, National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory Greenwich, while also exploring themes of Britishness, trade and empire, commemoration and national identity, which are central to both Shonibare’s work and the Museum’s collections. There will be works referencing the life and death of Admiral Lord Nelson including The Fake Death Pictures series, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Wind Sculpture and Cheeky Little Astronomer, The exhibition will be supported by a full programme of events including curator’s tours, talks and debates. Until Sun 23 Feb 2014 at 10am-5pm at National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House and Royal Observatory Greenwich, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10. Adm: Free (except Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory). Tel: 020 8312 6565. Web: www.rmg.co.uk
~ ‘BEN OKRI ON AYUBA SULEIMAN DIALLO: A DIALOGUE ACROSS TIME’. The eighteenth-century portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is the earliest known British portrait of a freed enslaved Afrikan. Fascinated with Diallo's enigmatic story, poet Ben Okri responds to the subject in a new poem, 'Diallo's Testament', as part of his involvement in the portrait's tour of partner venues around the UK. Until Sun 16 Mar 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2. Adm: Free.
Contact: Kubara Zamani, Afrikan Quest International, PO Box 35165, London, SE5 8WU. Tel: 07811 494 969. E-mail: afrikanquest@hotmail.com Web: www.southwark.tv/quest/aqhome.asp
NB: Nubiart Diary can also be read at www.ligali.org and on the Afrikan Quest website.
Afrikan Quest International
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