The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 462 (March 14 - 27 2018)

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Uncut girls club members come together to change attitudes about FGM in the community. _ UNFPA Ethiopia-Meron Negash

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By UNFPA Durame, ETHIOPIA enet Girma, 31, was a trailblazer in her community. Fifteen years ago, she ran away from home when she learned that her mother planned to have her undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

As in many other communities in Ethiopia, FGM is deep-rooted in the Kembatta community, which Ms. Genet belongs to. The

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practice can cause lasting harm, including pain, infection, haemorrhage and complications in childbirth. It can even be fatal.

But Ms. Genet had learned about these consequences from local activists, and refused to undergo the procedure.

Why reporting suspected domestic slavery can make a real difference

t might be hard to believe that slavery still exists, but it does. And it’s happening very close to home.

In the UK domestic slavery is a growing concern. This type of exploitation happens when a victim is forced to do work such as cooking, cleaning or looking after children in unacceptable conditions in someone’s home for little or no pay and with no – or limited – freedom. Recent stories from victims outline how they were forced to sleep on the floor, had to eat scraps of food, and were denied the right to an education. Victims will often have their passports taken from them and be made to work from morning to night, suffering physical or sexual abuse and be forced to live a lonely and isolated existence.

It’s an issue affecting many nationalities, particularly Nigerians, and we must all work together to stop this.

In a new campaign, charities including The Salvation Army, AFRUCA and Unseen, are calling on more people to come forward and report signs of domestic slavery. For example, you may notice someone who stands out from other members of the household. They may be quieter, tired, more anxious or less well-dressed. Questions to ask yourself could include: are they working overly long hours as a house-help? Do they seem less well-fed than other family members? Do they have access to medical care when they need it? Are they allowed contact with friends and family members? Don’t assume they will always be locked away in a basement either.

Victims may be allowed out of the house to complete their chores, for example taking the children to school, or buying

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News

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Courageous girls change attitudes about FGM in Ethiopia Continued from Page 1<

Fortunately, after leaving home, she ran into her fiancé. He told her he would support her. In fact, he said that he would only marry her if she were spared FGM. “If I didn’t have support, especially from my partner, things would have gone wrong,” she recalled.

Changing minds A local NGO, Kembatti Mentti-Gezimma (KMG), began working in the community around the same time Ms. Genet’s mother arranged the cutting.

KMG raises awareness about the harms of FGM, encouraging community members to mobilize against the practice. Since then, influential members of the community, youth advocates, empowered girls and others have

come together to change attitudes about FGM. Information about FGM is also broadcast through local media.

Ms. Genet later married her fiancé without being cut. Their families were initially unsupportive.

“No member of our families, from both sides, attended our wedding,” she recalled.

After the wedding, KMG visited the families to explain the consequences of FGM. Their parents eventually accepted Ms. Genet’s decision.

And other young couples in the community began to follow their lead.

“After my marriage, most of my friends got married to girls that are not circumcised,” Addise Abose, Ms. Genet’s husband, said. “I am happy that I have become an example.”

Genet and her family at the annual Wimetta 'I am Whole' celebration. _ UNFPA Ethiopia-Meron Negash

Nineteen-year-old Miheret Tadesse chairs the Uncut Girls_ Forum in her school. _ UNFPA Ethiopia-Meron Negash

Celebrating being whole Some 65 per cent of Ethiopian women, aged 15-49, have been subjected to FGM, according to a 2016 survey.

In the Kembatta community, the practice is traditionally considered a rite of passage into adulthood.

But activists have introduced an alternative rite of passage. In the annual “Wimetta” – or “I am Whole” – celebration, brave girls who have refused to undergo FGM are publicly recognized in their community.

They receive a silver pendant.

“Uncut girls’ clubs” have also been formed, in which girls help to educate their peers, encourage families to change their views on FGM, and speak up for girls’ rights

in the community. UNFPA partners with KMG to support these clubs. UNFPA also works with KMG to end child marriage and genderbased violence, and to promote reproductive health.

Nineteen-year-old Miheret Tadesse chairs the Uncut Girls’ Forum in her school.

“We are teaching, in the school compound, girls from different villages about harmful practices, especially FGM,” she said.

The practice is on the decline in her community, she added.

Credits: United Nations Population Fund - https://www.unfpa.org/news/courageousgirls-change-attitudes-about-fgm-ethiopia

Govt launches fund to combat child sexual exploitation and gang crime he Home Office has launched a £13m fund to help youth workers, police, nurses and other professionals form close, protective relationships with children and young people at risk of sexual exploitation, county lines gang crime or relationship abuse.

The Trusted Relationships Fund will invite local authorities to apply for funding to run projects aimed at fostering relationships between front line staff and at risk children.

Through the fund, local authorities are encouraged to work with local partners to improve the way professionals, including social workers, youth workers, police and voluntary sector practitioners, work together to support vulnerable young people.

Local authorities will be asked to design projects that fit their needs. But the projects could see front line workers organising or becoming involved with: • establishing a safe space where young people can share their concerns with

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• • •

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professionals who will listen to them providing specialist counselling services delivering positive activities including sport, music, arts and volunteering improving the way local organisations work together to support the most vulnerable young people working with children who repeatedly go missing to ensure that they are kept safe and well

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins, said: “This Government is working to keep all our children and young people safe and protect them from those who would exploit them or try to pull them into a life of violence and crime.

“We all know how valuable it can be for a child to have an adult in their life who they can trust, who they can confide in, who has their best interests at heart and who is in a position to act when they are in trouble.

“Through the Trusted Relationships Fund we want to ensure that those most at risk of abuse and exploitation, such as child sexual exploitation or gang related exploitation have such a person in their lives.”

A review carried out by the Early Intervention Foundation, commissioned by the Home Office last year, found that a trusted relationship with an adult is an essential part of programmes to support vulnerable children, and that the lack of trusted relationships is consistently cited in reviews of failures around child sexual abuse and exploitation. It found that this kind of social support can help children avoid risky situations, as well as help them overcome adverse circumstances in their lives, and that a trusted relationship can make young people significantly more likely to disclose when abuse is happening to them.

The projects will be targeted towards young people aged 10-17 who have been identified by local partners as vulnerable to being sexually exploited, victims of county

lines and peer/relationship abuse.

Local authorities in England will shortly be able to submit Expressions of Interest and proposals must be able to demonstrate how they will: • improve wellbeing, self-esteem, selfefficacy, resilience and critical thinking skills in vulnerable young people; • facilitate higher quantity and quality of trusted relationships between young people and adults who are there to support them, as reported by both young people and professionals; • reduce incidents of children and young people going missing, being exploited and abused, and entering the criminal justice system The fund will also strengthen evidencebase on what works to protect young people from exploitation and abuse to improve services over the course of the programme and beyond.

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News

Why reporting suspected domestic slavery can make a real difference Continued from Page 1< groceries for the household. However, often threats and blackmail from their ‘employers’ mean they are afraid to leave.

In order for The Salvation Army to provide support to victims of domestic slavery, they rely on calls to their referral helpline. Concerned members of the public can anonymously call the number, and give details of a situation they are worried about.

In order to tackle domestic slavery, we need more people to phone the confidential helpline to report their concerns. But making a call may seem daunting, so what happens when you do? Some people worry about

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friends or family finding out but the line is entirely confidential. Nobody will know you who made the call, and for the victim, your concern for their welfare could make all the difference.

Once reported, there is a huge range of support available for the victim. Every situation is different but once a referral has been made from the victim or someone on their behalf, The Salvation Army will try to either speak to the victim over the phone, or meet them in person and help them tell their story, so they can be recognised as victims and get the help they need. If the victim is still with their ‘employer’ this will be arranged so as not to put the victim in danger – either by finding a neutral public place away from the ‘employers’ or by calling at a time when they know the call won’t be intercepted.

Norree Webb, who helps support victims of modern slavery, says: “The victims I meet are often fearful; they are emotional and need support in order to talk about what has happened to them. I say: what has happened to you is not ok, if you come forward, you will be helped, you will be listened to, and you will be kept safe.”

Once First Responders like Norree have spoken with the victim and confirmed they are in situations of domestic slavery, Referral Officers will step in to help to coordinate a support plan.

This will usually involve assigning a transport team to collect victims from their place of rescue or escape and taking them to a safe house. Transport team members are all volunteers who give up their time to help victims.

“I find the whole process personally rewarding” said David Craik, who works in a transport team with his wife. “The best feedback is the smile on people’s faces and the hug they want to give you as they feel they have been cared for.”

However, it doesn’t all end once the rescue mission is complete and the victim is

in a safe place. Long term support helps victims to recover from their experiences and become independent. This could involve everything from counselling to help

accessing medical support. Victims are also supported to assist police investigations if they wish.

One survivor said: “I am grateful for being able to escape the abusive and torture [sic] situation. I feel blessed with all the support I have and knowing what I have achieved, from where I was to where I am now, is a blessing for me.”

If you suspect that someone you come into contact with might be a victim of modern slavery and need support, please call The Salvation Army’s 24/7 confidential referral helpline (0300 3038151) or visit the website https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/modernslavery.

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Parents urged to think pharmacist first for minor illness in their children • A major new public health campaign urges parents to consult a pharmacist first for minor illness, instead of GP or A&E • 18 million GP appointments and 2.1 million visits to A&E for self-treatable conditions cost the NHS £850 million per year • Using a pharmacy for minor health concerns eases pressures on GPs

illions of parents in the United Kingdom could get more convenient and timely expert advice if their child has a minor illness by opting to go to their local pharmacist first instead of the GP. Research for the NHS shows just 6% of mums and dads with children under the age of five would consider seeking help about a minor health concern from a high street pharmacist in the first instance. More than a third (35%) would opt for an appointment with their GP while 5% of those questioned would choose emergency care as their first point of call.

This is despite an overwhelming majority of adults (79%) saying they are aware that pharmacists are qualified healthcare professionals who can give advice on most common illnesses which includes when and where to seek advice for more serious conditions.

The NHS is urging more parents to use their pharmacy first in a move which could help free up GP time for sicker patients and help save the NHS around £850 million each year as well as save time for busy families.

Around 95% of people live within a 20 minute walk of a local community pharmacy, making pharmacists extremely accessible and a valuable first port of call for minor health concerns such as coughs, colds, tummy troubles or teething.

Around 18 million GP appointments

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and 2.1 million visits to A&E are for selftreatable conditions - such as coughs and tummy troubles - at a cost of more than £850 million each year to the NHS. This is the equivalent of more than 220,000 hip replacements or 880,000 cataract

clinical advice and effective treatments for a wide range of minor health concerns right there and then. They can assess symptoms and recommend the best course of treatment or simply provide reassurance, for instance when a minor illness will get

operations.

The NHS nationally is working with community pharmacies to increase the range of patient services they provide including asthma audits and flu vaccinations and to promote the clinical expertise available from the pharmacy team.

Dr Bruce Warner, Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England said: “Pharmacists are highly trained NHS health professionals who are able to offer

better on its own with a few days’ rest.

However, if symptoms suggest it’s something more serious, they have the right clinical training to ensure people get the help they need. We want to help the public get the most effective use of these skilled clinicians who are available every day of the week.”

The call for people, in particular the five million parents of children under five, to use their local pharmacist first for advice is part of the Stay Well Pharmacy

campaign. It is backed by pharmacists and Netmums, the UK’s biggest parenting website.

A survey carried out as part of the campaign reveals that the proportion of adults questioned who would get advice from the pharmacist for minor health concerns is only 16%. This went down to just 6% for parents of young children.

While 77% of people agree they trust advice from their pharmacist, there are misconceptions about the level of service this highly trained group of healthcare professionals can offer in terms of advice and expertise.

A quarter of people (26%) feel it is difficult to discuss health concerns in private with a pharmacist, with many not being aware that more than nine out of 10 pharmacies have a private consultation room. Nearly a quarter (24%) feel they would need to visit the GP anyway, so go direct to the doctor in the first instance. However, NHS England found that among adults who have received advice from a pharmacist in the past six months for themselves or their child, two thirds (66%) found it useful and less than a fifth (19%) needed to go to the GP afterwards.

Kathleen Lisk, a mum of two, said: “I’ve always found it quick and easy to pop into my local pharmacy when my sons have minor illnesses such as tummy aches or colds. I really trust my pharmacists, they are highly qualified. Their training and experience means they know a great deal about medication and its side effects. It can take a long time to get a GP appointment, whereas seeing the pharmacist I don’t need an appointment and it only takes a few minutes.”

Ola Dada, Community Pharmacist who features in the ‘Stay Well Pharmacy’ TV advert, adds: “We hope this Stay Well Pharmacy campaign will encourage people to visit their community pharmacy for clinical advice for minor health concerns such as sore throats, coughs, colds or tummy troubles. We know that parents and carers, particularly those of young children, want the right help quickly when it comes to their child’s health and we want them to know that their local pharmacy is the right place to go for that help.”

For more information search NHS.uk where you can also locate your local pharmacy services.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as Oluwadamilola Abosede Arike Olatunde now wish to be known and addressed as Gloria Oluwadamilola Folorunsho.

Nigeria High Commission and General Public, please note.

Media

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New entertainment channel - YANGA! launches on Sky Y

ANGA!, an entertainment channel targeting the African Diaspora and anyone with an interest in African culture launches today on Sky Channel 293.

The channel is the baby and first commercial endeavour of Africa MediaWorks Ltd - a UK-registered startup media company, an integrated producer and commercial broadcaster creating, owning and distributing highquality African content across multiple platforms. It is run by ex-Al Jazeera English and Bloomberg Television Executive - Lindsey Oliver. She also had a stint in Lagos where she worked as TV Continental’s (TVC) Commercial Director and Interim CEO. An experienced media professional, Lindsey

Oliver is also a qualified lawyer and has worked for international media organisations, including CNBC Europe, in both legal and commercial capacities.

YANGA! delivers a wide range of programming genres including lifestyle, comedy, music and drama to kids, current affairs and news bulletins. The schedule presents a curation of content from the international Diaspora and from Africa.

“YANGA! means self-pride and showing-off in West African pidgin and our vision is to create a channel that celebrates the eclectic and inspirational lives and culture of Africans living in the UK. YANGA! will nurture new talent, both in front and behind the camera which is an important part of the ambition of Africa MediaWorks, to

strengthen and scale the volume and quality of African content” says Africa MediaWorks Managing Director Lindsey Oliver.

YANGA!’s content will provide a mixture of original commissions and acquired content.

“We will deliver positive and empowering stories celebrating the cultural richness and pride emanating from the continent. African cultural influence is so prevalent in the UK right now, from music to fashion and comedy,” says Programming Director Simon London. “We really want to shine a light on and celebrate this significant cultural impact. YANGA! will bring Africa’s energy with content featuring its best entertainers, comedians and musicians.”

According to the channel, “Regardless of gender or generation, YANGA! has content that will resonate, delivering a wide range of entertainment programming from kids, women’s interests and current affairs to comedy and drama. YANGA! also offers international news from an African viewpoint.”

YANGA! is advertiser-funded, OFCOM-regulated and BARB-rated.

YANGA! will broadcast 15 hours a day from 09.00 to 12.00 GMT. YANGA! content can also be found on YouTube (YANGA UK), at www.yangatv.com and on social media @yanga_uk.

YANGA! gives UK Africans a new voice New T V channel YANGA! launched on March 5 helping reconnect the UK-based diaspora with its African heritage ANGA!, a bold new Africafocused television channel, went live earlier this month with a blaze of colour celebrating the continent’s vibrant dynamism.

The channel, which broadcasts daily on Sky Channel 293, launched on March 5, with a rich portfolio of programming tailormade for the African diaspora living in the UK and beyond.

Covering everything from current affairs to women’s issues, from children’s content to the African music scene, YANGA! aims to appeal to anyone with links to or an interest in the continent.

Lindsey Oliver, CEO of YANGA!’s London-based parent company, Africa Media Works, said the launch went smoothly thanks to the meticulous planning of the launch team.

“We’ve been practising for quite a long time – we’ve been testing since January.

There were some hiccups, but these were just teething problems,” said Lindsey.

The network has hired a wealth of established and up-and-coming presenters, among them Juliana Olayinka, a Britishborn journalist of Nigerian heritage.

Juliana hosts Noni, a Saturday morning chat show for women, and appears on YANGA!’s forthright current affairs discussion programme, Journalists’ Hangout UK (JHUK).

“I’ve been working in journalism in the UK for about 12 years and this is the most exciting project I’ve done to date,” said Juliana.

She said the channel appeals to people from the diaspora with varying

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backgrounds, ranging from those, like her, who were born in Britain, to others who may have moved to the UK relatively recently.

“Trying to please everyone hasn’t been easy because Africans are very opinionated.

We like talking,” she said with a laugh.

In keeping with its wide intended viewership, the channel had created a diverse schedule with a wealth of original shows that will launch gradually as the channel beds in.

“There are children’s programmes, latenight comedy, women’s shows [and others including] Turn Up, which is very much a programme for young people talking about pop music and stuff on the internet,” said Lindsey.

“It’s a very, very broad range of programmes, which means we’ve got to try to understand the needs of all these people and we have to have something for everyone.”

Other highlights among YANGA!’s original shows include Number 6, a nightly post-watershed entertainment comedy programme presented by Mansour Bellow, who has built up a loyal following on YouTube.

The channel’s children’s segment, Fizzi, hosted by experienced children’s broadcaster Gbemisola Isimi, had made a big impression on people from the African diaspora who watched it in advance of the launch.

“Everyone is excited about it because they’ve never seen a kids’ programme aimed at African children or children of African descent,” added Lindsey.

FIZZI Hero

Among the features on Fizzi will be nursery rhymes in African languages, something aimed at helping young viewers keep in touch with their African heritage.

High production values are important, especially as YANGA! is launching on Sky. “YANGA! has got to be a channel that people feels sits well in the midst of the other channels on the Sky platform. We want people to see content that’s as good as anything else on the platform,” said Lindsey.

An experienced television executive, Lindsey developed a passion for Africanrelated programming while Commercial Director for Continental Broadcasting Services in Lagos, Nigeria. Her other roles in the industry also came in useful in creating YANGA! “It’s been a tremendous privilege to be in this setting and learning about these cultures and trying to make sure the channel is going in the right direction,” she said.

As well as its original content,

YANGA!, which means self-pride in West African pidgin, has a line-up of acquired programmes to highlight 21st-century life on the continent.

“It’s always people experiencing life in Africa, whether it’s cartoons or real people being filmed. I’m really excited because I think we’ll be the first people to do something like that,” said Lindsey.

Other shows on the channel include Before 30, which depicts the societal pressures facing millennials in Nigeria by focusing on four young women hoping to marry ahead of their 30th birthday.

Meanwhile, Brothers with No Game looks at four 20-something friends facing a “quarter-life crisis” as they seek professional and personal fulfilment.

Broadcasting from 9am to midnight and online at YANGATV.com, the channel is also available on YouTube at YANGA UK and its social media presence under @yanga_uk covers Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Fashion

Afua Sam launches ‘The ‘A’ Concept’

fter several years of making a name for herself in the United States of America (USA), Ghanaian-born designer and award-winning, multi-talented, founder and Creative Director of DC’s based couture fashion house: Studio D’Maxsi - Afua Sam, has finally launched a new brand.

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The new ready to wear brand tagged ‘The ‘A’ Concept by Afua Sam’, was created for fashion lovers of colourful, vibrant garments, providing affordable chic garments that are a stylish alternative for both female and male, young and old. Completely away from the elegant and glamorous red carpet looks of the Studio D’Maxsi brand, the concept came to life after numerous requests and inquiries for fast accessibility to custom-made or limited designs without the wait.

Afua strives for unique, fabulous designs that cater to everyday occasions for the stylish and trendy individuals. She creates and stitches each unique design with love.

Afua said, “The idea has been lingering for a long time and I finally got the courage to pursue creating this new line without losing the identity of the already established brand, my very first baby, Studio D’Maxsi. I decided to create a complete new brand to deliver the idea of ‘The A Concept By Afua Sam’.”

Afua Sam remarkably self-taught her way to the top in the industry drawing her creative artistic inspiration from her rich Ghanaian culture and grew up observing influential designers like Oswald Boateng, Kofi Ansah and falling in love with Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexandra McQueen, Valentino and Betsy Johnson.

touch and creativity, highly priced and sought after. Her designs have been showcased on major runways and fashion shows, traveling to Paris, London and other countries for collaborations in the fashion industry, winning awards, receiving media mentions and dressing everyday people to celebrities for major events such as the Oscars, Grammys, DayTime Emmys, BET Honors; music videos and TV Shows, to name a few.

Further information is available: @theaconceptbyafuasam on Instagram and Facebook @theaconceptbyAS on Twitter. www.theaconceptbyafuasam.com #theAconceptbyAfuasam

Fashion Design & Tailoring Sevices

Arriving USA in 1995 with almost nothing in hand, except her ability to create, Afua always knew her life’s purpose was linked to her creations. She began working for local designers at a sweatshirt company and behind the scenes for other fashion designers.

It was what she described as “faith and fashion designing” were what kept her going despite personal challenges and family separation.

Two decades later, Afua’s designs have become almost recognisable with her unique

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Entertainment

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Motown the Musical celebrates second year in London’s West End he hit West End production of Motown the Musical this weekend will celebrate its second birthday at the Shaftesbury Theatre and announces that from 6 March 2018 the West End cast will be led by Jay Perry as Berry Gordy, Natalie Kassanga as Diana Ross and Carl Spencer as Marvin Gaye. They join David Albury who continues in the role of Smokey Robinson. Cruz Lee-Ojo, 11 years old from Uxbridge also joins the Company to share the role of Young Michael Jackson, Berry Gordy and Stevie Wonder with Tumo Reetsang, 12 years old from Southwark, London.

Currently booking until 5 January 2019, Motown the Musical, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, tells the story behind the legendary classic hits. Later this year, a tour of Motown the Musical will play simultaneously around the UK. Motown the Musical recently launched an online Lottery which allows audiences the opportunity to purchase

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story of the legendary record label that changed music history and created the soundtrack of a generation.

Jay Perry’s previous theatre credits include Beautiful: The Carole King

Cleopatra Joseph, Duane Lamonte, Nathan Lorainey-Dineen, Mireia Mambo, Matt Overfield, Adam Philpott, Ainsley Hall Ricketts, Lawrence Rowe, Nate Simpson, Jaime Tait, Kyle Turner,

Motown the Musical is proudly supported by Swarovski crystal who originally partnered with the show on Broadway and provided 400,000 Swarovski crystals for costume and set.

Carl Spencer

David Albury

Jay Perry

Natalie Kassanga

two great seats at £15 each. Patrons can apply at any time for all performances in a two-week period. Lucky winners will be notified three-five days before their allocated performance and will have 24 hours to purchase their tickets online before the next winner is selected.

With music and lyrics from the Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy the production features a sixteen-piece orchestra playing 50 Motown tracks including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I’ll Be There, Dancing In The Street, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My Girl and I Heard It through the Grapevine. With just $800 borrowed from his family, Motown founder Berry Gordy, goes from featherweight boxer to heavyweight music mogul, discovering and launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.

Motown the Musical uncovers the true

Musical and Whistle Down The Wind both at the Aldwych Theatre, Hairspray at the Gordon Craig Theatre and he currently plays lead Temptation as part of the Motown the Musical West End Company. He was an original member of pop group S Club Juniors.

Natalie Kassanga returns to the West End having last been seen on stage as an original cast member of Cameron Mackintosh’s Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She made her West End debut as Young Nala in The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre.

Carl Spencer is an original member of the Motown the Musical West End Company. His previous theatre credits include The Scottsboro Boys at the Young Vic and Garrick Theatre.

Ensemble members comprise Chanice Alexandra-Burnett, KM Drew Boateng, Timothy Benjamin, Ryan Carter, Ricardo Castro, Amandla Elynah, Livvy Evans, Segun Fawole, Angela Marie Hurst, Cameron Bernard Jones,

Anna Van Ruiten, Cherelle Williams, Lashane Williams, Michael WoolstonThomas, Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli and Mitchell Zhangazha.

Motown the Musical has music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Popp, coorchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Cook and dance arrangements by Zane Mark.

Choreography is by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams, scenic design by David Korins, costumes by Emilio Sosa, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by Peter Hylenski and video by Daniel Brodie.

UK Associate Director is Tara Wilkinson, UK Conductor & Associate Music Supervisor is Gareth Weedon, UK Associate Set Designer is Andrew Edwards and UK Associate Lighting Designer is Alistair Grant and UK Sound Associate is Chris Full. Motown the Musical is produced in the West End by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris, Berry Gordy and Adam Spiegel.

Listings Information Theatre: Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8DP Dates: Booking to 5 January 2019 Performances: Monday – Saturday 7.30pm, Thursday & Saturday Matinees at 2.30pm Prices: Tickets from £19.50 plus £15 Lottery tickets available online No booking fees via www.motownthemusical.co.uk, over the phone on 020 7379 5399 or in person at the Shaftesbury Theatre Box Office.

Box Office: 020 7379 5399 Website: www.motownthemusical.co.uk Twitter: @MotownUK Facebook: MotownMusicalUK

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TheTrumpet MARCH 14 - 27 2018

Opinion

Dapchi 110: The tragedy of a nation arma is a bitch. Poetic justice is a bastard. Both have combined to wrong-foot the incumbent Buhari administration to make it look like a big mistake and an act of misjudgment by the Nigerian electorate. If Buhari had been disallowed from taking power in 2015, and those who advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to give a damn had their way, and Jonathan had remained in power and all the current problems had surfaced, it would have been said by Nigerians that Goodluck Jonathan truncated Nigeria’s destiny.

In 2015, the refrain, which was reaffirmed recently by those who authored it, was that Nigeria could only move forward with anybody but Jonathan. If Buhari was prevented from taking over power, Nigerians would have been very aggressive towards the Jonathan administration. It would have been said that the messiah was robbed of victory. It would have been argued that the man who would have saved Nigeria was prevented from doing so. It might have even been argued that under General Buhari, Nigeria could have become the greatest country on the surface of the earth.

Such was the impact of the propaganda.

Such was the nature of the politics of the time. The Buharideens would never have allowed a post-2015 Jonathan government to work. Even if it did, the opposition would have imagined a greater possibility.

But here we are, three years down the line:

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the messianic propaganda has failed. Their Saviour is not the Jesus Christ they imagined him to be. The country remains unsaved. Their promise of change has been no more than scaremongering. When the question is asked: are you better today than you were three years ago?, no ordinary Nigerian can answer that question positively: change has brought him or her nothing but agony and anguish.

Should they offer an answer, it would be a response marked by regret. The biggest tragedy that has occurred therefore is the demystification, the unmasking, the unveiling of a man who was thought to be a god but who has since danced naked and is dancing naked in the market-place.

Strikingly, the Emperor is without clothes.

Some of the most vociferous critics of old have also been exposed. Nasir el-Rufai deployed all the heights of his intelligence to demonise the Jonathan government on social media. No one else has been able to match the quality of his vitriol. Today, the same Nasir is busy demolishing the houses of anyone who dares to make a negative comment about him, or he takes them to court and threatens them with Armageddon.

The same rights that he demanded for the Nigerian people, he now tramples upon.

There was also our beloved kinsman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. He was the scourge of the Jonathan administration. He could issue five anti-establishment press statements in a day. There has been no one

like him in Nigerian history doing the job of opposition spokesman. He was ruthlessly efficient. Nobody in the current opposition parties has demonstrated his capacity as an opposition figure, in part because all the opposition spokesmen have been harassed, blackmailed, dehumanized, and intimidated, but called to do the job, on the other side of the fence as Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed remains a study in self-contradiction. His five minutes of fame in the Nigerian political sphere has since ended.

He used to be creative and dynamic, but now faced with the challenges of the real thing, the only thing that comes out of his mouth is the dumb argument that Goodluck Jonathan is the source of all the problems of Nigeria or similar inanities. When the matter is not so phrased, we are told that the Jonathan administration stole the country blind. And yet whereas the government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) borrowed the sum of N6 trillion over a period of 16 years, the APC government has borrowed more than N11 trillion in 3 years! Is it possible all the oil wells have dried up and Nigeria no longer makes money? What has happened to the country’s revenue stream? The absurdity of the situation is further explained by the fact that when a gas cylinder malfunctions in the house of an APC member or there is a crisis in their other room, the man that is blamed is Goodluck Jonathan or the previous administration. They defend the impossible and the unintelligible. But that trick is no longer working. The other tragedy of the Buhari administration is how it has allowed itself to get involved in a Nigerian version of the popular “onecorner-dance”, a downward, selfdenigrating choreographic exertion. The result is that right now, people have now moved from the anything but Jonathan corner to the anything but Buhari corner in Nigerian politics. Karma is a bitch. Poetic justice is a bastard.

Nothing illustrates this better than the title of this essay, the entry into which has been deliberately delayed, to prepare a setting and a mood for the crisis that Nigeria faces. One of the reasons the Nigerian electorate voted out the previous administration was because of its perceived inability to rescue the abducted Chibok girls. There was an international outcry about this. Bring Back the Chibok girls even became the most popular hashtag on international social media, and Jonathan, who had also signed the anti-same-sex bill into law became a villain in the eyes of the international community. The various interested forces, local and global, joined hands together to pull down his government.

During the 2015 political campaigns, General Muhammadu Buhari was packaged as a morally upright statesman who would put an end to the impunity of the insurgents and terrorists. Jonathan was considered weak. Buhari was regarded as strong. And so on and so forth - let me just put it like that in order not to be accused of comparison given my own antecedents.

But here is where the rub lies: President

BY REUBEN ABATI Buhari has failed the people in their expectations. He has frittered away their goodwill.

He promised Nigerians that Boko Haram will be defeated, and somewhere down the line, we were told the Boko Haram had in fact been “technically defeated.” The President even received a captured flag of the insurgents, together with the personal Quran of Ibrahim Shekau, the leader of the group. Today, the Boko Haram gang continues to show that they have not been defeated. The Federal Government negotiated with these same insurgents and gave them money to secure the release of over 100 girls, some Boko Haram leaders were released, but the other Monday, Boko Haram abducted over 100 girls in Dapchi in Yobe State. This is sad and tragic. Whatever the government may have gained has been lost. The girls that have been released have been replaced. The fight against Boko Haram is back to square one.

The clay feet of those who thought they knew better than everyone else has thus been exposed. For President Buhari, this must be a personal tragedy. His strongest promoters indeed believed that under his watch, the problem of insecurity will be solved. But under him, more money has been spent on national security, with poor results, and the security situation has only worsened. The previous government had the Boko Haram to deal with, this government has its cup full: the herdsmenfarmers conflict, the low level insurgency in the Niger Delta, the crisis of selfdetermination in the Eastern region, the nationwide proliferation of small arms and ammunition, the notorious Boko Haram and the angst of a disappointed public. On all fronts, the government is found wanting.

Yes, it has been found wanting and in a suspicious manner too. It is in fact curious that security forces were withdrawn in volatile areas of Benue State, just a week before the criminal herdsmen struck. Who ordered that withdrawal? The InspectorGeneral of Police has also reportedly withdrawn the Special Forces sent to secure the same areas. The Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom is so incensed he is now saying he is willing and ready to pay the supreme sacrifice for his people. In Yobe State, soldiers were also withdrawn from high-risk areas just before the Dapchi 110 Continued on Page 13 >

Opinion

MARCH 14 - 27 2018

TheTrumpet

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Africa: A continent without democrats

By Reuben Abati he second wave of democratization in Africa, beginning in the 80s, and the gradual establishment of democracy as the new normal in the continent brought much hope and excitement. As we have seen in the recent intervention by the military in Zimbabwe, coup d’etats have become unpopular and unacceptable in the entire continent in deference perhaps to dominant global politics. In the past two decades, there have been many electoral transitions across the continent indicative of a pattern of democratic consolidation. In reality, however, mercenaries of democracy, dictators and a military culture dominate African politics. The form of governance may have changed, but the form of politics has remained seemingly unchangeable.

We are forcefully reminded of this by certain recent developments across the continent. In Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza has just ensured that the officials of a football team, which roughtackled him during a football match last year, have been sent to prison. Nkurunziza, a graduate of Sports Education (1990), loves to play football, even as President. He

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Faure must go protests

owns a football team, Haleluia FC, and a choir, “Kameza gusenga” which means “pray non-stop”. President Nkurunziza is a member of his football team and he actually joins them to take part in tournaments, friendlies and other matches, fully attired in the club’s colours.

A day may well come when the President may decide to play for the national team, prompting concerns across Burundi that the President plays too much football, instead of attending to State matters. Nkurunziza had his day on the

field when Haleluia FC met Kiremba FC. If in previous matches the President was treated with respect, and even allowed to score, the Kiremba soccer team was not ready for that. They played man to man, and treated the match with professional seriousness. They tackled the President each time he had the ball. He fell on the pitch several times.

It is for this reason the administrator of Kiremba FC, Cyriaque Nkezabahizi and his assistant, Michel Mutama are now in prison, having been charged and tried for a

curious felony called “conspiracy against the President!” Nkurunziza may be a sports graduate, and even taught the subject for a while at the university level, but he is not in any way a sportsman. Like his other colleagues across Africa, he is a dictator who likes to have his way. Football is a body-contact sport, like rugby, boxing and wrestling. Not even the almighty Lionel Messi or Neymar or the skillful Cristiano Ronaldo, with all their accomplishments in the sport expect to be treated like royalty in a football match. Like Nkurunziza, most African leaders do not like to play by the rules. They like to cheat and force their options down the people’s throats.

This same Nkurunziza who came to power in 2005, refused to go after the expiration of his constitutional tenure of two terms in 2015. He insisted on having a third term. Protests by the people were suppressed, media houses were shut down, journalists were detained, members of the opposition were harassed, after two months more than 200 persons had been killed and hundreds of thousands had fled into exile.

Nkurunziza had his way. He likes jogging, Continued on Page 15 >

Dapchi 110: The tragedy of a nation Continued from Page 12< were abducted. The military has since defended itself. It has no capacity its spokesman says, to protect all schools in the Northern part of the country. And we can’t blame the military, can we? It is a sign of the calamity that the country faces that soldiers are the ones now protecting virtually every inch of the Nigerian space, internally and externally. Our soldiers are tired and overstretched, over-used and overabused. The police are also similarly overwhelmed. It has never been this bad.

Fact: the government of the day has been humbled. I once argued that Nigeria is a very difficult country to govern but when you claim to know it all, you are bound to face the contradictions. Every problem solved generates other problems.

People choose their governments and leaders because they believe they can lead and protect them. When that trust is betrayed, the legitimacy of the government is in question. In more than 20 States, salaries have not been paid for months.

And it is a stupid point to say that the previous government stole all the money.

How about all the money that has been earned and borrowed since then? Missing?

What is responsible really for this drift, this cluelessness, this self-abuse, from a knowit-all team that took over Nigeria in 2015?

My other concern is that beyond all the propaganda and the hypocrisy and blackmail, President Buhari’s team may not really love him at all; they may in fact have truly, set him up for his downfall. Buhari’s biggest stake is the legacy he leaves behind.

The little I see of that legacy is not good at all. I once published a piece in which I alleged that Nigerians had hopped into a

Over 100 students were abducted at a school in Dapchi, Yobe State

one-chance bus; I want to modify that and add that it is actually President Buhari who boarded a one-chance bus, and for that he has my heartfelt sympathy. Whatever bus brought him to power is a one-chance bus.

What has happened so far merely vindicates the Olusegun Obasanjo and Oby Ezekwesili groups. The former is asking for a Third Force, a Coalition of powers and forces. The other is wielding a Red Card.

Both are united in this regard: they consider the two political parties that have ruled Nigeria since 1999, useless and ineffectual.

They want a new dawn for Nigeria. They want a discontinuity of hypocrisy and opportunism. They acknowledge one significant point: that Nigeria has remained

at one spot. Nothing has changed, the change agenda has failed, everything remains the same. Whether these groups are able to achieve, or motivate the real change the people desire is another matter, but the honesty with which they have reversed themselves is telling, and good for our democracy. You need not raise the point that both Obasanjo and Ezekwesili belong to the same elite that they now repudiate.

I sympathise with the parents of the Dapchi 110. It is sad that their only hope is in God, and the possibility of a miracle.

Students get killed in the United States, due to gun possession issues in a psychotic society, but to send a child to school and have him or her abducted by terrorists is the

grievous pain ever possible in Nigeria.

What is clear is that the Nigerian leadership elite has failed the people. This is not a political party matter; it is about capacity, political will, leadership and commitment.

This is probably why a body of opinion has developed to the effect that the two major political parties in the country – the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have both failed the country. But can extant or any political parties, in their present shape, save Nigeria? I doubt, and that is my thoroughly non-partisan opinion.

The political party system in Nigeria has to be rebuilt, reformed and reconstructed. Beyond that, we need a new crop of leaders. The solution may not lie with Obasanjo or Ezekwesili or the Nigeria Intervention Movement but they have thrown up ideas about the national dilemma that cannot be ignored. Such ideas cannot be ignored because the biggest victims are not the ten per-centers or the men and women in high places who succeed not through talent or excellence, but mere opportunistic “faith”; the victims are young Nigerians, the same people we call the leaders of tomorrow - that tomorrow is already postponed, because that generation of the future is led by analogue leaders whose glory is trapped in the past. Nigeria needs to rescue tomorrow from the past and the present. Nigeria needs fresh energy, new ideas and a leadership revolution.

Wherever they may be, may God protect the Dapchi 110, who have been failed by the Nigerian State. If Buhari rescues them, he may well succeed in rescuing his government a little from the devastating and ruthless onslaught of poetic justice.

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TheTrumpet MARCH 14 - 27 2018

Opinion

MARCH 14 - 27 2018

TheTrumpet

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Africa: A continent without democrats Continued from Page 13< but when members of the opposition also began organizing Saturday morning joggings, he placed a ban on jogging across the country. He is the only one who is allowed to enjoy the pleasure of jogging as he wishes, in a country of 12 million people.

He is not the only African leader however who has been able to get away with a third term in office through a violation and manipulation of the Constitution. To many African leaders, the Constitution does not matter at all. In Rwanda, Paul Kagame, President since 2003, completed his constitutionally stipulated second term in 2017, but the Constitution was altered to allow him serve for a third term, and now the Constitution has been further altered to keep Kagame in power till 2034. The excuse is that he is doing a good job and that there is no alternative to him. The only person who summoned the courage to challenge Kagame in 2017, a lady, Diane Rwigara was harassed and detained. Her nude pictures were posted on the internet. This no-alternative thing is a dubious misinterpretation of democracy in Africa.

And it is one of the stupid points being canvassed in Nigeria, currently, by those who want President Muhammadu Buhari to remain in office beyond 2019, despite growing protests that he should be a oneterm President. Nigeria is a country of about 200 million people. Is it not the height of idiocy to say that there is no alternative to Buhari?

Africa is not in short supply of mercenaries who mouth such idiocy and actively give effect to it. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 46-year old Joseph Kabila whose two terms in office expired close to two years ago has refused to organize elections. He negotiated a oneyear extension till 2017, but despite protests, and international objections, he has extended the election time-table till December 2018 on the ground that there are “logistical problems”. Now, the country’s electoral commission has further announced that no Presidential election can possibly take place in the DRC before April 2019. Various militias, rebel groups, and civil society organisations, backed by the Catholic Church are insisting that Joseph Kabila will not be allowed to rule the DRC forever. Widespread violence has made the DRC politically unstable and fragile, but Joseph Kabila cannot be bothered.

The standard African response is to descend on the opposition, including political parties, journalists, writers, human rights activists and thinkers as harshly as possible. The African man of power does not understand that the right to protest, to differ and to express an opinion is part of democracy. In Togo, there is an ongoing popular protest titled “Faure Must Go”.

President Faure Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005. He succeeded his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. With the Constitution of Togo not indicating any Presidential term limits, the Togolese opposition has been leading a series of protests to demand for such term

Officials jailed for rough-tackling President Pierre Nkurunziza

limits - a restriction to a maximum of two, five-year terms and a two-round voting system. Faure wants to rule forever like his father, and so, even in spite of mediation by Ghana and Guinea, he has been sending soldiers after the protesters. The opposition in Africa is probably the most abused in the world.

Go to Egypt. Egypt goes to the polls on March 26 but incumbent President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi does not want any opposition.

He has taken every measure to scare away every person who has shown interest in competing with him for the office. One Presidential aspirant, Colonel Ahmed Konsowa was accused and convicted for “expressing political opinions as a serving military officer”. Another, Lt. Gen. Sami Anan, after being detained by the Egyptian military, had to call off his presidential bid.

He was accused of “blatant legal violations (and) a serious breach of the laws of military service.” Other aspirants - Mortada Mansour, Khaled Ali and Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat have all dropped their presidential ambitions because they could not stand the climate of fear imposed by President Sisi.

Only one aspirant is still standing, Mousa Moustafa Mousa and he is, because the court saved him. The ruling party had asked for his disqualification on the grounds that he does not have a certified university or higher education degree. This is a minimum requirement for the Presidential office in Egypt. I hope some Nigerians would take special note of this!

The Supreme Administrative Court has now ruled that Mousa Mousa indeed holds an MA in Architecture from a French University, and the National Electoral Authority has certified this, thus putting paid to the orchestrated possibility of President Sisi getting a second term unopposed. Still Sisi is not prepared to lose.

He has declared that anybody or “forces of evil” who defame the country’s security forces through “the broadcast and publication of lies and false news” would be charged for “high treason.” He is of course referring to himself and not necessarily the military operation in the Northern Sinai Peninsula.

Absolute power corrupts and so it is also with Cameroon’s Paul Biya and Equitorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang

Nguema Mbasogo. Cameroon has been battling secessionist rebellion in North West and South West parts of the country.

The Biya government has done everything possibly negative to suppress the people of the proposed Ambazonia Republic including detention, police brutality, internet black-out, curfews, arrests and intimidation. When about 50 of the rebels, including their leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe fled across the border, they were chased all the way to Nigeria, where they were arrested by the Nigerian authorities on Cameroon’s request and repatriated. This couldn’t have been a difficult request for the Buhari government to accede to, given the fact that it had also launched a military operation against would-be secessionists in the Eastern part of Nigeria. Paul Biya also probably learnt a lesson from Nigeria or perhaps it was the old fox just being himself. He has just appointed two persons from the aggrieved North West/South-West of Cameroon into his newly reconstituted cabinet to assuage fears of marginalization by the Ambazonians. One of the portfolios is that of the Minister of Interior. The average African leader is manipulative and trickish. In Biya’s case, it is worse. He is 85, he has been in power for more than three decades, and he still plans to run for election this year. His opponent from the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) is likely to be a 49-year old, Joshua Osih. Biya is Cameroon’s Mugabe.

His sit-tight colleague in Equitorial Guinea is no better. Last week, Mbasogo proscribed the main opposition party in the country, the Citizens for Innovation (CI) for allegedly undermining State security. In November 2017, there were clashes between CI supporters and armed policemen. Party leaders have argued that their supporters did not carry any arms, and that they were only campaigning. 21 of them have been sentenced to 26 years imprisonment for sedition, and 10 years for breach of authority, and fined 210,000 Euros along with their party! I suspect that CI’s main offence would be that of having the audacity to win one seat in parliament in that country’s last elections, while the ruling party won 99 seats out of 100 seats.

That makes Teodoro Mbasogo uncomfortable: he cannot afford the growth

of opposition in his country, or anything that would threaten his plan to hand over power eventually to his first son, 48-year old Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue who is currently the First Vice President in charge of Defence and Security and the Oil and Gas sector.

First sons and first daughters are often part of the political equation. Togo’s Faure, DRC’s Kabila, Equitorial Guinea’s Teodorin, and Angola’s former first daughter, Isabel dos Santos. They share power with their father and possibly succeed him, and if not, they could become as wealthy as Isabel. This is why it baffles me that Nigerians are always hypertensive anytime they see first or second sons and daughters in the corridors of power enjoying privileges extended to them by their fathers. The Minister of State for Health received Yusuf Buhari at the airport and they won’t allow us rest. What if the President had sent Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the airport? He would refuse to go?

The sad part of the African story is that even when you discover a President who seems to be doing well, he does well only for a while, before he begins to misbehave like the rest. Take John Pombe Magufuli, the developmental President of Tanzania, the “Bulldozer.” In nearly three years in office, he has brought fresh energy and creativity to governance in Tanzania. He has waged war against indolence, incompetence, corruption, ghost workers, bad infrastructure, but he is also now waging war against democracy. His government has banned public rallies by the opposition. It has introduced a law, which criminalises free speech on social and electronic media, and jailed at least two politicians for “hate speech”. Magufuli has also banned the smoking of Shisha, and famously declared, that “no pregnant student will be allowed to return to school…” In Tanzania, it is an offence to “annoy” the government, but okay to rape young girls!

When an African leader finally decides to leave, he insists on choosing his own successor. Sierra Leone goes to the polls tomorrow, for example, with 16 parties and six leading candidates on the ballot, but the fight is between the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). Outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma has, in the meantime, handpicked his former Foreign Minister, Dr. Samura Kamara (APC), as his successor, because according to him, “he knows exactly what he needs to do…” Our democracy suffers in this manner in part because the people themselves play what the Sierra Leonean musician, Daddy SAJ calls “watermelon politics” (2007) - the people not knowing what they want or what is good for them. Nigerians have made that mistake too often. But then, is there something in the African DNA that is antidemocracy? Is this about African culture or the truth about universal democracy?

Whatever it is, as they go to the polls tomorrow, Sierra Leoneans should eschew “watermelon politics” and vote wisely.

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