Society

The mayor of a town in the US state of West Virginia has resigned after she was caught up in a controversy over racist comments about Michelle Obama.

Beverly Whaling had appeared to applaud a Facebook post referring to Mrs Obama as an "ape in heels".

She wrote that the post had made her day, but later said she was referring to the election outcome.  

A petition calling for the mayor's resignation had gathered over 170,000 signatures.

Ms Whaling was the mayor of the town of Clay, which has a population of just 491.

The town has no African American residents, according to the 2010 census. In Clay County as a whole, more than 98% of its 9,000 residents are white.

Ms Whaling had responded to a Facebook post by Pamela Ramsey Taylor, a local resident who runs a non-profit group in Clay County, which referred to the first lady as an "ape".

"It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified first lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels," Ms Taylor wrote.

Ms Whaling responded with "just made my day Pam".

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Rita Akana

16.Nov.2016

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Some 1000 Men and Women Entrepreneurs drawn from 54 African Countries who took part in the second edition of Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF, Entrepreneurship Forum in Lagos Nigeria have been enjoined to continue to build the future and to challenge the flawed perceptions of Africa. This was one of the major calls made by The CEO of the Foundation, Ms. ParminderVir during the opening ceremony of the event.

Opening the High-Level Panel, Mrs. Alakija congratulated the entrepreneurs, praised TEF’s focus on entrepreneurship and shared her own personal story of perseverance to demonstrate the entrepreneurs need for resilience and doggedness. On his part the former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo hailed Elumelu's perseverance and focus on giving back. He said “By every means, God has made His face shine upon you. You are not the only one, but unlike you, some others do not have the idea of empowering the next generation of Africans in the manner and scale that you are doing." He further emphasized patience to the young entrepreneurs. In his words, “For strength in life you need a bit of adversity.” He also called on the Nigerian government to implement policies that encourage investors and entrepreneurs to do business in Nigeria.

Applauding Tony Elumelu’s promise to not only empower entrepreneurs, but also to tackle the fundamental economic challenges confronting the African continent, His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone called on others to emulate Elumelu. “Even when we had Ebola in Sierra Leone, Tony was there. His is an example which other successful Africans must follow.” In his speech, Mr Elumelu challenged all stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society, multilateral organizations and all individuals invested in Africa’s economic development to join hands with the Foundation to support the wider African entrepreneurial community. He noted “We need to support our entrepreneurs because extreme poverty and economic opportunity rarely coexist in the same place.”

Partnerships with regional institutions like the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, and others including Coca Cola, the International Trade Centre, Nigerian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Entrepreneurship has been announced .

During the two-day forum, entrepreneurs shared and gained knowledge, built cross-border partnerships, and connected with investors and policymakers, fulfilling the goal of fostering innovation and collaboration between entrepreneurs from across Africa.

Special guests of honor and resources persons who attended the forum were Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria, Former Prime Minister of Benin RepublicLionelZinsou, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Honourable Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture and Mrs. FolorunshoAlakija, Vice Chair of Famfa Oil.

 

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Prince Nfor Hanson

02.Nov.2016

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Are you that young Cameroonian (18 - 35 years) whose passion is serving Cameroon through little acts of kindness that create long lasting positive impacts? Are you that young person who is determined to build your skills and acquire new strategies that will enable you to continue to work more effectively with other youths to inspire/lead positive social change in your community?

This is a unique opportunity for you to build those skills, to share your experience to a wider audience, make your voice count and enrich yourself with knowledge and networking opportunities that will drive your idea and business to the next level.

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US Embassy Yaounde

16.Oct.2016

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Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital is set to play host to a historic converge of all old boys of the famous St. Joseph’s College SASSE, BUEA, Cameroon, as they will be meeting to formally launch  the old boys association of the school in Nigeria

A release signed by the  National President of SASSE Old Boys Association,(SOBA), Mr. Charles  Oben and made available to our news medium indicates that the 3 day National convention of the body tagged “SOBA National convention which has as its theme “Launching SOBA Nigeria: Discovering  a History of Educational Excellence”, will commence from October 21st  through the  23rd October, 2016 in Uyo.

According to the invitation, the convention will be graced by old students of the school resident in Nigeria and their spouses, members of exco of the body, The school Principal of Sasse College as well as old boys of the school resident outside Nigeria.

St. Joseph’s College, Sasse, is a a secondary school in the southwest region of Cameroon, with its campus located in Sasse, Buea. The college is affiliated with Catholic  faith as an all-male institution, it provides education at first cycle and high school levels, offering programs in science and arts.

In 2013, Sasse College was awarded the pioneer prize as best school in Cameroon by Foundation Terre d’accueil.

The programme of  event are as follows;

 

DAY 1: FRIDAY OCTOBER 21

Arrival of Sobans  and Invited guest

6pm: Registration of attendees

7pm: Welcome Dinner

1. a) Introduction
2. b) Welcome address by Host Pastor Umoh Bassey
3. c) Dinner and Networking

 

DAY2: SATURDAY OCTOBER 22

8am-10am: High mass

10-12noon: Brunch and Networking

12 noon-6pm: Deliberations/Working Session

a)Welcome by Chairman SOBA Convention Planning Committee. Nomination of Convention Chairperson

1. b) Address by South East Chapter President: Professor Afam Anene
2. c) Address by Lagos Chapter President: Chief EniDiamen
3. d) Address by President SOBA General: Professor Ephraim Ngwafor
4. e) Address by Principal Sasse College:

.Health Check of Sasse College

.Update on current projects

.Academic Report on Sasse College

1. f) Chapter Reports
2. g) Brief History of Sasse College and lecture by guest Lecturer Prof Esimone

Refreshments

-Break Out Sessions

.Soba Nigeria Way forward

Soba Wives Report

Next Soba Nigeria Convention

.Committee Reports

.Closing Remarks

Dinner& Gala Night

 

DAY3: SUNDAY OCTOBER 23

8am-10am: Mass

Brunch & Departure of Convention participants

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Solomon Eyo

30.Sep.2016

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Cameroonian born Samuel Awasum and his wife Jacinta Awusa Awasum have been presented as carnival prince and princess in Ratingen,a city in Germany, on the 12 September 2016. The Germans of Cameroonian decent were elected Ratingen's carnival perince and princess for the 2016/17 carnival season.

At the presentation ceremony on Monday evening in the city of Ratingen,Mr Samuel Awasum said, it was an "incredible honor" for him and his wife to be presented with that honour as carnaval Prince.The gesture gave him same mood of happiness as on his wedding day.

"This is an incredible honor for me," said Samuel Awasum (33), who has a degree in business data processing and father of two small children. 

Mr Awasum is also the Chairman of the Integration Committee of the city of Ratingen. He is an advocate for years against racism and discrimination in Germany.

The carnival organizing committee said they gave the prestigious nomination to the Cameroonian couple as a "clear sign of integration of citizens with an immigrant background" into the German society.

The Carnival (Karneval) is one the most celebrated events in Germany! he carnival starts officially before Christmas, on the 11th of the 11th month at 11:11 am (elften elften elf uhr elf) with the offical meeting of the "Council of Eleven" (Elferrat), a German tradition dating from 1823.t is a time of wild celebrations, and the western part of Germany especially (North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate), is famous for Karneval celebrations with parades and costume balls and hand-made costumes, and pranks of all sorts! The biggest parades are on Rose Monday in Cologne and Düsseldorf and are called "Rosenmontagszug" (Rose Monday Parade). During these events, hundreds of thousands of people celebrate in the streets dressed up in costumes. 

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Rita Akana

14.Sep.2016

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The government of Burkina Faso has banned an annual beauty contest for women with the biggest buttocks, saying such events are sexist.

Adverts for this weekend’s third edition of ‘Miss Bim-Bim’, carrying an image of two fully clothed women with exaggeratedly large behinds, provoked an outcry on social media.

“Our role is to do everything to avoid damaging the image of women,” said Minister Laure Zongo in a statement, adding that social media criticism had persuaded her to act.

The male organizer of the event, Hamado Doambahe, said it aimed to promote a more positive body image for African women and encourage fashion designers to use African costumes.

Contests like Miss Bim-Bim have been held in other West African countries. 

Women’s rights groups have mixed views about the tendency in many African cultures to celebrate women with larger bodies than are typically admired elsewhere.

While they welcome the shift away from the unnaturally thin female shapes promoted by the global fashion industry, they deplore the emphasis on men judging women’s body shapes.

The head of Burkina Faso’s High Council for Communications, Nathalie Some, called in a statement for people in advertising, the media and the arts to protect the rights of women and girls.

 Reuters

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Rita Akana

27.Aug.2016

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