Nigerian Diaspora Germany elects new executive members

The German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) has elected a new executive council. The body’s Annual General Meeting, which took place on Saturday (13 May) in Frankfurt, elected Kenneth Chukwudi Alaekwe as President, Dr RosayLyn Dressmann (Vice President) and Prof Dr Brando Okolo (General Secretary).

Other new members of the council are Dr Augustine Okeke (Assistant General Secretary), Mr Kazeem Ojoye (Financial Secretary), Mrs Mary Bruder (Treasurer), Hajia Saratu Leko-Peters (Public Relation Officer) and Dr Chinedu Uzonwanne (Project Secretary).

In his keynote speech, Mr Alaekwe, said NIDO Germany was growing from to strength, describing it as the “biggest and most important chapter” of the organisation in Europe. To buttress his claim, he referred to the election in November, last year in Athens, Greece, of the former President of NIDO Germany, Kenneth Gbandi, to the NIDO Europe Chair as well as its former Financial Secretary to the position of the Financial Secretary of NIDO Europe.

“In the history of NIDO Europe, there was no time these two key positions were held by two persons from the same Chapter,” Alaekwe added.

The NIDO Germany leader praised Gbandi for his contributions to the growth of the chapter. “Ken, your tireless and unselfish efforts contributed to elevating us to that position in Europe,” Alaekwe, who was the Vice President in the Gbandi-led exco of the chapter, added.

He explained that the Nigerian government recognised NIDO as the official platform through which individual Nigerians based in the Diaspora could contribute to the development of the country.

“In this sense, the organisation partners with both public and private businesses in focused areas such as Foreign Direct Investment, professional networking, stakeholder advocacy and skills transfer to Nigeria,” he explained.

Alaekwe pointed out that one of a main focus of NIDO Germany in the past four years had been on investment and trade. “We have been able to organise some successful events on investment and trade, which have resulted to some small investments in Nigeria,” he said. “Investments and trade will remain our main focus, but we need to move to some other areas where we could contribute to the development of the country.”

The new NIDO Germany chief announced at the event that the organisation had gone into co-operation with a reputable global charity organisation called Pro-Health International to facilitate possible activities the body could undertake in Nigeria. “In fact we have signed an MOU with Pro Health and I hope that the new Executive will carry on from there,” he revealed.

The gathering was graced by the presence of Mr Chimezie Okeoma Ogu, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria in Berlin, Mr Dayo O. Falowo, Consul General at the Nigerian Consulate in Frankfurt, and several staff members of both the Embassy and Consulate. Other dignitaries present at event were Mr Kenneth Gbandi, Chairman, Board of Trustees, NIDO Europe, and members of the organisation from other chapters.

Sola Jolaoso

Mr Kayode Obembe is The CEO of Kayode Obembe & Co Ltd

He will be one of the Key Speakers at The NIDO EUROPE PROJECT SUMMIT taking place in Dortmund, Germany next week

Information about his company can be found below

About Kayode Obembe & Co Ltd

Kayode Obembe & Co Ltd is a full service consulting / general contracting firm with experience in commercial and residential real estate with its main office located at 56, Olowu Street Off Bank Anthony Street, Ikeja. Also we have our branch office at Suite G12, Eleganza Shopping Mall, opposite VGC Lekki-Epe Express way Lagos.

Kayode Obembe & Co Ltd specializes in the acquisitions, community development, construction management, property management and asset management. Kayode Obembe & Co Ltd is committed to community property development, residential, commercial, asset management and property management in Nigeria. Our mission is to create affordable commercial & residential development. Vision Creating a lasting property wealth for our customer.

OUR PURPOSE

To provide future community development that constitutes a safe environment, vibrant neighborhoods as well as modern business & institution Promote new age construction through solar, wind technology To re-develop the Nigerian community as a whole through integrity, honesty and transparency. TIMING: Timing is also crucial. Successful development projects that produce short-term benefits must be interwoven with project that take much longer to accomplish. At the beginning of a development effort, it is important to quickly show tangible progress so that a reputation will be created that will attract attention to our ongoing work and bring in positive influence.

Mr Ekpo Nta is The Chairman of Independent corrupt practices and Other related offences Commission .

He will be one of the Key Speakers at The NIDO EUROPE PROJECT SUMMIT taking place in Dortmund, Germany next week

Mr Ekpo Nta is an indigene of Ndukpoise, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. He was born on 12th October 1952. He started his Primary education at Zaria, Kaduna State in 1958 and finally finished at St. Anthony`s Primary School in Ibadan, Oyo State in 1964.

In September 1964, he commenced his Secondary School at Loyola College, Ibadan and completed at Hope Waddel Training Institute, Calabar in 1971.

Between 1972 and 1980, he attended the University of Ibadan where he underwent preliminary Science Programme in Chemistry, Physics and Botany, and later obtained B.Sc. (Hons) Political Science majoring in International Releations in 1977 and M.Sc Political Science majoring in Public Policy & Statistics in 1980. He also obtained LL.B. (Hons) Civil Law majoring in Public International Institutions at the University of Calabar between 1983 and 1987, and afterwards attended the Nigerian Law School Lagos between 1987 and 1988.

Mr Nta started his working experience with Nigerian Television Authority Kano as a youth Corp Member in 1977. He was appointed Assistant Secretary by the Cross River State Water Board where he served and rose up to Acting Secretary of the Board between 1978 and 1985. He was appointed Senior Assistant Registrar of the University of Cross River now referred to as University of Uyo, in 1986 where he served until 1987 before moving to the Akwa Ibom State Water Corporation, Uyo as Head, Personnel/Manpower Development & Training.

The Chairman was a Counsel with the Ministry of Justice Uyo and Deputy Liason Officer/ Lawyer at the Office of the Akwa Ibom State Military Governor (Lagos State Liaison Office) in 1989. In 1990 he was appointed Chief Administrative Officer of the Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Project, Uyo. From March 1993 to June 2001 he worked with the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) now referred to as Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC as Director of Administration and Human Resource Development.

He was sworn in as Chairman ICPC on 17th October 2012 by President Goodluck Jonathan GCFR.

On 17th December 2015, Mr. Nta was elected as a member of Board of Governors of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Laxenburg, Austria.

Mr Nta has attended many Professional Courses within and outside Nigeria and is also a member of Professional bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Association for Public Administration and Management and Nigerian Industrial Relation Association. He has travelled widely and has a sound knowledge of Information and Communication Technology.

Lunga Sazinge was born and grew in South Africa in the province of the Eastern Cape (Mthatha), he studied  Management assistant studies at Westrand college in Carletonville, South Africa

He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and became  born again in 1999.

Lunga  started evangelism in South Africa in 2001 and moved to the United Kingdom in 2005. He has visited many cities in The UK in the last few years

He is now the Founder and Pastor of City to City International revival that was launched in 2014.

He received the vision of City 2 City international revival in 2013 and the mission was to spread the good news across the UK and around the world, to unite churches and leaders and to win lost souls and nature them for the kingdom of God.

Dear Family and Friends,

I will be one of The Key Speakers at The AFRICA DAY CELEBRATIONS organized by THE UNIVERSAL PEACE FEDERATION , which will be taking place on Saturday the 20th of May at The Universal Peace Federation Headquarters in London .

Other KEY SPEAKERS will include Dr Yehoeshahfaht, Ben Israel, Henri Pierre Koubaka (TBC), Charlotte Simon: Founder, Mothers of Congo, Ibrahim K. Ibrahim Asante: Chairman, Significant International Group (SIG) and Simba Smp: Media Director, Pan-Africanist and Writer
Africa Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of a fast growing continent.
Please come and celebrate with us. Kindly register to reserve your place NOW.
Use the link below

Hugh Masekela is a world-renowned flugelhornist, trumpeter, bandleader, composer, singer and defiant political voice who remains deeply connected at home, while his international career sparkles. He was born in the town of Witbank, South Africa in 1939. At the age of 14, the deeply respected advocator of equal rights in South Africa, Father Trevor Huddleston, provided Masekela with a trumpet and, soon after, the Huddleston Jazz Band was formed. Masekela began to hone his, now signature, Afro-Jazz sound in the late 1950s during a period of intense creative collaboration, most notably performing in the 1959 musical King Kong, written by Todd Matshikiza, and, soon thereafter, as a member of the now legendary South African group, the Jazz Epistles (featuring the classic line up of Kippie Moeketsi, Abdullah Ibrahim and Jonas Gwangwa).

In 1960, at the age of 21 he left South Africa to begin what would be 30 years in exile from the land of his birth. On arrival in New York he enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music. This coincided with a golden era of jazz music and the young Masekela immersed himself in the New York jazz scene where nightly he watched greats like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Mingus and Max Roach. Under the tutelage of Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong, Hugh was encouraged to develop his own unique style, feeding off African rather than American influences – his debut album, released in 1963, was entitled Trumpet Africaine.

In the late 1960s Hugh moved to Los Angeles in the heat of the ‘Summer of Love’, where he was befriended by hippie icons like David Crosby, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. In 1967 Hugh performed at the Monterey Pop Festival alongside Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, The Who and Jimi Hendrix. In 1968, his instrumental single ‘Grazin’ in the Grass’ went to Number One on the American pop charts and was a worldwide smash, elevating Hugh onto the international stage.

His subsequent solo career has spanned 5 decades, during which time he has released over 40 albums (and been featured on countless more) and has worked with such diverse artists as Harry Belafonte, Dizzy Gillespie, The Byrds, Fela Kuti, Marvin Gaye, Herb Alpert, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and the late Miriam Makeba.

In 1990 Hugh returned home, following the unbanning of the ANC and the release of Nelson Mandela – an event anticipated in Hugh’s anti-apartheid anthem ‘Bring Home Nelson Mandela’ (1986) which had been a rallying cry around the world.

In 2004 Masekela published his compelling autobiography, Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela (co-authored with D. Michael Cheers), which Vanity Fair described thus: ‘…you’ll be in awe of the many lives packed into one.’

His story is far from over, and as Bra Hugh approaches his 75th birthday he shows no signs of slowing down. He maintains a busy international tour schedule as his fan base around the world continues to grow.

In June 2010 he opened the FIFA Soccer World Cup Kick-Off Concert to a global audience and performed at the event’s Opening Ceremony in Soweto’s Soccer City. Later that year he created the mesmerizing musical, Songs of Migration with director, James Ngcobo, which drew critical acclaim and played to packed houses. Songs of Migration will visit Amsterdam, London and Washington in October 2012.

In 2010, President Zuma honoured him with the highest order in South Africa: The Order of Ikhamanga, and 2011 saw Masekela receive a Lifetime Achievement award at the WOMEX World Music Expo in Copenhagen. The US Virgin Islands proclaimed ‘Hugh Masekela Day’ in March 2011, not long after Hugh joined U2 on stage during the Johannesburg leg of their 360 World Tour. U2 frontman Bono described meeting and playing with Hugh as one of the highlights of his career.

2012 has already been a busy year with Hugh just returning to South Africa from touring Europe with Paul Simon on the Graceland 25th Anniversary Tour. He has opened his own studio and record label, House of Masekela which has already put out its first release: Friends – a 4 CD collection of jazz standards featuring his dear friend, pianist Larry Willis.

Hugh is currently using his global reach to spread the word about heritage restoration in Africa – a topic that remains very close to his heart.

SOURCE –  Hugh Masekela Website

UTTERANCE

I was drunk last night
from the keg of uttering pots
whose marrows shone
like pieces of piercing diamonds
on bended wooing knees
smiling in absent smells
of waiting kisses
and passing rush.

I was drunk last night
like a broken poet
in egg shells,
when I sang utterances
in the tunes of a gypsy song
who danced in ashes blood
of boiling incense

but why
would she make me wait
at the breast of another bread –
where the milk
is but a shadow,
and vapours stand
for sailing passion
with: “angels on
my pillows?”

and now
we would make
the liquor whisper
in voices unheard
at the sudden enchantment
of swift influences

I was drunk last night –
stuck between
the ancient crush
and this brazen me

and let The Spirit
and let the voice
become One
in my Utterance

and maybe someday
when blood
is made flowers,
I shall say the parable
of the broken kolanut.

-Kenneth Christie-Atiti.

BEFFTA award-winning Eric Reverence is one of the best and established upcoming UK artists with a style of music that has touched many lives. His team consists of a multi-national team of talented singers and musicians who are in tune with his vision to lead others to a life of true worship. His heart and passion is to fulfill what God has called him to do which is produce songs for everyone’s needs, empower and build others, especially young people with musical talent and to help them to fulfill the purpose of God in their lives.

A true positive role model, Eric has just received a prestigious nomination at the 2017 National Diversity award for his endless work with the youth which he has carried out for over 20 years. He works with the hard to reach target group, also know as the N.E.E.T (Not in Education, Employment, Training) and engaging with them and getting them back on track in life. He has done many workshops with them about life skills to build their confidence and develop the skills needed to get into education, employment or training.

Eric’s Single ‘I Give You My All’ has touched many lives and is currently being heard Premier Radio and UCB Radio. He has also appeared on a number of television and radio stations including UCB TV, Premier Radio, Believe TV and Ukentv. Eric’s achievements within four years as artist include a semi-finalists in the UK Gospel Competition, appeared as special guest artist on televised events including Just Out Of This World Final. He has ministered in various cities and towns around the UK and overseas including, Pentecost Festival, Camden Festival, Sommerset Conference and Gospel Corner at Notting Hill Carnival. His rise to success has also seen him tour and ministered at international events in the world including USA, Canada, Netherlands and Ghana .

The award-winning artist is well known for writing and composing simple and easy to learn contemporary praise and worship songs and these songs has been a hit at every event he has ministered. Eric has now released his new Single and EP titled. ‘I will carry on’ from his Live Recording Event in April 2013 and this includes music videos. In August 2014, Eric performed at the African Gospel Music Awards (AGMA) 2014 as a special guest, was also nominated for an award for Best Group of the year at Gospel Touch Music Awards and also performed as a special guest.

Eric has completed a successful charity tour in Ghana and looking forward to major tours across the globe. He also aims to release his new album in Summer 2015 followed by a tour.

THE MISSION

Eric Reverence mission is:

• To work with charities and orphanages and raise finance for a good cause
• To bring others in connection with God through songs he has written.
• To develop and produce songs that individuals/church organisations can use for their daily personal devotional needs or praise and worship
• To empower and build others, especially young people with musical talent/gifts and to help, nurture and develop them.

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

– BEFFTA AWARDS 2016 (Best Male Gospel Act)

– PraiseTek Gospel Music Awards 2015 for Praise & Worship Artist of the year (Awarded)
– PGM Ambassador for UK 2015 (Awarded)

– Gospel Touch Music Award nominee 2014 for Best Group of the year

– Performed as Special Guest artist at Gospel Touch Music Awards 2014

– Performed as Special Guest artist at AGMA Awards 2014

– Performed as Special Guest artist at Just Out of This World Awards 2011

– Finalist at Gospel Rock Competition 2010

SINGLE & EP

I WILL CARRY ON SINGLE

I WILL CARRY ON ALBUM

Available to purchase on iTunes

MUSIC VIDEOS

*YOU ARE*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHwYDgmBBg*

*I WILL CARRY ON*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t129395epUE

*I BELONG TO YOU*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2o8xL3Zcx0

SPONTANEOUS WORSHIP DOCUMENTARY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-7iGa-3DWY

*I WILL CARRY ON MUSIC VIDEO *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzBU43t5wWw

*GHANA CHARITY TOUR SNIP**PET 2013 (The quality of some of the sound and
picture of this clip is not that great)*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYkWfNlZzPg

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Web:www.ericreverence.com (currently being updated)

www.sworship.com (currently being updated)

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/reverence.eric

https://www.facebook.com/sworshipevent/

https://www.facebook.com/EricReverenceMusic/?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Spontaneous_16   

ANOTHER AFRICA

Africa has become a grey haired toddler
on her mother’s broken back
whose many pampered thoughts
make for owned clanging chains

Africa whose cry was strong
at early birth on crown’s night
only now drinks the infant milk
from soured breast at nipples grave

Africa has lost her coloured face
in the drunken scotch of timely mesh
and staggers amongst faint inanities
where cowries are stones at road sides

He loved her
but she lied
and only asked:
“what have you done for my
father who brought me forth, and my mother who holds me still?”

and then these maiden men
singing praises of
their many manly maids in mass contortions not like the harmattan wind

Africa bears not her own burden
but is frozen in delightful myrrh
where her native strength of old
is far sunk in wintry cold.

-Kenneth Christie-Atiti.
©2017.