Graciano Enwerem (Sir Grrraciano) is a multiple award-winning Poet, Writer, Media Consultant and Lecturer at the Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, Nigeria.

He’s the founder of Figures of Speech Movement Africa, a WhatsApp platform where he teaches poetry
writing, performance and branding for free. He’s mentored over 800 Poets across the world, and taught
more than 5,000 of them, from 2008, till date.

He is also the founder of Corona Verses, an Instagram Live Event aimed at creating a platform for
artistes to spread some positive vibes during the pandemic and lockdowns.

He’s the author of SPOKEN WORD POETRY-101, STICKZ AND STONEZ, A-Z OF INSTAGRAM & 10 WAYS TO
WRITE COMPELLING ADS. One of the books, SPOKEN WORD POETRY-101 has a record 9,000+ sales in a
little above 3 years and still counting.

He was voted Nigeria’s Number Poet at the EGC rankings twice in a row and this year, he was listed as
one of the most successful Black-owned Businesses In The World (Poetry Category) by the organizers of
the National Black Business Month in the United States of America.

Asides his very popular strong belief that a constant application of a strategic flow of mentoring
sessions, poetry could be made to go mainstream, he also believes that beans and plantain, when
cooked with the right amount of oil and pepper can make a suicidal to reconsider.
Contact Info

Whatsapp

https://wa.me/2348060878235

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/PoetGraciano

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/gracianoenwerem

Twitter
https://twitter.com/GracianoEnwerem

YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1x3ROJ1a_cl6hwVSaP0nfg

Link Tree
https://linktr.ee/gracianoenwerem

Medium
https://medium.com/@grrraciano

Email
grrraciano@gmail.com

The amazing Founders of THE TMMP AWARDS, Eric Reverence and Mr and Mrs Morrison were on the guest list for OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS AT THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE 8TH YEAR.

TMMP AWARDS continue to do amazing work. Information about this amazing initiative can be found below

ABOUT TMMP AWARDS

TMMP Awards (The Music & Media Platform Awards, is a collaborative award ceremony where media outlets across the UK nominate the best artists, musicians and community heroes.

​

The ceremony celebrates UK’s musical talent found in Christian/Gospel music and awards are presented to individuals representing Pop/Contemporary,

Lo-fi, Dance, Electro Gospel, modern Rock, Reggae/Dancehall, Rap/Hip Hop, Grime/Drill, Inspirational, Urban, Country, Worship and more!

​

With our excellent media partners from across the UK, The Music and Media Platform Awards aspires to bring the various outlets to the wider attention of the public and new and existing talents.

​

The aims and objectives of TMMP Awards are to:

• Educate, Celebrate and Award the very best artists, musicians and community heroes.
• Showcase the hidden gems that are found in UK Christian and Gospel Music
• Provide music workshops for artists and musicians to help understand the music industry
• Develop a strong connection between UK media platforms in all genres of the Christian and Gospel music industry.
• Create and provide platforms for artists, musicians and community heroes.
• Gain huge visibility for artists, musicians and community heroes through media.
• Provide opportunities for artists, musicians to network and build relationships with UK media platforms.

The amazing Enotie Ogbebor is a Self taught multidisciplinary artist and Consultant/adviser on Art and Culture to the Edo State Government.

It was a profound pleasure to have him as a special guest at OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS AT THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE 8TH YEAR.

Information about Mr Enotie Ogbebor can be found below . Also watch this space for video footage which will soon be available on our youtube channel

ABOUT ENOTIE OGBEBOR

Enotie Ogbebor is a self taught multidisciplinary artist whose love for art, culture and history started from childhood where he molded with clay and sketched voraciously. He was born and is currently living in Benin City and Lagos, Nigeria.
his interest in art was piqued by his childhood spent in igun street witnessing his uncle bronze casters at work, he was apprenticed whilst on holidays from school to the late master carver Imagbenekaro in Benin. He was exposed to the works of the Nigerian modernist at an early age and had private art tutors at home.

“I seek to use my Art to encourage humanity to recognise the beauty around us and to seek for solutions which I highlight in our history,culture, environmental issues and its correlation to Human trafficking and social issues which affect our societies.” to initiate conversations which result in the implementation of sustainable solutions.

I have been influenced deeply by an intuitive style of Painting, sculpting with colours and mixed media.”
His interest in art was also piqued by his travels to Egypt, Greece and Ethiopia and also his childhood visits to various Museums in Africa, Europe and the United States of America where he saw firsthand some of the wonders of the world. His practice includes Painting, Sculpture, music and Performance art.
Enotie is considered an authority in Benin court art and history. He is a voice in the discourse and plays a very active role in the effort about the restitution of ancient Benin bronzes and artifacts which are in the possession of foreign museums.

He was selected by the Great Benin centenary committee to show his works at the Oba of Benin Royal Art exhibitions in 1997which was organized to commemorate the Centennial of the British Invasion of Benin Kingdom.
Enotie Ogbebor’s works can be found in numerous notable private and public institutions across the world.
Enotie would be the subject of a Solo Exhibition at the British Museum in 2021/2022 at the end of his current residency program there.

In 2017 Enotie set up Nosona Studios, his private studio for training fine artists and in 2018 Nosona Studios was selected as a vendor organization to the Smithsonian institute in Washington DC U.S.A. In the area of training to preserve old technics.
He also set up Edo Global Art Foundation, a platform for the development of multidisciplinary artists.
He is a steering committee member of the Benin Dialogue Group.
He is currently collaborating with Sir David Adjaye OBE RA on the establishment of the Edo Museum for West African Arts (E.M.O.W.A.A).
Enotie is also a director on the board of the Legacy Restoration Trust (L.R.T) responsible for E.M.O.W.A.A

SOURCE OF BIO – SAATCHI ART

#blackhistorymonth2022 #cityofculture2025 #africanblogger

HAVE YOU GOT YOUR TICKETS FOR ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL EVENTS OF THE YEAR ?

HAVE YOU GOT YOUR TICKETS FOR ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL EVENTS OF THE YEAR ?

Come and be part of one of the most inspirational events of the year featuring amazing artists who will be performing at Wired To Worship on Saturday 3rd December, 6PM at Dominion Centre, Wood Green, London.

They include Loveradge, Victoria Orenze, Eric Reverence Elle Limebear, Limoblaze, Philippa Hanna, Joshua Kesler and Becca Folkes

The Hosts on the night are Ibe Giantkiller Otah and Samantha Radford

THIS IS THE EVENT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR

Tickets are available at www.wiredtoworship.org

This is an event not to be missed!!!!! MORE UPDATES COMING SOON

#worship #gospelartists #livestream #inspirationalevent

BRADFORD BASED JERRY CRAWFORD DELIVERS AN IMPRESSIVE SPEECH AT BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATIONS, UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT

The amazing Bradford based Jerry Crawford , The Founder of Collective Impact was one of THE KEY SPEAKERS at OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS AT THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT on Friday the 28th of October 2022.

Mr Jerry Crawford was at The House of Parliament to represent the positive stories and voices of Bradford, West Yorkshire. He spoke about life growing up in Bradford and his journey and mission to improve the spirit of community cohesion and inclusion in the amazing city.

Also watch this space for the video footage of his talk .

Other people representing Bradford on the day where Bradford Born Key Speaker , Anthony Peltier who delivered an impressive speech, Bradford based Sinead Campbell (an amazing performing artist ) and Mr Yusef of Bradford Telegraph and Argus

Our BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS took place at THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT for the 8TH YEAR.

The performing artists on the day were Bradford based Sinead Campbell and London based Da Sweetnezz.

Both artists thrilled the audience with their amazing voices, adding a profound spark and raw energy to OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS that many people will remember for a very long time.

WATCCH THIS SPACE for footage of their amazing performances on our youtube channel

THE AMAZING MR ISO BASSEY , THE FOUNDER OF CROSS RIVER MOVEMENT WAS ONE OF THE KEY SPEAKERS AT OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS AT THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIEMENT ON FRIDAY THE 28TH OF OCTOBER 2022.

HIS INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH ON THE DAY CAN BE FOUND BELOW

The speech below was delivered by Iso Bassey on 28th, October, 2022 at an event to mark Black History Month at the UK House of Parliament

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen.


I’m delighted to be here today to celebrate Black History Month in this great edifice of the UK House of Parliament. I am not a historian so I suspect that I was not invited with the expectation that I would give an exposition on black history. I would be woefully inadequate if such a demand were placed upon me. Thankfully, the theme of this year’s Black History Month is “Sharing journeys”. Now journeys create stories, and since everyone has been on a journey, everyone should have a story or two to tell. So I’ll tell a story.


Sometime around 1777 a baby girl was born somewhere in Western Africa. Her true name remains unknown so for the purpose of this story I shall call her Miss. X. Miss. X grew up in a family where she was loved and nurtured. She had a home, a culture, a language.


Records indicate that sometime in the early 1800s Miss. X arrived the Island of Jamaica on a ship. Now, in 1800s we know that Africans did not take transatlantic holidays. Transatlantic movement of Africans was forced on them for the economic benefit of rich white countries. We call this the transatlantic slave trade. We also know that only the toughest of the tough survived these transatlantic journeys, so we can safely assume that Miss. X was a fighter, a young lady with an indomitable spirit. I wish I could tell you more about Miss. X’s life after she arrived Jamaica, but sadly I can’t. The book, “ROOTS” by Alex Haley and other similar books should help fill in gaps in terms of what her experience would have been.


I do know however that Miss. X found herself in what is known today as the parish of Hanover in Jamaica where she was given the name FELITIA THELWELL. In 1805 she had a son born into slavery named Thomas Nugent. In 1854 Thomas Nugent had a daughter who was named Sarah Ann Nugent. In 1893 Sarah Ann Nugent gave birth to a son named Martin Luther Dickson. In 1935 Martin Luther Dickson had a daughter named Clara Lorina Dickson. Clara Lorina Dickson gave birth to yours truly, she was my mother and Miss. X (or Felitia Thelwell as she came to be known) my great-great-great grandmother.


My parents met in Hull here in England while my father was studying to become a lawyer and my mother was training to become a nurse. They married in 1958 and both returned to Nigeria where they begun a family.


I suspect that my story will not be too different from those of my brothers and sisters who have either one or both parents from the Caribbean. I’m sure you will all agree with me that history over the last 500 years has been characterized by grave acts of inhumanity against black people. And even today black people continue to be marginalized and treated like second class citizens in most places around the world.


Whilst it is important for us to reflect on black history (and that is what today is about), it is arguably more important to plan for and figure out ways of shaping black future. If we don’t do this, we stand the risk of being trapped in an endless cycle of resentment and other negative emotions.


If we are to shape a bright black future, it may be wise to start by asking ourselves some pertinent questions.


Why for example would the UAE jail a black African woman for tweeting a video exposing the horrendous treatment she and other Africans were forced to endure at the Dubai International Airport? Why for example were African students fleeing Ukraine at the start of the war turned back at the Polish borders while white people arriving at the same time were allowed to cross the border? Peter Okweche the BBC journalist who visited Ukraine and Poland to investigate the treatment of African students said “I don’t want this part of the story to overshadow what’s happening in Ukraine. The Ukrainians are being bullied. But if in turn the Ukrainians are bullying a small group of people, I think that story should be told as well. Everybody’s suffering counts.”


Peter is right. Everybody’s suffering should count. But does it? The answer is NO. The sad reality of the world in which we live is that we as black people have the burden of having to earn the right to have our suffering count, the right to be treated with respect and dignity. 


And this leads me to another question. Why are we saddled with this burden? Could it be because despite our huge resources, Africa is by far the poorest continent on the planet? Could it be because half the population of Africa live on less than $2 a day and lacks basic needs like nutrition, sanitation, and clean water. Could it be because the GDP of the whole of Africa is less than the GDP of the state of California. Could it have something to do with the fact that large sections of our landscapes have become conflict zones. Ladies and gentlemen, I could go on and on.


I do not for one moment excuse it when black people are treated any differently from other people. That’s racial discrimination and it is wrong, but could it be that a brighter future for black people may lie in channeling the emotions of mistreatment into a force for positive good in our families, communities and our home countries. The truth is that no matter how successful we are as individuals, when push comes to shove, like it did in Ukraine earlier this year, you are an ordinary black person and will be treated no differently than the world believes an ordinary black person deserves to be treated. So for me, the solution likes in the lifting of all black people around the world especially in Africa. In a book titled Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson summed up what I feel is a major problem in Africa “Developed countries have political and economic systems that are inclusive and offer opportunities for most people to create wealth, however most developing economies have political and economic systems that are extractive. Those in the ruling class have a strong hold on political power, and use it to channel economic resources to benefit themselves and those close to them.” Sadly that’s the story of Nigeria. That’s the story of my home state, Cross River State.


How do we break these cycles? How can we improve the quality of leadership and governance especially in our African countries. I am part of an organization called The Cross River Movement which has a focus on improving governance in my home state, Cross River State in Nigeria. We provide a platform for citizens to interact with politicians and ask them questions. It is a lot of hard work. Do we expect to see results overnight? Certainly not. I’m reminded of the forest man of India (Jadav Molai Payeng) who was told by an agricultural scientist “Plant trees and they will take care of us”. He went on to plant a tree a day and by so doing turned 550 acres of baren land into a lush green forest with a variety of birds and animals. If one man can make such a difference, imagine what will happen if we all embraced a single vision to improve leadership and governance in our communities and home countries. We can start the ripples of change that create the waves that shift the tides.


In closing let me remind you of the words of the agricultural scientist who said “Plant trees and they will take care of us”. To us here, I say “Plant good leadership and governance in Africa and they will take care of us”. Personally, this is something I feel I owe my children and future generations. But also something I feel I equally owe to my great-great-great grandmother and the millions of others like her who were so brutally taken away from their homes. We must bequeath not only to the future generations, but also to the legacy of those who’ve gone before us, a place where they would all be proud to call home.


Thank you very much

The soul of any community lives in the heart of its people.

IT WAS A PROFOUND PLEASURE TO ORGANISE THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS AT THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE 8TH YEAR ON FRIDAY THE 28TH OF OCTOBER 2022

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING KEY SPEAKERS.

MR Roland Butcher – First Black Cricketer to represent England

MR Iso Bassey – Founder of the Cross River Movement

Bradford based Jerry Red Dred Crawford – Founder of Collective Impact

Bradford born Anthony Peltier – Retired School Head Teacher and retired Senior Police Officer

Rico Jakk – Advocate for African heritage

Thank you to Sir Enotie Paul Ogbebor for your brotherly support on the day and sharing your knowledge

A BIG THANK YOU to are amazing performing artists – London based Jennifer Sobola and Bradford based Sinead Campbell

Special thanks to our media partners for this event, Black owned MBI Visuals managed by Malakai Israel,. Yusef Alam of Telegraph and Argus Newspapers and Steve Mulindwa

Thank again to amazing supporters Ebele ObumseluAnzir BoodooGogo Anyanwu Jr.Debbie GoltEric ReverenceAndrew Morrison and so many others present on the day .

Thank you to my amazing sister Nicolette Fernandez Okewole for all your selfless support

Watch this space for all the pictures and video footage

#blackhistorymonth2022 #blacklivesmatter #cityofculture2025

OUR ROLE MODEL OF THE WEEK IS ROLE MODEL OF THE WEEK IS MALAKAI ISRAEL – FOUNDER OF MBI VISUALS.

INFORMATION ABOUT HIM CAN BE FOUNDE BELOW . CONGRATULATIONS TO MALAKAI ISRAEL

ABOUT THE AMAZING MALAKAI ISRAEL

Founder of an award winning video marketing agency based in the West Midlands. I have 14 years experience in online marketing and art design. I also have 13 years of experience as a videographer.

My video productions have been featured on large Internet youtube channels: VEVO, SBTV & LINKUP TV, with a combined subscribership of 22 million plus.

I was tasked by Tim Watchorne, Jason Maza (Brotherhood, Bullet Proof, Shifty, Anuva Hood) & David Proud (BBC/EastEnders) to create a music score for a Panasonic G3 Promotional Video. Was great fun working on it!

I was also part of a film production team, providing original soundtracks and voice over, for a feature length film entitled “Last Flight to Abuja”, with a star cast including hollywood actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim. The film went on to win multiple awards, including Best Sound.

The film grossed 8.35 Million Nara in its opening weekend with an attendance of 9,638 and went ahead to gross 24 Million Nara beating Hollywood movies such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Think Like a Man, The Avengers and Madagascar 3.

It was released in many cities, including Lagos and London, where it was rated at 4 stars by Odeon cinemas. Also receiving over 2 million views on Ibaka TV’s YouTube Channel.

So far the film has grossed over 57 Million Nara making it one of the best selling movies in Africa and is currently streaming on Netflix.

As production manager I also helped to create a short film entitled “Second Wind” Directed by Andrew Webber (AW Broadcast). My duties were fulfilled, finding lead actress Emma Jeng of ‘Coronation Street’ (ITV), Emmerdale Farm (ITV) ‘Doctors’ (BBC) and Hollyoaks (Channel 4), filming b-roll, organising sets, securing locations, finding and securing props & supporting actors.

The film went on to be showcased at Portobello Film Festival in London, The Kingston Film festival in Jamaica, The Movie Video & Screen Awards and The Black International Film Festival. Backed by The British Arts Council, “Second Wind” was nominated for multiple awards. I did this for free, as I valued the experience over the money.

I also worked on a music video for talented Nigerian artist Priscilla Nwachi. I was first assistant director and camera operator on this project entitled “Just Like You”. Directed by Andrew Webber. This video was broadcasted on two African TV stations.

At the moment
I’m looking to work with educational organisations, creating professional video production and video marketing.

OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS TAKES PLACE AT UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT

The guestlist for this annual event is full.

Do watch this space for video footage of the event which will be available on OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

KINDLY SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AT http://www.youtube.com/user/etekatoks