The Igbo Initiative

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Ify Adenuga, author of "Endless Fortunes" and mother of four of Britain's top creatives. . It is the story of Ify Adenuga, the mother of the rapper Skepta, radio presenter Julie Adenuga, grime MC Jme, and visual artist Jason.

During the punishing civil war of the mid 60s, Ify’s family uprooted from Lagos to her parent’s original state in eastern Nigeria. In 1980, she exchanged the still recovering war-torn nation for the strange streets of London. There, Ify had to start a new life as a working-class immigrant and student.

She met her husband Joseph Senior Adenuga at a bingo hall in East London where they were both working migrants. In the tough working-class area of Tottenham, they raised their four children and encouraged them to explore their artistic instincts, narrowly avoiding a violent situation that threatened to tear the family apart.

As the first book of its kind from the mother of successful British creatives to examine the experience of the African diaspora and the complications around immigration from a personal perspective, “Endless Fortune” is a timely addition to the ongoing conversation around migration politics and immigration in the UK.

Source :https://www.facebook.com/bellanaija/photos/endless-fortune-tells-the-story-of-an-igbo-woman-in-a-foreign-country-raising-so/10158740528017329/
Picture : https://ifyadenuga.com/

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Ndidi Patience Madu, Nigeria’s sole representative in the football tournament in Tokyo 2020, returned to Nigeria rewarded with a medal by FIFA.

Madu, who is part of a FIFA project for development, was appointed as an understudy for the Tokyo Olympics Games but had the unprecedented privilege after passing all the fitness and medical tests to be given the privilege of officiating in three matches as a fourth official during the games.

She was among the last 15 women technical/match officials remaining after the group stages as other officials departed their various countries as the games progressed.

Patience Madu who got her FIFA badge in 2018 has shown tremendous growth and ability to interpret the rules of the games in the various FIFA/ CAF engagements involved in.

She is an Elite A referee representing Enugu state referee council and has almost rounded up her PhD from the University of Nigeria.

Source : https://www.blueprint.ng/tokyo-2020-nigeria-patience-madu-grabs-a-deserving-medal/
Picture : https://ghanasoccernet.com/nigerian-referee-patience-ndidi-appointed-for-black-maidens-liberia-fifa-u-17-wwc-qualifier

Highly skilled professional carvers were responsible for crafting doors; those working in Awka were the best known.

Source : https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/doors-entryways-world-cultures/detail #3

Pre-colonial Igbo people, architecture and/or culture : Picture 16

Entrance gate and walls with relief of a farmer's compound at Nnewi (noted as "Entrance to a compound of IGBO farmer's house near NEWI"), northern Igbo area, c. 1938. Photo: Edward Duckworth. Pitt Rivers Museum.

Source & Picture : https://blog.ukpuru.org/2019/10/near-nnewi.html

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Sorina Nwachukwu (born August 21, 1987 in Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German sprinter of Nigerian descent, who specialized in the 400 metres. She set her personal best time of 51.53 seconds, by winning the same distance at the 2009 German National Athletics Championships in Ulm. Nwachukwu is also a member of the track and field team for TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and is coached and trained by Joachim Schwarzmüller.

Nwachukwu competed for the women's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, along with her teammates Claudia Hoffmann, Florence Ekpo-Umoh, and Jonna Tilgner. Running the second leg, Nwachukwu recorded her individual-split time of 52.60 seconds, and the German team went on to an eighth-place finish in the final, for a total time of 3:28.45.

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://www.spox.com/de/sport/diashows/0908/Mehrsport/leichtathletik-wm-schoensten-sportlerinnen/leichtathletik-wm-schoenste-frauen-in-berlin,seite=23.html

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Chinwe Okoro (born 20 June 1989) is a Nigerian track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and the discus throw. She is a three-time African champion and holds the Nigerian record for the discus throw at 59.79 m (196 ft 1+3⁄4 in).

Okoro grew up in Kentucky, attending high school in Russell, and holds dual Nigerian-American citizenship. She attended the University of Louisville and combined athletics and academics as a student-athlete. She won the American junior title in the shot put in 2008 and was an NCAA All-American in 2011. Her high marks in her physical therapy studies made her a five-time Big East Conference All-Academic, and she later won the Michael Hale Scholarship to continue with her studies via a doctorate at Bellarmine University.

Her first international competition came at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where she finished tenth in the shot put. Her first senior medals followed at the 2012 African Championships in Athletics, where she won the discus throw and was runner-up to Vivian Chukwuemeka in the shot put, who was later disqualified for doping, however, elevating Okoro to double throws champion at the event.
Okoro missed the 2013 season but returned improved the year after and successfully defended her discus title at the 2014 African Championships in Athletics with a championship record and personal best throw of 59.79 m (196 ft 1+3⁄4 in). She was again runner-up in the shot put.

She represented Africa in both throw events at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup and was sixth in shot put and seventh in discus.

Okoro qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics with a throw of 61.58. She represented Nigeria in the discus throw and finished 14th out of 34.

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://alchetron.com/Chinwe-Okoro

The planning of a prominent persons funeral had the lying-in-state of the body put into consideration, this event drew people from distant areas (mgbaru); money and other worldly possessions including the deceased persons tools of trade in life like a blacksmiths hammer or a farmers hoe were laid out on display next to the person's body.

Leaders and heads of state were not announced as dead to the public until certain rites took place, this event known as ikpo oku could be done well over a year after a leader's passing. Most people were buried near or within their compound, a titled elder was buried in their obi, or living room.

In old times, as is the case today, people living abroad made plans for they or their relatives bodies to be taken back to their ancestral home. On the other hand, in cases where people were considered to have had a ‘bad death’ their bodies were thrown away into a designated bush, usually an ajọ ọhia, or bad bush, some bad deaths included deaths by capital punishment and from serious diseases like small pox.

The burials of deceased children were not given much fanfare, children were buried very quickly, almost immediately or very early in the morning or late at night. When married women died their bodies were taken to their fathers' home to be buried, except in cases when sons were present to bury their mothers as they wish.

Compared to modern day practices, these processes seem quite quite simple.

Source : https://blog.ukpuru.org/search/label/People

Pre-colonial Igbo people, architecture and/or culture : Picture 15

This is an antique, metal coiled bracelet which was used as currency by the Igbo tribal people for large transactions like bride price in Nigeria, Africa. This currency coil is in the form of a bracelet and is in great overall antique tribally used condition with a nice patina.

Currency bracelets served as indications of wealth and were used to store finances, pay for dowries and buy or trade for livestock and goods. This is an amazing example and a perfect piece to add to any advanced African currency collection. This currency specimen measures 8 inches long by 4 1/2 inches wide and weighs 2 pounds 15 ounces.

Source & Picture : https://picclick.com/Antique-Igbo-African-Tribal-Metal-Coil-Spiral-Bracelet-361900639082.html

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Caroline Chikezie (born 19 February 1974) is a British Nigerian actress, best known for playing Sasha Williams in As If, and Elaine Hardy in Footballers' Wives. In recent years she has gained popularity as the main character in the Nigerian series The Governor.

Chikezie was born in England to Nigerian parents of Igbo origin. At 14, Chikezie was sent to boarding school in Nigeria in an attempt to make her abandon her dreams to become an actress. Before this, she had attended weekend classes at Italia Conti. On her return to the United Kingdom, she enrolled into Brunel University where she studied Medicinal Chemistry (she was expected to take over her father's hospital in Nigeria), but dropped out of school. She later won a scholarship to the UK's Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.

After roles in Holby City, Casualty, and the award-winning British film Babymother, Chikezie landed her first major role as bitchy Sasha Williams in As If in 2001. In 2004 she landed a regular role as Kyle Pascoe's girlfriend Elaine Hardy in Series Three of Footballer's Wives.

Other television work includes 40, Judas Kiss, Free Fall and Brothers and Sisters.

She appeared as Lisa Hallett, a member of the secret organisation of Torchwood who had been transformed into a half-human half-Cyberman in "Cyberwoman", an episode of Torchwood, and as Tamara, a fellow demon hunter, in the 3rd-season premiere of Supernatural. In 2018, she starred as a recurring character, Queen Tamlin of Leah in the 2nd season of Shannara Chronicles.

She also starred as Angela Ochello in the hit EbonyLife Television series "The Governor."

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://jolitajewellery.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/caroline-chikezie-in-our-jewels/

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Chioma Nnamaka (born June 15, 1985 in Uppsala, Sweden) is a Swedish professional female basketball player and a member of Sweden women's national basketball team.

Nnamaka attended high school at Fryshusets Kunskaps Centrum. While playing basketball, she helped her team to win the Swedish Championship on three occasions. Nnamaka then went to the United States to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology. She made the Dean's list studying International Affairs, and played basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team.

Nnamaka was selected 21st overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft, by the San Antonio Silver Stars via their first pick. She was the highest draft pick ever chosen from Georgia Tech. She was then traded on the same day to the expansion-team Atlanta Dream, where she completed her rookie season.

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://playerswiki.com/chioma-nnamaka





igbopride #

In pre-colonial Igbo, copper bracelets and leg bands were the principal 'money' and they were usually worn by women to display their husband's wealth.

During the 1470s Portuguese explorers became aware that, all along the west coast of Africa, copper bracelets and leg-bands were a means of exchange. Copper, regarded as the ‘red gold’ of Africa, was mined and then traded across the Sahara by merchants from Italy and Arabia. This ‘red gold’ was seen always as the primary metal for exchange and value judgements (Herbert, 1984), whereas gold was regarded by Africans for purposes of adornment and the export trade. For internal purposes one of the oldest, and original general-purpose currencies, was the copper or bronze manilla, and were known at Calabar in 1505.

Made of copper, brass, and iron, the Portuguese, British and French modeled these metal currency “bracelets” after the heavy copper leg bands, wrist and neck bracelets early Portuguese explorers saw in the 1470’s in West Africa. The foreign made “manilla” (manus (hand) in Latin, monilia (necklaces) ), became a hot commodity used for trading in goods.

Source : Wikipedia, https://newafrikan77.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/manilla-ancient-igbo-money-ojonma-ego-ola-west-africa-currency-africa-to-the-americas-slave-trade/ , http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/rpr/index.php/objectbiographies/78-manilla/

Pre-colonial Igbo people, architecture and/or culture : Picture 14

An Igbo man from Agukwu Nri decorated with what appears to be ùlì, a semi-permanent dye from a plant and a system of symbols of the same name. Photographed by Northcote Thomas, c. 1910-11. MAA Cambridge.

Note also his ichi marks, body jewelry and hair carving/design. These must all have significance and/or contain information of which our present generation have no idea. Please share any information if you have access.🙏

Source & Picture : https://blog.ukpuru.org/search/label/Agukwu

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Chiamaka Cynthia Nnadozie (born 8 December 2000) footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Paris FC in the French Division 1 Féminine and the Nigerian national team.

During the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Nnadozie played all 4 matches. Against Haiti she received the "Dare to Shine" Player of the Match award for her good performance. Not long after the U-20 Tournament she was also selected for the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations where she stayed on the bench for all five matches, then at the 2019 Women WAFU Cup she was in goal for the Super Falcons spectacular performance.

At age 19, Nnadozie was named to the senior national team (commonly known as the Super Falcons) to compete at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. As Nigeria's starting goalkeeper in the team's 2–0 victory over Korea, Nnadozie became the youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at the World Cup.

After the World Cup, Nnadozie again helped the Falconets to Gold medal at the African Games in Morocco saving three penalties in the shootout against Cameroon.

Individual honors
IFFHS Africa's Best Woman Goalkeeper: 2019
IFFHS World's Best Woman Goalkeeper: 2019 (nominee)
African Women's Footballer of the Year: 2019 (nominee)
NFF Awards Young Player of the Year : 2018 (nominee)

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://twitter.com/nadoziechiamaka

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Chinelo Bally, Nigerian-born Brit who appeared on the BBC’s ‘Great British Sewing Bee’, where she wowed judges and fellow contestants with her freehand cutting method. Chinelo is the author of Freehand Fashion and is an expert on BBC2’s show ‘Saved and Remade’. She also blogs and has a Youtube channel.

Source : https://www.pavilionbooks.com/contributor/chinelo-bally/
Picture:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGkjetwlHZ4MoQs662gBy3g?app=desktop






#

Pre-colonial Igbo people, architecture and/or culture : Picture 13

Igbo youth with solar/lunar ichi marks. The marks are made to look like sun rays and also represent the moon. In Igbo the lines are called ogba (farm furrows).

Early 20th century, Photo by MDW Jeffreys.
Location: Unknown

Source & Pictures : https://blog.ukpuru.org/search/label/Ichi

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Whitney Madueke, influencer, fashion designer, content strategist, & artist, she started out back in 2013 with a small laptop and a huge interest in creating Youtube videos while studying Law at college. Over the years she has gained recognition for her smile - with its own hashtag " " and authentic stories detailing her life and major moments like her switch from Law to Fashion Design and her move from Nigeria to New York City whilst sharing my love for beauty, skincare and fashion.

​She has built an international brand and has a prestigious portfolio of partnerships with Clinique, Dior, Lancome, Bobbi Brown, Sephora, Target, MAC Cosmetics, NET-A-PORTER, Shea Moisture, La Mer and so much more.

​She has over 200,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube and 8 years of experience.

Source: https://www.thewhitneymadueke.com/
Picture : https://www.bellanaijastyle.com/whitney-maduekes-curlfest-outfit-mixed-traditional-and-bohemian-festival-vibes-in-the-best-way/






#

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Chidera Nneoma Okolie (born 27 March 1993)is a Nigerian writer who gained national attention when her debut novel When Silence Becomes Too Loud was endorsed in 2015 by then President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan.
Okolie studied Law at the University of Nigeria and was admitted to the Nigerian bar in November 2016

She published her first novel, When Silence Becomes Too Loud, in December 2014 while a law student. In March 2015 the novel was endorsed by then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, in an entrepreneurship initiative in Abuja.

In September 2017, she released her second publication, Not Forgiven, a collection of short psychological thriller stories.

In February 2018, Okolie founded Idios Creatives, a platform for young aspiring writers and creatives to express their creativity. In April 2018, she initiated the Idios Prize for Flash Fiction and Poetry, which attracted participation from at least 397 school children. One hundred stories were selected by Okolie and compiled into a book titled The Future: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems by Children of Selected Nigerian Schools, which was released in November 2018.

In June 2015, Okolie was nominated for the African Achievers Awards. In 2016, she was named Fiction Writer of the Year and one of the 100 most influential Nigerian writers under 40 at the first Nigerian Writers Awards. She was also named Fiction Writer of the Year at the Xperience Womanity Awards.

In January 2019, she was listed among the 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians by AvanceMedia in the category Law & Governance.

Source: Wikipedia
Picture: https://www.nairaland.com/3757765/meet-chidera-okolie-24-year-old

The scarification was found among men in the Awka-Nri areas and among a few women in the Awgwu and Nkanu areas. Its wearers were authorized to perform ritual cleansing of abominations and to confer titles on people. People with facial marks were regarded as Nri men and were less likely to be taken as slaves. Other parts of Igbo land may have started wearing Ichi as a result of this.

There are two styles; the Nri style worn in the Awka-Nri areas, and the Agbaja style worn in the Awgwu and Nkanu areas. In the Nri style, the carved line ran from the center of the forehead down to the chin. A second line ran across the face, from the right cheek to the left. This was repeated to obtain a pattern meant to imitate the rays of the sun.

In the Agbaja style, circles and semicircular patterns are added to the initial incisions to represent the moon. These scarifications were given to the representatives of the eze Nri; the mbùríchi. The scarifications were Nri's way of honoring the sun that they worshipped and was a form of ritual purification.

Source : Wikipedia

Pre-colonial Igbo people, architecture and/or culture : Picture 12

The Omu of Okpanam, whose name was not recorded, photographed by Northcote Thomas in 1912. Okpanam is an Enuani Igbo town near Asaba in Delta State, Nigeria today.

Source & Picture : https://blog.ukpuru.org/search?q=omu+of+onicha

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Chinelo Okparanta (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American novelist and short-story writer.She was educated at Pennsylvania State University (Schreyer Honors College), Rutgers University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Okparanta has published short stories in publications including Granta,The New Yorker, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, TriQuarterly, Conjunctions, Subtropics and The Coffin Factory. Her essays have appeared in AGNI, The Story Prize blog, and the University of Iowa, International Writing Program blog. She has held fellowships or visiting professorships at The University of Iowa, Colgate University, Purdue University, City College of New York, and Columbia University. She was Associate Professor of English & Creative Writing (Fiction) at Bucknell University, where she was also C. Graydon & Mary E. Rogers Faculty Research Fellow as well as Margaret Hollinshead Ley Professor in Poetry & Creative Writing until 2021. She is currently Associate Professor of English and Director of the Program in Creative Writing at Swarthmore College.

Her debut short-story collection, Happiness, Like Water (Granta Books and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), was longlisted for the 2013 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, a finalist for the 2014 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, and won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Le***an Fiction.

Her story Fairness was 2014 included in The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, among 20 short stories of this year.

Happiness, Like Water was an Editors' Choice for The New York Times Book Review on September 20, 2013. The collection was also listed as one of The Guardian's Best African Fiction of 2013, and in December 2014 was announced as being a finalist for the Nigerian Etisalat Prize for Literature.

Her first novel, Under the Udala Trees, was published in 2015.

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://brittlepaper.com/2018/04/chinelo-okparanta-named-cafes-list-100-extraordinary-changemakers/

SPOTLIGHT ON ... Glory Alozie Oluchi (born 30 December 1977 ) is a Nigerian-born Spanish track and field athlete competing mostly in hurdling.

The world junior second placer from 1996, she went on to have a successful senior career, although she has never won a global international event (placing second on five occasions). While representing Nigeria she became African champion twice, and she still holds the African record and Commonwealth record in 100 metres hurdles.

On 6 July 2001 she officially became a Spanish citizen and she won the gold medal at the 2002 European Athletics Championships the year after.

Source : Wikipedia
Picture : https://blogs.20minutos.es/quefuede/2015/11/05/que-fue-de-glory-alozie-una-nigeriana-que-se-arrepintio-de-hacerse-espanola/

The Omu work closely with diviners performing rites for the community and are the authorities over the opening of markets and resolving disputes within the market. The Omu depending on the community and period take titles typically reserved for men and also dress like men, as a consequence women who are post-menopausal are preferred for the role because such women in Igbo society could achieve the same status as men. As is custom in most communities, the Omu was not allowed to be married to a man, Omu were known to marry wives to assist them and have children for them.

Colonialism greatly reduced the power of the Omu in the market and over society in general due to gender bias in the indirect rule system, colonialism was also partly the cause of the disappearance of the institution in some Igbo communities. Today there are many Omu who are still active in their roles.

Source : https://blog.ukpuru.org/search?q=omu+of+onicha