Month: November 2020

Yewande Komolafe’s 10 Essential Nigerian Recipes

“We don’t say a dish is spicy — we say it has pepper.” The recipe writer Yewande Komolafe, who grew up in Lagos and found herself searching for the heat and flavor of Nigerian food in New York, chooses the dishes that define the cuisine for her.

By Yewande Komolafe | New York Times

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Wizkid wins 2020 BET Soul Train Awards with Beyoncé

By Punch Newspaper

Nigerian Superstar, Wizkid is a recipient of the 2020 BET Soul Train Award. He won the award alongside American superstar Beyoncé for their collaboration on the song, Brown Skin Girl. The song is off Beyonce’s The Lion King: The Gift album. 

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Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo | President-Elect Joe Biden names Nigerian-American as Deputy Treasury Secretary

By Ebimo Amungo

President-elect Joe Biden named key members of his economic team on Monday, and among them is Nigerian-born Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo who was announced as Deputy Treasury Secretary. Janet Yellen  was nominated as treasury secretary along with three other women in top roles on a diverse team that will help him navigate the nation’s punishing fiscal headwinds in hopes of building an economic recovery

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Ghana commissions new Consulate General building in Ontario, Canada

By GhanaWeb

The Foreign Affairs Ministry on November 26, 2020, commissioned a new building for the Ghana Consulate-General in Toronto, the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario.

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Nigerian cultural group hosts cultural festival in Canada

By Jimoh Babatunde | Vanguard

The organizers of the annual Global Black & African Festival of Arts & Culture (GBAFACC) say all arrangements have been concluded to have a successful celebration. The co-founder and operations director, Edo Global Royal Art and Culture Canada, Jackson Osamede Igbinosun, made this known while revealing that the Global Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture billed for December 11-12, in Toronto, Canada, would hold virtually this year due to COVID-19 restrictions on physical gatherings.

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Why are Nigerians leaving Nigeria? Has the The Nigerian Dream died?

BY NJIDEKA AGBO | The Guardian

In 1974, the federal Commissioner for Economic Development and Reconstruction of Nigeria, Prof. Adebayo Adedeji and his delegation embarked on a three‐week tour to US cities including New York, Washington, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. His mission was simple: to convince Nigerians to return to their country to aid in economic development.

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‘Betrayed’ Black asylum seekers say Trump administration is ramping up deportations by force and fraud

By MOLLY O’TOOLE, ANDREA CASTILLO | Los Angeles Times

Owning a small business in Cameroon selling French products was enough to trap the young man between the English-speaking minority and French-speaking majority government in the warring West African nation. In July 2019, he was kidnapped by armed rebels, who tortured him for months in the jungle, demanding $10,000 ransom from his family, he said. Then, shortly after they paid, government forces arrested and tortured him for another month — for “financing” the separatists.

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Niyi Okuboyejo | A Designer’s Endlessly Adaptable Nigerian Stew

By Nick Marino | The New York Times

Nigerian cuisine revolves around starches, stews and soups served in celebratory portions. “We don’t sit down and have light bites of food,” says Niyi Okuboyejo, the Lagos-born fashion designer behind the New York-based men’s wear brand Post-Imperial.

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Folake Olowofoyeku is the Star in “Bob Hearts Abishola” You Should Know About

By Damilola O. | BellaNaija

Folake Olowofoyeku is a Nigerian-born American who’s the star of CBS sitcom “Bob Hearts Abishola. Folake plays the role of Abishola, a no-nonsense cardiac nurse and single mother navigating immigrant life in America. In this chat with BellaNaija, Folake talks about her character, her experience as a Nigerian in diaspora, upcoming projects, some of the challenges faced by women of colour in Hollywood and the Nigerian songs she loves.

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Former NBA lottery pick saw wave of Nigerian players coming

By KEN MAGUIRE | AP Sports

Diogu was the lone Nigerian-American among a group of international players selected back in 2005. This year, a whole starting five and then some could be built from all the picks with Nigerian ties.

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The Weeknd |Ethiopian-Canadian singer beats Chris Brown, John Legend at American Music Awards 2020

BY CONAN ALTATIS  | CONAN Daily

Abel “The Weeknd” Makkonen Tesfaye, 30, of Canada was one of the big winners at the American Music Awards of 2020. The 48th edition of the annual American music awards show took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, United States on November 22, 2020.

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Onyema Ogbuagu | Effusive praise for Nigerian doctor in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial

By Marcel Mbamalu and Chukwuma Muanya | The Guardian

Accolades are pouring for Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu, the Nigerian-born medical doctor leading the Pfizer trial for the coronavirus vaccine in the United States. Ogbuagu is also director of the HIV Clinical Trials programme of the Yale AIDS Programme, Section of Infectious Diseases of the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, New York City.

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28th Annual African Diaspora International Film Festival to hold with New York premieres

By Black Star News

The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will celebrate its 28th anniversary virtually nationwide for the first time from Nov. 27 to Dec. 13 with 75 narratives and documentaries from 31 countries including 26 World, US and New York premieres.

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International expert on African studies to speak to campus

By tova stabin | Around the University of Oregon

Emmanuel Akyeampong, a Harvard expert in African and African American cross-cultural studies, will give a virtual presentation at the University of Oregon on Dec. 1. Akyeampong’s talk, “African and African American Relations, c. 1960 to Recent Times: Transformations in Global Blackness” is part of the African American Workshop and Lecture Series, sponsored by the Office of the President and the Division of Equity and Inclusion. The presentation will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

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Halima Aden | Somali-American Model quits fashion shows over religious beliefs

By Yasmin Khatun Dewan| The Guardian

Somali-American model Halima Aden has said she is quitting runway shows because working in fashion has forced her to compromise her religious beliefs.

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America Voted in Favor of Refugees and Immigrants

America has decidedly voted in favor of refugees and immigrants in this 2020 election, showing their support with the victory of President-Elect Joe Biden, and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, who ran on campaign promises to restore the asylum system, increase the annual cap of refugee arrivals to 125,000, and end the discriminatory travel bans.

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Here are 10 of the most successful Kenyan actors in Hollywood 2020

by  Caiaphas Wanjala | TUKO

Who is the best actor in Kenya? With each dawn, more and more African actors and actresses are getting featured and earning a spotlight in Hollywood’s biggest movie and film industry. That said, several successful Kenyan actors in Hollywood have made a name for themselves due to their acting prowess.

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Nigerian-Canadians Condemn Crackdown on Protestors

By Fabian Dawson| The Star

Members of the Nigerian community in Canada are calling on Ottawa to condemn their home country’s decision to freeze 20 bank accounts linked to recent protests against police brutality. The bank accounts, linked to prominent participants of the #EndSARS protesters have been restricted following a federal court ruling in Abuja and an investigation by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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Burna Boy, Tinariwen, Michael Kiwanuka & More Nominated For 2021 Grammy Awards

The Nigerian star, Burna Boy and Tuareg band are nominated in the newly named Best Global Music Album category.

By OkayAfrica

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Citizens of 15 African countries will have to post bonds of up to $15,000 to visit the US

Donald Trump

By AFP

The Trump Administration has imposed new rules on citizens of 15 African countries who will now will have to post bonds of up to $15,000 (£11,000) to visit the US, according to a new temporary travel rule which comes into effect on 24 December.

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Trevor Noah to host the 2021 Grammy Awards

By Rachel Yang  | EW

From The Daily Show to music’s biggest night! Trevor Noah has been tapped to host the 63rd Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, marking his debut as the ceremony’s emcee.

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Adjei-Barwuah | Ghana’s Ambassador to U.S. speaks on the African Diaspora

By Kristi Pelzel Ghana Web

Voice of America’s web series, Straight Talk Africa, featured Dr Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, in a 2019 episode. His interview reminded viewers that the Year of Return was a way to bridge the distance between Ghanaian’s all over the world and their original or inherited home country, Ghana. Folding them back into the resurgence of efforts to keep Ghana economically advancing both supported the connectedness of Ghanaians living as part of the African Diaspora and the “Ghana Beyond Aid” strategy.

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Dr. Godwin Maduka | Nigerian government praise achievements of renowned pain therapist and entrepreneur in America

By Leadership Newspaper

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission-NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Kafayat Oluwatoyin Dabiri-Erewa on behalf of the Federal Government has received one of the most outstanding, noble and most successful Nigerian in diaspora, Dr. Godwin Maduka, a renowned Philanthropist, Medical Doctor and CEO of Las Vegas Pain Institute, located in the United States of America-USA.

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Mainers fear for loved ones in embattled Tigray region of Ethiopia

BY KELLEY BOUCHARD | Portland Press Herald

Mainers with ties to the embattled Tigray region of Ethiopia are growing increasingly worried about family members they haven’t heard from in weeks and are calling for help from U.S. officials here and overseas.

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A Tribute to a Legend the Late President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings

By Fisher Jack | Euroweb

In 1994, Elizabeth, Sia, Sia, Yaba, of the Yaba TV Show had very rare one-on-one interview with the former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings. Her most pressing question was about dual citizenship, “Will African-Americans who return to the Ghana” have the possibility of dual citizenship. His response was “I don’t see why dual citizenship would be denied to African-Americans who want to integrate with their roots.”

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Afrobeats’ Global Takeover

Over the last several years, American listeners have grown more and more attuned to the sounds of West African pop music, also known as Afrobeats—whether it’s the swaggering Nigerian Afro-fusion of Burna Boy, the playfully genre-bending anthems of Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, or the enthusiastic dabbling of stateside superstars like Drake and Diplo.

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The Nigerian influence over the 2020 NBA draft

BY MARTENZIE JOHNSON | The Undefeated

When Amadou Fall, the president of the nascent Basketball Africa League (BAL), was asked why there were so many prospects of Nigerian origin in Wednesday’s NBA draft the Senegalese former basketball player credited the country’s population size (Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa), its “very strong diaspora” and the “God-given” athletic talent of its people.

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What the Biden Presidency Could Mean for Africa


By Leah Feiger and  Zecharias Zelalem

In the summer of 2010, then-Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Africa. He stopped in Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa, where he met with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh, spoke with Sudanese and Kenyan presidents and prime ministers in Nairobi, and celebrated the World Cup while linking up with leaders in South Africa. 

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Race in America | Dismantling Structural Racism with Opal Tometi

By Karen Attiah | The Washington Post

Tometi is a Nigerian-American human rights leader, community organizer and writer. As one of the three founders of Black Lives Matter, she is credited with initiating the project’s social media strategy which turned a hashtag into one of the most successful civil rights campaigns in modern history. Tometi has been active in the #EndSars movement in Nigeria where demonstrators have called for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit accused of extortion, harassment, kidnapping and extrajudicial violence. Tometi joins Washington Post global opinions editor Karen Attiah to discuss the work being done in the U.S. and across the world to dismantle structural racism and injustice

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Kojo Asamoa-Caesar |Ghanaian-American named Hero Of COVID-19

By Oral Ofori  | ModernGhana

Kojo Asamoa–Caesar became the first Ghanaian-American to receive a major political party nomination for federal office in the United States (US) when he was nominated to run for congress after winning the primaries in his district as a black man, a feat that hasn’t happened in over a century in that district. Mr. Asamoa-Caesar is TheAfricanDream.net Hero of COVID-19 for the month of November 2020.

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