Friday, 26 December 2014
Uwa Osamede Imafidon
24 yr old Uwa Osamede Imafidon. First Class Degree in Crop Science from University of Benin, as the Best Graduating student in her Department. Masters Degree Graduate with 4.0 CGPA outta 4.0 from University of Texas, Arlington.
August Agbola O'Browne
August Agbola O'Browne (second name also spelled as Agboola, surname as just Brown) (1895–1976) was a Nigerian jazz musician by profession and is believed to have been the only black participant of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.
Ahmet Ali Çelikten
Ahmet Ali Çelikten also known as Arap Ahmet Ali or İzmirli Ahmet Ali (born Izmirli Ali oghlu Ahmed, 1883 – 1969) may have been the first black military pilot in aviation history and was one of only two black pilots in World War I (the other being Eugene Jacques Bullard). His grandmother came from Bornu (now in Nigeria) as a slave.
Kola Aluko and Naomi Campbell.
Kola Aluko is an international business man who made the list of Forbes 'Ten Nigerian Multi-Millionaires You've Never Heard Of'' last year. But that's not the gist.This is not the first time, Kola Aluko and Naomi Campbell would been seen together in public.Dailymail featured them today
Gregory da Silva
CAPE TOWN: The Guiness Book of Records has invited the Mother City’s “eggman”, Gregory da Silva, to Italy to attempt a world record for the biggest hat made from fresh eggs. Da Silva, born in Benin, west Africa, has become a popular street artist at Greenmarket Square, where he entertains visitors with jokes, stories and dances — all under that unique hat. “I must build a hat with fresh eggs for the record attempt. They say they have 1000 eggs waiting for me.
Emma McQuiston, British viscountess, celebrity chef/blogger, & former model.
Emma McQuiston, British viscountess, celebrity chef/blogger, & former model. She gained international attention when in June 2013, she married Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth, son of the 7th Marquess of Bath. When her husband comes into his inheritance, she will become Lady Bath, Britain's 1st Black Marchioness. She has faced racism & snobbery from the upper classes, and her current in-laws had refused to attend the wedding ceremony. She is the daughter of Ladi Jadesimi, a Nigerian oil mogul.
Jaja of Opobo Jaja of Opobo (full name: Jubo Jubogha; 1821–1891)
Jaja of Opobo Jaja of Opobo (full name: Jubo Jubogha; 1821–1891) was a merchant prince and the founder of Opobo city-state in an area that is now part of Nigeria .At the 1884 Berlin Conference, however, the other European powers designated Opobo as British territory.the British arrested him and tried him in Accra , Ghana then took him to London for some time, where he met Queen Victoria & was her guest in Buckingham Palace. After this, he was exiled to Saint Vincent in the West Indies
Essex Hemphill was an American poet and activist.
Essex Hemphill was an American poet and activist. He was a 1993 Pew Fellowships in the Arts. In 1991, Hemphill edited Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, which won a Lambda Literary Award. In 1992, he released Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry, which won the National Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award. Hempill died from complications relating to AIDS. He was survived by his partner Dennis Carney, Chair of Black Gay men's Advisory Group in London.
BLACK BARBIE DOLLS
Taofick Okoya was dismayed when he could not find a black doll for his niece. The 43yo spotted a gap in the market and, with little competition from foreign firms such as the maker of Barbie, he set up his own business. The dolls represent Nigeria’s three largest Ethnic Groups; Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba so far. 7 years on, Okoya sells between 6,000 and 9,000 of his Queens of Africa and Naija Princesses a month.
Bizarre Image
At first glance this could be a photograph of girls posing together on a sofa, however the girl on the left is deceased. Her sister has been dressed in an identical dress and places her head on her sisters shoulder. She looks so sad it is just heartbreaking, losing your beloved sister at such a young age. You can see that a book has been used to prop up the deceased girl. Such a sad photo..
Arthur Ashe
Former tennis star Arthur Ashe, who contracted AIDS through a blood
transfusion, addressed a 1992 World Health Organization (WHO) meeting on
the World AIDS Day before dying a year later at age 49. Sports stars
who fought AIDS helped de-stigmatize the disease.
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
The Falling Man
The Falling Man. A man, whose identity remains unknown, falls headfirst after jumping from the north tower of New York's World Trade Center after it was attacked on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. This now-famous photograph has become iconic, and inspired an article in Esquire magazine, and a later documentary movie.
LIBERIA WAR MORGUE. 2003
Nigerian General Festus Okonkwo (3D R) leads the ECOWAS advance military
delegation on a tour of the John F. Kenndy Hospital morgue, where the
bodies of civil war victims are piled on the floor for want of space, 31
July 2003. The delegation is preparing for the deployment of an advance
force of 1,500 Nigerian troops to stanch the conflict. For the moment,
the United States will provide money, but not Marines, to back the
peacekeepers, according to an administration official. (Photo credit
should read GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images)
Bobby Kork (HALF MAN-HALF WOMAN)
Bobby Kork An evenly split hermaphrodite, Bobby was male on the right and female on the left. Bobby also had a 50/50 split of genetalia. Apparantly much more masculine in personality and was well known for getting in fights with people who called him a freak. He died in the mid 1900s of food poisoning.
Santos Rodriguez
On July 24, 1973, Santos Rodriguez and his 13-year-old brother David were pulled from their home, handcuffed and put inside a police car. Officers accused them of robbing $8 from a vending machine at a nearby gas station. They denied it. Officer Darrell L. Cain decided to play a game of Russian roulette to force the boys to confess to the crime. Twelve-year-old Santos died in that squad car, his blood soaking his brother's feet.
Cappa and D’Alberto Plc ( Oldest Nigerian construction company)
Cappa and D’Alberto Plc was established as a partnership in Nigeria in 1932 by two determined and dedicated young men from Piedmont in Northern Italy, Pietro Carlo Cappa and Vigino D’Alberto. From an undercapitalized business operating within the static economic conditions of the time, the two partners managed to secure a foothold with an initial series of small jobs from the Catholic Mission. Then, still in 1932, came the first significant contract for the Italian-Nigerian Commercial Syndicate. In the following year, the partnership aided in the construction of the Holy Cross Cathedral and subsequently won contracts for the Hunmuani Mosque in Lagos and the Catholic Mission in Abeokuta.
Although colonial Nigeria was struggling in the aftermath of the European depression, the partnership endured. In 1936, the first government contract was awarded to them for a substantial housing project in Yola. As a result of the successful completion of this project well ahead of schedule, the partnership won further contracts in Yola, Sokoto and Jos. By the close of the decade, eight years after coming into being, Cappa and D’Alberto had forged the foundations for what is now the oldest and one of the most prominent organizations in the Nigerian construction industry today.
With a growing team of skilled artisans and competent supervisors, a sound base for continued development was established. These difficult early years appeared to have passed when in 1939 Cappa and D’Alberto was awarded the construction of Kingsway Store in Lagos. After a setback due to the Second World War, Cappa and D’Alberto was rapidly re-established and enlarged, ready to accept the challenges Nigeria’s post war economic growth offered. Increasing private and public demand for quality construction augured well for the partnership. After completing the Kingsway project in Lagos, contracts for CFAO Moloney Supermarket, Leventis and UTC Stores were executed. In the late 1940’s the growing need for additional educational facilities together with a wide range of public and private sector projects was met by the partnership. Cappa and D’Alberto is proud to have been associated with the construction of such buildings as St. Gregory’s College, Obalende, schools and colleges in Ede and Ilesha as well as Ibadan’s University College.
The next ten years leading up to Nigeria’s Independence saw both the steady development of the nation and the continued growth of the partnership. In 1950, Cappa and D’Alberto was transformed into a limited liability company and relocated to new, far more suitable quarters from which to pursue expansion. The new premises consisted of the head office complex at 72 Campbell Street, Lagos and a workshop at 82 Okesuna Street, Lagos. Since 1950, thanks to this workshop, the company has been able to substitute locally manufactured materials for a large number of previously imported items. A small real estate base was established with the acquisition of land at Igbosere Road, Lagos on which an office block was erected. In addition, an efficient training scheme ensued enabling many employees to acquire valuable new skills. Increased local production and improved manpower development are two crucial factors in Nigeria’s development to which the company is dedicated.
During this period of increasing activity just prior to independence, the firm executed projects including: the Army barracks in Apapa and Yaba, Queens College, Yaba, the 7UP Bottling Company, Apapa, Kajola house in Lagos Island, the Ikeja Hospital, the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, the American Embassy, Bristol Hotel and Western House, all in Lagos and Cocoa House in Ibadan. This development required the opening of a branch office in Ibadan, with the construction of two blocks of flats, a workshop and offices. In addition, a new housing estate was constructed at Palmgrove in Ikeja. At this time of expansion, Cappa and D’Alberto Ltd. started its tradition of re-investing a sizable part of its profits in order to ensure steady growth within the industry.
When a group of construction companies, including Cappa and D’Alberto Ltd, founded the Federation of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors in Nigeria, the industry advanced as a whole. The Company still remains a committed supporter of this body and, through a representative on its council, takes an active part in the Federation’s activities.
The post-independence period saw an upturn in the construction industry. From this period until the present, a wide variety of projects spanning the nation has been credited to Cappa and D’Alberto Ltd.. This include: N.E.P.A. Headquarters, the Ikoyi Hotel Complex, the Italian Embassy, Unity House, Bhojsons Textile Industries Factory, Eko Court Complex, Tafawa Balewa Square Complex, Special Guest Houses for the Head of State, the Creek Military Hospital in Lagos and the complexes for Tractor and Equipment and A.J. Seward in Oregun. In Kaduna a permanent branch was established and several projects completed; prominent among them the U.N.T.L. Factory, the Arewa Textile Factory and the Peugeot Automobile Factory extension. In Kainji the company built the Kainji Dam Consultant Camp, the New Bussa Township and 54 re-settlement villages along the River Niger for people displaced by the dam. Another department store for Kingsway was also built in Port Harcourt. Special reference must also be made to the National Stadium Phases I and II, constructed in the early 1970’s. This, one of Africa’s most modern sports arenas, was the chosen venue for the Second All African Games in 1972.
Source: Cappa and D'Alberto.
The Mursi tribe
The Mursi tribe in the Omo River Valley of Ethiopia is showing off her community's iconic clay-plate lip adornment, photographer Brent Stirton.
Tuvan tribe.
The Tyva Republic is a federal subject of Russia (a republic, also defined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation as a State . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the south. Its capital is the city of Kyzyl. Population: 307,930 (2010 Census)
Forests, mountains, and steppe make up a large part of the geography.
A majority of the people are Tuvans, but Russian is also spoken extensively. Tuva is governed by the Great Khural which elects a chairman for a four-year term. The current chairman is Sholban Kara-ool.
The Xiongnu Empire (209 BC-93 CE) governed the territory of modern Tuva. The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses. Proposals by scholars include Mongolic and Turkic. Tatar Mongols lived in Tuva and they moved to Lake Hulun.The Oirat Mongols lived in eastern Tuva and they moved to the south.
The territory of Tuva has been ruled by the Mongolic Xianbei state (93-234), Rouran Khaganate (330-555), Mongol Empire (1206-1368), Northern Yuan (1368-1691), Khotgoid Khanate and Zunghar Khanate (1634-1758). The historic region of Tannu Uriankhai, of which Tuva is a part, was controlled by the Mongols from 1207 to 1758, when it was brought under Manchu rule (Qing Dynasty until 1911).
During the 1911 revolution in China, tsarist Russia formed a separatist movement among the Tuvans. Tsar Nicholas II ordered Russian troops into Tuva in 1912, as Russian settlers were allegedly being attacked[citation needed]. Tuva became nominally independent as the Urjanchai Republic before being brought under Russian protectorate as Uryankhay Kray under Tsar Nicholas II on 17 April 1914. This move was apparently requested by a number of prominent Tuvans, including the High Lama, although it is possible they were actually acting under the coercion of Russian soldiers[citation needed]. A Tuvan capital was established, called Belotsarsk (Белоца́рск; literally, "(Town) of the White Tsar"). Meanwhile, in 1911, Mongolia became independent, though under Russian protection.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 which ended the imperial autocracy, most of Tuva was occupied from 5 July 1918 to 15 July 1919 by Aleksandr Kolchak's "White" Russian troops. Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov was named governor of the territory. In the autumn of 1918 the southwestern part was occupied by Chinese troops and the southern part by Mongol troops led by Khatanbaatar Magsarjav.[citation needed] From July 1919 to February 1920 the communist Red Army controlled Tuva, but from 19 February 1920 to June 1921 it was occupied by China (governor was Yan Shichao [traditional, Wade–Giles transliteration: Yan Shi-ch'ao]).
On August 14, 1921 the Bolsheviks established a Tuvan People's Republic, popularly called Tannu-Tuva. In 1926, the capital (Belotsarsk; Khem-Beldyr since 1918) was renamed Kyzyl, meaning "red". Tuva was de jure an independent state between the World Wars. The state's first ruler, Prime Minister Donduk, sought to strengthen ties with Mongolia and establish Buddhism as the state religion. This unsettled the Kremlin, which orchestrated a coup carried out in 1929 by five young Tuvan graduates of Moscow's Communist University of the Toilers of the East. In 1930 the pro-Soviet region discarded the state's Mongol script in favor of a Latin alphabet designed for Tuva by Russian linguists, and in 1943 Cyrillic script replaced the Latin. Under the leadership of Party Secretary Salchak Toka, ethnic Russians were granted full citizenship rights and Buddhist and Mongol influences on the Tuvan state and society were systematically reduced.
The Soviet Union annexed Tuva outright in 1944, with the approval of Tuva's Little Khural (parliament). The exact circumstances surrounding Tannu-Tuva's incorporation into the USSR in 1944 remain obscure. Salchak Toka, the leader of Tuvan communists, was given the title of First Secretary of the Tuvan Communist Party, and became the de facto ruler of Tuva until his death in 1973. Tuva was made the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast and then became the Tuva ASSR on October 10, 1961.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tuva
In February 1990, the Tuvan Democratic Movement was founded by Kaadyr-ool Bicheldei, a philologist at Kyzyl University. The party aimed to provide jobs and housing (both were in short supply), and also to improve the status of Tuvan language and culture. Later on in the year there was a wave of attacks against Tuva's sizeable Russian community, resulting in 88 deaths. Russian troops eventually were called in. Many Russians moved out of the republic during this period. To this day, Tuva remains remote and difficult to access.
Tuva was a signatory to the March 31, 1992 treaty that created the Russian Federation. A new constitution for the republic was drawn up on October 22, 1993. This created a 32-member parliament (Supreme Khural) and a Grand Khural, which is responsible for foreign policy and any possible changes to the constitution, and ensures that Tuvan law is given precedence. The constitution also allowed for a referendum if Tuva ever sought independence. This constitution was passed by 53.9% (or 62.2%, according to source) of Tuvans in a referendum on December 12, 1993. At the same time, the official name was changed from Tuva (Тува) to Tyva (Тыва)
Forests, mountains, and steppe make up a large part of the geography.
A majority of the people are Tuvans, but Russian is also spoken extensively. Tuva is governed by the Great Khural which elects a chairman for a four-year term. The current chairman is Sholban Kara-ool.
The Xiongnu Empire (209 BC-93 CE) governed the territory of modern Tuva. The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses. Proposals by scholars include Mongolic and Turkic. Tatar Mongols lived in Tuva and they moved to Lake Hulun.The Oirat Mongols lived in eastern Tuva and they moved to the south.
The territory of Tuva has been ruled by the Mongolic Xianbei state (93-234), Rouran Khaganate (330-555), Mongol Empire (1206-1368), Northern Yuan (1368-1691), Khotgoid Khanate and Zunghar Khanate (1634-1758). The historic region of Tannu Uriankhai, of which Tuva is a part, was controlled by the Mongols from 1207 to 1758, when it was brought under Manchu rule (Qing Dynasty until 1911).
During the 1911 revolution in China, tsarist Russia formed a separatist movement among the Tuvans. Tsar Nicholas II ordered Russian troops into Tuva in 1912, as Russian settlers were allegedly being attacked[citation needed]. Tuva became nominally independent as the Urjanchai Republic before being brought under Russian protectorate as Uryankhay Kray under Tsar Nicholas II on 17 April 1914. This move was apparently requested by a number of prominent Tuvans, including the High Lama, although it is possible they were actually acting under the coercion of Russian soldiers[citation needed]. A Tuvan capital was established, called Belotsarsk (Белоца́рск; literally, "(Town) of the White Tsar"). Meanwhile, in 1911, Mongolia became independent, though under Russian protection.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 which ended the imperial autocracy, most of Tuva was occupied from 5 July 1918 to 15 July 1919 by Aleksandr Kolchak's "White" Russian troops. Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov was named governor of the territory. In the autumn of 1918 the southwestern part was occupied by Chinese troops and the southern part by Mongol troops led by Khatanbaatar Magsarjav.[citation needed] From July 1919 to February 1920 the communist Red Army controlled Tuva, but from 19 February 1920 to June 1921 it was occupied by China (governor was Yan Shichao [traditional, Wade–Giles transliteration: Yan Shi-ch'ao]).
On August 14, 1921 the Bolsheviks established a Tuvan People's Republic, popularly called Tannu-Tuva. In 1926, the capital (Belotsarsk; Khem-Beldyr since 1918) was renamed Kyzyl, meaning "red". Tuva was de jure an independent state between the World Wars. The state's first ruler, Prime Minister Donduk, sought to strengthen ties with Mongolia and establish Buddhism as the state religion. This unsettled the Kremlin, which orchestrated a coup carried out in 1929 by five young Tuvan graduates of Moscow's Communist University of the Toilers of the East. In 1930 the pro-Soviet region discarded the state's Mongol script in favor of a Latin alphabet designed for Tuva by Russian linguists, and in 1943 Cyrillic script replaced the Latin. Under the leadership of Party Secretary Salchak Toka, ethnic Russians were granted full citizenship rights and Buddhist and Mongol influences on the Tuvan state and society were systematically reduced.
The Soviet Union annexed Tuva outright in 1944, with the approval of Tuva's Little Khural (parliament). The exact circumstances surrounding Tannu-Tuva's incorporation into the USSR in 1944 remain obscure. Salchak Toka, the leader of Tuvan communists, was given the title of First Secretary of the Tuvan Communist Party, and became the de facto ruler of Tuva until his death in 1973. Tuva was made the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast and then became the Tuva ASSR on October 10, 1961.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tuva
In February 1990, the Tuvan Democratic Movement was founded by Kaadyr-ool Bicheldei, a philologist at Kyzyl University. The party aimed to provide jobs and housing (both were in short supply), and also to improve the status of Tuvan language and culture. Later on in the year there was a wave of attacks against Tuva's sizeable Russian community, resulting in 88 deaths. Russian troops eventually were called in. Many Russians moved out of the republic during this period. To this day, Tuva remains remote and difficult to access.
Tuva was a signatory to the March 31, 1992 treaty that created the Russian Federation. A new constitution for the republic was drawn up on October 22, 1993. This created a 32-member parliament (Supreme Khural) and a Grand Khural, which is responsible for foreign policy and any possible changes to the constitution, and ensures that Tuvan law is given precedence. The constitution also allowed for a referendum if Tuva ever sought independence. This constitution was passed by 53.9% (or 62.2%, according to source) of Tuvans in a referendum on December 12, 1993. At the same time, the official name was changed from Tuva (Тува) to Tyva (Тыва)