Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe inspects a military honor guard in Nairobi, Kenya, where he’s visiting as part of an international development conference, Aug. 26, 2016.
NAIROBI, KENYA — African heads of state and VIPs from around the world have converged in this Kenyan capital for the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, expected to foster a host of new trade and investment deals.
For the first time since its 1993 inception, the summit — now held every three years — is being held in Africa. It’s an historic occasion, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters here Friday.
He said Japan would work hand in hand with Africa to realize the goals set out by the continent’s people, whom he said were strongly promoting themselves.
Japan’s government, along with the World Bank, the United Nations and the African Union, host the TICAD summit. It’s billed as a platform for high-level dialogue on policy.
The list of attendees is full of VIPs, including 37 African heads of state and the leaders of the World Bank and the African Development Bank, to name a few. The two-day conference, which concludes Saturday, has drawn approximately 10,000 delegates.
Focus on industrialization
Lagging industrialization in Africa is on the agenda.
“We know that most nations which escape the grip of poverty do so by industrializing,” Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said Friday. “Africa has not still lived up to its potential. We need to put our heads together to see how we can hasten the industrialization of the continent and how we can avoid the missteps of those who have previously walked this path.”
The Japanese prime minister said his country would unveil new technology and training opportunities at the conference to encourage growth.
At the last TICAD in 2013, Japan pledged $32 billion in development aid to Africa. Some of it was earmarked for infrastructure development to encourage foreign investment.
Japan is currently undertaking an expansion of the Kenyan port of Mombasa, to the tune of $250 million.
“The Japanese have been heavily involved … here in our ports in Mombasa, in Mozambique,” Kenyan economic analyst Aly Khan Satchu told VOA. “They are doing a lot of the roads. They seem to meet a strategy basically around logistics and opening up the continent, and I think that’s going to work well for them.”
Satchu, who works for Rich Managent, continued: “What we have is a situation where the Indian Ocean is very much an appendage to the South China Sea. And I think Japan is looking to counter China’s influence not only in the South China Sea but also in the Indian Ocean.”
Duncan Onduu, a Nairobi-based sustainable development analyst, said he expected hot topics to include climate change and agriculture investment. He anticipates “greater commitment on issues of climate change, issues of food security” and helping Africans become more self-reliant “so that we don’t have instances where there are pockets of hunger.”
Relief efforts for Baton Rouge: Sylvester Turner calls on Houstonians to reach out to Louisiana flood victims
After speaking to Mayor Kip Holden (left) of East Baton Rouge Parish this week, Mayor Turner has recruited several faith leaders to open their churches as collection sites for essential items which are desperately needed.
Help is on the way soon to the thousands of flood victims in Louisiana, thanks to a call to action by Mayor Sylvester Turner. After speaking to Mayor Kip Holden of East Baton Rouge Parish this week, Mayor Turner has recruited several faith leaders to open their churches as collection sites for essential items which are desperately needed.
To put the need into perspective, the catastrophic flood is the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago. Red Cross officials estimate the flood damage to hit more than $30 million dollars.
Houstonians can help by taking their boxed, unsealed, and shipment ready items to any of the collection sites listed. Faith-based organizations will collect items until September 6. The City of Houston will arrange to transport the items to Baton Rouge by September 9.
‘I had to carry her body’: Indian man said hospital refused to transport his wife’s body home
Dana Majhi said he had to carry his wife’s body for miles after she died and the hospital in Odisha, India, said it could not provide transportation for her body.
For more than six miles, Dana Manjhi trudged toward his small village in India’s eastern state of Odisha — his dead wife’s body hoisted over his shoulder and his 12-year-old daughter sobbing by his side.
The haunting image was captured Wednesday by a local journalist who asked him why.
Manjhi said his wife, 42-year-old Amang Dei, died from tuberculosis in a government hospital in Bhawanipatna in the Kalahandi district. When Manjhi requested transportation, he said authorities told him they could not help him get her body home, according to CNN.
“Doctors said she had malaria and TB. All the money I had was spent on medicines,” he said in the video, which was translated by NDTV. He said he asked the hospital to “help take her body back to the village. They refused to make any arrangements. I had to carry her body on my shoulders.”
Odisha TV journalist Ajit Singh captured the heart-wrenching scene along a narrow road — several miles into his journey but 30 more miles to his home.
“The hospital authorities said that there are no vehicles. I pleaded with them, saying I am a poor person and cannot afford a vehicle to carry my wife’s body,” Manjhi told Odisha TV, according to the Hindustan Times. “Despite repeated requests, they said they cannot offer me any help.”
The reporter told CNN some locals “spotted Mr. Manjhi carrying the dead body of his wife accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter, Sanadei Manjhi, and called me. We filmed him carrying the dead body and asked him what happened.”
An ambulance was eventually called to take them to their village, according to reports.
The government has since opened an investigation to determine whether “any wrongdoing has been done,” Kalahandi District Collector Brundha D told CNN.
However, a hospital official told the news station that medical personnel were unaware that Manjhi had taken his wife’s body from the hospital and that they had not denied him transportation.
“No one knows when her husband carried her out of the hospital,” Assistant District Medical Officer Jaghu Lal Agarwal told CNN. “Her death was not confirmed by the on-duty doctor, and no discharge slip was issued. The hospital staffs on duty were not informed by Mr. Manjhi.”
Indian politician Baijayant “Jay” Panda called the incident “shameful beyond words” and said Thursday that a government program created earlier this year to help families transport their loved ones’ bodies from government hospitals is being expanded.
HCC Procurement Department receives national award
Members of the Houston Community College Procurement Department were recognized during the August meeting of the HCC Board of Trustees for being awarded the 2016 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute.
The Houston Community College (HCC) Procurement Department has received the 2016 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute, Inc.
This prestigious, annual award recognizes organizations that demonstrate excellence in procurement through best purchasing practices with client departments and the vendor community. The evaluation criteria measures innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement, and leadership attributes.
During the August meeting of the HCC Board of Trustees, members of the HCC Procurement team, led by Executive Director Rogelio Anasagasti, were applauded for their hard work.
“It is our distinct honor to have been recognized for the hard work and dedication the Procurement team puts forth each day,” said Anasagasti. “This award is a testament to what can be accomplished through teamwork.”
HCC is one of 25 higher education institutes across the country to earn the award this year. To learn more about the HCC Procurement Department and its mission, visit hccs.edu/procurement.
Nigeria: Christian Group Rails Against John Kerry for ‘Divisive’ Visit
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari (R) receives U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) upon his arrival in Abuja, Nigeria, on August 23. A Christian group has voiced its anger he didn’t meet with any Christian representatives. Stringer/Reuters
A prominent Christian group in Nigeria has accused U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of being “discriminatory…and divisive” during a recent trip to the West African country.
Kerry was in Nigeria on Monday and Tuesday and was hosted by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, the most senior Islamic cleric in the country. The U.S. diplomat also met with 19 governors of Nigeria’s northern states and held talks with President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also a Muslim.
The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Supo Ayokunle, told reporters on Thursday that Kerry’s visit showed a “lack of respect for the heterogenous nature of Nigeria” and favored the country’s Muslim population “to the detriment of the Christian community,” Nigeria’s Premium Times reported.
Nigeria’s population is roughly split between a largely-Muslim north and majority-Christian south. Religious and ethnic violence are not uncommon, particularly in the middle belt of the country, where Fulani herdsmen—who are mostly Muslim—have clashed with farmers, some of whom are Christian. Christians have also been targeted by Boko Haram, a militant group that wishes to instal an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria. The insurgency has been largely circumscribed to the north of the country.
“There’s a siege on Christians [in Nigeria]. Kerry, his actions speak volume[s], his actions [and] body language were very divisive,” said Ayokunle.
The U.S. Department of State had said ahead of the trip that reinforcing Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts were a priority of Kerry’s trip, and the diplomat spoke in Sokoto about the importance of religious tolerance in countering extremist ideologies.
Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 2 million during a seven-year insurgency. The U.S. has backed regional efforts to fight the insurgent group—which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS)—sending funds, military advisors and armored vehicles to the region.
Buhari was elected in 2015 and replaced former president Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian.
Nigeria’s coach opens up on Olympic ordeal, say he done with the job – Vanguard
“My next step is that I am done with Nigeria for now. You can’t keep going to a place where they don’t appreciate you. It does not worth it,” (Siasia).
Coach of the National U-23 team, Samson Siasia is certainly not new to Nigerian football. His latest foray where he led the team to win Nigeria’s only medal at the just concluded Rio 2016 Olympic Games was not the first time the former Super Eagles striker will be on the saddle. Before now he had coached the same team to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games where he won the silver medal after another silver medal in Under 20 World Cup in Holland. In this last assignment for the Rio Olympics, the sports minister Solomon Dalung called him names for taking the team to Atlanta for preparation. Before then the same minister publicly condemned him for dropping some players who played in the African Championship in Senegal. The minister wanted all those who played in Senegal to be in Rio their fitness level or injuries notwithstanding. The Nigeria Football Federation owed him salaries running up to five months. He never got the support he needed from the ministry to the federation.
In this interview with Correspondent Jude Opara, Siasia speaks on his future in Nigeria and many more. Excerpts.
Welcome from Rio Olympics. How does it feel?
It feels good because the end justifies the means. We wanted the gold but we are still happy with the bronze because it made Nigerians happy. The minister accused you of child trafficking for taking the team to Atlanta without his knowledge or consent. How can I take a national team out of the country without their knowledge of the NFF and the Sports Ministry? I really don’t know were that was coming from. We had the plan to travel from Atlanta to Brazil on the 29th of July. But the agent who was handling that did not get us the chartered flight or pay for our tickets, but nothing actually happened and that was when I, on my own, decided to contact an agent, Greg. But the guy said he would not do anything until he saw that the money was paid into his account. After three days, the guy said he was no longer interested and even told other operators not to deal with us that we were not a serious people.
Back to the camp in Atlanta. How was it?
The first 10 days was like a hell because we had to struggle to pay for hotel accommodation and feeding because the person, Bunmi, who opted to assist us did not get the necessary support he expected. But after the fist 10 days the Ministry came through the NFF and paid for our bills. But we were stranded in Atlanta because the money they said they paid to one Poopola for us to travel never came and nobody has heard anything about it.
What was your level of communication with the both the NFF and the Ministry while in Atlanta?
No, nobody called me from the ministry. The Minister was dealing with Mikel may be because he was the captain of the Olympic team. But when we had the plane issue, the Vice President called and I spoke with him like two times, the Finance Minister called and indeed the first person to call was the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed.
I must say he did a nice job to see how to solve our problem because I think the President heard about our plight and instructed that they should find a way to solver the problem. They were, I believe, embarrassed because the issue was even on CNN every time. However, the chartered flight thing never worked out because the guy they were discussing with called me and we tried to see how to arrange the fight but there was no money sent to him and so it didn’t work out too.
Sports Minister Solomon Dalung
So the option we had was to arrive Rio the very day we were to play and that could have resulted in a walk-over of our team. We had a chartered 36-seater flight that was to take us to arrive Rio by 2 o’clock while our game was at 9 o’clock. But the players were afraid of that flight because it was very small and when we got to the airport, Delta called thought the same Bunmi guy. In fact, they were supposed to partner with Delta but I don’t know what happened. When they heard of our plight they called him to offer a big plane to fly us the next day so as to arrive five hours before the match.
Indeed we were already at the airport to fly that small plane which was paid for by a friend of mine, but when the players heard that Delta was coming, they insisted that we should watt for it. In fact they were almost dying out of fear. When I called Mikel to tell him about the development, he said ‘I beg, please let us wait for tomorrow for the bigger plane which is safer and better’.
All the players were happy and excited that we were not going to fly that small plane and perhaps that is the reason they came out to play the way they did with all their mind. Indeed Delta did a great job. Even when the CBN 46 came to the hotel, we refused to tell them about our problems because it was about Nigeria, even though every thing was already in the public domain. Talking to them would not have changed anything.
Now Delta said the cost of flying us was about $250,000 dollars but that they were not charging us. They said if we had it the money could be paid to any charity organization of mine or Mikel but we have not seen anything and that appears like another fraud. We took pictures with Delta to promote them and thank them for their support. I am telling you what actually happened.
We are still waiting to see where the money that was meant for us to fly to Brazil has gone to. Nobody has said anything. The federal government sent the money to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the NOC said they sent the money to the airline in Florida which up till now they have not received anything, even the airline is planning to sue them for breach of contract because they were supposed to pay some money to them even if they were to cancel the arrangement. That is even another issue.
We don’t even know how they are going to settle that. The Minister categorically said he never knew where you were and that you were engaging in human trafficking, is that true? (Laughs) I don’t know what he was talking about. When I first heard about human trafficking and such stuff, I was angry because the Minister knew that we were going to Atlanta. If not that they stole my phone, I would have shown to you his text message to me before we travelled. That day the U-20 defeated us 3-2 in our last warm-up match, the Minister sent me a text that I should come so that we can chat but when I went they said he went to the Villa. He knew exactly what was going on because there was no way he would not know because the Olympic team is statutorily under his control, it is his baby and that has been the way it is. So I don’t understand why he should say I was engaging in child trafficking.
How did you feel about that statement?
As I said before I felt very bad but later I didn’t want it to bother me because I know it is not true and I had other more important things to worry about than such comments. Would you say that yours trip to Atlanta has been justified? Yes because they say that the end justifies the means and if not for that it would have been very annoying because after working very hard for two years without anything to show for it would have been disastrous. It would have been a waste of time and effort. I am happy because in spite of all that we went through both here at home and in Atlanta, this is the only team that won a medal for the country. It felt so good when the Nigerian team was called alongside the Brazilian and German national teams with the Nigerian flag hoisted there, that is what we were talking about, putting Nigeria where so many other countries didn’t have the chance to be and that is why I say that these boys need to be commended for what they did. This is something that money cannot even buy.
What did you really play for?
We didn’t play for money and in fact there was even no money to play for. So what I told the boys was to ensure they played for their country and for their pride and future so that they could get better clubs because that is the only thing to point to motivate them, given our situation.What was it like in camp?We were on and off the camp for two years with only two training jerseys. You know everything was just wrong from the beginning.
The only good thing from this camp is the fact that the boys really came out to play and Mikel showed character and leadership among the younger boys. We worked together to ensure that we got something out of them. It appears that the team has been disbanded because there was no official reception and send forth of the team, so what is the next thing for Samson Siasia? Personally, I was not really surprised that they did not welcome us because most of them were actually waiting and praying for us to fail but we disappointed them by winning that medal.
But most sports loving Nigerians who were not on the saddle came out on their own and they were the ones that really appreciated what we did. Look at this way, if things were done properly, they should have at least informed the Lagos State government that the Olympic team was arriving so that they could welcome us on behalf of the government but nobody told them anything. There was no connection from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) or the Ministry of Sports. They knew we were coming. It was only one staff of the ministry that was sent to take us to hotel.
What is your next step with the national team?
My next step is that I am done with Nigeria for now. You can’t keep going to a place where they don’t appreciate you. It does not worth it. Sometimes it is not about the money but the approach. They seem not to appreciate the sacrifices. I know how much I have sacrificed since the team began camping two years ago. How can you keep going to people who don’t appreciate you? It does not make sense, so I am done for now. I have to go somewhere else where they will appreciate what I have done and what I can do and pay me the respect that I deserve. But many Nigerians out there still appreciate you.
My next step is that I am done with Nigeria for now. You can’t keep going to a place where they don’t appreciate you. It does not worth it.
I know and that is why I keep coming to do the dirty jobs for them because of my numerous fans out there but I can’t just continue because those fans are not the policy makers. How can you keep toiling for five months without even your salary? Nothing has changed in the last two years. It has been from bad to worse, so we must sit down and do something about the structure of Nigerian football and by extension sports in general. It doesn’t worth it to work with the people running sports now in Nigeria.
From the Federation to the sports ministry. They don’t have it and will not give what they don’t have. It feels bad.
It is like you already have somewhere in mind?
No, I don’t have any place in mind. I just have to go an d rest for two months and while I am resting, I will not be the one looking for where to go. There are people who will be doing that. But for me I am done with Nigeria until things change. Imagine any time they have a problem, they will call on me to come and help but they will use me and later dump me.
I have not started any team of the Super Eagles from the beginning, not even one time. I want to thank them very very much. Even before I returned from the Olympics, the only car they gave me, they took it away from my wife. That is just awesome. That is not how to treat someone who was out there seeking glory for the nation. Let them eat their national team.
Are you saying you will never come to work for Nigeria again?
No not now, I will not change my mind when the same people are there doing the same thing over and over again. If the right people come on board tomorrow then I may reconsider my position because I am also a Nigerian but truly, I will no longer work with these people. We are out of the AFCON, U-20 and U-17 teams have all crashed out, what hope do we have to qualify for the 2018 World Cup? I wish the country well, but before we talk of qualifying we must do the right thing.
When we don’t do the right thing and still want to qualify, then it does not work that way. Yes we pray, but other countries also pray and God is a fair God and I believe God will most likely answer the prayer of the person who has worked and prayed. To succeed you must plan and if you don’t plan in any human endeavour, you have planed to fail. But they have hired a new Coach and that is the first step towards succeeding Well they have hired a coach, I wish them well but what time does he have to even know the players he intends to work with? I sincerely pray that he qualifies us for the World Cup.
But there is this talk out there that the reason they usually go for foreign coaches is because you Nigerian coaches always collect money to invite players to camp or collect money from players.
That is cheep blackmail. No coach who knows his onion will take money and take people who will not assist him to deliver in a championship. We have seen players like Kelechi Iheanacho graduate from the cadet team. If they were taking money how could you discover such good players who are doing well outside? Probably, they usually run for foreign coaches because those are the ones that may give them cuts from their salary, it is a cheep propaganda to destroy Nigerian coaches. If they want to go for the foreign coaches, let them just do that. Some of them that came before what happened to them?
They ran away but we are here grounded because this is our country. We want to do everything to see her succeed. Even good or bad, we will return here because it is our country, that’s it. If they think we are taking money to recruit these players, what money do these players even have to give to any coach? Mention one of them. Most of them are from poor families. But their agents do payIf the agents succeed in bribing any coach to take a player who is not good enough, then that coach does not know what he is doing and he is not worthy to be called a coach because there is no amount of money that will make a bad player to become a good player. How much can a coach get out of these players and their agents?
Again it is two folds, the only reason that a coach may accept to take money is when they don’t pay him for months, and he has pressing problems, even as I insist it is not a good reason. That brings us to the issue of corruption. If you are working and they don’t pay you, that is also corruption on their part. So they are the architect of all these problems and if they have seen one coach that has taken money, have they confronted him with the player he was said to have collected money from? If they have the fact let them challenge the coach that this player said you took money or that you didn’t play him because he didn’t pay you. If you take such money, you are putting yourself in a lot of problem because if the player is not good he will affect your team and game plan, also if you don’t play him he will talk because he has proof that you took money from him. To me I will never take money to play any player.
Mayor Turner Announces Major Expansion of Houston Bike Share Program
Mayor Turner… “The expansion of the B-cycle system will bring bike sharing into new neighborhoods and to new users.” (Photo collage/International Guardian)
Houston’s bike share system, Houston B-cycle, will be more than triple in size over the next two years, adding 71 stations with 568 bikes. The expansion will be paid for with federal grant dollars.
“The expansion of the B-cycle system will bring bike sharing into new neighborhoods and to new users,” said Mayor Turner. “As I’ve said, we need a paradigm shift in transportation away from single-occupancy motor vehicles. Making cycling more accessible by building a strong bike sharing system is a critical component of that change.”
The City’s Planning and Development Department sponsored an application for a grant from the Federal Highway Administration. The grant will reimburse the City for $3.5 million of the cost of expanding the system. Houston Bike Share, a local nonprofit that administers Houston B-cycle, will provide the remaining $880,000.
Currently, the system has 31 stations with 225 bikes. The expansion will bring the total to 102 stations and 793 bikes. The grant will also pay for two new transportation vehicles.
Houston B-cycle is a membership-driven bike share system. Memberships are available by day, week or year. All members have unlimited access to the bikes for up to 60 minutes per trip. There is a charge of $2 for every additional half hour.
The expansion brings bike sharing into the Texas Medical Center with 14 stations and 107 bikes. The new stations will also serve Houston’s students, with 21 new stations and 248 bikes at the University of Houston Main Campus, Texas Southern University, UH-Downtown and Rice University.
Since January 1, cyclists have made 73,577 trips and traveled 508,044 miles. Houston Bike Share CEO Carter Stern estimates Houstonians are on track to exceed 100,000 trips by the end of 2016.
Since January 1, cyclists have made 73,577 trips and traveled 508,044 miles. Houston Bike Share CEO Carter Stern estimates Houstonians are on track to exceed 100,000 trips by the end of 2016.
“We could not be more grateful for the Mayor and City Council’s unflagging support of the Houston B-Cycle program and our efforts to expand the program,” Stern said. “The expansion approved today will allow us to build on the immense success that B-Cycle has had in just 4 short years and bring this affordable, healthy, sustainable mobility option to more Houstonians than ever before.”
When people bike instead of drive, they dramatically decrease their carbon footprint. In 2015, B-Cycle users offset 576,082 pounds of carbon by riding bikes instead of driving. That’s an equivalent gasoline reduction of 29,000 gallons.
B-cycle users also burned 24,245,544 calories in 2015, the equivalent of about 5,400 gallons of ice cream or 81,000 cheeseburgers.
“Increasing access to bikes provides Houstonians with a sustainable, environmentally-friendly mode of transportation that also improves public health,” Mayor Turner said. “These grant funds provide a way to expand access while minimally affecting the City’s budget.”
He came to D.C. from Nigeria — and created his own African comic-book universe
Roye Okupe quit a web designing job to found comic book company YouNeek Studios. (Photo by Stephen Voss).
Roye Okupe didn’t read comic books growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. Comic book shops weren’t around. Instead, Okupe was introduced to superheroes through Saturday morning cartoonssuch as “Transformers” and “X-Men.”
So when he set out to create his own Nigerian superhero, he thought animation was the way to go. That idea led Okupe on a journey that culminated in him debuting a new universe of African superheroes. Just not in the way he originally planned.
Okupe, now 31, arrived in the United States in 2002, attending George Washington University and earning a bachelors and master’s degree in computer science in 2007 and 2009. In between those degrees he took a class in animation at the Art Institute of Washington. After college, while working as a web developer for International Software Systems in Greenbelt, Maryland, Okupe was able to put together an eight-minute animated trailer featuring his first superhero creation, Wale Williams, a young, 20-something Nigerian who suits up in high tech armor to become the African superhero E.X.O. (Endogenic Xoskeletal Ordinance).
Okupe shopped his trailer to distributors, television networks and investors for a year and got nowhere. One movie producer even told him that E.X.O. looked interesting, but he should think about changing the race of the character.
“That was a down period for me. I really had to dig into believing in myself that I could actually get this done,” Okupe told The Washington Post’s Comic Riffs. “Hearing that from someone who was in the [entertainment] industry, I almost took it for the gospel. But if you have a dream, it’s your responsibility to make it happen and then people will join the bandwagon once you start to get some recognition.”
Okupe decided to take inspiration from another superhero medium: live-action movies. He was impressed with Marvel’s ability to satisfy both hardcore fans and the general public alike with its movies. But Okupe concentrated on the format so many movie superheroes originally came from: comic books.
Comics were much more affordable to produce. Okupe had never written a comic before, so he ruled out trying to take his ideas to mainstream comic companies. And when he didn’t hear back from “lower-tier” publishers, he decided to produce E.X.O. independently.
So in the summer of 2014, he cashed out his 401k, resigned from his job and founded YouNeek Studios, the company which he would use to debut his first comic book, “E.X.O. The Legend of Wale Williams.”
“E.X.O. The Legend of Wale Williams” was the first superhero to debut from Roye Okupe’s YouNeek Studios in 2015. (Courtesy of YouNeek Studios).
“It’s a very big change and a particularly scary one,” Okupe said of the moment he quit his job. “But I knew that to make the impact that I want to make in the comic book industry, I couldn’t do it with a nine to five.
“I was working as web developer and making good money. But this has always been a dream of mine and I always tell people if you have a dream, no one’s going to make it happen for you.”
Okupe recruited four artists in Nigeria to help him produce his first E.X.O. comic. Ayodele Elegba would edit his writing. Sunkanmi Akinboye would be his interior pages artist. Raphael Kazeem worked on coloring and Godwin Akpan did cover art. Not counting the two times a year he returns home to Nigeria, Okupe does all his communicating with his art team from his apartment in Rockville, Maryland. It was important for him to have a team that could capture the cultural essence of his homeland, as E.X.O.’s fictional city of Lagoon City takes inspiration from Lagos.
“[The artists] are there on a day to day basis. They can feel the vibe,” Okupe said. “I wanted people that were close to home but I also really wanted to prove that Nigerian/African artists as a whole can do stuff that’s comparable to what you would see in Marvel or DC and I think I’ve been able to accomplish that.”
Marvel of course, is home to perhaps the most famous African superhero of all, The Black Panther, who is a king ruling over a fictional African paradise (Wakanda). Okupe’s tales are also fictional but he aims for a more authentic African feel. The book’s characters use Nigerian colloquialisms (translated in captions), traditional clothing and the country’s monuments.
“The country of Nigeria and the continent as a whole, you always see war, famine, terrorism — we touch on those points,” Okupe said. “But I try to pump up as much positivity as I can, because I feel that’s lacking when it comes to Nigeria and Africa as a whole in the mainstream.”
The first E.X.O. comic debuted on Aug. 31, 2015, and a second will arrive Wednesday. Instead of publishing monthly like many comics, YouNeek Studios produceschapters as graphic novels, a format Okupe hopes gives potential new readers an easy jumping-on point without having to worry about catching up on back issues. In the future, Okupe hopes YouNeek Studios will publish two graphic novels a year.
Okupe worked with printing company Print Ninja to get his comics printed and into select comic book shops, but they can also be purchased digitally via the YouNeek Studios website, ComiXology, Amazon and Apple Books.
Okupe used personal savings and family support to fund YouNeek Studios. Two successful kickstarter campaigns, which Okupe promoted via blogs and social media, helped cover the cost of printing. He puts “every dime” he makes from the comics back into YouNeek Studios and supports himself via freelance web design work.
“I haven’t been kicked out of my apartment yet,” Okupe joked. “So I guess I’m doing something right.”
Okupe is now ready to focus on expanding his YouNeek universe with new characters, including Fury, a female character introduced in the E.X.O. books, Malika, a warrior queen based in pre-colonial Africa, and Windmaker, a hero who the ability to control the wind.
Courtesy of YouNeek Studios
Creating superheroes is a thrill, but Okupe is most proud of the self-built, diverse fanbase that he hopes will stick around for more adventures.
“I’m having people in South America buy my books. People in Europe and Asia buy my books,” Okupe said. “So it’s not just African or African-Americans, it’s pretty much anybody who is interested in a great story.”
Crowdfunding campaign for Olympics ‘hero’ Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia passes $100,000
When Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms and closed his fists to form a cross as he reached the finish line of the Olympics marathon in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, he didn’t just broadcast his own solidarity with the Oromo protests in Ethiopia.
Lilesa turned a global spotlight on the plight of the Oromo people, winning himself many admirers for doing so. Now some of those admirers want to help, and a crowdfunding effort for Lilesa has raised more than $100,000 in just two days.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear what exactly Lilesa can do next after committing an act of protest on the global stage — one he says could get him killed back home.
Lilesa won silver in Sunday’s marathon, finishing the 26-mile race in two hours, nine minutes and 54 seconds. But his second-place finish quickly became a footnote when Lilesa crossed his arms above his head as he reached the race’s finish line.
That’s not something a person in Lilesa’s position does lightly.
“If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me,” he said after the race, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “If I am not killed maybe they will put me in prison. [If ] they [do] not put me in prison they will block me at airport. I have got a decision. Maybe I move to another country.”
Lilesa’s gesture highlights the continuing plight of the Oromo people in Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch says more than 400 people have been killed in Oromia, Lilesa’s native region, by state security forces since last November. Thousands more have been injured and tens of thousands more have been arrested, according to Human Rights Watch.
The protest began as peaceful demonstrations regarding development plans, before the government’s harsh — and ongoing — response. Ethiopia has one of Africa’s most hard-line governments. Many in Oromia now live in fear, and gestures like the one Lilesa made have become a symbol of defiance and solidarity.
Lilesa’s silent statement while crossing the finish line in Rio instantly reverberated worldwide. Many now hail him as a hero — including Abdi Fite, Lalisaa Hikaa and Solomon Ungashe, the trio that set up a crowdfunding page for Lilesa on Monday using the site GoFundMe.
The page has raised more than $100,000 and been shared on social media 10,000 times — again, all since Monday.
Wrote one donor whose avatar was an image of Lilesa with arms raised in Rio: “Thank you for been brave and also for sacrifice you made. you will always remembered as HERO. thank you”
For all his support and admiration, however, Lilesa now stares into an uncertain future.
“He didn’t plan at all for this,” Federico Rosa, Lilesa’s agent, told The New York Times Tuesday. “He doesn’t want to go to Ethiopia, he wants to go to another country. The U.S. would be very good but right now we just don’t know where he’s going to go. He was very happy after winning but also a bit confused.”
Lilesa’s wife and two children are still in Ethiopia, adding another layer to the drama. He told reporters after the race that he hadn’t discussed his protest with a single person before Sunday’s marathon.
Now, according to his agent, Lilesa is scared to return home himself but unsure of what his next step might be.
“He didn’t plan at all to go to another country,” Rosa told the Times. “I don’t know even when he decided to do this. He didn’t say anything to me about it. I was surprised. And you don’t do something like this for money. He did this to defend his country.”
John Kerry Warns Nigerian Military on Human Rights Abuses
SOKOTO, Nigeria — Secretary of State John Kerry issued a carefully worded warning on Tuesday to Nigeria’s military against committing human rights abuses as it goes about battling the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Nigeria’s military has long been dogged by evidence that it has killed civilians, tortured prisoners and, more recently, detained mothers, children and other victims who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram.
“It is understandable in the wake of terrorist activity, some people are tempted to crackdown on everyone and anyone who could theoretically pose some sort of a threat,” Mr. Kerry told a group of religious leaders and politicians during a visit to Nigeria on Tuesday. “I caution against that today. Extremism cannot be defeated through repression.”
Worries about human rights abuses have in the past undercut Nigerian efforts to buy American weapons they say they need to defeat Boko Haram. Besides abuses tied to its fight against Boko Haram, activists have accused the military of gunning down at least 300 members of a Shiite Muslim sect in the northern city of Zaria without justification.
Relations between Nigeria and the United States have grown warmer under President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected last year. American surveillance drones based in Cameroon now fly missions over parts of Nigeria where Boko Haram is active.
Mr. Kerry dedicated much of his speech to urging Nigeria to employ and educate young people so they do not join groups like Boko Haram. Mr. Kerry decried Boko Haram’s “nihilistic view of the world.”
“They actually teach girls how to hold a bomb under their armpits so that the explosives remain steady,” Mr. Kerry said. “We might as well ask how anyone could be brainwashed into such atrocities, but because the children are so young and because the abuse that they suffer is so great, even brave souls can be broken.”
Mr. Kerry’s comments came as the Nigerian military said on Tuesday that airstrikes had killed and wounded several top Boko Haram commanders in the Sambisa Forest in the country’s northeast, where militants have been hiding for months.
Among the wounded was Abubakar Shekau, who took the helm of the group after the death of its founder in 2009, according to Col. Sani Usman, a military spokesman. The military’s attack took place on Friday.
At least three other top commanders were killed in “the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid,” the military said in a news release.
The military has claimed to have killed Mr. Shekau before. Leaders of the militant group are thought to be hiding deep in the forest. Reports of deaths or injuries to commanders were impossible to confirm independently.
