1. The fat lady will sing. The New York Times has now featured two West African marriages in its Sunday “Vows” section in a matter of weeks. The first is of a Nigerian wedding (ceremonies in Abuja and Virginia). It’s a union of a very well connected lawyer and an investment banker that makes for, shall […]
Television commercials can be pretty annoying. With the exception of the few that make you laugh. Quite often it’s the good commercials of which you forget what the company is actually trying to sell. However the annoying ones, that is a different story. Their tunes, actor and catch phrases crawl into your head, triggering a […]
Post by Laurent Dubois The French national anthem, La Marseillaise, is, if you think about it, a pretty nasty song. It dreams, in one of its more memorable verses, that the “blood of the impure” will “irrigate our fields.” It’s a rousing anthem, to be sure, and I myself can frequently be heard humming it […]
Post by Cheta Nwanze* In 1989, an unknown Dutch manager, Clemens Westerhof happened upon the job of managing the Nigerian National Team, known at the time, as the Green Eagles. A year later, the team was meant to compete in the African Nations Cup, hosted by Algeria. Before the tournament, all hell broke loose as […]
By Cheta Nwanze* Make una no vex, I’m running on less than 2 hours of sleep, and for good reason. Scratch that, FOR GREAT REASON. Thirteen years of sorrow, hurt and pain were wiped out in an instant a few hours ago as I watched Joseph Yobo lift that golden goblet over his head to […]
Zambia’s victory in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations was a great story, and one that even the crustiest of cynics could get behind. A team returned to the site of the national tragedy in which their fathers’ wonderfully talented generation of footballers were killed, and won the trophy against overwhelming odds. They sung in unison as the emotional penalty shootout unfolded, and when the celebrations began, the coach picked up an injured player and carried him across the pitch to his jubilant teammates. What wasn’t to like?
By Cheta Nwanze* Una see dat ball? Humble pie is a very interesting confectionery. It is something that most people take very reluctantly, and tend to take in very small doses. With that in mind, you, dear reader, are on the front row seat to a Guinness World Record of sorts, the first man to eat […]
By Charles Mafa* It’s death or glory today for defending champions Zambia, who must beat Burkina Faso to make it to the quarter-finals. Anything less will be a major disappointment. Just in case the Chipolopolo boys need a confidence booster ahead of the big match, and so that they remember what this means to the […]
This edition of the Africa Cup of Nations promises fans of Ghana’s Black Stars potential thrills but also raises the specters of recent failures. The Black Stars (they play the Democratic Republic of Congo today in their opening match of Afcon 2013) must be seen as one of the favored teams and are under a […]
Guest Post by Samira Sawlani* We won’t be surprised if Malians don’t care much for football right now as conflict ravages through the country’s north and east (separatists and Islamists are occupying much of the north of Mali, engaged in a standoff with French and Malian government troops). So I asked a friend who lives […]
