By Ciku Kimeria Sotheby’s recently concluded its bi-annual Modern & Contemporary African Art auction, exceeding the lower end of its pre-sale estimate by over 40% to net £2.7 million ($3.7 million). Participants hailed from 34 countries, with over a third of buyers transacting with Sotheby’s for the first time, making the auction houses’ third online-only auction of contemporary African art a major success. The category was created by Sotheby’s only four years ago to champion the work of African artists. Since then, it has achieved over 80 record-breaking sales, underscoring the…
An Essay By Andrew Borbor Werlay Jaye Jr. The streets of Monrovia with potholes and cacophonous speakers are mostly connected between old infrastructural ruins and plantation–style houses after many years of Post–War Liberia. Be it Ashmun Street that is in honor of Jeudi Ashmun, one of the colonial agents of the ACS, or either Mechlin Street that lies in the memory of Joseph Mechlin, there goes under the scorching sun during the dry season, or the mountainous rain during the rainy season: the roaming around of street vendors, the…
In July 1962, Nelson Mandela returned from the conference, having gathered support for the newly formed Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was arrested and charged first for leaving the country without a passport and sentenced to Robben Island and later charged in the Rivonia Trial and sentenced to life imprisonment. This is a lightly edited excerpt of his address, published with permission. Nelson Mandela thanks African states for their hospitality in hosting freedom fighters and exiles at a conference of the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa. By Nelson Mandela…
By Darlington Collins Brother Duku Jallah, I just watched your nearly 30 minutes interview with Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh and I must say I am not quite impressed with your understanding of historical reckoning. Your questions were all over the place and at some point misguided, thereby infusing your personal feelings or opinions about the progressive class into your questionnaires while leaving your viewers with second thoughts about your presentation. You assume the role of the agent provocateur rather than an interviewer about these historical events that needed sober-minded introspection. In…
Going to university 4,000 miles from the place she grew up wasn’t easy for 22-year-old Ayobami Lawal. She was raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and at the age of 17 moved to the UK, where she’s now studying chemical engineering at the University of Bath. Looking for a way to feel more connected to home, Lawal discovered an online book club, the Happy Noisemaker, based in Nigeria. “I figured that the people attending would be similar to me, and I wouldn’t feel so foreign,” she tells CNN. In February, Lawal…
REUTERS—-South Africa’s struggling national airline South African Airways (SAA) on Friday exited a local form of bankruptcy protection called business rescue after roughly 17 months. SAA was placed under administration in December 2019, and its long-standing financial woes worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. All operations were mothballed in September 2020. Its administrators said in a statement that they had filed a notice of “substantial implementation” of a business rescue plan with South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. That meant they had “effectively discharged the business rescue and handed over…
By Darlington S. Collins While browsing social media during the early hours, I read in a couple of Facebook feds and I saw some brothers responding to what I came to discover as analysis and response to Montserrado County Senator Abraham Dillon, particularly concerning the events leading to up to April 14, 1979, and SPECIFICALLY the progressive struggle. In dealing with public officials or ordinary citizens in general, I tried not to inherit battles but unfortunately, the Monterrado County Senator, leaves me no choice, as his analysis on the historical…
After much anticipation, the Ghana-based Liberian artist, JZYNO has released his new single “Maame Water” featuring Ghana’s sensational singer Krymi. Taking to social media, JZYNO revealed the cover art for his upcoming single with the caption “Fresh new tone will keep you on your feet till the end of the beat”. The cover art shows a portrait photo of both artists against a serene sea view and also reveals the producer of the song as Beatz Vampire. Back in March 2021, JZYNO put the music scene on ‘stop’ with his power-packed…
BBC—Striker Simeon ‘Simy’ Nwankwo’s goals for Italian Serie A side Crotone mean he is rated one of Europe’s best scorers in 2021, yet considered surplus to requirements by Nigeria. His 19 goals for Serie A’s bottom club is a new record for a Nigerian striker in a single season in one of Europe’s top leagues to overtake Yakubu’s Aiyegbeni’s 17 goals in the 2011-12 campaign for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. Despite these impressive statistics the Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr, has indicated Simy is not part of his plans…
Staff Report The Justice Forum Liberia (JFL), several Liberians, victims of the Liberian civil war as well as civil society organizations in the country are expected to assemble at the capitol building on May 18, 2021, to pressurize the state authorities for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court in Liberia. Maxson S. Kpakio disclosed that the establishment of a war and economic crimes court will go a long way in helping to curtail the culture of impunity in Liberian society. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which operated between 2006 and 2009, recommended creating…
