TopAfric

Nigerian Delegation pays Official visit to Germany

As part of its effort to establish social, economic, security and good governance, the Government of Nigeria paid a familiarization visit to Germany to understudy how these important areas of government works.

The delegation was led by Mr. Bassey Okon Akpanyung, director of National Planning Commission of Nigeria also known as “Ministry of Planning” solely responsible for formulating medium term and long term economic and development plans for the Nation.

Facts:
It must however, be noted that both countries run federal systems of Government. Whilst the states in Germany formed the federal Government, In Nigeria the Central Government established the Federal States.

Germany has 16 States, a president who acts solely as a ceremony head, with real executive powers in the hands of the “Bundeskanzler. Nigeria having 36 States and a president with executive powers.

Tours:
The tour took the delegation to many places including “Bildungswerk” in Wiesbaden, where they understudy the political systems in Germany, and also visited “KFW Entwicklungsbank”.

The delegation also met the Mayor “Burgermeister” of Kusel, Dr Stefan Spitzer and paid a courtesy call on the police head, where they understudy also how the police administration in Germany works and enforces their laws.

Their visit was to facilitate the process of developing a wide range of documents for the effective and efficient operation of the Government of Nigeria's social systems.

Hamburg:
The group was in Hamburg, where they met leaders of the African community, which was led by the prominent Nigeria lawyer, Allen Iyare Imasi and Mrs. Sylvaina Gerlich of the Hamburg Integration Council, they discuss social, economic and political issues.

The delegation met with Hon. Jürgen Klimke, (CDU) Member of Parliament representing Hamburg in Berlin, and Mrs. Corinna Nienstedt of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce where they discuss matters pertaining the formulation and implementation of Government policy on matters pertaining to trade & industry in Germany.

The African Press:
“The role of the media in the socio advancement of Nigeria as a country and the African community in Germany is indispensable” says, Desmond John Beddy, CEO of TopAfric. Also at the meeting was Mr. Tony Airhenbuwa, Program Director of TopAfric Radio.

Among the Government of Nigeria delegation are Mr. Ntufam Fidel Ugbo, Esq Secretary NPC, Mr. George Chukwuka Nwalupe, Director Social Development.

The rest are Mr. Rafiu Oyegbude Ibraheem, Ag Director Economic Growth Dept, Mr. Michael Abua Egbudu, P.A to the Secretary to the Commission. Mr. Henry Famakinwa CPO, Infrastructure and Mr. Joseph Dominic Okoh P.A to the HMNPC.

The delegation was accompanied to Germany by Mrs. Hildegard Behrendt -Kigozi who is the head of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Nigeria.

The delegation was received in Hamburg by Mr Andreas Klein of Konrad-Adeneuer-Stiftung

''We are very happy and impressed on things we have seen here in Germany during our tour to understudy numerous areas in governance, we are taking this Knowhow back to Nigeria, to help transform and strengthen good governance”. “Besides the people are very discipline and conscious of time” Said Mr. Bassy Okon Akpanyung.

Kwadwo Yeboah BREMAN / TopAfric.com

Why do Africans Patronize Asian Shops more than Afro Shops!

I know a lot of our people will be annoyed by this article. But I’m not talking about shooting, cutting or stabbing. No, I’m talking about economic war! If not now, then when? God knows the Asians declared an economic war on blacks decades ago and their success has been phenomenal. They literally came up with a plan to take every dime out of the black Community. And that’s exactly what they did. They never have nor do they intend to give it back either.

"Asians who set up businesses in the world don’t care to entice black Folks. Because we are their food; their economic slaves. Slaves that have fattened the pockets of generation of Asians while contributing to the economic demise of our own people. Their main objective is to exploit us the blacks and take our money out of our community". said an old man in Mumelmannsberg (a subdivision in Hamburg, Germany).

Because of this mind boggling questions which have no answer, TopAfric went the extra mile in and around Hamburg to find the reasons why black people like buying from the Asian shops rather than their own Afro shops.

Some of the blacks who spoke on condition of anonymity said the reason is simple that some of the black Afro shops sell their product exuberantly. The prices are unreasonable high and it does not entice them to buy from the black Afro shops.

Also comparing the same product in the Asian shops and the Black shops one can find out that buying from the Asian shop is much better than buying from the Afro shops.

A woman who spoke to TopAfric said the reason why she buys most of her products from the Asian Shop is because most Afro shops want to make enormous profits on all products they sell but the Asians are content with the little profit they get on each item.

She also said she will continue to buy from the Asians because on her assessment their product always looks fresher than the Afro shops.

TopAfric's findings also revealed that black women spend thousands of Euros a year on hair products sold by the Asians.

According to the owner of one of the busiest Asian shops located in Hammer brook -Hamburg, where a lot of blacks frequent, "it is very true that most of our customers are black". Comparing their prices to the black shops, you find out that theirs are cheaper than the black shops. That is the main reason and there is no secret behind why blacks like doing business with them.

A research conducted by TopAfric.com indicates that Asians control 80% of the distribution of black hair products in Germany.They tightly control both retail and wholesale distribution. And as we speak, they are closing in on the remaining handful of black manufacturing companies that have managed to stay afloat. How were they able to get this monopoly? During the late 1960′s the Korean and American governments came up with a plan to help the Asian impoverished/war torn people survive by selling to blacks.

"Black folks have very little understanding of economics. Black women attend church every Sunday with fresh Asian hair on their heads, sending millions of Asian children to college while their own kids end up in prison. No preacher to date has said “stop letting the Asians exploit you.” No preacher has suggested a boycott or lawsuit or trying to break this monopoly." fumed a German who added his voice to why blacks buy more from the Asian shop.

Going on further he told Topafric .com that looking at the nature of their products it always passed the quality control test before selling to their customers.

On the issue of blacks patronizing their product, he commended the blacks for having faith in their business and their products and asked that they will be very happy to do business with the blacks always. Maybe we will extend our business to Ghana and all the African countries.

Kwadwo Yeboah BREMAN / TopAfric.com

Dj Junia Interviews ILanga Festival Team

On the 12th of July the Hip Hop Energy show on TopAfric Radio hosted the Illanga team. Among the team was Fatou, and Betina, Dumisani and Hinrich, Dube Guitarist. It was a great and lively experience in the studios as we talked about the upcoming Illanga Festival happening at the Planten un Blomen on the 17th of July. Dube the music band also blessed us with some amazing cultured songs on the show.

Click the link below to listen to the entire interview You can reach Dube on facebook

2 Killed in Boston Marathon Bombing

Blasts near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed two people and injured more than 20 others Monday, Boston police said.

"It felt like a huge cannon," a witness told CNN about one of the blasts.

The marathon itself, on its Facebook page, referred to the blasts as bombs. Authorities did not say immediately what caused the explosions.

Massachusetts General Hospital said it was treating 19 injured people; Tufts Medical Center reported that it was treating nine people. Combined, that brings the number of injured to at least 28. Police reported 22 people injured.

The explosions sent smoke billowing into the air at Copley Square, turning a site of celebration into a mess of destruction.

Crowds had gathered in the area to watch the runners.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Lenox Hotel was evacuated, the Boston Globe reported, as authorities looked into possible security concerns.

"We are currently in contact with federal, state and city officials," Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick wrote on Twitter.

Other cities, including New York and Washington, tightened security as a result. Following standard protocol, the White House cleared out an area in front of the West Wing.

"If you see something, say something," Mark Boughton, mayor of Canbury, Connecticut, wrote on Twitter. "All cities will be on a heightened state of alertness per Homeland Security protocols."

Mike Baingon, who works at the Atlantic Fish Company in Boston, said an explosion took place in front of the restaurant and that he was right by the front door at the time.

The explosions occurred at about 2:45 p.m., more than two hours after the first of the race's nearly 27,000 runners had crossed the finish line, CNN Producer Matt Frucci reported.

The race was halted as was subway service into the area.

Runners east of Massachusetts Avenue were directed to Boston Common; those west of Massachusetts Avenue were directed to Kenmore Square, the state's emergency management agency said.

Troops from the Massachusetts National Guard were assisting police as well.

CNN

Lilian interviews Kwabena Kwabena

At 5:30 pm he walked into the studio with a guitar on his back and along side the team of New Talent Promotions Chris and Rockson.

Chatting with the trio was mega fun and they rocked the building but let me just give a tiny peep of how it went.

Lilian: Kwabena Kwabena welcome to TopAfric. You sing mostly love songs, why? Is it because you are a very romantic person or is just where your talent mostly lie?

Kwabena: Thanks for having us here. Well, I sing love songs because I believe so much in love and that only love can heal the world. If we all love each other, there wont hate and violence.

Lilian: Wow that’s my believe too. You sing Highlife and sometimes with a mix of bossa nova and mostly in Twi. I must say I’m impressed because most people your would have opted for English, especially when it has to do with love, so why did you tow this path?

Kwabena: Because I believe a person can express him self better in his language and my songs are an expression of who I am. And I also believe it’s high time we Africans start promoting our own and how else can you do it than through music? Music is a universal language that you don’t need understand the language to enjoy the song.

Lilian: Are you pan Africanist? Because you sound like one to me.

Kwabena: Yes I am. I believe in making Africa strong and if we all stand up for our continent, she is going to be great economically and otherwise.

Lilian: Chris what’s your part in this event?

Chris: I am the manager of New Talent Promotions and I’ve been very busy getting things together which in itself has not been easy. But thank God everything is finally in place.

Lilian: Why Kwabena Kwabena?

Chris: Because we believe Hamburg deserves the best and he is the best of the best in Ghana and that’s why we invited him.

Lilian: Kwabena what songs are you going to sing on Saturday?

Kwabena: The favourites of my fans abroad. My band and I have prepared a nonstop two hours package and we are going to give our best.

Lilian: I’m looking forward to seeing you guys play on Saturday. Thanks for coming but before you leave; I want you to give us a taste of what is awaiting us on Saturday.

Kwabena: Sure!

The world's 'Poorest' President

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.

Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside.
This is the residence of the president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, whose lifestyle clearly differs sharply from that of most other world leaders.

President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo. The president and his wife work the land themselves, growing flowers.

This austere lifestyle - and the fact that Mujica donates about 90% of his monthly salary, equivalent to $12,000 (£7,500), to charity - has led him to be labelled the poorest president in the world.

"I've lived like this most of my life," he says, sitting on an old chair in his garden, using a cushion favoured by Manuela the dog. "I can live well with what I have."

His charitable donations - which benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs - mean his salary is roughly in line with the average Uruguayan income of $775 (£485) a month. mujica5
In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was $1,800 (£1,100), the value of his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

This year, he added half of his wife's assets - land, tractors and a house - reaching $215,000 (£135,000). That's still only about two-thirds of Vice-President Danilo Astori's declared wealth, and a third of the figure declared by Mujica's predecessor as president, Tabare Vasquez.

Elected in 2009, Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution.

He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy. Those years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.

"I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more," he says.

"This is a matter of freedom. If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself," he says. "I may appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice."

The Uruguayan leader made a similar point when he addressed the Rio+20 summit in June this year: "We've been talking all afternoon about sustainable development. To get the masses out of poverty.

"But what are we thinking? Do we want the model of development and consumption of the rich countries? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household than Germans? How much oxygen would we have left?

"Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet."

Mujica accuses most world leaders of having a "blind obsession to achieve growth with consumption, as if the contrary would mean the end of the world".

Source. BBC

The need for Educational Advancement for the African Youth in Germany

Education both formal and informal is the bedrock of all societies and those that have more of it advance in same proportion. In that sense the African youth have no option in the land of Ideas (Germany) than to learn a trade with dully registered certification since expertise is very much acknowledged here or upgrade through higher education. As Mahtab Narsimanhan put it “a good education is the greatest gift you can give yourself or anyone else” This holds true because of the vast mysteries that are unravel in the process of acquiring knowledge with the most basic being the fact that our perceptions change and we get refined as well. What we do is what we know and have learned, either through instructions or through observation and assimilation.

While most feel that education is a necessity and use it as a tool for reaching a specific target or personal mark, after which there is no further need to seek greater education. Nonetheless, the importance of education in society is indispensable and for that reason society and knowledge cannot be ever separated into two distinct entities. The merits African youth can derive from Education are enormous as it changes lives and society in general. Self-Empowerment is strongly linked with education as it makes you strong enough to look after yourself in most given situations and also able to question authority for its negligence or discrepancies. With that, you can exercise your rights as a person and seek improvement in the structural functioning of governance and economy. It is only when one is aware of the policies of its government will he be able to support or protest for a change because people can bring about development only when they know where improvement is necessary for the greater good of society. Education helps you understand yourself and others better even as you realize your potential and qualities as a person.

Financial Stability and Dignity of Life is another concrete fruit of both formal and informal education in the sense that you do not only gain sufficient academic qualification or recognized training through learning of a trade but you are able to get suitable employment at a later stage. A decent employment would be rewarded with appreciable income through which you can look after your personal expenses. With enough financial independence you are able to extend hand to others at the same time having the financial security to meet emergencies and also take up investment opportunities. In that sense, you become the fisherman who has the skills to earn a living as the proverb goes “If you give a man a fish, he will go hungry again but when you teach him to fish, he will fend for himself for a lifetime; this literally backs the need for skill development of the youth of Africa here in Germany and Africa. Most importantly, the German system is very practical and gives you the hands on experience needed to sharpen skills which invariably affect productivity positively. This is perfectly seen in the output of products and services in the German Economy. From many years of experience and education the youth will be able to take to entrepreneurial Ventures that will lead to self-fulfillment and the rippling effects will be seen at home(Africa) in the form of capital outflows for start-Ups and well-tailored professional services that the Continent is in constant need of.

More important is the axiom that “An Idle Mind is the Devil’s Workshop” How is this true? Psychologists posit that an average person has about fifty thousand thoughts in a day and each one of them leads to an action and we leave by ACTIONS. For this reason, proper harnessing of the thought processes of the youth is very vital for researches, active dialogues on development and continuous effort for knowledge and skills through higher education, skills development from learning of a trade and proper mentorship. This calls for selfless mentorship from accomplished individuals who are keen on passing the baton to the African youth to be independent and assets to steer the continent to the next level.

As the saying goes “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance” often the zeal for education is among the youth but funding is a major issue but interestingly the following Foundations and funding opportunities are available and African youth can take the opportunity in bridging the educational and literacy gab by applying to them for Scholarships.

Among them are the DAAD www. daad.de (Scholarships for Masters ,Professional Training and PHD), Vodafone Stiftung ,www.vodafone-stiftung.de (mentorship and scholarship for bachelor’s degree and master’s degree for youth with migrant background), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (www.fes.de support for degree programs), Schotstek (www.schotstek.com Mentorship and scholarship for youth with migrant background), Hamburg Merit scholarship (Scholarship for master degree students), Claussen-Simon stiftung (www.claussen-simon-stiftung.de scholarship for high school, degree, masters and PHD opportunities), Konrad-Adenauer Foundation (www. kas.de scholarships for degree, Masters, Artist, Musicians and Writers) What Africa needs most is the Education of its youth, hence Africa Youth must Arise and sharpen their skills and above all, it will be great for all African youth to actively get involved in the AFRICA YOUTH EDUCATION (AYE) program as it is an elevator for networking, dialogue and promoting of the Values of Africa. To this end, Best Wishes to all African Youth in their endeavors, many thanks to Mr Desmond John Beddy and other Organizers who have tirelessly worked by upholding community empowerment as a major priority and as such initiated a worthwhile program like the African Youth Education Program (AYE). “From Mathematical reasoning, if time is equal to life, they have given part of their time to society, hence a fraction of their life is equal to the AYE program” and May all together uplift the AYE program and the image of Africa.

Extract from the AYEA Magazine
By: Francis Amemador
Master of Law and Business Candidate
Bucerius Law School Hamburg-Germany.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Gun Man Shot 6 and 7yrs Olds Repeatedly

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Twelve girls and eight boys. One had celebrated her seventh birthday just four days before her death. They were Charlotte and Jack, Noah and Grace.

Dressed in "cute kid stuff," all 20 died when a heavily armed 20-year-old gunman forced his way into their school, Sandy Hook Elementary, and shot them and six women in an act of violence that has shattered their once-tranquil suburban town.
"They were first-graders," said Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, before releasing the names of all the victims of the school shootings on Saturday.
Asked to describe the attack, Carver, who oversaw the autopsies of all the victims and conducted many himself, called it "the worst I have seen."
The shooter, identified by law enforcement officials as Adam Lanza, killed his mother Nancy on Friday, then drove to the school where he gunned down another 26 people before taking his own life in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
He fired a rifle, shooting his victims multiple times. Parents identified their children through pictures, a process intended to minimize their shock, Carver said.
Police did not officially identify Lanza or his mother.
Members of the close-knit community went into public mourning on Saturday as the depth of the tragedy became clear.
"I don't know how to get through something like this," said Robbie Parker, a 30-year-old physician's assistant whose 6-year-old daughter Emilie was among the dead.

child1 "My wife and I don't understand how to process this and how to get our lives going," Parker told reporters. Emilie, the oldest of his three children, Parker said, "could just light up a room."
While Americans have seen many mass shootings in the past decades, the victims have rarely been so young. On Saturday, some Democratic lawmakers called for sweeping new gun-control measures, a move certain to run up against stiff opposition from the nation's powerful pro-gun lobby.
President Barack Obama, who a day earlier was moved to tears on national television by the tragedy, called for "meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this," but stopped short of specifically calling for tighter gun-control laws.
CHRISTMAS TREE MEMORIAL
Townsfolk packed into the church memorial services held throughout the day. On Saturday night, the pews at St. Rose of Lima were packed with parishioners standing at the rear of the church.
At least one person was missing - 6-year-old Olivia Engel, who was to have had a role in the Nativity concert.
"She was supposed to be an angel in the play," said Revered Robert Weiss. "Now she's an angel up in heaven."
Town fire officials set up 26 Christmas trees, decorated with stuffed animals, near the school as a memorial to the victims - many of whom were children who may have been hoping for such toys as their own holiday presents. Churches held memorial services.

child2 "Those innocent little boys and girls were taken from their families far too soon," said Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy. "Let us all hope and pray those children are now in a place where that innocence will always be protected."
One of the victims, Josephine Gay, had celebrated her seventh birthday on Tuesday.
Rabbi Shaul Paver said he had spent time with Veronika Pozner, whose 6-year-old son Noah, was among the victims.
"She said that she didn't know how she was going to go on, and we encouraged her to focus on her other four children that need her and not to try to plan out the rest of her life, just take a deep breath right now," Paver said.
The adult victims, some of whom died defending the students, ranged in age from 27 to 56. Carver, the medical examiner, said all the bodies had examined had been shot with a rifle. He said he and his staff had not yet examined the shooter or his mother.
MOTIVES EMERGING
Police earlier said they had assembled "some very good evidence" on the killer's motives.
"Our investigators at the crime scene ... did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in, hopefully, painting the complete picture as to how - and more importantly why - this occurred," Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance told reporters.
Yale-New Haven Hospital opened a crisis-intervention center in the wealthy suburb of 27,000 people about 80 miles from New York City.
The killer's mother, Nancy Lanza, legally owned a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns commonly used by police, and a military-style Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, according to law enforcement officials, who also said they believed Adam Lanza used at least some of those weapons.
The death toll exceeded that of one of the most notorious U.S. school shootings, the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 13 students and staff before fatally shooting themselves.
Around the nation communities took small steps to mark the tragedy.
At Virginia Tech, a Blacksburg, Virginia university where in 2007 a gunman killed 32 people in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, an announcer extended sympathies to the residents of Newtown before a basketball game.
"This campus ... shares a deep sense of grief," the announcer said. "We share that pain and we open our hearts to that community."
(Additional reporting by Edward Krudy, Edith Honan, Chris Kaufman, Dave Gregorio, Colleen Jenkins and Chris Francescani; Writing by Scott Malone and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)
Yahoo news

Miss Kenya Germany 2016 interviewed by DJ Bleed

Thursday, April 21, 2016, Fatuma Henke, winner of the just concluded Miss Kenya Germany 2016, was interviewed by DJ Bleed on the Music Beatz show on which airs every Thursdays from 8pm – 10pm on www.topafric.com

Fatuma shared talked about the event and how excited she was upon winning the crown. She revealed all her plans of going back to her Village in Kenya and stopping arranged marriages to under age girls as well the horrible practise of female circumcision.

Fatuma is a student at the University of Hamburg and has only been in Germany for one and a half year.

She got the opportunity to meet the President of Kenya, Kenyatta Uhuru, during his visit to Berlin. Her family back home in Kenya are extremely proud of her and she intends to use this position to make a difference in Kenya.

If you missed the live interview, simply click the audio below to listen to the entire interview...........

DJ BLEED

Lilian interviews Grace Evaly and Gerhard Heiland

Hearing the name Nollywood Germany one might mistake it for an entity that will do nothing else but screen Nollywood movies in Germany, but far from it. Grace Evaly (the Nollywood Chic as she´s now fondly called in our studio J) has a lot more in her cylinder hat; She´s going the whole 9 yards. There is more to her vision than just screening and premiering Nollywood movies in German Cinemas, she´s out to setup a full-blown movie industry on it´s own and right now she´s recruiting young talented Afro Germans who have the passion and zeal for acting, dancing and modeling and those who are makeup artists too. She wants to build a team of professionals who can also shoot Nollywood movies in Germany and who knows? Soon it might be just a normal thing to view a Nollywood movie on a German channel.

When asked if she will nudge her children into acting, here is what she has to say.
GRACE: Well, not necessarily but if they show the interest, of course I will encourage them. In fact I´m already seeing the trait in them especially my first daughter who is just 6 and that´s why she´s registered with a modeling agency.

ME: Oh she models.
GRACE: Yes and she dances too.

Liian: Wow great. So why did you choose STIGMA as your first movie to be screened here, was it because it addresses HIV and issues surrounding it or was it just the only one you thought might do well over here?
GRACE: The Producer Dagogo Dinminas happen to live with his family partly in Germany and the movie was co-produced with a German Producer Sonja Nina Gellweiler and of course the theme HIV is one that our society needs to address more.

Lialian: So are you just going to be screening only movies with such sensitive topics or you are open to everything that comes your way? GRACE: No I am not open to everything. I want to concentrate on movies with meaningful impact on our society, especially ones that our kids in the Diaspora can identify with.

Lilian: So Gerhard, I know you´ve been here before and we touched on the topic last time, but tell us more about the ALAFIA Festival and why you and your wife started it in the first place.

GERHARD: Well, ALAFIA Festival was a spontaneous idea. Angelina and I were driving back home one of these days from one of the festivals you have annually in Hamburg and we thought about why the African Festivals aren´t located in the center of town just like the Germans have theirs and then we thought “Why not, after all we are here to stay? Let´s give it a try.” So we got to work immediately. The very first one was so small and not so organized but, we continued with the project. The first few years were challenging but now everything is in it´s place.

Lilian: Hmmm… Kudos! You guys are doing a great job. The ALAFIA Festival is now a household name in Hamburg, just like a state owned thing. Sorry Gerhard, you said we are here to stay like an African would say it, I guess being married to an African for so many years does that to you and seems almost every African in Hamburg know you… (We all erupted in laughter)
GERJARD: I´m German but so many years working with Africans in the African community does that to you eventually.

Lilian: I saw the list of artists they are quite many for just two days, Saturday and Sunday right?
GERHARD: It´s three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and yes we have about 14 artists performing amongst them are Wiyaala, Zainab, Abou Day, Rachelle Jeanty, Angelina Akpovo and the Yakawumbu and so on… It´s going to be a mixture of jazz, soul, pop, Afro beat, reggae and so on.

Lilian: You are a Manager and a Promoter, what kind of artists do you work with and what kind of music do you promote?
GERHARD: I´m very flexible but mostly work with African artists with different genres but the music has to be something I personally can listen to and enjoy before I take it up.

Lilian: Have you guys worked together before or this is your first time?
GRACE: Yes this is our first time of working together, though I´ve always been to the Festival annually for quite some time now. The idea to screen the movie at the festival actually came at a team meeting while we were deciding on when and where to do it. After picking a date a team member suggested maybe we can collaborate with the ALAFIA people because it´s the same period and so I got in touch with Angelina at an Award where she was a recipient and here we are.

GERHARD: We are always open for to new ideas. We specialize in music but if we see someone like Grace who specializes in movies? Why not? The festival is a nonprofit venture for us. We are just doing it to get people together and if there is someone with ideas that can work together with ours, they are welcome to join in.

Lilian: Grace are you also planning an African movie festival or something in that nature?
GRACE: Yeah I´m actually working on it but that is going to be the future.

Lilian: Some years ago you brought Wandeco to Hamburg and it was a success but since then you´ve not brought anyone again, moreover Nigerian artists don´t come this way anymore, why is that so?
GRACE: It´s because of sponsorship. It´s very difficult for us to find sponsors for our events down here, so if you know you are a potential sponsor and you´re listening to me right now, please help out. We need you, we need people like you to help showcase our events.

Lilian: WE have come to the end of this segment. Do you have anything to people out there?
GERHARD: I will like to say a very big thank you to our wonderful team. You guys are great, thank you so much. And also to everyone who help organize and make this possible every year and of course thank you TopAfric for having me here.
GRACE: A shoutout to my fans on facebook, instagram and twitter and to everyone listening and to a special one Elizabeth Bosse, my family, my friends and my wonderful team. I thank you all and most especially my husband for being there and very supportive. Thank you baby…

By Lilian Kunu

Dj Bleed interviews Tu-brain Spartacus

Award winning Artist, Tu-brain Spartacus, was live at Topafric Radio (in Hamburg, Germany) getting interviewed by DJ Bleed on the show “Music Beatz” which airs every Thursday from 8pm – 10pm Germany time on www.topafric.com

Solomon Omoruyi , whose stage name is “Tu-Brain Spartacus”, recently won an award for Best Male Artist at the just concluded Diaspo Awards 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Tu-Brain talked about how he writes his music and also revealed to DJ Bleed where his energy comes from.

DJ Bleed played 4 of his tracks and made him explain the meaning of each song.

During the live show, some listeners called into the show and demanded to hear the humble yet loud artist’s recently released song entitled “Skelebe”.

Tu-Brain is a perfect example of the phrase “never judge a book by its cover”. With his blond Mohawk and energetic attitude, one would think he is a wild boy but he is quite the opposite.

He is a meek, humble, and most especially hard working artist who is simply aiming for the skies. At this rate he is sure to reach it.

Topafric wishes him all the best.

DJ BLEED