Advertisment

news

Brazil adopts Yoruba as official language

Published

6 years ago

September 12, 2018

Sahara Weekly

Advertisment

The Brazilian government has given Yoruba a pride of place among foreign languages spoken in the country. in an exclusive interview with the Brazilian minister of culture
Dr Sérgio Sá leitão at the weekend in Brazil that the government has introduced the compulsory study of African History and Yoruba language into the primary and secondary schools curriculum.

Advertisment

The minister spoke at an event where the Institute of African Studies, University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil paraded important dignitaries including Nigerian artists and historians, as well as professors of arts and African studies at a lecture on the importance of Yoruba language in the Brazilian culture and tradition.

According to him, the inclusion of African History and Yoruba Language in the curriculum would help bring the closeness of the African Brazilian people to their roots and thus encourage the understandings of the language among other important languages in Brazil apart from Portuguese which is the official language.

The minister also mentioned the role played by Brazil during the festival of arts and culture, ‘FESTAC 77’, held in Lagos, Nigeria in 1977; the constant intercultural programmes between Nigeria and Brazil; the annual carnival of Arts, music and cultural displays featuring prominent African artists and Yoruba writers such as Yinka Shonibare, Adeyinka Olaiya, El Anatsui among many others, including the highly respected Yoruba writer, Professor Wande Abimbola.

Speaking at the event, Peruvian Nobel laureate, Prof. Mário Vargas Llosa also made mention of the African community in Peru where the African Peruvians are settled till date. Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010, is known as one of Latin America’s most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading writers of his generation.

According to Vargas Llosa, Yoruba people and their culture have helped the universe, IFA has proven his existence in the beings of mankind right from the inception and IFA is still very much alive and needs to be recognized even more than it is today.

According to Prof Mário Vargas, the Yoruba language should no longer be approached as an ethnic language but a universal language that is alive in culture and tradition of the Africans and her roots around the universe.

Speaking in Yoruba and Portuguese, Prof Katiuscia Ribeiro of the Institute of African Studies drew attention to the African philosophical practices introducing the constant representation of the Yoruba culture and religion in the Brazilian traditional beliefs.

NewsmakersNG learnt that the Yoruba traditional religion today comes after the Catholic practices as the most improving religious practices in the South American country. Several houses of worships called “ILE ASE” are having the Yoruba culture, tradition and language as official, whenever the cults are declared open for the day. Babalawo, Iyalawo, Omo Awo, and Aborisa are all common Yoruba usages in the practice of the Yoruba religion called Candomblé in Brazil.

A Nigerian carnival artist, painter and illustrator, Adeyinka Olaiya, also expressed the benefits the Yoruba language would bring to the Brazilian culture if fully integrated into the Brazilian educational curriculum.

According to Olaiya, living in Salvador, Brazil, is like living in any of the western states of Nigeria where the Yoruba are predominantly located.

He said, “Most of the cultures and traditions in evidence in Brazil are all of the heritages brought along to the Latin American country by the majority Yoruba families, victims of the BARCO NEGREIROS, the NEGRO BOAT that forcefully brought the enslaved West Africans to Brazil in the 13th century.

The Yoruba heritage that represents the majority of the African cultural practices in Brazil today is having several words in Yoruba roots. Akara, Dendê, Iyalode, Babalawo, Iyalawo and lots more are all derived from the Yoruba roots.

Advertisment

news

You’re wicked,$720k for school fees in advance,”U dey take Kogi people play football” -prophet Ikuru

Published

4 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Advertisment

By Collins Nkwocha

The prophetic Hall of fame, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos has reiterated that the former governor of Kogi state, Yaya Bello is a heartless, callous and wicked criminal that shouldn’t be allowed to go unpunished.

Advertisment

This is coming after the latest revelation that Bello withdrew $720k from the state funds to pay for his child’s school fees in advance by the EFCC chairman.

The handsome prophet who was visibly annoyed with the revelation by the EFCC boss said ” yaya Bello don pocket Kogi people so Tay e dey take them play football, this is wickedness,you have embezzled to the level that you don’t even know what else to use to embezzle anymore that you had to withdrew $720k for your child’s school fees in advance,you should be ashamed of yourself”.

He praised the EFCC chairman for doing a good job and helping the nation to recover her looted resources.He praised the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for helping the nation in the fight against corruption.

Advertisment

news

Keep your mouth shut, you are the real criminal, you don’t have respect for elders, Prophet Ikuru blasts Yahaya Bello

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Advertisment

By Collins Nkwocha

Advertisment

The prophetic Hall of fame, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos has blasted the former governor of Kogi state, Yaya Bello for evading arrest and making nasty comments about the government and EFCC.

The prophet was visibly angry that Bello went into hiding and started attacking the government and EFCC with nasty words.He said “yaya Bello does not have respect for elders,in facts he’s not fit to contest for any political position in Nigeria or hold any political position in Nigeria anymore, he’s a real criminal,yet, he’s still talking, he doesn’t not have respect for elders.Ododo should also be punished for aiding a criminal”

Bello was declared wanted by EFCC after evading arrest, he’s been on fugitive since then,many people advised him to submit himself for investigations and clarifications.Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see how this saga will end.

Advertisment

Business

Nigeria Launches New Fiscal Incentives to Revitalise Oil & Gas Sector, Aiming to Attract $10 Billion Investment

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Nigeria Launches New Fiscal Incentives to Revitalise Oil & Gas Sector, Aiming to Attract $10 Billion Investment

Advertisment

… as FG endorses consolidated guidelines

Sahara Weekly Reports That Today, in a move to further revitalise the oil and gas industry’s contribution to the Nigerian Economy, Wale Edun, OFR, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, presided over a signing ceremony at the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja endorsing the Consolidated Guidelines for the implementation of Fiscal Incentives for the Oil & Gas Sector – a cornerstone of the Presidential Directive aimed at enhancing the Nigerian oil & gas sector’s global competitiveness whilst stimulating economic growth.

As disclosed during the signing, the Presidential Directives were developed and coordinated by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen to ensure a competitive framework for the Nigerian oil & gas industry. These Consolidated guidelines for the fiscal incentives are based on extensive collaboration across Finance and Petroleum Ministries and involved several key regulatory bodies including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to Mrs. Verheijen, these new measures have been designed to deliver a competitive Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for Oil & Gas Projects and attract over $10 billion in new investments within the next 12-18 months. They also underscore Nigeria’s commitment to reaching its long term oil production target of 4 million barrels per day whilst enhancing the reliability of gas supply for to boost export earnings and fuel Nigeria’s industrialization.

Mrs. Verheijen disclosed that among the guidelines signed were the NUPRC Guideline on Hydrocarbon Liquids Content in a Non-Associated Gas (NAG) Field, essential for accurately categorising and quantifying the hydrocarbon liquid content in these fields. Additional guidelines focused on the applicability of tax credits and allowances for Non-Associated Gas Greenfield Development and the Midstream Capital and Gas Utilization Allowance, providing taxpayers with clarity on the computation of these benefits.

HM Edun, in his remarks, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the directive in February 2024 to engender growth in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, which had stagnated for over the last decade. He also emphasised the potential of the guidelines, saying, “The idea is to create an atmosphere conducive to international competitiveness such that investment comes in. And in this case, we know it’s foreign direct investment”.

The signing ceremony was attended by various stakeholders, including NNPC Limited, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), further highlighting Nigeria’s unified approach toward reinvigorating its oil and gas sector.

Advertisment