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LIFANIMA RECEIVES 905 ENTRIES – POSTPONES FESTIVAL

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The submissions for the 4th edition of the Lagos International Festival of Animation, LIFANIMA closed on the 15th of May 2020 and received 905 entries from 100 countries.
This is a remarkable increase in the number of entries and countries compared to the 2019 edition, when the festival received 700 entries from 70 countries.

The festival founder and director – Muyiwa Kayode stated that the quality of the submissions in the 4 different categories of 2D animation, 3D animation, Animation commercial and Visual Effects, saw a remarkable improvement compared with entries received in previous years.

“We are extremely excited at the rapid growth of LIFANIMA into what is today one of the top animation film festivals in Africa.
We are even more excited at what this means for the African film industry. LIFANIMA is bringing African animators together and we are poised to see greater collaboration that will culminate in the successful production of proudly African animation features that tell the African story” says Muyiwa Kayode, who is also the creator and Executive Producer of the multiple award winning animation series – Turtle Taido.

To move on the final selection for the festival, the filmmakers have been encouraged to update their submissions on filmfreeway to allow the LIFANIMA jury select the final works that will be screened in and out of competition at the event.

LIFANIMA was scheduled to hold between the 4th and 6th of June in Lagos but due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, it has been postponed to a later date in October with details to be confirmed soon.

LIFANIMA has the objectives to promote the rapid development of the animation industry in Nigeria and across Africa; to improve the movie industry through increased inclusion of animation content; to provide a platform for the promotion of local animators and development of the quality of animation and to expose animators to the latest technologies in animation hardware and software.

The Animation specific film festival was founded by Muyiwa Kayode in 2017 to promote the Animation genre and support its practitioners in the continent.

Over the years, it has seen a steady increase in submission of films across the categories of 2D, 3D animation, Animation commercials and Visual effects.
The 2019 edition received 700 films from more than 70 countries in the continent and Diaspora.
30 films made the final selection and were screened in the competitive and non- competitive categories.

The festival’s annual program includes Screening of Selected Works, Award Presentations, Networking and Entertainment and usually attracts Animators from within and outside the African continent, Filmmakers, Investors, Financial Institutions, Advertising agencies, Musical Video Producers, Media Practitioners, Digital Marketing professionals, Government agencies, Information Technology companies/manufacturers and the general public.

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Canada Owes an Apology: Visa Denial of Nigeria’s Defence Chief, Military Leaders Sparks Diplomatic Row By Olayemi Esan

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Canada Owes an Apology: Visa Denial of Nigeria’s Defence Chief, Military Leaders Sparks Diplomatic Row By Olayemi Esan

 

The Canadian government’s denial of visas to Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, and other senior military officials has sparked controversy, and such a decision would be a significant diplomatic misstep.

It would be a breach of diplomatic protocol and courtesy if the Canadian government denied visas to General Musa and other officials without valid reasons, As a representative of Nigeria’s military, General Musa who has met with international counterparts, such as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr to discuss security cooperation and regional stability, it is disappointing to receive the news of the visa deny.

General Musa revealed this on Thursday during a maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies (AANISS) in Abuja, describing the visa denial as both embarrassing and disappointing, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) emphasized the need for Nigeria to strengthen its self-reliance

In his words, “Every disappointment is a blessing. Yesterday, I was meant to be in Canada for an event honoring our veterans—those injured in battle. We were invited alongside our team, but while half of the delegation was granted visas, the other half was denied. It’s very disappointing,” Musa stated.

He further remarked that the incident serves as a reminder for Nigeria to “stand on its own, stand strong as a nation, and ensure it is no longer taken for granted.”No official reason for the visa denial has been provided by the Canadian government at this time.

Olayemi Esan, SpyeTV News Managing Director in her displeasure remarks noted that a visa denial without explanation or justification would undermine the trust and cooperation between Nigeria and Canada. The Canadian government needs to provide clear reasons for its decision and apologize if it was an error or an oversight.

She said the Canadian government should consider the potential consequences of their actions on bilateral relations and regional security cooperation. Apologizing for any mistakes made would be a step towards repairing the relationship and maintaining a positive diplomatic partnership.

Jamie Christoff the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria who recently visited Nigeria to promote trade and economic ties between the two countries as a matter of urgency wrote an apology letter to the office of the Chief of Defence Staff, Nigeria Armed Forces for this costly error by its embassy here in Nigeria.

It should be noted that, the Chief of Defence Staff. General Musa stressed that strengthening self-reliance in Nigeria requires a multi-faceted approach. By doing so, Nigeria will achieve the aim of diversifying the economy and reducing dependence on oil exports by developing other sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and services. It would promote local production and encourage local industries to produce goods and services, reducing reliance on imports.

By strengthening self-reliance in Nigeria to invest in infrastructure, and develop roads, railways, airports, and seaports to facilitate trade and commerce. It will foster entrepreneurship and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through training, funding, and mentorship programs. It will develop human capital. Invest in education, healthcare, and skills development to build a competent and productive workforce. It would enhance food security*: Promote agricultural development, irrigation, and rural infrastructure to ensure food self-sufficiency.

It encourages innovation and supports research and development, science, and technology to drive innovation and competitiveness. Strengthen institutions and ensure good governance, transparency, and accountability in institutions to attract investment and promote economic growth. Foster regional cooperation and collaborate with neighbouring countries to promote trade, investment, and economic integration.

This will develop a national strategy and create a comprehensive plan to achieve self-reliance, with clear goals, objectives, and timelines. By implementing these measures, Nigeria can strengthen its self-reliance, reduce dependence on external factors, and achieve sustainable economic growth and development.

*OLAYEMI ESAN IS AN AWARD-WINNING BROADCAST JOURNALIST AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONER. SHE IS A MEMBER OF NIPR AND THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SPYE TV [SPYE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED]. SHE CAN BE REACHED VIA 08035132961 OR [email protected]*

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Prophecy Fulfilled: Prophet Kingsley Aitafo’s Prediction on Terrorism Funding Exposed

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Pro. Kingsley’s Prophetic Warning On Italy Came To Pass

Prophecy Fulfilled: Prophet Kingsley Aitafo’s Prediction on Terrorism Funding Exposed

 

Prophet Kingsley Aitafo, a prominent Nigerian cleric known for his bold prophecies, recently made headlines with a prediction regarding terrorism in Nigeria. During a time when the nation was grappling with heightened fears of a potential breakup due to terrorism, Aitafo assured Nigerians that no such division would occur. He also predicted that those funding terrorism would be exposed, a prophecy that seems to have found validation in recent international revelations.

In a recent development, United States Congressman Scott Perry made a damning allegation during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency. Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, claimed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had been funding terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram, to the tune of $697 million annually.

Perry’s assertions have sparked significant concern among security experts and diplomats in Nigeria. According to Perry, USAID’s reported allocation of $136 million for building 120 schools in Pakistan resulted in “zero evidence” of any schools being constructed. He further questioned the annual allocation of $60 million for the Women’s Scholarship Endowment and $5 million for the Young Women Lead program, suggesting that these funds may have been diverted to support terrorist activities rather than empowering women.

The revelation has raised alarms about the potential misuse of taxpayer funds and the inadvertent support of terrorism. Security analysts have expressed concern over the implications of such funding on Nigeria’s internal security and stability. Many have called for a thorough investigation into the allegations and a review of international aid programs to ensure transparency and accountability.

Prophet Aitafo’s prophecy, which came during a tumultuous time in Nigeria’s history, now seems to carry new weight. His prediction about the exposure of terrorism financiers has resonated with many who see Perry’s revelations as a confirmation of Aitafo’s foresight.

As investigations continue, many Nigerians are calling for greater vigilance in tracking the sources of terrorism funding. The exposure of such funding channels is seen as a critical step in combating terrorism and securing lasting peace in the region.

This unfolding story underscores the importance of international cooperation in addressing terrorism and ensuring that aid programs are not exploited by those seeking to destabilize nations. For many, Prophet Kingsley Aitafo’s prophecy has become a beacon of hope, symbolizing the eventual triumph of truth and justice over the forces of terror.

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AN OPEN LETTER TO DONALD TRUMP by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

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THE ISRAEL OF SHAITAN

AN OPEN LETTER TO DONALD TRUMP by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

 

Mr. President, over the last 15 months your country America has subjected the people of Gaza to mass murder, genocide & ethnic cleansing.

You armed, assisted & enabled the State of Israel to murder, by your own admission, hundreds of thousands of innocent Gazan civilians the vast majority of whom were women & children.

 

You turned their once beautiful country into a poisonous, stinking, uninhabitable, burnt flesh-filled, rodent-infested sea of landmines & sulphurus rubble & into an ocean of foul, rotting, verminous body parts.

 

You did this by supplying Israel with the most deadly modern weapons including 2000 pound bombs which they unleashed on a weak, impoverished & defenceless civilian population in what can only be described as the most barbaric slaughter in modern history.

You crushed them in body, spirit & soul.

 

Yet your nation was still not done. As soon as you were sworn into office, to the horror of the civilised world, you declared your insidious intention to displace the 1.6 million Gazans that are still left alive (there were originally 2.5 million) & take over their land in order to develop it into a “prime piece of real estate” & a “beautiful holiday resort” for rich Americans!

 

 

These are the homes & ancestral land of the Palestinian people who have been living there for over 2000 years.

 

This is the land in which their loved ones & families have been caged, butchered & buried by your murderous Zionist friends for the last 76 years.

 

This is the place in which millions of them have fought & died for the last seven decades in order to preserve their honor, dignity, heritage, history & identity & leave something for generations of their children yet unborn.

 

You went further by publicly stating that you were “committed to owning Gaza” & that “we will let other countries develop parts of it: it will be beautiful. People can come from all over the world to live there.”

In conclusion you said “the Palestinians would have no right to return when they leave”.

 

As Ambassador A. M. Shawesh, the Palestinian Ambassador to India rightly said,

“When a real estate developer rules the world no one will be spared, everyone will follow”.

Your lack of empathy for the plight of the women & children of Gaza is appaulling.

 

Your inability to feel their pain & acknowledge their tears betrays the fact that you lack compassion.

You not only want to take the little that is left of it from them but you also want to send the 1.6 million Gazans that have been left alive to Egypt & Jordan (both of whom have outrightly rejected the proposal) & turn their homeland into a holiday spot filled with American hotels, American holiday homes, American escorts & American casinos.

 

You fail to appreciate the fact that to stand with Gaza is to stand with humanity.

 

This sentiment is shared by the majority of nations including Ireland, South Africa, Brazil, China, Russia, Iran & Spain who have taken the lead in this cause.

 

It is not only the Muslims and Arabs that feel this way: His Eminence Pope Francis and the majority of Christians throughout the world do as well.

 

Killing innocent women & children, subjecting them to mass murder, ethnic cleansing & genocide & forcefully displacing them & taking over their land cannot be justified under ANY circumstances.

 

Is this so difficult to comprehend?

 

You will recall that Vice-President Kashim Shettima eloquently stated the unassailable position of the Nigerian people when he said the following at the United Nations General Assembly:

“Today we are all witnesses to the heart-wrenching situation in Gaza & other Palestinian Territories. Justice is antithetical to revenge. Freedom is an inalienable right & a natural entitlement that cannot be denied to any people. The Palestinian people deserve their independence. They deserve to have a home of their own on territories already recognised by this very Assembly & by international law which is being routinely ignored.“

 

His words reflect the position of no less than 149 countries that recognise the State of Palestine as an independent, sovereign nation.

 

I am proud of the fact that my country has taken such a noble stand and, unlike yours, has chosen to stand for peace & justice.

 

 

I have always admired you because of what I believed to be your reverence for God, your Christian values, your stated intention of pulling America out of foreign conflicts, your rapprochement with Russia, China & North Korea, your opposition to the globalists & your support for the nationalists.

 

Again I have always respected you because of the way you stood strong and proud in the face of the persecution that you were subjected to by the Deep State.

Yet despite my respect I am constrained to tell you the truth.

 

This is not the time for platitudes or spouting the cowardly words of a quisling & lickspittle.

 

I must be candid.

 

Permit me to begin by saying that your proposition for Gaza is an expression of unadultetated evil.

 

Whilst others are rightly talking about establishing a two state solution where both the Palestinians & Israelis can live in peace you are talking about America taking over Gaza for itself & forcefully acquiring its offshore gas & oil reserves.

 

Is there no end to your greed? Is your insatiable desire to pillage & steal other people’s land & wipe them off the face of the earth just to gain access to their natural resources not of the devil?

 

Is this not the same thing that your white American forefathers did to the Red Indians?

 

Is this not what Pharaoh, Genghis Khan, Atilla the Hun, Christopher Columbus & Adolf Hitler did to others in their time?

 

Did they not annihilate their victims, driving many into extinction, subject them to a holocaust and take their land?

 

Is it not the same violent, butchering, slaughtering, conquering, plundering & pillaging spirit that drives you all?

Then come your puerile gaffes & brazen threats which are reminiscent of that of a school yard bully.

 

For example when you say things like “all hell will break loose if Hamas does not release all the hostages by Saturday” you betray the fact that you do not know that Hamas is far stronger today in terms of resolve and numbers than it was before October 7th.

 

This came as a consequence of the massive number of Palestinian women & children that were butchered post-October 7th by Israel in the name of retaliation.

 

Hamas have been energised by their quest for vengeance & if they had 10,000 fighters before October 7th they now have at least 200,000.

 

The more innocent Palestinans you kill the stronger Hamas will get.

 

This is why Gaza has been described as the “graveyard of imperialist delusions”.

 

Worse still the “hell” that you threaten to unleash may well engulf Israel and the entire Middle East.

 

Surely an attempt to ensure that the ceasefire is not broken & that negotiations for the release of hostages on all sides continue is better than issuing threats which may well endanger the lives of the very hostages that you are trying to save.

I pray that you cultivate the presence of mind to appreciate this point.

 

Your obsession with meddling in the affairs of other nations & laying claim to their territory, whether it be Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico, South Africa, Colombia or Gaza is symptomatic of a troubled mind.

If you are not threatening other countries with taking over their land or withdrawing aid, you are threatening them with trade tariffs in an attempt to bring them to their knees.

 

Worse of all your disdain for immigrants & desire to send them back to where they came from in chains without any humanity & dignity or lock them up in Gauntanamo Bay whilst at the same time offering white South Africans refugee status is shameful.

It also provides us with a graphic expression of your inherent racism.

 

Your aversion to immigrants & categorisation of them as being “criminals, gangsters, murderers & mentally deranged people” is shameful.

 

Permit me to remind you that you are the grandson of a German immigrant, the son of a Scottish immigrant, the husband of a Slovenian immigrant & the ex-husband of a Czech immigrant.

You were a beneficiary of America’s immigration policies yet you hate immigrants with a passion & seek to not only stop them from entering your country but also to deny foreigners that are born there citizenship rights & abolish the ‘birth right law’ which is embedded in your constitution.

 

Such is your contempt for immigrants that Pope Francis was constrained to say the following in order to ameliorate the pain and damage that your vitriol has caused.

He said,

“I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant & refugee brothers & sisters.”

 

‘Making America Great Again’ does not mean destroying the aspirations of others & does not give you the right to intimidate, threaten, subjugate & conquer the world!

 

You would do well to remember that it was the collective prayers of millions to God that delivered you from the assassin’s bullet on two separate occassions, that stopped you from being sent to jail & that got you to where you are today.

 

Those same prayers will bring you to your knees if you refuse to change course.

 

May God guide you.

 

(Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is the Sadaukin Shinkafi, the Wakilin Doka Potiskum, a former Minister of Culture and Tourism and a former Minister of Aviation).

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