Mind Games Movie Premier

The “Mind Games” premiere that was held on October 30, 2009 at the Mechanic Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, was very intriguing and interesting. Although the event started at a later time, the attendants had fun. The venue was very classy and elegant. The red carpets and the Victorian time setting added beauty to the hall. There were lots of individuals from French speaking African countries, Haitians and Nigerians. The main actor and actress of the movies were Van Vicker and Omotola Jalade Ekeinde. The supporting actor and actress were two very nice and pleasant individuals from Haiti named Reginald Lubin and Carlin Renold. The talented actors and actresses were very well received by the audience. I got the chance to meet Miss Guinea USA and Miss Ivory Coast USA. They were both beautiful and outgoing. The organizers of the event tried their best to make me comfortable and I really appreciated their efforts. They apologized for any discrepancies during the trip and I will like to work with them again. I met people from all works of life, especially those in the various African entertainment industries. There were several performers from French-speaking countries who showcased their talents and also sold their materials after the show. I look forward to attending another premier and meeting more talented individuals.

Why I love Nigeria - Tolu Noah ~ Miss Anambra 2009/Miss Photogenic 2009

"I come from a land where family and community matter more than the individual.

Where relatives go out of their way to be supportive and welcoming

And the village raises the child, rather than the child ravaging the village.

I come from a land with rich, diverse languages

Where the word “ewa” can mean "beautiful," "beans," or "come"

And a person’s name is not just a name- it carries meaning

I come from a land with the most ambitious and hardworking people on the planet

Where education is of utmost importance

And citizens become doctors, engineers, teachers, and scientists

I come from a land where I can buy anything I need while stuck in traffic:

Cookies

Watches

Drinks

Belts

Pure water

You name it, they’ve got it.

My country may not be perfect

But we are more than the negative headlines

Gracing the newspaper page

We are creative.

We are ambitious.

We are caring.

We are driven.

We are intelligent.

This is why I love Nigeria."

Tolu Noah
Miss Anambra 2009/Miss Photogenic 2009

Nigerian Independence Day

October 1, 2009 marked Nigeria's 49th Independence Day. Every nation has growing pains and we are looking at this generation and the next to try and effect change in our mode of thinking and in the way we view our great nation. For the month of October, MNIA, Inc. will dedicate this blog to the quotes from many great Nigerians. We have asked people to email us and tell us why they love Nigeria...

"I love Nigeria for its diversity, abundant mineral resources and the fierce patriotism of its people. -Claret Ijeoma Onukogu - Miss Nigeria in America 2009.

Spousal Verbal Abuse

Spousal abuse is a problem that is prevalent among women in third world countries including Nigeria. I personally believe that it is caused by lack of proper education. Women are expected to be overly submisive to their male counterparts in these countries. Women are not fully liberated and they have little or no voice in their societies. They are expected to be a shadow for their men and not really express themselves when and how they want to; in a social gathering, A woman cannot stand up and speak without approval from her husband or parents. Spousal abuse has become a norm in Nigeria and other third world countries. Some men tend to show off their strength by abusing their women physically and especially verbally.

The effects of spousal verbal abuse are depression, loneliness and low self-esteem.


Individuals that are facing spousal verbal abuse need to realize that they have self worth. They need to ask themselves questions such as:

Do I have co-dependency issues?
Do I deserve to be abused?
What am I getting out of my marriage or relationship?
What are the positive and negative aspects of my marriage or relationship?
How can I change things for the better?

Claret Onukogu
Miss Nigeria In America 2009

The Miss Nigeria in America 2009 Pageant

Wow! I can't believe it's almost here. Well Ladies and Gentlemen, we have started planning. We have 3 and 1/2 months to plan this great event. I am ChiChi Dike, for those of you who don't know me and I will be your guide as we plan this event that marks our 5th Year anniversary. We promise to bring you an event you don'twant to miss. Do you have any plans for Labor Day Weekend? I suggest that you make your plans to come to Los Angeles for the 5th edition of the Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant...

We are taking applications for the contestants and you can apply by clicking on this http://www.missnigeriainamerica.org/v2/cont_winners_application.php If you have any questions concerning the application, please call 213.471.2667. The deadline to Apply is JULY 6, 2009

Check out our website at http://www.missnigeriainamerica.org/ and be sure to check this blog on our journey to planning the 5th Anniversary!

Shalom

ChiChi Dike

Executive Producer and Director

The 2009 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant

Why I choose to DISCOVER

In the middle of a conversation about MNIA on Friday, I was asked, “why do you do this, why is this important to you?” I answered his question, but that question has stayed with me since then. I feel like I did not adequately express my WHY.

For those of you that are not familiar with the school system in Nigeria as in many other African countries, you pay for EVERYTHING. From pre-school till the very end of your schooling, essentially, education is a luxury that only the privileged few can afford. When we travel down into the villages and rural parts of Nigeria, in addition to affordability, we are now faced with the issues of accessibility and quality.

It becomes easier to detach ourselves from the reality of situations that our friends and families face back some the longer we remain in the Diaspora and makes lives for ourselves here. We feel like we are unaffected by what the average person unrelated to us has to deal with. Yet, more people are afraid to go home. Dejected by the conditions we return to, sometimes afraid to even go home, however, the reality is that we are all affected in one way or another.

One of my professors once said that “people are punished, and then they commit crimes”. That statement has stayed with me ever since and resonates more with me when I think about most of the social issues we face back home. People are suffering; there is a blatant disregard and disrespect of the citizens by our elected officials. As a society, we are apathetic to our neighbors, we simply do not care about each, and most importantly and sadly, we have failed our children.

I choose to discover because I believe in being my brother’s keeper. I choose to discover because I want my children to share in the pride that I feel to be a Nigerian. They say home is where the heart is. My heart is in Nigeria, I choose to discover because I want to be home. I choose to discover because it is our obligation to leave this place better than it was when we found it. The people who shed blood did just that. It is our turn to pass on that torch, most importantly; we can not and must not pass a dead torch to the next generation. We must re-ignite the torch before we attempt to pass it on. I choose to discover because I am tired of being a part of a society that punishes people unjustly for being born without a silver spoon. I choose to discover because I believe in the promise of a new Nigeria.


Queen Uchekwe
MNIA Team

Candid Questions with Dame Patience Jonathan

As you may know, Nigeria's very own, Dame Patience Jonathan (wife of Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) is being honored on Saturday April 25, 2009 at the African Focus Awards. But with recognition comes responsibility. This is our chance to hold our people accountable!

We have to ask the tough, but necessary questions. We have to ask what they are doing for us and what they are doing for our future. We must question the time and effort they put into ending the disparities between people in Nigeria. We must interrogate the policies they adopt and the many ways they fail to help their people. We must bring our concerns to the forefront and with honesty and candidness ask why it is so difficult to get around the red tape (or should I say the green white and green tape) and provide HELP to my own people. We must ask why the governmental and non-governemental organizations (i.e. Ministry of Education) still exist when they cause more problems then solutions. And we must ALL get involved! Nigeria is not going to change unless WE do something about it and hold ourselves and, especially, our people of distinction to a standard worthy of respect.

What can you do? Ask questions! This is your opportunity to ask Dame Patience Jonathan questions that are relevant to the Nigerian movement, questions that hold her accountable and questions that you have been waiting to ask a person of distinction.

Sample questions:

• When you hear about atrocities and human rights violations committed against your people, what do you do and how do your remedy these situations?
• What are some of your interest and public involvements?
• Where do you see Nigeria in the next 5 years? 10 years? 50 years?
• What would be your contribution to the development of Nigeria in the next 10 years?
• How would you compare yourself to First Lady Michelle Obama?
• What is the wife of a Vice President responsible for? What do you do?
• What do you stand for?
• What will be your legacy?

We will gather all of the questions and present them to Dame Patience Jonathan when we meet her on April 25, 2009. Please submit your questions to me at ronke@missnigeriainamerica.org.

ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 2009!!!

Love,

Ronke A. Oke
Miss Nigeria in America, 2008