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Nigerian engineering student, lectures Chinese how to play polo – Report

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China was a polo desert for Nigerian Ahmed Tukur, who has been an avid player since childhood.

For three years, the 23-year-old, studying civil engineering in Shenyang, was unable to play the sport he grew up with, according to Sahara Reporters.

That was until he stumbled on a YouTube video posted by Hong Kong lawyer Andrew Leung – founder of the year-old Hong Kong Beginners Cup.

Tukur has since been installed as one of the team captains for the 2019 edition at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club, where he will act as a guide for a team of largely novice players in a tournament designed to introduce Hongkongers to the sport.

Nigeria is known around the world as an exporter of world-class football players and few outside the country would link it with polo, South China Morning Post reports.

Tukur, however, insists it is one of the most popular sports in Nigeria, especially in the northern areas.

“I’ve been playing polo since I was eight back home in Nigeria,” said Tukur, who grew up in Kaduna in the country’s northwest. “I came to China three years ago and had not played polo since arriving.

“I have been trying to connect with anyone in China who plays the game and that’s when I saw Andrew’s video on YouTube.

“I noticed that people in China do not really know much about polo and I am hoping to use polo as a way to build bridges between our country and China.

“There is a huge polo community in Nigeria. My family are into horses and horse racing and I want to share this love with the people of China.”

The Beginners Cup was launched in October last year with Leung taking a small group of rookies, some who had never been on a horse before, and turning them into competent riders and polo players within nine
months.

Buoyed by his initial success, Leung hopes the Beginners Cup can establish itself on the regional calendar and help to develop the sport in Hong Kong and the mainland.

Leung has played the game since childhood but, like many, had little clue about polo’s popularity in Nigeria.

“I met Ahmed through my YouTube channel that is dedicated to the development of Hong Kong polo,” said Leung. “He contacted me because he saw the promotional video for the inaugural Hong Kong Beginners Cup of 2018.

“I learned that Ahmed, like me, had played polo since he was a boy and that he was an experienced player – despite only being in his early 20s. I was pleasantly surprised that he was from Nigeria as I did not know at the time that polo was so popular there.

“He is helping me support, train and inspire other beginners from Hong Kong and China. I am proud that the sport of polo can unite us and help Hong Kong and Chinese people build bridges with people of different races and religions.”

Tukur said being an African in an Asian country makes him stand out and he hoped that would be an advantage when it comes to promoting polo in the mainland and Hong Kong.

“There is always a stereotype about Africans and Asians,” said Tukur. “I want to build more awareness about the sport and show the Chinese people that they can also play and bring them into the polo world.

“Not many of them have seen a black or coloured person playing this sport and this may pique their interest. I really like them to delve deeper into the sport and see what it is all about and build bridges.”

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Elie Kamano’s Anthem Amplifies Pan-African Reparations Call with Striking New Music Video

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Elie Kamanos Anthem Amplifies
Source: Elie Kamano and the Pan-African Reparations Movement

Guinean artist and activist Elie Kamano has released a powerful new music video for his single, “Ils veulent l’Afrique sans les Africains” (“They Want Africa Without Africans”), delivering a bold artistic statement that fuses political resistance, cultural memory, and Pan-African solidarity.

Filmed on the sacred grounds of the Thiaroye mass graves in Dakar, the video honors victims of one of colonialism’s most heinous massacres. Kamano’s visual tribute transforms the site into a defiant stage, linking Africa’s historical trauma to the modern reparations movement. With raw lyricism and symbolic imagery, the video makes a clear demand: “Africa will reclaim what Europe stole.”

The release arrives at a pivotal moment. The African Union has declared 2025 as the Year of Reparations, providing institutional momentum to cultural and civic efforts across the continent. In Dakar, a recent high-profile conference reignited demands for justice surrounding the Thiaroye massacre, leading Senegalese authorities to launch archaeological excavations to document the scope of the 1944 French military crime—evidence that may substantiate formal reparations claims to France.

The reparations conversation has visibly moved to the streets. Dakar’s walls now feature bold graffiti murals demanding €50 trillion in reparations from former colonial powers—vivid calls for justice that cannot be ignored. In Bamako, Malian scholars and policymakers echo the urgency, calling for strategic frameworks that link historical redress with sustainable African futures.

Kamano’s work stands at the intersection of music and movement—galvanizing Pan-African youth, scholars, and policymakers alike. His anthem doesn’t just commemorate the past—it ignites the future.

“This is not just a song,” says Kamano. “It’s a voice for the voiceless. A call for dignity. A battle cry for what is rightfully ours.”

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“His Death Leaves a Huge Void”, Gov Mbah Mourns Music Icon, Ejeagha

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'Gentleman' Mike Ejeagha

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has expressed deep grief over the death of music icon, ‘Gentleman’ Mike Ejeagha, saying the legend had created a void that would be too difficult to fill.

Mbah described Ejeagha as an unassuming and easygoing personality, whose fanbase spread across international boundaries.

Recall that the news of the passing on of the ‘Gwo gwo gwo ngwo’ crooner at age 95 filtered into public space Friday evening.

Reacting to the sad development, the governor, who had celebrated the folklorist during his lifetime by reconstructing the popular Obinagu Road and the adjoining Chief Mike Ejeagha Crescent leading directly to his residence in Abakpa Nike, Enugu, a long wish of the icon left unfulfilled by successive administrations in the state, and by renaming Obinagu Road as Chief Mike Ejeagha Road in his honour, assured that his government would further immortalise the legend in death.

Taking to his verified  social media handles, @PNMbah, the governor paid a heartfelt tribute to the Enugu-born musician

“I’m profoundly saddened by the death of music icon, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha.

“Mike Ejeagha was a legend, a cultural ambassador and a revered son of Enugu State.

“He was one of the finest musicians of his generation with an easygoing personality and humility that belied his towering celebrity status.

“I will always cherish fond memories of the time spent in his company – the warmth and wisdom he radiated; the joy he found in the ordinary.

“This is a loss not only for his immediate family; it’s a big loss for Enugu State, the entire music community, and the country as well.

“Ejeagha’s immense talent and genius lay in how he took simple indigenous folktales and turned them into unforgettable songs that resonate across cultures.

“Ejeagha’s fan-base transcended boundaries. He was easily one of the most recognizable voices in music.

“His death leaves a huge void that will be difficult to fill. But the legacies he has left behind will last a lifetime.

“On behalf of the Enugu State government, I offer heartfelt condolences to the Ejeagha family, and assure them of our support.

“As a government, we would ensure that his memory is duly immortalized.

“Above all, I pray that his family experiences the comforting grace of God’s love, and the fortitude to bear the loss.”

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From Bomb Blast to Praise: Maureen J’s Miracle Song

–Lagos bomb blast survivor tells her story through soul-stirring gospel track

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Maureen J

From the ashes of one of Nigeria’s most devastating tragedies has emerged a powerful testimony in song. “How Do I Kelee Gi?” — a soul-stirring blend of English and Igbo meaning “How do I thank You?” — is the heartfelt anthem of Maureen Onwuka, popularly known as Maureen J, a survivor of the January 27, 2002 Lagos bomb blast.

The blast, which rocked the Ikeja Cantonment area, left hundreds dead and thousands displaced in an unforgettable moment of national grief.

For Maureen, then a young evangelist, it marked the beginning of an emotional and spiritual journey that would change her life and eventually give birth to a song of thanksgiving.

On the day of the explosion, Maureen had stepped out for routine evangelism when she was caught in the chaos. Fleeing with a panicked crowd, she found herself at the edge of a canal near Ajao Estate. She couldn’t swim. Before she could react, the surging crowd pushed her into the water.

“I found myself stepping on bodies. People who had already drowned. It was like walking on human carpet, and I didn’t even know at first,” she recounts, her voice heavy with emotion. “Some were grabbing at me, trying to come up, but every time someone held my leg, I felt myself going under.”

Maureen screamed out a desperate prayer: “Lord, remember me! I was just out telling people about You! Please show me mercy!” In that moment, a stranger appeared in the water — a man who swam to her, pulled her to safety, and vanished without a trace. “I don’t know who he was. I believe he was an angel,” she says.

She escaped with her life, but the images of that day, especially the lifeless bodies of children, women, and men, remained etched in her memory. In the aftermath, she made a solemn vow to God: to tell the world what He did for her.

That vow found its fullest expression in “How Do I Kelee Gi?” — a song she describes as a sacred offering of gratitude. “Words weren’t enough to carry my story. I had to pour it into music,” Maureen explains. “Mixing English and Igbo was intentional — what God did for me was too great to explain in just one language.”

Though the song was written two to three years after the tragedy and initially recorded with little fanfare, Maureen never stopped sharing her story. Encouraged by those who’ve heard the track and urged her to push it further, she is now relaunching the song with renewed purpose.

“This song is my flagship,” she says. “It’s time to tell the world. I want people to not just hear my voice, but to know the miracle behind it.”

Maureen, who hails from Umukparo, Mbala Isuochi, in Abia State, has always been musically inclined, serving in choirs from her youth. But the 2002 experience gave her voice a new purpose. “After the blast, music became more than a gift — it became a mission,” she says.

Inspired by gospel icons like Mercy Chinwo, Sinach, and Nathaniel Bassey, Maureen hopes to reach hearts and stir worship through her sound. “Their songs move me toward God. That’s what I want mine to do too.”

“How Do I Kelee Gi?” is currently available on Audiomack and CD Baby, with plans for a full official launch slated for August this year.

From tragedy came a testimony. From near-death, a new life’s mission. And through it all, Maureen J stands — a living witness that miracles still happen, and when they do, the only fitting response is to sing.

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