CAMARA LAYE's THE RADIANCE OF THE KING - Le Regard du Roi

Camara Laye


"The Radiance of the King" is one of Guinean-born Camara Laye's symbolical novels. A white man called Clarence has just arrived in Africa but has already lost all his money at gambling. 


As a result, he has been thrown out of his hotel; he finds refuge in an African Inn.

Clarence goes out to find the African king of the country in order to enter his service. The king arrives on one of the rare occasions when he does appear in public, but Clarence cannot get more than a glimpse of him. 

He is joined by an impudent beggar and subsequently by a pair of boys Nagoa, and Noaga, who is full of bounce.

The king leaves for his palace and the beggar follows him to see if Clarence can gain access to him. 

He comes back to tell the white man that there is no place for him and advises him to go south where the two boys were also going. The innkeeper insisted that Clarence should part with his jacket to pay his debt.

This is a very interesting book that once someone starts reading, may not like to put down until the reading is over. Camara Laye's style of writing and interesting books made him one of the best African writers. 

Some of his books are currently used as literature books in many countries in Africa and some translated into other languages.

The Radiance of the King is available at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Radiance-King-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590174550/

WWE FANS AWAIT FOR THE RETURN OF THE GREAT UNDERTAKER

'Undertaker' the mysterious wrestler


Some few weeks ago, after defeating Rey Mysterio, Mark William Gallaway, popularly known as "The Undertaker" appeared no more in the ring to wrestle. 

Later Theodore Long, the manager of SmackDown, announced that the Undertaker has been seriously attacked by unknown assailants and now in a vegetative state.

The news appeared to be true, firstly because the Undertaker failed to appear in the ring after his last fight with Rey Mysterio, and secondly, the search of the culprits by his half-brother Kane is enough to convince WWE fans that the reports are true than mere false.

Many said that the Undertaker is dead while others think the wrestler is still living. Because he is someone known to have faked his own death many times. 

But what makes this wrestler so special from other wrestlers? I have never ever seen a wrestler tough and brave in the history of WWE more than this fearful wrestler called "The Undertaker".

Many have tried to get a name for themselves at his expense and all have gone down the drain. His gimmicks, casket matches, hell in cell matches are frightening to watch. 

He has defeated many opponents than himself being defeated. Many are those that say that wrestling is fake. If you think is fake, then step into the ring with the Undertaker to taste the "tombstone piledriver".

It was announced last week that the Undertaker is coming back after his long absence from the ring and his first appearance will be at England. Now all WWE fans are waiting for his return. His impact on the WWE scene is awesome. 

The Undertaker is not only a professional, talented, brave and fearless wrestler but a legend of a wrestling hero.

CIGARETTE SMOKING: A FASHION FOR TEENAGERS?

31 May: No Tobacco Day


Thousands of people today, including teenagers, are heavy smokers due to various reasons such as nervousness, pressure, frustration, and stress. 


Smoking has claimed and continues to claim thousands of lives yearly, that it became an urgent issue to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to institute a "No Tobacco Day" on May 31, 1987, to discourage and eradicate cigarette smoking.

Despite the warning on cigarette boxes, smokers choose to satisfy their desire unconcerned. The cigarette has been known to contain eighteen different poisons. 

The two most destructive are tar, a carcinogenic or cancer-producing substance and nicotine. Some of these attack the delicate membranes of the windpipes and those that find themselves in the bloodstream interfere with its normal circulation.

It's now like a fashion to see teenagers between the ages of 10 and 15 holding cigarettes at hideouts or in public places. It's like a competition. When you ask any teenager the reason for smoking, they smile away. 

Those capable of giving you an answer say "They called you a baby when you don't join the group". Tobacco smoking is said to cause many ailments as emphysema, tuberculosis, night sweats, chest pains, wheezing, loss of weight, cancer, and complications in pregnancy.

Since the campaign against smoking began, WHO has introduced many measures to prevent smoking in buses, airplanes, trains restaurants, and other public places. But many see this campaign against smoking as a bother or nuisance. 

They only realize the mistakes they had done when a disease is diagnosed. Cigarette smoking is not an expensive luxury but a slow silent murderer.

A person that gives up smoking does something worthwhile for his health. But many smokers have a real battle to conquer when it comes to stopping the habit. Here are a few recommended steps to refrain from smoking. 

Staying away from other smokers as much as possible will reduce the temptation to smoke and strengthen your resolve not to start again. 

Instead of smoking, a heavy smoker should rather become a vigorous campaigner against the use of tobacco in any form. This may change the attitude of friends toward smoking.

Taking plenty of exercises, including deep breathing and long walks in an open-air daily, will clean the lungs and improve one's sense of wellbeing. 

Eating regularly and not attempting to lose weight, will gradually break the tobacco habit. A smoker who wants to quit must avoid highly seasoned foods, alcohol, tea, and coffee. These can easily influence one to crave smoking.

Drinking enough water at least ten glasses a day, help to reduce the craving for tobacco. Many may not believe this but try and see as prayer is the answer to many problems. The power of Jesus is stronger than the hurricane. It is the same power that can change your life.

If you can try all or of these recommendations, you will see yourself as a different person. After your bitter experience in the dark, there is a bright light waiting for you at the end of the tunnel.

TOURISM: Kakum National Park, in the Central Region of Ghana

Tourists at Kakum National Park Cape Coast


The Kakum National Park is a semi-deciduous rain forest that covers 360 sqr km, north of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. 


The park which is now a center of tourist attraction was formally managed by the Forestry Department for timber extraction. 

Thanks to the Scientific Research Group, that carried wildlife research and the found the place quite satisfactorily for tourism. Hence, timber extraction came to an end.

Beautiful fauna likely to be seen are elephants, bongos, duikers, antelopes and a wide variety of birds. Natural scientists in the country counted close to four-hundred different species of butterfly, with the discovery of two, that can't be found in any part of the world.

Be part of those walking through the forest on the Kuntan trail. The trail leads one to the park of traditional medicines, trees, and plants. Some of the trees found are the Kuntan tree. 

The skin of the tree is used to treat fractured bones. Its biological name is "Uapacca Guiniensis". Others are Kaku, the wood used for constructing railway lines and "Bediwunia"(incest) for pomade and fumigation.

The two-kilometer guided walk through the park is painstakingly explained by the guides, the significance of each tree as you walk through the trail. When tired and exhausted, please do not be worried about where to relax. 

There are two rest points spaciously built and designed with some of the woods from the forest. One important factor is, no matter how beautiful one finds anything on the trail, it is forbidden to be taken out. Due to the explanation by the guides to the tourists, the trail walk usually takes about two hours.

At the administration block, the skull of the elephant, the horn of the bongo and various samples of species of butterfly are beautifully displayed. Available for tourists are restaurants and the African gift shop, which has indigenous artworks. 

Going to the Kakum National Park is not a difficult drive. Straight ahead after Jukwa, a small rural place, the giant signboard reads "You are welcome to Kakum National Park."

SIERRA LEONE needs more International help aftermath the war

Child killers at war in Sierra Leone



The war in Sierra Leone is over but the result is disastrous. A grim picture of victims of war with physical and psychological scars are all over the provinces. As said by one of the victims calling for international help.


"If you can permit me, I can send some photos of war victims still on the street of  Freetown and other big towns, having no proper care, no shelter, and no food. They only survive by begging on the street for their daily living."

In 2008, when I visited Freetown, what I saw was really sad to narrate. How could people be so cruel? What crime has a  baby or child committed to deserve amputation of both wrists? Victims mind is still filled with sad emotions of bitterness in regard to what happened to them. 

They can forgive but can't forget what exactly took place in Sierra Leone. The war victims are all over the provinces with amputated hands and legs. Sad to say that the less fortunate ones had both hands amputated.  

This is the biggest problem the government of Sierra Leone is presently facing.  The people need international help in terms of feeding, shelter, clothing, medical facility and education for children roaming on the streets without a certain future.

This horrific war that claimed thousands of lives and maimed both children and adults could have been prevented. The developed countries were very slow to respond to the cry of the Sierra Leoneans, until when they observed how serious the war is moving. 

In order to halt the brutal war many musicians including Lucky Dube, the South African reggae star and the great Joseph Hill of Culture-Jamaica (both deceased) sacrificed their lives to play peace concerts in the capital Freetown. Joseph Hill told the rebels to put down their weapons and they obeyed.

At one point the rebels told the government of Tejan Kabbah that "You are lucky that Paa Hill is here (referring to Joseph Hill), else we shall destroy this city within twenty-four hours". 

Even though the government is working on to promote the welfare of the people, especially children, youth and women in their quest to achieve Social Justice, Advocacy, Human Rights and Social Improvement in a participatory approach irrespective of Tribe, Race, Gender, and Religion, Sierra Leone still needs international help.

WYCLEF JEAN: CAN HIS FAME GUARANTEE HIS POLITICAL AMBITION?

Wyclef Jean


Ambition, fame, and money are some of the tools that inspire many people into one thing or another. Rapper and R and B singer Wyclef Jean would like to be the president of his native country, Haiti.


Cross-over from one profession to another has been successful to many but not everyone. Ronald Reagan was a former actor that became a governor in the state of California, then in 1981, went on to become the president of the United States of America.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-born bodybuilder turned film star, gradually made it to the top to become the governor of California. Fred Thompson, from the television series "Law and Order" couldn't achieve his political ambition as a senator, because of little support.

In Africa, especially Nigeria, many millionaires including  Moshood Abiola, Obafemi Awolowo, (both deceased) couldn't fulfill their dreams to be the president of their country. The great Afro-Beat musician, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, also failed despite his thousands of fans behind him.

George Weah, the Liberian soccer star, in the year 2005, joined the presidential race in his country Liberia, but couldn't achieve his political dream.  He is now studying economics at the University of Florida in America.

The question is, "Can Wyclef Jean's fame enhance his chance as a politician, to win a seat as a president in his country, suppose he wants to contest?" The answer is unknown. But it is always better for one to try something and see the result than not trying at all.

Children's Rights That Are Constantly Abused By Adults

Children's Rights

Every child has the right to live, but how many children are killed worldwide before and after they are born? Every child has the right to information, but how many are prevented from knowing the truth?

Every child has the right to education and social amenities, but how many are denied access to education and happiness? We are witnessing the cruelties against children today worldwide. 

Every child has the right to medical care, but thousands are dying every day by diseases, such as Aids, kwashiorkor, etc, in painful manners. Every child has the right to decision and opinion, but how many are victims of injustices every day?

Every child has the right to be named and to have a nationality, but there are thousands of children denied nationality by many countries. 

Every child in this world has the right to eat and drink enough. Unfortunately, thousands of children are dying as a result of hunger, famine, and lack of water each and every day.

When children are trained to take interest in reading, they benefit greatly from wider knowledge they gain from learning about people and places outside their own narrow world. Unfortunately, so many children do not know what education is about.

A child shouldn't be a victim of war or be used as a soldier. But today, thousands of children are drawn into conflicts, tribal uprisings, and wars to fight with adults.

A child shouldn't be abused, burdened or sold into slavery, for child labour. But today thousands of children are being trafficked, forced into prostitution and hard labour in every horrific manner to make money.

A child can never fight for himself. They depend on parents or adults because they easily trust people, but today the same adults that the children trust, are making them miserable, unhappy, and even killing them. 

So who must children depend on now for a better future? Children are an asset to national development in every part of the world. It's the responsibility of adults to give them every care, help, and education in their growth and development.

RYSZARD KAPUSCINSKI's SHADOW OF THE SUN (My African Life)

Ryszard Kapuscinski the Polish writer and journalist



As a foreign correspondent for PAP, the Polish News Agency, until 1981, Africa was like a second home to Ryszard Kapuscinski. 


He was an eyewitness to revolutions, coups and civil wars in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Experience is the best teacher they say. His life experience in Africa has given him one of the finest books ever written by a white journalist.

The shadow of the Sun, (My African Life) covers Kapuscinski's experience in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, etc making the book brilliant and interesting for anyone interested in great humanitarian writing. 

The book was actually published first in Polish before translation. He writes "I lived in Africa for several years. I first went there in 1957. Then over the next forty years, I returned whenever the opportunity arose."

"I travelled extensively, avoiding official routes, palaces, important personages, and high-level politics. Instead, I opted to hitch rides on passing trucks, wander with nomads through the desert, be the guest of peasants of tropical savannah. Their life is endless toil, a torment they endure with astonishing patience and good humour."

On his visit to Accra-Ghana, Kapuscinski writes "The street is a road delineated on both sides by an open sewer. There are no sidewalks. Cars mingle with crowds. Everything moves in concert, pedestrians, automobiles, bicycles, cars, cows, and goats. 

On the other side of the sewer, along with the entire length of the street, domestic scenes unfold. Women pounding manioc, baking taro bulbs over the coals, cooking dishes of one sort or another, hawking chewing gum, crackers, and aspirin and washing and drying laundry"

The description of activities in Accra by Kapuscinski is actually Europe's image of Africa. More is hunger, disease, and skeletal children. However; he failed to ask or write the reason Ghana or Africa in general, have been in such an appalling state for ages. 

Before the colonial masters scramble over Africa, I might say Ghana was under development. Then many years after European occupation, they left the countries they occupied after independence, leaving the countries in the same way.

In this case, why did they went to Africa at all? Is right or wrong when one says there were only interested in the continent's rich mineral resources? To loot but nothing else. They looted the continent to build Europe and they left the countries in a deplorable state. 

Kapuscinski should have known better as a journalist. Was he expecting Ghana to be like a modern European country when for a very long time the country has suffered from criminal activities of colonial rule?

The British and the Dutch both were in Ghana before the country attained its independence in 1957. With the Ghanaians, they also moved in concert with cars, bicycles, cows, and goats. 

Even though Kapuscinski's book is an interesting book about Africa, he should have commented deeply on the mistakes and crimes the Europeans committed in Africa during the colonial era.

The Shadow Of The Sun is available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Sun-Ryszard-Kapuscinski/dp/0679779078/

CHINUA ACHEBE'S ARROW OF GOD

Chinua Achebe


Achebe's third and most ambitious novel takes us back to the setting of his first novel "Things Fall Apart". Eweulu, the chief priest of Ulu, the god of the villages, is totally against a war that is brewing between his people Umuaro and a neighboring people. 


He respects the white man's power and sends his son to a missionary school so that he may know the secret of the white man's power.

His son, with the zeal of a new Christian convert, shuts a sacred python in a box in order to kill it. This attempt to kill a sacred snake does not improve relations between Ezeulu and his enemies who already suspect that he has become the white man's friend. 

Another incident that lowers his public esteem is his detention by the white regional authority. In detention, he is offered the chieftainship, which he declines. 

This enforced stay away from home has meant that Ezeulu has missed eating two of the thirteen yams he had to consume, one at each new moon, before the new yam festival at the end of the year.

Chinua Achebe's book is intended to give the intelligent reader a map of themes and styles of African writing in the verse, prose, and proverbs. 

African writers, whether they use metropolitan or indigenous language, have assimilated many of the mannerisms and assumptions of their particular medium; to say nothing of social, economic and political systems of the West which the Africans have absorbed.

Chinua Achebe's books available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chinua-Achebe/e/B0045671ES