it is original as it combines flow clore from nigeria, a greek tragedy, and the context of modern nigeriaank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, it is a pleasure to be here. >> congratulations on this story. : thank you. 2020, it is the year you mark 60 years of independenence from the british. you call this work a book -- this book a work of cultural preservation. you were born to a very large family, and you have 12 childrenen. noww youou spend time in thehe d states, where you teach english and creaeative writing. did you always want to be a writer and bring nigerian culture,e, and in particular, precolonial culture to the world? chigozie: yes. i became a writer, i would say, from a very young age, so i started to listening stories of my parents, and i thought words and the ability to create these alternate universes was one of the most m miraculous things any humans being could do, and i wanted to be a person who would observe the society and reaeali, you know, what i see e on the page. >> and this book has been an immense success, translated into 16 languages so far. this?u sur

i'm told me all about it bo welcome to the program it's good to have you with us we begin in nigeria where activists say at least 350 christians have been killed across the country this year alone a new report blames the violence on islamist extremists in the north where christians are minorities muslim nomadic herders have also often clashed with mostly christian farmers in central nigeria now future pastors are battling with the question of how to address these dangers. if you want to become a pastor in nigeria or study theology you will probably study here one of the alders theology schools in kaduna city the northern part of nigeria is struggling with the widespread killing of christians recent attacks on pastors and students forced the topic onto the students and gender how would they react once they are pastors their lives of the church. crisis erupted or doo doo. oran. if you don't you cannot be anything wrong the lecturer one says students to choose a different path you have to spin and fight and sometimes even give your life for your ship but most students want to protect th

africa coming up in the next 15 minutes fighting fear with faith pastors in training in northern nigeria are contemplating matters of life and death. on fire and sometimes even give your life for your sheep. and in burkina faso we meet lame vantine the energetic presenter of a t.v. entertainment show a motto is i am an albino i own it up front attitude that's inspiring other i'll be in those to fulfill their potential. i'm told me welcome to the program it's good to have you with us we begin in nigeria where activists say at least 350 christians have been killed across the country this year alone a new report blames the violence on islamist extremists in the north where christians are minorities muslim nomadic herders have also often clashed with mostly christian farmers in central nigeria now future pastors are battling with the question of how to address these dangers. if you want to become a pastor in nigeria or study theology you will probably study here one of the all those schools in kaduna city the northern part of nigeria is struggling with the widespread killing of christians re

if you want to become a pastor in nigeria or study theology you will probably see. but here one of the all those theological schools in kaduna city the northern part of nigeria is struggling with the widespread killing of christians recent attacks on pastors and students forced the topic onto the students and gender how will they react once they are pastores their leader of the church. crisis erupted what do you do or on. if you don't you cannot be a need to move on the lecturer once the students to choose a different path you have to experience and fight and sometimes you even give your life for your ship but most students want to protect their own families 1st a common human reaction one that seem strong more than faith i will take my family . to a come from after a one. hour noncom and stay with the people to see how the situation. if there is any suggestion i can give to my people pastoring i can give to them even to store on our children are we sure don't know why least i know my family see . the class burst into laughter realising their own level of helplessne

the he's a security analyst in nigeria's capital. good to have you with us could you give us a sense of the state of violence against nigerian christians particularly the north of the country are they being targeted specifically because of their faith. yeah i think i think it's a bit to be mixed because in some cases we can see clear evidence of. some form of you know and most suited towards kristen but also is all that is is because of the lack of you know security presence in some of this region that make them vulnerable so when for example the last case where we had the early march. in a local government thing doesn't do not about 51 who are killed under. protest in your country kristie you know calling on federal government to get to get support does because the breeze of called the west side and a concern is that if you targeted by you know this is what he called banned from the news called them bondable of course we know some of this ban this just on religious sentiments you know raving there. in a local government has nothing

minutes the current environment and they ever get it appears to large and a fix it by the outbreak nigeria has been praised for its response that people in lagos sucky pain call van carrying on. i know you worry that it's going to be a problem you think you're no good no no no because you will fight they're the bottom. the thing that we desperately don't question out there were others. and we take a look at the abidjan the biggest performing arts event in africa and. hello i'm christine want to welcome to news africa it's good to have your company more and more governments around the world are imposing lock downs and restricting travel off to the world health organization declared virus a pandemic that means it is spreading from person to person at a very high rates in all spoke countries now if you take a quick look at this map showing where cases have been confirmed g.c. africa looks a lot cleaner now there are currently just over 100 cases confirmed in africa in 12 countries so a small number compared to europe where it's a the unknown has 12000 cases. the global crisis is not widesprea

i'm from a tribe in nigeria called the ijebu people. we have the best parties in nigeria. i'm sure you've heard of the jollof rice wars. between nigeria and ghana, we need to have more jollof rice competitions, amongst ourselves. and senegal. i like dombolo and mogodu, and kombu tea. but the irony is when you come to soweto, you can't even find kombu tea on vilakazi. so we need to celebrate what unites us, and also engage more with the communities that we come from, so south africans need to get into the nigerian community and we need to get into the gabonese community, and all of that, by extension. khulu mbatha. what president buhari of nigeria and president akufo—addo of ghana emphasise is the involvement of the youth. if we have youth and cultural activities, youth that lives in nigeria and comes to south africa, and south african youth that goes to all the countries in africa, that way, we would have done — we have taken the step of uniting africa further. and lindiwe mazibuko. i think visibility is important. i think that leaders, community leaders, from other africa

minutes the pearl in a virus pandemic africa still appears large meat and a fix it by the outbreak nigeria has been praised for its response and people in lagos lucky pain called man carrying on. and i you worry days because reprogramming means your are no no on those you will refer to but i would like to think they are desperate we don't rush out to get out of. that we take a look at the average on the biggest performing arts events in africa. hello i'm christine want to welcome to news africa's company more and more governments around the world are imposing lock downs and restricting travel after the world health organization declared a virus a pandemic that means it is spreading from person to person at a very high rates in all spoke countries now if you take a quick look at this map showing where cases have been confirmed you see africa looks a lot cleaner now there kyra just over 100 cases confirmed in africa in top countries so a small number compared to europe where it's a the unknown has tall 1000 cases. the global crisis is not widespread in africa at least for now there are fears

and advocacy at nigeria health watch welcome to you all and thank you for joining us i'll start with you fine in nigeria and it's a question i posed to all of you do you think that the countries outside the epicenter of the krona virus so far so countries in africa latin american india they're going to escape the worst or are we waiting for it to come to them if i'm. ok thank you so much for having me on the show um i think i think very much. of the recent measures are being put in place by one jew and other africa of african countries you know by sharks in the water. stopping flies from coming into the country on the continent as a whole. we may be able to skippy however we know there are challenges that we have that are peculiar to what. some of the challenges that we have include you know like you mentioned when you did in through the very densely populated cities that we have very you know with public transport system and i think you know in nigeria religion is also a big issue because you know people believe that some of the sense will not affect them because of the you know the

but having said all of this i think state governments in nigeria they need to do a lot more. and i think i need to go back again to the fact that it's a deeply religious country well it just does have an awesome responsibility in this regard because even at that last sunday when the problem i had announced that. limits issue god reason charges and burials and stuff some negative health services that people attended so they have a very important role to be our religious leaders to make sure that people stay at home because we know that. when less people go to war that can walk mostly people can walk remotely people don't go for social gatherings then we can even begin to manage you know the population that would go around in public transport you mentioned lagos legalizes the places that want to talk about infection will get scared because of the density. but i think. even before the obvious we got our press gave italian welcome to new gods exhausted government had already put you know a step up on is vent management committee that it had the added by the governor so that level

doesn't look here's a clue and has been taken care of despite promises to respect the rule of law nigeria's government stands accused by the international community of serious human rights abuses my guest this week here in london is live mohammed the country's information minister how does he defend against the country's many critics when the evidence of wrongdoing is so compelling. like mohammed welcomes conflicts thank you for the human rights record of your administration has been widely condemned by the un western countries your own lawyers international human rights bodies for brutality and the stunning lack of accountability why do you say this go on and nigeria why didn't you get a grip on this i think there's been a lot of. misrepresentation. by all these groups absolutely really working concert well or you know they're working constant or they're working you know a little but i know for a fact that dissension in particular as being very sensitive to the issue of human rights most sometimes terrorists politicians actively. are confused with human rights so you put it all down to con

the environmentalists from nigeria decided that they would like the memorial to travel to nigeria, andt was arrested by nigerian customs. because it was believed that it would cause havoc. it's still locked away. it's still arrested. 0ur problem is global. 0ur clothing, toilet seats, lipstick, everything has this crude oil element to it. it's an incredible product. it's a magic product. and yet it is killing us. so it keeps on turning up in my work. the wonderful sokari douglas camp. remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all ourfilms, along with more than 1,000 radio programmes, in our online archive. just search for "bbc witness history." our next story takes us to germany, where in 1995 a public art project was seen by millions. it became a symbol for berlin's renewal after the fall of the wall and the collapse of communism. it's the story of the couple who wrapped the reichstag. newsreel: it's an eccentric dream, but one that a husband and wife team have cherished for nearly a quarter of a century, and this weekend the bu

from nigeria to find out of comic republic that got 5 out of african superheroes we'll be talking about that comic uncreative up industry in africa. and how the taste of the mistrust felt meets me tonight because. last but not least we. now just like you i grew up watching batman superman and all those other superheroes now that was cool but the only problem was they did not look like me so i couldn't really identify with them if you know what i mean but there's a new group of superheroes in town. and his team of young comic artists have created the our own universe of african superheroes watch out gotham city lega city is taking over. from city of west africa. around 14000000 people live here no superheroes to be found they lived far away in america and be out quite. wants to change this by making comics enough he's fulfilling a childhood dream i think it was about 5 years ago my mum would buy me comic books and i would freeze every single one i completely ruined the cupboards yeah that's basically how i know. i've put a piece of paper on to make them help my pencil the know 1st day wi

if you were in lagos i'll tell him to do so many tea because nigeria no real. to me the want i would do more than they would make sure that we know how much you . even businesswoman isabella can identify with a superhero and. not only white people could be superheroes but africans would you know we we have you know you can see how. powerful she really. didn't matter and believes public republic is successful because it closest i got. i strongly believe that people approach when the if you can force him to put the focus. you know weld off mainstream comics comic republic sees itself as an alternative we need to take one for the night and so the future is become a public figure a movie screen for good t.v. showing you can be on mobile phones to be in people's homes i mean people's feet you know we see our freedom from it you see our cocktails as a bridge between i prefer the world in general we can all be here i don't have to have superpowers to do good that's what outcome except. i gave. about some cool stuff here is the man behind the africans if i can do you k

if you were in lagos i would tell him to do so many ghost nigeria no. free. to me they want. they were. so that we know. you. even businesswoman isabella can identify with a superhero and. not only white people could be superheroes but africans we do you know we we have you know you can't be. all powerful that she really. didn't matter and believes public republic is successful because it closest i got. i strongly believe that people who approach women people forced to put before them for you know well and of mainstream comics public sees itself as an alternative we need to take control of the night and so the future is to come with the public to be a movie screen to be on t.v. should we need to be on mobile phones to be in people's homes and people's homes eat you know we see our figure that makes us as a bridge between i prefer the world in general we can all be here i don't have to have superpowers to do good that's what outcome except. some cool stuff here is the man behind the african superhero jim martin welcome to the sense of you know ok so you believe that nigeria an

if you were in lagos i would tell him to do so many tea because nigeria no. to me the war i would. say what. you. even businesswoman isabella can identify with a superheroine up on the me. i know the white people could be superheroes but africans we do you know we we have you know you can see how. powerful she really. didn't martin believes comic republic is successful because it closest i got. i strongly believe down with the program if you've been forced to close before. you know weld of mainstream comics comic republic sees itself as an alternate we need to take control of the night and so the future of the comic book will be to be a movie screen to be on t.v. should we need to be on mobile phones to be in people's homes and people's families you know we see our flicker from it we see our cocktails as a bridge between i prefer the world in general we can all be here i you don't have to have superpowers to do good that's about comics. but about some cool stuff here is the man behind the african superhero. welcome to the sense of yeah ok so you believe that nigeria and indeed afri

if you were in lagos i would tell him to do so many tea because nigeria know we are. free. to me they want i would do more than they were doing so that we know. you. even businesswoman isabella can identify with a superhero and. not only white people could be superheroes but africa really have you know you can't be. all powerful that she really. didn't matter and believe public is successful because it closest i got. i strongly believe that people close were in the if you forced him to put people. in the world of mainstream comics comic republic sees itself as an alternative we need to take control of the night and so the future of the comic the public to be a movie screen for viewing t.v. shows we need to be on mobile phones to be in people's homes and people's families you know we see our figure that makes you see our cocktails as a bridge between i prefer the world in general we can all be here i don't have to have super powers to do that without comics. i gave. some cool stuff here is the man behind the african superhero you know martin welcome to the sense of. ok so yo

>> yeah, the number of cases in nigeria remain quite low, despite nigeria having a reasonable capacity to protect and temper the virus, but the risk is nonetheless there. we've seen diseased, covid-19 almost every country in africa at this stage. so the risks are certainly rising, but the numbers are still low. again, we need to ensure we have a very strong public health response on the african continent. from the response african government. minimize the necessity of measures that will have a hard impact on people's lives and livelihoods from which they may not recover as quickly as people in other countries. shutdowns, slowdowns. we also need to look at the very vulnerable populations we have in africa, refugees in some cases, people who are living with hiv and children with malnourishment. while africa is a relatively young continent, and that may be an advantage for africa right now, there are many, many other vulnerable people in africa for whom we must provide maximum protection. africa, again, has demonstrated, with polio elimination, color response, ebola response, that african

that brings you topics from all over africa and europe i am now outside coming to you from lagos nigeria and joining me from uganda is my colleague sun hi neal yes today's show takes us on another journey across africa and you check out some of the ideas and concepts people have come up with to help save the environment i'm really looking forward to the was in south africa a wonderful species that needs protecting but there it is plenty more install besides that. and making clones out of fish things. and we also show you how design is in so many transforming forms part timers into something new school. every year so if africa sees a migration of was eastern coast and he was trying to know from own to take a we've been cobbs last year so the not just number was on record off the coast of cape town scientists cool savation ists and tourists continue to learn more about these giant marine animals we went along to find out more. at certain times of the year special visitors can be supported in what is a 1st day in south africa. where the huge mamas migrate from and talked to the woman i want

under the international covenant on civil and political rights which nigeria has signed last august the treaty body accused you of failing to honor your reporting obligations under article 40 of the covenant and ignoring numerous reminders to do so why is that when you told me all cooperating so openly with these bodies why would they say that what the housing true i would in no no i do say that but i know that we have never shown any internationalization we are very open as to the facts i was not her she would use it much as possible for any country who is in a with an internal. you know in so jesse a very open and we when we operate with international you know regulations and laws well clearly you don't go into the bodies that monitor these situations well it depends a for it it depends on from what perspective they get at the information we're getting it from different perspectives and then we're talking about human rights organizations international human rights organizations we're talking about the u.n. we're talking about. all kinds of bodies the international criminal court they'

we now have caller from nigeria.ase go ahead with your question. >> is there any concern about information about human. [inaudible] for covid-19? [inaudible question] i'm sorry could you repeat that question we've lost you a little bit the second part of your question was not clear. reporter: [inaudible question] so i think your question was about medication, is there any medication that works and what other issues with cases in nigeria? >> thank you for the two questions. with regard to medication, and trent as the director general outlined in his speech shaded there currently no specific medications that have been approved for covid-19. however, there are a number of clinical trials that are ongoing and there's a solidarity trial that's currently starting. which is just enrolling patients now which is looking at therapeutics in controlled clinical trials. what's very important as these medications are evaluated appropriately so we know what works and that we have the right data to support what works. with regard to

we explain. >> reporter: nigeria has been here before. in 2014, during the west africa ebola epidemic the world feared the worst when a virus arrived in lagos. but they were quick to trace and contain the spread. >> this is ward two. it's empty at the moment. >> reporter: then as he is now, the state commissioner of health was at the front line of nigeria's public health response. >> we are very accustomed to dealing with pathogens of high consequence. it's a skill. and it's something that we've started to refine ever since the ebola outbreak. we knew what happened during ebola. we didn't want to see another situation like that in law kboekboe gross. >> reporter: there are isolation wards, field hospitals and makeshift tents. >> we're preparing for a surge. if it doesn't happen, it's fine, but if it happens, we'll be, we'll be ready. >> reporter: there was construction everywhere here, as the city prepares for potentially large numbers of patients with covid-19. he says he lost colleagues during the ebola epidemic and is working to make s

one of the city's nurses said nigeria isn't ready.enough equipment and infrastructures, so equipment and infrastructures, so of course i should be worried. yesterday in this popular market for the lockdown started, these women were begging for help. the lagos state government says their strategy is working, people are listening and they‘ re strategy is working, people are listening and they're staying indoors so these next two weeks are crucial when it comes to trying to stem the spread of covid—19. but the big question remains — what happens after 1a days when you allow afrika's most populated city back on the streets ? most populated city back on the streets? here cuaron of is a virus for the privilege, for those with a home to self—isolate in and an ability to buy and stop while food —— coronavirus. —— stockpile food. officials across india are searching for hundreds of people who attended a religious event that's been linked to dozens of coronavirus cases. at least six regions have reported infections directly traced to the gather

uganda my name is now it's me and i'm in the fossett back in lagos nigeria joining me from uganda is my colleague sundra well for me too i am sandra teen of the all here incompetent uganda and the paul.

but unlike the rest of the world, time has allowed nigeria to prepare.e was confirmed, and so far there's been less than 1110. this stadium, now converted into an isolation centre, is waiting for patients. so is lagos ready? well, it depends, you know? when you are at war, you know, you can have either an offensive or a defensive strategy. i think, because of our weaknesses, we've opted for an offensive strategy, so that makes lagos a very vulnerable city, and what we've been trying to figure out is how to increase its resilience. so we know that lagos is a sitting duck for an outbreak scenario. while there is confidence at the top, there is concern on the front line. we bumped into a nurse on her way into work. i'm worried, because nigeria as a whole doesn't have enough equipment and infrastructures, so of course i should be worried. she's not the only one worried. we expect a solution from our government! yesterday, in this popular market, a few wandered around begging for help. the lagos state government says that their strategy is working, people are

hello and welcome to eco africa the environment's show a couple duction of channels television nigeriaand then t.v. uganda my name is now out and i'm in the fossil park in lagos nigeria joining me from uganda is my colleague sandra well for me too i am sandra teen of the earth here in complex uganda and the father.

but unlike the rest of the world, time has allowed nigeria to prepare.ium, now converted into an isolation centre, is waiting for patients. when you are at war, you know, you can have either an offensive or a defensive strategy. i think, because of our weaknesses, we've opted for an offensive strategy, so that makes lagos a very vulnerable city, and what we've been trying to figure out is how to increase its resilience. so we know that lagos is a sitting duck for an outbreak scenario. whilst there is confidence at the top, there is concern on the front line. two out of three people live in lagos's slums. with basic hygiene and social distancing nearly impossible, the greatest fear is how covid—19 will hit the poorest. i'm worried, because nigeria as a whole doesn't have enough equipment and infrastructures, so of course i should be worried. yesterday, in this popular market, a few wandered around begging for help. people are dying and suffering! lagos state government says that their strategy is working, people are listening and they're staying indoors,

off as ideas on how we come to protect our environment welcome to the show i'm now is i in lagos nigeria. and a warm welcome for me. here in uganda but. we'll stay tuned for another half hour to know that selecting stories here is what is coming up at the. evening classes in germany on climate change and on what we can do to developing sustainable ways to avoid the harmful side to good use and. products that are making life better for people in kenya. the climate in south africa is dry and climate change appears to be making it even more drier it is becoming even more on edge and to green the economy industries farming tourism and the way people eat we head to the eastern cape to meet a teenager who is a budding reporter walking on issues she is involved with a global initiative called young group for the environment as well as the name suggests they needed to making a difference. at 1st glance it looks idyllic here but most of the 17 year old student is out. in order to document the extent. of. the rainy season. in town should be full by now. it's. tough. question what's what's next is

dry highs of 25 some heavy showers around parts of west africa standing quite a way inland across nigeria and them for southern portions of the continent we've got some heavy showers for d.r. congo extending south who's in toronto and northern parts up to maybe a good looks or should be largely fine across south africa sunshine in johannesburg a finding cape town highs here from a spot 23. christian priest if you are a friend of the palestinians is it true. for everyone and champion of the palestinian cause. an activist who is willing to sacrifice his freedom. for his beliefs. al-jazeera world tells the extraordinary story of the archbishop and the p.l.o. . hello again the top stories on al-jazeera india's 1300000000 citizens have been told to stay home for 3 weeks prime minister narendra modi says a nationwide lockdown will be enforced from midnight india has reported more than 500 confirmed cases and 10 deaths. and after 2 days of a declining death rate the number of fatalities in italy has risen again by more than 740 and spain has recorded its fires daily tally of deaths on confirmed

northern nigeria another area been in city again in nigeria and i think the remote who is a friend of the stream says any heritage shape has to take aim civil it must include dancing and singing with our masquerades let me give you a little taste of what that looks like. well how do you decide where you're going to take the young people and what is going to be the most useful for them to learn sure so the way we work out birthright africa where essentially an umbrella organization collaborating with our education partners high schools colleges universities and community based organizations and so we are open to where ever they want to go any of the 54 countries in the african continent as long as it's the safe to travel by the state department and so it's really a desire where the communities of african descent people in the u.s. want to make that connection and so all the cities and the countries that were mentioned could be a possibility we have targets countries for sure like nigeria south africa kenya. and senegal but again we are open to wherever that connection is desired by our

and it's goodbye from me to me in lagos nigeria. if you want to know more if you have ideas of your own and look us up on our social media platforms and write us a message so you make sure to tune in for the next edition. dum. dum. dum. w.'s crime fighters are back again a good look out for those most successful radio drama series continues from only because those are available online in the course you can share and discuss on w. africa's facebook page and other social media platforms. to crime fighter to mean no. how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when will all of this. just 3 of the topics covered in the weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like . information on the coronavirus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find it at. science. is from me. is for you. beethoven as for help. beethoven is for her. is for the. beethoven is for us. is for more. beethoven 2020250th anniversary here on deal here. each time i tells my sto