A Manchester student who created a re-useable water bottle to raise money for African countries has been named Britain’s top black graduate.

Edwin Broni-Mensah, who is studying for an Applied Maths PhD at the University of Manchester, was given the title by Future Leaders magazine.

He topped their list of 100 graduates, which profiles bright students of African and African Caribbean origin.

He said he was “overjoyed to be named number one on such a prestigious list”.

Twenty-five year old Edwin made the news in August 2010 when he launched GiveMeTap, which raises money for drought-stricken countries through the sales of a special aluminium bottle

Seventy percent of the company’s profits go towards providing clean water and irrigation in Africa.

It was his entrepreneurship in setting up the company, coupled with his
first class degree in Mathematics and Computer Science (which led him
directly into a scholarship for his PhD), that impressed the judges
enough to put him the top spot.

Edwin said that he was “extremely delighted and feel very honoured at being recognised as one of the Future Leaders.”

Adding:
“What gives me the most pleasure is being in a position where I can
meet and inspire young people to pursue their dreams as literally
anything is possible.”

‘Entrepreneurial spark’

The Future Leaders list profiles Britain’s brightest students of African
and African Caribbean origin and is collated to provide a link between
publishers Powerful Media’s Powerlist, an annual list of Britain’s 100
most influential black people, and the young people it was created to
inspire.

The judges of the student list - Harvard selector Nick
Basden, former NUS Black Students Officer Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy and
Yashica Olden, the European Head of Diversity at Barclays Capital -
selected Edwin after a rigorous process that included contacting every
university in the country and formal interviews with all those on the
shortlist.

The University of Manchester are understandably proud of their student’s achievement.

Dr
Martin Henery, entrepreneurship lecturer at the institution’s
Manchester Business School, said Edwin’s “entrepreneurial spark was
clear from the outset.”

He explained that it was “rare to work
with someone who combines the ability to make things happen with such
original thinking.”

“His is one of those concepts that nearly everyone can see the value of straight away, but it’s really tough to make happen.

“It needs true vision and tenacity to stick with it and see it through to the end goal.”

Edwin said he hopes to work full-time on his company, with the aim of offering his bottle’s services at the 2012 Olympics.

* The figure is more than double the previous number
* All women in one village may have been raped, according to some reports
* A U.N. Daily Field Security Report cited July 30 rape
* “The women of eastern DRC deserve better,” says U.N. official

(CNN) — U.N. officials on Tuesday put the number of rapes and other sexual attacks in eastern Congo since late July at more than 500, more than double the previous estimate.

In remarks prepared for delivery to the Security Council after returning from a fact-finding trip to the region, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Atul Khare cited 267 rapes or other sexual attacks in the town of Uvira — on the eastern edge of the country — and other nearby regions of North and South Kivu, in addition to the 242 rapes that had already been reported in and near the village of Luvungi.

Among the additional cases was a report of 10 women raped by members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 17 and 18 in the community of Katalukulu, in Fizi territory, South Kivu, he said.

On August 17, at least 40 rapes were committed in the village of Mubi by an alleged coalition of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and Mayi-Mayi, a militia group active in the region, he said.

Another 13 rapes occurred in Pinga area in Chuho market, he said.

On August 26, Khare received reports of 74 cases of sexual violence — including 21 directed at girls 7 to 15 years of age — and six men in the village of Miki in the territory of Mwenga, he said.

The incidents occurred in July and August, he said.

Five days later, he said, 130 cases of rape were recorded in several villages in the territory of Shabunda. There were reports that in one village, “all women might have been systematically raped,” he said.

Khare had gone to Congo to find out why peacekeepers said they hadn’t learned about the rapes near Luvungi sooner.

The United Nations reported last week that some 242 people were raped by armed Congolese and Rwandan rebels in villages in North Kivu province between July 30 and August 3.

Attackers blocked roads and prevented villagers from reaching outside communications. Many homes were also looted and burned. Many of the victims were gang-raped by as many as six men at a time, according to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The rapes were first publicly reported on August 22.

The United Nations initially said it did not learn about the attacks until August 12, when it was alerted by International Medical Corps. That group said it first told the United Nations about the rapes on August 6.

But on Tuesday, the United Nations acknowledged that it first learned of a report of rape on July 30, nearly two weeks earlier than it had previously said.

“We can confirm that the Daily Field Security Report from North Kivu on 30 July included the following: ‘Today 30 July 2010 during morning hours, the locality of Mpofi (52 Km E of Walikale) passed under control of FDLR [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] combatants. One woman was reportedly raped and locals fled towards Walikale and Kibua. More information to be ascertained.’

“We can also confirm that, on the basis of this information, an e-mail was sent by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs transmitting information of the FDLR movement,” it said.

The July 30 internal U.N. email was relayed to relief agencies working in the area and warned that the rebels had taken over the villages, and had already committed one instance of rape.

U.N. officials have said they will toughen efforts to stop rapes in the region.

“The women of eastern DRC deserve better,” said Margot Wallstrom, a U.N. special representative for sexual violence in conflict who sent a senior member of her staff with Khare on his fact-finding mission to the region. “For them, there is no safe place. They are raped when harvesting crops; when going to market; when fetching water and firewood; when carrying their babies; when in their homes at night, among their loved ones.”

She added that the rape is becoming a weapon of choice in eastern DRC. “The sad reality is that incidents of rape have become so commonplace that they do not trigger our most urgent interventions,” she said.

Noting that the information about the rapes “was slow to surface,” she called for the United Nations to focus on how to improve its response to such reports. “We should examine the U.N.’s response, including that of our peacekeepers on the ground, not in a spirit of self-recrimination but with a determination and resolve to do better to protect civilians in what is undoubtedly one of the most complex, vast and volatile conflict zones in the world.”

She noted that some rebel leaders have been identified as having been present during the attacks and called for them to be used “as a starting point” to bring the attackers to justice. “Our policies of ‘zero tolerance’ cannot be backed by a reality of ‘zero consequences,’” she said.

The “Nigerian Nightmare” has another title shot against Klitschko on September 11 in Frankfurt, Germany, and despite the bout being in the world heavyweight champion’s former adopted country, Peter will be packing his own judge and referee.

“He will be down again but this time he will not be standing up,” Peter said on a conference call from his training base in Big Bear, California.

“I got my own referee and my judge … my referee is my right hand and my judge is my left hook, no question about this time around. This time he will not get up from my hook.”

Since the two men have combined for 75 knockouts in their combined 93 career fights, the bout is not expected to go the distance and Peter predicts Klitschko will not survive more than four rounds.

Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) will face a much different Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) than the boxer he confronted in 2005 in Atlantic City when he survived to earn a unanimous decision.

Peter has since slimmed down and, according to his trainer Abel Sanchez, the 29-year-old has re-dedicated himself to the sport and is more of boxer than a brawler.

“I’m going to prove to the world I am the best heavyweight champion,” said Peter. “This time I am coming to prove myself a champion again. I have improved, he hasn’t improved.”

A former Olympic boxer, Peter has matured and sharpened the skills he let rust while relying heavily on his devastating knockout power to win fights, according to Sanchez.

“He has put in the work this time,” said Sanchez. “In the past he’s allowed outside influences to contribute to his lack of dedication, lack of commitment.

“It’s important that you just don’t come in with an A plan against a Klitschko. You have to come in with an A, a B and C plan to be able to use them at different times and he’s been working on that.”

(Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto; editing by Frank Pingue)

State Commissioner of police Danlami Yar’ Adua disclosed this to Xinhua in Bauchi, adding that four persons were confirmed dead in the prison break attack.

He said one soldier, a police man and two civilians were killed during the attack last night. He added that three prison warders including some civilians were seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the state governor Isa Yuguda has warned members of the Boko Haram sect to leave the state or be flushed out forcefully.

Yuguda gave the warning on Wednesday while inspecting the Bauchi Central Prison which was attacked by members of the group on Tuesday evening.

The attackers invaded the prison and set free all its inmates, some of whom were their colleagues. They also burnt some vehicles parked within the prison yard.

“Let me warn all Boko Haram members to steer clear of Bauchi and relocate outside this country or be prepared to face their waterloo,” the governor said.

Yuguda also visited the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, where he sympathized with the injured victims receiving medical attention. He directed that they should be given free medical attention and sympathized with the relatives of those who lost their lives in the attack.

Before the attack, the prison had played host to more than 100 suspected members of the group who are opposed to Western education. The suspects were awaiting trial for their alleged role in the last Boko Haram violence in the state.
Editor: Wang Guanqun

* Government bonds firmer, gains capped

* Miners push stocks higher

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 8 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand strengthened against the dollar on Wednesday as risk aversion eased in late afternoon trade, boosting emerging market assets.

The rand ZAR=D3 traded at 7.2380/dollar at 1328 GMT, 0.49 percent firmer than its previous close of 7.2745 in New York on Tuesday.

“We opened flattish on the day and the rand strengthened during the course of the afternoon as risk aversion eased a little bit with improvements in equity markets,” said Nigel Rendell, senior emerging markets analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

“Given that we’ve got the SARB meeting tomorrow, we wait and see what they say after that, presumably after they cut interest rates by 50 basis points,” Rendell added.

The South African Reserve Bank will make an interest rate call on Thursday.

Miners were in charge of the gainers’ list, tracking gains in commodity prices and silver XAG=, which hit a 2-1/2 year high.

Bourse and mining heavyweight Anglo American (AGLJ.J: Quote) rallied 2.71 percent to 281.50 rand and rival BHP Billiton (BILJ.J: Quote) improved 2.23 percent to 212.18 rand.

In earnings news, Aveng (AEGJ.J: Quote) inched up 0.24 percent to 37.59 rand after South Africa’s biggest builder said it plans to return up $137 million to shareholders via a share buyback. [ID:nLDE68703C]

Elsewhere, Mondi (MNDJ.J: Quote) was 0.61 percent higher at 54.75 rand after the paper maker said it will sell about half its stake in an Israeli joint venture for $13.2 million to help pay down debt. [ID:nLDE68715A] (Reporting by Xola Potelwa and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

AMSTERDAM — Qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations got into full swing this weekend, and several MLS players shined on the day.

New England Revolution winger Sainey Nyassi scored to help Gambia grab the top in Group F with a 3-1 win over Namibia.

The 21-year-old – who suited up alongside his New England Revolution teammate Kenny Mansally and his twin brother, Seattle’s Sanna Nyassi – nodded home dutifully on 10 minutes to bag his first international goal in his full Gambia debut.

The other involved MLS player, Kansas City Wizards forward Kei Kamara, got the start as Sierra Leone impressed with a 1-1 Group G draw at defending champs Egypt.

South Africa assumed the pool perch, getting first half goals from Katlego Mphela and Bernard Parker to top Niger 2-0.

Among the other highlights from weekend play, Obafemi Martins and Michael Eneramo rung the bell as Nigeria got off the Group B mark with a 2-0 victory over Madagascar.

In Group D, Algeria had to rally for a 1-all home share with Tanzania, a result that compelled manager World Cup manager Rabah Saadane to resign.

Senegal raced to the top of Group E after Mamadou Niang bagged a hat trick in their 4-2 win at the Democratic Republic of Congo. New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul didn’t see any action.

Cameroon are level on points from a 3-1 win at Mauritius sparked by a Samuel Eto’o double on either side of intermission.

Over in Group H, Ivory Coast cruised to a 3-0 win over Rwanda, while Ghana assumed early control of Group I with an identical result at Swaziland.

Finally, former Chicago Fire man Dipsy Selolwane and continental mites Botswana went clear at the top of Group K by virtue of a 2-1 defeat of Togo.

The Global Africa Project Explores the Impact of African Visual Culture on Contemporary Art, Craft, and Design around the World
Groundbreaking Exhibition Challenging Traditional Conceptions of “African” Aesthetic Opens at MAD this November

New York (April 14, 2010) - An unprecedented exhibition exploring the broad spectrum of contemporary African art, design, and craft worldwide, The Global Africa Project premieres at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) this November. Featuring the work of over 60 artists in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States, and the Caribbean, The Global Africa Project surveys the rich pool of new talent emerging from the African continent and its influence on artists around the world. Through ceramics, basketry, textiles, jewelry, furniture, and fashion, as well as selective examples of architecture, photography, painting, and sculpture, the exhibition actively challenges conventional notions of a singular African aesthetic or identity, and reflects the integration of African art and design without making the usual distinctions between “professional” and “artisan.”

On view from November 17, 2010, through May 15, 2011, The Global Africa Project is co-curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, the Museum’s Charles Bronfman International Curator, and Leslie King-Hammond, Founding Director of the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Visitors and scholars can track the development of the project and participate in an online discussion of key issues related to exhibition through an interactive and behind-the-scenes blog on MAD’s website at www.madblog.org/category/the-global-africa-project/.

“The Global Africa Project charts important new territory in the field by actively looking beyond restrictions of traditional art historical groupings, including medium, geography, and artistic genre,” states Holly Hotchner, the Museum’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. “By many measures, this exhibition is entirely unprecedented and it is a landmark moment in our history. As a museum that has long challenged the hierarchies separating art, craft, and design, we are delighted to introduce these new explorations of contemporary African art and aesthetics.”

The exhibition will showcase a diverse group of creators, including artists who are experimenting with the fusion of contemporary practices and traditional materials, and design collectives that are using their creative output as engines of local economic change.   Featured artists and designers range from well-known figures such as Yinka Shonibare, Kehinde Wiley, and Fred Wilson; to fashion designer Duro Olowu, who is an important presence in the London fashion scene, and Paris-based Togolese/Brazilian designer Kossi Aguessy, who has collaborated with Renault, Yves Saint Laurent, Cartier, and Swarovski; to the Gahaya Links Weaving Association, a collaborative of Hutu and Tutsi women working in traditional basketry techniques in Rwanda. The Global Africa Project will be accompanied at MAD by a special installation, Are You a Hybrid?, curated by designer Stephen Burks. Exploring the impact and influence of Africa on contemporary design, it will be on view from February through April 2011. The installation is part of the MADProjects exhibition series, which explores emerging trends and innovations in the design world.

“Given the nomadic, even migratory, nature of artistic careers today, the interesting challenges of presenting an exhibition like The Global Africa Project are indicated in its very title,” stated curator Lowery Stokes Sims. “The exhibition addresses important questions of how these designers, craftsmen, and artists grapple with issues of commodification in art production, and the meaning and value of art in contemporary society.”

“No longer are these artists viewed as part of the periphery of the main stream art world,” Leslie King-Hammond added. “This work redefines a new center of creativity and innovation for the twenty first century.”

In order to present the various dimensions of the work of African artists and artisans worldwide, The Global Africa Project will be organized around several thematic ideas: the phenomenon of cultural fusion; promoting competition on the creative global scene; fostering the use of local materials; supporting artisans and craftsman; and impacting the economic and social condition of local communities. In addition to providing a broad framework for the exhibition’s organization, these themes will encourage The Global Africa Project’s audiences to discern how global African artists grapple with the commodification of art production and the meaning and value of art in society—an increasingly significant issue for nations in a rapidly changing global context.

Exhibition highlights will include:

• Influential collaborations between traditional African artists and international designers and corporations, including Esther Mahlangu’s BMW Art Car, in which she transformed the 1991 car model with the bold shapes and colors typical of Ndebele house painting in her native South Africa.

• Installations, sculptures, and objects that incorporate and appropriate materials that have come to Africa as the “cargo” of international exchange—including packaging and manufactured items. Among these works will be furniture designed by Ousmane M’Baye of Senegal and a new site-specific installation by Nigerian artist Olu Amoda, who transforms scrap metal to construct security gates for buildings in his community.

• Contemporary fashion by such designers as Haitian-American Victor Glemaud, who designs women’s wear for Tommy Hilfiger, and the Black Coffee design studio in South Africa, whose 2008 collection Everyonecanbeadesigner allows the consumer to personalize their own style and presence.

• Ceramic vessels and basketry designs, such as the sweet-grass baskets of American Mary Jackson, whose work reflects a centuries-old tradition from West Africa; basketry by the renowned master weaver Reuben Ndwandwe of South Africa who revitalized this medium with his unique over-coiling technique; ceramics of Magdalene Odundo, a Kenyan-British artist whose work is both highly contemporary and yet evocative of traditional Africa pottery; and the work of ceramist Clive Sithole, also of South Africa, who dared as a man to take up a medium traditionally associated with women.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND TOUR
The Global Africa Project is organized by the Museum of Arts and Design and the Center for Race and Culture, Maryland Institute College of Art. The exhibition is co-curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, MAD’s Charles Bronfman International Curator, and Leslie King-Hammond, Founding Director of the Center for Race and Culture.

Following its premiere at MAD, the exhibition will travel to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture in Baltimore, MD. The exhibition will continue to travel to three other sites throughout the US through February 2013.

CATALOGUE
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated, four-color publication to be published jointly by the Museum and Prestel Publishers, in association with the Maryland College of Art’s Center for Race and Culture. The approximately 230-page book will feature an introduction by MAD director Holly Hotchner; curatorial essays by Lowery Stokes Sims and Leslie King-Hammond; as well as contributions from scholars and curators who are conversant with the intersections between contemporary design, architecture, craft, art, and national and cultural craft practices. These contributions include: Julie Lasky on design outside the showroom; José Julian Mapily, who will survey architecture and the African landscape; Keith Recker, who will discuss artisans, traditional crafts, and the global market; Christopher Cozier, who will consider the Caribbean as a critical space for art, design, craft, and architecture; Naomi Beckwith, who will illuminate contemporary urban aesthetics as expressed by African diasporic artists; Anthony Whitfield, who will examine design trends and issues of design among global Africans; and Judith Bettelheim on the aesthetics of the masquerade and its importance to African diasporic art.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS
In addition to the Museum’s on-going schedule of curator and docent-led tours, special programming for The Global Africa Project will include a series of lectures and panel discussions on topics including: the position of various sites in the global African world in contemporary design and craft; whether or not an overarching “African” aesthetic exists; the unique place of craft artisans and collaboratives in the contemporary marketplace; and Africa as a motif and force in contemporary design, craft and art. Programming plans will be announced in detail in the coming months.

In conjunction with the exhibition, The Store at MAD will organize a special Global Africa Market to sell products by individuals and collectives who are participating in the exhibition and are transforming their artistic skills into a source of social and economic empowerment.

A number of The Global Africa Project’s artists will also participate in the Museum’s signature Open Studios program, which invites visitors to gain a better understanding of the relationship between materials and process by observing and interacting with artists at work in three light-filled, flexible studios on the Museum’s education floor.

Hands-on workshops will also be part of the Museum’s outreach to visitors during the exhibition. The Museum has also initiated a blog about the exhibition which invites visits to react and suggest material related to The Global Africa Project: http://www.madblog.org/category/the-global-africa-project/ .

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR RACE AND CULTURE
The Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), launched in October 2008, is an interactive division that researches and investigates the dynamics of race and culture and their relationships to visual art traditions and practices. One of the Center’s stated goals is to prepare students for leadership roles in the regional, national, and international art world. The Center is a site where scholars, doctoral candidates, artists, critics, musicians, actors, and historians can research or create events, exhibitions, projects, or performances that focus on the aesthetic dynamics of race and culture with the intent to break down racial barriers and build bridges of cultural understanding and meaningful and productive relationships. MICA is one of the oldest private art colleges, established in 1826 and is the first school of this type to create a research center dedicated to the study of Race and Culture in the arts.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN
The Museum of Arts and Design explores how craftsmanship, art, and design intersect in the visual arts today. The Museum focuses on contemporary creativity and the ways
in which artists and designers from around the world transform materials through processes ranging from the handmade to cutting-edge technologies.

The Museum’s exhibition program explores and illuminates issues and ideas, highlights creativity and craftsmanship, and celebrates the limitless potential of materials and techniques when used by creative and innovative artists. MAD’s permanent collection is global in scope and focuses on art, craft, and design from 1950 to the present day.

At the center of the Museum’s mission is education. The Museum’s dynamic new facility features classrooms and studios for master classes, seminars, and workshops for students, families, and adults. Three open artist studios engage visitors in the creative processes of artists at work and enhance the exhibition programs. Lectures, films, performances, and symposia related to the Museum’s collection and topical subjects affecting the world of contemporary art, craft, and design are held in a renovated 144-seat auditorium  Read more on the Museum of Arts and design website

Yet it seems rare that this option is accounted for when power needs in the world’s poorest places are calculated.

In a recent column praising the benefits of distributed power generation, The Economist cites interesting statistics from the UN and International Energy Agency: expanding centralized infrastructure would require annual investments $35 - $40 billion until 2030 in order for everyone in the world to have power in their homes—and at the current rate of development, 16 percent of people worldwide will still have no electricity by 2030.

But, as The Economist asks, why wait? Homes in remote and poor areas of the world could be powered much sooner—in some areas trials have already started—with locally-sourced, renewable energy.

From efficient cookstoves to solar-powered water purification to make-it-yourself solar lanterns, the technology is already there.

To be sure, there are hurdles to full-scale development, but like in the U.S., the benefits would far outweigh the challenges. Other countries can verify that—according to Amory Lovins, micropower provides other industrial countries with up to more than half of all their electricity consumption, and in 2006 provided a full third of the world’s new electricity.

The U.S. may be more industrialized than most of Africa, but we have in common at least one thing: a long way to go in cleaning up and improving—distributing—our energy supply.

The New York Giants roster inlcudes former 1st round pick DE/OLB Mathias Kiwanuka, whose parents are from Uganda. His grandfather, Benedito Kiwanuka, was elected the first prime minister of Uganda in 1961, before being assassinated in 1972. Kiwanuka is the only Ugandan to play in the NFL.

Giants DE Osi Umenyiora was a second-round pick in 2003 from Troy University in Alabama. Umeniyera was born in London, England to parents from Nigeria. He is of the Ebo ethnic group, and his first name means “from today all things will be good.”

Also with roots in Africa are Bears DE Isreal Idonije and former Bears and Dolphins DE Adewale Ogunleye. Idonije was born in Lagos, Nigeria and emigrated with his family to Manitoba, Canada. He played only one year of high school football and then played in a semi-pro Canadian league before he was drafted by the Canadian Football League. Instead of the CFL, he signed as free agent in 2003 with the Cleveland Browns. He was released and signed by the Chicago Bears.

Safety Oshiomogho “O.J” Atogwe was born in Ontario, Canada to parents who had emigrated from Nigeria. He played college football at Stanford and now is with the St. Louis Rams. Atogwe and Idonije are among the few Nigeria-Canadian plays to play in the NFL.

Defensive End Adewale Ogunleye was born in Brooklyn, NY and played football at Indiana University. He was signed as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins in 2000 and traded to the Chicago Bears in 2004. His parents are also from Nigeria.
Also with roots in Nigeria is St. Louis Rams LB Victor Adeyanju. He was born in Nigeria and played college football at Indiana before being drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Rams.

Legedu A. Naanee (pronounced LEG-a-doo Nah-NAY) (born September 16, 1983) is a Wide Receiver for the San Diego Chargers. He played college football and Boise State and grew up in Portland, Oregon. In high school he played QB and DB. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2007 NFL Draft by San Diego. “Legedu” means “good is coming” in a Nigerian tribal language.

Another San Diego Charger with Nigerian roots is DT Ogemdi Sharron Nwagbuo (born December 24, 1985 in San Diego, California). He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after he played college football at Michigan State.

In the 2009 draft, the Redskins selected Brian Orakpo from the University of Texas. Orakpo’s parents were born in Nigeria and immigrated to the United States as college students, and settled in Houston, Texas. Brian Orakpo has a brother, Mike, who plays Linebacker for Colorado State and his uncle Chike played football for the University of Iowa. While attending the University of Texas, there were 5 other players on the football team with Nigerian roots. Orakpo became the first Redskins rookie to be selected to a Pro Bowl since 1978.

Two current players have roots in Liberia - Kansas City Chiefs DE/OLB Tamba Hali and Buffalo Bills DB Ashton Youboty. The country of Liberia, in western Africa was founded by freed former slaves from the United States and other American countries. Youboty was born in Liberia and moved to Philadelphia when he was only 4 years old. He went to college at Ohio State and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Bills.

Tamba Boimah Hali, Chiefs 1st round selection in 2006 from Penn State, was born in Monrovia, Liberia. His family escaped from war-torn Liberia when he was 10 years old. He was reunited with his father, a chemisry teacher, in New Jersey. His mother remained in Liberia until recently. Hali has an older half-brother, also named Tamba. Traditionally in the Kissi culture, the second son born to a woman is always named “Tamba.” The first son is traditionally named “Saah.” There is a third brother, Saah Hali, who is a middle school Social Studies teacher in Teaneck, New Jersey. There have been only about 6 players of Liberian descent to play in the NFL.

Amobi Okoye (born June 10, 1987 in Anambra, Nigeria) plays defensive tackle for the Houston Texans. He was drafted by the Texans 10th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, after he played college football at Louisville. Okoye was born in Anambra State, Nigeria, and is a member of the Igbo ethnic group. Okoye moved to Huntsville, Alabama, at 12 years of age. Due to his academic testing levels, he started high school at age 13 and colleg at age 16. He was the youngest player drafted in the NFL in the last 4 years and played in his first college game at age 16.

Because he shares the same surname as former Kansas City Chiefs running back Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, some sources have claimed that the two are related. Amobi says they are not related, but the two families live on adjoining land in Nigeria.

Born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1961, Christian Okoye did not play American football until 1984, when he joined the squad at California’s Azusa Pacific University. He excelled in track & field, winning seven college titles in the shotput, discus, and hammer throw. The first time he attended an American football game he thought the game was boring.

After the Nigerian government failed to select Okoye for the Olympics, he sought something else to do besides track & field and went out for American football. Initially, Okoye did not enjoy the roughness of football and thought about quitting but friends convinced him to continue playing. His track speed was unusual for someone his size — 6′1″, 260 lbs. — and this rare combination of talents led to his selection in the second round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Former Cowboys, Browns, and Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban was born in Accra, Ghana. He was drafted #20 overall by the Cowboys in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina and played high school football in Maryland. He is one of only 2 Ghanaians to play in the NFL.

Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha has Nigerian roots. He was drafted in the 1st round from California-Berkeley by the Raiders and is considered the top CB in the NFL by many. He is the cousin of former Raiders and Texans RB Adimchinobi Echemandu (born November 21, 1980 in Lagos, Nigeria), who is an ethnic Ebo and also went to Cal-Berkeley.

Jeffrey C. Otah (born June 17, 1986 in Nigeria) is an offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers. He was drafted by the Panthers 19th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh. He moved from Nigeria to The Bronx, New York at the age of seven, then moved to New Castle, Delaware at the age of thirteen. He played high school football at William Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware.

Isaiah Afamefuna Ekejiuba [Eck-ah-ju-buh] (born October 5, 1981 in Nigeria) is a linebacker for the Detroit Lions. He was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and played for the Oakland Raiders before signing with Detroit. He played college football at the University of Virginia. Ekejiuba was born in Nigeria and lived throughout parts of Africa, China and London while his mother worked for the United Nations, before moving to upstate New York where his mother taught at Colgate University. Ekejiuba attended high school at Suffield Academy, a boarding school in Connecticut. At Suffield, Ekejiuba played football his senior year and excelled in soccer, basketball and track. The son of the late Felicia Ekejiuba, Ekejiuba has two brothers, Ben Umezurike and Sam Ekejiuba, and two sisters, Ada Umezurike and Felicia Ekejiuba. At the University of Virginia, he majored in electrical engineering.

Samkon Kaltho Gado (born November 13, 1982 in Kufai, Nigeria) is currently a running back for the Tennessee Titans. He was originally signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Liberty. Gado has also played for the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. In 2006 He was the “feel good player” of the year when he became Green Bay’s starting running back after injuries to other running backs, after just being signed from the practice squad. Gado plans to follow up his football career by becoming a medical missionary in his native country. A fall 2006 TV spot highlighted Gado’s internship at a hospital in Green Bay. His father, Jeremiah Gado, initially left Nigeria in 1990 to study at Columbia International University, and now regularly visits Nigeria for mission work.

Dallas Cowboy’s CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, played football at Indiana, PA College and was drafted in the 4th round in 2009. His first name, Akwasi, means “Born on Sunday.” His family is from Ghana, Africa.

Green Bay Packers first round pick in 2009, NT Busari “B.J”. Raji, Jr. is the son of a pastor, who is an immigrant from Nigeria.

There have been nearly 50 football players with direct Nigerian roots who have been on NFL rosters in the past 10 years