MONROVIA: It has been a vexing problem for courtesans of queens, princesses and the powerful throughout history — what do you get for the woman who has everything?
For the guests celebrating the 76th birthday of Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the answer was straightforward: A few buckets, some bars of soap and gallons of disinfectant.
A head-of-state might normally blanche at such a thrifty tribute, but Ebola-hit Liberia is living in strange times and Sirleaf was more than happy, according to an official statement on Thursday’s celebrations.
“She noted that the commemoration of her birthday should be a moment of reflection for all Liberians and partners standing up together in the difficult period to fight the Ebola,” Sirleaf’s office said, expounding at length on the austerity of the occasion.
The gift came from an association of former pupils who had traveled from an agricultural school 70 kilometers east of the capital Monrovia to wish their leader many happy returns.
“We will join the government in fighting and driving away this pandemic that has attempted to devastate our country — but our country will not be devastated,” alumni representative Kenneth Best said in a stirring speech quoted by the presidency.
Sirleaf’s government is leading the fight against an Ebola epidemic that has killed almost 5,000 people in west Africa, around half of them in Liberia.
Her office was at pains to point out that the presidential birthday was a time for somber reflection rather than wild celebration.
Sirleaf received well-wishers throughout the day in her austere office in the Foreign Ministry, including members of her Cabinet, the chief justice and senior officials in the governor of the central bank.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, for the gathered guests, who recited poems and belted out birthday songs, according to the presidency.
One senator even brought news that he had managed to sign four financial bills into his county’s local laws, “as a present for the Liberian leader’s natal day.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, a US-based worldwide association of African-American female students and its male equivalent, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, presented Sirleaf with a cake decorated with a presidential portrait.
A bucket and soap — birthday gifts for a leader in Ebola zone
A bucket and soap — birthday gifts for a leader in Ebola zone
59-kilogram monster fish catches eyes at Nigerian fishing festival
- Over the decades, the festival grew into one of Nigeria’s biggest cultural events, drawing international visitors, before insecurity and funding shortages reduced it to an occasional celebration
ARGUNGU: Local fisherman Abubakar Usman’s 59-kilogram monster catch was the major highlight of the UNESCO-listed Argungu fishing festival, which returned after a six-year hiatus because of the insecurity in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state.
Thousands of people, including a handful of women and children, defied the blistering 39-degree heat to take part. Fishermen from Nigeria’s West African neighbors Niger, Chad, and Togo also came to compete.
The fishing festival was first staged in 1934 by the then traditional ruler of Argungu, Mohammed Sama. It was held to mark an end to a century-old history of hostility and distrust between his people and the region’s most powerful ruler, the Sultan of Sokoto, then Hassan Dan-Mu’azu.
FASTFACT
The festival has grown into one of Nigeria’s biggest cultural events, drawing international visitors, before insecurity and funding shortages reduced it to an occasional celebration.
Over the decades, the festival grew into one of Nigeria’s biggest cultural events, drawing international visitors, before insecurity and funding shortages reduced it to an occasional celebration. The last full edition was held six years ago, say organizers.
On Saturday, fishermen floated on brown, round gourds as they hunted for the biggest catch in Matan Fada river, using only their hands and nets in the river’s murky waters.
Thousands of spectators lined the riverbank cheering loudly.
For the Emir of Argungu, Al-Hajji Samaila Mohammed Mera, hosting the festival this year was a victory of some sort.
Parts of Kebbi state have seen sporadic militant attacks in recent years, with analysts blaming the Lakurawa terror group for the deadly violence.
“I came back to have a fuller experience,” said Adeniyi Olugbemii, 56, who is attending the festival a second time from neighboring Sokoto state.
Outside the arena that sits on the edge of the Matan Fada, chants, drumbeats, and cultural displays added to the atmosphere, highlighting the heritage that has turned Argungu into a global tourism draw.
Rukaya Ismaila, 23, said she had traveled from Kogi state, some 850 kilometers away, to attend the festival for the first time.
“The famous Argungu that we’ve been told about since primary school,” she said.
“It is worth all the excitement,” she added, praising the way the competing fishermen helped each other out.
Days of activities preceded the fishing competition, including a motor rally from Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, a Durbar procession, and a variety of cultural events.
Abubakar Usman’s hefty catch earned him two new saloon cars and 1-million-naira cash prize (about $739).
Hundreds of much smaller catches ended up at a makeshift market set up on the adjoining streets to the arena.
The event was overshadowed by a prominent political campaign for the re-election of President Tinubu and Kebbi Gov. Mohammed Nasir Idris.
Billboards and posters of both men lined the streets leading to the river arena.
Supporters in blue t-shirts emblazoned with their images drummed and danced, drawing crowds of their own, while songs eulogising the visiting president blared through speakers inside the main arena.
Earlier in the day, a false start around midday had forced the already anxious contestants to plunge into the river. They had defied the scorching sun to wait for the arrival of President Bola Tinubu.
The president arrived more than two hours later, after which the contest was restarted.
