5 Things that Should Matter Today: Joel Benson’s ”Daughters of Chibok” just won a Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival

The Chibok kidnap of 2014, wherein more than 200 schoolgirls where whisked away by militant group Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, Borno, has transcended beyond tragedy and has become a content fuel for filmmaking, documentaries, literature, art, etc. Joel Kachi Benson’s short documentary Daughters of Chibok is one of such, based on the saga... Read More

The YNaija Cover – the 8th of August

The YNaija Cover – 24th September

Joel Kachi Benson’s short documentary Daughters of Chibok is one of such, based on the saga that commemorated its fifth anniversary this year. The 11-minute long film sees Rifkatu’s mother narrating how she got married at a young age, had eight children, one of whom was Rifkatu, who was kidnapped alongside other girls while in school.

Daughters of Chibok was screened at this year’s Venice Film Festival in Italy, and was the only virtual reality film selected from Africa. Now the movie has won a Lion Award in the Virtual Reality category! Watching Benson walking towards the stage to give his speech was quite profoundly moving, with that Oscars-esque music playing. Congratulations to him!

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Last week I shared pictures and a message of how grateful I was to be at the Venice Biennale, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names and the best minds in the world of virtual reality. For me it was great, just to be here, and have my film play alongside theirs. That was enough for me. I never knew there was more to come. As the festival began to wind down, I remember asking the curator if he’d be able to squeeze me in to attend the closing ceremony so I could watch the awards been given out, and he smiled and said he’d see what he could do to get me in. Two days ago he called me and said there’d be no need for that…our film #daughtersofchibok would be receiving an award, so I’d have a seat reserved for me. And so here we are, bringing home The Lion award for Best VR Story. The young boy who roamed the streets of Ijeshatedo during the day and slept in empty churches at night because he had no home to go to, is now on the world stage. Now if that’s not God, I don’t know what is. I thank everyone that has supported me on this crazy incredible adventure…my wife, my friends, my teachers, and my team who’ve had to deal with all my mood swings and mad experiments. God has been too kind to me…I don’t know why…but I’m grateful. I’d have loved to end this with something profound, but I’ll just repeat what the someone in Venice said to me, and hope that it inspires someone – “Joel, you’re this guy that no one had ever heard of, who just came out the blues, and now you’ve put your country on the world’s vr map. You just proved that with faith and courage anyone can soar to the top”. #daughtersofchibok #virtualrealityworld #virtualrealitynigeria #labiennaledivenezia @imisi3d @iamaniwura @northeastihub @vr360stories @cobhamsasuquo @murphy_akande @timski67 @facey813 @iamshabz

A post shared by Joel Benson (@kachibenson) on Sep 7, 2019 at 11:10pm PDT

Samuel Eto’o has announced his retirement from football

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THE END? VERS UN NOUVEAU DÉFI… Merci à vous tous big love ❤️ adrénaline ??????

A post shared by Samuel Eto’o (@setoo9) on Sep 6, 2019 at 12:15pm PDT

One killed, five injured as South Africans resume xenophobic attacks

More than 5,000 Nigerians are out of jobs following xenophobic attacks in South Africa

According to The Cable, governor of Lagos Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said that over 5,000 Nigerians are currently out of jobs following reprisal attacks by Nigerians in response to the xenophobic violence in South Africa.

Khafi survived Gedoni. And now Venita

I think the biggest winner in yesterday’s eviction show is Khafi for surviving Gedoni’s manipulation and wickedness and Venita’s seeds of friction and chaos. *evil laugh*