Bridging The Gap
NEWSTALK 93 FM UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, MONA CAMPUS Prepared by Hugh Douse PROGRAMME OVERVIEW Ever since the great captivity of over 20 million Africans and the attendant kidnapping and holocaust which created a great rupture in the family of peoples from the continent, there has been a sense of yearning, a void to be filled and a wound to be healed between those at home and those taken. Those who have had the opportunity to go (back) to Africa and enter through the ‘Door of Return’ have experienced the reconnection to the homeland that Africa’s diaspora still experiences a longing for. This longing is expressed in many ways, both consciously and unconsciously. A sense of displacement from the place of origin brings this displacement into the new home; a feeling of what W.E.B. Dubois calls a ‘diasporic double-consciousness’. The diasporas of Africa include people of mixed race, many of whom have Africa not as their only ancestral home, but as a place of longing and desire. BRIDGING THE GAP Bridging The Gap is a Radio programme for the entire African family, and those who are interested in the advance of the African family and the human family. The idea of bridging a gap is the creation of an active process of reconnection of access across the rupture of connection that the diaspora and the motherland, Africa, continue to strive to close. A brige also denotes a journey as well as a place of exchange, yet commonality, of bonding, of unity. The show is not intended to be exclusive as dialogue will be had with persons from all global ethnicities and spaces once it is pertinent to the issues of Africa and her diasporas all over the world. It is particular however about the advancement of arguably the most disadvantaged group of humans in modern history. The tone of the programme will not emphasize victimhood, but, rather, empowerment. The tone will be highly energetic and celebratory; it will have the feel of a family reunion. It will fall into a practice of Stuart Hall’s theory of Representation as, even though the conversation will initially be between a Jamaican Radio Station, NewsTalk 93 FM and a Ghanian Radio Station (to be named), the two ends of the conversation will represent Africa at home on one end and the African Diaspora at the other. The programme will be aware of the diasporic double consciousness and tease out the common threads that bind the African family at home and abroad and will resist any feature which subordinates Africa at home or sets up any notion of western philosophical domination, which is at times noticed with some African diasporans from particular spaces. CONTENT The programme will be a news, entertainment and magazine programme, which will begin as a one-hour long programme initially airing on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Jamaica Time/ 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. Ghana Time. The programme time may need, in the future, to be expanded to two hours. It will feature, among other things, Culture Traditional Music Contemporary/Popular Music Spiritual Music Artiste Interviews Business Profile Interviews News Items Academic Interviews Investment Opportunity Focus Conversations with Government Officials History Focus All of these segments would not happen every week, but on a more detailed schedule all of these areas would be explored every two weeks; some weekly, some bi-weekly. SAMPLE 90 MINUTE PROGRAM (TIME-CLOCK) 00:00 Theme Music Possible Theme Songs: Tarrus Riley’s “Shaka Zulu Pickney” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgcIJAvkH6E “Africa Unite”, Bob Marley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff_7HsTYHnw “‘ “Africa Awaits Its Creators”Ewan Naptalihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFusdN_pH6s 00:01 Introduction to BRIDGING THE GAP (While theme song continues) Introduction program’s theme for the day, name the guests and features for the show. Mention is made of the primary sponsor. The call letters and frequency for both radio station, (Shared by both hosts.) 00:04 Ishe Oluwa (Gospel Music Corner) “Tambira Jehova” Mkhululi ft Joyous Celebration Choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgHK-WryPRc 00:08 Commercial break. Remind listeners to keep listening by highlighting what is coming up after the break. (Until we have commercials, we can provide promos for other NewsTalk93 programs–other programs will be promoting ours.) 00:11 Theme Music back into program 00:12 Interview: Professor Emeritus Rupert Lewis of the University of the West Indies on linking Marcus Garvey and the 100th Anniversary of the First International Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World with the Black Lives Matter Movement 00:25 Theme Music into 2nd commercial break 00:26 Burna Boy’s “Wonderful” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k33o1IgtUEM 00:28 Artiste Interview: Burna Boy “Ye”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPe09eE6Xio 00:38 Burna Boy’s “Another Story” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXbWwR4rSmY 00:45 Music News From Jamaica, Ghana and the wider regions 00:49 Toots Hibbert “Bam Bam” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w68cxXI0DBA 00:52 Artiste Obituary: Toots Hibbert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozvwg9xC8Qs 00:55 Toots Hibbert “54-46” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhI3iVQfJ1g 00:57 Theme Music into 3rd commercial break 01:07 Government To Government: Culture Ministers Jamaica’s Hon. Olivia Babsy Grange and Ghana’s Hon. Catherine Afeku 01:17 Conclude interview and thank guests. 01:20 Business and Investment Opportunity News – Jamaica/Ghana or Africa/Diaspora 01:28 Outro: Preview next week’s programme and thank listeners for joining today. 01:29 “Country Road” Toots Hibbert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeVRaxHtwuk SOCIAL MEDIA COMPONENT The Programme would also be available also via Social Media, particularly YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. As such there would be a visual component to the broadcast. Staff will be dedicated to the maintenance of these pages. They will also allow for live interaction during the show with its audiences on all platforms. SPONSORSHIP Sponsorship would be sought from companies and organizations in both regions who are, or are interested in investing in both regions particularly those with origins in the African continent or the African Diaspora. These include organizations like: To name a few. Presentations and pitches would be made to interest these organizations for sponsorship which can be in different categories. COMMENCEMENT It is anticipated that the programme’s pilot episode could be on Saturday, October 3, 2020.
Nigeria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E A northern interest group, Gamji Heritage, has commended President Bola Tinubu for giving some of the major challenges facing the country a good fight in the last 22 months. President-General of the group, Malam Ahmed Abdullahi, gave the commendation while speaking with Newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
Ghana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E Fraud case against ex-Ghana FA boss dropped after five years Thomas NaadiBBC World Service, AccraPublished14 February 2025 A high court in Ghana has discharged Kwesi Nyantakyi, the former president of the country’s football association (GFA), after a complex five-year legal battle.He was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and corruption after being filmed taking money from a reporter during a sting investigation in 2018.Alongside his Ghana Football Association role, Nyantakyi served as a vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and was also a member of the Fifa council.He was given a life ban by football’s world governing body for breaking bribery and corruption rules, but that sanction was later reduced to 15 years on appeal. Nyantakyi pleaded not guilty to the charges that arose from the investigation, which sought to expose corruption in African football and was reported by BBC Africa Eye.The case against him collapsed after Ghanaian state prosecutors failed to present any of their five potential witnesses, including undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.Anas had wanted to testify wearing a mask to protect his anonymity and because of security concerns. Kwesi Nyantakyi, pictured here in 2016, was a vice-president of African football’s governing body and a member of the Fifa council
20 Best Cities in Africa
Lagos Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, sprawls inland from the Gulf of Guinea across Lagos Lagoon. Victoria Island, the financial center of the metropolis, is known for its beach resorts, boutiques and nightlife. To the north, Lagos Island is home to the National Museum Lagos, displaying cultural artifacts and craftworks. Nearby is Freedom Park, once a colonial-era prison and now a major venue for concerts and public events. Alexandria Alexandria is a Mediterranean port city in Egypt. During the Hellenistic period, it was home to a lighthouse ranking among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as well as a storied library. Today the library is reincarnated in the disc-shaped, ultramodern Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The city also has Greco-Roman landmarks, old-world cafes and sandy beaches. Its 15th-century seafront Qaitbay Citadel is now a museum. Cape Town Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain’s flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum. Kinshasa Kinshasa, formerly named Léopoldville until 30 June 1966, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities. Kinshasa’s 2024 population was estimated at 17,032,322.