Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

Ngozi Odita is the co-owner of Harriet’s Alter Ego based on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. This boutique is not only home to some of the flyest indie labels in New York, but they also count Erykah Badu, Common, Mos Def and Dead Prez as some of their celebrity friends who constantly rock their threads.

Chika Chukwumerije (born December 30, 1983) is a male taekwondo practitioner. The son of Nigerian politician Uche Chukwumerije, Chika first drew attention in 2003 during the qualifiers for the 2003 All-Africa Games, where he eventually won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category. He qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but lost his first bout to Pascal Gentil, the eventual bronze medal winner. Nevertheless, after a period of intensive training that was funded by his father, he became one of Nigeria's best chances for a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won a gold medal at the 2007 All-Africa Games in the +80kg class and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games soon after. Although he lost to eventual silver-medal winner Alexandros Nikolaidis in the semifinals of the +80kg event, he was entered into the repechage round of the tournament. Here, after defeating Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan he claimed a bronze medal in the event, Nigeria's third meda...

Chinwe Onyeagoro has assisted organizations in designing and implementing hundreds of public and private sector initiatives. Over the last four years, OHcp has successfully raised a total of $115 million in grants, competitive loans, government subsidies, and real estate investments for clients throughout the country. Prior to establishing OHcp, Chinwe worked as one of four investment analysts overseeing the Pritzker Realty Group's $3 billion in real estate assets. She has also worked as a management consultant for global firms, including McKinsey & Company and the Monitor Group, in the US, UK, Japan, Spain, and France. Chinwe graduated with a magna cum laude degree in Economics and East Asian Studies from Harvard University. She is a member of The Aspen Institute's 2008 Class of Henry Crown Fellows. She serves on the Boards of several local and national civic organizations. Chinwe is proficient in three non-English languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and Igbo. Source: ...

Chidi Mokeme’s fame soared as the anchorman of the first two editions of Gulder Ultimate Search. Today, Mokeme has become a household Nollywood name. His educational pursuit started in Salvation Army Primary School, in Surulere, Lagos, from there he went to Federal Government College, Minna, Niger State and later proceeded to Institute of Management Technology, Enugu, where he read computer science before going into acting as a career.

Regina Agu was born in Houston, TX and was raised traveling overseas throughout Africa and Europe, as her father undertook work with the United Nations, World Health Organization. Her family has roots in both Nigeria and Louisiana, and her artwork reflects her own rich cultural heritage, as well as the cultures and locations that she encountered during her upbringing. Regina was first exposed to drawing and painting through her mother’s artwork, sketchbooks and design textbooks, and she began to nurture her own creative drive as a young child. Upon returning to the United States to attend Cornell University, Regina became increasingly involved with the visual arts, and after relocating back to Houston, she continues to exhibit and create new work. Her work has recently been included in Art Official Intelligence at the TSU Museum (Feb-Mar 2008), and 5-A Citywide (MFAH) 2008, Of Women (Community Artist Collective). Source: Artwork by Regina Agu

Maudlyne Ihejirika is an education reporter and assistant city editor with the Chicago Sun-Times. A veteran news journalist with more than 18 years experience in media, public relations and government, she holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. Ms. Ihejirika began her career at the Chicago Sun-Times in 1986, where she spent 11 years covering issues from politics to urban affairs, and was Weekend City Editor when she left the Sun-Times in 1997. An award-winning news reporter, she is the recipient of numerous citations for her hard-hitting urban affairs coverage. Ms. Ihejirika was responsible for launching the Season of Sharing Program for the Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust in 1996, serving as its director in the program’s first year. In 1997, she was hired away from the Chicago Sun-Times by then Illinois Governor Jim Edgar to serve as press secret...

Uche Nduka (born 14 October 1963) is a poet, writer, lecturer and songwriter who was awarded the Association of Nigerian Authors Prize for Poetry in 1997. He currently lives in New York. Uche Nduka was born on 14th of October 1963 in Umuahia, Nigeria. He earned a B.A Combined Honours degree in English from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1985. He has worked as the first Executive Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (1987-1989), National Publicity secretary of ANA (1992-1995), and Lecturer in African Literature at the University of Bremen (1995-2001; 2003-2007). He has lived in Holland, Germany and the USA. Nduka's volumes of poetry are Flower Child (1988), Second Act (1994), The Bremen Poems (1995), Chiaroscuro (1997) (winner of the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize), If Only the Night (2002), Heart’s Field (2005) and Eel on Reef (2007). Nduka edited the anthologies, Poets in Their Youth (1988), and Und auf den Straßen eine Pest: Junge Nigerianische Lyr...