Sarumi Lukman Oluwapelumi: Heirs Of Harmony

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Veraciously an heir is what every man wishes for before the journey to the land of no return, if gone family heritage, culture and history cease to exist.

Sustaining ancestral pedigree lingers on the heart of an elder without a heir. However in the quest of seeking divine
interference, recitations are offered solely for the good and upright offspring. A glorious heir, knowledgeable, pious and that which will be a blessing to humanity.

Elders taught us to be custodian of language yet the barren ones seems to have forgotten an important Yoruba axiom that says “He who begets and he who begets not will both be buried by a child”

Before a sprinter passes the baton in a relay race, the receiver anticipate eagerly full of vigor, determined to surpass the previous bearer, we are born and lessons we have learnt, are the heirs truly filled with the energy or are they lost by the glitz attached to being a youth? Death is inevitable, every man shall taste it so says the Religious Books (Al-Quran and The Holy Bible) verily the old shall go while the young shall grow.

Behold! The heirs of harmony yet to be old, we are a beacon light of hope to the millions of unborn heirs, asingle broomstick is never enough to clean off dirt but 100 broomsticks bonded together can deliver justice to dirt. North, South and Central. We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.

Together we can reject political division formulated by the old, together we should be progressive heirs, zonal sentiments, tribal sentiments, religion sentiments and “omo wa ni” philosophy should never be our watchword. It will only be good here when the heirs are united not divided, it will only be good here when we take into consideration the efforts of the progressive minded heirs who are powered by their zeal to change the status-quo of the old foxes.

If we fail to be united our lunch will be passed to the cat, our voice, dialogue and struggle will yield and fetch no result. To all the heirs of harmony the future is bright and fertile, the starting point to the ‘tomorrow future’ is now and it lies greatly in our hands if only we do not get infected by the division theory of the policy makers. Truly the older generations failed by giving it for the soup and cash.

Once bitten twice shy! They own heirs who have never been part of us, their sight are far away from our plights yet they rule us. Heirs of harmony the next time you see one of you working towards the growth of the harmony state never render their efforts useless! do not sabotage their struggle for the wads of Naira, just as lovers of football derive joy from seeing their team win, the game they enjoy best is seeing us fight and divided, they own a masters degree in formulating religious and ethnic theories.

Southern propaganda is false, “Omo wa” won’t make us grow, No to seclusion. The state of harmony belongs to
all, victory is certain if youths unite!

About the writer.

Sarumi Lukman Oluwapelumi is a 400 level student of political science at the university of Ilorin. He can be reached via www.Facebook.com/lukmon.sarumi1 He tweets via @sir_rumz

#PAUSIBILITY: Nigeria, Whirlpool of Executive Scoundrels and The Change That May Never Come by Adebayo Coker

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Staff Reporter

I made a New Year resolution to try as much as possible not to burden myself with anything that may cause grief in whatever guise but my beloved nation wouldn’t stop throwing lumps of it my path. If you notice this will be my first post this year. I have tried to evade the many punches but I just couldn’t help it no more. Especially when Na’lie arrogantly implied to Seun Okinbaloye of Politics Today on Channels TV last Sunday, 7^th February, 2016, that Nigerians will accept his gagging bill, willy-nilly.

Happy New Year!

The other day when some wise men rose up from their Ibadan Summit and issued a communiqué of a perfunctory exit to ‘Fulani herdsmen’ I knew their wisdom was already perforated by that singular anserine show. I was in no way disappointed when a notable one amongst the demagogic elders was on the list of beneficiaries of Santa Dasuki. I thought further: maybe those kidnappers were boys that came to get some trifling after they got to know that Baba has jola Aso Rock falala falala and refused to appease the land that he has desecrated; most of the so-called statesmen chameleoning as Awoists, Zikists, Balewaists to fleece us of our commonwealth are nothing but useless men that are better for the grave. Such men deserve some public thrashing; yet they will instigate the myopic minds to war that they have been kidnapped by some bojuboju Fulanis. Enough for the so-called jafojos, after all, there is no freedom fighter, Tompolo, Boyloaf, Asari Dokubo, Ateke Tom, Odumakins, FFK are good examples.

I had tried coming around few weeks ago but I was quickly sent back to my closet to scurry through the lose papers and bonded documents as well as stack of books that I inherited from my grandfather all in the bid to help the assemblymen locate the original Budget of Change presented before them and submitted in their chamber by the President himself. As I was rummaging, even my thrash can, my mind was inundated with that trite: What a Nation? Hardly have I settled down to continue my task when the news broke that it has been found that it was gaveled by Saraki that some furtive doctoring credited to Ita Enang had been discovered and the gimmickry that followed put one off completely. That settled amidst other socio-political ills then we are back to sub-zero; the padding and padding and padding of mind boggling figures that even made Aso Rock a rented property to be paid for due to the occupation of the Nigeria’s President. The only thing they forgot is the padded figures to buy pads for the wives, daughters and women in the lives of the occupants of Aso Rock. Crazy!

Obviously, the APC is not prepared for leadership in any way. The muddy way they are handling the socio-economic cum political situations of the country and the puerile alibis being presented for the attendant failure are all pointers. I want to continue to believe that PMB still holds his words as his bond in this social contract that he entered into with us on 29^th May, 2015 and one would have expected the Presidency he heads to have acted in all maturity by admitting their insolence in not doing their due diligence in the budget preparation and request the withdrawal of the budget having realized that such was fraught with many errors and absolute fraud but the ego of infallibility, which in itself is a failure of leadership, is exposing their notorious fayawo move leading to national and international ridicule. Much for the budget of change that changes nothing about the budget structure and texture. One would have expected Mr Lai Mohammed to move with the same jet speed he employs each time he wants to reel his usual excuse of “blame Jonathan for what you are experiencing” to denounce those figures being bandied around as lies but much for the government of change. It is also disheartening that the same APC that campaigned and begged the people to give them their votes and go back to sleep because they are bringing change is the same party that is sending us back to the sinkhole, even worse.

It is also glaring that the PDP is not prepared for opposition as it is a party of conglomeration of foxes that are only interested in ‘apapinnism’ and since the honey is no more flowing their way they scamper here and there to escape the wrath with which the broom will sweep the tattered umbrella; shameless show of gullibility.

There is a meta-normal grimy belly of corruption in the heart of every society. It takes a genuine leader to find it, excavate it and cure it. A bad one will attenuate it to mere pilfering and its reign will continue with unbridled normalcy. The former is mis-normal, the latter is abnormal. Kudos to PMB’s anti-corruption stance but I wonder if there is not more than one beneficiary of ?#?Dasukigate in APC. The fester of the broom should not be featherweight on the roaches and lizards on this side while unleashing Mike Tyson’s pummels on the yam eaters on the other side. Let this anti-corruption be balanced, better still, appear to be so.

The democratic tripod of this nation is defective; the composition of the National Assembly is odoriferous to its foundation, the executive is bereft of insight and political capital to pursue a true national agenda while the Judiciary which is mouthed as the last hope of the common man is in dearth of true Daniel dashing the hopes on the altar of wetin-you-bring-come. The indolence of an average Nigerian like you and me is allowing the decay to fester the more.

That most of the current crops lawmakers are bunch of rapacious individuals that will stop at nothing to realize their avaritia is no news that we will continue to maintain our siddonlook posture is what is baffling. That a man or woman will be called forward to answer to question bothering on his/her integrity should be enough reason to send such to the back door of political oblivion but here we are: the head of the LAWMAKERS will leave that elevated seat to sit in a dock answering to are-you-guilty-or-not for trying to circumvent the LAW guiding Asset Declaration of Public/Elected Officers yet his motor boys like that poly-roguish sanafabi ( I watched him on Tv the other day appellating his ogas in a way not different from the agberos only that he was speaking some Aluta English) will come dressed like epo epa – groundnut shell- to tell the world about the sanctity of the office of the Senate President and some godforsaken youths will be hailing and defending these executive miscreants. Those better-to-have-not-been-born–children-of-errors will even carry placards and disturb the flow of traffic, even on social media, in the name of hero-worshiping those that they failed to realize are the architects their fathers failed impart knowledge into them. It beats my imagination that the common sense one amongst the lawmakers who will not stop mouthing patriotism got a book launched the other day but the presenter and reviewer are both imported goods.

Don’t expect anything tangible from this government because what Jonathan and his cohorts alone did to the economy may take several years for succession of hardworking governments, which APC seem not to be, to recover not to mention the many other wicked holes that were drilled into this economy by other past administrations.

My Pastor (though am waiting for further list of marabouts and prayer warriors in Dasukigate to surface) started a series on How To Prosper In The Midst Of Famine since the beginning of this year and I am enjoying it while I continue to fortify my local government. Mind you, I am not talking about those derelict buildings where those thieves parading themselves as council chairmen occupy. I am talking about sinking of my own boreholes, generating my own power from my high-power generator, paying my dues to the security guards – OPC, Bakassi boys, et al.

So long I can maintain my local government this change may never come.

Debayo Coker is a writer. debayocoker@gmail.com, adebay_c

#Pausibility: C’mon, Shut The Trap! by Adebayo Coker

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Photo credit: Can Stan Photo

Your Distinguished Senators,

I would have explored all established protocols in sending this note of mine but the last time I saw Senator Solomon Adeola was when he came with his gifts during the campaign rallies – DSTvs, Generators etc. The guy stoned the neigbourhood with his YAYI mobile phones. Till date I don’t know his Constituency Office. Rt Honourable James Faleke was so busy lately tussling it out at the Kogi imbroglio while he sits as my representative from Ikeja Federal Constituency, Lagos State.

I would have approached that lofty feat of a suggestion box of yours but I doubt the efficiency of the antediluvian delivery man and it is against all sense of cost and effect analyses for me to board a night bus from Jibowu to Abuja or an Aero flight from MMA just because I have these few words to drop inside your box. If I don’t get killed on the road by those potholes or Boko Haram, the ballooning ticket price is not for less-than-a-dollar-a-day writer like me. Even at that, I can only be lucky if the key to that box hasn’t been tossed into the river the moment you departed the gallantry tape cutting ceremony. Hence I chose this medium to reach you. Pardon my insistence even though I know you now loathe this platform.

I write to show why the Prohibitive Bill (whatisitcalled) must be passed.

How can anyone say No to a bill that will eventually be the best thing that will happen to this nation of ours since the very day Flora Shaw suggested the name to her boyfriend. How? It is myopic for anyone to carry placards and march the streets saying #NoToSocialMediaBill. The people that are drumming this hashtag don’t even know what they are saying. There is nothing like Social Media Bill in the Senate. It is Frivolous Prohibitive Bill. Some disgruntled Nigerians using platforms like Sahara Reporters have been feeding the minds of the public that the bill is all about gagging their Rights to Freedom of Speech. That is balderdash, lazy and unfounded. The Nigerian Senate comprises of men and women of impeccable character deserving of due and undue respect.

Nigerians know nothing about governance and that is why they have been offering unsolicited pieces of advice. They should allow you justify your earnings jare. Some notable Nigerians have even jumped on this bandwagon. That is not being fair to The Senate that is breaking the ground to effect Change. Nigerians with their flacks!

If you all remember, Dino Melying was one of us; all about fighting to enthrone this government of Change. I must give it to him. He starved himself of beating his many women for that period of the campaign. He went on the streets like a mad dog shouting and brooming change. The respected and respectable gentleman of note has even taken it upon his distinguished self to visit the office of SaharaReporters at their base, wherever that is. You have made Dino to forget all of that because the platform that he once fell in love with has been hijacked. I must concur with Dino Melying that truly the platform has been hijacked by Nigerians that are frustrated and see no good in a young man as his humble self to attain such a great height. They even forget to realize that everyone in his family was a lazy Jabez but he took it upon himself by toiling in the night and praying everyday, especially on Sundays (visit his Twitter handle on Sundays), and now that the Lord has answered his prayer by making him a king over his father’s household, some disgruntled enemies of progress want to start addressing him anyhow. People wey no sabi to hola a bigi man.

Please, spare me that story of Foreign Account. It is common knowledge that a student in a foreign University will need a student account to run on campus. It can be taken that Dino shuttles USA and Nigeria, a student and a Senator, respectively. Let me help you guys if that does not suffice: Melying has a body double. He is not the one in those accounts. So get something better to do jor. Let me hitch a ride on my Senator’s machines and drink his wine. Dino, keep dinning.

I wonder why a first class brain like Na’Allah is being disparaged by all and sundry. It is only drug users that can be desperate to the point of stealing whatever substance that looks like drugs; and there is no report so far indicting him as a drug user, so he may have been mistaken in the other report that is brandishing him as a drug- stealer. This fact must be must be established: that a man is not a powerful dresser does not mean he is not thinking. Again, if you had not blackmailed the National Assembly into reducing their wardrobe allowance, maybe you would have gotten a better picture than the one in public domain. In all, if not for the kind of society that praises vanities over virtues, Na’Allah’s outfit should not have been considered; instead his brain would have been dubbed second to none. I have always wondered the kind of brain Fani Kayode has,(though the other day I tweeted him that he allows his tongue run faster than his cranium and that earned me a total blockage on his handle). Na Lie’s Intelligent Quotient beats Fani’s. These are the kind of men that we should praise. I will gift you a monkey sir. Just reply this note with your address and I will have Konga deliver.

The Chiefest Olori oko bambam. Owo meji feyan kan. Se ko wa’le baba o! My most distinguished Senate President. Let me tender my unreserved apology for what I said about you the other day. I have asked via Twitter the other day: when your customers at Societe General Bank and Trade Bank will be reimbursed for your scam. I got a reply from one of your protégés that you have paid him though he was faceless. He as much as went ahead to abuse my household. My response to him was too involuntary. I responded by saying his principal, @bukolasaraki stabbed his father and that hurt led the old Saraki to his grave. The guy went mum afterwards. Now I realized that what I tweeted that day is abusive and in order for me to father my son without the blemished record of a prisoner hanging on me, I better tuba now before you gavel the bill to law. I have written what I thought I know about you on the surface judging from those your fiendish smiles but after some of your beneficiaries convinced me otherwise, I see no reason why some people in their prime should not be on your payroll instead of protesting your reign as the Most Distinguished Senate Leader in the World. I dare say they are clogging your smooth ride to Aso Rock come 2019. Please shut them up sir.

Heard you have stashed so much that a million Mangu sleuthing eyes could ever detect. Even when I hinted your followers about Audu and Alams, they shrugged that aside saying that you have placated death with enough ekuru, orogbo, owo eyo, epo pupa, owo Oyinbo and oti oyinbo. You have even built him an ultra-modern house: tenu baje oju a ti. Hence, Death himself/herself is now one of your eru ‘ku. May the Senate President reign forever.

And to all other Senators in support of this Frivolous Prohibitive Bill, I hail una. The want of space may not allow me address each of you one by one. The Alaso and the onihoho, I heard some people are making moves to recall you? Please DO NOT back off this righteous fight of conscience. You are fighting the good fight of faith. Soldier on. A day to your recall, vote that the Senate be scrapped jor after all, na una be the best that your constituencies can boast of.

When this law is eventually passed Nigeria will suddenly catapult to a developed nation where we will only protest over unjust killing of Jos Lion or over some statues not for lack of basic amenities or who is leading in this grand larceny.

#NoiseOfRevolt: The Economist and the Leaky Bowl of Ambode’s Response – By @Obajeun

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

But wait!

Just before we move on, there is something inherently wrong in the way the political class in Nigeria thinks that things can be done and undone unchallenged. Criticism as it is enshrined in the genetic structure of democracy, has a way of providing alternatives, better approaches and reconstruction of leadership strategies to drive touch-down economic policies and engagement.

The Economist has appraised Amobode, concluding with some debatable judgments, but there are glaringly far more truths in the judgment than biases. But Ambode’s unfiltered rebuttal of the appraisal has made a bold declaration of his favouritism towards praise singing opposition, turning Lagos into that Wole Soyinka’s Republic of Liars where lies are traded by barter with genuine criticisms. Unfortunately, our governor is happily trudging on delusional red carpet.

In a recent appraisal on Ambode, I wrote that he is perpetually cheated by Fashola’s shoes. And that he is not just dragging the shoes in the murky terrain of his directionless agenda, he has also made an attempt to thrash those golden shoes. This was short lived though, as the former wearer of the shoes made it to governance stardom in a dramatic public display of affection from Buhari to Fashola, breaking traditional barriers of political appointment.

Ambode’s reaction and description of The Economist’s judgments as ‘slanderous’ which is thematically faulty and put questions on the editorial quality of his team, depicts the soul of an administration in a forcible quest to win public trust and earn respect through press conferences.

On vehicular gridlock, The Economist wrote that: “Akinwunmi Ambode is full of excuses, but few solutions, for the worsening gridlock.” Through Steven Ayorinde, his Commissioner for Information, Ambode contested: “If we were to conclude hastily, like the article did, we would have described the magazine’s effort in the same words it once famously used as ‘an unpleasant nose-to-stranger’s-armpit experience’.” What Ambode failed to acknowledge is that the magazine credited him with ‘few solutions’. Nothing could be more objective than this. That The Economist refuses to pretend that all is well in Lagos and latch unto praise singing of a wobbling administration doesn’t make the magazine less objective. Laying claim to a traffic reform policy that was never in place is to a limit, an unholy claim that deserves nothing but hisses.

On traffic strategy of the past governor of Lagos, the magazine wrote that: “The state’s former governor, Babatunde Fashola, who left office after elections in March, was lauded for improving traffic and security. He curbed dangerous motorbike taxis and brought local “area boys” (street children), under control. Cars were terrified into order by a state traffic agency, LASTMA, whose bribe-hungry officers flagged down offending drivers.” Ambode once again, queried this assertion. He failed to do a soul search of the magazine’s corruption allegation against LASTMA officers.

Yes Fashola might have started with forceful approach, transitioning this requires more than press conference to read out instructions to LASTMA officers. More importantly is the policy approach to it and systematic transition strategy. Instructing officers to relax punishment for traffic offenders without providing enablers for alternatives makes mockery of his understanding of human behaviour in sociological parlance and smacks the little gains Fashola recorded. A saner strategy would be to provide these alternatives, purge LASTMA of bribery tendencies (like what is going on in Nigeria Customs) and transition this ‘terrific orderliness’ into ‘behavioural orderliness.’ Instead, Ambode failed to take responsibility for this traffic mess and has since made recourse to editorial banters and needless defence of nothingness.

Lauding his Principal, Ayorinde wrote that: “Ambode has shown his capacity to improve on the fortunes of the state and has mapped out workable strategies in the area of security, transportation and economic sustainability in the face of harsh national economic realities.” Whatever strategy has been mapped out, whatever model of governance has been designed, until we begin to see genuine drive, leadership readiness and policy framework materializing, Ambode has not given anyone a reason to believe that which Ayorinde has written.

It is up to us, up to The Economist, not up to spokespersons, to assess Ambode versus expectations. But so far, it is a total breakdown in Lagos.

Jonah Ayodele Obajeun blogs @www.obajeun.com. Reach him on twitter via @Obajeun.

#Pausibility: Now That You Have The Assets And Barabbas. What Next?

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Staff Reporter

I want to tell you a story. This story can only be understood by a nurtured and nourished mind. Not any member of NANS as it is presently constituted and IMMENSALLY paraded can understand the message herein. Not even a mind of shallow erudition can get the message. Only a mind that is titillated with genteel ism can grasp the import of the message.

I promised to do this title precisely on the day PMB and Prof Osibajo’s assets were publicized. The different reactions that followed that declaration, especially from the twitter soldiers, made me see that the Nigerian youths are nothing but mere pawns in this whole scheming for political relevance. When #TheList was formally read in the Senate, the attendant protestations (most of which did not travel beyond the social network arena) that followed the announcement convinced me the more that the youths of this nation may have to grey before they realize that their destinies have been expended in the alley of political negotiations by these present elements they are fighting and dying for. The fulfillment of some Nigerian youths does not go beyond selfie-placation from their tin gods and goddesses. They give you selfie you go viral with commotion.

I can do something caustic about that ‘phony’ list just as many are already doing but of what use is it when it will not achieve anything? Until a collective resolve to avoid a repeat of such is achieved, systemic sanity will still be elusive courtesy of the fall for the pigmentation of our minds on grounds of religion and region.

Let me implore everyone that can read and understand me to this point to please get Fela’s ‘Army Arrangement’ playing on their stereos or in their minds as they tag along. Though it is a tweak of what I have submitted on this platform once:

Nikangan became a widow as a result of one of those Kirakita wars that hit the village of Kagbepo. Her nephew, Ohunnikanloku also became an orphan. Nikangan lost everything, but was able to escape being consumed by the war that virtually wiped out her entire family, except her two month old baby. Like her, Ohunnikanloku escaped the gruesomeness of the war a lonesome.

After relative peace returned to the land of Kagbepo, Nikan was able to locate his only surviving nephew, Loku. Expectedly, she took him in and cared for him alongside her only son, Agolopa,

Few months after the reunion, Nikan fell ill, and knowing she may not survive the sickness, called Loku to her bedside, handed Lopa to him and made him promise to take proper care of his cousin, assuring them that both of them will become very great if they could keep the love in the family going strong. She handed him an heirloom, and charged him to make proper use of it, as that was the secret of the massive wealth every member of their family enjoyed. She made him promise to pass the secret of the loom to Lopa when he becomes of age. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t have passed the secret to Loku as anyone who would be the torchbearer must have attained a certain age; but as it stood, she was left with no choice, except she wanted the secret to die with her; hence she passed it on to him regardless of his infantileness. At the end of her many admonitions, she passed away.

She was given a befitting burial.

Loku took his young cousin in. He could pass as Lopa’s father: they had an eighteen- year age difference between them.

As time went by, Loku being an industrious young man, discovered that the small object that was given to him by his aunt could be maximized to becoming a greater source of wealth that will not only be beneficial to his immediate family, but to the entire people of Kagbepo and environs. He took the chance and he recorded some massive wealth; but he was afraid to let other people into the secret as he recalled what led to the Kirakita war; this war wiped out his entire lineage, but for the grace of God that spared him and his handsome cousin. He loved his cousin so much until Tenuboro from Bolebajekobaje village came onto the scene.

Tenuboro had advised Loku that both of them could go to the city where they stood a better chance of making their lives far better than it was in Kagbepo village. Tenu never gives an advice pro bono; he is always looking out for himself in any way he could. Loku, in his usual infantilism jumped at the possibility of exploring the beauties the world had to offer. Not at all a bad thing you will say. Good!

Tenu, knowing that Loku couldn’t do away with his little cousin, went further to advise him to send Lopa to a boarding school, since going to school was the new fad in the nearby Ohunorioje village. He believed this idea of his would be lauded by the villagers as no one in their lineage ever succeeded at attending a school let alone becoming a graduate. Loku bit deep into the idea.

Expectedly, Loku stocked Lopa adequately: Name it. Whatever he needed, even things he didn’t need, he gave him all. And off he sent his little cousin of about six years of age to school at Ohunorioje village. Lopa was so happy that he would be a pacesetter in the history of their family.

On their way to the city of Eminimoniayemi , Tenu asked that they stop over at every village they travel by, and sow their wild oats as they went along , to mark their departure from Kagbepo. Loku typically bought into the idea without checking it twice.

Eventually they got to their destination and it appeared like some good fortune had been awaiting them. They started breaking new grounds and in few years they were both established industrialists. A joint venture: Jaiyeorie Plc., was established with Loku as the CEO and Tenu, the CFO. Tenu was a better manager as he was usually mouthy in any topic that may crop up.

Meanwhile, since they left, Loku had only gone back to the village twice to check on his cousin. On both occasions, he had gone with funds which he deposited with the proprietress of the boarding school that Lopa attended; his fees were ahead of many classes and he also made provision for his upkeep.

When Lopa asked him why he rarely came to check on him, he gave the excuse that he was having it rough in the city. Anyway, he had been told by Tenu not to let anyone in the village, including his cousin Lopa, know about their newfound wealth, and he had agreed to it. He left his car in a neighboring village and took a motorbike to Kagbepo, just to conceal his massive wealth from his people.

When they attained marriageable age, Tenu suggested they get married and reduce their philandering. He took him a wife, his cousin from Bolebajekobaje village.

Things got better and better just as the bible says: A man that finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. The conviviality of marriage and childbearing made Loku forget he had a consanguineous responsibility back in Kagbepo.

All communication between Loku and Lopa was lost.

Soon, Lopa was faced with challenges as the money Loku dropped had run out. He expected his sweet cousin to have come back to replenish his purse but he hadn’t come back since he left some years ago. Lopa had savored the sweet juice of education and wouldn’t want to stop drinking from that fountain of knowledge, so he decided to take some time off school, work and employ a private tutor in order to achieve his dream. He pursued this vigorously and he was able to earn a Senior Secondary Certificate, but the huge financial requirement of a university education, he couldn’t bear, hence, he decided to go to the city to work.

Fate brought them together in the city of Eminimoniayemi. Lopa had applied for a job as a gatekeeper in Jaiyeorie Plc., and was billed to meet the CEO as the last stage of the interview. As he walked into the massive office of the CEO, he marveled, just as the spirit of Queen of Sheba left her at the sight of Solomon’s riches. He shakily sat before the CEO who sat face down attending to a file. When he lifted his face, he saw his cousin; his only relative. His only surviving extended relation.

He lamented. He took him in his arms. He wept. He apologized, and they went home to his house together. As soon as they settled for a chat after a good meal, he asked why Lopa didn’t use his real name on the application.

Lopa laughed as he made his aged cousin understand that these days, you keep your real name for some special purposes, and use your pen name for general purposes. The uncle replied, “Oh, I see.” Sounded like an elderly man out of tune.

The next day, Loku had taken Lopa with him to the office so he could start work as one of the directors of the organization, but first, he had to seek the consent of his good friend, Tenu.

Tenu, a killjoy, vehemently refused Lopa the opportunity, citing his inadequate education as one of the reasons why he could not occupy the office of a director, but suggested that he could be taken in as a clerk, from which position he can rise through the ranks in the organization.

For the first time, his partner and friend, Loku, objected to his suggestion, pointing at Tenu’s girlfriend who was employed as an Assistant Director, despite her woeful performance during the interview. He also mentioned Tenu’s “grand niece”, who was a primary school leaver but got a job as a Supervisor in the HR department. Loku vehemently rejected Tenu’s suggestion and insisted that his cousin would not take up any position lower than that of a Director.

Tenu, asked Lopa to excuse them as he would like to have a chat with his partner. Once Lopa was out, Tenu reminded Loku that if they took Lopa in as a Director, he will quickly rise to the position of power and soon after demand that the family heirloom be transferred to him, since they both know that he is the rightful harbinger of the priceless possession that is the source of their wealth. That, said Lopa, will be the end of their affluence. As usual, Loku foolishly agreed with his partner. They both decided to make Lopa a clerk.

The next working day, Lopa resumed at the front desk of the organization. The position given to him was just a bait to have him sent out as soon as it could be established that he lacked the smoothness of a gentleman to be a good face of the organization. They had thought that his village education could not have exposed him to anything like Customer Relationship Management; but far from that, he was a most temperate individual. More polished than they had thought.

One of those times, a rude visitor barged into the office premises, showing no courtesy. Lopa, tried to stop her and he got slapped by the young lady. Obviously in her teens. She yelled away. Minutes later, Tenu came back to the front desk with the lady to warn Lopa never to stop her anytime she comes around as she is the daughter of the CFO: a stern warning that could make a goat steer clear from a yam. Lopa wept bitterly that day but became more determined than ever not to give up until he attained success.

Few years later, he finished his part-time study, about the same time his niece and nephew finished their Masters Degree programs in one of the Ivy League, and returned home to take up appointments in their father’s organization. Meanwhile, Tenu’s son had just been deported from his base in Europe on account of drug related offences.

Loku had to find a way to get his children into juicy positions in the organization, and as Sons of the Entrepreneur’, they were quickly fixed far ahead of their great uncle. It should be noted that, they never knew Lopa as their uncle, as Loku never introduced them to one another. As far as they were concerned, he was their subordinate while he saw them as his superiors.

Sewere, the deported son of Tenu was also made an HOD.

Lopa, amidst so much stress, struggled to complete his Masters Degree program with the hope that he would get a raise on his job. Sadly, his efforts met with a brick wall because according to his Directors, he had no professional qualification. Taking up this one more challenge, he enrolled for and pursued a professional course in his field vigorously.

One day, Sewere ordered Lopa to his office to search for a particular file for him, all in the bid to cover up his incompetence to handle the position he is occupying. While searching, Lopa came across a dusty file that was kept at the back of the shelf. The file must have been kept away for live forever. Curiously, he kept it aside and located the file Sewere demanded, handling the job for him as usual. While Sewere visited the convenience, Lopa quickly returned to his duty post with the dusty file. He opened the file and to his utmost bewilderment, he read about how his rightful inheritance was being traded by his cousin and his friend. He read about the family heirloom and how he was supposed to be the present custodian of same. He rose up with the zeal to challenge his and his coz and his friend, but fear enveloped him few seconds later and he chose to tread gently because they may throw him out of the office and he will be out on the streets begging for a job like millions of qualified but jobless graduates, some of whom have lost their lives in the bid to eke out a better life for themselves and their family.

He would rather exercise patience; after all, his uncle and his friend were fast approaching their graves. He would wait until they are dead, and afterwards, he would negotiate with their offspring. He would start by introducing himself to his nephew and niece, thereafter he will demand a quotalised participation in the business, and if they refuse, he would not mind continuing working with them. After all, it is still in the family.

“Lopa should exert his right and take full control”. Some of us would say.

Maybe I should conduct a vox pop.

Please tell me: who is Agolopa in this present day Nigeria?

*Ago(Lopa)- enrapt with stupidity. *Bolebajekobaje- anarchistic lifestyle. *Eminimoniayemi- Selfish thrust *Jaiyeorie- Outlandish. *Kajogbepo- Peaceful co-habitation. *Kirakita -higgledy-piggledy. (Nikan)gan- loaded with treasures. *Ohunnikan (Loku)- the only survivor. *Ohunoriorije- survivalism. *Sewere- a cavalier existence. *(Tenu)boro- Unsolicited adviser.

#Pausibility: Tribute To Diezani. Shame on You! Shame on Me!!

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Staff Reporter

There is a poem I composed for SM Afolabi at his passing. For the 2000s kids that only see their seniors carrying what is called National ID Cards, that man was instrumental. It is no disheartening to some of us that every Nigerian project is riddled with one scam or the other. Afolabi happened to be one of the scammers of the National Identity Card project. Enjoy the poem a below:

AT THE FUNERAL OF SM

Mind fluttered

Heart slipped

Eyes reddened

Well of tears

Body wrecked with pains

Hear connotative messages

As your furnace emerge.

Never you live your life

Like this.

You can’t be a better model

If you continue like this.

Truly you made me lose

My identity

You gulped my pockets

You made everyone reeks of your smell

Why the tears?

No! No!! it is no tear of pain

But of great joy

As I watch your last

Burns in furnace.

I used to hide under St Moritz(SM) in my naivety of the potent of arts until I learned that I can claim poetic licence to free myself from the likes of @Govsia who will not get to deliver quality service to their electors instead chose to get busy with pettiness and non-issues. On this occasion of #WorldTeachersDay I will appeal to the non-petty side of the Governor of Ogun state to recall that teacher he summarily dismissed on the issue of mere English composition and also to use his office prerogative of mercy to release the blogger whose bail he frustrated last week. After all, his wife is not being held in the UK like our pretty DAM.

When the news broke last week that Madam Diezani Alison-Madueke has been arrested alongside other four unidentified accomplices we all jumped on the streets celebrating with the same vigour we celebrated the death of the greatest wolf that ever lived in Aso Rock (the greatest fox that ever lived in Aso Rock now lives in Minna). Spontaneously, I joined in that celebration too but on a closer look I see that I have no shame just as Diezani and the rest of us.

“How can a sane human being STEAL that much even to the detriment of herself?” is the popular rhetoric. Just as the rhetoric: She IS mad. Her fontanelle needs to be checked and maybe we should ask her mother if she ever palpated her daughter’s head at all? Madam is brilliant no doubt but I must summon this courage to tell her family that Madam is one of the rarest dark angels lurking between earth and hell and possibly ranking side by side Lucifer himself. And if her family already knows, this is a double confirmation of the quality of their breadwinner. If you want to contest that then I will refer you to visit the bottomless pit of hell and see things yourself.

Good, we are all glad that Ma’am DAM will have to face the consequence(s) of her actions while she sat as the de facto lord of the oil. We express the joys that she would not be able to buy justice at all unlike the cheap rate that it is being sold for in our courts here. We are jubilating that every kobo that she has stolen will be unearthed through ‘sufficient’ forensic audit and will be repatriated to us so that we can use the fund judiciously for the benefits of all. That is a good streak only the likes of Buhari can attain.

But on a closer look, when is the rest of us going to face the consequences of our actions? A country that will do nothing to overhaul her obsolete systems and institutions will always throng up dark angels like the Iboris, Alamieseghas, Diezanis, Akpabios, Sarakis, et al.

A judicial system that an accused can determine the space and the choice of court(s) for his or her trial through the screwing of what some ‘Senior Advocates of Nonsence’ would call lacuna that were provided either by the current sickening constitution or by the rusty writs of the colonial masters that we still gladly refer to as legal codes.

A financial system that would not send red alert on perpetual pilfering of state funds. And a judicial system where someone will steal billions of naira and will walk away as a free man after being properly fined the minutest of the minutest of the minutest fraction of what he embezzled.

A justice system where anyone can walk into a court and secure an ex parte motion making him a nebulous being that MUST not be investigated not to talk of being arrested for whatever crime he/she may have committed.

That is why a man will think because he is the Senate President he can go unruly to a call from a ‘small court’.

That is why a man will build a world class medical centre with public fund then checked himself into another hospital in a foreign land after almost killing someone in his empty’bigmanness’ to simple traffic rule then come back to taunt his people the more with an explanation that he deliberately disobeyed the traffic light because he was rushing to catch up with a plane to travel to his daughter who was studying abroad. Without littlest recourse of shame. Yet his people will hail him forgetting the lifetime sorrow they will be enveloped in because their messiah had stockpiled the bale of dollars that were to be used to give them better life in his bunkers.

That is why…

If you don’t know let me bring it to your notice, Bukky is likely to get immunity before October 21^st making him untouchable by any court of the land for the next four years at least.

We have failed to make our institution work in tandem to our present realities.

Shame on you. Shame on me.

#Pausibility: Vote Of No Conscience.

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Happy Independence Anniversary my people.

Exactly 30days ago, I embarked on a blogging hibernation. Though I did not envisage the break will last this long. I had thought the ministers would have been announced in September as promised by the Presidency. Though #TheList came on the last day of September after the weekly recess by the National Assembly had been announced.

Last night, I got a call from a very good friend. He had applied just like many other Nigerians for the DV Visa Lottery about four years ago, but last night he got an e-mail that he won. He was so convinced because the message chronicled his data just as he had filled in the form. My friend was excited as I could tell from his voice. I told him to forward the mail to me even though I already registered my consternation, “it can be nothing but a scam”, I said: a big one it is when I spotted the charade after I got the mail. My friend did not see the lapses as he already allowed his excitement to becloud his reasoning.

My friend is a graduate and has many years of experience in corporate Nigeria. But when we allow our longing for miracles to be crux of our existence, then we become easy preys to the man on the pulpit, podium and in the turban.

The action of my friend jolted me out of hibernation. Nigerians (masses) are worse off from the dearth of quality leadership in the land, not due to illiteracy but because of the quality of teeming elitist illiterates that are in every corner of the land. Despite our intelligence we allow these thieves to get away with whatever they deem right. No one of us dare challenge them as some of us will dare to rise up in their defence. The other day, I read a celebrity writer preaching that political victory is usually achieved through the hybrid of bad and good guys, therefore the bad guys should be given some cover under the new dispensation. I see that as one of the lamest alibis to be presented for continued reign of impunity. Will that writer allow the continued festering of injuries in his body after surviving an auto crash? Those that are for them are mostly unlettered idiots whom they buy with ‘passing smell’ of crisp naira notes; yet we are lazy to embark on that journey to recall our actions in order to avert these impending consequences.

When I saw Bukky’s rigmarole at responding to the ‘did you and did you not’ of the CCT, and the endorsement he enjoys from his colleagues cum the support of his IMMENSALLY deranged placard carriers, I was not in any way surprised. A chamber that is presided over by a pathological swindler, a chamber whose spokesperson is a serial abuser of womanhood( physically and otherwise), a chamber of paedophiles, forgers, ‘honorable’ thieves, drug peddlers and highest malfeasants in the world. If you expect anything good from that cesspit, then you should check yourself into a medical facility. A conglomeration of people of common vices. They will never organise an emergency meeting to discuss anything of good interest to the general public, but they soon form a quorum when it is the subject of endorsing inhumanness through their vote of no-conscience.

I see no reason why the chamber will not go active immediately #TheList got to them but as it is we will have to wait for “not business as usual” to begin in few hours.

In a chain of corruption, the small thieves will always secure themselves through alliances with the big thieves. The big thieves will always exert themselves in positions as long as the sheepish populace is divided through those indices of tongues, groins and loins. Not until the sheepish populace break the bondage of the quest for cheap avarice, they will continue to suffer at the whims and caprices of these presiding thieves.

Not until we all rise up, march to shout down these thieves and possibly pelt them with eggs they will continue to be at the top of the pyramid. And you know what that means, decadence! That is what the rest of the world will see each time they see a Nigerian.

#Pausibility: September! The EDD For Our Hybrid by Adebayo Coker

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Staff Reporter

I have been in your face too many times recently. I don’t know where this juice is flowing from. I am just bleeding (literary). All thanks to the Almighty, The Giver of all things.

The first few paragraphs of this piece may put a dent on or even put a stop to my writing career. My hands are shaking as my pulse rate is faster than normal but I will do it all the same. I have sworn the Oath of Truth, Nothing But the Truth Always. The allegiance even says … “without fear or favour.” I did a piece: #Pausibility: Gehazi, Vuvuzela-General And The Lesson For The New Generation. The same rule applies to all our bouts.

Seriously, I cannot put myself to this but I must do it all the same. It is like someone asking me to evaluate a man that has ‘fashied’ the scene and a man that is just coming in. I may find it difficult as the former is A Man Of The People. My judgment may be tagged biased which I wouldn’t like in order not to bring the repute of the officiating of Bouts into disrepute, no matter how miniscule. The man whose slogan is Ambo, that is, am evolving, cannot be sufficiently put to test because one no dey vex for person wey neva arrive. But my summary of it all will be: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born.

The Grey Elders.

Both of these elders are lords in their domain: Captain Blood (not of the Pyrates of The Carribean series o) and the other lord of THE F-LIES, (flies is purposely spelt because they are usually cleaner than this other lord). The former lord’s autograph is what I crave. I am his devotee. What am I even saying, I super-adore him, die sef join am. His comment (good or bad) on any of my books will increase my book sale and the second lord can order my arrest. The first one can forgive me being his staunch admirer and student but the other lord is one of the most vindictive; neither forgives nor forgets.

BTW: my books are still lounging on those book shelves in Patabah, Surulere and TerraKulture. Prove to the World that if black man no dey read, naija dey read. Make una encourage writers na. Abeg!

Back to the matter: One would wonder the cause of these age-long vituperations. From Ijegba to Egba, even from under the Rock to the top of the Rock in times past. The simple question is: How can an Orangun Ota pilfer someone else’s palm wine? If he wants a drink let him ask, better still, climb a palm tree; but he should not reap where he never sowed. What is happening as this bout has been on for like when I have not been birthed? I suspect someone must have slept with the daughter of someone. Or someone must have laid the wife of someone between these lords. Let someone spill more than the usual, out of free will, because Rule 4 is suspended in this contest just for my hero’s sakes, not because of your tin god. Go and bring your Attorney and I will point him to Rule 10.

On a more serious note: the reactions that followed the team selection of PMB are important and healthy in this dispensation, especially with the background of our born again democrat. It also points to the fact that my people are now more interested in who governs and how they want to be governed. The level of our participation in governance is increasing. Kudos! But we can always take it a notch higher. Once we understand our power to recall as the governed, then all of us will realize our dream of utopia; a ‘free society’.

Please take note that someone from the villa came out (I want to believe this government keeps no puppet) to tell us that we should look forward to the 9^th month as it will birth the hybrid that we all clamor for. The cry to jettison Per Capita sharing for Herd sharing will be answered. The former is when credibility, competence and creativity are given preference, the latter is when race, color, sex are considered in appointment to office. The bigots can now go to rest.

May I ask if the hybrid is going to be intercontinental, interracial or intraracial? Whichever, please make sure you don’t mix black with white. Half-caste (literary) are usually confusing to understand. They would ordinarily hold dual, at times, multiple identities.

Make it clean!

Thank you.

#Pausibility: Gehazi, Vuvuzela-General And The Lesson For The New Generation By Adebayo Coker.

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Staff Reporter

335

The diverse reactions that were triggered by the recent appointments of the President are funnily incredulous. Very soon we will hear Dauralization or Patriarchization. We voted PMB to deliver to us chenji then we complain when he selected his team. PMB has chosen the people he wants to work with; I hope when playtime comes he will consider some of us. September is a month to look forward to. My fear is that one of his aides has set his over-ambitious eyes on SAN(K)ship already.

Let’s move on to better things jor.

“Uncle, two fighting!”

I am sure not many of us know that our distress call of “two fighting!” whenever two brawlers unleash assault on one another way back in our nursery school days was actually embedded in our Criminal Code, though as a social misdemeanour. We throw tantrums once in a while but never should anyone be encouraged to become a pugilist. Since it is a season of roforofo fight – mudslinging – in the land, we must try as much as possible to moderate or is it modulate?

The Peace Committee has lost all peace since their return from the Villa the other day, hence, some persons must step into their shoes. God works in mysterious ways. We would have lost this ample opportunity of raw entertainment if they had not visited the power seat; perhaps they would have brokered peace between these elders: you know they are all about peace, however achievable.

A Fair Umpire.

Roforofo fight is a brawl, usually, between elder statesmen who have decided to wash their linens (dirty and stinking) in public, so we may not allow them to engage in a free-for-all because if they lose a tooth the state will foot the bill of its reconstruction. It is best we regulate in our interest.

I volunteer to be the umpire in this no holds-barred revelation, therefore the following rules apply:

(1) To qualify you must be an elder states (wo)man: a serving or ex senior public or civil servant, military and paramilitary, etc;

(2) You must know something about someone that you want to spill and be ready to spill without fear or favour: da public gatya back. But private things should be kept private, unless it is beneficial and elevating to the public;

(3) You must know some crass (‘gutter’) language, exotic English is also permitted: just capture the details;

(4) Whatever you don’t spill, but, if found out, shall be used against you in the course of this bout. It shall negate your point(s) to zero, no matter how high. Therefore you are advised to not hold anything back;

(5) The Umpire shall adjudge rightly without fear or favour, to the best of his ability, but if you feel otherwise you have the right to appeal but don’t abuse the Umpire. If you do, your elder seal(s) will be stripped off you, no matter how grand, with no option of appeal or fine;

(6)Your social media Voltron(s) may come to your aid but admonish them, sufficiently, to be as civil as possible, else (5) above shall be extended;

(7) You have a right to an Attorney, if you cannot afford one, the Public will contribute to hire one for you but the Attorney MUST not initiate any legal action by way of petition, court injunction, invitation by any agency(lawful or/and otherwise), against the Umpire. He is just a fiction writer: verisimilitude of arts is expressly a caveat emptor;

(8) You, automatically, sign into this bout if you belong to 1 above and take on anyone that belongs to 1 above, publicly;

(9) Your action may not be taken as whistle blowing, until an appropriate channel of communication is followed and further verification is made at and by @officialefcc office anywhere in the country, respectfully, respectively;

(10) Any other rule may subsequently follow.

Understand these rules? You can seek the service of an Attorney. If you tick item 8, you are already in. Let the bout begin:

Friday Vs Aliu

The flying vituperation, here and there, from one elder statesman sitting in God knows where in Abuja, and another sitting in Benin is becoming juicier by the day.

There is no doubt Mr Aliu needs to check his emotions and tame his tongue in quick spilling of some, what ought to be Classified. He is an elder statesman and as one he should know when and how to spill and when not to (application of proportionate action and inaction). We have the hints already that the figures are mind-boggling but what his action portends is more mind-boggling, therefore he should stop sending people to the clinic to check their ifunpa (BP) all the time because of his unbridled spilling. Or is his hue and cry an unofficial signal to his ‘benefactor(s)’, according to an elder statesman, Elder Godsday, to move their loot to a better safekeep? He should be told again and again, by whoever can pull his strings, that whatever may have gone down during these past days, the present-day anti- corruption crusade (the way it is going) would get so many elder statesmen tsunamied to a place they rarely dreamt of if they are found to be alaje banu. The fight against corruption isn’t a vendetta. He should just be diplomatic and advise the jittery ones amongst these agbalagbi to ju agbalagba lo to start pally-ing the Comptroller-General of Prisons; the CG will know where the best facilities are.

Ti oju akata ba l’ewo ko ki nse enu adie lo ye ka ti gbo; a fowl is misfit to bear the tale of a blind fox.

Let’s assume Elder Aliu is a (p)sychophant as described by the other elder, I doubt the latter’s claim (until he spills more) that the former is an AGIP(Any Government In Power); ilk of our Elegant Stallion (Rule no 4 stands). But let’s pretend we want to enjoy the blaring sound of a Vuvuzuela. This Elder(ly) whistle blower doesn’t have the physical strength and moral right to blow one to our hearing; In fact, the other elders in this elder’s homestead should have him bound till the overdose of the Viagra he took sometime in March wears off before they allow him parades the public space. The hangover of an ODed Viagra may take some time.

BTW/WARNING (UNOFFICIAL): Self-prescribed Viagra may lead to emotional breakdown. Sufferers may lose control of their passion. They can ‘come’ anywhere, however, anytime.

“Being leg by your EMOTIONS is a recipe for disaster!…

-Mathew Ashimolowo

Back to the issue at hand: The Aso Rock sycophant elder has given a sufficient response to the lineage-disgracing elder but he didn’t do a thorough job and as an elder he shouldn’t be found wanting, in any way. Agba kii wa l’oja ki ori omo tuntun wo. Mr Aliu shouldn’t join a large number of us to condemn unborn innocent generation(s) to the dark side of history. Not a good thing to do, though their progenitor is Gehazi. We should always be Christ like in our dealings so Elder Aliu, I pray he reads this piece, should initiate a move at orientating the other elder on how to proclaim chenji.

Honor and Obedience.

The Fourth Commandment in the Bible: Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother. We have been taught that ‘ honour’ extends to ANYONE older than us. There is also a part of the Moral Code that says to disobey to carry out an unjust order is just.

Some people will say honouring someone isn’t complete without obeying that person. They will even push further: “you cannot say you honour God without obeying His commandments”. But God will never command you to do evil. It is Satan that deceitfully leads man, through hedonism, into a pit of shame and regret.

A Presidential summon was honoured by you but getting there, he tells you: Mr Lagbaja omo baba Lakasegbe, I have heard so, so, and so about you therefore as soon as you get home, hang yourself by yourself. I am sure you will not obey such command unless that statement to commit suicide was laced with some gbetugbetu.

We have cases of parents, hate-feeding their children against the society, partly and or fully. Some kids might (blindly) suck the milk since it is honour thy father and mother… but greater evil will such offspring perpetrate. Rarely is there an exception to the rule.

Lesson For The New Generation.

My piece of advice to anyone is to honour your parents AT ALL TIMES. If they call you once answer them courteously ten times. If your father wants you to take your bow and arrow to get him venison, bolt like Usain, get him whatever he wants. If he wants wine please don’t hesitate to get him the best of the best from France (especially if he has stacked enough funds). But if he tells you to disrupt the flow of peace, PLEASE in the name of whatever you believe in don’t obey such. It is devilish and is a crime against humanity. Your father may cut you off from his estate but I know God will not punish you for disobeying an instruction to be a ballot-snatcher.

I am sure the children of the other elder that “would rot in jail” are still traumatized. The same God that healed Naaman still lives but I will advise that you call for a meeting with only the formidable elders in your family; whether god-dey or god-no-dey, just have faith that diaris God in whatever you are doing: appoint a spokesperson and address a World Press Conference. Make sure you unweb yourself from what this Elder yoked you with. Remember Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he came of age. Don’t get me wrong. You are not denouncing his fatherhood: he remains your father but it is his action that you must dissociate from. The video of your press conference will trend side by side (if not more viral than) the YouTube views of your Patriarch toddler’s display of tantrum. At least people will know you are not like the scions of the Abachas, Gaddafis, Hitlers, Mugabes, Mobutu Sesesekous, Bin Ladens of this world. You will live free of his action. As it is presently, your genuine intentions will be rubbished because of your surname. Am sure some people will start brandishing that theatrical to blackmail you into some uncomfortable positions but if you heed my advice, you will enjoy considerable sympathy and you will walk with your heads high up. It is a much needed damage control.

I am not in any way by whatever fiat compelling anyone to take my admonition seriously but I am a corn lover. My Viagra works best when an agbalagba ties corn cob around his or her waist and shamelessly walks the arena.

Namaste!

Ps: am I getting hooked on the same coke as Pius Adesanmi? Check me into a rehab, please!

Gross Perks Of Office and This Pecking Demand: A Rejoinder to Mr. Ita Enang by Adebayo Coker.

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Courtesy Grammarly

I was in Shakiti Bobo mode when I read the news coming out from the National Assembly where a one-time Senator Ita Enang pushed that Senators, members of the House of Representatives and members of other legislative Houses in the country who are lawyers should be conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Let me sing a song…

Eyin Omo NBA

Mo gbo information

Ninu paper

Talo fe S S SAN?

I met with an out-of-job friend of mine few weeks ago. He told me how efficacious prayer is.

“Few minutes to Pavitra Rishta (a soap), the light went off and I prayed to God that I wouldn’t want to miss the day’s episode. Alas! Two minutes to time, power was restored. When I saw that He answered that prayer so fast, I then prayed that God should give me massive wealth within the next few days”. I joined him in saying Amen but my friend is still squatting with his younger brother as I write.

That the Lord answers prayers doesn’t give us the express right of entitlement. We must work towards achieving our dreams.

It is no news that Nigeria Lawmakers are the most priced in the world. That they are the laziest should not be confounding to anyone. Also, that they are mostly bands of fraudsters, wife beaters, rascals, prostitutes, ‘druggists’, in short, the legislative Chamber could best be described as a ‘Cesspool of Misfits’. That they have refused to make any sacrifice in terms of their salaries and expenses like the Executive arm is no news; I am sure some of them will be saying in their minds: I am not Jesus. But what I found to be grossly irresponsible and highly unreasonable is the demand for express conferment of SANship on anyone of them who HAS a law degree on the premise that they are lawmakers and better deserving that any other lawyer that only interprets the law.

Imagine this demand being acceded to, the crooks that have not obtained a law degree amongst these lawmakers will suddenly parade a PhD in law in no time, then we will have Senator Honourable Dr Alhaji Chief Pastor Oluwo Patoranking Sexy Steel. BA, M. Sc, MBA, LLB, BL, LLM, PhD, JP,SAN. Iyen ti poju ke!

Let’s examine just a few of our would-be Senior Advocates briefly.

I follow one of our would be Senior Advocates on his twitter handle. He is a sound Senator; always engaging the yoots . Some bad belle said the Senator needs to learn Public Conduct. I must confess that I stood in defence of ‘this stinking’ or is it distinguished Senator. He is a fashion model on Fridays, modeling his latest wardrobes on tweeter; on Saturdays he tweets his club-mode, sometimes on a yacht (not his!) in company of another wonder-ful fugitive Senator. At times he displays his outlandish sleekness in automobiles and drinks. And on Sundays, the Honourable Senator is a Pope. He prays for all Nigerians. I asked why an engagingly young man that understands the eX-Generation very well needs to be checked into Public Conduct program. My dear he is a role model to a great number of yoots ever since he stopped beating his wife (or is he just planning to stop?). I pray you follow him and understand better.

There is a mulatto entertainer who always advocates the use of electric cars like that is the only thing his constituency sent him to the Red Chamber to achieve. But he has failed to table his people’s request so far because of his lateness to sessions most times. Still he is a role model to his teeming followers. Maybe they see a possibility of free movies and sorts in him though he hasn’t announced it yet.

Imagine a Senior Advocate that hides in his toilet to evade justice! Let’s even paint it further. A SAN-Senator on a trip with GMB to World Leaders Summit, in the USA for example, being harangued to stay back to clarify some issues on orange is the new black?

Mr Festus Keyamo has been denied entrance into the SANship Hall Of Fame how many times now? Falana was admitted when he started greying , but these layabouts and gadabouts want a triumphal ride? I’d rather not say what is coming to my mind.

My fellow Nigerians, we will continue to hear and finance more nonsense through our taxes if we fail to realize that we need to prune the National Assembly in size and in price. By size I mean we have hardly benefited anything operating a bi-cameral legislature; the House of Reps is a better reflection of our grassroots representation at the centre. We need to make the monuments of the lawmakers reflective of our current reality, willy-nilly to them. I cannot pay so much and get so little.

The noise we made about #OpenNass has brought some results but the yields will be too little if we relent and do not ask them to open up the more possibly by executing a Service Level Agreement with our representatives. If we fail, these people will continue to injure us; they will add salt to the wounds and expect us to continue hailing them. They will see it as their birthright. They will get their gross allowances and will start pecking on our moral fabrics with their corrupted beaks.

In conclusion, Senator-Honorable gentleman Ita Enang, I believe your lawyer mind ought to tell you that earning SANship isn’t a day’s work. Don’t be like my praying friend above. Get to work!

“And I Got Hacked” – Tunji Andrews Writes On How Hackers Taught Him A Lesson

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Tunji Andrews, popular on Twitter for his #MoneMasterClass sessions told me about how he got hacked across virtually all his online media channels. I got an update from him this morning and it has been published unedited.

AND I GOT HACKED

This would probably be as unbelievable to you as it still is to me. On many levels, i’m still trying to wrap me head around it. The whys, seem endless really. Why would anyone even bother hacking me? Why they would take it this far? Why? Why? Why?

While i still try to find answers to this, i felt it necessary to drop a note to let anyone who cares to know why i suddenly went off the grid.

Apparently, i got careless with the login details on one of my platforms, which in reality were the login details for all my other platforms. I mean, email, twitter, domain, etc; all same password. It’s easy to blame it all on not being too IT savvy, but i knew well enough to know that this wasn’t ideal; i guess i had to learn the hard way.

So, July 2^nd, while on my way to an out of town meeting, i noticed that my smart phone began to reject my passwords, apparently, someone was seated somewhere changing my passwords and retrieving details. Like that wasn’t enough, this person began shutting down all these platforms, gmail, domain emails, twitter, even a personal website i was working on.

You really don’t know how dependent you are on these mediums till this kind of a thing happens; as it couldn’t have happened at the worst possible time, with flight and hotel reservations all on my email. In panic, i forced a hard reset on my phone, which also made sure everything on my phone was wiped; talk about walking blind.

I began to contact service providers and i am beginning to gain access to some of my accounts, but since this very ingenious person changed my account retrieve details, i sincerely was fighting a lost battle. With twitter, it was no different as the email attached to the account wasn’t mine and even if they sent a password reset link, i wouldn’t be able to access it, so i simply just reregistered, luckily, my handle @TunjiAndrews was now free for use.

So, #MoneyMasterClass wouldn’t hold this week and i send my deepest apologies to our sponsors C&I Leasing, thanking them for their unwavering support. We hope to be back next week.

Well, lesson learned, funny enough, now i find myself going password crazy all of a sudden.

#PAUSIBILITY: We Are Africans! by Adebayo Coker

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

My dear people, I must start by congratulating us for the consolidation of democracy. Two weeks ago we had both Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections. Even though there were pockets of skirmishes, I can submit that we are all determined to make this system work and with time the imbroglio will be dealt with, then our nation will be one of the exemplified democracies in the world.

I could not write my column last week because I was busy coordinating my son’s first birthday. As I moved around town during that period, a thought kept coming to mind: If posters could cry, we all would be flapping our arms and feet through the pool of tears that our nation space would be submerged in. Also if posters could laugh we all would be running with a finger in each ear in a bid to block out the maddening laughter that will greet us on every corner we turn to. To the winners and the losers, there is work to be done.

I must quickly add my voice to many others that have condemned the Xenophobic attacks going on in South Africa. It is the most barbaric act of fratricide witnessed on the soil of Africa in recent times. Nigeria may have its array of issues but never can it be said that we are hostile to other nationals. Never! We have a xenial spirit that will make us to pay exorbitantly for goods from abroad and trample on homemade wares of the same quality. We would choose all-Sinitic engineers to build our ‘gada’ even when we mouth local content policy.

But let us look at this issue closely.

Xenophobia arises out of harbouring hatred or fear for some people who are considered strangers, non-nationals by some people who consider themselves nationals. The vested hatred could be physically displayed as is presently being witnessed in South Africa. It could be interracial or intraracial. In order to forestall loss of lives of the seemingly non-nationals, the clearest solution is to evacuate them and get them resettled either back at home or wherever they may so choose, in as much as their governments will have an understanding of their plights and the wherewithal to meet their demands. But how many of them would want to come back home?

South Africa is one of the countries that appear to have a working economy in Africa. Please don’t let anyone pull wool over your eyes by telling you that Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and the sixth largest in the world based on the statistics of the last basing and rebasing. There are economic throes and woes that were perfected by our soulless political leaders to continually keep us as their donkeys.

An economy is said to be working when the impact of the quoted statistics is felt by the people. A working economy is one in which there is adequate power for industries to survive and thrive positively in their chosen field. A working economy is one where the security of lives and properties are guaranteed in the face of any physical threat apart from force majeure. A working economy is so described when I know my government will protect me wherever I may be in the world.

I was once in the company of an American friend as we watched in some movies how some police officer, even an assailant, was quickly reminded “I am an American”. The underpin in that warning is that “my government will look out for me”. How much can a Nigerian, a citizen of the Giant of Africa, brag about his identity? Ceteris paribus, if the systems are functioning aright, the best place to be is HOME.

Whatever is happening in South Africa is a pointer to the fact that the continent of Africa needs to do away with our ready pathway of darkness that is hampering our souls from seeing the Light. The supposed nationals who are going about ‘pangaing’, clubbing, stoning and burning to death their much hated non-nationals, have little understanding that their own much-loved brothers and sisters are scattered all over the world. How would it feel if the whole world has the same killing instinct they have. I am sure there will be a cleansing of some kind. But the rest of us have matured better than that. With much respect to one of the eternalized human beings that ever lived, Nelson Mandela, some South Africans are still living in the ‘Darkest’ Ages. Opportunities abound everywhere.

Despite the economy heist of some South African companies operating in Nigeria, never did Nigerians see the need to wake up and wrest themselves from these exploitatory plagues, not to talk of harming them; rather our government would even plaque them for coming into ‘our’ own space to do what we couldn’t have done ordinarily. The slackers in SA should take a cue and learn from other nationals doing exploits on their soil and improve their own lives. Even if everyone leaves ‘their’ homeland for them, but they fail to learn what is to be learnt that wealth doesn’t come from tokenist living, neither does crapulence nor coquetry breed riches, they will always remain useless to themselves and the rest of the world.

We are Africans with nine lives. Let us show the rest of the world we are our brothers keepers.

#IWD2015 This Gem Is To Every Woman Out There

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Staff Reporter

……..To All Women

The gems pale in the beauty of your wonders

The sky is blue only because you bloom

The stars dazzle in the skies at night but you dazzle our lives because you are our stars

You defy understanding but you define our standings

You are most unsung but you are really our only song

Your strength and humanity sustain our universe

Your love sustains life

Your blood purifies life

Your sacrifice is our essence

Through thick and thin you are ever so true

In life most difficult moments you are really our rock

We claim to be strong but we know we are wrong

For in you we find our strength

You are our hero and we say thank you

Jude Ilo

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

I saw this picture and was quite confused and I want to find out what you guys think. Funny I know, but what are your thoughts?

A Short Note To My Fellow Advocates – Bukky Shonibare

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Fellow Advocates,

It is true that you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only option you have. I guess that has become our reality; which is why I do not take for granted the possibility that you may sometimes consider giving up especially when there seem to be no logical end in sight. It is normal. Don’t worry. Change is never easy. When we fight for change, we do so by punching consistently and harder with every other punch even when we seem frail; that way, we’d soon see that the ‘Goliath’ we thought was too mighty would soon be taken down by our ‘1 stone.’

I know how it is; sometimes we laugh, other times we cry. Sometimes we bubble with burst of energy; other times we struggle to stand up. We sometimes endure the deceitful kiss of our ‘frenemies’ as well as hateful notes for those that despise us for lack of understanding. In fact, sometimes you become your own ‘discourager’ by questioning the sensibility in what you do. You just never know how and where things would swing. No one said it’d be easy anyway.

I have been there. I have been at these different junctions. Sometimes I fall and stay down; but jolt myself back to life. Let me share some of what I consider at such times:

Reach deep down to the strength that lies within. Until you dig, you may never know what you’re made of. You’re already built for this. Dig… and reach.

Reexamine your motive and be sure what makes you want what you want is noble and unselfish. It’s possible to unconsciously sway from your original intent. Once you notice you’ve swayed, call your senses back to order.

Be fueled by the eventual outcome that you wish to see. Remember your goal (what you wish to see) and objective (why you wish to see it). Let the joy of what lies ahead encourage you.

Look back to how far you’ve come and celebrate yourself for surmounting the many battles you’ve faced. Some already gave up. You’re still standing. It’s worth celebrating. A big cone of ice cream or an escape to a cinema to see a Comedy movie would suffice. *wink*

It’s hard to remain steadfast in the face of blurriness, especially when you’ve experienced several unmet expectations. There are two options: hope or hopelessness. For the sake of what lies ahead, choose the former. Giving up should never be settled for.

Victoria Ascerta… be assured that victory is certain, if only you believe it convincingly enough to stay on course. Keep moving until you reach your destination. No one ever achieved anything worthwhile by giving up. Don’t stop. The world is watching and waiting.

There’s the God factor that’s needed for every great success. Know your Source, seek your Source, and stick to your Source. God NEVER fails.

Remember, consistency pays! Quitters don’t win.

Yours-in-Solidarity,

Bukky Shonibare

Power Pose! Buhari Poses With Tony Blair, Bukola Saraki and Ibikunle Amosun In London

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

APC Presidential candidate Gen. Buhari has been in London since Thursday. He is scheduled to speak at Chatham House on Thursday but he took time out to strike this pose with Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Senator Bukola Saraki and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sam Hart’s emotion laden rejoinder on the Abia elections – Chinedu Ekeke

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Sam Hart’s knee-jerk response to an essay I wrote last week was a bit surprising. I didn’t expect the rejoinder to come from him. But since he wrote, I’ll go straight to addressing the points he raised. I had published a piece wherein I challenged the rented public affairs commentators on the payroll of the Abia state government to show some regard for facts when running their ubiquitous commentaries this political season. That call was necessary, because if we project the society as the ultimate beneficiary of our politics, then conversations about political processes and the candidates they throw up during elections must be made to centre on the issues that really matter to the society.

READ: Abia 2015: Putting Governor T.A Orji on notice–By Chinedu Ekeke

READ: Why Governor T.A Orji deserves our pity–By Sam Hart

In my essay, I sought to remind the Ochendo writers, many of whom go by pseudonyms, that Abians deserve to hear the truth about the process that led to the emergence of the candidate the incumbent governor is supporting in the coming governorship elections. That has become necessary, given that we have read loads of troubling articles that, first, claim that the governor had no hand in the emergence of Okezie Ikpeazu, the governorship candidate of the PDP; and secondly, that Okezie Ikpeazu won the party primaries fair and square. The lies were beginning to gain traction as truth and some of us considered it a disservice to the state if we endorse such falsehood with our silence. With the intent to put the records straight therefore, I wrote.

Then came Sam Hart; with speed and fury. He launched out with the excitement of an accuser, one with the conviction of a winnable case. I wasn’t in his mind as he scribbled that hasty, emotionally laden rejoinder, but I could sense, at the end of his piece, the satisfaction of one who believed he had done justice to the topic and by that expects that this whole matter will be laid to rest once and for all. He did not deny the sham Governor Theodore Orji christened party congresses in Abia state, brazenly executed to the chagrin of even the worst election riggers. The scale of that fraud was massive; and even by PDP standards, stands unparalleled.

At the point where Sam could not controvert my insistence that the governor rigged the party primaries and stole the mandate of party members at the grassroots, the debate effectively ended. Because my original point was to puncture the lies daily peddled by the governor’s writers, claiming the governor had no hand in the emergence of Ikpeazu. I wrote that the governor did not only mastermind Ikpeazu’s emergence, but even went as far as ensuring nobody in the party had the chance to make any input in the process that led to that emergence. That position hasn’t changed. Let me therefore repeat this for the sake of emphasis: The governor RIGGED the party congresses to ensure Okezie Ikpeazu got imposed on party members. End of!

The other part of Sam’s treatise, about aspirants lining up to endorse Okezie Ikpeazu, is immaterial. Why should it bother us that elites on the governor’s payroll were hushed into silence after a terribly flawed process? Why should we confer on a compromised elite group and ‘’elders’’ the altruistic task of calling evil by its name? The role of many ‘’elders’’ of Abia in the ruin of the state is common knowledge. Just last year, Arthur Eze, the Anambra born billionaire business man, chewed out the governor publicly and in the governor’s own presence. As he did that, he equally chastised the Abia elite on the shameful role they have been playing in wrecking the state. He, coming from a state where elders value dignity more than naira and kobo, wondered why the Abia ‘’elders’’ sat and watched Ochendo convert Abia state to Nigeria’s byword for bad governance. Of course, one million writers from Ochendo will not change history.

The writer also did not deny that Abians have been hurling pebbles and sachets of water on Okezie Ikpeazu and his PDP campaign trail. Actually, I forgot to mention that at least 5 villages in Ochendo’s own Ibeku kin also drove them away. I mean, even Ochendo’s people refused him entrance into where he hails from. I await for this to be denied.

And that laughable point about Alex Otti asking to host Governor Theodore Orji in Arochukwu in 2011. I don’t know how it found its way into the conversation, except, again, that Sam lifted from the Ochendo principal book of campaign where the only issue that matters is where Alex Otti hails from. It’s not in my place to speak for Alex Otti. He is a first rate professional with the requisite acuity to answer for himself, but isn’t it curious that such is being pushed as a justification for brazenly stealing the right of party members to elect candidates of their choice in this election? Why are we even making light of a matter as serious as electoral fraud? Okay, let us concede that Alex Otti offered to host the governor in Arochukwu, when did it become a tool of blackmail for well-meaning, wealthy sons of a state to opt to host their political leaders? The answer is not far-fetched; it fits into the Ochendo narrative. All we hear from state media are petty details that exclude issues of development: Where’s Alex from? Why is Alex in APGA, is it because the governor refused to support him in PDP? Why did Alex not divert money from Diamond Bank to Abia state so we will know he loves Abia? Sometimes you wonder why these guys don’t consider these issues too jejune. But again, it’s Ochendo.

For a government that has been in office for eight years, it’s amazing that we don’t hear them name the roads they constructed or dualized in the period they have been in power, nor the water project they commissioned, nor how well they handled sanitation, nor how much they grew the state’s GDP per capita. A city as important – and old – as Aba has no single street light anywhere! Nobody in that government house is bothered. But all we hear is ‘’it is not their turn. It is our turn.’’ More irritating, you hear this from state owned media outlets.

Whatever ‘’turn by turn, chop-I-chop’’ arrangement PDP is operating – or wishes to operate – is not the business of the rest of us. PDP is just one political party, and it is doubtful if the population of its members adds up to as little as 5% of the total Abia population. An arrangement of convenience entered into by a group of friends can never be binding on the entirety of the state. Thankfully, history has shown us that when the people want change, they do not consider any other thing as more important. When Ndi Imo sacked Ikedi Ohakim in 2011, they did not consider where he, or the choice they were rooting for, came from. They simply threw out a man who had pissed on them without pity, and brought in an alternative they thought credible. This will be repeated in Abia state this year. This reality will hit the Ochendo team by 11thApril when the poll results start pouring in.

When this happens, I will not write Sam Hart waxing triumphalist; no, for brotherly love detests braggadocio. I will travel to Abia to visit him again, in his house, to share a glass of wine. That celebration won’t be just because a candidate I believe in won the election, it’ll be in recognition of the maturity with which my friend and brother, Sam and I handled our political differences. But that will only be necessary if Sam doesn’t join me in the Alex Otti movement before the election. You see, Sam and I share a lot in common, including the knowledge that in Abia, Alex Otti is that change whose time has come.

________________________________________

Chinedu writes from Lagos. He can be reached on Twitter as @Nedunaija

#NigeriaDecides: Letter from The Corrupt Power Monger – Delivered by Olusegun Dada

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Dear Citizen,

I have watched and listened to your rantings of late about how you intend to deal with me, and how you intend to change me with your votes. All I do is laugh, laugh and laugh. Beyond pouring out your frustrations on me and my friends and protégés is the real issue of what really you can do.

Now let me respond to you.

You cannot destroy me because I am not really a human; I am a system of control and accumulation. I am not like you, I am not an individual, I am not a needy creature, I am a powerful system of thought and emotional control.
You cannot destroy me because deep down inside of your rotten self, you love your oppressors and you identify with your masters. You cannot touch me, because I am above you, I am a god of capital, of history, of defiance. You try to revolt and you will feel the weight of my military machine fall right on your spine and my policemen and military will chase you and maim you.

You cannot crush me because I own the Army, I own the Navy, I own the Police force, I own the intelligentsia and the media. I am virtually invincible and indestructible, because I am a disease, a virus that lingers in your mind and thoughts. I am the dream that you pathetic creatures harbor of being rich and powerful. I am the prototype of everything that is rotten and beautiful about corrupt practices.

You cannot undermine me because I live in your hearts, and deep down your heart, you want to be like me. You admire the miracle that made me powerful. You eye my Porsche, eye my rambling buildings and die to belong to my circle. You cannot understand me because it would be like a lowly human understanding God. I am the lord of your existence and I determine your living. I am the history of money, impunity and control. I am the gorgeous feelings of gold being poured into your very being. I am not just one person; I am a system for hoarding your labor and the world’s resources. I am the sick protocol, to control, to usurp, to steal, to destroy all human creativity.

You cannot defeat me, you can protest all that you want against corruption, impunity or insecurity or social economic failures. But you cannot crush me until you understand me, and you never will. I am a machine, I love money so much that I have become money. I love power so much that I have become power, incarnated, incorporated, ready for the slaughter.

Be happy with your life, slave. Be happy with the niceties that I let you have. Do not start a fight that you cannot finish. Be happy, wage slave, with the cassava bread and a blubbery life of meaningless excess. Be happy with your position, with your caste, be happy with the fact that you’re alive and well entertained by the drama of the government your emotions birthed.

I do not doubt the force of your unity though, but I know it can never crystallize. My friends and I watch you irritate yourselves with the message of tribal hate. Your lack of trust for yourselves isn’t hidden. You still view your fellows from their ethnic origins.

Your religion will not even allow you fight me. I know how to explore that sentiment. Even if your religion allows you, your cowardice will not.
How about your greed? Your greed will be your own undoing. Yes, I am greedy. You call me a criminal in the cocoons of your Twitter and Facebook. I haven’t denied this. Yet I know that opportunity makes the thief. If you were in my shoes, would you do less?

I have the contacts. I have the money. I can break you, buy your louder voices and weaken your camp.
But make no mistakes about it, if you get so strong as to come after me, and if I see your chances of succeeding; certainly, I will run for my life. Even if the borders are closed, I can still buy the loyalty of its keepers. I can buy the protection of your police. I can buy my way through. I won’t sit and watch you kill me. I will run.

I don’t see much danger emanating from you. But if it does, well, I’ll see how to get over it. But before then, keep grumbling. Keep dreaming. #Don’tPanic

From the man you admire,

The corrupt power monger

Our Falles Heroes – Firdaus Garba @Fab_Garba #AFRD2015

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Staff Reporter

In the cold they stand, through the night they stood,
In the rain they trained, through the storms they held on,
In summer they burned, in their sweats they lived,
When strong they fought, even while weak they tried,
For their country they fought, her honor they protect,
When the enemy attacked, fight strong they did,
Conquer the enemy they will, if they had what it took,
Fight still they did, but the enemy was strong,
Their blood was spilled, but VICTORY they groan,
Boko Halal they whisper, boko halal their voice lingers,
It is for us they fought, it is for us they fell,
Forget them we won’t, celebrate them we will.

Firdaus Garba.

A Cold Lonely Morning – Firdaus Garba @Fab_Garba #IamNigeria

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A COLD LONELY MORNING
The night was cold but the morning after was colder,
As I shiver in the cold bushes, I heard the screams of my mother calling out for my little brother,
I heard the helpless cry of my baby sister, it was endless,
I heard a loud chant that sounded like my father praying,
The loud roar from the crowd was terrifying,
I lay hopeless, broken into a million pieces, beneath a broken tree, i await my faith…
The sounds grew fainter as time went by, through the numbness I walked out in the cold, shirtless and barefoot…
The horror,
My entire family and everyone I have ever known wiped out like they don’t matter..

Where do I run to? this is the only home I know…
#JesuisNigeria #Jesuisbaga

Firdaus Garba

I want to smile but all I am is broken – Firdaus @Fab_Garba Garba writes on Baga #Poetry

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Who?
I want to smile but all I am is broken,
How can I smile when my home is in pieces?
How can I be happy with my family dying?
How can I sleep when my family is freezing?
Whom do I cry to? my mother crying!
Whom do I run to? my father & brothers slaughtered!
Whom do I laugh with, with my sisters are missing (Chibok Girls)?
Whom do I complain to? My govt doesn’t care…
How can be I be great when I feel hopeless?
How can i save someone when I feel helpless?
How do tell you my life matters?
How do I tell you I have dreams just like your sons and daughters?
Who is responsible for me?
Who swore to protect me yet “doesn’t give a damn” if I die or live?
#Je suis Nigeria #Je suis baga
Firdaus Garba

#StyleToday: Mocheddah Rocks!!!

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Today we are learning how to smash looks and magnet eyes with Mo’cheddah’s outfit. She posted this photo on Instagram and we are loving everything about her style.

For starters, she is rocking hair style and shades inspired from the 60s and does the all black clothing mash up with a slightly oversized bold blue denim jacket.

The handbag compliments the distraction, making her an ace showstopper.

Move Over Kim Kardashian, Some Nollywood Actresses Are The Butts Of Attentions

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Staff Reporter

During the maiden edition of Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award, AMVCA, in Lagos, one of the top entertainment entrepreneurs, Alisa Adibua, described Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde’s walking by and seeing her from behind as ‘wonder in motion’, not because the mother of four has suddenly turned a locomotive machine hurtling by, but because of the elixir her well-shaped backside seems to bring when she walks by and you have to look at her from behind.

She isn’t the only one. Nollywood has so many. There are the likes of Ini Edo, Mercy Johnson and many other older girls but they are gradually leaving the stage for younger faces. Here are a list of some actresses drawn up by more than 20 of their colleagues:

Is Anita Joseph’s backside really bum-bastic?

Anita Joseph, clearly isn’t a woman who believes women should be seen and not heard. This opinionated actress and singer is ever ready to air her opinion on any issue regardless of how sensitive the issue is. She once told Potpourri that she can never be a complete housewife and she meant it because those words came out of her after she turned down a marriage proposal that came with a ‘full housewife’ offer.

As much as she prides herself of having both back and front in good measure, she would be quick to remind you it is her backside that gets in line after her. She once told Vanguard that her backside is bumbastic, meaning it is hot.

How mean is Daniella Okeke’s ass?

Daniella Okeke has actually warned me not to talk about her sexuality anymore. But how could anyone blame me when her name keeps popping up. Honestly, I haven’t picked her, 8 out of 10 actresses I asked to come up with names of Nollywood actresses with best butts did.

But it is impossible to ignore this Lagos Cougar actress. Even she had boasted on Instagram that she has a mean ass! Nobody prompted her, it was something that must have been playing on her mind and she posted it on her Instagram page. Is it just possible to ignore this piecce of art crafted by God? Daniella, forgive me again.

Halima Abubakar’s vital assets?

Nollywood actress, Halima Abubabar caused a media uproar recently when she posted a butt-flaunting picture of herself on Instagram. As if her butt alone wouldn’t be enough prospect for weak hearts, Halima even adorned a mini-skirt that added not only spark to the rude butt but attitude many men would take to their sleep. She once admitted that she knows her butt has rousing effect on men, but it does seem Halima isn’t done with letting some off the hook.

Biodun Okeowo: Why they call her ‘Hips Don’t Lie’

Sultry Yoruba actress, Biodun Okeowo is a sight to behold. She’s beautiful, friendly and with curves so captivating that her friends have come to name her ‘Hips Don’t Lie’. At least she once told me that in an interview.

She’s an actress as well as a producer. She once disclosed in an interview that men come with all sorts of offers just to sleep with her. Would one have to be a soothsayer to known what they are all after? If her beautiful face doesn’t do it, Biodun’s voluptuous hips must be the thing.

How embarrassing is Evia Simon’s butts?

Evia Simon is relatively new on the scene but fast becoming an item that cannot be ignored. Her talent for acting is as decent as her butt is dangerous. The Three Generals act, When Love Dies, Girls’ Cot once told Potpourri that men go crazy over her butts, adding that even other women embarrass her over the size of her butt. She related an experience where a woman followed her from a considerable distance just to touch her ass and confirmed it was real.

Empress Njamah’s hot goods

Actress and businesswoman, Empress Njamah has moved from that girl who never stayed out of trouble to the quiet woman who would rather pet you than bite you. She is more concerned with helping the less-privileged these days and running her House of Empress than globetrotting the fast lanes of clubs and parties.

But is it easy to forget those Empress tempestuous days? Not a chance. She got many guys doing erotic frog jumps and doing more hard than good to their image. No thanks to her sexy emerald eyes and the backside that moves with a wand to control the menfolks.

I know this was about Nollywood actresses but out side Nollywood we still have miracle butt godesses that could make kim kardashian apologize for trying hard to break the internet i would drop a clue .. Toolz to badt could probably * BREAK THE WEB *

Source – Vanguard Ngr

#PAUSIBILITY: PROLIFERATION OF NONSENSE- ADEBAYO COKER

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Staff Reporter

I have not been too frequent on social media lately as I have been going through a self- prescribed curative therapy, aimed at purging myself of ‘textiety’, as I was fondly glued to the internet mainly through my phones; but here I am well drowned in a deluge of messages that have flooded my handles, some of which are soliciting my opinion on some national issues; but before I settle down to that, let me digress a bit.

I had thought it is only in Nollywood that we witness watery rushes of a lazy coloration of our common sense, until last weekend when I came in contact with a certain man, whose introduction threw me into crestfallenness, followed by resounding laughter.

“I am the Personal Assistant to the Senior Special Assistant to the Special Adviser to the Deputy Councilor of this Local Government”, thus the man introduced himself.

A certain motion picture came to mind, that which portrays Idi Amin Dada with his many titles: LAST KING OF SCOTLAND.

The same obtains in our religious settings, most especially our churches. It is a common take for purported MoG or WoG to introduce themselves with all the funny prefixes and suffixes that they can readily lay their hands on: Dr. Supreme Most Senior Evangelist/Prophet/Primate/Pastor Miracle Godson, PhD, Mss, JP, Justice of the Peace, DLitt, General Overseer of Kingdom of Darkness Fighting Ministry. Crazy!

Whatever the many appellations give, I do not understand. Of what value is a man that calls himself the head of a nation or a home, if he carries that title only in the ceremonial sense, but shirks his responsibilities thereto? “The hood does not make the monk”

Well, to the main issue at hand.

There is a common saying that it is only a crazy man that expects a different result from doing the same thing over and again.

The imbecility from Abuja that is taking a heavy toll on our national pride is the main nonsense I want to talk about here.

Any sane person will know that to have been caught with dollar bills running into millions, undocumented and airlifted into another sovereign nation, is enough slap on the face of the violating individual or nation; but to repeat same a second time should be taken as massive foolishness, in this case, of devious people in Abuja who are in one way or the other linked to our national security; no wonder the insurgents are having a leeway perpetrating their evil acts. No wonder!

I do not in any way have any grouse with the government of the Republic of South Africa, as no sane government will operate like ours, where anything goes, where millions of dollars will go missing and life will continue normally, with no one asking or answering any questions. In essence, no sane government will operate like a Pablo Escobar.

The story we are being told that some governments, especially that of the USA, are blocking us from procuring arms to fight this insurgency, cannot be tenable to a sound mind. Let me ask:

Is it a new thing that the USA blocks the sale of arms to nations that are credited with Human Rights abuses?

Is Nigeria the only nation that has been blocked from procuring arms in the world?

How have wholesome funds, legally or illegally, been ferried across borders before now?

Many questions, but I know there can never be intelligent answers from Abuja. All they do is to perpetrate more and more foolishness. The one you hear today will be a child’s play in comparison to the madness that will be acted tomorrow.

It is one thing to believe that the monies in question are meant for procuring arms, and it is another to believe that the said funds are stolen. Whatever the case may be, the Federal Government hasn’t given us a reason to believe any explanation that is being, or may be offered for such movement of funds, because under our very nose, billions of dollars developed wings, flew away, and till date, we have not been able to tell its destination. Government Magic just as Fela will call it.

A government that thrives on lies.

Addendum

My wife, a lawyer, and I had a chat immediately the news broke that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that Ngilari be sworn-in as the substantive Governor of Adamawa State. She said it was a wrest by the judiciary to free itself from the claws of the executive, but I haven’t seen the full fight yet. I can tell that the judiciary as it is , is drowned in the same corruption pool that the executive and the legislature are swimming in. Look everywhere and tell me otherwise.

#SaveZainab: If You Care, Zainab Aliyu Could Beat Cancer

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Staff Reporter

This life we live is obviously full of trials and tribulations for most human beings. Yet some seem to get more than their share of such travails.?Zainab Aliyu is a 21-year-old lady who suffers from a medical condition known as Non- Hodgkins lymphoma, a kind of blood cancer. Until two years ago, when she came down with the disease, Zainab was a student of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.?But since last year she has been receiving treatment at the International Medical Centre in Cairo, Egypt. Zainab had to have a stem-cell transplant in May this year, as part of her treatment, but it failed and as a result she suffered a relapse. Right now Zainab is undergoing a ‘Salvage Intervention chemotherapy’ in preparation for another bone-marrow transplant which she requires. ?Unfortunately, all her four brothers who were willing to donate their bone-marrow for the operation have proved to be no match. She is now in search of a donor who will match. Though she has been bedridden for over a year, Zainab is still acting strong and in good spirits. Her family greatly appreciates all those who contributed to enable her to get the stem-cell transplant she had in May. They are truly grateful and wish the donors Almighty Allah’s unending reward.?The latest on Zainab’s situation is that the doctors treating her have disclosed the course of treatment needed to treat her condition. In the next several weeks she will need to take between six to eight doses of a drug-therapy known as BRENTUXIMAB r.e. ANTI CD 30. Each course of this treatment costs 10 thousand dollars. After a possible remission, the doctors at the International Medical Centre in Cairo hope to be able to do the bone-marrow transplant at the cost of 50 thousand dollars, because they will need to source a donor for 4O thousand dollars.?Zainab’s family obviously needs help to finance this life-saving treatment for her. We are hereby appealing to well-meaning individuals and organizations to please spare a thought for Zainab and donate whatever they can so she can get the treatment she requires. Whoever wishes to donate can contact Hajiya Sadiya on +20 115 806 1494 or Hajiya Hafsat on +20 112 627 7758. ?May Almighty Allah enable you to help and may He SWT reward you abundantly, for your sacrifice.?Read the story: Spare a thought for Zainab – Daily Trust

Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo Reports Being Beaten Unconscious by her sister and nephew as the mother cheered on

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Staff Reporter

It was a near deadly day in Ibadan at 5.15pm Wednesday September 17^th 2014 when International Journalist and Pharmacist Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo was attacked in front of her Agodi residence while in a long running altercation with her sister Ms Funke Olunloyo the Oyo state Special Adviser to the Governor on Education.

Olunloyo was earlier pick axed by her sister’s maid Janet Naomi Benson on Monday Sept 15^th 2014 over orders that her boss told her to close all the gas fuel in the house thereby preventing Kemi from cooking. It is a long running feud between both sisters which many say it’s over the fact that she has constantly criticized the Governor of Oyo state Abiola Ajimobi demanding services for the masses.

Her sister Funke Olunloyo formerly Omitowoju and a mother of 4 has blasted her in public accusing her of trying to bring the Oyo APC government down. Both sisters share a house in Ikolaba that belongs to their father and elderly politician Victor Omololu Olunloyo. Kemi has always felt that her mother took sides with the sister on the wrong end of the issue posting on Facebook details of the siege and standoff on Monday September 15^th where Funke Olunloyo was heard on tape saying she will behead and hammer her older sister Kemi. Funke has a long history of violence and is a member of the Grail faith which many people say has caused this dark behaviour.

On Wednesday evening, several motorists and bikers witnessed Kemi on the driveway of her home being beaten brutally and smashed in the head by a 15 year old boy, her nephew Fifehan Omitowoju and son of tech guru Muyiwa Omitowoju, Funke’s ex husband. Her mother, former Oyo state First Lady Mrs Funlayo Olunloyo was also seen kicking Kemi in the head along with her grandson and daughter Funke all beating her brutally because she emptied a drum of rain water with no provocation trying to use the drum for fresh water delivered by the water corporation.

Mrs Funlayo Olunloyo was heard cheering them on and was saying “Good, she’s dead, let her die!” as Kemi lay motionless with internal head injuries. This video was very disturbing and is posted online. Several neighbours and eyewitnesses called police who refused to intervene as it is not in their nature to involve themselves in domestic issues in Nigeria. The former Governor and elderly politician visited his house earlier in the day and is said to be distraught about the whole situation since Monday when it escalated.

Kemi suffered head injuries and a concussion, knee bruises, a huge cut on her toe and also 4 swollen fingers on Monday after being hacked by a housemaid who is the source to the ongoing problems in their home many on Facebook said. Funke Olunloyo has refused to fire her maid and blasted the former Governor, her father that a firing will not happen. Janet naomi Benson was promoted from a 2006 Housegirl to her PA as of present.

Kemi is a legal owner of firearms in the United States and cleared for use in Nigeria as many Nigerian American returnees do. Despite the high rate of crime in Nigeria, she protects herself and has not resorted to using them in her household as she is also a gun violence activist. She urges the Nigerian Police Force to step into domestic situations.

She is slowly recovering and thanks her fans, colleagues and partners for all the kind wishes.

Editor: This report was sent in by Kemi Olunloyo. Views expressed and the content are solely the author’s

John Legend’s Sexy Wedding Anniversary Photos

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Sunday marks a year wedding anniversary for sensational singer John Legend and model wife, Chrissy Teigen. We woke to this sizzling sexy photo of the couples as they celebrate their anniversary. The picture shows a topless Chrissy wrapping her arms around her handsome husband as his body covers her bare chest.

To celebrate their milestone, the supermodel and chart-topping crooner have been exploring Paris together. Along the way, Chrissy and John have been sharing their vacation with their Instagram followers. However, the couple hasn’t been one-on-one the entire time — over the weekend, Chrissy treated John to a show at the popular Crazy Horse cabaret. At one point, the couple posed for a group picture with several of the establishment’s performers. “Took john to see other boobs for our anniversary to make up for the 364 days of the year I’m insufferable (ps they are insanely talented and not just boobs),” she joked in the caption.

#PAUSIBILITY: WE ALL ARE CRAZY- ADEBAYO COKER.

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Staff Reporter

I had thought to relax my nerves for this week, especially when it is ominous if I don’t.

Still in shock after the auto crash that almost took my life on Wednesday night. At about 9pm, right in front of the Women Development Centre (WDC), along Oba Ogunji road, Agege Lagos , a Keke NAPEP tricyclist rode against the traffic and gave me a hard head butt. The car crashed and I sustained a cut on my toe, but I thank God for life.

Yesterday, I boarded a tricycle to Fagba as that is the closest point I could get to use the ATM, the mod con that emits money anytime of the day (if its operations have not gone on frenzy). One would have thought that in a bid to rip off customers more from the crazy re- introduction of #65 deductions for the use of other banks’ ATMS, some people would have applied their business wisdom by planting the money-emitting gnomes on all street corners, just as some of the churches are doing for accessibility; but no, they derive pleasure in stressing us while we gladly go to submit ourselves to pay a #65 ransom for withdrawing our own monies from where they are supposedly being kept.

I was one of the passengers who encouraged the rider of the said tricycle to beat the autoschlange, as Germans will put it, and go park somewhere close to the traffic light, so we can move faster once the traffic light turned green; but the tricyclist, an obviously experienced rider refused our demand and stayed on that long queue (I must confess I thought in my mind that the guy ain’t smart at all). Eventually, the light turned green and we continued our movement only to find ourselves right in the middle of the road as it turned red on us. Gbege!

Expectedly, the LASTMA officials saw a kill and they jumped at it; but they did it in a crazy way. The traffic law isn’t meant to kill offenders but to correct any misdemeanor. This particular crazy official (pardon my language; wish I could break my promise not to get him sacked as I have the footage of the scene on my phone), spoke the cyclist down, and rained curses on him so much it got me reacting, not minding my limping gait. I became crazy, stood my ground, and told him that I expected the madness of his touting days to have waned (most of the LASTMA/KAI/BRT officials are refined touts). He threatened to go physical, but when he saw that I had more fury in me than the regular gentleman, he mellowed. That done, I brought out my phone to record the imbroglio and as soon as he realized what I was doing, he rushed to grab my phone, assisted by his colleagues; but dem craze no reach my craze.

We all are quick to say: ‘It’s the crazy traffic’, forgetting that those cars are manned by humans; not excepting the state officials who are supposed to uphold the law and who in the name of carrying out their duties, drive crazily on the roads, without care or affection for the people they were employed to serve. Or how can one explain someone who totally ignores traffic rules and drives against the good of the trafficking public? Definitely, the government needs to order a psychiatric evaluation for its drivers; and the laws of the road must apply to government bus drivers just like any other defaulting driver, commercial or private. There must be some encouragement of good reasoning so that the driver, the passenger, and the public at large are not threatened by lunatics behind the wheels.

In the face of the menace of chronic traffic jams that are fast becoming synonymous with the city of Lagos, the government has been making moves towards finding a lasting solution thereto, by the establishment of a traffic management body to work alongside the federal authorities.
Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has been created to work with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), to maintain sound discipline amongst the driving populace, part of which is to arrest pedestrians who, in the face of apparent dangers of crossing the busy expressway, despite the availability of pedestrian bridges, choose the path of destruction, where many have been killed or maimed.

All these bodies, LASTMA, FRSC, and KAI, are to work in concert with the police. The synergy coalesce , and take on the task enthusiastically, even in the face of ever-present politics and corruption; but not for long. After months of recorded successes and some sanity on Lagos roads, much of the populace relapsed into chaos. The marshals that were employed, most of who were “area” boys and girls, poorly trained, soon became corrupt like their priors. People learned how to quickly and readily pay their way through anything, anytime. A minimum fine of twenty five thousand naira became included in the penalties for some traffic offences, and most people learned that if ten or twelve thousand naira were offered a traffic marshal for his own keep, rather than pay the full twenty five thousand naira into government coffers, the marshal would collect it readily, and happily too. Did I mention the Vehicle Inspection Unit (VIU), formerly Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), as one of the agencies that sanitizes our roads? Sanitize indeed!

Their uniforms are adorned with many pockets which are usually put to good use, as most of them go home with those pockets filled with money, raked in from transporters and defaulters.
“I have a daily target.” One of the marshals answered when asked why his attitude is akin to that of a merciless wolf in executing his duties. He concludes with, “And I have to send money to the office.”

It is a government that no one trusts in any way. And we expect a free society?

Woe betide the world of crazy drivers, crazy pedestrians, and if I may add, crazy voters. Nigeria has a full set of them all!

Adebayo Coker is a writer as well as a ghostwriter.He authored Societal Fragments and A Man Like Me: Noteography Of A Father To His Son.[http://pausibility.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/two-great-books/]. Both are available viahttp://www.amazon.com , http://www.smashwords.com or call 09096991619 to order copies in Nigeria. He tweets @adebay_c.

ENUGU STATE IMPEACHMENT SAGA: SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS- ISAAC OLUYI

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Nigeria, in recent times, has become a good stage for various dramas. From the comedy of error to the theatre of the absurd, entertaining Nigerians daily. Interestingly however, this same entertainment is becoming very worrisome. It is ominous of a gloomy and bleak future for the nation. From unprincipled defection from one party to the other to the running away of the nation’s military personnel to Cameroon for refuge as well as the continued hostage of over 200 school girls by the Boko Haram; the country has indeed become a veritable source of unpalatable story. The latest of such is the Enugu State Deputy Governor impeachment saga over the keeping of poultry in his official residential quarters.

When the news first filtered out I found it amusing and petty. What is the relevance of this to good governance? I queried. But the news refused to go away. What I considered petty became a serious issue, attracting informed and uninformed opinions. Accusations and counter-accusations took the centre stage. ‘If I keep poultry, the governor is also into piggery. So, what is the fuss about?’ But while it is condonable to rear pigs in the government house, it is a taboo to rear chickens there. In fact, it is an abomination given the fact that chickens are lesser animals compared to pigs. So why will anybody bring ridicule to the government house by rearing chickens when big ruminants such as cattle, pigs, and so on are there? Without doubt, that ignoble act is impeachable and Sunday Onyebuchi must go! Welcome to the world of George Orwell’s Animal Farms where some animals are more equal than the others!

It was as if Orwell had Nigeria in mind when he penned his evergreen piece Animal Farms. What just played out in Enugu state has an unmistakable semblance with the events in the novel, particularly how big animals systematically edged out the small animals. Initially, they thought they were all equals, until greed for power and selfishness took over the reign of the farms. Like Animal Farms, like Enugu state as politics has put asunder the governor and his deputy, who I believe started out as two jolly friends. No one could have made his enemy his deputy. It takes ‘like minds’ to come together with the sole aim of achieving a common good for the people. Two equals are no longer equal. Onyebuchi has been taught a bitter lesson of politics: NEVER OUTSHINE YOUR MASTER! Why will Onyebuchi keep poultry when the governor is into piggery? Chickens grow faster than pigs and more people seem to like chickens than pigs.

Despite the pettiness of the issue at stake, it is imperative to draw out serious lessons from the saga. In fact, some questions must be asked?

When are we going to start placing emphasis on developmental issues in governance?
When will governors start seeing their deputies as partners in progress, not just appendages?
When will the Houses of Assemblies and the National Assembly stop using impeachment as a tool of oppression, repression and self-enrichment?

I can go on and on. Impeachment tool has been used and misused in the land. In fact, since 1999, heads have rolled in the country’s political dramatic interplay. Impeachment is a good check of excesses of political office holders, but it can spell doom for our democracy if we continue to use it arbitrarily. Onyebuchi may have gone for rearing chickens in the government house, but the end of this drama has not been seen. It’s just the end of part one. I know other parts will soon unfold. After all, the animals are still alive and they will definitely reproduce. Like in human kingdom, proliferation is a hallmark of the animal kingdom.

Isaac Oluyi

The views expressed above are solely that of the author and not of Omojuwa.com or its associates.

#PAUSIBILITY: PLAUSIBLE ALIBIS- Adebayo Coker

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Staff Reporter

I must quickly let you know that I have not had a good sleep for several days now, so if I don’t deliver as expected in this particular column, I hope you will understand and still give me kudos for a job well done.

The foregoing typifies the mentality of the political leadership in this clime of ours and the saying, To whom much is given much is expected, is only operational as an idiomaticness that it is.

Tactical maneuvering is the new one that we woke up to on Monday, when about 500 of our soldiers suddenly lost their geography sense and erroneously found themselves in the interior of Cameroon. The Defence Headquarters had informed us that the troops had gone for a regrouping. Yeparipa!

No doubt, our soldiers need to be supported. Remember, “When there was a terrorist attack in the USA, the Americans supported their government. When there was a bomb blast in the UK, the people of Great Britain supported their government. Nigeria let us support our President and our armed force… this message is from…”

Seriously, why should not Nigerians support this government? Everyman is his own C & C. The one that we thought we had had told us that he should not be referred to as one, and if he has said he would like to shed that part of the composite title of the office he occupies, invariably he is telling us that he cannot live up to that responsibility; much as it is expected of him. We don’t have a C & C, therefore we must support this government.

The media has not been proactive and helpful in this fight against insurgence. The media should not have given the insurgents any form of publicity whatsoever. They are being given unnecessary coverage and if you must know (I am talking from international perspective in managing a crisis like this), the media should have ignored them. They should not have reported any bombing at all. When countless corpses littered the streets of Gwoza, or over 500 people, both men and women, were abducted, the media should not have reported such. The media should have folded their tripods, pocketed their cameras and walked away to TAN conventions to report the good work this government is doing. What we are experiencing here is our own share of global unrest and I assure you, we are on top of the game. The President is working day and night as he has not had a meal or sleep since the beginning of all these crises; that is why he is seeking a reelection in order to fight this Boko Haram insurrection to the barest minimum, if not to an end. It is unfortunate that it is not possible, but if the constitution allows it, I will urge Nigerians to support Mr President beyond 2019. He is a good man that loves Nigerians like no Nigerian leader ever did, living or dead. You can see that he is the only President that has put women in sensitive positions in government. He deserves our support.

Who among these two could have uttered the foregoing statement? (A) Labaran Maku, (b) Doyin Okupe, (c) Both. Send your answer to www.thisuselessgovernment.com and you will be among the first set of youths to be included in the #30PercentOrNothing.

BTW: Who started this #30PercentOrNothing campaign? Is it another Nollywood movie? If the script for this movie has not been written yet, I will urge any good Nollywood producer to approach me; I will give him/her a good story.

This is a government that takes the welfare of Nigerians so serious which is why we are making concrete efforts to privatize the power sector, so that Nigerians can enjoy the benefits of democracy. As you must have noticed, power supply has increased so tremendously since the privatization of the sector. The other day, a ‘kabukabu’ man was telling his friend, (they did not notice me as I was passing by), that the power supply in his area has improved so much that he wonders if he still lives in Nigeria. Though we notice few black spots here and there but I assure you that we are injecting 600 million dollars into the sector for capacity building and enhancement such that there will be an utmost boost of power. Very recently, we approached the IMF for a 2 billion dollar 63%-interest- soft- loan payable over a-50 year tenure. Some people wonder how we are going to achieve this but I tell you, our economy is a strong one as we are the new economic hub and one of the best emerging markets in the world. This is why we have many Chinese and Koreans (for FDI-drive) in the country, helping us to explore those parts of our economies that we have not utilized or under-utilizing. We need to maximize our potentials in the comity of nations in order to remain foremost like never before. Statistically, a recent report from Fitch shows that our economy is growing contrary to reports by economy saboteurs that we are running on deficit. Though, funds are not flowing the way they used to flow but I assure you that we are on top of the matter. Ask Aliko, he will be able to explain better to you as he just bought another private jet two weeks ago; when Nigerians displayed their private jets on the tarmac the other day we went for the summit in the USA, they knew that Nigerians are rich people. Let us be grateful to this government and ensure that you return Mr President Come 2015. He is not an encomiast but I assure you he is working. Nigerians should be grateful to God for giving them a President like GEJ. He is the only one that can give you light in your homes.

There is just one person that can utter the foregoing statement. Choose the right answer and win a scholarship to study in Russia. (a) NOI. (b) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. (c) Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.(d) GEJ (e)All of the above. Send your answer to www.thisuselessgovernment.com

There is what is called citizen participation as exemplified by the Civilian JTF. Those are brave guys. And don’t let us forget that a foremost American President of old said and I quote: “don’t look at what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”. So I ask, what are you doing to move this country forward in your own little way? Mr President cannot be everywhere. He is a human being just like you and I. He fasts and prays for this country more than anyone can imagine, as you can see that he religiously partook in the last Ramadan fasting. He gathers Christian clerics every Sunday, led by CAN President, to pray. He has just communed with the Presidents of Togo, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic to help Nigeria in this fight against terrorism by closing their borders so that the insurgents will not find any escape route. He is also preparing to address the General Assembly of the UN and seek support from the international community to impose stricter sanctions against Boko Haram and declare same as an international terrorist group. In strict sense, the President condemned the daily onslaught by Boko Haram on Nigerians. And it is not as if the military are not doing anything, as they have approached the President for rearmament and the President in turn has approached the National Assembly to ratify

1 billion dollar loan so that we can get adequate fortification against our common enemy. Let us join hands with the Presidency to fight this common enemy and support the President by returning him come 2015. He is the only one that can do it not anyone from those faulty conglomerations of disgruntled politicians that are in the opposition. They are the saboteurs of this government and we will expose them at the right time.

If you know the answer to the “likely sayer” of the last statement. Send your answer to www.thisuselessgovernment.com and be a part of #30PercentOrNothing in the next government.

Here, to whom much is given, excuses for little or no productivity should be expected.

Adebayo Coker

The views expressed above are solely that of the author and not of Omojuwa.com or its associates.

Help Has Arrived #11LIFESTYLETIPS BY — EVABETA TEGA

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Staff Reporter

1 HAVE A PLAN ( GOALS ) – Simple. The best way to get things done is to decide you’re going to do it (and then to write it down and tell people about it). So these life improvements you’re about to make? Think of them as goals. Like New Year’s resolutions that don’t happen on New Year’s and actually stick and make you feel good.

2 DROP WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T TOLERATE – Now that you have a few things you’ve identified, start getting rid of them. In fact, this could be your goal. Fix that issue and don’t let the issue drag you because it would use you as an anchor . Tell your self that the sentence, “I am the best there is , TO BE ….. i don’t wanna brag ( in John Legends voice ) buy yourself a gift every time you accomplish some of those issues that make your head all worked out for no reason . Imagine how good it will be see that list of yours shrink!

3, PLAN YOUR CASH . Another simple thing you can do to improve your life is to start a budget. Even if ends are meeting just fine, the benefit of a budget is that you can see what you can set aside and start working toward something rewarding. So instead of living life frugally, take an hour to figure out your spending habits and what you have to work with. Maybe there’s another 10,000 Naira in there that can start your little business

4 , BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR TIME – A simple mistake plenty of us make is that we do all the right things…we just don’t do them in the right order or we spend too much time on the unimportant or during our most mentally productive hours, we end up doing basically nothing . Time is, unfortunately, of the essence, it’s fleeting, and a stitch in it saves 9 later. If you get good at managing it, you may even find more for the fun stuff.

5 , LEAVE WORK AT WORK . Once you leave work, don’t spend the night thinking about that email your boss sent you. Don’t interrupt dinner to make one last phone call. If you’re going to work beyond work, then work — don’t spend your free time free in body, but totally preoccupied in mind. What a drag…….

6 , COUNT YOUR BLESSING LIST THEM OUT . It’s a little cheesy, sure, but it does have value. It’s so easy to see that green grass over there — when in fact you’re just not looking down to see that your grass is green, too. So pull up Notepad or Sticky Notes after this paragraph and scribble down a few. You’ll literally see what you’ve got going for you. And it’ll feel good.

7 , CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STRENGTHS . Being crappy at six languages won’t do you a lot of good. Being able to use the qwerty keys unfortunately doesn’t make you a social media expert or blogger . If there’s something you’re interested in, go all out! When you master something, you have something to be proud of. Something to talk about. Something you understand and love. So instead of spreading yourself thin, zero in on one. Then you can reap the benefits!

8, INSTIGATE A SELF IMAGE CAMPAIGN If someone tells you can’t change your personality, they’re wrong. You can go from an introvert to an extrovert, you can go from awkward to socially apt and you can go from hating yourself to loving yourself (just to name three). So if the way you view yourself is keeping you from being happy, start doing something about it. It may take a while, but what good thing doesn’t?

9 , IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP .. THE RELATIONSHIP ? . As much as we hate to admit it, plenty of us would rather be with someone who makes us miserable than sleep alone. Why is that? What’s so terrible about being by yourself? And this doesn’t just go for romantic relationships — we keep around friends that are detrimental to us, too. So look at yours. Is there someone in your life who shouldn’t be? Why are you keeping them around?

10 , CHANGE OF JOB CAN BE ANSWER FOR YOU . “Not exactly the economy I want to do it in,” is what you’re thinking, isn’t it? And that’s okay. We’re not saying quit your job, be broke, and barely survive until you find another one. We’re saying just start looking. There could be an opportunity out there that you never would’ve found if you didn’t look. Jobs don’t often fall on doorsteps anymore! So instead of slumping around your current one, secretly waiting for when Steve Jobs’ ghost comes to you in the night with an offer you can’t refuse, start searching. There’s no harm in it.

11, KEEP YOUR PROGRESS REPORTS . When you complete a list of action steps, your instinct might be to throw the list away. After all, the work is completed! However, some creative professional teams take a different approach; they relish their progress. Some go so far as surrounding themselves with it

My Idea Of A Nigerian Revolution – Presley Akhigbe

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Staff Reporter

The Revolution We Need

It will be unwise and indeed foolish for any progressive mind to vote for the crop of elements among the two major political parties in Nigeria. The fact remains that only a handful of persons in APC/PDP have credibility and morals. Indeed, maybe less than ten people. Yet these are the same recycled no-do-well politicians that have been ruling and ruining the fortune of Nigeria. Just like the concluding part of George Orwell’s Animal Farm where there was no clear distinction between man and animals, so is the case in the political parties in Nigeria. It is very difficult to separate politicians from different parties. They move across political parties daily for selfish purposes mostly. They are like vultures, prowling from party to party seeking for carcass.

The point is, these parties APC/PDP/LP/APGA etc and the people there have shamefully failed Nigerians with less than 2% of them actually living up to expectation. In the light of these and other terrible acts of these parties/individuals not listed here, it is now the time of the youths to prepare themselves and participate in the next coming general election in 2015. The time has come for us to try something new. We mustn’t trust the politicians again. They are criminals. They are blood sucking vultures and don’t mean well for Nigeria. They are selfish thieves who loot and loot alone. They are inept and lack understanding of contemporary politics.

As a people in Nigeria, the time has come to adopt a new measure to deliver this nation from the hands of the politicians. The time for the youths is today. Those tales that the youths are the future of tomorrow are past. The tomorrow is now. Youths in all parts of the country should start organizing themselves in groups and associations and from amongst them they should get a neutral party and fill all the available positions from councilors up to the governorship level. The youths should mobilize themselves and vote for their fellow youths. No youth should be seen voting for the old folks in APC/PDP anymore. There is a great tendency that even the elderly women and men who vote every now and then will sympathize and vote for the youths.

Call it a mild revolution and it might be true. The revolution should not necessarily be bloody. This could just be the opportunity Nigeria has been waiting for. It’s a fact that the vultures in PDP/APC have all the looted billions to spend for electioneering process, but the youths have the energy and strength wish is very important. It is very possible. Use the tools affordable/available to create awareness. Social media is great now, spread the word, get trending, use very effective and not so expensive ways to reach out to your communities. If the inhabitants of these communities are made to realize that there is need to change the order of things from APC/PDP, people will support because these old parties are visible huge failures. Contest without fear and let us ensure a revolution takes place by deposing all this recycled elderly incompetent selfish politicians.

Reports have it that Kate Henshaw, Julius Agu, 9ice and few others are planning to contest for positions next year. This is a very good development. These celebrities should be given all the support they need. In fact more celebrities should indicate interest as governors and senators for their states. Sports personalities, professionals and all popular celebrities should contest. Youth organizations should present various candidates for positions. We need a different breed of political office holders in Nigeria.

We should have a deep reflection of this discourse and stop supporting the politicians and start planning on parties to join to achieve political positions. It’s so depressing when you see people like Nuhu Ribadu, Mimiko and others decamping to PDP and some other terrible ones decamping to APC. This clearly shows that the politicians of these parties don’t care about the youths or the country in general. Let there be a bold statement by the youths. Picture a local government ward with a youth association and several wards within a federal constituency with their youth associations merge. From among them they can get three local government chairmen, thirty councilors, two state house of assembly members, a federal house of assembly member and a senator. It might sound so theoretical, but it is workable. The revolution we have been agitating for can just start in this format or a similar pattern.

Presley Akhigbe

@presleydonEji

Views expressed are solely that of the author

Pay Sawyer-Ebola Victims Five Million Dollars – Presley Akhigbe

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Staff Reporter

The ebola virus imported into Nigeria by the Liberian Patrick Sawyer has caused death to four people, a doctor, two nurses who attended to him at the First Consultants hospital in Lagos and an employee of ECOWAS. Then there is the immeasurable loss of potential financial gains by the hospital resulting from the closure and decontamination of the hospital premises/services, the emotional trauma by the number of people under surveillance/quarantine for possible infection in Lagos and Enugu States for 21 days, duration of a period where everything in their lives would have been placed on a standstill resulting in unquantifiable loss of physical, social and psychological accruable. Indeed it will be arduous to describe the loss most of these categories of people would have experienced or are experiencing as a result of one man- the Liberian PATRICK SAWYER.

Now that Sawyer has brought ebola to Nigeria, the noble thing at this juncture is for the Liberian government to compensate all the victims of the infection from Sawyer and further compensate the Nigeria government. Those who lost their lives could be breadwinners or butter winners in their families and their source of joy, livelihood have been dashed. They deserve compensation and support in monetary and other terms.

Thus this is a call to the Nigerian government, well-meaning individuals, organizations, media outlets and even the now reliable force of bloggers to orchestrate the message that the Liberian government should as a matter of today commence a compensation package to all victims (the dead and quarantined) of the Sawyer-Ebola. Without mincing words, it will be fair to request that the sum of five million American Dollars to be given to the families of the late nurses of the First Consultants hospital, the sum of ten million American Dollars to be given to the management of First Consultants Hospital and all those that have been traumatized through the quarantine/monitor programmes should be compensated with the sum of one million American dollars each.

The crux of the matter is not trading blames of why and how Sawyer was able to spread Ebola to Nigeria but to sorting out the mess brought by Patrick Sawyer and prominently parts of the sorting process is payment of compensation to SAWYER-EBOLA victims. The compensation is not bringing back the dead because no amount can suffice for one life not to talk of lives. The lives lost are painful irreplaceable ones and we must establish that. Some might argue that the nurses who died were in the line of duty and the calamity that befell them were part of the hazards of their jobs. That argument would be very stupid and devilish but could possible hold water if the victims were fully aware they were treating a deadly incurable case. If Patrick Sawyer would have been responsible enough to mention to the hospital on arrival that he was a likely victim of Ebola and the nurses/doctors proceed to treat him and were infected afterwards. On the contrary, he (criminally) lied to them and was consequently attended to and he got them infected and not due to their carelessness or lack of caution but through the deception of Patrick Sawyer. In fact the tale of one of the late nurses on Facebook, Ms Justina claimed Patrick Sawyer behaved so irresponsible when he was under admission, spilling his blood everywhere, an act similar to a report that he had done such while on admission in his home town of Liberia where he spilled his urine everywhere in the ward. What a character this Sawyer, definitely not loving. It is obvious then that the nurses/doctors who contacted ebola were deceived and such cannot be claimed as hazard of duty. As a matter of fact, the nurses and staff of First Consultants Hospital need to be commended for their handling of the Patrick Sawyer case; it would have been a disaster now in Nigeria if Sawyer had gone to a public hospital here in Nigeria. (No offence intended, it is just the truth.)

Because of Sawyer, a lot of traditions and things have changed now in Nigeria. Lots of businesses have suffered; lots of people have lost their source of livelihood. Imagine the litany of people who trade on bush meat, grilled beef, barbeque and the likes; hunters, food sellers and lots more. Lots of people have totally suspended beef/meat eating until further notice. The religious houses and social outfits have been hit hard too.

Presley Akhigbe

@presleydonEji

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE SOLELY THE AUTHOR’S AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF OMOJUWA.COM NOR ITS ASSOCIATES

Inside Politics of Direct Entry (DE) Form In Kano – Salihu Tanko Yakasai

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Staff Reporter

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Everyday, we accuse our leaders of corruption, mismanagement, and many other “diseases” killing us as a country. We always put the blame solely on the heads of our leaders, shielding ourselves and other sectors of any blame in destroying it. But in this article, I intend to expose the wickedness and heartless illegality in the sells of DE forms in Kano.

I and pretty much every Nigerian are aware that gaining admission into university is one of the most depleted phase of the country’s educational system and the most unnerving task of a student’s life. Final year secondary school students scramble to get admission into universities with all they can. They all sit for an SSCE examination; WAEC or NECO or both and also sit for UME formerly known as JAMB. What is more, these exams have been credited with serious reports of malpractice & fraud yet they are prerequisite to the ever daunting post-UME examination. Although, the post-UME was quiet an effort to counter the now implausible UME examination, the two together are just unnecessary, stressful, costly and unacceptable. But like many Nigerian issues, we have adapted, sucked it and continued to live with it.

In Kano, over 60,000 students graduate from secondary schools. A rough 15% of which will gain admission into degree awarding institutions but majority will opt for other tertiary educational programs like National Diploma, Certificate of Education etc. Many of these students will still, later seek admission into university via Direct-Entry (DE). Successful DE applicants join universities from second year upon completion of a 2 year National Diploma or its equivalent. Others that performed averagely join as fresh graduates, of which I know many graduates that gained admission via DE either as 2^nd year students or fresh graduates. Up until the last few days, I was never privileged to learn of the processes that entails gaining admission via DE. What follows is the sad truth surrounding DE-Forms in Kano State. From sheer irresponsibility, monopoly, fraud and exploitation, to putting peoples livesin danger.

I was attending a meeting in a friend’s house a couple of days ago when his sister asked him for money to buy a DE form. He gladly asked her the amount to which she replied 7000 Naira. After she left, he mentioned the girl was a 3 point student and he is very hopeful that she will be admitted as a 2^nd year student. The next day, our meeting was short lived as issues began to emerge regarding the purchase of aDE form for the youngest and only daughter of a family of seven to which I also got engulfed. For a start, the form can only be purchased in Zenith Bank branches around Kano. How and why JAMB chose only one bank to be their outlet, I don’t know. And I won’t indulge myself or anyone in spreading a false propaganda that Zenith might have lobbied or bribed officials to be chosen as the sole outlet of DE forms. Buts its worth nothing that Zenith have only 11 branches in the whole of Kano. 3 of these branches are loosely located around the Sabon Gari business area. The branches are; Murtala Mohd main branch, Bello road branch & France road branch. Thus, the choice of Zenith Bank as a single outlet is unfair to students around Kano State’s 44 Local Government Areas, inconsiderate and careless act from JAMB as there are other Banks with much more branches and a fair distribution of Branches that could have been added alongside Zenith Bank.

Fair enough, a Nigerian will travel to Wudil or Gwarzo (LGAs in Kano) who do have Zenith Bank branches if that’s the only place they can find a DE-from. But a trip around some of these branches told us they have ran out of forms. However two branches told us we can find DE forms in an internet café called Ciroma Café in Sabon gari area along Sarki Yaki road by Igbo road. Although surprising, it’s understandable that the banks have ran out of DE forms, but why a Zenith Bank staff was directing us to an internet café after their bank was chosen as the sole outlet was just pure irresponsibility and very fishy. Nevertheless, we went ahead to locate Ciroma Café in the middle of Sabon Gari area. When we got there, over 300 students were registering for one exam or the other. The DE form that was supposed to cost =N=5000 was now 12000 in Ciroma café; a customer was begging a young igbo man that goes by the name Ciroma to please accept 10,000 naira as he came a long way to find the form, to which ciroma replied ‘You can go and sort yourself I will still be here tomorrow’. I was still in shock when my friend brought 12,000 naira and ciroma looked at us and said its 14,000 naira. A joke it seems, we had to pay 14,000 naira to purchase that form for his sister, which was almost triple the actual price. There, we saw a girl cry because she can’t afford it, we saw someone who left to get the balance and retuned to learn that the price increased by another 2000 naira. He just cursed Ciroma and left the place. As a very optimistic indigene of Kano who believed the state still have a credible sanity compared to other states, this story left me disappointed.

Its quiet obvious that ciroma café is in business with Zenith Bank. A dreadful act that gives Ciroma café the power to monopolize and manipulate price of DE forms. To the café, it’s just business but this is sheer exploitation and fraud. The students that could not afford to buy at ciroma café’s price might have been deprived of the right to education, might also be thrown into the world of mental depression. Imagine completing a Diploma program in hope of getting admission into university and then realizing the form which does not ensure admission is not even affordable. The JAMB authorities are purely responsible because their chosen outlet have awfully failed in delivering the required service to sell this forms and the parasitic ciroma café feeds on the future and expense of young Nigerians. All over the world, students are given special consideration, discounts in shops, subsidize academic materials. The plausible Kano state government that have hugely invested in the field of education are pretty much not aware of this menace of exploitation of young Nigerian students. I do hope they will take necessary action with other stakeholders.

Last of all, the security situation in Kano and the recent bombings that marred Sallah celebrations forced the government to extend students break for another week after the School of management bombing. Yet, in the middle of Sabon Gari market is Ciroma café that gathers hundreds of students a day. Such gatherings are synonymous with putting the lives of young individuals at risk and should anything happen to this students, JAMB and Zenith Bank should be held accountable. I therefore urged the Kano State government security council to look into this matter as the lives of its citizen are being placed in danger. JAMB and the Bank should also ensure that only qualified applicants purchase DE forms in the future. I do hope all concerned stakeholders will take diligent action to pipe down this menace of exploiting students and also ensure & encourage DE-candidates gain admission through a fair process.

APC Has Captured A Lost Generation – Eta Uso Jr

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Staff Reporter

I feel it necessary to bring forward that the Digital Age seems to have done a little more harm than good. Well, at least more harm than good to the lazy mindsets of this generation.

How? It is simple. The wealth of information our generation gets exposed to in real-time is so alarming that it has resulted in poverty of attention.

Politically however, this poverty of attention has resulted in a chunk of the Nigerian masses not being able to determine or pinpoint what really matters most.

Nonetheless, irrespective of the poverty of attention ravaging our youths of today, one certain trait that seems to have remained constant is the desire to be popular on social media, or at most, follow what’s seemingly popular. This can be buttressed with the splurge of politically correct statements that seem to be everywhere these days, thus consuming the ‘lazy minds’ of this digital generation into thinking that what is ‘politically correct’ is actually Correct.

Digressing a little, one should not forget the impressive display of ‘good spirit’ by The Nation Newspaper under the authority of APC Chieftain, Bola Tinubu. The Nation Newspapers under ‘good guidance’ found it ethical to cut off the picture of a serving Minister in its print publication simply because the Minister in question appears not to be in good terms with the man who dictates the tune based on his privileged position as owner of the media outfit (The Nation Newspapers).

Pondering here is that, many ‘Nigerians’ (the kinds defined in the previous paragraphs) say they do not want the PDP anymore. All good. Taking them to task, when asked their preferred alternative, their chorused responses are often ‘APC’. Pushing further, when they are asked; why APC? They respond, they want Change and anything but PDP is ‘Change’.

From the immediate paragraph above, doesn’t this reveal clearly that these set of Nigerians truly do not know what they want? Such that they will settle for another party spelt as ‘APC’, simply because it is not spelt with these words ‘PDP’.

One wonders if these ‘Nigerians’ have pondered about how a man without power, yet could as much as cut off the picture of his perceived enemy against all media ethics in a Newspaper he controls. One should imagine or at least ponder what such a man and the party he controls will do to their perceived enemies, should they hold the power at the centre of Governance.

So help us GOD.

Osun Will Decide – Yemi Olutoye

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Staff Reporter

It is during the election period that you begin to handpick the intellectuals from the food mongers; when we encourage the ‘food for votes’ system, by default we also encourage the ’embezzle public fund’ process. How else will politicians replenish their loss if not through public funds… Unfortunately, the ones at the receiving end of bad governance are always the ones adamant to change. “Let’s eat from the government’s pocket while we can, let’s eat from the national cake” mentality.

Is it worth it? How we trade four years of governance with a bag of rice, a plate of ‘Odourless Fufu’ and all sorts. I thought it used to be a thing of disgrace when politicians make attempts to give tangibles in place of votes; is that not bribery in disguise. It is true that the way to a man’s heart is his stomach; but I never knew it was this serious. If we are to collect anything from political aspirants, it should be their words and manifetos. We are giving them an opportunity to sail the boats and if we don’t choose right, soon everyone will be in need of a lifeboat.

Soon, every Nigerian State with its politicians will acknowledge that they can’t have a successful election without first feeding its voters. More reason why the aspirants won’t attend an intellectual debate which originally, is meant to pull more voters; where they argue out what it is they have to offer. In a sane society and at the sound of debate, every aspirant will tremble and look forward to it. They will prepare like it is their last, read books like they will never read again and the only thing worth stopping them is if their health turns down on them. But, in this part of the world, where sanity is no longer our priority as long as “Oga” drops something, voting is sure.

If Osun will decide right… if we’ll look away from the distractions of money, vehicles and food. If the people will follow their instincts as to voting the man they want… if only… but it is high time I woke up from my dream… the people are already embracing the cars, money and food like a mother embraces her new born. Should we say it is rather too late for this? May be, may be not. But I still believe the ones who will decide will decide; even if it is one in a hundred. Osun will still decide!

Written by @YemiOlutoye

My Thoughts On The #USAfricaSummit – Seife Tadelle Kidane

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Dear All,

We witness that for the last one year African Leaders are engaged in different summits: – Africa-Japan Summit, Africa-China Summit, Africa Europe Summit, Africa India summit and at this point in time, USA for Africa-USA summit. With this notice even if all the summits are important from political and socioeconomic point of view but the most important ones are Africa-China, and equally the Africa-USA crucial considering the trade volume and economic and political muscles of these two economy powers.

Nevertheless what it strikes us a concerned citizens of this continent how we can strategize such kind summit race for our own citizens’s benefit and to prosper our continent as a whole? We have to bear in mind that no country is inviting African leaders for honeymoon, they have their own political and economic agenda as a country to benefit from untapped Africa natural and Human resources. Such moves from developed nations is not a crime from national interest and international law perspectives, rather our African leaders they have to attend the summits with Pan African agenda as one voice to make beneficiary the African population at large.

As for me, the first question should be identifying our interest and demand as a continent at this point in time we have to have a crystal clear agenda or demand which, we have to forward to the developed world with mutual benefit and respect. What would be our priority as a continent at this juncture? Is it Information Communication Technology transfer? Capital injection to our economy? Science and education? Peace and security? Or all of the above ? The above agenda or any other agenda for that matter it shouldn’t be present or crafted not only by the Government leaders but it should also be a comprehensive and inclusive effort of civic society, academia and other pertinent societal structure.

Consultation with our own people are vital and unwavering. Most of us were informed about this summit by international media or social-media, as well it is not clear or we do not have a clue what the agenda of this summit is. Moreover no one explained except Susan Rice televised address, how the continent benefits out of this summit and so on, there is nothing clear about the summit what will be the outcome? How the African population will benefit or vise versa. Some of our leaders they might consider as a vacation or retreat or to reaffirm their loyalty with United States of America.

One thing is true, whatever the outcome maybe we as a people of Africa we have to engage and voice ourselves not only through our leaders but through different platforms otherwise nothing will change in the ground.

I would like to remind the organizers of such important platform, the participants and our leaders not to ignore the demand of African people, which is primarily to get out of poverty and demand to live in peace and tranquility. For our leaders to be mindful and respect their own people. To know that any multilateral agreement or framework you are making today is likely to affect the generation come.

With this remark my advise will be to respect and demand our people dream in this important Africa-USA summit, and most importantly before you leave your country, communicate with your people at least give a press conference at different levels, make aware the agenda to the public, consult with all your people and constituencies and at last when you come back, tell the African people the outcome of the summit.

I wish all the best out of Africa-USA summit

Yours In Pan Africanism

Seife Tadelle Kidane

Views expressed are solely the author’s

Do You Love Nigeria? – Saleh Shehu Ashaka

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Someone posed a very interesting question today that really got my wheels of thought whirring: Do you love your country? Are you patriotic?

I’m not sure what it is that provoked my train of thoughtful energy to chug and chug, but I really put a lot of chug and chug into this question.

After much, consideration…I emphatically announce, “Yes. I am patriotic. I do love my country!”

To some, they may not understand the hesitation or why it would even be a big deal to make such announcement, but you’d have to come from where I come from and experience the things I experienced to understand the stutter step.

We can’t control the nation we are born in, but much like you can’t control that – you also can’t control the family you are born into.

Many of us have family members that do ugly and shameful things – and many of us still love them just the same. Some of us don’t feel the same way. Some people even go to the extent of dropping their family name and disappearing all together. Yet, for the majority of us, we stick by our family despite their flaws and shortcomings.

Our significant others have flaws too, but we are with our significant others for the things we love about them. We recognize the problems they have, but help them work to make themselves better because we love them.

I hate that my country has a religious & ethnic difference. I hate that my country embraces violence and ethnic hatred. I hate a lot of things about my country, but I love Nigeria

I love the fact that despite the uneven opportunities and playing field – if someone worked hard enough – s/he could still have control over her/his success.

The Nigerian family has a lot of beautiful members to it. The beautiful mixture of people that make up our melting pot. The things we have given to the world. Nigeria is beautiful. I love Nigeria.

However, Nigeria is not perfect, but I am willing to do my part in making Nigeria a better family. Nigeria is not the same country it was 50 of years ago. It won’t be the same hundreds of years from now. Nigeria is fluid. It’s a raging river that sweeps, drowns, shapes, and powers. It is dangerous and beautiful, yet, wild –but manageable. That’s why I love Nigeria.

Saleh Shehu Ashaka.

#KakandaTemple ~ A Letter to that Nigerian-Palestinian

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Dear Friend,

Before you accuse me of finding nothing worth praising about you and yours, let me quickly empathise with you, and of course myself, over the killings in Gaza. You, as a humanist, one whose empathy has no border, are a citizen of the world, one of the reasons the earth is still habitable by the sane. It would be morally irresponsible for anyone to frown at your frantic advocacy which seeks an end to the killings in Gaza, only that commonsense demands a man whose house is on fire to rush for the extinguisher for his own dwelling first, before attending to a similar fire elsewhere.

London stands up for Gaza, because London is not bereaved. New York Stands up for Gaza because New York isn’t being threatened by hurricane-somebody now. Palestine would not stand up for Chibok because they also have a strip of misery in which they are just as worthless: Gaza. And the young Malala Yousafzai who came and roused the conscience of her fathers in Nigeria, was not here as a Pakistani as you have announced in defending your geographically insensitive activism from my “secular advocacy”. She was here as a Birmingham, England-based NGO owner, to stand with the girls of Nigeria in whose education Malala Fund has invested thousands of dollars. She has, as the news says, even “offered to partner with the UN efforts to mitigate the impacts of the abduction and help the girls (whose welfare is a responsibility of her NGO) return to school.”

You see, it’s not the way you internationalise your empathies that disturbs me, it’s this seeming pretence that all is well in your backyard while you weep over the blazing fire in faraway Gaza. If you, and others like you, had been half as passionate and emotional in your reaction to local tragedies as you are over the killings in Palestine, the troubles in the northeastern Nigeria wouldn’t have escalated to its present extent. The Palestinians, and their global solidarity soldiers, have gone berserk over the burning of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khudair, their citizen, and you, amnesiac activist of a burning nation, have also been losing sleep over Khudair, ignoring the tens of Khudairs who die in your backyard every day!

It’s not the internationalisation of your empathies that disturbs me, it’s your lack of wisdom to understand that Khudair has his fighters — and he’s fully named, his age too revealed –while all the killed and abducted Dantalas and Asma’us and Johns and Naomis of Yobe and Borno are seen as mere statistics, unworthy of collective advocacy by you.

Ours is not a criticism of the northern establishment, but that of its hypocritical allegiance to “brotherhood of faith”, which is what you say in your solidarity with the Palestinians, ignoring that we’re just as bereaved here, and unknowing that Palestine is also a home for non-Muslims. But, wait, what sort of a human being is responsive to the tragedies that fall upon just the people of his faith?

Ours is a criticism of the collective, not of a specific group. This is a reminder that we have not done enough, not a declaration that we have not done anything at all. It’s a criticism of me and you who, safe from the bullets of Boko Haram, have not done anything comparable to the emotions shown in the sensitivity of our countrymen to the happening in Gaza. Are you, my dear global citizen, trying to say that we, especially resident northerners, need CNN and Aljazeera to remind us that there are carnages going on in our backyard before we acknowledge them?
Haven’t we all lost friends and friends of friends and relatives and relatives of relatives in this madness? What media is more effective than being actually bereaved? The most effective media is our emotions, and on this I dare say that we haven’t shown and done enough. My participation in #BringBackOurGirls shows me the hypocrisy of our Muslim brothers and sisters who, dismissing our hashtags as a gimmick, are now loud champions of #FreePalestine.

See, we are as bereaved as the people of Palestine and it’s quite ironic that, instead of gathering our lots to empathise with ourselves first and demand solutions and justice, we pretend as though all’s well in our house. Why are the people of Palestine not empathising with the people of Borno if our “brotherhood of faith” is actually reciprocal? Why? I repeat: why aren’t the people of Palestine extending their “brotherhood of faith” to us in the hours of our bereavements? The Palestinians have never stopped fighting. They have their men up and running against oppression. Who’s up fighting for us, especially for Chibok and the larger northeast? Why leaving these campaigns against Boko Haram’s terrors to just the members of Civilian JTF and #BringBackOurGirls campaigners?

You even said that no atrocity is more than that going on in Gaza, and I ask: is there an experience worse than having minors abducted, savagely raped and impregnated by terrorists? Saying that no atrocity is as bad as that in Gaza means that the sanctity of a Palestinian’s life is higher than that of a Nigerian’s. And that, fellow countryman, is an unfortunate and disturbing utterance.

Similarly, you have to be really careful in your advocacy. At least get relevant history books to properly understand the religious and political complexity of the territorial conflicts that have turned Gaza into a prison-mortuary. Your alignment with the Palestinians, your brothers-in-faith, may lead you into something called antisemitism. And you also need to understand that it’s the peak of such misguided hatred that resulted into the formation of a racist ideology that once sought to promote the “Aryan” German race as the best of humans. Nazism, consequently, championed the killings of the innocent Jews, who were considered threats to proposed German nationalism.

In your analyses of the happenings in Gaza, you have, quite sadly, pandered to a way of the Hitler-led Aryan racists who considered the Jewish race abolishable pests.

Do have restraint in understanding that the happenings in Israel is not a crime perpetrated, and supported, by the whole of Jews. It’s a crime perpetrated by a monstrous ideology championed by a people of Jewish identity, just the way Nazism was not supported by the whole of Germans, but by a small but powerful National Socialist party clique. If you’re to adopt this form of flawed thinking in portraying ethnic or religious groups, obviously the whole of Muslims should be similarly persecuted for the crimes of Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabbab, the Taliban and even Boko Haram who all pretend to be advocates of rights for the Muslim!

Hate the Israelis who, under zionism, did to Palestinians what the Nazis did to the Jews, but do not go close to hating the whole of Jews. Saying I hate the Jews means I hate some significant figures that shaped me, mine and the larger world. Saying I hate the Jews means I hate Jesus, who in my theology is Isah (AS), needed to authenticate my belief; saying I hate the Jews means I hate Moses (AS), similarly needed; saying I hate the Jews is an ingratitude to Albert Einstein’s contribution to science; saying I hate the Jews is an ingratitude to Sergey Brin, the founder of Google, whose invention has redeemed me in ways I’m incapable of repaying; saying I hate the Jews is also an ingratitude to Mark Zuckerberg whose innovation is the reason you and I are “friends” – even though we’ve never met – sharing thoughts on the ways of the world.

As long as you’re on Facebook, and employ Google to aid your quests for knowledge, both creations of inventors of Jewish identity, declaring that you hate the Jews is a contradiction, a joke clearly on you. And, as Muslims, your faith is threatened the moment you withhold your love for Jesus and Moses.

Don’t let a criminal be a representative of his race, religion and nationality. This approach, this dangerous stereotyping, has been the reason for these many conflicts we are still unable to resolve in this damned world. We must embrace our humanity, the only thing we all have in common, if we’re indeed interested in resolving our racial, religious, political, regional, territorial and ethnic conflicts!

Unlike you, whenever I see a group of people, the first identity that strikes me is the human, not the religious, not the political, not the racial, and obviously not the ethnic. Aside from my immediate family, my next closest family are the righteous people, people always in pursuit of Justice without discrimination, and of their other identities I’m unmindful.

I’ve long overcome the naiveté of hating a people based on the crimes of a group of which they are non-compliant members, just the way I don’t owe any non-Muslim and southerner apology for the atrocities of the Boko Haram. I only owe them explanation, defence, solidarity and empathy. My seeming silence over the killings in Gaza is simply because I’ve also been mourning, and also holed up in a mess of immeasurable depth. The Palestinians, I know, have global solidarity soldiers fighting for them. But, beyond hashtags, who are actually fighting for the redemptions of this place in which we don’t need a visa to reside?

This week, at our Abuja’s #BringBackOurGirls sit-in, as I listened to Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a woman whose public service records never really attracted my curiosity, but I’ve come to like as a humanist and patriot of impressive resilience, lament on the fate and conditions of the abducted girls and the dysfunctionality of the system in charge of our safety, something within me collapsed. So I withdrew from the crowd, hoping that could stem it, but I still couldn’t fight the tears. And that was how I left the sit-in, broken. This is because, in the cruel politics of migrations in this century, I have no home other than Nigeria, and the tragedy that befalls a fellow countryman, irrespective of his/her religious and ethnic and regional affiliations, is a shared grief.

I’m not inconsiderate to your reference to “brotherhood of faith” in standing for the people of Gaza, but I will never ever stand for them simply because we’re of the same religion. My own version of that excuse of yours is: “faith in the universal brotherhood of Man.” I only empathise with them because of a shared humanity. As for those who rightly explain that humanity has no border, which I also endorse, my belief in yours may only be confirmed if you also recognise the conditions of the Iraqi Christians who’re now fleeing Mosul, for they have been told by the ISIS animals to convert to Islam or lose their lives. Many of you are in Abuja, but participating in #BringBackOurGirls is seen as a “waste of time”, insulting those who defy the tasks of their 9-to-5 daily to be a part of the campaign, ignorant of the impending dangers, the danger of becoming refugees in your own city!

Yet, some of you have sought to typify my refusal to label corpses in order to know which deserves my empathy as simply a bid to earn a medal from the non-Muslims I’ve been struggling so hard, according to you, to impress; some of the same non-Muslims who, in a spark of mischief, have in their turn called me an “Islamic propagandist”, whatever that is, for condemning the profiling of northerners in the East, for endorsing a Muslim as presidential candidate… But I’m indifferent to their malicious labeling just as I’ve been to yours because you’re both incapable of denying me the rights to such expressions.

Humanity is still a joke because of this army of cerebrally malfunctioned brothers and sisters to whom we’re seen as hypocrites merely trying to impress the non-members of our group, for exposing a form of oppressive hypocrisy. Well, my dear friend, I don’t write to influence or change you; my writing is a sport that seeks to prove that I don’t think the way you do, and that the way I think is independent of yours. I hope this would be taken in good faith. May God save us from us!

By Gimba Kakanda
@gimbakakanda (On Twitter)

How injustice spurs Boko Haram – Ayisha Osori

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Staff Reporter

“It is hard to envisage an end to Boko Haram violence while government forces employ violence with impunity.” Zenn & Pearson

With each passing day of horror in Nigeria, as terror on citizens escalates and the body count mounts, it is becoming increasingly clear that injustice and the disregard which characterizes our relationship with rule of law is at the heart of our problem.

As Boko Haram wages war and others take advantage of the insecurity, paranoia is rising and so is the pressure on security agencies and state governments to address the fears of Nigerians. One result is that we are becoming dangerously accepting of the infringement of the rights of thousands of Nigerians. There is no justification for incarcerating innocent people, torturing and maiming them, impoverishing them and destroying their homes and property all in a bid to fight terrorism. This only makes it harder for Nigerian authorities and the rest of us to secure peace and hardens the terrorists’ position towards us.

The unfortunate truth is that the wide social injustice that we have generally accepted has come home to roost. All the years of passively receiving information about police and military brutality, extrajudicial killings and even rape, child abuse and domestic violence has left us morally weak and open to exploitation by the terrorists and those in authority. This weakness is compounded when we are selective about what injustices we choose to focus on and unfortunately with the rising insecurity; we are called upon too frequently.

For those who have carefully tracked the evolution of Boko Haram from a relatively non-confrontational sect talking about political and social injustice albeit with radical theories to a murderous, depraved group, one message comes out consistently: that the violent impunity with which the security agencies have dealt with the members of the sect and their families is part of the reason for the escalation in violence. It is generally accepted now, that the extra judicial killing of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 along with many other members, sparked the campaign of terror which has now engulfed us all. However, while there was mild condemnation, the majority ignored the news and maybe a few thought the killings were justified. Now we are paying for our silence and acceptance.

Screen grab of the video showing the abducted school girls | credit: AFP

Zenn and Pearson, in Women, Gender and the evolving tactics of Boko Haram, provide insight about Boko Haram’s escalation of the war to include the kidnap of women and young children. As far back as January 2012, Shekau allegedly threatened to kidnap the wives of government officials because the government was imprisoning and purportedly sexually abusing the wives of members of the sect. No one came to the defense of these women for whom there was no evidence that they were implicated in terrorism; now Boko Haram is inflicting their rage at this injustice on other innocent women, young girls and children.

As we grapple with the large-scale democratization of violence and the almost total relinquishment of the monopoly over the use of force by our Federal Government the accusations are pouring in and sadly they are not directed where they should be. “Why don’t people care about those being held in Abia as suspected terrorists?” “Why isn’t anyone talking about the attack on churches, on the deaths of soldiers in Borno?” The counter questions are: Where have you been all these years when the police routinely incarcerates innocent young men in place of the big man’s son who has committed a crime which needs to be atoned for? Where were you when young men were gunned down in Apo and the story was being framed as a victory over terrorism? In fact, where do you stand when the mother who worships in your church or mosque cries about her child(ren) arbitrarily kept from her by her husband?

How do we decide what to care about?

As a society we cannot pick what injustices to fight – we must fight them all. We must adhere to rules and allow for process to take its course. We cannot ignore the fact that thousands are being held and persecuted and we must not think that the cries of the innocent which we have blocked out will not find other ways of reaching us. How can we continue to live glibly in a society where it is okay for the police to waste people at will even if they are guilty? Blackstone’s Rule states that ‘it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer’. All over Nigeria, millions of innocents are suffering and we must heed the warning that ‘justice is the only route to enduring peace and security because injustice breeds insecurity’. We must change the tide and start putting the pressure where it truly belongs – not just on each other as citizen advocates but on the institutions and the people within them who must be held accountable for the powers they hold and wield in trust for us. If we don’t, then we must also accept that we have set the perfect stage for increased insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria.

What’s strangling democracy in Nigeria? – Ayisha Osori

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Democracy day has come and gone. The euphoria, if any, of 15 years of ‘uninterrupted democracy’ has long since faded in the harsh realities of our lives. The ravages of corruption lay waste to everything from the efficiency of our security forces to the lack of power and basic infrastructure. Millions have no access to pipe borne water and education and the grip of terrorists on our collective throat continues to tighten. Yet, politicians and those in government want a pat on the back for maintaining civil rule and executing the latest Aso Rock fad, the transformation agenda. But as laudable as kilometers of roads-soon-to-be-washed-away and the whitewash of aviation renovations may be, our assessment must go beyond the bricks and mortar of infrastructure to the soul of our democracy and our institutions.

The legislature and our political parties stand out for assessment because during military rule these key democratic institutions were banned. This meant that lacking the necessary growth through friction, trial and error these two institutions are more stunted than others. But 15 years is long enough to begin to see meaningful progress in the development of our political parties and the legislature and to ask: is our democracy deepening and maturing or are we treading water or maybe even sliding backwards?

The legislature is supposed to be a check on the excesses of the executive, providing oversight through the budget and law making with members of the opposition party working furiously to protect us. But in Nigeria the legislators are in the pockets of the executive. At the federal level, they sway to the tune of the president or governors, and in the states, their raison d’etre is to rubber stamp bills put forward by the executive as in the case of Akwa Ibom. If legislators were truly a check on the excesses of the executive then it is unlikely that the Akwa Ibom Governors and Deputy Governors Law would ever have been passed.

But that is not all. It is not enough that our legislators pass few bills of real relevance to addressing the high social injustice and inequality that millions of Nigerians live with. No, they are also known for shaking down the executive and other stakeholders– as the allegations of the Securities & Exchange Commission’s Arumeh Oteh and the Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison Madueke suggest. Few if any of the investigative committees that have been set up in the last 15 years, from the Elumelu Committee on the $16B allegedly spent on power to the Farouk Lawan fuel subsidy probe Committee have resulted in a prosecution, firing or even clarity on the issue which was supposed to be under investigation in the first place. The cost of the National Assembly continues to rise though with the Senate gradually becoming the retirement home of ex-governors and tyrants. As for the states, loyalty and thuggery are the key qualifications required, lending a tragically ironic truth to Fayose’s alleged pledge to okada riders that as governor of Ekiti, he will make some of them legislators.

This state of affairs is possible in large part because of our political parties and the lack of internal party democracy within them. Our parties are less about vision, programs, and like minds and more about platforms for getting into office to join the extractive system of government we practice. The main rhetoric of politicians in Nigeria shows that we are still largely trapped in pre-independence ethnicity and religion focused politics. Parties still operate the opaque membership system which forbids knowing how many people are members and who they really are, the better to not collect dues from them and have to rely on those in government who can amass public funds for party use. Time and again the parties prove that what they want are not people of ideas and principles but people who understand the way politics works in Nigeria: rigging, bribing, intimidation and increasingly by finance induced judicial activism.

Once dormant trains might be slowly chugging across the country but the pillars of our democracy were never set right and are now crumbling. Every election and every constitution review provides the opportunity to make changes which will dismantle current structures and build new, more inclusive ones. However, the quality of participation must improve. Until we get the legislature and political parties working the way they should, the type of change we want might never emerge.

Chibok: Why are our female legislators M.I.A? – Ayisha Osori

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Staff Reporter

What differentiates the 20 female senators of the United States Congress who signed a joint statement in support of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and the 34 collectively silent women in Nigeria’s seventh Assembly?

According to the New York Times, within 2 weeks of the campaign for the Chibok girls going global, female US Senators had also met with Secretary of State Kerry to push for sanctions on Boko Haram and surveillance support for the search. Senator Susan Collins, who co-spearheaded the effort, marveled at how easy it was to get the women together, “There was no need to convince, or cajole, or persuade. These girls cry out for a voice”.

Unfortunately, the female legislators in the National Assembly do not collectively feel the same way and it is important to ask why.

One possible explanation is that regardless of party, female Nigerian legislators cannot empathize with the public. Increasingly benumbed by daily reports of deaths and abductions, the argument could be, that if nothing was done in February when 59 boys were murdered in school, this abduction does not warrant special reaction. Fair enough considering the body count of over 2000 Nigerians killed by Boko Haram since Jan 1 2014. But Chibok is different because there is a solution which is to get the girls back. If the stories of abductions since November 2013 were not alarming, then the impunity of moving into a school and carting off hundreds of girls in the care of a government that was under a State of Emergency should be considered a game changer.

The second theory for their silence has been that the women fear alienating their parties and sponsors. We are 10 months away from the general elections and for those in PDP and APC everything is about 2015. But this is why there is safety in numbers. Using the Violence Against Persons Bill, currently languishing in the Senate, the respective chairs of the Committee on Women Affairs – Senator Esuene and Hon. Alaaga or even by Hon. Khadi who represents Jere constituency in Borno, could have galvanized all the female legislators. They could have shown agency and taken the opportunity for bi-partisan, joint house showwomanship to push for a bill that has been in the system for over a decade.

The lack of reaction is symptomatic of a larger malaise that infects all arms of government: a disconnect from the public, an increasing unwillingness to identify with social issues and/or recognize tipping points and a lack of accountability to citizens which stems from the doubtful legitimacy of those elected into office. That is the heart of the matter concerning elected representatives who are not concerned with issues which impact over 70% of the population.

While there is a global campaign to increase the representation of women in government in the belief that more women translates to sustained development, under Nigeria’s current political system and structures, it is unrealistic to expect this result. If we run a political process which is based not on valid votes but on rigging, violence, vote buying, security agency manipulation and compromised electoral officers, then we cannot expect to have men and women in elected office who are accountable to us.

This explains the problem identified in a Washington Post article where the authors pointed out that ‘the growth of women in African governance has not necessarily translated into real influence’ (‘nor translated into gains for women and children’). It also explains the silence of our female executives.

Some think that one of the biggest flaws of any feminist movement is the belief that women have an innate bond. Perhaps. But there is undoubtedly an empathy line that lights up once in a while. Sometimes all humans get the tug but there are situations, which are especially poignant for women, and loosing a child is one of them. The individual statements of a few female legislators and any behind the scenes support for the campaign are not enough. ‘I think when women come together across party lines, it is very powerful and effective,’ US Senator Landrieu said explaining why they acted. ‘When women stand united on an issue like this, we can bring tremendous amount of moral authority to the issue.’ It is a shame that our female legislators are incapable of understanding this.

It will be an even greater shame if we cannot change our political system to ensure that going forward, only the most capable and caring Nigerians get elected into office to represent us.

Nigeria, Terror and the #Hashtag Generation – Ohimai Godwin Amaize

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Staff Reporter

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We live in dangerous times. I grew up in a Nigeria without the nightmare of terrorism. In my childhood days, everything about us as a nation was not perfect but everyday presented hope in a new Nigeria that is possible. I grew up with Muslim kids. Some of my closest confidants back in my undergraduate days at the University of Ibadan were Muslims. I still have many friends and close mentors who are Muslims. I have great respect for them. For many years, Muslims and Christians have lived together in harmony even in the heart of Northern Nigeria, which is the homestead of Islam. Yes, there have been outbreaks of violence from time to time in our nation’s history between southern Christians and northern Muslims but none of these experiences come close to what Nigeria has witnessed in recent times in the plague called Boko Haram.

I am one of those who strongly believe that the streak of terror that has been unleashed on Nigeria by the Boko Haram scourge is far more rooted in politics than in religion or any other causes copiously advanced by some commentators and critics of Government. Let nobody get it twisted. This is not about unemployment, frustration or religion. No amount of frustration, religious sentiment or disapproval with the Government of the day warrants or justifies the mindless shedding of innocent blood we have seen.

There seems to be a devious attempt by some powerful elements in high places to make Nigeria ungovernable since the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan came into power. If this assumption is correct, unfortunately, their strategy seems to be working, as the plot is to constantly use the platform of terror to create a distraction from the work that Government is doing to improve the lives of Nigerians on a daily basis. More disturbing is the fact that beyond the distraction created by the incessant terror attacks, development has been practically put to a standstill in parts of the country that have become the most hit by these terror attacks.

Nigeria is bleeding. Only the wicked can feign ignorance of the fact that we are under siege by enemies of our commonwealth and nationhood. Irrespective of where we come from, the religion we practice or our political affiliation, we must never forget that we all have a collective stake in this nation and the failure of any Government in power to advance this nation ultimately reflects our collective failure as a people. This is what makes the politics of the Nigerian opposition quite disappointing. Without doubt, in any democracy, world over, it is the duty of the opposition to make the Government in power look bad and incompetent. The basic currency of politics is the quest for political power, many times at any cost. But such quest for power must also be moderated by a consideration of the public good whether we are the reigning champions or not. This is why US politicians, Democrats and Republicans team up to move their country forward after every election, regardless of which party wins the elections. It does not mean they agree on every issue. But the way and manner the Nigerian opposition and those who do not like the style of this Government have gone about their attacks on the Government of President Goodluck Jonathan makes one wonder if they really care that Nigeria burns to ashes as long as they are the ones occupying the seat of power.

This brings me to the current trend on social media, which in many ways reflects the unhealthy state of mind of the Nigerian opposition. How we degenerated into a society without respect for divergent opinions and views may not be far from attempts to deconstruct the mystery called Boko Haram. We have a brewing catastrophe on our hands. We have successfully created a groundswell culture that thrives on hate, abuse and demonization of “the other man” all in the name of freedom of expression. The kind of hate comments we see on the Nigerian social media today make the hate comments that fuelled the Rwandan genocide pale into insignificance. So much for freedom!

Indeed, the Nigerian social media as it currently stands, is a disturbing reflection of the collapse of our social values as a people. Intelligent debates and polite disagreements have been replaced with crass abusiveness even by people we expect to know better. We want a President that speaks with the accent of Barack Obama but we are not ready to build a tolerant opposition that exudes the decorum and sportsmanship of a Mitt Romney. The hypocrisy is mind-boggling.

The latest fad is to demonise everyone who identifies with the ruling PDP or works for the Federal Government. I am on familiar terrain and well aware of the abuses, rejoinders and attacks that will follow this very article. For the very active agents of the opposition on social media, every pro-PDP, pro-Government or pro-Jonathan comment today is inspired by the logic of the stomach. If some of us had access to bombs, we could literally throw them at people who dare to disagree with us. And we are the ones campaigning against terror on Twitter? We say we are democrats and we practice democracy, yet we are very intolerant of dissenting views. The tyranny of the opposition on social media has created a sickening culture that feeds on how well you can abuse or ridicule the Government of the day. The easiest way to become a hero, activist or advocate of the masses today on the Nigerian social media is to create or identify with a hashtag that denigrates, bullies, opposes or ridicules the efforts of the Nigerian Government. There is nothing healthy about this trend. We are committing cultural mass suicide in the name of freedom of expression!

What is more frightening is the fact that the hashtag generation is largely a generation of young people, the emerging generation of future leaders. It is also a potentially influential generation. But a section of this generation has succumbed to a power play bigger than its imagination can grasp. I shook my head in pity as I saw the kidnap of our young girls in Chibok shamefully reduced to a hashtag that breastfeeds the political ambition and ‘street cred’ of some power mongers. And I watched in utter dismay, an unsuspecting generation of ‘hashtaggers’ falling over themselves to tweet and retweet several hashtags on the Chibok tragedy. Then in the midst of the jumble, I saw a tweet from Blossom Nnodim, which captured what had become the orgiastic hypnosis of the moment. She tweeted from her handle @blcompere: “To the horrible elements that are using the #BringBackOurGirls campaign for political relevance, a day of reckoning awaits.”

Many times, one is at a loss at what we really want. The truth is, there is nothing the PDP Government of President Goodluck Jonathan does that will receive the commendation of the opposition. Nothing. This is why young Nigerians especially must be careful not to become pawns and victims in an opposition power rhetoric so desperate to build substance and relevance out of the collapse of the PDP Government in power, not minding if Nigeria collapses with it.

The war against terrorism affects all of us, APC, PDP, young or old, rich or poor, northerner or southerner, Christian or Muslim. The solution is not the demonization of Government or public ridicule of our military who are committed to fighting this war. All Nigerian citizens must come together to support the efforts of Government in putting this menace to an end. So much is being done that cannot be made public for national security concerns. The United States with all its military intelligence and superpower spent years trying to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. It didn’t happen in one fell swoop. Americans did not misconstrue several botched efforts to capture the world’s most wanted man as the incompetence of their Commander-in-Chief or the United States army. They were united behind their Government and the army. Prior to the day the United States army eventually killed Osama Bin Laden, the world in general and Americans in particular were totally oblivious of details of the military operation in far away Pakistan. We watched the details on television, only when it had become a fait accompli.

Nigeria has some of the best-trained soldiers in the world. They have participated in UN military operations in some of the most dangerous terrains globally. We want to #BringBackOurGirls but we must also #SupportOurMilitary to find the girls and end the nightmare of terror. We must encourage and support our patriotic soldiers who toil day and night to protect Nigeria and avert many terror attacks that we never even get to read about in the pages of newspapers.

It was former President Bill Clinton of the United States who said; “There is nothing patriotic about hating your country, or pretending that you can love your country but despise your government.” Nigeria belongs to all of us. I disagree that those seeking to take over Government from the outside love Nigeria more than those who are currently in Government. Such reasoning is at best, a farce.

Ohimai is Special Assistant (Media & Strategy) to the Nigerian Minister of State for Defence

#BringBackOurGirls: The Lost Maidens Of Chibok – Adekoya Boladale

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Staff Reporter

We have read scripts and heard folk tales of Angels and beasts
We have read Psalms and Epistles of monsters and princesses
In the cloud of our innocence
Beasts appears as angels
Monsters appears as love
For at the end of a scary fairytale
Lies, they live happily ever after

But today our marrows shaken,
Our souls trembles in fear
For we have seen beast as demons
And monsters as death.

In the step of bata, we shook to the rhythm of the ivory tower
In our quest for knowledge, we embraced the beat of Boko
Our huts were burning but the flames of shattered roofs deterred us not
Mama was shouting but we stick to our guns for knowledge is prime.

Parting the ashes of burnt villages
Trolling on the flames of lost hopes
We march as legions
With screams of death along our path
With echoes of agony beneath our feet
We head straight North hoping for a future full of bliss.

To the rhythm we danced
With hope and assurance that this part is ours to play
The words of the King restore hope
The flames from his lips gives comfort
For he has promised before heaven and earth
Sworn before the seven seas and skies
A world without tears and bitterness
A path laced not with evil eggs but gold.

But while we await the master to serve unto us the measure of brilliance
While our pens graciously dance, awaiting to solve the puzzle of Algebra
The monsters appeared as guards of the Kings
In the royal robe of leaves and dust we greeted them with smile
Our souls were filled with comfort for the King has made true his words.

Like wounded cats our smiles changed
The cheers and affections of our cheeks wrapped with flakes of fire
Oh no, the death that mama warned us about has come
The beast that papa feared has found us.

In the rumbling forest of Sambisa we march
In the wilderness far away where birds dare not sing
The trees and leafs trembles at the sight of the beasts
Snakes and scorpions seek shelter beneath the earth
I could see the squirrels with eyes soaked in tears
The grasshoppers weep in condolence for the fate to befall us.

In the camouflage of scholars we plead for mercy
With the purest of heart we beg for love
But the beasts listen not
Its ears blocked by hatred
Its hearts engulfed by wolves
Its lips taste for blood.

Dragged and bruised on the path long away
Blood beneath our knees map the path along
Our purity and flowers they pluck with force
And those who stood as Amazons
They send to great beyond

In chains and locks
Held as slaves for a sin we know nothing about
Our strength less body lies beneath the cave
Brutalized, marched, defiled.

Its almost a moon since the beast came for us
As mother forsaken us?
As father forgotten his little sun shines?
As the world move on without us?

Papa promised to be there when evil comes
Mama promised to offer comfort when sorrow knocks
Where is papa now?
Where has mama gone too?

They said the Kings lies in his palace enjoying the taste of hops
They said the guards tried to save us
They said they rescued us
They said it was a speech made in error

Oh mama!
Oh papa!
This dungeon we are tired of
They serve horsewhip as breakfast and slaps as lunch
For dinner they take turn to defile what is left of our purity.

Tonight we sleep praying
Hoping that death find us worthy for eternal journey
Tell the King he failed
Tell papa his sun shines rekindles no more
Tell mama promises are meant to be kept
Tell the world we fought and fell like Angels.

Adekoya Boladale wrote via adekoyaboladale@gmail.com. Twitter is @adekoyabee

Dear Shekau, we are on our way to Sambisa Forest – By @Obajeun

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Dear Abubakar Shekau,

I don’t know if you are a beast with human face, but I will, for the purpose of our conversation, refer to you as a living human, barring the fact that you have succeeded in turning all of us into living ghosts. We know you have the power to break, kill and rape. We only have the power to be your victims – we are at your mercy. For now, permit me to wipe my tears and come back to you.

******

By now, you must be back to Sambisa Forest from Abuja after you visited Nyanya to appraise the level of damage your boys did while on their way to hell. Congratulations on this evil feat, you are a Satanic HERO!!! Bravo!!!

There is a question that has suffered from Nigerians’ passion for debate, the question has been on for years and we don’t seem to be fatigued – whether you are working for God or the other way round. Either we like it or not, the message is that you are working for someone who sucks blood for a living and bath with motley blood of innocent civilians. Whoever that person is, he or she must be a beast. As both of us know, beast begets beast. Dear Shekau, you are a beast!

A hitching history, a haunting tale, and hazy dreams, all conspired to define nothing and yet, they defined us. Nothing is life; we are now nothing, a conspiracy theory of pains. Pains, feelings of anomy, of gruesome fear, of tears cascading in bitter drops and of a grin smile full of sorrow. Now there is evil in our thought, evils of the mind and of feelings. We are mourning, we are rolling in tears, we are sobbing, and we are gnashing our teeth, for everyone of us has witnessed to tears.

It might interest you to know dear Shekau, that we have a ruling class that has become a byword for a bizarre and berserk variant of kleptocracy. Unfortunately, the Nigerian state has proved itself to be incapable of arbitrating or mediating anything, except when it comes to the deployment of gratuitous and autistic violence against different constituting units and nationalities.

Like a childlike monstrosity, the Nigerian bandit leadership that you have succeeded in confusing, is frozen in conception as an instrument of Colonial Terror against captive nationals, utterly incapable of coming up with an organic structure that will satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of its captured natives courtesy of your evil trade.

Dear Shekau, we cannot rest because our sisters remain stashed away in your thick forest. We have swallowed a pestle, neither can we stand nor sit any longer. We cannot have a moment of comfort when our sisters might be languishing in a place far beyond our tears.

We have been coping with many betrayals and aborted hopes. Somehow, and like a stumped lover, we have always found the strength, the fierce energy to move on. But this time the omens of national regeneration are murky. You have tormented us for too long.

We have been told that you have separated our sisters – mature ones and immature ones. Fatimah, 20, she is the oldest. Can you please instruct your boys not to denature Fatimah? She nurtures a dream to build a future of economic justice and socio-political inclusion. The caveat here is that her dream is bigger than the manhood of your boys and her blood is bitter to suck. You will do yourself great justice if you can shield Fatimah from molestation. No worries, she will cook for you in tears and curse your boys while they randomly throw evil look at her until we come to fetch her.

Yes, we are on our way. Yes, the civilian army, we are on our way to fetch Fatimah and others. We are armed with our tears. We are armed with our resolve to confront the beast in you. We are armed with our conviction. We are armed with strange strategy that we will not reveal to you for security reasons. We are taking on the unsure future.

Since we are the ones you kill and rape, we have decided to face the evil giants, to take our battle to your door step, Sambisa Forest. Please open wide the path to your creek, you will host the people you hunt. We will invade you with our civilian innocence and shower you with our plea. Let your boys be prepared, there will be thousands to rape and there will be sea of bitter blood to drink by force!

Yes, the civilian army, we are coming!!!

It is me, @Obajeun

Jonah Ayodele Obajeun is a professional. He blogs @www.obajeun.com. catch him on twitter via @Obajeun

Flame Flame, Go Away, Come Again Another Day – By @Obajeun

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Whenever Boko Haram cooks human beings, you will see flame. Nyanya went up in flame. Jonathan wore sad face at the scene. Jonathan went to Kano the following day for a political gig. While mourners garnered their tears in baskets, Jonathan was in Kano throwing jives at his manufactured enemy, “even the little money my campaign office provided for refreshment and transportation for Kano delegates, Kwankwaso refused to give them that money. He did that so that the Kano delegates will be angry and would not vote for me.”

We are now back at the mercy of Jonathan’s Fizzle Logic – that we will have to live with the burden of Boko Haram until it fizzles out. Welcome to our arid malady, to the land of corruptive emergencies, waste ridden interiors, of stick-thin, half-dead children staring fixedly in different postures of hopelessness at an impending fatality, singing flame, flame go away, come again another day, little children want to play. The fatality is here, they have been consumed. Next set is on the line, singing the same song. We are doomed!

Watching a survivor on television giving account of the bomb fireworks, I saw how his perspiration resisted the cold ambience of the morning harmattan. Goose bumps took over his skin and tears continued to cascade down his bloody cheeks. The early morning harmattan failed to douse his temperature for beads of sweat began to form under his armpits, on his chest, under his temple and under his feet. The creases on his forehead moved in tempo with his palpitating heart. He was dead alive!

We keep chasing shadows. We are helpless. We don’t have a clue. We now hope on nothing except for Boko Haram to temper their stupidity with mercy. It is sheer arrogance for a snail to call an imbecile to a battle of salivation, the same way it is a suicide mission for a snail to call a horse to a battle of race, just like inviting Boko Haram to a contest of human wastes – it is a cruel absurdity!

We are also fond of wasting precious time, such as aggregating some sickening heads to design a road map to our Eldorado. We waste our God-given resources. We waste our talents and prodigious human endowments. We waste our tomorrow at the altar of our wasted yesterday. We waste the future of our children at the shrine of our today’s purposelessness. We waste ourselves with savage resolve. We waste a gifted nation even as we waste the destiny of the Black race. So the nation has overtime, turned to a collection of bloody waste. Any child born into this and fed on its gory rites must certainly turn out a blood-sucking Dracula.

The land is desolated, soaked with human blood and dead bodies piled high, tears everywhere in town. Graveyard is full. Dead bodies are on the queue, waiting for a new graveyard to be commissioned by His Excellency once he is back from the Kano bash. The spirit of the nation has decayed. Lugard’s contraption is gradually expiring before our very eyes. We are in trouble!

It is raining thunder and sulphuric acid. There is a golden rainbow in the horizon – we have metamorphosed into a set of people, aggressively confronted by the wicked side of life. If you do not bury a dead man because of his family, you will have to bury him for the health hazards his corpse constitute. Some nations are becoming a menace to global health. I hate to think that Nigeria is one of them.

Nyanya, you will have to live with your pains and losses until they fizzle out (referencing Fizzle Logic by Jonathan). I am with you here, wiping my tears on your behalf. Nyanya, get well soon…

It is me, @Obajeun

Jonah Ayodele Obajeun is a professional with a multinational. He blogs @www.obajeun.com. Catch him on twitter via @Obajeun

#FreeCiaxonIbadan: My Short Stint at the SSS and the Hypocrisy of Activism – By @Obajeun

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Welcome to the arid absurdity called Nigeria, our national theatre of hypocrisy. With an unrivaled pace, we are fast moving to the tarmac of departure where the soul of our nation might Rest In Peace. I pray not. But history has a way of reoccurring when you don’t learn from it. In our own nation-state, history keeps serving us, but we are not always ready to eat. We have walked barefooted with history. We never learnt, we never moved. So Yusuf Onimisi aka @Ciaxon, was arrested/docked for 13 days by the SSS for sharing photos. He has been released. I will save you the known details.

Whatever the ideological temperament of Nigerian leaders is, they are all united in their denigration of our collective amassed intellectual wealth to rubbles. The project of modern Nigeria, being a national project transcends individual ideological proclivity, does not brook intellectual dissention. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The discursive formation behind the cluster of modern Nigerian hegemony suffers from its own tyranny of intellectual dwarfism on human capital waste. Prisoners escaped, a PHCN worker was arrested. Unfortunately, this is the irony that has defined us. So we were all brought up in our warren of hypocrisy.

So I joined the protest in Ibadan having gathered about 15 protesters via twitter, not just to protest the arrest of the PHCN Engineer, but tell the world that those whose voices have been arrested have million voices to speak on their behalf, impunity is a sheer waste of existence.

The movement gathered storms at Mokola Round-About in Ibadan, and we moved to the DSS office at Alesinloye, having been trailed by some men of the SSS. We knew and we were expecting them. Just before we left Mokola, one woman, not known by me joined us. She obviously had a loud voice. I have never met her, seen her before, but I have read some gossips about her. “I am Kemi Olunloyo, daughter of a former governor of Oyo state. I am an activist.” She announced in high pitch. She introduced herself to the people on the streets, how she spent 37 years in Canada doing activism.

The entire country appeared to have been placed on a permanent war footing with periodic bulletins and adjustment of alerts. Yet everything appeared calm and unruffled on the surface, until you begin to probe the inner recesses of the society. The double-speak nature of people remains discrete and unobtrusive. An ill-judged joke could induce a nerve attack and send you in the wrong direction.

Before we are finally reduced to the status of a willing cast in a Travelling Theatre of torrid absurdities, or a National Theatre of screaming and forgetting while on the path to political Golgotha, the need to know why our handshake went beyond the elbow becomes very vital. Yet, as I have discovered, paradise cannot be surrounded by hell.

Unfortunately, Nigerians have opted for internal self-exile, the self-deportation to the autonomous zone of self-consumption where they get used to anything and move on with life. We don’t like troubles, we like where we are even if it is semi-comfortable. We have developed a thick skin that does insulate us from feeling the touches of pains. We are so used to discomfort that we are even comfortable with the fumes of blood decolourizing our landscape.

At the DSS office, we were stopped, surrounded by vans and armed men. “Who is the leader of this group?” One senior DSS officer screamed at us. We were all speaking with our protesting energy, with Kemi Olunloye filming with her phone and saying she was leading the group until the discussion got to another level. “You are members of Boko Haram, just tell us who you are.” The DSS Senior Officer screamed again while dragging our placards with us until I signaled to the other guys to peacefully release their placards.

“I am not a part of the protest; they just invited me to cover the protest as a journalist. I am Kemi Olunloyo, daughter of a former governor and a close friend of the former head of SSS in Abuja.” We were denied at the most crucial time. My camera was forcefully removed from my neck by another officer, my sun shade broke in the process and we were marched down to the inner receiving room, having been dispossessed of our gadgets. Kemi Olunloyo and one Sagay Agbalaya went into another room on the invitation of the head of the DSS Office, Mr Ndubisi. We were called one after the other to open up our phones, write down our emails and passwords including our twitter handles and passwords. After about 4hours, we were told to go on the directive of Mr Ndubisi.

Some of the DSS officers tagged one of us as a terrorist when he refused to reveal his passwords. This was Chinasa Ikelu, who was obviously angry that the daughter of the former governor denied being part of the protest just few minutes after she finished filming where she said she was leading the group before her phone was taken away from her. I kept cooling his frayed nerves all through. But truly, something is wrong here, the denial. Chinasa Ikelu went on to tweet about the denial and Madam Kemi Olunloyo took it as a validation of the terrorist trait in Chinasa Ikelu as posted on her blog.

I need to be convinced with logic that the denial was proper at that moment. I am not an activist, but seeing what transpired yesterday made me reasoned beyond the cocoon, I will keep advocating for what is right, but never to become an activist, a deceptive one at that.

We need to move fast to recover Nigeria from rogues, diehard leaders of crude armed men and women who are speaking from the two sides of their mouth to rubbish our intellectual fundamentals. We need to rid the seat of power of shallow thinkers who are hellbent to send our continued existence to its immature grave. We need to rebuild our trust arsenal and make life difficult for hypocrisy to thrive at the corridors of leadership.

I am @Obajeun.

Jonah Ayodele Obajeun is a professional. He blogs @www.obajeun.com. Catch him on twitter via @Obajeun.

Anti Gay Law And Matters Arising – Babs Iwalewa

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Staff Reporter

The recent criminalization of gay relationships, especially gay marriage by the Federal Government has brought a lot of rancor and uproar. Especially between those who are for and against the law. But beyond all these noise and sabre rattling, have we really paused to examine the real issues at stake? It doesn’t seem so as the whole atmosphere is still charged emotionally. Devoid of the emotions are there any issues arising from the signing into law of this bill? This shall be the main fulcrum upon which this essay seeks to intervene in the ranging controversy.

Sex has been a controversial issue right from biblical times. In fact a school of thought has it that the “forbidden fruit” that Eve gave Adam to eat in the bible was sex. Thus they were both expelled from the “Garden of Eden” as a result of this “sin”. However, over the years a dominant school of thought which has evolved opined that since all God’s creation was in pairs (male and female) then sexual intercourse should be between a male and female person. It should be noted that this school of thought is an offshoot of the “expulsion” of Adam and Eve from the “Garden of Eden”. History has it that immediately after the “expulsion”, Adam and Eve began to procreate and mankind began to increase in number.

This has been the traditional and dominant paradigm in which sexual relationships and intercourse is been viewed in most parts of Africa and indeed Nigeria up till this day. A major offshoot of this dominant paradigm on sexual relationships is the sanctimonious view held about sex as a “holy sacrament” between a consenting adult male and consenting adult female who are bonded together in a matrimonial union. Arguably, this has been the pervasive view in most parts of Africa and indeed Nigeria. It has also been a strategy which tended to hold the moral fabric of society together. However, as it is well known, to every general rule there has always been exceptions. In as much as sexual relationships were governed by this dominant paradigm in Africa and Nigeria, a certain minority deviated from this norm. These were the people who indulged in same sex practices (gays) and other acts of sexual philandering. These groups though in the minority were regularly fed by the avalanche of same sex secondary or high school boarding home colleges that dotted the landscape. But they all carried out their activities in a clandestine manner, aware of the wrath and ostracism that awaits them should they be found out.

The ascendancy of Western Capitalism and Western Imperialism especially under the guise of globalization in the 20th century led to a challenge of the dominant school of thought on sexual relationships in Africa. Hitherto, Western values encouraged a liberal attitude towards sex. The ascendancy of Western values in most parts of the world as a result of increased economic prosperity challenged this dominant paradigm. This led to the emergence of a new paradigm in sexual relationships which openly encouraged same sex relationships and sexual intercourse. The high point of this was the legalization of same sex marriages in most parts of Western societies. This emergent school of thought began to diffuse into other parts of the world not minding the existing norms and values in these parts.

It is in the light of this that the bill against similar sex marriages was passed and signed into law by the Nigerian government. For our level of development, and in order to preserve the social-moral fabric of the Nigerian society, the government seems to be in order by rising to the occasion. Nigeria today is buffeted by so many developmental problems such that the approval of same sex marriages will amount to a great distraction and further worsen the turmoil in the society. It may be safe for Western societies to condone and legalize same sex marriages because of their stage of development. In the Nigerian case, she cannot afford that luxury for now and even in some generations to come. The prohibition of same sex marriage is not a human right nor civil right issue but an issue of what is good for the society. This is where the paternalistic function of the state comes to fore. Comparing the Nigerian society with Western societies is akin to comparing “apples with oranges”. Yes they are both fruits but there are inherent differences in them that gives them their individual characters. Hence there may be no basis of comparison between apples and oranges.

The transfer or switching of gender roles which the modernist school of thought on sexual relationships seeks to foster on the Nigerian society is indeed confusing. When a male begins to marry a male and a female marries a female it begins to assail on the fundamental socio –psychological background upon which the home and family rests upon.

The modernist school of thought on sexual relationships can be rightly said to be anti African. This is because in most parts of Africa, what people do within their rooms (privacy) is better kept there and not revealed. Therefore making a whole lot of noise and pushing for the recognition of same sex marriage looks like a hurriedly crafted and bad imitation of foreign values. In as much as we need to be receptive and tolerant of other people’s values and culture, we need to be discerning and identify what works for us.

In conclusion, while the government seems to have acted right in enacting the anti gay law, government needs to be reminded to also face other issues inhibiting the growth and development of Nigeria with the same tenacity and swiftness it has used in signing the anti gay bill into law.

The views expressed above are solely that of the writer and not of Omojuwa.com or its associates.

Civil War With Unholy Ghosts – By @Obajeun

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Behold a landscape foaming with blood, killing field with expired bodies piled high. The heavens and the atmosphere are crackling and blazing forth as we plunge ourselves into our funeral rites, racing fast to join the comity of the departed nations. We are too poor for peace, yet we have unholy ghosts to fight.

Alas! There is no help in Yonder! Grills, cries, season of bombs and bombers, era of guns and gunmen. Kaduna refugees in search of their souls. Borno remains the cemetary of its citizens. Yobe’s people are roasting in flame. Plateau is leading the league of abattoirs. Kano’s fate dangles freely in fear. The other time, Lagos was boasting of its combatant readiness after a pilot attack has been inflicted. We have “unholy ghosts” fighting us, even in our dreams. We are too poor for peace, yet we have unholy ghosts to fight.

The land is cursed with fuming blood. Dead bodies littering ruinned churches. While this gang rape of innocent souls continues, some are flying jets to sympertize with victims, some are pardoning criminals, some are pointing fingers at evil forces, some are offering to pay religious assassins who have killed more than 500,000 Nigerians in Nigeria in the past three years. Welcome to the land of comedy where peace is for sale! We are too poor for peace, yet we have unholy ghosts to fight.

Rather than a genuine national consensus, this was the cocktail of contradictions that has borne the Jonathan presidency aloft and may yet shipwreck it. It requires a sober rectitude, tactical astuteness and strategic brilliance to plot one’s way out of conflicting passions. But for a man who has found himself in a great foxhole, Jonathan has continued to dig in with frenetic fury. Apart from a series of unforced errors, Jonathan has been helped along in his perilous misadventure by a string of inexperienced special advisers who will soon publish book for the angry populace to consume. As it is, we are in civil war against the unholy ghosts in the Villa and in the creeks.

We have venerated militancy to the abyss, we have rewarded arms carrying with honorary degrees, we have given people the push to walk when they actually don’t have shoes to wear and move. We have messed up the gods of logic. We have rolled out drums to dance shamelessly in celebration of nothingness in such that people who are suffering from intellectual kwashiorkor now think they have the cerebral grandstanding and space to jive. We dash out reverred positions to those who need intensive overhaul of their core value system, as to what their brain can produce. What has Patience Jonathan done as the permanent secretary of Bayelsa’s Education Ministry?This is the world we live in. We are too poor for peace, yet we have unholy ghosts to fight.

This is a dire moment for the nation. As it is currently constituted, the Nigerian political elite, particularly its dominant faction, is organically incapable of handling the challenge. The unforeseen contradictions of post-military anarchy and anomie have rendered the ruling party statutorily incompetent and incapacitated by its lack of transformative imagination and vision. We need an alternative. We are too poor for peace, yet we are being governed by a set of unholy ghosts in the villa and in the creeks.

Given the structural and systemic disfiguration of the nation, the PDP may win many more elections, but it is incapable of holding the nation together for much longer. A fixation with elections is electoralism in its worst and most berserk form. This is the time for the emergence of a truly nationalist class which will save Nigeria from political, economic and spiritual predators. Unfortunately for now, there seems to be none in the horizon. So by the time we all wake up from this nightmare in all its bloodthirsty absurdities, Nigeria may be gone to fury.

We have entered a volatile era, reminiscent of the old order when Yakubu Gowon grilled Odumegwu Ojukwu, shattering Ojukwu’s “On Aburi We Stand” slogan. Just like Ojuwku confided to Reuters, “we are now rolling downhill. It will take a great deal to halt the momentum,” we are today, rolling downhill in haste. We have on our hands a collection of bold ghosts offering amnesty to the state. And again, we have a presidency that is lost in his own warren of confusion. This is not the time to pray, it is the time to question our sanity.

In its classical incarnation, the state was the most powerful embodiment of national aspirations surfeit with mystical notions as the ultimate guarantor and protector of the sacred destiny of the people and the society. This is true of any pre-colonial society. In royalties, monarchies, empires and fiefdoms, state actors are carefully groomed and nurtured through a rigorous and painstaking selection process. But this is not the case today, the state is lost in its rush for national treachery, the people are naked, too poor to have peace within and yet they are being tormented by unseen forces, unholy ghosts.

In the end, since we now understand where our handshake went beyond the elbow, the advantage of the moment must be taken, either to bid farewell to the ruling class and stop the burial rites of the state or the country bids farewell to its blood suckers.

Jonah Ayodele Obajeun blogs @www.obajeun.com. Reach him on twitter via @Obajeun

NB: This article was first published in April, 2013

The President & the CBN Governor: in defense of institutions- Ayisha Osori

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Staff Reporter

I thought I had nothing more to say. That after 5 years of writing weekly, everything that I could possibly say about Nigeria, had already been said. But I find that when it comes to Nigeria – heartbreak country –there will always be new lows.

There have been many things written and said about the removal of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria but not enough about three things: the importance of institutions; the personalization of office; and the ‘clean hands’ argument.

There is a reason Obama’s first key message to Africa as President was “Africa needs strong institutions, not strong men. Yet, with the summary removal of the CBN Governor, the President of Nigeria took a bulldozer to the foundation of CBN’s independence which is critical for institution building, a healthy fiscal regime and the economy. It is not a coincidence that over the last 30 years, the number of countries with independent central banks increased from 20 to more than160.

Regardless of what we think about the relationship between previous administrations and past CBN Governors, until now, no one ever blatantly yanked off the veil of doubt about the CBN’s independence from the Presidency. There is a reason why after over two hundred years of US democracy, no President – even with constitutional powers, has ever removed the head of the Federal Reserve Board. One tried – and it earned him impeachment proceedings.

The problem with not waiting for the CBN Governor’s term to be over in June and then prosecuting him on the basis of the FRC report is that the timing leaves the President open to the accusation that he has no respect for the checks and balances necessary in a real democracy. In a country where ‘I am loyal’ is a salutation, successive Presidents may expect a CBN Governor who is loyal to them and not to the responsibilities of the office. It means that the public; witnesses to the crude and anti –constitutional removal, may presume that the new CBN Governor is a ‘yes man’ of the worst kind.

This brings us to the issue of increasingly blurred lines of distinction between occupiers of a position and the position. It is a dangerous norm in Nigeria to personalize public office – for a person to take on a role today and the next, become known to all, even parents, only as ‘DG’, ‘HM’ or ‘Honorable’. It is this inability to distinguish between person and position that has contributed to the degradation of our institutions. If the President, his advisers and supporters could distinguish between individual and ‘office’, they would understand that regardless of the alleged virtue of their position today, there could be a different type of President and a different type of Governor in the CBN 10 years from now and by setting this dangerous precedent, the independence of the CBN has been compromised.

There is a maxim in law – ‘he who comes to equity must come with clean hands’. It means that a plaintiff who brings a case before a court seeking justice must also not be guilty of the same offense. There seems to be a presumption that the disclosure about billions of dollars missing from oil revenue remittance is wrong because the Governor got a share or that the controversial CSR spend is linked to the missing billions. No. In the application of the maxim, the bad conduct that is condemned must be part of the transaction that is subject of the lawsuit. Yet this maxim is being used as a defense for the illegal removal of the CBN Governor. This line of thinking leads us deeper into the trap of brazen embezzlement of public funds which we find ourselves in. There is already a tacit understanding that only the compromised or compromiseable can get into the highest offices. Yet we want the compromised and compromiseable to have no personal thresholds. In summary, Nigerians with a track record for honesty (saints as political realists call them) cannot get into office, but we expect the sinners who get in to be honourable and never rat on gang members.

The Economist’s ‘What is wrong with democracy?’ says one reason why so many democratic experiments have failed recently is the emphasis on elections to the detriment of other essential features of democracy (such as building independent institutions). “The power of the state needs to be checked and the first sign that a fledgling democracy is heading for the rocks often comes when elected rulers try to erode constraints on their power – like the President did by illegally removing the CBN Governor from office. No amount of obfuscation about suspension and removal will change that. Weak institutions and a refusal to adhere to our written laws are major factors in our continued underdevelopment and social and political decline. Until we insist that laws are respected with no personal exceptions for individuals in power, amendments to our constitution will not help. As James Madison argued about the working of democracy, “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” This goes for every President and every CBN Governor.

Views expressed are solely the author’s

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi: The Unravelling Of An Anti-Hero – Joseph Olayemi

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Staff Reporter

In literature as in life abounds a multiplicity of characters who in their inordinate assessment of their capabilities define an exalted trajectory of their roles and importance to the advancement of society or organisations. Such characters in their full flight of fancy reject every reasonable attempt to restrain or divert them from their headlong dash into the cavern of disaster.

Such is the tragedy of the recently suspended Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

When in 2009 he was appointed to this position he came in with a restlessness of spirit anchored on preconceived ideas of how to revitalise the banking sector and other areas of the nation’s economic life. This can be attested to by his recent interview where he asserted that he already knew what to do before he even stepped into the portals of the CBN.

The problem with preconceived ideas is that most times they are rooted in narrow minded sentiments and the urge to exact revenge or supplant assumed competitors. Preconception blinds the wielder of power to emerging realities, as all contrary ideas or facts must be forced to align with his accepted wisdom. Unfortunately, from recent information coming out from the Central Bank this may well go down as the hallmark of the Sanusi years.

We can see this mindset at work in his erstwhile plan to foist a N5,000 note denomination on the country. All reasonable opposition to this harebrained agenda was rebuffed until he was stopped by higher authorities.

Also in this line is his plan to revert the lower denomination currencies from polymer to paper notes at the cost of billions of Naira. The economic benefits of such a change are at best very dubious. We suspect that the only reason he is pushing for the rejection of polymer notes is just to rubbish the achievements of his predecessor who introduced that scheme. Today more countries such as Canada, Isreal, Romania, New Zealand etc have fully embraced the polymer technology because of durability and security and are using it to print all denominations of their currencies. Why should Nigeria be an exception?

This brings to mind the need to always be on our guard and not allow ourselves to be deceived by individuals who see national office as an avenue to embark on a reckless ego trip.

Sanusi to be fair to him has a flair for playing to the gallery and he exploited this skill for a long time to cast himself as a fighter for the common good to the loud applause and admiration of some people. Nobody or institution was above his acerbic tongue – he took on the bank executives, the Stock Exchange, National Assembly, NNPC and even his employer the federal government of Nigeria.

However, due to his long history of getting away with his unguarded utterances and actions he eventually shot himself in the foot as he inevitably got to the point where he was dancing only to his own drumbeats. The frenzy of the dance soon led him to start throwing all sorts of figures into the air as “missing”. One day it was $49 billion, next day $12 billion, day after $20 billion.

When he reached this nadir it became obvious that something drastic has to be done to not only save the integrity of the Central Bank and the Nigerian economy but also to save Sanusi from himself because it was glaring that the imperial governor had descended into the land of giddy indiscretion.

This assertion is supported by the reports of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria(FRCN) which established the following infractions, amongst others, from the CBN’s own report on the bank’s expenditure:

Spending N1.2 billion on providing lunch for policemen and private guards in year 2012.
Making bogus payments amounting to billions of Naira to airlines such as Emirates, Wings and Associated Airlines for currency distribution. This sounds legitimate until we realise that Emirates does not ply our local routes; Wings Airline is not registered in Nigeria; and the amount purportedly paid to Associated by CBN exceeded the total turnover of the airline in that given year.
Making ambiguous payments in billions of Naira under such spurious sub heads as “centre of excellence”, “contribution to internal security” etc.
The CBN claimed to have paid N38.2 billion to Nigerian Printing and Minting Company in 2011 whereas the total turnover for that agency in 2011 was N29.3 billion.
Also we are now hearing of the award of N84 billion and N5 billion contracts without the slightest recourse to due process according to the laws of the land. This is the height of impunity.

Space will not allow us to itemise other salacious evidence of Sanusi’s financial recklessness but the FRCN document is already in the public domain for further reading.

The questions that are begging for answers are these:

If such indictable acts can be discerned from just the account report for one year (2012) what then happens if the accounts beginning from 2009 are put under the microscope?
Based on these verifiable infractions is Sanusi not more culpable of undermining the financial system than the Banks/Executives that he wilfully hounded and victimised?
With such poor management track record would the CBN still be a going concern under Sanusi had it not been that it is a banker to the federation account?
Has there been any attempt to objectively investigate the criteria for Sanusi’s takeover and hurried sale of some of the major banks in Nigeria?
Who and what has benefited from the billions of intervention funds that Sanusi’s CBN have been rolling out in the last few years?
What verifiable impact have such funds had on the Nigerian people and the economy?
Is the CBN a Ministry or Agency set up to award and supervise major infrastructural projects given the scope and variety of contracts awarded under Sanusi’s watch?

We wish to recommend that a high powered investigative panel be set up to thoroughly and forensically scrutinise the accounts and activities of the CBN under Sanusi since 2009 till date.

Such a panel should also focus on the process of bank acquisitions under Sanusi.

One example: analysts have pointed out the incongruity of Access Bank acquiring Intercontinental Bank and have likened that scenario to the case of a rat swallowing an elephant. They also allege that the acquisition may be one of Sanusi’s private acquisitions by proxy. Only a thorough investigation can clarify this great paradox.

We believe that the findings of the FRCN are just a tip of the iceberg given that their report was based on accounts prepared by the CBN itself. The mind boggles to imagine what may be unearthed when an independent examination is carried out.

The need for such an investigation is urgent and will help to strengthen the system such that no misguided individual or group will be free to run riot in future with our revered institutions and the collective destiny of the people of Nigeria.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Article written by Joseph Olayemi from Lagos

PS: The suspended Central Bank Governor has since responded to these allegations and his response can be found here http://omojuwa.com/2014/03/my-response-to-all-allegations-in-relation-to-suspension-sanusi-lamido-sanusi-readdownload-document/

Views expressed above are solely the author’s

An Open Appeal To President Jonathan To Intervene On Clemency For Tolu

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Staff Reporter

His Excellency,

President Goodluck E. Jonathan

Aso Rock Villa,

Abuja.

Nigeria

Dear President,

Sir, I am mindful of the productive use your Excellency could have put the few minutes used in reading this letter, and I appreciate the time. However, I know no other man who has the personality or power to grant my Appeal.

We were over twenty classmates with over twenty Nigerian Dreams. One of us from that beautiful Nigerian School “St. Charles Secondary School, Osogbo, Osun State” lives the nightmare of shattered dreams as he currently finds himself behind bars at the United States of America’s Federal Prison for crimes involving conspiracy to import and distribute Heroin and for which he was convicted in 1993.

Your Excellency, he has been behind bars since 1993. He has spent 22[twenty- two] years out of a 30 [Thirty] year sentence and he is presently 44 [Forty four] years old. The advent of the world wide web has collapsed the world into a global village and this was where in my passion and desire to re-connect with an old friend, I became aware of Tolulope Akinrosotu’s [herein ‘Tolu’] ordeal. His Parents, presently residing in Lagos Nigeria were equally located through the old NITEL telephone directory.

Today and after about 22 years later, about twenty of us are working together to secure the audience of the United States President for Clemency, that Tolu may be a free man. I never imagined I could write this, but when electricity from the National Grid powered my house without interruption for 10 days, my hope rekindled, that my simple request for the liberty of a fellow Nigerian is possible under your leadership.

Sir, your simple approval, recommendation and sympathy is louder than the 25,000 signatures that are required to get the audience of the President of the United States of America to exercise his prerogative power of Clemency.

A web site, http://www.clemencyfortolu.com to achieve this was opened in his honour in January, 2012 presently with about 2000 signees.

Tolu is one of the people in the United States of America serving the longest prison term for a non-violent drug related crime. The details of his conviction and life are available on http://www.clemencyfortolu.com

Tolu’s mother has spoken less than 20 [Twenty] words in over 10 years; as a result of post traumatic stress which confined her to a psychiatric home for over three years and the once promising family of 4 children is shattered.

Justice is 3way traffic; it is commonly said. Justice to the society, Justice to the victim and Justice to the accused. Justice has not been done to Tolu who has served a longer prison term than the conspirators of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

I have no doubt about his hunger and capacity to develop himself if only he could be given a second chance. I will continually remember the appetite and the doggedness Tolu exhibited to resolve complex issues during his time in “St. Charles Secondary School, Osogbo”. Justice for Tolu is the only way this can be achieved.

I have this belief that there is nothing God cannot do through you sir.

God bless Nigeria. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria, long live Mr. President.

Adedapo A Olumuyiwa

+234 803 405 7676

olumuyiwaadedapo@yahoo.com

If I Were Gen. Sani Abacha’s Son – Mustapha M.O

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Staff Reporter

605

Can there be someone in this country of ours today, especially a commoner in his youthful age that will not want to be the son of the late Head of state? Not just any country, but Nigeria for that matter. The few years I have spent on earth had given me evidences beyond reasonable doubts to come to the conclusion that Nigeria is naturally (please note the naturally) one of the most blessed countries in the world in any criterion someone might want to use to judge. So as the son of a president of this country you are top shot in any sphere of national life that you may find yourself. But being the son of one of the most influential dictator adds its own incentives.

I read through Sadiq Abacha’s open letter to Professor Wole Soyinka where he refuted the whole claims of the Professor regarding his rejection of Centenary award due to his dad’s atrocities. He only did not refute but also insulted the renowned professor. He quoted the reasons given by the Federal Government as justification for awarding Abacha as a monumental achievement and his sister Gumsu Sani Abacha also backed her brother in this fruitless campaign. My aim is not to reply Sadiq as Ayo Sogunro had done that, rather I want to put myself in his position and let you see what I would have done.

First of all, by the virtue of who I am (Abacha’s son now), I will have access to the best of education which majority of my contemporaries were denied by my father, so my thinking and take on issues must be logical and rational in all sense of judgments. But as we all know I don’t have to be rational as I have all the money and privileges in the whole world. But all the same, I will ask myself the following Questions:

If I were Abacha’s son, I will ask myself

* What if Ken Saro Wiwa was my father?

* Would Kola Abiola be able to defend MKO’s Legitimate mandate during my father’s reign just Like I’m doing now (i.e. Defending Abacha)?

* Would there be centenary celebration if my father were to be alive?

* Would the good people of Nigeria enjoy the freedom of expression like this if my father was alive?

All these and many more questions will be begging for answers in my mind because by de facto of what my father attempted to do, If he had succeeded and still alive, he will still be the president of the federal republic of Nigeria.

My Father remains the only proven past president of Nigeria guilty of Corruption, murder, impunity, and other forms of social vices both thinkable and unthinkable of any government.

The least I could do as a son of Abacha is to engage in campaign of good governance, transparency to the best of my knowledge in relinquishing all my father’s looted property, keeping silent to all my father’s critics rather than exchanging words with them because let’s face it, my father spoilt ground.

Finally if I were to be Abacha’s son I will engage in any activities that will go against my father’s legacy just to make the world see that, though he may be a dictator worthy of persecution from any angle, but he still deserves to be respected and honored because of giving birth to me……

But unfortunately I was not his son and will never be, that is enough for me to be happy.

Mustapha Omotosho

@almustaphaMOM

Terrorism: Time To Stand And Fight For Nigeria – Babatope Adeniyi Aiku

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Amidst political bickering and fraud, thousands of Nigerians die daily due to the inability of both the Federal government and security forces to curb continuous insurgence. Throughout my life as a Nigerian I have heard tales of unnecessary killings, be it by OPC, Niger Delta militants or Boko Haram. Administration after administration, Nigeria has been fighting various internal wranglers who claim to fight for “noble causes” yet, perform the ignoble. For nearly 5/6 years till date Northern Nigeria has been under fire from the Islamic sect popularly known as Boko Haram. This group has shed the blood of thousands of Nigerians; wasted the lives of thousands whose lives are equal to mine, yours and the Nigerian President’s. But, day-in day-out, the same rhetoric is blurted from the high towers in Aso Villa: “God is in control,” “It could have been worse,” and “terrorism is our turn.” I am sick and tired of listening to this. I am saddened that an army whose soldiers I have witnessed brutally harassing civilians cannot perform their duties adequately. Is there a chance they are ill motivated? I am amazed at the obvious inefficiency of the executive arm of Nigeria’s central government in fighting against this crime. And most of all, I am disappointed in Nigerians who sit in the comfort of their homes and do nothing to fight back against these mercenaries.

This is a black phase in Nigeria’s history. If we leave things the way they are we would forever regret the fact that we never took a collective stance to fight against Boko Haram. The problem of Boko Haram should no longer be considered regional, religious or ethnic. Whatever affects one part of the body, affects the rest. Our brother’s problem is ours too. The child who died in Izghe could very well have been your niece or nephew. The mother who was blown away in Kondunga could very well have been yours.

What use would this life be to each and every one of us, Nigerians, if we do not push and fight for the unity and peace which we have forever longed for in our nation? Our national pride is empty pride if we cannot fix the issues we have in our back yards. Boko Haram is not just a security threat but a social threat. The dynamics of living and doing business in Nigeria have changed significantly (for the common man at least) in the last six years. Families have been displaced, many left fatherless, motherless.

Time has come for us to fight. Redeem our nation. Taken on the burden of our fellow brothers and sisters who live in the north –Igbo, Hausa or Ijaw. We are one, on paper, in our hearts and in God. We must continuously fight to uphold our national unity and stability. Nigeria must change, it starts with me and you. It starts when we devote ourselves to fighting against Boko Haram. We all cannot and will not carry guns or throw bombs. But our words, our protests, our zeal and determination are enough, more than enough to push Nigeria. Enough to shake the pillars on which the elite wine and dine. Enough to awaken the lacklustre security services we have in our country.

I have written this because I believe that headlines will continuously report deaths of hundreds and thousands in Northern Nigeria yet, we would do nothing about it. We would become accustomed to it. It would become part of our daily lives and one of the things we learn to live with. We must all be aware of the damages the insurgence in the North has on us.

May the hundreds dead in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and other parts of Nigeria. May their souls rest in peace. God bless Nigeria.

Babatope Adeniyi Aiku

Views expressed are solely the author’s

STIR NIGERIA: Post-Presidential Media Chat, Borno Massacre & Centenary Celebrations – Adeleke David

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Before you ask me if you have become a political writer or blogger, let me inform you that there are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.

I have chosen to not be mentioned among the majority who stood for nothing and never embraced the despair of failure in their quest for the joys of victory. If things aren’t going right and you keep mute, you are no better than those in support of injustice.

I just had a cup of Lipton, and true to it, I almost drank a sugarless cup of Lipton. The sugar settled beneath like stones at sea bed. I unconsciously stirred to “play” with the crystals only to realize that they “disappeared” until I found no more. Then it occurred to me that what is not stirred never tastes sweet.

Nigeria, is to me, like a cup of tea. The sugar must be stirred. If measurable changes are to find root in this country, we must stir!

That means that we must displace everything that can be displaced. We must unsettle whoever must be unsettled. We must stir Nigeria!

A cold war it will be, but it is a war worth fighting to the finish. Nothing seems guaranteed but our determination can see us through the hard moments. We should stop thinking we are in times of peace. These are times of war; cold, silent and ruthless war for the heritage of our children and our welfare. War against the greedy minority. War against the facilitators of insurgency. War against western ideas and opinions that turn one against another. War against the madness that has become a norm in a once admirable nation. Take a cue from the Late President John Atta Mills of Ghana, and now President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. These are African leaders that are stirring their countries, the cold-blooded threats of the west notwithstanding.

If you are a true Nigerian, from your sphere of influence, STIR NIGERIA!

To nation building,

Adeleke David

Mr Effectiveness

@davidadeleke

http://adelekedavid.blogspot.com/2014/02/stir-nigeria-after-presidential-media.html?m=1

Views expressed are solely the author’s

If Rev. Awasum Is Not An Apostle for Christ, then He Is An Apostle for Colonialism? – Boh Herbert

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Short of being able to witness from the altar of God, Rev. Awasum seems to have enrolled as a disciple of colonialism. Here is the colonialism gospel he now preaches. He wrote:

“Colonization was the seed of enlightenment and education that liberated primitive Cameroonians/Africans and transformed their lives forever.”

Ma mami eeeeeh!

Rev. Awasum argues that it is instead Cameroonians “who (have) abused colonization”.

There is more. He explains (“if na kush”) that: “the original intent of colonizing countries in Africa was to free the people from ignorance, illiteracy and poverty.”

You read right! That’s Rev. Awasum for you. And he is not stopping on such a good act. He wants you not to doubt one fact. This is it, in his own words:

“…colonization has done more good to Africans and Africa than harm.”

Prepare to pay your bills to the colonialists all you ungrateful Africans and Cameroonians! There will be no free colonial lunch.

The Rev. Awasum tells us that colonialism can only be bad if fellow Africans or Cameroonians “stop communicating in colonial languages and turn to your own Cameroon languages.”

You can understand why this posting from me will only serve to further infuriate Rev. Awasum. What the eeeefff was I thinking? I should have wrote these lines in Kom.

Well, here is a Kom phrase that I could borrow to explain how I feel: right now: “Nyamf+ka!”

Boh Herbert

Sanusi’s Suspension: Jonathan and Co Ought To Bury Their Heads In Shame – Femi Fani-Kayode

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Staff Reporter

This government has once again shown that it has no shame and that it is utterly bereft of any semblance of decency or morality. A man blows the whistle and exposes the fact that 20 billion USD has been stolen and instead of commending him and promoting him he is accused of wrongdoing, criminalised, vilified and suspended. It is only in Nigeria that this sort of thing can happen. It has happened to many others before and now it is happening to Sanusi. I commend his courage and his ability to stand up and speak the truth to power. No matter what the government accuses him of now and no matter what trumped-up charges or baseless allegations they may come up with against him in order to justify their actions, the Nigerian people will always be grateful to him and indebted to him for exposing the rot and filth that constitutes the very foundation of the government that he once served. The level of impunity and disdain that the Jonathan administration has for the people and for probity and accountability is second to none. The message that they are sending is clear- no whistleblower is safe in this country and in this government. Their intention is to destroy all those that have the courage to stand up to them and to intimidate us all into silence but they will fail woefully. The more people they seek to destroy for no just cause and the more innocent men and women that they persecute for telling the truth and for exposing their monumental corruption and incompetence, the more they shall be resisted by people. What they have done to Sanusi is disgraceful and they ought to bury their heads in shame.

– Femi Fani-Kayode

Views expressed are solely the author’s

Slave Mentality: Nigerian Posts Advert Thanking President For Appointing A Yoruba Man As Chief of Staff

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Staff Reporter

One of my twitter friends Akintayo Adisa @akintayoadisa copied me in this. I could not help but share it. This is 2014 but people still post shameless things like this. Like Feyi Fawehinmi said, “we are finished in Nigeria.” Many are not likely to argue against that. How is this act different from what a slave would do?

An Open Letter To Nigerian Homosexuals – Kemi Omololu-Oluloyo

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Staff Reporter

To all the Gays and Lesbians in Nigeria, keep your head up. You are being driven away from your country. Canada and any EU country will take you on Asylum status. You are not wanted in Nigeria. You will be jailed 14 years and I your supporter 10 years. Go to a country that can use your expertise and where u can live in peace and contribute to that country’s quota and be safe. As time goes on, change your citizenship. Nigeria does not want you or love you. Our government says it’s not OK to be yourselves. They train our ppl and children to be fake. They attribute homosexuality to the bible yet they have broken every single 10 commandment. Many people will end up killing you via vigilante justice one day like in Uganda.
Leave before its too late. Do not closet your entire life. Good Luck and Best Wishes in your travels. Most of u gays have my number already if you need help with the asylum process. Call me if you need me as I know you all individually.

DrKemi Omololu-Olunloyo@HNNAFRICA on Twitter.

An Open Letter To Nigerian Homosexuals – Kemi Omololu-Oluloyo

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Staff Reporter

DrKemi Omololu-Olunloyo@HNNAFRICA on Twitter.

Let Those Who Are Tired Of Being Tired Hear Me – Kehinde Ajose

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Staff Reporter

I have a confession to make…I am tired. Tired of being stuck in traffic for hours as a result of a bad road network. I am tired of my pings not delivering fast enough as a result of comatose telecoms providers that just refuse to upgrade their services .I am tired of getting home and being welcomed by the darkness that woke me up that same morning. I am tired of people who talk more about their pastors than about God. For the Nigerian the tale of tiredness continues, and the script is written by a people who refuse to live the change they desire.

The tale of tiredness usually end like a predictable romantic comedy – you know where it will end …very predictable. The state of tiredness does not move the person to do something about what he/she is tired about.

“I am tired of my husband …he keeps beating me up and abuses me verbally”

“I am engaged to a man who does not value nor respect me. But he gives me money …what should I do? I am tired”

“I don’t derive satisfaction from my job, asides that the salary cannot even cater for a decent shopping spree”

“I graduated from the university five years ago, I don’t have a job, I am frustrated. This country is bad”

“I didn’t get that lucrative business deal because I am not from the ethnic group of the company’s CEO”

Ours is a generation of tired individuals who are tired about the narratives of their lives, tired about the country they live in, tired about the injustices they encounter daily as a result of the insensitive leaders who parade themselves in the political terrain. Every now and then we read political commentaries in our national dailies crafted by people who are tired of the state of the nation….but the state of tiredness hasn’t moved them to do something about what they are angry, frustrated, and bothered about.

Our nation is filled with politicians who never get tired of travelling abroad. They get there but refuse to apply what they’ve learnt to the growth and development of our dear nation.

LEAP Africa’s Ndidi Nwuneli made such a profound statement when she said “Find what makes you angry and do something about it.” In the same vein, find what makes you tired, and do something about it. Aren’t you tired of being tired? If our country has to be better, if your life has to be better, you need to grow and go beyond being tired, to being tired of that state of tiredness and employing workable solutions that will change the course of your life. The people who make a mark in this world are individuals who got tired of being tired and decided to light a candle, instead of cursing the darkness.

All in all, you‘ve got to stop being tired about the things that count in your life and start the journey towards writing a new tale starring you as someone who got tired and did something worthwhile about that state of tiredness.

Kehinde Ajose is a media entrepreneur and talent development strategist who helps individuals to discover and develop their talents in order to create wealth and become iconic brands.Follow him on Twitter-@splendidkenny http://KehindeAjose.com

Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Omojuwa.com nor its associates

Lest We Forget – El-Amin Yusuf Alronawy

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Lest we forget, we are in a country called Nigeria. So one should be careful of what he/she may critically say about this administration that plans to land in jail whosoever shall criticise its style and conducts. We have been aware of the illegal arrests of some patriotic Nigerians who took to Facebook to “vilify” this administration – as they put it. One example is that of Tonye from Bayelsa State (President’s state of birth). He was unduly arrested for merely criticising Governor Dickson. This is frightening! One must remain discreet, at least, if s/he doesn’t want to stay in jail. Lest we forget, truth is bitter.

Lest we forget, it was in this administration that the insurgency of Boko Haram escalated to the level of uncontrollability. The Federal Government is not ready to tackle the insurgency, neither is it ready to negotiate and resolve with the Islamic Fighters. Back in 2012 the group agreed to lay down arms if there was a honest approach and negotiation; they agreed to leave us alone. But sadly, the President ordered the arrest of their delegation, I don’t sympathize with the extremists, but what I am hinting is that the President should have used that golden, lifetime opportunity to have peace and let us have peace; it would have been a history by now. All in all, this administration has “groomed” one of the deadliest organisations in Africa and indeed the world; the JASLIWAJ. The threats posed by this group are very perilous. Lest we forget, its main target is to depose Jonathan and impose Sharia law in Nigeria. That’s what we called “asking for the moon”.

Lest we forget, our country was named “the worst country to be born in 2013.” Why was that? It is because of the nation’s failure on protecting human rights; its incompetence; its careless approach in tackling graft and corruption; its recklessness in prosecuting corrupt officials and many more. The most disturbing according to me, of all these is the jettisoning of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s letter which “raised an alarm over non-remittance to the Federation Account of $49.8bn being part of the proceeds of crude exported by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), between January 2012 to July 2013” even though the finance ministry quickly retorted that it was “only about $10.8bn had not been accounted for” and not what the CBN governor had claimed in his bomb-letter. For convenience, let’s assume that Sanusi was wrong, and that the finance ministry (the Federal Government’s proxy) was “right”. The questions to ask are thus: who engulfed the $10.8bn (as they put it?) and, what have the FG – with its EFCC and ICPC – done about it? The answers are simple; simpler than blinking an eye. For the first question, the answers might be based on probability: they probably knew those behind the cumbersome theft but they let them get away, with impunity. They may probably, as well, not know the looters and they didn’t bother to investigate. The latter is more deadly and unpatriotic. As a democratic state, Nigeria should not be afraid to fish out whomsoever is involved in the embezzlement of public funds. Lest we forget, President Jonathan has not yet spoken about this said letter or its content, save for a reference in his own letter to former president Obasanjo. What a President!

Lest we forget, it was in the year 2013 that ASUU embarked on its 6-month old strike, that has silently, brutally crippled the education sector. The reasons for ASUU strike is that they had an agreement with the Federal Government, some years back, and they wanted that agreement implemented. That was it. That was why they (the lecturers) refused to teach even after “no work, no salary” action. They took that risk. Serious. The villain in the piece, we don’t know. The President having no way out, decided to use strong-arm tactics to horrify the adamant Union. The Federal Government, through the minister of education, then gave ASUU one-week ultimatum to resume or face sack. The Federal Government was so clever that when they realised that ASUU was not ready to call-off the strike, they extended the deadline to December 9 in pretext to let them bury Professor Festus Iyayi, in peace. Eventually, ASUU remained adamant and shunned the Federal Government’s useless threat. They didn’t resume and were not sacked. It was later announced that they were “pardoned”. What a threat! What a government! What a country!

El-Amin Yusuf Alronawy™.

Www.elaminalronawy.blogspot.com.

Www.twitter.com/ElAminAlronawy.

The Nigerian Police And Poverty: A Personal Encounter – El-Kator

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Staff Reporter

From observing Police officers in all parts of the country randomly stopping road users for the singular purpose of extortion I prayed never to have any dealings with any uniformed officer. If that prayer was answered, the answer expired last year. There was a theft towards the end of the year and I had to make a report at the police station. Long story short, I had to make the report in a container, which was the “office” of, at least, 4 policemen. There were two chairs — actually, one; the other was a chair surface and two benches: one on either side with two tables between.

The container office was overcrowded every now and then: It was not strange to see people who had come to report a case seating beside suspects being slapped and hit with a thick wooden baton, and just opposite, another person being interrogated, all happening at the same time.

The policeman assigned to my case told me that I would need to provide money for his “mobility” to investigate the theft. Well, after consulting with people, I told him to forget the mobility money as there would be no guarantee if the money would be used for that purpose or not. Then I told him to give me an Extract (an official summary of a reported case by the police). The policeman said the Extract would cost me N2,000. I gave him the money and asked for a receipt. The man, in mock bravado, gave the money back to me and said when I’m ready to collect the extract I should come back.

Days later, I went back and asked for the Extract. He called his fellow officers, who were outside the container, and narrated our N2000 ordeal. They all laughed, making fun of my requesting receipt of payment. Then another officer took me to the side and pleaded with me explaining the “extract” money. He told me to look around, saying that they were starved of funds and pleadingly said that the money for extract is basically what they use to run the office. He said, there is no fixed sum for extract, but it’s just money used to pay for stationery, purchase files et al. I gave him the N2000. He thanked me and said to come tomorrow for the Extract. The next day the extract was ready. After collecting it, the Policeman asked me to please help him make a photocopy as there was no photocopier. Do you really want to read more?

El – Kator Abaagu

Strange Behaviours: Fear Induce – Abba Mustapha @Abbatyyy

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Staff Reporter

Fear is a strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger. It is a survival mechanism occurring in a response to a specific stimulus. It causes entities in response, to pull far away from it (either by fight-or-flight or freeze/paralysis) and disappear.

In trying to pull away, there are behaviors induced by fear elicited by individuals. Some of these fear-induced behaviors are sometimes impossible to imagine in individuals who are not in a state of fear. If these behaviors sometimes are narrated, it will be like an exaggeration of what actually happened, but they are not.

That was how Rabi, a neighbor in Maiduguri jumped over our common 3meters fence; yes 3meters into our house when armed robbers about 20 of them (according to her) were tormenting her father. With her narration, guess what my younger brother did? He defecated (shit) in his trousers.

My- G too, an acquaintance jumped over about 2 meters barb-wire fence when he was chased during a night kame- a police ambushed-arrest usually carried out after occurrence of criminal act in an area. Even the police officer chasing My-G could not believe how he lost his prey that was right in front of him. The officer was even telling his partner that My-G must be a ghost.

A dog will normally run for its life with the sight/sound of anything that has to do with hyena. Snoopy, a neighbor’s dog (a nightmare for everyone in that area) did not run and stood still at the sight of a passing hyena walked by mai wasan kura (a person that plays with hyena around a market to get money). At first, everyone around hailed Snoopy for its rare courage of not running away. Long after the hyena passed, Snoopy was still standing at the same spot frozen. What happened? Snoopy died standing gallantly. Isn’t it strange?

#KakandaTemple ~ The Future Awards and its Misrepresentation of the Nigerian Youth

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Staff Reporter

I have absolute confidence in the strength and ability of the Nigerian youth. All over the world, the Nigerian youth is a newsmaker, known for exhibiting talent, using his brain either to redeem or to reduce whichever system he is in. The Nigerian youth, despite having bad role models, has defied setbacks and limitations to climb up the ladder of excellence. This is why I am among the many upset by the misrepresentation of their achievements by the sham called “The Future Awards” – an award which was designed to highlight these achievements, but has been reduced to rewarding the ‘efforts’ of the organisers and their friends and friends of their friends!

Whoever is in charge of TFA – a comedian who has recently published a list of 100 most outstanding young Nigerians embarrassingly dubbed “The 100 Guardians of the Future” – has not only misrepresented the achievements of young Nigerians home and abroad, but is delusional for actually believing that cyberspace is a dependable database of successful Nigerians. Going through the list was depressing; I kept muttering, “Are these people really exceptional?” “What here is beyond ordinary?” “How about X?” “What about Y? Z?” The list just validated the the obvious, that TFA is really just a haughty celebration of mediocrity. A body with no fund for research in the age of Google has no business scoring the success of Nigerians and if it must, let it not embarrass the nation with a ridiculous list of self-adulatory make-up artists, actors, musicians, bloggers, and small-time entrepreneurs – tired and irrelevant – as the best of us!

This is why I dismiss the average Nigerian online for pandering to delusions that only escalate our woes: the posturing that we are the best, or represent the best mainly because we can afford the luxury of maximising the use of our gadgets. The Nigerians on Twitter especially, ever elitist in their thinking and method of approaching the nation’s political evolution and social realities, allied to nominate friends or Facebooking-and-tweeting citizens who do what a thousand others outside the social media do even better. The honourees are a cheap list of young Nigerians whose peculiarities are praised because the really peculiar do not tweet or are less known.

A click or two into Google search bar would’ve been motivating. There are Nigerians who graduated top of Ivy League colleges at 19 or a little older, became sought-after scientists and are now among the world’s finest scientists. If we must honour academic excellence, there are many of them. We have hundreds of them! Still in their 20s! Despite all the country has passed through this year, we find in the “Advocacy and Activism” category of TFA a list without a people who are risking their lives fighting Boko Haram, exhibiting a measure of appreciable humanity in the land of terror. No, I don’t mean the JTF soldiers. I mean the young and patriotic men audaciously referred to as “Civilian JTF”. Is there any advocacy or activism as dangerous this year? And there are also young Nigerians risking their lives in the peace building efforts across crises-ridden regions – like the organisers of “Peace Football” in Jos, attempting to blur the ethno-religious lines on the map of that awfully segregated city – yet their struggles are not mentioned in our tweets. Those are influential Nigerians, those are Nigerians who have touched lives intellectually, culturally, economically, politically, name it!

The tragedy is, nominating this people is a waste of time. They are virtually nonexistent: no Twitter account, no Facebook account, no friend and no follower. Nobody to promote their cause. Our obsession with the virtual world has affected our understanding of our realities, and that is why I won’t be surprised if Goodluck Jonathan ends up as our President in 2015. We’re embarrassingly disconnected from our realities. And if this list is a representation of our best, then we’re unfit to succeed these extraordinary Vagabonds in Power!

We appreciate only what we know, that I understand. But that is not the essence of an award. I minded my business when TFA used to be awards shared among friends and friends of friends and friend of friends’ friends, but the moment they gathered at Mr. President’s shadow and declared that those indeed are representatives of our best, the fraud became too obvious, impossible to ignore. Some journalists, for instance, risked their lives, and their families’, exposing the evils of, say, Boko Haram. Some were killed. Some were arrested. Some fled. None was considered for recognition. A few journalists sit in Abuja pinging and tweeting and sensationalising what actual journalists have exposed. Yet only the tweeting group is found worthy of an award for excellence in journalism. And nobody finds anything wrong here. Some journalists have been praised for merely contributing articles to foreign media. And there is another now in exile, with his family, suffering – for stirring Boko Haram’s nest in his newsgathering adventures. He remains unsung!

The Future Awards (TFA) misrepresents our achievements, simple. It’s a popularity contest that not only insults the intelligence and sensibilities of hardworking Nigerians, but hauntingly fraudulent. Its mission is bold, misleading and disturbing. How do we actually gauge an awardee’s influence? In cyberspace: by his ‘followers,’ and by his ‘friends’, no doubt. If we must reward our own, let’s do it right. Let’s stop asking for “your” and “another’s” list. Yes, there are people in the list whose recognitions are deserved, but their inclusion shouldn’t be an excuse to shut up. Nonetheless, I congratulate my friends in the TFA list – the best 100 of us! Also congrats to the Lagos blogosphere, the online version of Lagos-Ibadan Press, for its dictatorial representations of our (under)achievements.

As for my fellow northerners, I hope you see the backlash of our un-progressive attitude. This is how a pack of clowns and opportunists, to whom we’re just “almajirai with laptops”, organise cliquey shams to reward their own. It is not too late to overcome petty antagonisms over religious differences and ethnic supremacy to redeem ourselves. I cannot believe that a Nigerian has been listed as one of our best 100 for merely converting our Constitution into downloadable apps when my brother Nasir Yammama develops apps half-asleep, when a friend in FUT Minna has designed a rocket launcher. These are just my friends. A simple research would show there are Nigerian youth more promising, more successful, more influential, more important than my friends! Who knows, say, Uti Nwachukwu beyond Lagos Blogs? He’s not known for any nationally relevant thing aside from winning BBA, which a few other Nigerians have done, and now wearing good clothes and partying; yet he is deemed a representative of our achievements.

The important question is: how do we gauge influence and exceptionality? Who tells the achievements of the North? Ali Nuhu, even though he is not the best in Kannywood, wouldn’t have been recognised had he not crossed over to the South. How, I ask again, do we gauge influence and exceptionality? Answering this question should be the first task of panels set up to select our best. Everything else comes later. May God save us from us!

By Gimba Kakanda
@gimbakakanda (On Twitter)

2014 In View, The Pleas & Concerns Of An Unnoticed Citizen – Nwaorgu Vyne

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Staff Reporter

I’m 22. If I’m correct, that already makes you question how much I know.. You can stop reading now, You’re welcome.

But for those of you who understand the true concept of ” Democracy” you would be sure to already know that Democracy has never been a spectators sport. It is a game of “Involvement” the type that encourages activism.

That being said, I feel less threatened to make headway on the issues I need to address with this piece.

A lot of people have categorised the issues in Nigeria under the umbrella of imbalance, where there are the “Have-nations” & the “Have-not nations” separated by an imaginary line that cuts across the north & south divide where over 80% of the world’s resources are controlled by people who do not even constitute as much as 25% of the world’s population. China, U.S, and a good number of under countries are members of this set.

Some have also said that the problem with Nigeria lies in the fact that we are afraid to improve the fiscal health of our economy by moving Nigeria beyond its “oil dependence” ignoring the possible contributions of other sectors.

While these issues cause me sleeplessness as they multiply in thousands ranging from poor administration, to power struggle, to lack of internal democracy, to an unquantifiable quest by political office holders to bank as much power & funds for themselves… And at the end of this food-chain, a pitiable portrait of citizens interrogating themselves asking what’s the need to pledge ones allegiance to her country if the closest they can get to “Democracy” is a peaceful conversation with God on what the “ideal” Nigeria should look like.

Few seconds before grieving about Nigeria all over, I remember the promises in their manifestos, I remember them engaging us in the first few months of their tenure, I remember everyone hoping that the administration that precedes the former would be the best and I remember us all falling back to the days that feel like this…

Days where affliction doubles as an innumerable amount of students lose over 70days of their school calendar, days where we can’t decide for ourselves if being patriotic has done us any good at all.

Scholars have written intelligent articles on “Rebranding Nigeria” but somehow they ended up being mere successes on paper. There hasn’t been a ‘definite’ structure and procedure for the implementation of these ideas. The more reason everyone is discouraged to contribute a quota of their minds because somehow we all get culled into a faction of “mere contributors”…

2013 is gradually coming to a close and I’m more concerned about the part of the Nigerian Anthem that says “……One Nation Bound In Freedom, PEACE & UNITY” peace & unity is born out of “satisfaction”. An uncommon term since the history of Nigeria.

Judging by age, you may say we know little about our country. But the truth remains that we have seen too much to merely sit riveted and do nothing about it.

We may say “it’s not our business” but for the rest of lives we remain Nigerians facing global image issues when the little folks that spoil the vine starts with ignorance and ends where we throw in the towel by being unconcerned about things changing or staying the same.

Nwaorgu Vyne

Fighting Social Anomalies with Information Campaigns in Nigeria By Rees Chikwendu

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Staff Reporter

The media is relatively powerless when it comes to bringing attitudinal change; especially behaviors entrenched in the psychological sphere of the uninformed within a society. However, media can pierce armors of preconceptions if its targets, themes, appeals, and vehicles are wisely aligned. Therefore, it is possible for information campaigns to succeed in reducing traditional social ills such as corruption, sexual harassment, terrorism, and kidnapping through certain set goals.

Often times those with the leadership responsibility to address Nigeria’s endemic social problems have repeatedly been crippled – primarily by their own psychological disposition – thinking that nothing can be done about ‘institutionalized social ills.’ It is not rare to hear Nigerian government officials say: “It did not start with our administration; it has always been there before us.” Especially when they see how deep these problems have eaten Nigeria’s social fiber, those officials either surrender or blame the apathy of Nigerians. Put in another way; it is similar to a reputable doctor refusing to treat an ailing patient because he is unsure whether or not he possesses the required medical skills, or a ‘professional’ doctor blaming the patient for his inability to cure a curable illness.

Today, corruption has remained the bane of Nigeria’s society, festering and producing other social anomalies such as poverty, kidnapping, and terrorism among others. In most cases, Nigerian leaders blame the problem itself or make attempts to ‘solve’ the symptoms without looking at the causations and the correlations. In addition, there are usually no sets of goals from top-to-bottom or from bottom-to-top on how the problem can be addressed in the mutual benefits of the government and the governed.

It must be stated that for information campaigns against social ills to succeed, behavioral intentions against endemic social problems should be motivated and rewarded. The reward not only being financial incentives, but also reward of justice through punishment on any offender when reported, investigated, and found guilty.

This does not mean that financial incentives cannot be used as inducement to encourage the fight against social problems.

In addition, the government must implement transparent social mechanisms for reporting, investigating, and punishing offenders. This is where the motivation and reward come in again. Without such social mechanisms, peoples’ intentions to resist and report these problems would not materialize into unilateral actions. But more importantly, the institutions, organizations, and groups entrusted with the responsibilities to bring accountability on offenders must be persons of proven characters; unbiased-patriotic Nigerians drawn from criminal experts, religious leaders, lawyers, and students.

With the implementing social mechanisms in place, effective national campaigns with the right themes and appeals would be complementary. These campaigns could raise awareness of sexual harassments at work places and schools. It could also battle kidnapping, corruption, and drunk driving. These should not be a short-term information campaigns, however: effectiveness is evaluated within certain intervals.

The Nigerian government should initiate campaign programs at schools, work places, churches, mosques, clubs, unions, and motor parks with the right media vehicles. In addition, the government should create synergy with Nigerian filmmakers, writers, teachers, and bloggers to promote those social values that could bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes.

To mold behaviors of the citizens into habit patterns against social ills, there should be equal participation by all Nigerians. This is why responsible citizenship should be seen as a product that should be sold to all Nigerians through utilizing the right marketing strategies, and through engaging Nigerians in bit-by-bit units of the solutions.

Without identifying the different targets groups for these social problems and the right media vehicle to reach them, these efforts could lead to little or no results. To ensure lasting change, the government would have to determine which region of the country is faced with a particular social problem, which age groups are mostly affected or engaged in such acts, and what media is accessible to the identified target groups. It will not be sufficient to keep increasing the flow of information without identifying the necessity of its dissemination.

No doubt there is a progression in information technology, which reduces the physical barrier to communication within Nigeria’s information sharing environment to aid exposure information and increases knowledge against social problems. However, the pace at which this occurs seems to be very slow, attributable to deliberate attempts of continuing impediment of the supply of information to the detriment of public knowledge. Most of Nigeria’s current leaders are still remnants of the old-schooled dictators who fear the new generation of Nigerians that are empowered by new media and information to reimburse the damages they have inflicted upon the nation.

Granted, millions of Nigerians have widespread access to mobile Internet and to some social media already: all of which can be effective vehicles to information campaigns against some of the social problems. But most Nigerians are still finding it difficult to have access to affordable and quality Internet that would enable information sharing and to raise their voices against certain social ills. And not many of them can use the available mobile Internet to browse the web to carry out useful research that could aid their decisions and actions. Providing adequate communication tools is necessary for effective information campaign in Nigeria.

Again, there is the importance of motivation to achieving effective information campaign. Rather than spending millions of dollars in amnesty – rewarding criminals, the Nigerian government can redeploy the resources as incentives for preventing crimes in the society. The elderly and unemployed in the society could receive some form of social benefits, while engaging these into useful services for their community – to be ears and eyes for law enforcement authorities. This is where appropriate social mechanism becomes very handy. These people must be properly communicated on where and how they should report any vital information against crimes around them without any difficulty to consummate their motivation.

At schools – from elementary to university – students should adequately be informed and motivated to report instances of sexual harassments and dangerous activities that put lives in dangers without giving out their identity, (or if necessary, their identity must be protected when cases are reported). Similar guidelines would apply at work places to protect employees from being sexually harassed by randy bosses.

It is time for Nigeria to sell responsible citizenship as a product through traditional and new media by making conscious attempt to reposition the country’s image through information campaigns that would touch the life of all Nigerians. Because the problems that decrepit Nigeria today are no longer that of the elites’ massive corruption, but of the limitations to the people who fight the good fight.

Find me on twitter @reesful

Femi Fani-Kayode, Lagos, the Igbo and the Misinformed – Shola Adebowale

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Staff Reporter

There was an essay written by one seemingly grossly misinformed Ayokunle Odekunle titled ”A Rejoinder On The Igbos- Of Femi Fani-Kayode’s Ignorance and Proud Display Of It”, that I saw on Comrade Biafra’s Facebook wall and in one or two website magazines yesterday. So many issues were raised as regards the piece written by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode titled – ”Lagos, the Igbo and the Servants Of Truth” and apparently Ayokunle’s essay was a rather futile attempt at a rejoinder. In my view it fell far short of that and most of what he wrote was nothing but irreverent nonsense and disjointed verbiage. Since I am not given to being taciturn I only focused on one of his many manifestations of silliness in this very short response.

Under ISSUE 3: He pointed out that Lagos was not developed ‘by the Yoruba money’ but rather ‘that Lagos State was built (from ) oil money’.

MY TAKE:

Shola Adebowale “There is only one evil-IGNORANCE”,Socrates.

Apparently, any objective observer would know that the writer has an unbridled issue to settle with Femi Fani-Kayode, on a personal level.

Perhaps, it account for the venom that is herein unleashed to address the person and not the issue..and thereby destroyed the thought process of the writer (from making quantitative research before writing such a sensitive piece), all in a blind bid to tackle the writer and not the issue at hand.

Let me just cite one example and rest my case:

Any contemporary student of history of evolution of city-state in Nigeria, knows very well that the following city-states were not developed from oil wealth from fossil fuel – Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Aba, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Benin, Sokoto, Kaduna, Jos..etc..these are city-states that had developed first class socio-political and economic wealth with transatlantic and trans-Saharan trade (from oil palm, rubber, groundnut, cocoa, coal, tin, hides and skin etc) even before the Bismarck Berlin Confab’s-scramble and colonization of Africa, with structural ,infrastructure and landmarks, as attestation of being dated beyond 60 years old in the least.

Meanwhile, oil was just discovered first in 1952(Ogogoro), 1956(Oloibiri), both by SPDC and it wont be a money spinner for Nigeria until 1963(triggered by the paucity of supply in the international market ) during the 6 days war and a major fulcrum of global economy, wealth and power in 1973 (Yom Kippur war).

In other words, such issue like this ,shouldn’t have turned into another issue like the proverbial ‘chicken-and-egg situation’ to know which one comes first ,if and only if ,we are really sincere to stick to simple chronology of history.

Simple logic, any state in Nigeria before 1973 oil wealth is made not from oil wealth..unless we are saying that the super-mega structures like Cocoa House or those in Marina/Broad Streets, Liberty stadium, Ilupeju/Ikeja industrial estates(1st in Africa) etc are less than 40 years, i.e when oil became the main stay of our national economy.

“There is only one good-KNOWLEDG E” Socrates.

I ARISE!

I think we have over flogged some of these issues long enough, ignorance ,is the greatest undoing of this nation.

Power Hinged Corruption Network: The Fraud Called PHCN By Walid Moukarim

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Staff Reporter

Very recently the PHCN raised its fixed charge from 500 to 800 Naira, raising the question on why and what occasioned the increase?

Power has really not shown much improvement (if any), they are still charging for prepaid meters, they still in most cases take ages to fix faults, it takes ages to get transformers repaired, replaced or provided and more so the bulk of their field staff are on casual employment with only 8,000.00 Naira a month salary, that’s 10,000.00 less than the national minimum.

So when an organization generates 37 billion per month for doing nothing (fixed charge) and ups it to 59.2 billion and not the EFCC, ICPC or the “Peoples Representative” in the name of the Senate or House of Reps has asked any questions, one can’t but wonder the kind of country we live in.

Once it was the meter maintenance fee and fixed fee which totaled to 800.00 Naira, due to outcries and proof of the non-maintenance of, or replacement of meters the organization felt to lie low and settled the outcry with a fixed charge of 500.00 Naira. Then like a thief in the night crept in the 300 Naira.

A system so fine-tuned that they have come up with a meter procurement plan called CAPMI (Corrupt Acquirement of Power Meter Initiative) where for some reason you have to buy a meter from select retailers, and the cost of the meter will be deducted from fixed charge (not discount on charge per unit) paid by you. If it is refundable by nonpayment of fixed charge for some months, why don’t they provide it? Why the Third party?

If truly the fixed charge was funds for maintenance of system loaded on the gullible and unprotected Nigerian consumers that have for so long taken rights for privileges, who with their children chorus “up nepa’ every time power comes on, then why no transformers?, why do you get cases of communities contributing to buy various components for PHCN, with no bill adjustments for the communities?, why the poor service?

Neither Airtel, MTN, Etisalat, Glo, Water Board or even Nitel of then ask communities to donate fencing for their facilities as PHCN does.

With the laws on freedom of information and all, it is necessary for the PHCN and its men to explain to us why we have been in the borrowers association to fund PHCN just to prepare to be sold off, seeing that in a place like Egypt the power and water company is state owned and runs well!!

What explains why communities would be kept in the dark for weeks and months, still getting monthly bills for no service, with such funds at hand?

What explains the use of underpaid casual staff?

There is no reason other than corruption, incompetence and a conscious effort to defraud the people that we still have to pay for prepaid meters to be issued, or beg and plead for transformer upgrades or faults fixed.

All these reasons can be checked and corrected if the relevant bodies do their job, a job to be done without recourse to compromising ones name, office or position for selfish ends at the quantum expense of the Nation.

If those found wanting are brought to book and not let off with a fine that is a millionth of the fees they would have paid lawyers, made to bear the full brunt of the law.

“We the people by the powers conferred on us by the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, demand that the EFCC, ICPC, The Senate and The House of Reps give us answers, hold accountable all that should be held, to explain and account on the funds borrowed and generated by PHCN.”

@wsm4you

walidmoukarim@gmail.com

Now that APC Has Been Registered By Simon Kolawole

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Staff Reporter

You needed to feel my joy, last Wednesday, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC). For me, it was a dream come true. No, I’m not a member of the APC. In fact, I am not a member of any political party. I am one Nigerian with no party affiliation – and I know there are millions of us in this category. At election times, I evaluate candidates and decide who to support. Sure, I have sympathy for small parties, but I am not one to believe that one party is better than the other. Nigerian politicians are essentially the same. Swap the name of one party for the other and you get the same characters. That is why politicians easily defect from party to party without battling with any ideological contradictions.

Why was I so happy then? The birth of the APC, in my opinion, is another giant step in the democratisation project. Democracy is nothing without genuine competition, and one of the undue advantages the People Democratic Party (PDP) has been enjoying since 1999 is a weak opposition. We need a virile and viable opposition to make this democracy more exciting. The PDP goes into every general election knowing that it would win the majority of seats in the National Assembly and control most states, in addition to the small matter of producing the president. There is a popular view that the PDP has been winning through rigging, but even without rigging, can we sincerely say the opposition has ever been primed to dislodge the party?

Now that the APC has been registered, the real journey is just about to begin. Getting registered is the smallest part of the deal; strategising to take over power is the most difficult aspect. For those who are very enthusiastic that the APC is about to take over power, I would like to temper their expectations a bit: the party is still not big enough. With the fusion of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the emergent APC is still less than half of PDP. As things stand today, PDP has 23 governors, compared to APC’s 11. In the Senate, PDP has 75, more than twice APC’s 30. In the House of Representatives, there are 204 PDP members, compared to APC’s 135. In fact, the PDP is stronger now than it was in 1999 when it won only 21 states.

The good news, though, is that things can only get better. The first signal from the emergence of the APC is that the PDP now knows the opposition is no longer as fragmented as it used to be. The APC, which enjoys an amazing media advantage, has the whole world at its feet now. It can take the PDP to the cleaners with a superior manifesto. The PDP has the disadvantage of being the party in power, and therefore the party that has to answer all the questions about Nigeria’s underdevelopment. Nigerians need jobs, constant power supply, good transportation system, and a flourishing economy, among other things. The popular notion is that under the PDP since 1999, Nigeria has not journeyed very far into development. But the new party still has to market itself to Nigerians beyond the mantra of “anyone but PDP”.

For the APC, there are still internal issues to settle. The ACN stands for certain things that the ANPP and CPC are not known to stand for. The ACN preaches fiscal federalism and restructuring of Nigeria along the lines of “true federalism”. It is believed, rightly or wrongly, that the North stands to lose more if the so-called true federalism becomes a reality. Do the ANPP and CPC governors, who are now in the APC, believe in ACN’s concept of “true federalism” and “state police”? Is Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (who, in my opinion, is still the best opposition presidential material despite all his shortcomings) comfortable with “fiscal federalism”? These are ideological issues. The APC also have to deftly tackle the divisive issue of internal democracy in picking candidates for elections. They should go a step ahead of the PDP, else it would be a charade. In fact, they shouldn’t assume the PDP is dead and buried yet – they have to really mobilise support and aggressively build up membership.

Then there are questions about manifesto. How does the APC hope to generate the electricity we badly need? Will the APC privatise power or allocate more resources to the sector? Will tariffs go up or down? The downstream sector has stunted, perhaps because of issues surrounding deregulation, most notably the delicate matter of subsidy. Will the APC retain or remove subsidy? If it won’t remove subsidy, how does it hope to encourage investment in the downstream sector and unleash millions of jobs currently in bondage? As an enlightened young man, I won’t vote for any party because of bags of rice. I want ideas to battle against ideas so that I can make up my mind. There are millions of Nigerians like me. We may not be in the majority but we exist, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, I would like to warn the APC to beware of the group I call the Five Flying PDP Governors. They may have promised to defect to the APC ahead of the 2015 elections, but I don’t trust them. Their agenda may be different from APC’s. Of the Five Flying PDP Governors, only one delivered his state (Adamawa) to Jonathan in the 2011 presidential election. Buhari easily won in Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa and Niger States. This means, essentially, that these governors need Buhari more than Buhari needs them. I am not in a position to advise the APC on how to manage its politics (what do I know about politics, anyway?) but I don’t want to gloat and say “I told you so” when these PDP guys show their true colour in 2015. Nevertheless, neutrals like me are eagerly waiting for the real game to commence…

2015: Jonathan’s Real Friends, Foes and the Way Forward By Eze chukwuemeka Eze

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Staff Reporter

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Having written several articles on the current macabre dance and political crisis rocking Rivers State and x-raying its effects on the future political developments of Nigeria if not checked, I do not see further need to come up with another piece on this subject despite new challenges that need to be addressed. Even the poser by Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka ‘that the man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny’ could not sway me otherwise. However, while I was in this state, I opened a daily guide from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) titled ‘Open Heavens’ and was confronted with the bold title for the day titled, ‘Danger of Silence’.

The Spirit of God jolted me in a manner that seems to mean that no tangible result has come out of my past write ups on this issue, as peace still eludes the State, and the need to soldier on; especially given the nature of the new piece you are about reading and the fear of being misunderstood.

Undaunted by fears knowing full that peace in Rivers State and Nigeria is very close. Again, I took solace in one of Prof Soyinka’s quotes, “I think that feeling that if one believed absolutely in any cause, then one must have the confidence, the self-certainty, to go through with that particular course of action”.

If the above quote could not do the magic to sway me off my fears then the question of Edward Abbey that, “How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?” and the encouragement from Marvin Harris came handy when he stated thus; “I don’t see how you can write anything of value if you don’t offend someone”

President Jonathan and the Macabre Dance of Rivers State Politics

This road is one I don’t like driving on, considering the stand of the President and his aides that he does not want to be mentioned with the current impunity and untoward political developments going on in Rivers State. George Orwell, one of the finest authors of all time, in one of his works woke me up when he said, “Within any important issue, there are always aspects no one wishes to discuss.” As if I am not been cautious enough, Criss Jami reminded me in his two quotes that, “If you have to say or do something controversial, aim so that people will hate that they love it and not love that they hate it.” And “To be truly positive in the eyes of some, you have to risk appearing negative in the eyes of others.”

Though, I am not a victim of Ezea Pound stand that, “If a man isn’t willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he’s no good” but for some strategic reasons, let me stay action on this topic to later stage of this article and instead use this opportunity to, in a way, assess present President Jonathan.

Jonathan: The Journey So Far.

The faulty start of this administration based on the disrespect of the zoning policy of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and insecurity challenges occasioned by the wicked activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Harams sect coupled with the ‘unpreparedness of Dr Goodluck Jonathan for the office he currently occupies, due to the nature of his selection to run for the office of Vice President with late President Musa Yar’Adua and how he became the nation’s number one citizen as a result of President Yar’Adua death the Doctrine of Necessity that ushered him formally as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were some of the initial challenges that slowed down the smooth take off the administration. His initial plan before General Olusgen Obasanjo selected him to run was to re-contest gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State, while late Yar’Adua desire was to retire to classroom as a lecturer.

This seemingly setbacks did not in any way constitute as an obstacle to President Jonathan unflinching desire to contribute his quota towards building a Nigeria of his dream. President Jonathan holds the transformational pledge of promising less, but delivering more. His vision is anchored on his transformation agenda anchored on driving the country on the premise of Continuity, Consistency andCommitment (3Cs). Accordingly, it was the disregard for the 3Cs that had resulted in rising unemployment, inequality and poverty. But the regime has come forth with a holistic agenda aimed at the transformation of the Nigerian state with a strategy that gives cognizance to these 3Cs in the life of the administration.

The transformation plan draws its inspiration from President Jonathan’s electoral promises, the Vision 20:2020 and the first National Implementation Plan (NIP). The agenda is based on a set of priority policies and programmes which, when implemented, would transform the Nigerian economy to greater heights.

Job Creation, Macroeconomic Framework and Economic Direction, Infrastructure Development, Public Expenditure Management, Governance, Justice and Judiciary, Foreign Policy and Economic Diplomacy, Power Labour and Productivity, Health Sector, Education are some of the sectors the government has made some remarkable impact under this adminstration.

Though space would not allow one to highlight all the achievements of the incumbent, but suffice it to say that in more ways than one both impact and vision have been remarkable. Our transportation system, particularly his commitment for reviving the rail system in Nigeria leaves no one in doubt that things are changing for the better. The establishment of new Federal Universities within two years located at Dutse, Dutsin-Ma, Kashere, Lafia (Nassarawa) Ndufu-Alike-Ikwo , Otuoke (Bayelsa), Oye-Ekiti (Ekiti State), Wukari, Gashua, Yobe State; Birnin Kebbi (Kebbi State) and Gusau in Zamfara State is unprecedented in the annals of governance in the country. In the past two years, according to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minster of the economy, Prof Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the government have built 68,100 housing scheme across the six geopolitical zones of the country and now produces 28 million metric tons of cement, but needs only 20 million. So Nigeria is now a net exporter of cement. On power, 34 independent power producers have gotten licenses, three have actually commenced works and power supply has improved in many Nigerian cities. According to her (Prof. Mrs) Sure-P, Federal government earned N180 billion in improving child delivery, trained 9,000 midwives. The Port Harcourt to Maiduguri rail line will be completed in 2013, with more to follow by the end of the year. Her Inland cargo depots now handle over four million metric tons rising from 2.9 metric tons. Our banks and stock market are now stronger. Perhaps what needs to be done now is to see how the banks can lend to individual real estate developers at lower interest rates. Power, aviation and agriculture can now import at zero import duty, exchange rate is stable (N155-160), reserves are rising, inflation has reduced, our economy is growing- Nigeria’s economy growing at 6.5%, one of the fastest in Africa.

According to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Ballot box snatching and thuggery have become almost extinct and that it is the President’s deliberate policy to listen and respects the views of Nigerians. The negative deployments of freedom of expression, which has left Nigerians bolder and more asserting, and the President the most criticized in the world, is the cost of the President’s deliberate policy of openness, “In the last two years, the civic space have been expanded, “achievements of the government promoting the rule of law, integrity of state institutions and rights of citizens are legendary and that within eight out of 14 strategic targets set by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 have been achieved.

A Conducive atmosphere for improving and encouraging private partnership with government have made more to industries springing up and producing made in Nigeria goods, including Proforce–armored vehicles, Obajana – Cement, and Innoson – motors, creating jobs and transforming Nigeria.

Reveling in some of these feats recorded by the present federal administration, Nigeria’s Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo at a recent public function said, “Our public institution are being rebuilt, our National Assembly is vibrant, our judiciary is truly independent and our press is feared all over the world and that government has in the last two years placed a special premium on the rule of law and expanding the democratic space but most importantly that President Goodluck Jonathan has exhibited good leadership qualities.”

The Bond between President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi:

Reminiscing on the political crisis in Rivers State, I took time out to study the gladiators not minding their denials. The word bond means something that binds, fastens, confines, or holds together a cord, rope, band, or ligament, something, as an agreement or friendship that unites individuals or peoples into a group.

According to Cathrine Beecher, “The principle of subordination is the great bond of union and harmony through the universe and according to Rainer Maria Rike, “I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other.

A statement by America’s first lady, Mrs. Michella Obama readily comes to mind in capturing the bond between President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi.“Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond; that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.”

According to the facts available to me, these two great exponents of democracy from Niger Delta shares similar family background – raised in humble families and experienced the pains of being educated by poor parents. President Jonathan won the hearts of Nigerians with his expose that he was that student who trekked to school without a shoe, while Governor Amaechi had a sandal and one pair of trouser which he washes by every weekend to be uses the following week for the major part of his undergraduate days, even as the two political leader are products of the unique University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT and are among the big Port Harcourt boys.

Although President Jonathan is the older of the two, Amaechi have been in politics right from his days in the university, culminating to becoming the only Nigerian that was a Speaker of House of State House of Assemblies for eight years and have the singular credit of becoming the Chairman, Conference of Speakers in Nigeria while he was Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and later Chairman of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum, NGF as governor of Rivers State. President Jonathan on the other hand is the first PHD holder, (not honorary) to preside over the affairs of the country and the only Nigerian that left the academic environment where he was a Lecturer after having a stint with the defunct OMPEDEC and rose to become a Deputy Governor (Bayelsa State that was). Few years after he became the Governor of that state and few years after became Nigeria’s Vice President and President afterwards all of these without contesting a single election. While Chibuike means God is my Power and Amaechi Nobody knows tomorrow while on the other EbeleChukwu which is the name of the President means “God’s Mercy”.

While President Jonathan as the Vice President of Nigeria was suffering every humiliation in the hands of the cabals during the Umaru Yar’Adua led administration. Amaechi was the only Governor in Nigeria very visible in the office of the then Vice President and when President Yar’Adua passed on, Jonathan was been pushed around, Amaechi was among those at the forefront of ensuring that Vice President Jonathan assumed office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria when the National Assembly out of their wisdom came up with the Doctrine of Necessity.

When the election of 2011 came up, Governor Amaechi not minding some other options available to him opted to rally round the supports of other Governors to ensure that President Jonathan won the PDP ticket and during the election proper, Amaechi delivered two million votes from the state to ensure that President Jonathan got elected as the 14^th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Not done with all these affection to his own brother whom he shares some invisible bond not known to many Nigerians, he went ahead even while President Jonathan was the Vice President to ask him to nominate candidates to his Cabinet in Rivers State, this resulted to the nomination of Professor Israel Owate, who was the President’s classmate as the Commissioner for Education. Unfortunately, he could not drive the vision of the governor on education as fast as the governor wanted, so he was dropped. The governor requested from Mr. Vice President then a replacement. Again he nominated Mr. Moses Ahubele who manned the Ministry of Empowerment and Employment Generation till he died as a result of some health condition in the later part of 2010. After the 2011 general election, Amaechi requested from Mr. President and he graciously nominated Mr. Charles Okaye, who still serves as the Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community-related Affairs.

Who could believe that a person of this status based on his impeccable relationship and respect and love he exhibited towards his own brother the President could be haunted, humiliated, scourged, frustrated and his State turned to war zone even while his brother is still the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is the irony of life. Just for the records, these are some of the humiliations Amaechi was meant to go through – The plane of the Rivers State Government was grounded for no just cause, the PDP Structure in Rivers State was removed from him, his election as the Chairman of NGF duly certified and acknowledged worldwide is in the process of annulment, he was suspended from a party he so much love and spent so much to build, if not for the providence of God he would have been illegally impeached by five Legislators in a House of 32 members; a Police Commissioner by name Mr. Joseph Mbu was posted to haunt, hoard, insult and abuse him publicly calling him a despot, Governors that came to visit him were stoned. In the eyes of Nigerians, he stands as a great man while in the eyes of those haunting him he is a personal non grate.

What could have brought this in a relationship assumed to have been perfect! Barr Achinike Godwin William-Wobodo the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Rivers State on Inter Governmental Affairs who holds an LLM in Criminal Law and Practice and currently pursuing a PhD in Money Laundering and Anti-Corruption Law came in to assist, according to him, “the induced situation is caused by third party elements, who are either driven by the hunger for power or jealousy. The seeming situation is induced principally by two classes of persons, those driven by hunger for power which represents the group in Rivers State, and those driven by envy, which houses external factors. For instance, the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, my friend and brother, is at the centre of the group opposes to Amaechi’s style of governance and bent on wrestling power from the governor. My worry is not that they seek to wrestle power from him, because that basically is politics. My quarrel is the approach: the crude, undemocratic and uncivilized manner that they are going about it. In the process, they have undermined the rule of law, breached the peace of Rivers State and are threatening a breakdown of law and order.

The second category are persons who are driven by envy and the rising profile of the governor and the only way, to them, to break the rising profile of Governor Amaechi is to pit him against the president and hiding under the cover of the Presidency. For these persons, I think and honestly too that they have proven that they are not men enough to personally handle their affairs”.

President Jonathan and the Macabre Dance of Rivers State

Having listened to some of the funny and flimsy excuses posited by the Media Chiefs of President of his not involvement in the macabre dance of Rivers State and the counter claims by the Senate Committee that investigated the crisis and many great Nigerians indicting him over this I wonder what type of people actually make up a media Team of the President that ought to be proactive in its defense of Mr. President but have succeeded to generate poor publicity and name calling on Mr. President. With due respect to the much both Dr Reuben Abati the President’s spokesperson and The Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupr are doing the duo have not managed President’s media affairs well enough. Yes, Mr. President may not be involved in this sad developments in Rivers State and should not be mentioned for such ugly incidents seeing what his administration achieved in the rule of law by given the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC free hands in its affairs and how the elections in Edo, Adamawa, Sokoto, Ogun, Ekiti was done and how he duly acknowledged the winners of those elections coupled with other factors. All these great feats nosedived when he started playing games with the outcome of the last NGF Election duly won by Gov Amaechi and instead of improving on his democracy credentials he allowed himself to be used by some confused political gladiators and elements in his cabinet to play host to the Jang Faction of the Governors Forum that shamelessly lost the election. After the futile attempt by the funny five Law Makers from Rivers State to impeach the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree. The purported new Speaker, Hon. Evans Bipi was seen attending a function in the State House in Abuja. Before this funny attempt Mr. President played host to most of the key actors pushing or rather instigating the RIVERS State crisis at the State House in Abuja. Weeks to the full war against the peace of Rivers State, the First Lady was in Port Harcourt interacting and dinning with most of these key actors in this dance and all and all Nigerians are told of the non-involvement of the Presidency in all these. Let us assume that is the case, why is it that after the House of Representatives that investigated the grounding of the Rivers State plane and after four months the plane is still grounded? Why is it that after all the calls by both the National Assembly and other concerned Nigerians that the Police Commissioner of Rivers State, Mr. Jospeh Mbu is still in Port Harcourt executing his sad project in the State? Why is it that up till now only the Majority Leader of Rivers State House of Assembly, Chief Chidi Llyods is being investigated and kept under detention for the past ten days while those who instigated the crisis in the House are going about their businesses. Is this not the issue of the owl crying in the night and the child dying in the morning? Let us bring decorum and equity to prevail on this issue and stop playing politics with the lives and peace of Rivers State.

The Real Enemies of President Jonathan

Without fear of being misunderstood the true enemies of Mr. President in his political calculations in Nigeria are not Governor Amaechi and his followers, but those who by their actions have brought the name and image of Mr. President to shame and embarrassment going by their flagrant display of impunity in the political crisis in Rivers State.

Those who have by their utterances been overheating the polity ahead of the 2015 general elections attacking any Nigerian or section that have contrary views; those who are attempting to reduce Mr. President’s status from a National Leader to ethnic one (Ijaw nation), in a manner of speaking.

Those Ministers and agencies of government promoting corruption, highhandedness and antagonising Nigerians with perceived alternative views on governance are the enemies of Mr. President. Those promoting the infamy in Rivers State and looking at Nigeria and Nigerians as a conquered people and without knowing have indirectly by their misguided acts succeeded in ridiculing Mr. President and not those who are offering him constructive suggestions on how to be the best President ever from Nigeria. These are the true enemies of President Jonathan who wants to destroy him and make him a total failure before the eyes of Nigerians and the entire world. Those charlatans in the corridor of power that have reduced a great party like PDP to its present sorrow state of not being so sure of its future. According to Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State these charlatans in government should be flush out from the system if Mr. President intends to salvage anything out of his administration. These ingrates and confused minds should be invited in a room to be educated on how to govern a country like Nigeria than the mess they have made out of it a system that ought to have being a golden regime and sadly have through their inimical acts brought this administration to public odium.

Other agents hell-bent of destroying all the legacies of President Jonathan are those who mobilised youths that stoned the visiting Governors that came to pay solidarity visit to Governor Amaechi over his unwise, wicked and malicious humiliations without minding the results of their action both to the image of the President and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria as a corporate unity. In his reaction to the sad development, Hon. Dakuku Peterside a member of the Federal House of Representatives said, “I can describe it as barbaric, primitive and most unfortunate. It portends danger for our democracy and the continued unity of Nigeria. Some people hired thugs and ex-militants with the protection of the commissioner of police, to go and embarrass governors at the airport. That is most unfortunate and barbaric. You expect these people to visit Kano, Jigawa and other states where these governors who were embarrassed come from? Danger is staring us in the face. The other day, ex-militants took over the streets of Port Harcourt and the police did not do anything about it. They went and recruited them and took them to the Rivers State House of Assembly to use five lawmakers to sack 27. Yet, there was nothing wrong with it”

Thank God as it seems that both the PDP National Chairman, Alh. Bamanga Tukur and our revered leader and One-time Minister for Information and respected Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark have come to the realization that they utterances recently have not be of any help to the future of President Jonathan political calculation by apologizing of their attacks on Gov Sule Lamido and the progressive Governors in PDP for visiting the embattled Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi. According to Chief Clark, “I apologize to all Nigerians if my utterance or my action threatened the peace and unity of this country that all politicians, leaders should emphasize only those things that keep this country together. We cannot split; Nigeria is a large country. Love is one of the greatest things that bind us together and Nigerians should learn to love one another and work assiduously for the unity of the country.”

2015: Challenges before President Jonathan

A major challenge facing the current federal administration and which clearly will define the rest of its tenure if not checked with the urgency it deserves is the issue of corruption.

Though one of the major sins of Amaechi is his stance on protection and accountability of the state’s resources (the sovereign wealth of our nation) and confirmation of the fears of the governor, NEITI in a report had indicted the federal government agencies for the disparities in payments in the oil sector. It says, inter alia, that N175b is still not found in the Federation acct.

Recently, TI released the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, GCB and rated Nigeria as the eightieth most corrupt nation in the entire world under this administration and that our political parties and the Nigeria Police as the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria. TI’s 2013 GCB is a product of interviews with a total number of 114,000 respondents across 107 countries between September 2012 and March 2013. The Berlin-based organization said the primary aim of the 2013 GCB report was to explore respondents’ personal experiences of paying bribes for government services on one hand and on the other, to gauge perception of the integrity of major public institutions. There is also TI’s desire towards a better understanding of the willingness and disposition of citizens in countries under review to fight corruption. The level of corruption under this administration is not to be condoned if we are to survive as a nation.

2. The East-West Federal Road and the Second Niger Bridge

If these two major projects at the heart of the South-South and South East are not completed before 2015, its potential of posing a serious setback need not be over-emphasized.

3. The APC and Northern Elements Challenge

With the registration of APC by INEC, its threat come 2015 is not only real but has the capacity to stop PDP come 2015 coupled with the seriousness some Northern elements are attaching to the 2015 polls. Those that need to know about this have already confirmed it including both the BOT Chairman and National Chairman of PDP. What strategy to adopt to curtail this moving force should be of concern to any serious strategist in the camp of Jonathan instead of wasting energy to pull down a force that should be of help in whatever calculation they are advancing? Instead of the egg heads in Jonathan’s Camp strategizing and strengthening their base, they think by fighting some elements is the best strategy to sell Jonathan to other regions after all these obvious threat! Funny people!

Suggested Strategies on the Way Forward

A lot of time has been wasted pursuing shadows instead of addressing governance and rendering dividends of democracy to the people of Nigeria which will determine the fate of the party come 2015. Not minding obvious shortcomings, President Jonathan must be commended for the efforts to reach the true characters that will help his issue come 2015 recently instead of the charlatans that have constituted themselves as nuisance in this regard. Learnt that he is also billed to summon a peace meeting to be attended by critical stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to forge a consensus on how to resolve the crises and with the meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor Amaechi, Dist senator Abubakar Saraki and the five progressive Governors of Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Alhaji Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Alhaji Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) — who have been shuttling around Nigeria, consulting eminent personalities on how to resolve the multi-faceted crises in the country is a step in the right direction.

Commendation must go to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) who brokered the meeting between the president and Amaechi. It was learnt that Dasuki initiated the process of fence mending between the duo to douse the political crisis in Rivers State that has been threatening the security and stability of the country. Dasuki, in his capacity as the NSA, was said to have taken the initiative to invite Amaechi to a meeting with the president, certain that the Rivers State crisis amongst other security challenges, could do a lot of harm to the nation’s fragile democracy. Presidency sources said the NSA had been toying with the idea since eight opposition governors met with Amaechi in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, about two weeks ago to plead with him to meet with Jonathan and formally brief him on the situation in his state.

I will suggest in furtherance to this, that President Jonathan needs to listen to his brother, Prince Tonye Princewill the Amanyanabo of Kalabari scion on the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. I am aware of the efforts he has made to bring both President Jonathan and Atiku Abubakar to work together but the continued playing down on the issue of Atiku Abubakar by the charlatans in governance may be calamitous if not handled wisely. No matter what ever those surrounding the President that cannot even win their wards election are saying, Atiku Abubakar stands out as a man of vision who has a blue print to take this our country out of its present sorrow state. The President should for the greatness of this nation get to this man who is ready to give him clues on how to handle most of the challenges facing his administration but if he like he can continue with those who are after their belly and lack ideas on how to handle critical issues facing the country.

As Mr. President starts his consultations, he should endeavour to get in touch with the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, Shehu Shagari, General Gowon, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the CAN President Pastor Ayo Oritsejaforand plead with them to be sincere with him on his vision and plans for this country. The time of playing dummy is no longer an issue.

Lastly on this section, Mr. President needs to organize a strategically seminar with his Media Chiefs and re-orientate their shallow ideas of what it takes to manage such a magnanimous office they are occupying but sadly seem lost on how to manage it. As they attempt to emulate Alh Lai Mohammed is a far cry. Mr. President should ask General Olusegun Obasanjo and he will tell him that the Media Team of Atiku Abubakar managed by Mal. Shehu Garba and Ifeanyi Izeze stands out as the most portent and viable Media outfit in Nigeria. I will suggest that the Presidential Team to take some lectures from Mal. Garba on how to manage the offices they are occupying as the idea of unwarranted attack on some of the key actors that will assist the President in his future political calculations is the worst idea of selling a President looking for a second tenure.

Conclusion

In conclusion and in line with the recent postulation of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gown Rtd, it is not late to redefine, reform Nigeria. According to this living sage, “What is happening in our country today calls for sober reflections, as we entreat God on behalf of our nation. I want to believe that in spite of the gloomy situation made manifest by the escalating security and political challenges in our nation, the church in Nigeria, given its spiritual and human resources, occupies a strategic position to trigger process aimed at remaking, enforcing and reinforcing the blessings of Nigerian jubilee. It is not late to redefine and reorder Nigeria.”

Mr. President must build on the virtues that will assist our democracy by properly recognizing the office of the NGF Chairman in the person of Governor Amaechi and intervene and ensure that those behind the crisis in Rivers State are called to order and Gov Amaechi restored to his position as the Leader of PDP in Rivers State and Mr. Joseph Mbu redeployed as the Rivers State Commissioner of Police as a matter of urgency unless he has not done much harm to the image of Mr. President. With all that has happened, it is very clear to any responsible mind that Amaechi is not a push over when serious political issue is involved in Nigeria.

Finally, the RCCG Open Heaven daily Guide of 29^th July came handy at this juncture. Titled, Leading with God’s Fear, 2 Samuel 23:3 The God of Israel said,“the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” while to all Nigeria, the Action point throws more light on this by stating that, “A leader who fears God is both accountable to God and the people under him or her”. Let us ask that only such leaders will govern our lives and nation from now on.

God has blessed Jonathan and have offered him a unique opportunity to take Nigeria to greater heights and should seize this opportunity to right acts inimical to the greatness of this nation and write his name in gold by taking over governance from the charlatans controlling his government and deliver good governance base on the support given to him by Nigerians during the 2011 general elections. It is not too late to act.

Eze chukwuemeka Eze is a Media Consultant based in Port Harcourt.

ezemediaconcept08@rocketmail.com.

Rivers Crisis: Desperado Politics, Impunity And Threat To Nigeria By Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Staff Reporter

John Dalberg Acton a Philosopher and the first Baron Acton of Aldenham must have had Rivers State in mind when he stated that, “The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities”. Using the above statement, let us see if recent developments in Rivers State show that Nigeria is truly free.

“The state of anarchy, oppression, victimization and anomie is indeed here with us in Rivers State. This is just a dress rehearsal for 2015 general elections. The royal rumble continues with personal ambition superseding the will of the people. The outcome of setting a dry bush on fire can never be predicted”, Peter Negedu observed.

“The governor however had a close shave with death when upon sighting him leader of the G5 rebel lawmakers Evans Babakaya Bipialaka, who had been proclaimed Speaker by four of his supporters, pointed at the governor and shouted instructions to the thugs and policemen allegedly brought to the premises by his group, saying: “Shoot him! . . . Shoot him! . . .” – News Express an international renowned Social Media said.

News Express went further to state after the above directive, “Amaechi reportedly walked towards Bipialaka, saying: “Shoot me?” He then ordered his security details to arrest Bipialaka, but the order could not be effected due to stiff resistance by the rebel leader’s orderly assisted by thugs and policemen”.

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), while reacting to the shameful incident said that Rivers State was fast drifting into a state of anarchy. It warned that if urgent steps were not taking by government and its security apparatus, the state may return to the dark days of uncontrollable politically motivated gang violence. MOSOP regretted that such a development could cripple both social and economic activities in the state.

Last Thursday, Governor Amaechi, who is also Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF while receiving the Senate Committee investigating the fracas that broke out in the House of Assembly on Tuesday 9^th and Wednesday 10^th July respectively said ‘We are under Siege’ referring to the state, even as he recalled how the Police alleged fired teargas into government house. According to the governor, “We are under siege here. For two months now, we have not met with security men. Security commanders in the state don’t come to me any longer. They are either scared or they don’t deliberately want to see me. They withdrew soldiers attached to me yesterday (Wednesday 10th and this morning, Thursday 1th July). They withdrew the APC attached to Government House”.

A journalist with ThisDay Newspapers, Mr. Ernest Chinwo aptly captures the situation in these words: “From the hallowed chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the brawling occasioned by the power tussle in the state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) moved Wednesday to the streets of Port Harcourt, the state capital. A day after lawmakers loyal to the state Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, and those opposed to him clashed in the Assembly, injuring some legislators, supporters of the two rival groups took turns to settle their political differences with fisticuffs, leaving an unspecified number of people injured. Wednesday’s clashes between the rival groups roused security agencies to seal off the Assembly complex to prevent a total breakdown of law and order in the state”.

In another development, the Minister of State for Education Chief Nyesom Wike had in an event in Buguma the traditional headquarters of Kalabari Kingdom where the Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, hails from urged his supporters to be ready to fight against those he described as outsiders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to Wike, “We cannot be intimidated. Do not allow anybody to provoke you. Rivers people have said enough is enough. If they say they want to meet us in the field, they should come to the field and meet us. We are not afraid of anybody. If you (Amaechi’s supporters) like, you should continue to put your own band there, we will continue to do what we are doing. What I can tell you today, Nigerians know that those friends from this state, they have lost control of the state. This is the first time that Rivers people are seeing that the National Assembly will be making laws for them. The National Assembly members (from Rivers state) should withdraw. They should all come back home. “This is not the time anybody will use police to arrest you. If they come for arrest, we will also arrest them back. This is the time for action. Let them know it clearly that we are not afraid of anybody. I have decided to come here (Buguma) to send the message to them. I am not going to be afraid of anybody”.

Dame Patience Jonathan Nigerian First Lady and a daughter of Rivers State in a statement noted that impoverished people, including women and children, always bear the consequences of the kind of impasse in Rivers State., “This office wishes to call on all feuding parties in Rivers State to spare a thought for the social, political and economic costs of the crisis, and consider an urgent way to resolve all political differences. It is our position that the greater consequences of the impasse is, as usual, reserved for the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, especially women and children, who are usually innocent bystanders in all these. This derives naturally from the saying that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. On a larger scale, we subscribe to the fact that conflicts and violence are the most lethal threats to peace, which itself is the irreducible minimum condition for development. The situation must therefore not be allowed to degenerate to a level that can be hijacked by miscreants and hoodlums, thus exposing everyone to insecurity from which there may be no easy escape. We therefore call on elders of the state to position themselves appropriately in the circumstances, and continue to seek the highest good of Rivers state and its people, by stone-walling the activities of the few who would rather fan little embers into a consuming inferno. It is therefore incumbent on all people of goodwill to seek to restore peace, brotherliness and love in Rivers State, for the state to press forward in the direction of growth and progress.”

Sadly and maybe in defiance to the plea of the first lady some organized youths on 16^th July, 2013 stormed Port Harcourt International Airport to embarrass and held hostage the governors of Jigawa, Kano, Niger and Adamawa that came to pay Governor Amaechi a solidarity visit creating the impression that some people from a section of the country is no longer wanted in the State which may scare away some of the investors that will like to invest in the State thereby crippling the economic fortunes of the State. One may be forced to ask the relevance of this type of politics in a State we have a performing Governor.

Reacting to the attack on the Northern Governors that paid a solidarity visit to Governor Amaechi on 16^th July, 2013 by members of the Grass Root Development Initiatives a pro group of Chief Nyesom Wike the Minister of State of Education, the federal lawmaker representing Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State, Hon. Dakuku Peterside, described the incident as barbaric, sadistic and dangerous the hiring of thugs and ex-militants by desperate Rivers politicians to deliberately embarrass the northern governors who were in Port Harcourt to pay solidarity visit to Amaechi. “When did we degenerate to this Hobbesian and primitive state?” the lawmaker asked. He warned that those fanning the embers of discord must be ready to reap the whirlwind, adding, “They should reflect on the events of the Western Region parliament in Ibadan that eventually led to the end of the First Republic and the disputed Ondo State election in 1983, and decide if this is the path they want to go.” He expressed concern over the indifference of the police in the attack. “I wonder why the police in Rivers State under Commissioner Joseph Mbu chose to play politics with the safety and security of the people of Rivers State and tarnish the image of Rivers people.”

In her reaction, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said members of GDI had mobilised hoodlums to disrupt the visit. She alleged: “Wike had boasted after the failed impeachment attempt at the Rivers State House of Assembly that he would set Rivers State ablaze and render it ungovernable. This portends grave danger and has far-reaching implications for our fledgling democracy”

On his side, Atiku the former Vice President of Nigeria described the escalating situation in the state as unhelpful, and advised that leaders of whatever hue be given the respect they deserve wherever they go. He reminded politicians to be mindful of “our political history” in all that they do. He said he was still vividly reminded of the chain of political crises that had disrupted democracy in the past.

Meanwhile, in a bit to whittle down the security of Gov Amaechi and maybe exposed him to grave danger, the Inspector General of Police, Alh Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar through a press statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank E. Mba has summoned leading Pro-Amaechi and Security Figures that includes Rivers State House of Assembly Majority Leader, Hon. Chidi Lloyd, the Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to the Rivers State Governor, Ag. ASP Debeware-Semeikumo, and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Governor, Tony Iwelu to report to Force CID, Force Headquarters, Abuja without summoning the Assemblyman Evans Bipi who ignited the clashes by invading the House of Assembly with thugs in order to impose himself as the Speaker.

In another development, Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State has raised the alarm over the presence of Policemen not known to either him or officials of the Rivers State Government. Gov. Amaechi in a statement signed by Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Seminatiri alleged that one Inspector Bawa yesterday reported to the Government House claiming to have been posted from the Police Headquarters Abuja to “monitor the Rivers State Governor’s lodge.” The Governor noted that, “we are aware that on issues of personal safety, an official reserves the right to pick the security personnel to whom he or she may entrust their safety. This is more so in the case of a State Governor. We are worried that we can no longer guarantee the safety of Governor Chibuike Amaechi and wish to reiterate our call on all relevant authorities to ensure the safety of Governor Amaechi and the peace and security of everyone in Rivers State.”

REPLAYING THE UGLY PAST:

Records have it that before the incumbent administration came to into power in 2007, Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital was turned into a war zone or aptly put a jungle where the fittest determines the fate of the lesser animals. It sounds pretty surprising, but not unexpected that this hitherto ‘garden city’ was at it were, ranked among the three most dangerous cities in the world. The human resources unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. had equated Port Harcourt with Baghdad, capital of Iraq, Sana in Yemen and Khartoum in Sudan, as the world’s most dangerous cities.

Going by the ranking published by Bloomberg, Port Harcourt ranked with Baghdad as one of the world’s most dangerous cities for foreign workers as criminal gangs and militia groups seeking greater control of energy revenue step up attacks.

Is this where these gladiators want to take Rivers State to, we are watching?

HOW DID THIS MADNESS BEGIN?

The genesis of the present crisis in Rivers State stems from claims that Governor Amaechi may contest the office of the President or Vice President with a candidate from the Northern part of the country come 2015, thereby truncating the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan who is from the same geo-political zone with him (South-South). To these people annihilating Amaechi politically by deploring any undemocratic machinery does not matter if their agenda can be achieved. While this assumption held sway, one day one problem became the order in Rivers State. With her oil-wells reallocated to neighbouring sister states, Rivers is being denied billions of Naira, some of which would have helped to defray the cost of rehabilitating terrible and impassable Federal Roads in the State like the Aba-PH road where travellers have to spend three hours before entering Port Harcourt a journey of 20minutes. Apart from Ebonyi and few other States, Rivers is denied appointments into federal establishments; the state-owned jet has been grounded, even when facts points that it genuinely belong to the State. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF election where Amaechi defeated his Plateau State counterpart, Jonah Jang with 19 to 16 votes is in a manner of speaking, in the state of invalidation. The Governor has been suspended from a party he has contributed so much in building even against the constitution of the party. Insecurity is all time high in the State, as investors who trooped to the state are now scared, due to the unfriendly atmosphere under the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

Mbu’s ignominious move to empower the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers: Chinda, Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bapakaye Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III) who are loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, to pave the way for the eventual removal of the Governor (Amaechi) clearly bears this out. That the situation was resisted and the machinations of the five lawmakers failed is a thing of joy. Although, attempts to thwart the plan of the five dissenting voices resulted in the exchange of blows by the lawmakers and their supporters in the hallowed chambers of the Assembly, with both sides sustaining injuries, while the mace, the symbol of legislative authority was broken.

Though President Goodluck Jonathan hosted most of the key actors in this macabre dance in Rivers State few days ago at the State House, Abuja, while his wife and Nigerian’s first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan had spent about eleven days in Port Harcourt, where she allegedly met with the gladiators opposed to governor Amaechi but reacting to the futile attempt by the five lawmakers to impeach the Speaker of the 32-members State Assembly, the President described the Rivers PDP crisis as untoward and regrettable and called on all those involved in the crises to show greater respect for the constitution and the rule of law in a statement by the presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati”

Mr. Emeka Reuben Okala a Social Commentator who is based in United Kingdom asked, “If I may ask: What were the crimes of Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, the Speaker that drove a group of just five disgruntled lawmakers to hastily declare him impeached just like that? The last time I checked, before an elected officer is impeached in a democracy, charges are preferred against him or her for whatever alleged offences that they may have committed. A chance is given to them to defend themselves, even in a kangaroo court. I have waited patiently since yesterday as many versions of the story of this very disturbing, macabre incident unfold, but have not yet read anywhere about the offence(s) of the Speaker and the chance he was given to defend himself. Do you just get into the Chamber and pronounce the Speaker impeached just like that? I’m still struggling to understand the meaning of the madness of yesterday (9^th July)! To make the whole drama look most idiotic, the ‘so-called’ lawmakers who carried out the ignoble act, were just only five in number out of a total number of 32 thirty-two, a far distance from a quorum. I don’t get it! To add insult to injury, the Governor of the state gave an order to a policeman to get the unruly and dangerous lawmaker [law-breaker] arrested and the policeman disobeyed, even in the very presence of the Commissioner of Police Mr. Mbu. This cannot happen even under a military rule. It happened once in Nigeria immediately after Gen. Aguyi Ironsi was senselessly wasted, and law and order totally broken, with the attendant near war situation. An ordinary foot soldier refused to take an order from Brigadier Ogundipe who was then the highest ranking army officer. The soldier told him (Ogundipe) in the face that he would only take order from his boss! Who was his boss? A far junior officer to Ogundipe.

Is Rivers State at a brink of war? Has Law and Order totally broken down in my State? The policeman who refused to carry out the Governor’s Order couldn’t have had the gut to do so without an instruction from his “boss” in that regard — a boss who should be reporting to Amaechi in the first place, being the Chief Security Officer of the state.

With what happened yesterday, the current Commissioner of Police in the state Mr. Mbu failed in his duty to provide security when it was most needed. Suppose Mr. Bipialaka’s (acclaimed speaker) supporters or thugs had obeyed their commander and shot the Governor; what would have happened could better be imagined than experienced. More so, with the CP present, but doing practically nothing!

For crying out loud, the CP’s duty should be reviewed as a matter of urgency, especially as there is clearly no love lost between him and the Governor, in the interest and safety of the State and its people.

If the account of Ibim Semenitari, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, is authentic, then Mr. Evans Bipialaka should be arrested and investigated for giving instruction to thugs to “Shoot him (the governor)”, and for engaging in and instigating an illegal action that threatened Law and Order in the state”.

Segun Adeniyi, Spokesperson of the late President, Yar’Adua and a columnist with Thisday Newspaper seems to have a clearer piece of this funny and strange happenings in Rivers State in an article he titled, ‘What a National Disgrace’. According to him, “Such is the level of chicanery in our system today that 16 is officially recognised as a bigger number than 19 while a “majority” of five is now enough to impeach a speaker in a House of Assembly where there are 32 members; and as a commentator pointed out during the week, since the Bible says “one shall chase a thousand”, those five lawmakers are more than enough to also impeach the sitting governor! The problem, however, is that a system that encourages these kinds of perfidy is clearly endangered”. The Conference of Speakers of State Legislators of Nigeria through Mr. Inuwa Garba its Chairman and the Gombe State Assemble Speaker condemned the purported ousting of Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker Otelemeba Dan Amachree, saying it is unconstitutional and barbaric. “It has come to the notice of the Conference of the Speakers of State Legislators of Nigeria that five Honourable members of Rivers State House of Assembly with the aid of hoodlums allegedly invaded the Honourable House and announced the impeachment of the Speaker of the House, Right Honourable Otelemeba Dan Amachree and purported to have replaced him with Honourable Evans. “The Conference of Speakers do hereby condemns the action of the five Honourable members of that House in totality as it contravenes the Constitution. “Section 92 (2c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides that the Speaker could only be removed by the resolution of the House via the vote of not less than two-thirds majority of the entire members of that House. “In view of that Constitutional provision, five members alone cannot remove a Speaker of the House of Assembly of 32 Honourable members. This therefore, implies that the action of those five members is unconstitutional and null and void.” Garba urged the National Assembly “to declare action of the five honourable members as treason and commence process of taking appropriate constitutional action against them in order to save our democracy”.

NOW, THE QUESTION WE SHOULD BE ASKING IS THAT ARE THOSE ENGINEERING THE MESS IN RIVERS STATE ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE OF THE POLITICS OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN?

In a previous article on the macabre dance in Rivers State, I have said Governor Amaechi is never the problem of President Jonathan actualizing his future political calculations, but some people who felt otherwise have continued to engineer one crisis or the other creating the impression that they are very interested in the future political feats of the President, while destroying all his democratic legacies and his feats these past few years. Today the institution of the Presidency in Nigeria has been reduced to an indecorous and unseemly status by those who feel that bringing down Amaechi is the solution to winning the 2015 presidential election not knowing that they are working towards bringing down the aspiration of Mr. President and can only said to have succeeded to bring his image and his person to scorn, if the statements by these great Nigerians and Institutions are anything to go by.

First to react to this macabre dance was the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who expressed regret that the failure to punish similar crude attempts in the past such as the Ngige saga in Anambra State in July of 2004 had encouraged impunity among those seeking to impeach elected leaders by means other than that enshrined in the constitution. “It is sad that those who are seeking to subvert our nascent democracy are some of those who never fought for what many laid down their lives for. These persons are advised to take heed to the festering crisis in Egypt following a forced change of leadership in that country,” Atiku said.

Second, in its Editorial of July 12^th titled ‘Jonathan’s rivers of shame’ the Nation Newspapers stated thus: “THE theatre of the absurd unfolding in Rivers State should give any patriotic and peace-loving Nigerian a sense of foreboding. With impunity in the air, the constitution in peril and official stamp from the high office of the presidency, the moral legitimacy of this republic is fast sliding downhill. By the week and recently by the day, the conflict between Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and President Goodluck Jonathan, imbues the nation with nausea. Respect for law has swapped places with brigandage, and the average Nigerian watches as the President engages in a bestial war of proxies. The recent development has all the trappings of déjà vu. The first open show of power was the order to strand Governor Amaechi’s aircraft. The presidency failed to cloak it as a matter of technical procedure without political undertone. Findings from investigations have exposed not only the imbecilities of the aviation authorities but also revealed them as couriers of malicious orders. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) election has showcased, more than any other evidence, the desperation of the president. After defying the rules of aircraft landing, the necessity for peace, he and his proxy governors defied the purity of arithmetic by making 16 superior to 19 votes. He executed that anomaly purely in bungled bid to remove Governor Amaechi as chairman of the NGF. He also inspired the factionalisation of the group such that his loyalists now formed a parallel forum”.

Third, Lagos State chapter of the PDP described the crisis in Rivers State as “highly embarrassing.” Speaking in an exclusive chat with Daily Independenton Tuesday, Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Taofik Gani, said the action of Rivers lawmakers was unbecoming because it is sending a wrong signal to the outside world about how democracy is being practiced in Nigeria. He added that politicians, as leaders and elder statesmen, must learn to resolve their differences amicably in the interest of the citizens of the state.

Similarly, the Action Congress of Nigeria, Accord Party and the National Coordinator of Northern Politicians, Academician and Professional Businessman [CNAPAPB] Dr. Junaid Muhammed have in their statements called for the immediate impeachment of Mr. President as a recourse to saving our democratic principles from further ignobility.

The Jigawa state chapter of the PDP condemned the political crises and fracas in the River state House of Assembly saying “it is real unfortunate and quick attention is needed to save the situation“.

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka while lending his voice on the matter, blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for the political crisis rocking Rivers State, warning that Nigeria was fast sliding towards monarchism; the system of government where too much power is vested in one person”.

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana said it was regrettable that exactly 10 years after a group of thugs attempted to abduct a sitting governor in Anambra State, another set of thugs attempted to undermine democratic institutions in Rivers State. Falana said the silence of President Jonathan on the unfortunate development in Rivers State was tantamount to an endorsement of the political crisis. “We have been through this route before. We must tell them that we are not a conquered people. The case of Rivers is more absurd, more odious, where five members of the assembly aided by the state invaded the Assembly chambers and chased away their colleagues”.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Governor Muazu Babangida of Niger State, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Razak Atunwa and a non-governmental organisation, Stop Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.) all deplored the mayhem in the State House of Assembly.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on their own side has threatened to suspend operations over the crisis rocking the Rivers State House of Assembly.

To the National Labour Congress (NLC) the anti-Amaechi lawmakers are desperados; describing the acts as shameful. “While it is unimaginable and ridiculous in a democracy that five members of the House of Assembly would contemplate impeaching a speaker who enjoys the support of 26 other members. It is a shameful tactics employed by the combatants in their desperation for power,” Omar added that the disturbing part was the ignoble role of the police in the crisis. “It is not helpful for the Presidency to continuously deny the stoking of crisis in the state. The travails of the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi, in recent times and the reaction of stalwarts in government and the ruling party are apparent indicators that the Presidency cannot absolve itself from the crisis in the state. The threat to withdraw security to the Governor, which is guaranteed by the constitution, and the sour relationship between Amaechi and the state Commissioner of Police, whom he has called for redeployment and the request turned down, are clear pointers to the complicity of the Federal Government,” NLC argued.

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the Environment Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), said Nigerians considered it embarrassing and appalling, the unfolding scenario that made members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to resort to uncivilised action and barbarism reminiscent of the jungle. “We are alarmed at the preceding events which indicated an attempt by five legislators in a house of 32 members purportedly impeaching the Speaker and replacing him. This act, which is a flagrant disregard of all laid down rules of the House and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not only illegal, unlawful and undemocratic, it is also immoral, retrogressive and a threat to.

To Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, “I condemn the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly. More importantly, it is very disappointing to see our so-called honourables exchanging blows like gangsters.“Such an act, if not checkmated, is an invitation to terrorism and gangsterism. I call on every right thinking Nigerian to rise and speak against such unruly conduct by men who are supposed to be making laws of our land.

Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in his reaction stated, “However, we all know the truth but most are afraid to speak. There are no way the police and small number of five lawmakers would act so brazenly, unless they receive instructions from their high places, attempted to impeach the Speaker. Nigerians must ask: Is this way the President Jonathan intends to transform Nigeria? By turning it from an imperfect democracy into a perfect mess? “In some ways, this Rivers episode is not surprising. What happened in the Rivers House is one more reminder. PDP leaders hold democracy in contempt and will trample on it, if given the slightest opportunity. If they invert the relatively small numbers involved in the Nigerian Governors Forum and the Rivers State House, what they might do to general elections involving such a large population as ours is a hard piece of wood to chew.”

My question is, must we continue in these acts of impunity and continue to give the image of Mr. President a negative outlook without Mr. President intervening to stop all these inimical acts geared towards creating unnecessary enemies for him?

But not minding all these provocative acts, Governor Amaechi have demonstrated uncommon leadership making his detractors and those that want him out to look dumb and confused!

INTERVENTION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

Though the Senate has sent its Committee to visit Rivers State and investigate the matter the crisis in the assembly, the House of Representatives have in a resolution said it was taken over the affairs of the Rivers Assembly in a in bid to restore sanity to the State. In a unanimous voice vote, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, invoked Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended and resolved that the National Assembly should take over the functions of the crisis-ridden Assembly.

Also, the House resolved that the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, should as a matter of urgency re-deploy the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr Joseph Mbu.

The senator representing Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, commended the timely intervention of the House of Representatives in the crisis in Rivers State. He said the unanimous position of members during the debate on Rivers Assembly crisis rekindled their commitment against undemocratic tendencies now creeping into the national polity. He said a situation where democratic institutions were abused and crippled by agencies established to protect democracy portended danger at the tunnel and urged other democratic institutions in the country not to sit and watch Nigeria’s hard earned democracy being wasted on the alter of political interest.

Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos in a statement commended the House of Representatives for declaring legislative emergency in the state stating that such a step was necessary in order to safeguard the integrity of governance in the country.

Conclusion:

The fact remains that many Nigerians and institutions have cried out for Governor Amaechi to be left alone but sadly, the more the pleas, the more those who want to continue to disparage the President will continue in acts capable of undermining the image of the present occupant of such exalted office.

Even as I congratulate Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor on his well deserved re-election as CAN President, let me appeal to him to intervene and find a way out of this madness in Rivers State seeing that the two political leaders (Jonathan and Amaechi) have much respect for him and may listen to him as other pleas in this regard seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Also, the General Overseer of Redeemed Church of God, Senior Pastor, Enoch Adeboye need to intervene in this mater, as the present faceoff between the two is already threatening Nigeria’ s democracy, hence these respected men of God should not watch from the sides.

I will conclude this article by quoting Alan Barth (1906–1979) an Author and a journalist specializing in civil liberties and best known for his 30-year stint as an editorial writer at the Washington Post when he stated that, “Thought that is silenced is always rebellious. Majorities, of course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is necessarily dangerous. Criticism and dissent is the indispensable antidote to major delusions”.

While to Woody Allen an American film director, writer, musician, actor and comedian must have foreseen our present sorrow state when he stated, “We stand today at a crossroads: One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other leads to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to make the right choice”.

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is a Media Consultant based in Port Harcourt and could be reached through ezemediaconcept08@rocketmail.com

Nigeria; Are You Still Waiting For God? By Adefenwa Adeshina

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Staff Reporter

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use”– Galileo Galilei

Nigeria could pass for the only country where the same things are done regularly but different results are expected.

A Nigerian prefer to vote based on his/her religious or ethnic sentiments rather than vote a more competent candidate of different religious/ethnic background. We have continually decided the fate of our nation on sentiment and selfish interests. To a Nigerian, as long as his/her interest will be protected he doesn’t care whether the country goes up in flames or gets destroyed by incompetent political office holders.

Overtime, some of us voted people based on how much we were paid or on “their” names. As it is, in Nigeria, most of us prefer “Goodluck” (even when we’ve done nothing to deserve it) to working hard and earning based on efforts put in. Which is why we were easily deceived during preparations for the 2011 general elections, when most of those who voted the ruling party voted for the name of the candidate and not the party.

The solution to the problems with Nigeria lies with us ; Nigerians and the more we wait for God to help us solve our problems, the harder it will get.
We all have felt the hardship in the land; we feel the pains of unfulfilled campaign promises, yet we’ve refused to think and act right. We prefer to cast all our burdens on God which has not solved any of our many problems.

God has given us the ability to think and reason, There is no better time to put it to good use than now. The solutions to our many problems lie in our ability to think about what we’ve done wrong for 14years and start looking for ways to make them right; Selling our votes has not taken us anywhere, voting based on names has hurt us, voting according to ethnic/religious leanings hasn’t helped either and if we continue to hope on God to help us solve our problems while we continue doing the same things, just like we were deceived by a name associated with luck in 2011, another candidate will come forward and tell us his name is “Godsent” and since we’ve failed to address what we’ve been doing wrongly, we’ll vote for the name again.

God won’t come down to help us. He has placed in our midst those that can help us and he’s given us the ability to recognize them. It is left to us to trust them and support them. We also need to learn how to protect our votes and enlighten others on why we must stop voting on religious or ethnic sentiments, stop selling votes. God has not come down to liberate any nation on the planet, the citizens liberated themselves when they decided enough is enough. Nigerians also must stand up and let our voices be heard. Those in power need to know they are there because we want them to and that we’ve had enough of their oppressions. Egyptians aren’t waiting for God to help them; they know God has given them enough to liberate themselves. Why is Nigeria still waiting for God?

2015 is a few months away, it doesn’t hurt to start preparing now and act right. God Bless Nigeria..

By; Adefenwa Adeshina
@joshadeshina

Jonathan Vs Amaechi Brawl: Who Smiles At The End? By Pasy Chikero

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Staff Reporter

They say experience is the best teacher but it looks like President Goodluck Jonathan A.K.A Joe-Shocker and his umbrella party are not good history students or just don’t care where the past points.

POTFRON-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the party leader of People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), are about to sacrifice Rivers State on the alter of pride and muscle flexing! The Rotimi Amaechi vs Joe-Shocker and Dame (the Patience Ozokwo of Nigeria) will end in a dirty way and PDP will be the casualty.

Just like it happened in Ogun State when the then Governor, Gbenga Daniel had issues with President Olusegun Obasanjo and the party, the internal wrestling championship made PDP lose the state to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). History is about to throw its magical wand again and this time, it has enthroned itself in the oil rich state of Rivers! Playing another fast one on these men who think they know it all and can do it all-the Nigerian politicians.

Like blind men, they are sheepishly following it into their political graves. Am not a prophet but you don’t need Soothsayers to tell how this will end. PDP will suffer the collateral damage, it will lose Rivers State to the power thirsty All Progressive Congress (APC).

Did you say Rotimi Amaechi will be wrecked politically? The N1 billion question is, has Gbenga Daniel been wrecked? No! PDP has the habit of creating a reconciliation committee after a political ship wreck, they will call the wounded Lions together, make them shake hands and reinstate them back into the power circle and politics goes on!

Yes Amaechi might not get the Vice Presidential ticket but he will relish sitting back and watch PDP lose Rivers State to a rival party! The battle ground is getting too hot and political miscalculation will soon start dancing into the stage. Unfortunately, it seems PDP no longer has a national father figures who can call the family of the President and Governor Amaechi to order or may be the true power brokers in PDP are actually enjoying watching a rugged Governor dare the President to war! If not, why haven’t the likes of OBJ,IBB, Danjuma, Ekwueme really done something about this? Is this a conspiracy theory on the President to weaken him before 2015? Hmmm, just like the late Reggae Legend, Bob Marley, sang: O,time will tell!

@pasychikero on twitter

Pasy Chikero is the creator and writer of www.pasychikero.com. An Author,wrote Festus Keyamo’s first biography-Lion In Isolation. He is also a media consultant and Screen Writer

Untying the knot: Sec. 29(4)(a) and (b) of the ’99 Constitution FRN and child marriage in Nigeria.

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Staff Reporter

A lot of controversy has trailed the constitution review by the National Assembly but the biggest is what Nigerians now see as Senate’s approval of child marriage in Nigeria as canvassed by Sen. Yerima. Immediately the news emerged that the senate has retained the provision that any “woman who is married is deemed to be of full age (18 years and above)” instead of the proposed amendment which seeks to deleted the provision. There was justifiable anger and uproar in the country. Many turned to the social media which has become an accepted medium of disseminating information to condemn the Senators.

Sen. Yerima who stood his ground when the Senate President was not going to allow him revisit an issue which was already passed was called various names which include Pedophile, a sexual Pervert to mention a few. In all sincerity I was also emotional and condemned the Senate for it actions by posting a tweet which label the Nigerian Senate a bunch of Jackass.

With the rage still in me I decided to take a dispassionate and unemotional look at the whole issue which has divided Nigerians along religious and ethnic line as usual. To have a balanced view, I took a look at the Sec. 29 of the constitution which is now been referred to #S29 on twitter. To my greatest surprise, the section is under Chapter III of the ’99 constitution which talked about citizenship as against child right or child marriage has expected. The said section dealt with renunciation of Nigerian citizenship and it provides thus:

(1) Any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for the renunciation.

(2) The President shall cause the declaration made under subsection (1) of this section to be registered and upon such registration, the person who made the declaration shall cease to be a citizen of Nigeria.

(3) The President may withhold the registration of any declaration made under subsection (1) of this section if-

(a) the declaration is made during any war in which Nigeria is physically involved; or

(b) in his opinion, it is otherwise contrary to public policy.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section.

(a) “full age” means the age of eighteen years and above;

(b) any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.

The section in controversy is sub-section 4(a) & (b) of the Sec. 29 which defines “full age” as provided for in the sub-section 1 of the section. The section defines full age as the age of eighteen and above but sub-section 4(b) goes on to add that any woman who is married is deemed to be of full age. The effect of 4(b) therefore means a woman in Nigeria who is married is deemed to be of full age i.e. 18 years and above. I still find it difficult to comprehend and understand this provision. The Senate in its amendment process seeks to amend this provision by removing it.

To really understand sub-section 4 it mustn’t be read in isolation instead it should be read holistically with the whole Sec. 29 which say only a person who is of full age can renounce his or her citizenship in Nigeria. Even if she is a married girl of 15 years old since she is deemed to be of full age by virtue of Sec. 29(4)(b).

Removal of Sub-section 4(b) of Sec. 29 was what Sen. Yerima who had married a 13 years old Egyptian girl in 2011 canvass against. In his view the provision is against Islamic law concerning marriage. He contested that it is not within the powers of the legislators to interfere in marriages under Islamic law and custom as provided in Item 61of the Second Schedule’99 Constitution which provides for Legislative powers for “The formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages other than marriages under Islamic law and Customary law including matrimonial causes relating thereto.”

In my opinion Sen. Yerima’s argument and the retention of Sec. 29(4)(b) raises some vital questions.

Does the combined reading of Sec. 29(4)(a) and (b) mean that even if a 10 years old girl marries she deemed to be 18 years and above?

Is there any nexus between Sec. 29(4)(a)&(b) and Item 61 0f the Second Schedule of the ’99 Constitution?

Most importantly has the Nigerian Senate legalised child marriage?

In answering question 1, I will apply a simple rule in interpretation of statutes in law. This rule is called the Literal Rule; this rule implies that when interpreting a statute the literal meaning and noting more should be applied. Applying this rule means once a woman is married, she is presumed to be 18 years and above even if she is a teenager of 17 years and below. Why this is so I do not understand, what the draft-man who created this section sought to achieve I also do not understand. What I do understand his that he has created an avenue for child marriage.

When Sen. Yerima married the 13 years old Egyptian girl and the AG Federation was petitioned to charge him to court for a clear violation of Sec. 21 of the Child Right Act 2009. The AG’s flimsy but legal reason for failure to prosecute Yerima was that Yerima consummated the marriage under Islamic law therefore the Federal High court where he would have been charged lacks jurisdiction. This bring me to the second question, what is the relation between Sec. 29(4)(a)&(b) which provides for that a citizen must be of full age (18 years and above) before he or she can renounce citizenship of Nigeria and Item 61 of the Second Schedule which prohibit interference with marriage under Islamic law and custom.

To answer the question, it will be important to consider the implication of removing the said Sec. 29(4)(b). If the Senate had successfully removed the said section it would have become a crime in Nigeria to marry a girl who is underage i.e. below 18 years old by virtue of 21 of Child Right Act and will be punishable under Sec. 23 of the Child Right Act by either a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 5 years or with both fine or imprisonment. This in my opinion is what Sen. Yerima seeks to avoid and to achieve this he had linked the proposed removal of the Sec. 29(4)(b) with an interference with Islamic law concerning marriage thereby making the proposed amendment unconstitutional.

The third and final question is the most important question; it is whether child marriage is constitutional in Nigeria with the retention of Sec. 29(4)(b). The answer to this question in my opinion is a YES. By virtue of the said section child marriage is legal and constitutional despite the Child Right Act prohibition of child marriage. The juxtaposition of Sec. 29(4)(b) of the 1999 constitution and Sec. 21 of the Child Right Act makes the latter null and void to the extent of it inconsistency with the former as a result of the supremacy clause contained Sec. 1(3) of the 1999 constitution.

With Sec. 29(4)(b) still present in the Nigerian constitution the girl child in Nigeria is under a lot of danger irrespective of The Child Right Act which is supposed to guarantee the right of children. In as much as I wish to condemn Sen. Yerima and other Senators who denied the girl child an opportunity for survival and development they have done what they did within the ambit of the law and I am afraid there is next to nothing that can be done to change it. It is not within their power as long as Item 61 of the Second Schedule is still present in the constitution.

Another issue which is of concern to me is what would have been the implication if the Senate was successful in resolving that the section in contention be removed. That would not have stopped child marriage in Nigeria because Yerima and his likes would still consummate their marriages under Islamic law but at least it will remove it from our constitution therefore giving child marriage a fragile back bone.

The crux of the matter is that the Senate has discovered an anomaly in the constitution which pose great and imminent danger to the girl child and Nigeria as a whole but it cannot correct or remove it because the country has been shaped as a fundamentalist inclined country rather than one based on simple moral and value for humanity.

Child marriage defies all morals, this in my opinion should supersede every other thing. Instead a group of people have chosen an aspect of the law and possibly religion to arm twist the Senate into allowing a grave and imminent danger to go unchecked. The rebound effects of child marriage are negative, destructive and endless.

Whether Islam allows the marriage of a girl child is another topic to be trashed out by Islamic jurist and scholars. The issue at hand is that the survival and development of the girl child must be guaranteed and it is a responsibility for every one of us irrespective of ethnicity or religion. We must continue not only to agitate for the removal of Sec. 29(4)(b) but also discourage child marriage in its entirety.

Moyosola Oso

moyosolaoso@gmail.com

@spectmo on twitter

Emergency Activists And The Bane Of Confusion By Akan Imoh

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Staff Reporter

The Americans have a saying, ‘don’t ask what America can do for you, rather, ask what you can do for America’. This has become a guiding philosophy for every American. This has become a mantra, a way of life, a belief…no wonder, America is a progressive society. No wonder political systems are working.

That is a country that prides itself that no single person is bigger than the country. An average American is ready to sacrifice himself for the good of the country. Why won’t they have loyal politicians, loyal soldiers, loyal civil servants, loyal citizens.

This whole PR stunt for the United States of America done by me doesn’t in no way undermine the fact that there are criminals in the US. Yes, we have financial crooks, we have paedophiles, we have legislative thugs and cultists as leaders, America has even more. Yet, America is working, we are weakening. What works for America is the collective power of national love that seems to prevail over any individual’s treachery.

It might look like I have seriously diverted from my article’s title, but let me hit the nail on the head.

America is a society where one can actually contribute to the progress without expecting anything in return. America is a society where one can be a politician and not expect anything other than his salary, a society where you don’t expect unnecessary favours, where you don’t lick anyone’s ass expecting to be noticed and favoured.

This is the exact opposite in our dearly beloved Nigeria. Nigerians are among the world’s best ass lickers. We run around like little goats, begging for favours. We ‘dobale’, over-respect people, so as to be treated favourably (ask the yoruba people). We carry bags and suitcases of the ‘Ogas at the Top’, massage their egos, praise them…so as to make them pleased with us.

When all these don’t work, we become emergency activists. We take advantage of a trending issue and lash out with anger, often times lashing out in shameful ignorance.

We spit out venom, confused venom. We lash out in blindness, showing our ignorance. We seek cheap publicity, we beg for retweets and shares, we cry for followership and readership, we turn activism to advertising.

We try to be like @Omojuwa or like @Nedunaija, yet we forget that if these people don’t know their onions, they would have been silenced by now. We become confused activists, fighting because others are fighting. We join the fight halfway, without even bothering to know the origin of the fight.

It becomes worse, when our emergency activism is rather a calculated strategy to getting a job as Press Secretary or Media Officer to the victim.

We become activists today, tomorrow we sell out. One man from Guardian Newspapers can explain better. We fight them really hard, but somewhere in our minds, we pray to get a call from them, a call that will bring money or job or recognition or something in exchange.

Shameful indeed, our senior criminals look at us and laugh, they know they can turn us from activists to loyalists with just a hundred thousand, some even cost less. When we rant on twitter and facebook, they sit at home and drink tea…they know how to settle us.

We are activists for what we will gain from it. We want to be called to Aso Rock, we want to go for press conferences, we want to be settled by those big men.

Poverty has so much eaten deed into our youths, that we can even lick a dog’s ass, if it looks like that dog can give us a better life…painful.

Emergency activist; are you one..?

Be +ve..

Akan Imoh is a Media Content Provider/Creative Writer. He has a burning passion for talent development among youths in a Nigeria with unique intricacies.
He blogs at Ovasabii.com and on twitter, he is @Ovasabii

Stop bringing yourself down – @IkeAmadi Ike Amadi

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Staff Reporter

We have our #LA187 Bible study family which Learns and Applies the word of God. Today we are on to Isaiah 31-34 and I’ll share the best shares of the day.

@ifeoluwaolunu shared, “Isaiah 31:1 – Woe to them that go down to Egypt. Have you ever wondered why God didn’t say woe to them that go to egypt but said go ‘down’ to egypt? This is because, they actually debased themselves and brought themselves down when God had raised them up. Debasing also means sinning here so dey actually sinned by going to egypt for help. This why God counted this against them.

Still on that verse, they went to egypt because their chariots were many and because their horsemen were strong. So they thought they could put their trust in strength and number. However, there isn’t always victory in strength and number but in God. So we shouldn’t feel secure because we’ve got money or because we have connections. We should understand that God alone is our security.

We can also say Egypt is the world.

So woe to them that turn to the world for help.”

The question might arise, “Should I then not ask unbelieving friends or colleagues for help when in need?”

Fine question. I’ll give the words of a sage, “Use the help of the creature with an eye to the Creator.”

And more interesting, the same @Ifeoluwaolunu – such a blessed young lady – wrote a different version of Psalm 126

Psalm 126:

When the Lord changed our stories, we thought we were dreaming. Then we could laugh and sing for joy. We heard neighbours passing this comment to each other. “The Lord has given them testimonies”. Indeed the Lord has given us something to testify about and we shall not hesitate to tell everyone. Young and old, rich and poor. Continually give us testimonies and tales of your greatness in our lives. And for those that grieve in their hearts and haven’t gotten one yet, soon you shall have something to tell your neighbours with joy on your lips. The man that goes to God sowing tears and asking God to do something precious shall without a shadow of doubt come to God with thanksgiving on His lips and an evidence of God’s greatness 😀

Fresh eh? Yes, very too!

And Ijeoma, our blessed AlwaysFresh, wrote the same psalm in pidgin English. Lookatthat!

Psalm 126:

1. Ah! E kan be like say na dream, I no even believe am when God carry Zion people dem wey don waka go far, come back.

2. We laff o, we sing join, we no even believe d kain good thing wey happen to us.

3. Na so nations dey gist our matter, dey talk say ‘God don do dem better!’ God don really do us better. Na jolly-jolly people we be o.

4. Time don come, GOD, make U do am again- so that all the people wey suffer plant dem crops go shout hallellujah when harvest come.

5. So that all the people wey waka commot with pain for dem mind go come back with laff and plenty blessing.

Oh well….we might just have the future Eugene Peterson’s !

We are #la187 family on Twitter, Facebook, whatsapp. Don’t be left out of this great word movement. Join us today!

Ike Amadi

@ikeamadi

The Church of God or the Home of Rules? By Tayo Elegbede

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Staff Reporter

As a religious cum spiritual organization, the Church performs a fundamental role in human and social development. Call it social responsibility or shared value, you might not be incorrect.

At the core of this reality lays the quest to first, fulfill its heavenly mandate of nurturing souls with truth whilst preparing them for the rapture (heaven) as well as strengthening and sustaining minds for a better society.

Suffice to say, the church is a representative of GOD here on earth. However, one is left to wonder if the myriad of humanly outlined religious laws truly reflect the nature, notion and instructions of God. (By laws, I do not refer to the rules and regulations of the church as an organisation).

Arguably, the church has deviated from its paramount functionality of promoting God’s instructions into elevating human rules. It has shifted from the responsibility of connecting men to God into connecting men to men, serving and servicing the body but starving the spirit and soul. Godly-character has been replaced with simply gorgeous charisma and character. The church now passes for a congregation of deceitful doers, home of hypocrites, platform of pretenders and circle of sycophants.

The church has gone worldly and in turn the world has become ‘churchy’. Hence, there is a keen contest between the CHURCH OF GOD and the Church of men.

The church of men prides itself in religious activities other than spiritual exercises. The church of men finds no convenience in exposing the heartbeat of God, but in keeping church-rules. The church men glory in mundane motions and matters. This church is somewhere by your side.

Interestingly, you will still find the CHURCH OF GOD down the road, if you can search.

“That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors.”? Charles H. Spurgeon

In recent weeks, I have read loads of comments on the wedding ceremony of John Kumuyi, son of the International Holiness Preacher, Pastor W.F Kumuyi.
But here, I will share with you a comment I recently received from one of John’s age-long friends.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have spent over 20-years in Deeper Life Church and I’m privileged to know this John guy, every boy in the youth-choir with me can bear witness that unlike some other pastor children, John was an epitome of a child of Jesus. John so humble, kind as in no segregation of any sort, John ate with us and times he would stay in the brick hostel with us, sometimes slept overnight.

If disobeying some church rules is a sin then I think all Deeper Life members are sinners! The TV was apoti esu (devil’s box) and now all Deeper Life churches use flat screens!

I just want my pastor WF Kumuyi to beware of the pastor sycophants around him!!! The same way they moved him to curse the youth choir in the congress of 2002 leading to the permanent ban of the so holy committed and prestigious youth-choir lead by Dr Oikelomen (Bro Albert).

If the choir is alive today I’m sure this wedding wouldn’t cause issues because it would be a progressive church activity with great celebrations!!!

I grew up in a church choir where the color of your tie is a sin, the wrist watches and belts were always sins, the bright colored shirts and gowns/blouses were issues! Abah!!! Why should John’s apology letter be read by babas in the church? We were not told of his wedding!!! We don’t even know anything about him!! The apology is a word of expressions from the offending to the offended. Why should he apologies to me that he didn’t offend? Besides the letter should be read by himself not by this pastors to show a level of godly sincerity and repentance!!!

Please Pastor kumuyi should remember his wife mama rere Sister Abiodun, she wouldn’t want her son’s wedding to cause headaches! Pastor should be so careful with the people around him!!!

They didn’t read the apology letters of their own children that didn’t even wed in the lord “at all at all” They are not of Rome that of Rome!!! On my wall on Facebook I wrote about pastor Kumuyi’s reply to a question on ancient landmark and I remember he rebuked the asking, pastor WF stated that those church rules can’t stop your wedding as long as u invite Jesus 2 your wedding, Jesus will turn your water 2 wine!!!

This is to my comrade, brother and friend, John kumuyi. God bless you and your marriage. I love you, and I am happy to tell you that you didn’t offend me!
God bless you, your wife your home! ~Kenny”.

Conclusively, the Church as a gathering of (un)gathered people, must not lose sight of its primary responsibility of promoting cordial relationship between God and man, even in the face of its expanding secondary responsibilities.

Same Spring, Different Lessons – Ameer Ado Yazid

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Staff Reporter

The Arab spring saw ordinary people stand up to the automatic fire power of brutal dictators often armed with nothing but stones and sticks. Instances where we had/still have all out civil wars (Libya and Syria come to mind) but in places like Egypt it was the unrelenting voices of millions of ordinary citizens that saw the overthrow of unpopular dictators. We saw protesters who were more than willing to risk their lives for freedom defying bullets and tear gases. That I think is as inspiring as it gets.

With things worse than ever in our country, some have wondered if the time is ripe for our own revolution. Some insist it is time we mobilize the millions of impoverished Nigerians, organize massive protests and make our leaders listen or even overthrow them through blood and guts. While I understand that our people have suffered to the last possible extent you can expect humans to endure, and while we have been failed in every way possible by those who call themselves our leaders, I still believe that a peaceful change is much more desirable. Of course many would disagree with me, with good enough reasons too.

To these people I say; the only revolution we need is in our hearts and minds. Take a look at the post revolution situations of all those countries; do they have peace, freedom and democracy? Are they better off? I think not. Peace eludes every single one of the post revolution countries. Egypt and Libya are very good examples. The economies are not growing, more people are suffering, and the violence and killings have not stopped. Violence begets more violence and that is why we must conduct our struggle for a better country on the path of peace, patriotism and education. Let us learn from history rather than ignore it and suffer the consequence.

That is why I would rather we mobilize for a different cause- educating our people on the need to vote the right people into power come 2015. Educating them to rise above religious or tribal sentiments and make the right choices in voting people into leadership positions. The importance of Meritocracy (choosing people based solely on merit) cannot be overstated. It is a system that has been proven to work all across the world. There are two forces of change in our world today, the people and the pen.

Hopefully Nigerians have now seen the price that is paid for tribalism and nepotism, we have seen what the man with no shoes has done to our country, and a repeat in 2015 is a scary prospect. The truth is that Nigerians have only one last chance to get it right. Get it right we must because the future of our nation depends on it, may God bless the federal republic of Nigeria. @Ameer_yZd

Nigerian jet for Malawian President

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Staff Reporter

WHEN Nigeria dispatched a jet from its Presidential Air Fleet late last month to fetch Malawi’s President, Joyce Banda, to Abuja, it unwittingly drew attention to our government’s fiscal recklessness. It was lost on President Goodluck Jonathan that while Banda had sold her cash-strapped country’s only presidential jet to save costs, he has, in three years in office, expanded Nigeria’s executive fleet to 10 aircraft.

Neither the reality of over 60 per cent of the population living in poverty, nor the recent alarming revelation by the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that government’s revenue inflow had dwindled to a dangerous level, has persuaded Jonathan to pare down the size of the Presidential Air Fleet. Instead, it is projected to rise as provision has reportedly been made to purchase two additional helicopters to ensure the President, Vice-President, their families, and other top functionaries travel in luxury at public expense.

Banda was in Nigeria to deliver the keynote address at the Global Power Women Network Africa summit in Abuja at the invitation of Nigeria’s First Lady. To ease her trip to Nigeria’s capital, our generous government dispatched a jet to pick her from Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, and return her home after the event. That is to be expected since Malawi lacks a presidential aircraft.

Shortly after assuming the presidency in 2012, Banda had taken a critical look at her country’s economy. Almost 40 per cent of the national budget came from aid donors, while revenues from its major exports – tobacco, tea, coffee and sugar – were falling due to lower global demand and prices. Moreover, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had withdrawn most aid in response to the purchase in 2009 of a presidential jet by Banda’s predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, and his abandonment of an IMF-dictated adjustment programme. Other donors followed the World Bank/IMF lead.

Besides selling the presidential plane for $15 million, Banda also sold off a fleet of 35 Mercedes Benz limousines reserved for the president and the cabinet. She cut her own salary by 30 per cent, among other austerity measures. Her actions won praise around the world and convinced the IMF and other aid donors to return with credit and handouts to back the government’s ongoing painful structural adjustment programme.

But Nigerian leaders will not sacrifice their own comfort for anything. Even in a rich country like Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron and cabinet members took pay cuts in response to the global recession and the spending cuts that the government introduced. Here, our leaders are obsessed with living in luxury, regardless of the mass of people who are poor, the lack of infrastructure, mass unemployment and dwindling revenues. Okonjo-Iweala’s warning that the government may run out of money to pay salaries by October in the face of massive oil theft and vandalism of pipelines that have sharply reduced oil production and revenues has not jolted officials. Neither the wasteful Executive nor the overpaid legislators are ready to give up their luxurious lifestyles.

But British leaders often take commercial flights and, occasionally, trains when travelling for state functions. Japan, with its Gross Domestic Product of $4.52 trillion and per capita income of $36,200, (at Purchasing Power Parity), has only two aircraft – Boeing 747 – 400 – for use of the prime minister and the emperor; the Netherlands, with GDP of $770.2 billion and PCI of $42,300, has two; the British Queen, Elizabeth II, and Cameron travel on chartered British Airways flights, despite their country’s $2.32 trillion GDP and PCI of $38,700; South Africa has just one presidential aircraft with its GDP of $678.6 billion and PCI of $11,300, though it expects another soon, while Malaysia has one, but has also ordered a second; but with its GDP of $492 billion and PCI of $16,900, like others cited, Malaysia is ahead of Nigeria with a GDP of $450.5 billion and PCI of $2,700.

Given these scenarios, it is high time we ended this absurdity. Today, the aviation sector is in dire straits. How does one explain that only two domestic airlines – Arik, with 23 planes, and Aero Contractors with 14 – have larger fleets than this one kept for a few at public expense? Over N9 billion is believed to be spent on the maintenance of the presidential fleet each year, while the PAF required 47 Nigerian Air Force officers, 173 airmen/airwomen and 96 civilian employees on full time call in 2012.

Nigerians, however, desperately need a government that exists to serve the people, not a few. Successive governments have demonstrated incompetence and abused and misused public funds. There should be minimum ethical standards and decorum in public office. Other developing nations like Ghana where a former president, John Kufuor, once disposed of a spare presidential aircraft, retaining only one, should shame us into prudent conduct.

Jonathan has no excuse to continue keeping 10 aircraft and our under-performing legislators have no reason to keep approving new purchases or the billions of naira they appropriate for their maintenance each year. But, ultimately, it is only when the electorate shakes off its lethargy and demands accountability and responsibility from public officials that things will change for the better.

Source: Punch News

Waiting for our fairy ship to dock (2) By Tolu Ogunlesi

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Staff Reporter

The first part of this article was based on a quote from Chinua Achebe’s 1983 book, The Trouble With Nigeria, describing Nigeria as infected by “the cargo-cult mentality that anthropologists sometimes speak about – a belief by backward people that someday, without any exertion whatsoever on their part, a fairy ship will dock in their harbour laden every goody they have always dreamed of possessing.”

In fact, it may not be totally accurate to assume that Nigerians do not exert any efforts. This country is home to some of the hardest-working, exertion-obsessed people in the world.

The problem is that the bulk of that exertion is not exactly designed to produce real action or progress. Much of it is hot air. So, to that extent Achebe is right – somehow, we imagine that on the strength of our hope and our gods and our bombast, we will make our way to the Promised Land.

“As you are all aware, we have never really lacked good development plans. Our greatest problem has been how to creatively translate such good plans into concrete action on the ground.”

That was the former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, in a speech on February 21, 1990 in Lagos, at the launch of a government initiative called “Operation Excellence in Public Service.”

As plans and schemes go, no one did it like the self-styled Evil Genius. No one, I’m willing to argue, had a more ambitious reform agenda than Babangida. I recently got a copy of one of the volumes of his “Selected Speeches” – the interestingly titled, “For their Tomorrow we Gave our Today” – and I have to say that those speeches were impressive. If speeches and dreams could transform a country, Babangida’s Nigeria would have left Nigeria a paradise-on-earth.

But all of those dreams stayed stranded in the speeches. There was no serious effort to make them come true, beyond the effort that went into writing the speeches. The problems regularly outlive and outlast the solutions, so that our biggest problem may indeed be our inability to leave old problems behind and move on to new ones.

And that’s the summary of our country’s journey: Every time we think we’ve made progress, or announced that we’ve made progress, something comes along to remind us of the hollowness of our wishful thinking.

Every time we think we’ve caught a glimpse of our fairy ship, something happens to remind us that mirages are real, and that we don’t even need to be smoking strong stuff to experience mirages in their fullness.

An exasperated Wole Soyinka made that point last week at the press conference he called to comment on recent happenings in Port Harcourt. Something about Nigerian activists being forced to deal with the same issues, again and again.

In the budget speech he delivered on New Year’s Day of 1991, Babangida declared that “the full commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will come into effect in 1991.”

The children of 1991 are now on their way out of university (at least the minority who managed to get in in the first place), and we’re still discussing reforming the NNPC.

Babangida also said: “In the spirit of deregulation, government will embark on a number of reforms of the capital market – the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Nigerian Stock Exchange – with a view to deregulating and achieving more realistic and competitive pricing for industrial equities.”

Twenty-two years later, the SEC is caught up in protracted crisis – the National Assembly, unhappy with the Director-General, Ms. Arunma Oteh, is insisting, petulantly, that she has to go, and until she is fired, they’ll be washing their hands off the activities of the commission. No one seems to be considering the fact that this is a critical time for the Nigerian equities market, recovering as it is from a wipe-out.

Another excerpt from that budget speech: “The programme of butanisation of which will encourage the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas for cooking and thus reduce the use of firewood, and the rate of desertification, will be vigorously pursued during the year.”

That was 1990. In 2013, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company is caught up in a roforofo fight with the Nigerian Maritime Safety Administration, over remittances. Whilst that is happening, all shipments of LPG have stopped. Last week, in this paper, someone raised the alarm that the domestic market was going to run out of LPG by last Friday, if the crisis was not resolved.

It appears that we’re travelling in ever-expanding circles, whilst waiting and praying for our fairy ship to dock.

Travelling in circles like we do eventually translates into a desensitisation – we become numb to the full and tragic weight of our problems. When tragedy happens one time too many, it no longer qualifies to be called tragedy. 9/11 is 9/11 because when it happened, a government vowed that never again. And when a country like America makes a vow like that, it means to keep it.

Nigeria’s 9/11s on the other hand are a never-ending series. There’s always a new and more insistent tragedy waiting to displace the old, without resistance.

In Nasarawa State, about 100 policemen and SSS agents filed to their deaths a few months ago.

My friend, Nicholas Ibekwe, whose brother, Christian, was one of the policemen killed, wrote, in a moving blog about the incident: “Many of the murdered policemen would still be alive today if the police authorities had done basic checks before hurriedly deploying over a hundred officers to their death. They were not properly briefed; the police had no intelligence or bothered to get any. There was basically no planning whatsoever.”

We all know it will happen again. Because this is Nigeria. In Borno and Yobe states, children are regularly being murdered in their classrooms, and all we can do is recycle our verbal outrage.

A decade after the abduction of a former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, from the Government House in Awka, in one of the most brazen assault on democratic structures that this country has ever witnessed, we are treated to a replay of sorts, this time in Port Harcourt, Rivers State – a siege on the Government House.

In both cases, the sitting presidents were to be found on the side of the political opponents of the sitting governors, providing grounds for us to believe that the sieges happened with the full knowledge, and by extension, approval, of the presidents. And in both cases, both presidents were far from the scenes of the crime, Olusegun Obasanjo in Uganda in 2003, and Jonathan in China in 2013.

If we thought we’d progressed from that sort of violent mentality of subversion of state authority using mechanisms of state security, obviously we were mistaken.

We’ve been here before. We’ve been here before. We’re still here. That’s our story.

I firmly believe in the past. And I may be mistaken, but I think that one of the ways to deal with that cargo-cult mentality is to take a hard look at the past – the promises that were made long before us, the dreams that were hinted at, the failures that laughed – and still laugh – at us; and ask what lessons we can seriously learn, and what wheels we don’t need to reinvent.

Connecting the past to the present and the future appears to me to be a sensible theoretical starting point for the Nigerian Project.

I’m willing to argue that the cracks opened up by our inability to connect the past with the present provide fertile grounds for continued dysfunction.

Perhaps, if someone really high up in the President’s circle had remembered the embarrassment of 2003, they’d have advised him on how to better handle the Port Harcourt debacle; on the need to caution the five “enemy” legislators. (Obviously, there’s a masquerade somewhere behind the scenes, emboldening five persons to attempt to override the wishes of 27. And clearly that masquerade has the endorsement, tacit at the very least, of the highest powers in the land).

Perhaps, if someone remembered that 22 years ago, Babangida spoke of “vigorously” pursuing a Liquefied Petroleum Gas “programme”, there’d be a greater sense of urgency regarding solving the NLNG/NIMASA face-off.

Perhaps, if the current government took some time to read the one major newspaper interview that President Umaru Yar’Adua did in office (April 2009), there’d be a more coherent approach to governance. (It’s an interview I’d highly recommend, for the depth and detail. The President touched on every major aspect of his now-rested 7-Point Agenda. It’s a formidable blueprint that should be picked up and referred to again and again by the current occupants of Aso Rock).

When I read about the approval of the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme by the Federal Government last February, I immediately remembered that sometime in December 2007, Yar’Adua launched such a scheme. It was a bit disappointing to read the news of the revival without any connection to the previous incarnation.

It’s the same way YOUWIN was launched without any attempt to connect it to the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan, an ill-fated predecessor that was supposed to create a million jobs between 2009 and 2011.

I think that one of the duties of the media is to help keep the past in mind; help ensure that by remembering the past we stand a better chance of learning serious lessons from it.

I’m not trying to argue that keeping the past in mind is a silver bullet for our many ills.

There are no silver bullets. But I suspect keeping the past in mind will create, to borrow a suitable cliche, an “enabling environment” for breaking the vicious cycling-on-the-spot syndrome afflicting us.

Concluded.

Twitter @toluogunlesi

The death penalty

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Staff Reporter

THE debate generated by the recent signing of death warrants of four condemned criminals in Edo State is not surprising against the backdrop of the existence of death penalty in the country’s statute, along with the opposition of a large section of the international community to capital punishment. To be sure, there are logical arguments in support of the death penalty, chief of which finds favour in the injunction that those who live by the sword must die by the sword. In spite of global abhorrence of capital punishment, about 682 executions were performed worldwide in 2012.

However, the arguments, persuasive as they may be, cannot discountenance the fact that the death penalty enacts a finality that is beyond human reparation, especially where the execution is found to have been inflicted on the wrong person. In that regard, it would amount to execution of justice itself; and such a situation, which has been recorded in many jurisdictions, ought not to be permitted in any progressive society. This logic, coupled with findings that death penalty has not been a deterrence to the commission of heinous crimes, partly informed the world-wide campaign against the punishment.

President Goodluck Jonathan apparently failed to appreciate this phenomenon when, on the occasion of the global celebration of Father’s Day, recently, he urged the state governors in the country to sign the death warrants of criminal culprits on the death row. The president relied on the fact that it was entirely legal to approve the death penalty, and governors should not shy away from performing their duty of giving vent to the law. Yet, that call, by the way, was ill-timed and inappropriate. It was read by many observers as invoking blood on the polity. The ‘father of the nation’ ought to lead, show love and compassion on a day internationally designated as ‘Father’s Day.’ Little wonder that the edifying message of the president for the occasion – that fathers should enforce discipline in their homes and act as moral models for their children – was lost. Father’s Day is about honouring all the men who have typified a father figure.

Now it would appear that the president’s call for execution of condemned criminals ended a seeming moratorium on capital punishment since 2006 which the global anti-death penalty community had regarded as hope for the West African sub-region. The number of those on death row whose warrants state governors have failed to sign, is large. Capital punishment for culprits in murder cases and other related offences is within the bounds of the country’s laws. While this legality cannot be questioned, the criminal justice process in the country remains problematic. The integrity of criminal justice is in doubt and the country’s system is fraught with sundry contradictions. Indeed, innocent victims are often caught up in the process. It is disheartening that prison formations across the country are inhabited, in the main, by awaiting trial inmates many of who have spent periods far more than they would have spent upon conviction. Calling on the state executives to exercise the prerogative of mercy would have been more appropriate given this reality of the criminal justice system.

Ultimately, government should accept that the death penalty is gradually losing its legal force in most countries across the world. More emphasis is being placed on the sanctity of life which is a fundamental human right underpinned by Almighty God’s creation of man. The sanctity of human life is such that even the worst murderers should not be deprived of their lives. Indeed, the value of the offender’s life cannot be destroyed by the offender’s bad behaviour involving murder.

Although those in favour of capital punishment have argued that a person can, by his or her actions, forfeit human rights, and thus murderers lose their right to life, there is growing preference for prison terms in place of capital punishment for criminal culprits especially in murder cases.

This is why the president’s statement, and the Edo governor’s recent action are viewed as a setback in the struggle to hallow the respect for human rights and abolish capital punishment.

The objective reality is that despite capital punishment, crimes have been on the increase. If anything, this fact dictates the need to interrogate other aspects of the political economy to account for the cause of criminality and address it from there. The manner in which the country’s production relations is organised can only but aggravate social vices in the society. The economy is largely rentier where reward is for lassitude and where resource appropriation is done through various forms of primitive amassing. This mode of accumulation has inherent implication for criminality in the society and must be addressed head-on.

No excuses, of course, for criminality. But the sanctity of life or the dignity of man ought to weigh more on the minds of leaders than it does now.

Culled from The Guardian

Reflections on life from a wheelchair By Patience Akpan-Obong

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Staff Reporter

I made a quick research trip to Nigeria last November. It was the first visit in six years that I was making for a reason other than death. I was therefore quite elated about being in Nigeria. That is, until I tripped and fell badly in the driveway of a hotel in Uyo. My “political detractors” said the goddesses (or witches?) of Akwa Ibom were punishing me for not being a card-carrying member of the political praise singers club of Akwa Ibom.

Last week Thursday, as Americans celebrated Fourth of July, I set out on a 24-hour continental journey. At a United Airlines check-in gate at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, I tripped and hit my left foot on someone’s carry-on bag. At the end of the two and half hour flight from Phoenix to Houston, my foot was so swollen that I couldn’t get into my shoe. I couldn’t walk either. I recalled a common expression: “Houston, we have a problem.” My condition in Houston certainly qualified, though this time I was calling Megida in Phoenix to give him the bad news.

The paramedics who came offered to take me to the ER. I didn’t want to be in a hospital so far away from home or delay my journey by 24 hours. I opted for the only First Aid possible: an ice pack and bandage. The bandage didn’t do much besides announcing to the world that an injured or disabled person, according to one United Airlines personnel at the Lagos gate, was coming through. I appreciated the courtesy of priority boarding but resented the reference to the three passengers in wheelchairs, including me, as “disabled people.”

My friend and brother, Dr. Chukwuemeka Eleweke, once told me that the politically correct phrase is “people with disabilities.” This acknowledges the fact that disability in one area does not equal disability everywhere. He is an excellent exemplar. Deafness has not stopped him from holding many master’s degrees and at least two doctorates. His area of research is pediatric audiology.

Many activists in Canada and the United States strongly emphasise “abilities” in persons with “disabilities.” Public service announcements on TV celebrate this and encourage employers and the wider society to see beyond the obvious disabilities and value the whole person. The folks at United Airlines should therefore know better than to use “disabled people” in their priority boarding call. I also had issues with another word choice when a United Airlines staff in Houston who was writing up the report of my accident said I “refused” to be ambulated to the hospital. I spotted and overlooked many grammatical errors in the report but I had to ask him, ever so politely, to replace “refused” with “declined.” While both words denote the same thing, they connote different dispositions. One of the paramedics agreed that “declined” was more appropriate.

Yes, words are powerful and this is why being referred to as a “disabled person” rubbed me the wrong way. I hurt my foot some four hours earlier but the foot is only a part of me and not all of me, not my whole ‘person.’ While my political detractors may have their spin on how falls have marked my last two visits to Nigeria, the injury has given me a new perspective on a visibly invisible sector of our society. Or at least, I got to see the world from the viewpoint of people for whom the wheelchair is a main form of mobility.

On the surface, the wheelchair is convenient. It also signifies vulnerability and discomfort and I got a full taste of these emotions and then some. I observed the sympathetic glances, the quick double takes or studious avoidance of eye contact. Many cloaked me with invisibility in their indifferent glances. Some stepped around me as if I was in the way, cramping their lifestyle, or perhaps they wanted to avoid catching whatever it was that put me in the wheelchair.

I was in pain but I covered it up with a smile. I needed folks to look beyond the disability. I didn’t want sympathy but at the same time, I needed the world to know that my disability was recent, temporary and that I was not always this way. This attempt to create psychological distance from the disability repulsed me as I considered those for whom the wheelchair is not a temporary discomfort.

There were also the inner processes and mental negotiations. I panicked each time the tray of beverages came by. I wanted to drink as much water as I could during the 13-hour flight from Houston to Lagos, but I dreaded the trip to the airplane bathroom. At the airport in Houston, a young woman had wheeled me to the bathroom. I hopped into the wheelchair stall on one foot. I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say that pulling on a pair of denim pants (trousers) while on one leg is not a walk in the park.

I am writing this while in the plane and in pain. I don’t know if my trip is completely scuttled. Indeed, my immediate concern is how to exit the plane, how to get my six pieces of luggage (mostly Letters to Nigeria, so don’t get excited!) off the carousel and out of the airport. Will there be the kind of wheelchair assistance that I got in Houston here in Lagos? Will my ‘brothers’ out there see me as a “sitting duck” literally, and run off with my stuff while humming the sound track of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, ‘Catch me if you can?’

However this lands though, I can say that this experience has given me a new perspective and appreciation for people with disabilities. I have walked (or wheeled) in their shoes and have caught a glimpse of the issues they encounter each time they are in the public. Perhaps, it’s for this reason that this freak accident occurred … rather than that the gods and wizards of Akwa Ibom are paying me back for not joining the back-up choruses for the Anointed One.

Rivers State: Presidential Turmoil In Progress By Onyemaechi Osanakpo

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Staff Reporter

I would start by saying that as a Rivers Man, am ashamed at the childish rancorousness and selfish agenda by Mr. President that has brought him at loggerhead with the Governor of Rivers state. This issue has degenerated to a fight like that between two bulls for a cow. Suffices to say that the crux of the issue between them is already public knowledge, therefore I would only concentrate on the strange but tailored events that unfolded in the Rivers State House of Assembly earlier today.

Ironically, both Mr. President and the Rivers state Governor have similar political challenges in their rise to the present positions they occupy individually. Just for sake of clarity and an exercise to refresh our memory, while Governor Amaechi needed the court to affirm his governorship ticket and subsequent victory after he was notoriously substituted by the PDP with Mr. Omehia, President Jonathan relied on the invocation of the ‘doctrine of necessity’ by the NASS to outwit the dogged resilience of Turai Yar’adua and the loyalist of the Late President Umaru Yar’adua before been sworn-in as President and Commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria. It’s on this goodwill that Nigerians voted him in again in 2011, even as he also promised a wave of fresh air in the political landscape albeit we were still battling with the era of impunity, like in the jungle manner Governors were impeached during the Obasanjo regime and the total disregard to court pronouncements.

It is however a thing of shock, that we seem to be reliving the old era. Trouble started with accusations and counter-accusations about the hidden ambition by Amaechi to deputize Governor Sule Lamido in a Lamido-Amaechi Presidential and Vice-presidential ticket. Though all this is at the level of speculation, this hasn’t stopped President Jonathan from registering his disgust and he has subsequently gone all out to frustrate Amaechi. The NGF election drama was just amongst all the numerous efforts put in so far to get Amaechi begging on his knees. However, the most recent, is the attempt by 5 Rivers state legislators to snatch the assembly Mace, turned it into a weapon and eventually disrupted yesterday’s plenary session turning it into a battle theater.

Though I refuse to join issues, let me categorically state that this is clearly a plot master-minded by the presidency. This I find so petty, undemocratic and should be condemned by all goodly natured Rivers people and Nigerians at large. I’m forced to wonder if this is part of the so-called reformation agenda of Mr. President, that is yet to bring food to the tables of Nigerians, create jobs for the millions of jobless Nigerian graduates, and address the high rate of mother-child mortality, address housing and infrastructural deficit.

How long more do we have to remain suppressed and docile? How do you intend building something on nothing? For starters, if Mr. President is truly a democrat, he should rely on the peoples’ wish and test his popularity through the sanctity of the ballot and not resort to foxy but naïve means to have his way.

Democracy would definitely over-ride and out-live any form of presidential tyranny in Rivers State. It’s clear Mr. President and his gang of ‘no-goods’ have no respect for the Rivers people. Therefore he should remember that a “tyrant is only a slave turned inside out”. To my fellow Rivers indigene, we should remember that a “palm tree that encourages birds to nest in it, should not cry over shattered leaves”.

Finally, to Nigerians in general, we should all remember that “a clear thinking leader is a sign of stability and an agent for change in society”.

GOING GREEN: TRY DOING GREEN EXERCISES

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Staff Reporter

Green exercises refer to physical exercise undertaken in relatively natural environments. While physical exercise is well known to provide physical and psychological health benefits, there is also good evidence that viewing, being in, and interacting with natural environments has calming and positive mood effects. The combination of these two elements (exercise and nature) leads to the notion of green exercise.

People and animals tend to naturally participate in green exercise. However its potential role in physical and mental health attracted increased attention during the 2000s,particularly through the research work of Prof. Jules Pretty at the University of Essex and several funded programs. This concept has grown out of well established areas within environmental psychology which has tended to focus on the psychological and physical effects of viewing nature and well-recognised work about the psychological benefits of physical exercise.

The University of Essex (UK) recently started to quantify some of these health benefits. The research has involved a range of different types of natural therapies, contexts, activities; clients, motivations and needs, but all have shown positive health and wellbeing benefits. Findings report that many types of activities, irrespective of activity and duration (e.g. walking, cycling, horse-riding and fishing), lead to improvements in self-esteem and mood, by reducing feelings of anger, confusion, depression and tension. They also measured physical health benefits, such as reduced blood pressure, and saw how engaging group activities facilitates social networking and connectivity. For example, from a study of 1,252 people (of different ages, genders and mental health status) drawn from ten existing studies in the United Kingdom, the authors were able to show that activity in the presence of nature led to mental and physical health improvements. They analyzed activities such as walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming. They found that the greatest health changes occurred in the young and the mentally-ill, although people of all ages and social groups all benefited. All natural environments were beneficial including parks in urban settings. Green areas with water added something extra as a blue and green environment seems even better for health (Hope you all now know why fountains are built in parks).

Examples of countries where green exercise takes place include:

England : where there is funding for eight demonstration green exercise projects through local regional partnerships. The main aim is to increase levels of physical activity and people’s connections to their local green spaces.

Scotland: where Green Exercise Partnership between NHS Health Scotlandand Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Government is providing £3 million funding to the Paths for All Partnership between 2007 and 2010 to develop its Paths to Health Initiative, which currently supports over 20,000 people to take part in health walks each week. SNH and Government funding is also being provided to BTCV to extend their green gym project.^[7]

Australia: through its Green Gym programs which is a type of green exercise. These generally involve organised groups which engage in volunteer environmental restoration work, but which are also specifically designed to provide physical exercise and physical conditioning in the context of experiencing natural environments. An example of such a green gym program is the one conducted through the Australian Conservation Foundation which are based on similar programs conducted byBritish Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

From these, I guess we can begin to appreciate why most of the state governments in Nigeria are now creating parks and making them look natural. This is to provide avenues for us to engage in our exercises e.g. jogging etc. Also, taking into cognizance the Nigerian context; we don’t have green gyms or the likes but we can participate in gardening and farming which are good green exercises which can be undertaken by everybody regardless of status. So it’s a win-win situation, we keep our environment green and also derive the health benefits of the exercises. But we as a people and the authorities can definitely do more, because going green affects every facet of our lives and our planet.

(Excerpts from A new study in the American Chemical Society’s semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology)

@DAlawode on twitter.

How to enjoy your work – Ike Amadi

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Staff Reporter

At the office, a lady confronts me, “Hey, you are not smiling…you never smile…you are acting as one who doesn’t enjoy his job.”

The phrase, “Enjoy his job” caught my attention and I decided to do a research on ‘how one can enjoy his job.’

I found the following:

1. Smile Always: A smile is free, you need it, and everyone else needs it too. When you smile, you open up your heart to receive freshness. It is not your good mood that should cause you to smile, it is the smile that will cause you to have a good mood. Selah.

2. Be nice in your conversations. No matter whom you are talking with, be nice. When you are nice, you create an atmosphere of niceness for yourself and your colleagues. It always returns back to you. Even when people talk to you rudely, surprise them, be nice!

3. You are working for God, not man. When your boss is behaving funny, please don’t get mad. God is your real boss. With that in mind, you’ll never have feats of anger. You know who you are working for…and that person loves the work you do!

4. Have friends, obviously. Someone who can give you a pat in the back…always…you and I need it once in a while. Most especially, we need someone who can remind you to smile and enjoy your life. Remember, however, that to have a good friend, you must first be a good friend.

5. Have rest from time to time. You need to rest once in every 40 minutes the doctors say. Take that rest, it will do you good. Don’t make all the money today, do leave some for tomorrow, friend!

6. Do your best– Funny huh! But when we do our best and get good results, it gives us the motivation to work harder, and we become naturally happy. Tanya Savchenko a HR expert says, “It is in our nature to like activities in which we are successful.”

7. Be Patient – Ah! This is where the hard work comes in. You must learn to be patient. Patience is a very useful personal quality – if you don’t have it, develop it! I like to think that I have it.

Cheers to enjoying your work.

The next time I saw the lady on the stairs, I smiled, and she smiled back!

@ikeamadi

Ike Amadi is the Author of the book, Do Something! He is currently leading a bible study group on Twitter and other social networks tagged #la187. He blogs @ www.ike-amadi.com

Okonjo-Iweala was eloquently repulsive ~ Petra Akinti Onyegbule

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Staff Reporter

Yesterday, I saw a number of posts on how Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iwealla ‘floored’ Christiane Amanpour to the point the latter ‘quickly ended the interview’. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen the interview, so I didn’t comment for I knew not what transpired.

Thankfully, CNN aired the interview today on a repeat ‘Amanpour’. In my opinion, a good number of people confuse eloquence with the truth. That an individual possesses oratory skills doesn’t mean the person is guaranteed to tell the truth. What it means, in my opinion of course, is that the person is able to tell untruths intelligently. So much so that sometimes, one begins to doubt what the truth is.

Most annoying though is this argument of ‘it is not only Nigeria’… I find it repulsive! True, we can’t be the only country that’s like this. But why can’t we aspire to be like countries where things work? Why can’t we see Brazil and Singapore with whom we were at par some decades ago, evaluate our standings since, say year 2000 and do same for 2010. What’s with always giving excuses?

Was Dr. Iwealla eloquent? Very yes. Did the things she said on ‘Amanpour’ reflect the situation of the Nigeria I live in? Hell, no!

One last thing, I don’t think Christiane Amanpour ‘hurriedly ended the interview’ as some would want us to believe. I think the government has decided to ‘buy’ 3 mins on the programme on some PR stunt… I can bet soon Ms. Amanpour will play host to Uncle R, Dr. D and Mr. L. Rebranding Nigeria Project you may call it…. But Nigeria needs a much more practical approach than that at rebranding. Spend those funds on providing the infrastructures and legislations and watch Nigerians rebrand this nation.

Okonjo-Iweala’s Amanpour interview ~ Musings from Kenny Brandmuse

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Staff Reporter

I saw this post on Kenny Brandmuse’s timeline on Facebook and I couldn’t but share to my friends. I decided to go read it all over again and then I realised a lot more people need to see it. This is the bane of arguments in Nigeria and it speaks my mind entirely. Read Kenny’s words below;

Ok people, not that I’m weird but watching the CNN interview with Ngozi Okonjo on Amanpour’s set last night gave me the creeps. Not because of all the things said by the honorable Minister but I’m afraid that Nigeria is cooked and ready for someone’s breakfast, due to the lies we now tell ourselves. There’s now a sick trend of people preaching positivism about the state of Nigeria; masking all the truths in high places and dishing out colored truths to the public and to ourselves. [ some rebranding project started by Prof Akinyuli ] Don’t get it twisted, I believe in positivity. I preach that. However, we cannot be positive about a situation if we don’t tell ourselves the home truth, first of all. I have seen Americans speak up against ill public issues on CNN; even facing the President. Same with England and other developed countries.

Typical Q&A

Q: Why is Nigeria very corrupt?
A: Other countries are also corrupt, not only Nigeria.

Q: Does Nigeria have improved electricity as submitted by Mr President?
A: Yes, going by scientific research, 52% claims we are far better. Other developing countries also have power issues including South Africa and India; just that South Africa has invested a lot in that sector.

Q: Why would the Government pardon a State fraudster ?
A: Oh… I wrote a whole new book about Corruption and how we need to put good systems in place.

Phew!

One day we will all wake up and we will find out we are cooked. We need to speak up against corruption in Nigeria while we still show our patriotism. We should love our country but we should expose lies in all the public places so we can move forward. That’s how we show love to Naija. Dressing the issue only takes us 100 years backwards.
17

Kenny Brandmuse via http://www.facebook.com/kennybrandmuse

#ThinkOutLoud: WE THE “OTHERS”- Osowe Oluwagbenga @gbengaosowe

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Staff Reporter

#ThinkOutLoud: WE THE “OTHERS”- Osowe Oluwagbenga @gbengaosowe

“In honour the many OTHERS who died in company of dignitaries”

Cries of joy heralded our arrivals

By our births, allegiance with barrenness got denounced,

Cows, fowls, goats and rams were led to the slaughter

Parents rejoiced at the coming of their sons and daughters

You can now call us mothers and fathers they proudly announced

We have brought forth children who would guarantee our family survival

Oh the joy of our parents to see us blossom

Like little children they giggled as we took our first steps

Tiny as we were they sent us to school

To learn of the ways that lead to fame

The teacher’s cane was a willing tool

Administered to keep from the ways of shame

Oh, I hear about the Prime Minister’s mother?

The tales of war, declared on her abductors

The loud-mouthed governor roared like a Jack Bauer

“Give us 24 hours” he said, we’d surely find her

How I wish same was said of the countless others

The numerous others found dead, maimed, dismembered.

Being in the governor’s employ was no mean feat

Pleas, lobbying and bribes played their part

A place in His Excellency’s palace and you’re made

Access to the good things of life surely guaranteed

Countless trips to serve the governor tea

Waiting while he met with endless committees

The General’s retinue is not for mere men

Tawdry jokes by the warlord must not be laughed at

Unwilling listeners to many a boring tales we were

To be seen and not heard was our unlucky portion

Many envy us, our lot they’d gladly have

But we are just the others, the insignificant others

The call of duty I can’t refuse

For this purpose was I trained and paid

The air is my habitat, the view from these heights, heavenly

The whims of these silly old men, I have to bear

An order from the Commander of the Forces, my opinions don’t count

I chose to be a Pilot, a lord on air

Ten pages for the General, and six for the Governor

Encomiums, eulogies and accolades

Pour forth in their honours

Our names, many would never know

Oh, the indignity of dying in the midst of dignitaries

Now WE are the OTHERS, the insignificant others.

(Happy birthday to you my friend Olanrewaju Bucknor, aka @lordrooz. May you not die as one of the others)

ON THE BENJAMINS #opesays

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Staff Reporter

It has several names, money, cash, muller, ego, owo, kudi; but Benjamin is my favourite. Money is a topic we can’t avoid as long as we live. It rules our world. Many steal, kill, fight, yearn and cry for it. It is what we need to survive on this side of the divide. Unfortunately, the accumulation of it is still a problem for many. Most of us are familiar with the empty purse syndrome. How to cure it is what we’ll be talking about in this piece.

Money really is the physical representation of the intrinsic value that you carry. Your value is simply what you have that can fill a human need or solve a problem. This is where the Law of Obligation comes in. It simply states that people are under compulsion to pay you money when you solve a problem or fill a need. They have no choice. Your value lies in your ability to solve problems and deliver results. This takes us to the second law, the Law of Proportion. It states that the amount of money you make is directly proportional to the amount of people you create value for. So your work here is to find as many people as possible to distribute your value to; because the more people you solve problems for, the more money you make.

Most of us attack the effect and not the cause. Money is simply an effect; an external manifestation of the value you carry on the inside. Your value might be some skill or talent you possess or some knowledge you have. The rarer it is, the more you are paid. Always remember that the marketplace will always deliver to you an equivalent amount of money to the value you possess and no more. Any fool can come into money, but only a man that carries value ensures a continual inflow of money in his life. Money will always locate the man who has something to offer.

Any fool can come into money, but only a man that carries value ensures a continual inflow of money in his life. Money will always locate the man who has something to offer.

Anytime you are broke, something is blocking the flow. The most effective remedy is to give. Give to God, give to a cause you believe in or give to someone. What does this do? It sends a message out that you have more than enough and that’s exactly what will manifest in your life. Another factor that blocks the flow of money is fear. The fear of lack is something that plagues most of us. We continually worry that what we have won’t be enough. Whatever you fear, you unconsciously attract to you. When you fear the lack of money, it begins to manifest exactly that way in your life.

Whatever you fear, you unconsciously attract to you. When you fear the lack of money, it begins to manifest exactly that way in your life.

If you come into money, and you are not ready for it on the inside, chances are that you’ll lose it. Brings to mind my 21st birthday. I asked my dad to give me the equivalent amount of money, instead of throwing a party. I had never seen that amount of money in my life. It scared and excited me ,at the same time. Then came the almighty question, what was I going to do with it? Needless to say, I quickly went through the money. I actually didn’t spend it on anything frivolous, but the fact still remains that I spent it quickly. I simply wasn’t ready for it on the inside.This is what happens to anyone who receives money when they aren’t ready for it or can’t handle it.

Nature abhors wastage.It gives you no more than you can handle. After all , the balance of the universe has be kept.

You keep asking for a billion or million, but have you really thought about how you’ll handle it when it comes? Nature abhors wastage.It gives you no more than you can handle. After all, the balance of the universe has be kept. How can it be kept when wastage continues ? Nature also abhors vacuum. Money will always rush in to fill the man who has value. Money has never been the root cause,it is only an effect of what goes on inside you. Now that you know this,what do you have to offer that people will be willing to pay for? It is really simple. Create value. Hone it to perfection and watch in fascination as people line up to give you money.

Cheers to more Benjamins!

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

This is a column that runs every Friday titled #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter, from faith to politics, to relationships, to life itself.

#AbegRelate don land for Omojuwa.com

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Country people, I know say una don tire to dey read all the long long articles wey our ajebutter people dey write. Dis one na tear rubber article wey go de talk about relationships. I like dis our pidgin well well as im no get time for long story. Na summarize full am oh!
…Make our body relate!
…Make my body, make your body relate oh!
No be me sing de song wey dey on top this line wey I dey type so.
Na one bobo wey im Papa and Mama born come call am Richard Chibuzor Oji. When de Bobo grow, im come do dada for im head come change name join. Every body for Obodo Naija come de call am Faze.
Im talk say make we dey relate oh! Oya now, dis article wey Oga omojuwa say make I dey write go helep us to de relate wella.
For dis article, we go dey read plenty plenty gist wey go inspire us to dey relate fine with everybody wey dey near our doormot.
If una get any gist wey be say we go analyze, criticize and even deputize for here, make una send am come blossom@blcompere.com.
Make God bless all of una wey chook eye for dis page.
Na your relating Sister Blossom dey beg all of una say #AbegRelate!

Una fit follow me for twitter for @blcompere so I go show una say I pass English for WAEC.

*********************
About the author:

Born on the 26th of December, 1981 in Bauchi State and raised in Owerri, Nigeria.
She studied Science Technology at Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri with bias in Biology/ Microbiology.
She had a brief work stint with Guaranty Trust Bank, Port Harcourt where she was a Customer Care officer.
She currently works with the office of the Managing Director of Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Ltd. (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Abuja, Nigeria.
She is the personality behind the brand blcompère which grew out of a passion to anchor events to a superb finish.
She is a great asset to the brand blcompère with her superb interpersonal skills and subtle tactics of branding “salience”.
Consequently, the brand grew to encompass her favorite summary of herself as shown below:
…my name is Blossom of the blcompère brand. I am a soon to be published Author, a certified Blogger and an amazing Compère and most recently, a lousy Designer… as simple as A. B. C. D…
She has been married for over 9 years to a Unique Soul mate with two adorable children.
She resides in Abuja, Nigeria with her family.
Contact me here: http://www.blcompere.com/founder
Social Links:
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/blcompere
BBM: 2776B6E0
Website: www.blcompere.com

I AM NOT MY HAIR #opesays

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Staff Reporter

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Gabby Douglas

Yes and I mean that literally. I am not my hair. All my life, my hair has been one part of my body I’m not proud of. Growing up, I realized that my hair was not as long as my friends’ or as shiny, silky or smooth. That brown unusual colour of it didn’t help matters. It made me so self-conscious .You can still see me in my childhood pictures touching my hair self-consciously (I still do it till this day). The weird texture of it didn’t help matters. My hair is that type of hair that gets hair stylists curious. It’s as soft as cotton wool and sometimes as hard as cement. No relaxer ever fully relaxes it. It’s as full as a thick forest yet refuses to grow long.

All my hair needs for a handful of it to come off , is just a simple comb. Few of my friends or family members have seen my real hair. It has always been drowned in weaves, attachments, dye…you name it. Just like my hair, most of us have this part of our body that we are self-conscious about. It may be your face, your ‘assets’, your height, your weight, your arms or legs. The media doesn’t even help matters. They have filled our minds with their own idea of what beauty should be. The media even dictates what you should weigh. You know that size zero, stick-thin model image they have fed us with, those abs like all the sexy guys on TV.

Most human beings, including you and I ,have some of our self-esteem hung on up how we look. We forget that we actually didn’t create ourselves and we need not burden ourselves with worry, about what we can’t change. After all , who’ll remember if you were beautiful when you lie in your coffin ? You’ll be free the day you realize that your body is just a cloak you’ve donned to complete your earthly assignment. Once you cross the veil between life and death, it loses its usefulness, so you discard it. Now it is true that people , the world over love beauty, especially men. We would even readily carry a cute baby, before the not-so-cute one. The singer, Adele comes to mind. When she was told to lose weight, she said, “I don’t make music for eyes, I make music for ears”. Her reply was that of someone who knew what they had to offer, and didn’t let the world’s view of their body interfere with that.

What can you do when a part of your body does not conform to the world’s rigid standards ? First play to your strengths. Realize what you do have and know for a fact that someone out there will love you for it. After all not all of us can be Beyonce and not all of us can be tall, dark and handsome. For instance, I am personally not crazy about tall men. Secondly, if you still feel self-conscious about that not-so-good part, do something about it , if you can. Go on that diet, start exercising, use skin products, to make it better.

When the world realizes you have something to offer, they forget how you look. I love Adele till tomorrow and I’ll continue to listen to her music even if she grows fatter. If you have something the world desperately needs, how you look doesn’t factor into the equation anymore, except you’re a model. The gymnast who shined for America at the just concluded Olympics, Gabby Douglas , isn’t the prettiest of girls; but she has what America needs. I can say for a fact that if Beyonce wasn’t as beautiful or as sexy, she’ll still be one of the best performers in the world. It’s simple, she knows her art and has polished it to perfection.

Next time someone tries to bring you down because of that not-so-good part of your physical appearance, tell them “I am not my hair” (Fill in your own).Yeah , that’s right. You are more than your face, your height, your lack of ‘assets’ or your weight. You’re a spirit being, a higher power. The very essence of greatness. You are here for a reason and that purpose is more than your physical appearance. Go touch your world .

Peace

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter.

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

No Bullsh*t: Disclosure: Verbis Brevis, Sensu Infinitus ~ by Adesubomi Plumptre @subomiplumptre

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Disclosure: Verbis Brevis, Sensu Infinitus
Nigerians talk a LOT! The profits of our Telecom companies and our membership base on social media networks support this.
We will comment on everything & anything and are so damned expressive while doing so. It doesn’t really matter whether the subject matter “consigns” us. We will get into anybody’s business because it provides juicy fodder for bar banter and salon socials. We particularly like to talk about our leaders (both government and religious), the rich, successful and celebrities – basically everything we are not. We have a right to an opinion about how they spend “our” money and how they should live “their” lives. We keep stock of their possessions and are incensed that they do not take permission before they buy new additions. How dare they! Rarely do we see 1,567 likes or 2,673 mentions over the random guy who got knocked down by an okada. Who im be?
I strongly suspect that the reason we are particularly garrulous is because our capacity for analytical, measured and focused speech is underdeveloped. Surely, that must account for why we ramble on, like I’m doing RIGHT NOW.
It’s difficult and quite painful for an average Nigerian to think and talk in bullet-points. After all, it isn’t our fault that our “2nd language”- English is atrocious. We simply transliterate from our mother tongue and illustrate our points using bodily gestures even when we’re on the phone, expecting the listener to just get it! It’s like, “I don’t need to say exactly what I mean, if you understand exactly what I’m trying to say”. Duh!!! Even when the veracity of our statements is questioned, we mumble the phrase, “Idea is need” or some other Nigerian aphorism of doubtful etymology.
Then, there’s the public speaker or government official who just goes on and on and on…Yawn! It’s possible to balance your checkbook, write a shopping list and solve several calculus problems in the time it takes to deliver an official speech in our dear country. Interestingly, our passion for singing mirrors our passion for talking. We do it with our “whole mouth”, belting it out without regard to microphone control. It’s a wonder we don’t damage equipment when we sing!
We also seem to have little respect for order and other people’s time. We feel it is only just and fair to test the audio equipment when guests are already seated at an event. Testing, one, two! Chiii. Chiii!
I sincerely surmise that the new motto for us, dear Nigerians should be Verbis Brevis, Sensu Infinitus (Short in words, but in sense infinite) also known as K.I.S.S (Keep it short stupid)!

About the author:

Subomi Plumptre’s essence can be summarised in 5 letters: Words. An avid writer and thinker, her life journey is attended by the joy of knowing and the pleasures of friendship.

She is currently Head, Corporate Practice at Alder Consulting, an ideas and branding company, where she doubles as a member of the Executive Committee, overseeing Knowledge & HR. She is also Co-Chair of the Management Board of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI).
No Bullsh*t runs here on Saturdays

WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE #opesays

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Thank God it’s Friday. Hope you had a lovely week ? Today’s topic is a question that has plagued me my entire life. I have tried so hard to reason it out, and make some sense out of it. Then , some weeks back, someone finally posed this question to me. That person is someone who has refused to practice any religion, and sees all religion as a sham, to deceive innocent people. He however told me that he firmly believed in God. When he asked me why God let bad things happen to good people, I was almost speechless and couldn’t come up with any coherent answer.

I mulled over the topic for days and was still not satisfied with the answers I came up with. It just didn’t make any sense. If almost all religions claimed that God is Good , why the does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why do the innocent suffer? Why do babies go through bad things? Why is there so much evil in the world? Now I haven’t come here to bamboozle you with cold hard facts or spew religious stuff in your face, but I tried to make some sense out of it, and here’s what I came up with;

To start off, I’m not going to place death in the category of bad things. Why? Because death is one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever experience. You’ll no longer fear death, only if you have come to that place , where you realize that life is for fulfilling purpose, doing your part and moving on. It’s a place where you no longer fear death because you have an understanding of what happens after it. It a place where you realize that the cause of death doesn’t matter ,only how well you lived. So I can boldly say , that I am at peace with death because I have come to that place.

But what happens if you’re not the one that dies, but you’re the one who lost a loved on? Yes, that’s a bad thing. The raw pain, the grief, the anger and fear…are almost unbearable. What happens when a girl is raped? What happens when an honest person is duped? What happens when a little baby is molested? These are all good people whom bad things happen to. Why does God allow this to happen? Why does He permit so much evil? The truth is, God initially created the world to be blissful, free from sin and evil. What went wrong? Sin. Now, God established the universe based on laws…the law of gravity, the law of sowing and reaping , the law of attraction and the law of sin and suffering. That’s the law at play here. It states; for every sin, there is an opposite consequence/ suffering…even when you have asked for forgiveness. Then I can hear you ask, “Well how does that law apply to babies, since they have not sinned?” .The answer to that is, “In sin did my mother conceive me”-Bible . So even babies carry that nature of sin. God respects laws, when it comes to laws, ‘His hands are tied.’

Another reason why bad things happen to good people is free will. God given man the free will to act, think and do as he pleases. So the people who perpetrate these evil acts do so of their own free will, God has no hand in this. Sometimes , we want to justify the bad things that happen us by saying there’s a reason; truth is, sometimes, there is just no reason. We just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time or simply met the wrong people. Human beings are creatures of circumstance, just like King Solomon said ,”The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor riches to the men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all”

Finally, there is something called the law of attraction. It states, “Whatever you think about or fear consistently, will eventually become your reality. Sometimes we think about a million things that could go wrong in our lives, what we don’t understand is that we are drawing these things to us. How ? It has been scientifically proven that every thought has a magnetic frequency; so the more you think about something the more you magnetize it to you.

Those are all the answers I was able to come up with in my search. If you have profound answers of your own, kindly let me know. Have a wonderful weekend.

Peace

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

No Bullsht :Disclosure: I’m [Not] A Cold Hard Btch ~ @subomiplumptre

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Staff Reporter

I’ve been told. I’ve been warned. I’ve been threatened and I’ve been scorned. “Shosho, you can be so cold, at times”!
So now I ask: Is my [supposed] bitchiness a function of social dysfunction? A sort of facade to shield me from the brutal world? Or, is it an external manifestation of an inner pride? A pride that will not allow me to subject myself to lesser mortals?

I know that I tend to be more “head oriented” than “heart oriented.” It has always been easier for people to appeal to me intellectually than emotionally. But, as I grow older I have come to learn that from the heart comes mercy, love, compassion, friendship, care, softness – all the things people want to be around. I’ve also learnt that it is the height of humility to subject oneself to someone even if you think you know better.

Sometimes, that’s just the way it’s gotta be, if you want to achieve a common goal. In a relationship, someone can’t just “take a position” and refuse to budge. When that happens, it’s the beginning of the end.
Perhaps, I’m just afraid. Afraid of people trying to contain me, dominate me or put me in a pre-fabricated box. I truly detest tyranny, oppression and conformity. They are among the few things that make me weep. It also seems like anytime a guy says he’s not trying to change me, he’s lying. Perhaps, he may not even be aware of the lie. He just has this picture in his head he’s coaching me towards. After all, it is the nature of man to try to improve things and the nature of woman to accommodate and please.

Anyway, I am finally learning to love when it’s not convenient and to stop being afraid. Life is not about me.
I gradually feel myself thawing. I may never totally become a shrinking violet, I’m too analytical for that. But, my heart is a much bigger place now and is far more accessible than it used to be.

May I truly become a better person.

Editor: An updated version of Adesubomi Plumptre’s No Bullsh*t will be serialized on Omojuwa.com every Saturday.

THAT MYSTERY CALLED SEX #opesays

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Thank God it’s Friday. I hope you had a lovely week. This time on #opesays, we’ll be talking about that familiar topic, sex. So I beg you to please, lay aside all your religious convictions for a minute and hear me out. Think through everything I say and take the one you feel is beneficial and discard the ones you think useless. That said, sex remains the fire that plagues the world of man. You and I have felt it…that tingle, that ache for someone else; call it lust if you will.

For me, when a great man says he is sexually attracted to me, I see it as an honour. Why ? Because a man is only attracted to that which is a reflection of his innermost self. That in essence ,tells me I’m a great woman. This theory holds true for every human being; you’re only attracted to a person who is a mirror of yourself. “Your body will always follow the ultimate logic of your deepest convictions .”-Ayn Rand. It can truly be no other way. Once you find yourself attracted to someone sexually, do not despise it, do not question it. You are that person and that person is you.

This is why a man who is confident in his own value, will always look for a great woman. Why ? Because she is harder to conquer, and that gives him a sense of achievement. Getting her will boost his self-esteem. For ease of reference, let’s call this the Conqueror Syndrome. For instance, I once had a discussion with a friend about the Helicopter Move. I heard this term first from another friend’s article. The move is actually a sexual position where the man is on top and the woman is under him with her two legs spread wide apart (just like the helicopter blades).My friend had this to say about the move; “It makes me feel powerful, if I’m on top of a woman like that; especially one who was hard to get”.

In Church, I cringe when the Pastor , keeps saying “Wives submit to your husbands”. Now we all know they mean submit, as in defer or respect. This Bible verse has been hammered on severally, with the Pastors leaving out the other meaning the Bible referred to. What is this other meaning ? Sexual submission. That was what Apostle Paul meant when he said this. It also goes further to say, “Husbands love your wives”. Does this refer only to the emotional love ? Of course not. It also means sexual love. So I ask, why don’t Christian men and Pastors hammer on the latter sentence ? That’s a topic for another day. The Conqueror Syndrome of sex is the same reason why good girls love bad boys or playboys. It gives us women a sense of achievement once we get that man that is notoriously hard to get. It shows you have conquered where others failed. With the Conqueror Syndrome , we all want to feel we got the best out there, the best person we could find.

Mind is always linked to the body, you cannot separate both. In the same way, you cannot separate sex from love. This ideal is a fraud, shun it. When you separate sexual attraction from emotional love, it is a disaster waiting to happen. This is why love brings you nothing but boredom, and sexual attraction brings you feelings of guilt and shame. Love in its purest form consists of these; 1. A sexual attraction for the person in question .2. Emotional love for the person and 3. The Conqueror Syndrome. If your love does not contain all these, it is a sham. Next time before you condemn your sexual attraction, do think about this; you will be only attracted to that which is a mirror of your innermost self. That said, have a wonderful weekend.

Peace

DISCLAIMER– You may be sexually attracted to someone, but that doesn’t mean you must always act on it .What separates man from beast is our ability to hold back on our urges.Enough said

*You can read the article about the helicopter move here >>>> Confessions Of A Lagos Pervert

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

THE BROKEN ROAD THAT LED ME STRAIGHT TO YOU #opesays

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Thank God it’s Friday. And no , #opesays today will not be about overly serious stuff; well not so serious. I have been pondering on an issue, a major thorn in my flesh. I hear stories of people getting married to their first and only love and I go, really? I envy their tenacity and the depth of their love. I mean, you met a man at the age of 15, and you’re still together at 40 ? Mehn that’s some serious ish.

I am not here to give you love advice, for how can someone give advice he has not taken himself ? How about us who are not so lucky to meet that special person at 15 or date for years? I call this the broken road that most of us travel; meet someone, date someone, have a fling sometimes,meet someone better, faded interest after a while, or just pure boredom. It has been called the Stopgap Theory of Relationships by Japheth Omojuwa.

You want love too and you want it to last forever. Well, what’s wrong with the broken road ? Having several relationships tires you out emotionally and even physically, makes you weary and might even make you miss that special someone. What’s good about the broken road ? Well ,nobody is good at anything the first time. It makes you refine your strategy, up your game and know what to look out for next time.

So what am I proposing? The broken road? No. The first love? Well, if you’re lucky; but not all of us are. So what’s the best option? Date them all! When I say date, I don’t mean getting serious. Hang out with all your prospects, go out to the movies, to restaurants. Talk extensively and have a feel for what their characters and personalities are. You can do this with several people at the same time. Just make sure you never ever utter the ‘L’ word. That’s the golden rule of this method. Do not raise their hopes in anyway, you don’t want to leave broken hearts on your trail.I’ll recommend 7 months for this.3 to get to know them and 4 to see if you’re truly in love.Scientists have said that if you still feel the way you do after 4 months,then you’re truly in love. After months and years of doing this, you will surely meet the one. Then it will be time to commit, and you will do it so willingly without feeling trapped. You will know you have sieved through the soil and came out with a diamond.

I love this song by Rascal Flatts

Every long lost dream, led me to where you are

Others who broke my heart

They were like northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

This much I know is true

That God bless the broken road that led me straight to you

Happy loving

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

THIS ONE THING #opesays

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Staff Reporter

In your pursuit of success and relevance, many strings may tug you several ways. They have told you your talent is what will make a way for you and bring you into greatness, but what happens when you have several talents? You have realized that you can do many things and you can do them well. Your friends are often amazed by how great you are .I mean how many people can do it all?

For instance, ever since I was young, I was the go-to person for all things and I mean all things. I was the one who could draw and paint, I was the same one who was singing in a band. I was the one my friends came to with their English essays; they even tagged me, the walking dictionary. It was the same me who they believed could talk in public, so they made me MC and leader of most events. Oh did I forget to mention cooking? It so happened that if someone wanted to cook or eat a delicious meal, even for a party, they came to me first. I was also the one who designed most of my family and friends’ clothes. There was even an occasion where my family members refused to sew their clothes until two days to the event, just because I had not come back from school to design it. I was also the mediator, the repairer of the rift. My friends came to me with their sob stories about their relationships and even fights. On and on like that.

How many things could just one person do ? If you’re like me, you may be suffering from this curse of the multi-talented. You are that bundle of talents and everybody comes to you for just about everything. Yes you’re that good and what was supposed to be your blessing , is now your curse. How is this a curse? Well it turns out that most of us who suffer from the curse of the multi-talented find it difficult to focus on one thing. You glide through life moving from one talent to another wandering which one you should concentrate on. Even when you finally manage to concentrate on one, you grow bored and start itching to move on to another. This brings to mind the story of Leonardo da Vinci, who was a painter , sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He is widely considered to be perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. How did he manage?

Being a multi-talented person comes with confusion and you cannot achieve much until you learn to focus your energies on one thing. “One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth one hundred shallow faculties.” –William Matthews. So here’s how to put things in perspective; ask your family and friends which the talent they think you’re best at .When you have come to a conclusion, choose that talent. Learn everything you can about it and practice it daily. The only way your talent can bring you into a place of greatness is when you hone it into a skill. Acquire all the skills you need to deepen that talent. Work and concentrate on it for at least two years , no matter the distractions. Remember that itchy feeling to do something else will come, but try your hardest to stand firm and hold your ground.

When you have developed this talent to the point of being a skill and have made money from it, then you can move on to the next talent. Then repeat the process like that. It’s that easy. I’m in my 6^th month of concentration, the longest I’ve concentrated on any one talent. The itch has come twice but I’ve been able to shrug it off and continue concentrating. You can do it too, if you put your mind to it. If you’re lucky like da Vinci, you’ll be able to squeeze out all your talents before your time is up. I wish you success.

Peace and Light.

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter.

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

DON’T BOX ME IN (PART 2) #opesays

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Staff Reporter

This is for you, if like me, you have never felt good enough. You try to conform and fit into the mould, but just don’t fit. No matter what you do, it just seems like you can never be good enough. They just don’t understand you and what you’re about. Perhaps it’s the way you do things that rubs them the wrong way or it’s your gentleness, your dressing, your chattiness, your mistakes, your disability or even your personality. It may be your parents, your family, your friends or even total strangers. They try to make you conform and just fall in line.

I watched a movie some days ago titled ‘Like Stars on Earth’. It was the story of an eight year old boy ,Ishan , who didn’t feel good enough. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t read like his mates. Several times in class, the teachers would call on him to read a passage and he couldn’t even make out a word. To cover up his inadequacies, he became naughty and stubborn. He would play pranks on his parents and teachers , and got punished often as a result. On the other hand, he was a bubbly eight year old boy, a bundle of sunshine. There was one thing he knew how to do so well, he could paint. His paintings were so good , that people who saw them didn’t believe they were the works of an eight year old.

His father however continued to warn him, that he if didn’t stop his naughty behaviour, he would send Ishan to boarding school. Sure enough, Ishan broke the last straw and his father sent him to boarding school. The first few days in that strange environment were too much for the eight year old, and he cried a lot, totally homesick. Hope came, however when the school got a new art teacher, one of those rare species who think outside the box. The teacher noticed Ishan was always quiet and he proceeded to find out as much as he could about him. He discovered that Ishan was not dumb as people supposed, he was only dyslexic, thus his inability to read or write correctly. He then put Ishan on special lessons teaching him how to read and write. In no time , Ishan’s school work improved. His naughty behaviour completely disappeared. The teacher was also wowed by Ishan’s artwork. The school then had an art competition, which was judged by a master painter. Your guess is as good as mine who won it.

Why are you trying so hard to fit in , when you were born to stand out ? The creator has made you to be different and unique, but as long as you live, the world will try to foist conformity on you. Look around you, even nature relishes diversity. That the creator made each person’s finger print unique should tell you something. That no two leopards have the same spots should buttress that point. There have been such gems like you among us, who have changed the course of the world because they could look at the world differently. Their thinking was out of the box and not everyone understood them. They were told they weren’t good enough, just because they were found wanting, an exception to the world’s rigid standards. They were different, but despite that, they persevered and emerged to be such successes that the world applauded them.

You have to break traditions and deviate from the norm to achieve anything worthwhile. We are all conditioned to conform and not make mistakes, but the man who’ll move out of that lane, will learn, grow and achieve something great. If there was no difference in our world, nothing new would have been created, no new lands ventured and discovered.

“Two roads converged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference”-Robert Frost. Your ‘road’ might be the one less taken, but your difference will announce you. Be true to yourself because there’s only one you. Do not discard the beautiful robe of uniqueness the creator has gifted you with, and don the cloak of conformity. Use your difference to achieve something great. Use your ashes to create beauty and watch the world applaud you as you do so.

Today, if you see someone different, stop and ask yourself, “In what way would this rare specie change our world ?” Refuse to judge , even if you are tempted to. Welcome difference, embrace difference, and perhaps our world would be different.

Peace.

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

Tom G Palmer sums up the world as it is for us and as we want it to be

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Below is a Facebook post from Tom G Palmer. It is his reality from yesterday and a reality the world deserves…a world without borders and limits…A world of freedom for all.

“The modern world is amazing. I was just exchanging ideas with Iranian friends online. Earlier I had a Facebook and then Skype chat with an Indian colleague in New Delhi about libertarian projects in Asia. Then I was contacted by a Nigerian colleague who is right now in Rio, so I put him in touch with an Icelandic libertarian who is there now, along with a Brit libertarian and an American libertarian. We could not reach my Brazilian colleague, who would have helped out, because he is in China, meeting with libertarian colleagues to whom I introduced him there. The world is, in some sense, getting both cooler and cozier”

Tom G Palmer

DON’T BOX ME IN #opesays

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Staff Reporter

This is for you, if, like me, you have never felt good enough and though you’ve stretched all your life, you have never reached that bar that others have set for you. It may be your parents ,siblings ,friends, or even strangers. They poured you into their mould and you didn’t fit, they weighed you on a balance and you were found wanting. You just didn’t belong.

They try to box you in but you are a perfect circle, triangle or even a star. You just don’t fit. Maybe like me, you’ve never been good enough, no matter how much you try. For instance, in my first year in the University, I was determined to continue with my stellar academic achievements. I made my first GCE result while I was still in SS1, and A’s were not wanting. I was also the Head prefect (girl) of my school. So naturally, I was downcast after I found out that my first semester result in the university was a GP of 4.19.

My friends cheered me up and made me realize that it might not be the first class result I had hoped for but it was a good result by all standards and I could do better the coming semester. My bubble bust however after I told my mother the result.”Couldn’t you do better? At least your mates got a first class”. Needless to say, the rebel in me was born that day. After all, no one had ever acknowledged my past results that were great. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t just good enough.

It could just be the fact that you’re different that rubs them the wrong way. It may be the way you dress, your tattoo or your hairstyle that rattles them. Maybe they have said that you’re too quiet, nerdy or chatty. It may be that you were not as ‘brilliant’ as the other children in the family or they didn’t approve the career you chose for yourself. Whatever it was, they poured you into a mould, you didn’t fit and you were found wanting.

Good news is, no two human beings were created to be the same or achieve the same things. The fact that you deviated from the norm is not a crime. Who wrote the rules? Who said you must conform? This means that you don’t have to fit into anyone’s mould or let them ‘create’ you. You are free to give your personality full expression. They may get to you sometimes or even alienate you because you are different and you don’t meet up. Hard as this might be, do not let this get to you.

People are always afraid of what they do not know, what they do not understand, the unfamiliar or the different and that invariably turns into hate.(This has been the major cause of tribal wars and religious hatred throughout history).People only hate that which they see in others and which they want to be, but cannot achieve. A friend and I drifted apart for some years and then started to talk again recently, especially about the past. He said to me (in his exact words), “You know you used to be so independent and self-willed. I used to hate that about you. Now I know better and the same qualities I hated in you are the same things I now admire.”I was surprised, I didn’t even know he felt that way about me.

No man who ever blended with the crowd has ever achieved anything great. He has to beat out his own path, and stand out to achieve anything worthwhile.”Stand for what you believe in even if it means standing alone”-Unknown. Be true to yourself because there’s only one you. Colour our world with your difference for we all can’t be the same. That’s boring art. Be real, be you, stand out and go succeed. Peace.

Opemipo Adebanjo

@opesays on Twitter

This is a weekly column that runs every Friday. It is called #opesays. Join me to talk about issues that matter from motivation to love to politics to religion to life itself.

#OccupyNYSC : A hungry Kopa is a dangerous Kopa

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Hunger has inspired me once again to grab my pen, hunger has done it again.
I have used hunger not because I am seriously starving, not for the fact that I have been left at the mercy of no one but to the meagre sum of 19800 messed up nigerian naira given by our ineffective and incompetent leaders voted in by our people. I have also used hunger not because I have been dumped in one of the remotest parts of the country in a town up north with the promise of a stipend of N3000 only fit for a slave by the so called state government. Spearheaded by a so called and self regarded ‘chief servant’.

Again, I have used hunger because I have been dragged outta ma comfort zone where even if I might not get a well paying job, I can always find something doing with my blossoming life in the hustle and bustle of where I have spent and learnt that I have to survive and not in a town where leaders are milking the community dry, trampling on citizens’ rights and the citizens jonzing away not having any clue on how to liberate themselves.

I have been dragged outta ma comfort zone all in the name of obeying the ‘clarion call’ to serve a nation that has refused to respect my dreams and aspirations. I have been dragged to help develop a community that has elected councillors, a local government chairman, house of reps members, senatorial representatives and a chief servant who have a huge share of the ‘national cake’ but prefer to keep it for their greedy pockets!
Again, I have been dragged to spend a whole year out of my lifetime to fulfill the wishes of some few people’s greedy pocket through the motive defeated NYSC programme.

Am I not supposed to be fed, clothed and sheltered during the 3-week camping programme? Was there no allocation for me to be well taken care of?. Rather, I fed myself most times and clothed myself during my camping days. I am forced to accept with lil’ grunts and to wear the hyper inferior NYSC crested vest, khaki and jacket, cap and jungle boot. All other items due me were given but cannot be worn by me ( let it be of note, I am not a spoilt brat).

With all these stated above and more, the FG still finds it hard to pay me my monthly peanuts as at today 12th of May, 2012…my April allowee!! (allowance)

And who is saying I should not use ‘MY’? Why won’t I?, when my own full names and data have been used in their evil ploy to loot the national treasury and milk the nation dry!!! Why won’t I use ‘MY’ when my brothers and sisters are suffering in the creeks of Bayelsa?, Why won’t I use ‘MY’ when my brothers and sisters live in fear of being bombed by terrorists whom in my opinion is their veritable tool to justify the huge security share of their virtual national budget.

I understand perfectly that programmes similar to the NYSC are being done in other countries of the world to develop their youths and societies, an example is South Korea but have we asked ourselves if this is how it is being done? Is the motive laid down still intact?
Finally, hunger has pushed me to curse the day this present administration came into power.

*Give me my allowee, @ least, it is my only right after you have taken 365days of my life your so called ‘clarion call’ abi have I not been dedicated and selfless enough to be a part of this crap.

Lordrooz Bucknor

GOODLUCK JONATHAN AS A TERRORIST: MY SHORT TAKE – @omojuwa

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Staff Reporter

My take:
After the October 1st, 2010 bombing, MEND claimed responsibility and the first person to absolve MEND was President Goodluck Jonathan. Everyone was surprised then why the president would just claim it was not MEND, so it does make some sense if not a lot of sense that Mr. President knows a lot about the 2010 bombings than we ever had time to think about. This (Henry Okah’s accusations)in a sane country would be the object of major investigation but there are motives and we have enough grounds to believe Henry Okah even though he is a sort of sinking man who could be grabbing at straws. The president definitely has a case to answer. The question is, who will ask him? I will not pass him guilty before he is tried but he sure knows a lot more than we gave him credit for as far as the October 1st, Eagle Square Independence celebrations go. So Nigeria, is your President a comfirmed terrorist? Hmmmmm

Jonathan tried very hard to absolve MEND after the blasts in 2010

NIGERIA IN SHORT BY @efewanogho

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Staff Reporter

A man who has skeletons in his cupboard, cannot instill national discipline, and by extension, stem the tide of mindless savagery that has come to characterize our geopolitical space. You arrest someone for terrorism, next you know, he has made bail. How can you hold the judiciary to account, when you have benefited from judicial sleaze? They say we have porous borders, yet we have immigration officers idling away at passport offices across the country. What about support from the military? Nay! They prefer to deploy them to oil companies, and they say they are concerned about security. Nigerians are steadily being slaughtered. All they do is move with convoys of police and army, and leave Nigerians to the mercy of the savages. Someone who’s never been known to detest sleaze and indiscipline, cannot inspire confidence. He cannot berth positive change. Simply put, he cannot give what he doesn’t have. Such a one tends to blame “political detractors” and elusive insiders for the deluge of problems he fails to surmount.

@efewanogho

HOW POOR NIGERIANS FEED AN OVERFED GOVERNMENT | PICTURE REPRESENTATION

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Staff Reporter

This picture depicts the Nigerian reality. It speaks for itself.

LET’S SEE YOUR FASHION PROFILE IN 5 MINUTES | CHECK “YOU” OUT

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Hey peeps,

Below is a form that seeks to profile you into a fashion category. You don’t even have to be a fashionista to check yourself out. I had fun doing it too 🙂 . You wanna try? Try here >>>> Fashionista

THIS STORY IS WHY I LOVE LINDA IKEJI – Japheth J Omojuwa

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Linda Ikeji is my favourite Nigerian blogger by far. Reading this story, I could but love her the more. Linda blogs on www.lindaikeji.blogspot.com. People should stop trying to run other people down. The media business is not evil, it only reports what it sees. Big cheers to Linda for this piece!

TV host Toke Makinwa doesn’t think I’m a role model. Urm, OK…:-)

Toke Makinwa (l) Linda Ikeji (r)

Ghen ghen, fight between Linda Ikeji and Toke Makinwa. Lol. Unfortunately I don’t really know who she is…never met her…only seen her Flytime interviews. I hear she’s also a radio presenter…and apparently she said on radio recently that I am not a role model…

Here’s how Thenetng is reporting it
Popular radio and TV presenter Toke Makinwa has aired her thoughts about popular blogger and former model Linda Ikeji stating she ‘doesn’t think Linda Ikeji is a role model’.

Little known Makinwa who works as a radio presenter on popular urban radio station Rhythm 93.7 dropped her comments on air while she was co-anchoring ‘The Morning Drive’ recently.

I don’t think Linda Ikeji is a role model. She’s a gossiper, She sells gossip’, Makinwa said on the show and even appealed to her listeners not to take the likes of popular US blogger Perez Hilton and Miss Ikeji seriously.

Well, she’s entitled to her opinion. I have nothing against that statement…I understand where she’s coming from. Some of the posts hurt people, some help people. It’s the media, it’s the job I chose. Like every other job, it has its advantages and disadvantageous. You win some, you lose some. I get it. I accept it.

It’s times like this I almost forget who I am…but then I remember where I’m coming from and I smile. Let me tell you guys a story. Please continue…

It was early 2000, I was 19 years old, in my second year at the University of Lagos. I’d been a model for about a year and a half then. Modeling back then didn’t pay a lot. Sometimes you eat, sometimes you can’t find food. Sometimes you had money, sometimes you will have to beg for it. I’m not from a rich home. I started struggling since I was 17 to support my family. So I kinda hard a tough life growing up but I kept working, doing all sorts of modeling jobs, ushering, fashion shows, and at one point I sold beer at a hotel. I’d leave lectures, go to a hotel and sell beer from 1pm till 10pm. I did this for a few months. It wasn’t easy but I had to survive. One of the things I said to myself back then was, the day I sell my body to a man for money, may God strike me dead. I was determined to make it on my own, never let any man take my dignity. In those days, most young girls had an aristo…I was never one of those girls. I would rather starve or beg for food than give my body to a man for money.

So back to my story. It was early 2000, I hadn’t done any modeling jobs in a bit. I didn’t have any money in school, hadn’t ate a proper meal in days, there was no money at home…my sister called and asked if I could send money home…didn’t have any. I wondered what to do…then I thought of this aristo who had been chasing me for months now…old man…married…rich…in his fifties. I said to myself, why don’t you call him and beg him for money. Tell a lie, say you need it to go to the hospital ‘cos you’re sick or something that desperate. Which was what I did. What he said to me was ‘you know I like you. I don’t know why you’re behaving like a child. You need someone to take care of you blah blah blah’. Eventually he said I should meet him at a hotel. I will never forget that hotel…Ambassadors hotel in Ikoyi. I was apprehensive about going but I was desperate…I said to myself what’s the worse that can happen? It’s not like he will rape you and there was no way in hell I would sleep with him, so I figured even if he didn’t give me the money I asked for, at least he would give me money for transport fare to go back home…that transport fare was what I was looking forward to honestly. I didn’t have a dime on me, in fact I borrowed small money from a friend to go to the hotel.

So when I got there, he bought me hotel food (my first real meal in days…:-)) and after I was done eating, he made his move. I shoved him off. He kept trying and I kept pushing him away and after a while he got angry and said something like, why did you come here then? Are you a child? He was angry that I made him pay for a hotel room, spent money on food etc and not give him what he wanted. So he got up to leave…and I told him I didn’t have any money to go back to school. If looks could kill, I would have died in that moment he turned to look at me. He left the hotel room, and I followed him. I kept begging and trying to explain to him that I didn’t have transport to go back, he didn’t say a word to me as he entered his vehicle and drove off.

I stood in front of the hotel wondering how I was going to get back to school. All I had on me was N15. N15 wasn’t going to take me from Ikoyi to Akoka. In my plans, I never imagined that I wasn’t going to at least get a few thousands from him. I’d seen this guy before…he was a friend’s boss. He owned a media business back then and every time I went to see this friend, this man would call me into his office…tell me how pretty I am, how much he likes me and how well he can take care of me. And he always gave me 5k whenever I was ready to leave his office. But this time I was the one who called him…so he must have figured I was ready to give in. We both misunderstood each other, I guess…:-)

Anyway, after standing in front of the hotel for a few minutes, I went back in and saw a young man at the front desk. I explained my situation to him…he was kind enough to give me N100 and that was the money that took me half way home. By the time I got to Yaba, I’d run out of cash, so I trekked from Yaba bus stop to UNILAG Akoka. I remember saying to myself while I was trekking with tears in my eyes, that one day I’m going to make something of myself…every money I make in this world would be my own hard earned money…I don’t care how bad it gets, no man is ever going to take away my self respect…that’s all I have!

And that’s the way I lived. Determined to make it in life. On my own terms. As my own woman. I kept struggling and struggling until God finally blessed me. Now I have more money than I even know what to do with it. I make millions of naira from what I love doing…blogging. The best part of all this is that I would blog for free. Now I don’t chase money anymore…it chases me. It’s not even just about the money, it’s the great friends I’ve met via this blog, the wonderful people I interact with here, the freebies I get. How much of a big deal I am to some people. How some people see me in person and scream with excitement and want to take photos with me. Sometimes I pinch myself…I almost can’t believe this is my life.

Once in a while I think of that 19 year old girl who trekked for miles to school because she would not sell her body and I say to her, we made it, Linda, we made it!

So maybe I’m not a role model in terms of what I do, but I know I’m definitely a role model as a young woman. To all the young girls out there, if you’re reading this, you can make it on your own. You don’t need to spread your legs for men, you don’t need these old married men who just take your glory. You’re strong, you’re beautiful, there’s nothing you can’t achieve on your own. God has given you something no one else has. Find what it is and build yourself. Don’t worry about what other girls around you have. Dignity is far more valuable than a range rover. Make it in life on your own terms and as your own woman, so that you can look back one day and be proud of who you were and who you are.
I wish every one well in their journey. God bless.

Linda Ikeji

THE HAUSA MAN I ENCOUNTERED AT MAIDUGURI – @tosinadeda

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Staff Reporter

There is a general perception about we Nigerians, about how dubious we are when it comes to material things, most especially money. It is a general saying that the average Nigerian man is a crook and will do anything for money.

This bad generalization about the typical Nigerian has gotten worse over the years, both home and abroad.

We all know that some Nigerians are crooks and could be really dubious, but we also know that there are in deed very good and honest Nigerians all over the world!

This story is really fun, my NYSC experience . . My posting etc etc. The koko of the story is to show that indeed, we have good Nigerians and most especially, Good hausa People!!!!

My Encounter . .

Finished my BSc in Computer Science in 2008 from the University of Lagos. As usual, every graduate feels joy and excitement after graduation, but somehow there is always this bitter taste of NYSC somewhere to spoil the fun. Mine was no exception . .

When NYSC postings came out, I was posted to Borno State. I immediately got a map, and located the state on it . . I was speechless for over 30 minutes, my eyes turned red and it was as if the world came to an end!!!!

Anyways, I went to Borno state . . had fun in camp and then another posting was around the corner again. All the while I was in camp, I was meant to call a particular woman who was meant to help me get posted to the capital: Maiduguri, but somehow I over enjoyed my self and had fun in camp, and I forgot to call her. BEHOLD, I GOT POSTED TO MONGONU!!!

Mongonu is actually about 4 hours drive from Maiduguri (inside the same state o, imagine that). I got my posting letter, I was posted to “school of fishery, Mongonu” . . it was then I called the woman i was to call, then she told me i had to go to where i was posted and get a rejection letter. . .

THIS IS WHERE THE STORY BEGINS . . .

Slept over at a hotel till the next morning, went to the park and boarded a bus to Mongonu . . The journey was just pathetic! long, dusty and dry . . Nothing to view all through the 4 hours, except deserts, empty local govt buildings at intervals, and Cows (I saw plenty of them). .

Before getting to Mongonu, the bus stopped at Kukawa and I saw people coming down, so I came down also . . and the bus left. It was until I asked a corper I spotted about where I was going, before I knew I got down at the wrong place! Mongonu was still one hour away! I almost cried . . I then asked him where to get another bus, he told me I had to wait till 2pm. By then it was still 11am in the morning and I was getting tensed!

I chilled till 2pm and boarded a bus going to Moongonu . . I got to the park (I heard one hausa dude singing Gongo aso, I was shocked!). Took a cab to School of Fishery and located who was in charge of NYSC. The moment the guy saw me, he could tell I wasn’t coming there to accept the posting, so he said “do u want to accept or decline, I have both letters here for you” . . I was so happy and replied him “pls I want to decline”. he said no problem, and even bought me food and a drink.

After everything at the school, it was already around 4 pm in the after noon, and I didn’t want to sleep at Mongonu (Maiduguri was 4 hrs away). I got back to the park, and I had to wait for about one hour before I finally told the driver that he shouldnt worry that I was gonna pay for every space in the Peugeot Station wagon. We left around 5:20pm.

It was after the journey started that I noticed that the car had issues with it’s light and stuff . . it was getting dark, so the driver parked, opened the bonnet and hit the head lamps before they came on. By then I was getting worried and all. . on our way, the light went off twice and we both couldn’t see anything. The second time was so scary, when he managed to park, we were on the other side of the road and a trailer was facing us!!!!!!!!

I almost peed on myself, I had to come down from the vehicle to urinate and throw up!!!!!! yes I was that scared.

Finally we got to Maiduguri and our unsafe journey had ended, I got down and that was it. I took an achaba (hausa name for okada) to the hotel, and behold it was then I remembered: “MY WAIST BAG WAS GONE” . . Ok lemme brief you guys what a waist bag is, almost every corper has a waist bag on camp where u put all your essentials and stuff. . Mine had everything except my fone! My money, my ATM, My cheque book, ID card etc etc . . . Unknown to me, when I got down to pee I unstrapped the waist bag and forgot to strap it back when I got back into the car!!!

I couldnt speak Hausa, and the achaba guy kept saying “ba turenchi” meaning I don’t understand English. I had to beg for money from a fellow corper I saw drinking at the bar to pay the achaba guy!

By then my mum started calling me, how she knew I was in trouble, I don’t understand . . I picked up and told her I was fine and nothing was wrong. . I then called the Woman who was to help me get posted, narrated my story and all. she promised to send a guy who could speak both english and hausa. That night was one of my worst nights ever. I dream’t all kinds of dreams, I dream’t that the bag was under the bed, I woke up and actually checked. . lol

That night I actually prayed to God after a long while, I so prayed till i was speaking in tongues . . whether the tongues were real or fake, only God knows. . lol

The following morning was the D – day! the search for my waist bag. The guy came over, asked me for the plate number of the car, I didn’t know . . the color of the car, I didn’t know, he asked me how the driver looked, and I still didn’t know! then he said “only if God wants you to find that bag, thats the only way you will” .

We got to the park, and the guy whose name by the way is Tunde, started asking some of the drivers questions in Hausa. We were at the park for up to 3hours, and without even understanding what the drivers were saying, I could tell from the expression on Tunde’s face that; my bag was as good as gone!!!

I mean I had no clue about the car, the driver, etc . . it was impossible for anybody to help us.

Just when we were about to give up and leave, this man approached us and spoke in Hausa to Tunde and said “follow me”
we did, and he led us to his car, opened the door and brought out the bag! I WAS SHOCKED TO MY BONES!!!
I was more shocked when I opened it and met the money intact to the last. . . everything was inside, except my ID card which was in his hand. .

Apparently the man had been on a search for me with my ID card, all through the day till he saw me at the park with Tunde . . He said he couldn’t sleep at night because he was in custody of someone’s money and property, and that if he didn’t find me and return it that Allah would be angry with him!

I WAS SO MOVED AND SURPRISED AT THE SAME TIME, AND SAID TO MYSELF “WE NEED MORE OF THIS KIND OF PEOPLE IN THE SOCIETY”

That’s my story, hope you enjoyed it and hope we can all learn from it also. Let us all be like the Good Hausa man, lets all be good Nigerians and someday our country will be good for it. . . A BETTER NIGERIA STARTS WITH YOU, what are you doing about it?

Tosinadeda

Not all Nigerians are bad: My NYSC experience

HOW WINNING #SuperBloggers CHANGED EVERYTHING – by @Payme_My2cents

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Staff Reporter

I love writing and I had been thinking of blogging for a long while but never got to it and finally getting started was by chance (thanks to my sister). I had been blogging for less than two months when I entered the competition and I had an average of 650 visits to the blog in January and February. The competition started in the last week of February (which is why the average is high lol).

My experience with the first edition of superbloggers was an amazing one and my blog is really benefiting from the exposure I got through the competition. It has been a month since the competition and visits have been way more than ten times that average. Writing is still a hobby for me, however with the increased publicity of the blog, I have had to make it a ‘serious’ hobby. I joined twitter with the aim of promoting the blog and I do not regret taking that step. I find it easier to publicise my new articles and with rapidly increasing numbers of followers, I am able to get my message across to a wider audience. I hope Payme’s 2Cents will keep inspiring everyone to be charitable.

Did I mention that you would also get to meet amazing people – albeit online? I am so grateful for the exposure #Superbloggers has given to Payme’s 2Cents. We all have a story to tell. Tell yours by entering the next #Superblogger competition. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain!!! God bless!

PS: The winners of the 2nd edition will be announced on Sunday. The 3rd edition kicks off on Monday.

JOB APPLICATION LETTER: THIS ONE CANNOT BUT GET YOU THE JOB

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Okay, I don’t know if it will get this person the job but reading this letter you cannot be imagine the applicant as a serious investigator…

AND THE WORLD CRIED by @PenMyVoice

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Staff Reporter

It was just about time I go to sleep I whispered to myself, enough of all these thoughts and worries in my head, I was beginning to sail to sleep when I heard a distant cry of one in agony and pain that I thought must be excruciating, what is going on ? The cry seemed to get louder and quite terrible that I was scared to my teeth; my heart almost left me, when suddenly I awoke, whoa! I exhaled for this has been a familiar nightmare, but the puzzle that remained unsolved is that I still can’t tell if I was asleep or awake.

This is not just day dreaming for once I looked out of my window and I saw people more numerous than I could count, black, white, brown, all races, tribes, religion, indeed the world was represented in this mysterious view, though they were differentiated by color, belief and more, they were unified in pain, by agony and by the look of helplessness boldly written across their brows. I said to my self what sort of army could have defeated the human race, certainly not Greeks, for Greeks were there, not Spartans, for Spartans were there too, not American, nor British, not even Russian for all these nations were represented in this hoard of captives. Is the world coming to an end? I asked myself or could this be an invasion from mars, are aliens taking over our world? But I couldn’t see any green guy around so what could be amiss? I tried to listen closely to the sound of the wailing and travail but the sound from my heartbeat seemed to be louder than I could cope with kpum! kpum!! Kpum!!!

This pounding increased until I felt liquid substances on my upper abdomen, I thought my heart had burst, I opened my eyes and noticed I had been sweating, it’s my nightmare I eased silently, but the fears still gripped me like a hug from a strange old woman, I was more terrified than I could ever imagine.

This pseudo reality was taking a larger part of my life, it seemed more real to me than what I thought was my reality, I felt I was in Mordor were the wicked army of Sauron were penetrating with its orcs against middle earth. I knew it in my heart something is wrong with our dear world, I had a conversation with a Kenyan in July , as I listened to him my fear increased as he spoke about the death in his area, he talked about Uganda and its lonely streets. I felt in my heart that the world is being bitten by same serpent and the reaction is same, cries, death, if you would listen closely you would hear THE WORLD CRY.

A typical survey of the world news is characterized with gross destruction and loss of human lives either through natural disasters or human aided disasters in the likes of meaningless wars and most obvious the much talked about HIV, which has given the world a ceaseless attack from its genesis to this very point.

@PenMyVoice Kenna chikadibia

PASTOR ADEBOYE, DELE MOMODU AND THE RED WINE

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Bashorun Dele Momodu

On the 2nd day of March, 2012 in twitterville was a happy birthday trend following whitney’s death and davido’s sex scandal. This was a day that clicked “70 years old” for Pastor E. A Adeboye. A day he will live to remember as it bestowed gifts, praises and people’s blessings on him from over the world. On that day, an interesting story that revealed his personality and the fabulous life of daddy G.O was succinctly naratted by Dele Momodu.

The Ovation magazine’s chief who was a gypsy on a luxurious sea cruise with Pastor Adeboye and over other hundred travellers from Florida to Mexico, Cayman Islands and Jamaica – Who says men of God shouldn’t have La vida? Shared this story with humour, in his own words.

“My best moment was when I sailed on a luxury ship with daddy G.O from Florida to Mexico, Cayman Islands and Jamaica. Let me share a joke while at sea with Pastor Adeboye, we ate dinner with the man of God every evening.There were over hundred of us. The dinner was usually accompanied by the best of white and red wines, but members of the congregation couldn’t touch the wine because of G.O.

I was not ready to pretend to Pastor Adeboye that I don’t drink wines. Every evening, I drank a few glasses of red wine in his presence” He even went on to jocularly tell the aftermath, when he received a call from mummy G.O someday after the sea trip

“My heart was racing as I walked in to see mummy G.O that morning”

Laughs, why is He scared? He also said his friend “Afikuyomi” wished him well as he was going to meet her. “In those few seconds before she started speaking, I kept wondering why mummy G.O would invite me, thinking she wanted to talk to me about wine” Even though they discussed other things, it is logical to deduce the underlying personality trait of this media mogul and active statesman from the story. No wonder, Bashorun is doing great as a man of multiple professions, his ability to beat pretense before Pastor Adeboye showed him as “a man who is true to himself, one of integrity”

As simple as the live-drama seems, it happens to be a great one considering the height of pretense in our society. Pretense is a common trait in humans, we all are guilty of it at least for once in a lifetime, moreover, we should note that pretenders are people of low self esteem, and bad team players full of insincerity. They are people who prematurely get rid of sincerity as a virtue like teens imcompetently losing their virginities. This therefore makes for a lesson to learn from a man who is succeeding. Provided he his consistent with his ideals, he clearly wouldn’t pretend before OBJ or GEJ.

I think in this race for the next Nigeria’s leaders, Goodluck isn’t a determinant nor leaving our fates to time without conscious acts all in the name of patience. Men of integrity are highly needed, those who would have mastered the art of being true to themselves. This piece is to me, a posy in my hands been offered to Bashorun for his bravery to beat pretence. Call it an accolade for his morals!

@lanrebraveheart Lanrewaju Elufisan

OF THE YEARS GONE BY, TEN YEARS AGO

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Staff Reporter

10 YEARS AGO

“All of life is lived on levels and arrived at in stages” – Ed. Cole

10 years ago, I was a young boy adapting to life in secondary school.

I was a young boy with no friend, and no foe.

I clutched my bag and food basket as if my very survival depended on it.

Today however, I am a young man on the brink of adulthood.

10 years ago, I couldn’t look a girl in the eye, talk less of sit by her side.

My religious parents had taught me that to do so would make her pregnant.

And so when the time to choose my friends came, I chose boys only as my friends.

Today however, I have come to realise that boy or girl, we are all human beings.

10 years ago, I was a boy who had chosen so many friends,

We promised one another that we’ll always be there,

We promised to be one another’s best man at our weddings.

Today however, the wind of life has taken us to different places and some by the wayside have fallen.

10 years ago, I was a boy who didn’t think of money, or the absence of it.

My only concern was that my food should never be late.

It never occured to me to ask how my school fee was paid, how we got our food or where my transport fare came from.

Today however, I am a young man who has tasted what it means to earn money and how hard it can be.

10 years ago, I was a young boy who obeyed every instruction given at home.

I gladly carried my Bible and notebook and sang merrily on my way to church.

Everyone thought that another pastor was emerging.

Today however, I have become the black sheep, because I have chosen a path different from my family’s.

A poem for my birthday.

Ogunjim James Taiwo @hullerj

EXCLUSIVE: MY TOP 10 TWITTER CRUSHES BY @omojuwa

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Staff Reporter

A lot of people would see the title and expect their names to be there. I understand how we all innately want to be the object of some other person’s passionate mini desire. Sorry to disappoint you though because you have just been fooled. You are my Top 10 twitter Fool =) 🙂

It is all part of the fun yeah? Okay, please retweet let others see my crush abeg. 🙂

This is the only day being a fool is cool.

@omojuwa

NIGERIA: THE NIGHT WILL END

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Staff Reporter

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not
dare; it is because we do not dare that things are
difficult” – Seneca

Everyday, when we talk about the Nigerian problem and the way forward, we hear people saying, “God knows best”, “God’s time is the best”, “It’s always darkest before the dawn”, “The night will end”. But
how do we know that God’s time hasn’t passed? Yes, the night will end, but when? Will the night end for Nigeria while we sleep on our beds waiting? NO.

The night will end when we say so. So many people have been pumped full of religious slogans that when they see issues that needs action, they just give it up as God’s will. But for how long are we going to sit still and watch evil men prevail? How long are we going to sit still and watch our future
being destroyed? How how will we lay on our beds and expect evil to end on its own?

Evil men will always be evil. Bad rulers will always be there. Looters will always be there, and it is our responsibility to tell them ENOUGH. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the
oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

If we want to rid this nation of bad leaders, if we intend to have a nation void of corruption. If we have dreams of a new and corruption-free Nigeria, we can’t fold our arms and wait for our oppressors to stop their oppression. As a great man once said, “it is never in the agenda of the oppressor to discuss the liberation of the oppressed.” Let’s start acting. Our collectiveness is our strength. The night will end, yes, we know that. But when?

How long the night is depends on how long we act nonchalantly. If we want the night to end anytime soon, then it will. You see. . .the choice is ours.

Ogunjimi James Taiwo
hullerj@yahoo.com
08134319591
Twitter account: hullerj

“GREAT PARTY”- IN DEFENSE OF “MR. FIX NIGERIA”

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Staff Reporter

When I heard the news about a certain Mr Fix it joining the ruling party, I immediately recognised it as a distraction among the “youths”, expectedly different subs have been flying around on twitter, and when 140characters suddenly became too small to contain the subs, the fight was literally taken to the “rings”-blogs.
At the moment, we’ve heard from “Mr activist” and a swift rejoinder from, well, another “activist”, and I can assure you that won’t be the last of it, but quite frankly, is that why we are here?
To sub ourselves?
While we are busy “subbing” ourselves let’s not lose sight of the big picture- Nigeria.
I believe we all have one thing in common, our passion for this Nation.
We all have our dreams, and every individual has a right to “dream” their dreams the best way they can. Its an exclusive right of that individual.
If Mr A and Mr B set towards a journey, both taking different path and still arriving at the same destination C, I don’t see why anyone of them should think He is superior to the other.
Here’s my point, one person thinks “NO, I’m disappointed in you for doing that, yes you could join a party, but that one is just too rotten for you,”.
And the other one thinks, our leaders have been singing Chris Brown’s song for Us all along
” I don’t see how you can hate from outside the club- you can’t even get in”
and he thinks getting in is his way of being the change he sought.
I don’t see why either of them should be judges.
I believe actions are best judged according to your intentions, the question I ask myself when somebody does something is, what could be the motive?
Is it sincere enough?
Believe it or not, that’s what matters most, sincerity of purpose. if Mr Fix it had remain outside because he’s afraid of criticism, will that motive be sincere? Or if Mr activist rants just to grow his followership, can we say that motive is sincere enough?
I don’t see how, one of them becomes A “SMALL mind” and the other, A BIG MIND, who’s measuring those things please, what’s the scale? How did you grade it?
I have to say this again, my dream is an exclusive right, whatever I do with it is no business of any individual, because I only aspire to become a modest doctor and touch few lives within my community doesn’t make YOUR dreams of becoming the world bank’s chairman superior to mine.
If we both achieve our dreams we are both fulfilled.
It is what matters.
The mind however begins to shrink when you allow others make your decisions for you, and that’s the point we are missing here. Its not the fact that Mr Fix it did what he did or that Mr activist thought it bad, its the number of small minds who idolised either of them, those who take their words or action as the gospel, those people are the real small minds. The moment you lose control of your thoughts, believe me, you don’t even have a mind anymore, its neither small nor big, its plainly inexistent.
The challenge we are faced with is not to question our actions or the motives behind them, its to redeem those small minds from perishing, because they can’t understand what Mr A or Mr B’s dream is, let them start having dreams of their own, start determining their own rights and wrongs.
Its okay to have mentors, but not idols please, human beings are naturally fallible, we make mistakes, so your mentor makes mistakes too, lot of them, you become dogmatic the moment you make His mistakes your own.
Let’s all have the Zuckerberg dream, but can we all follow the Zuckerberg’s path? He dropped out of school to pursue his dreams, should we all do that too? How many people have dropped out of school to pursue their dreams? How many Zucheberg has the world produced today?
My point is, its the goal that really matters, not the path we choose to follow to them, Mr Fix something decides to be the one in a million, he (probably) decided to go into the rotten party to dare the millions of corrupt politicians, that to me is a Zucheberg dream, frankly it is.
It is simply seeing possibility where others see impossibilities. If he’s successful then he becomes a true hero, if not, he’ll be forgotten just like the rest of them.
Mr activist wants to stand out and effect change, well, he may succeed, after all, we don’t have to be on the inside to help Nigeria. There are so many others outside politics making Nigeria proud. If he succeeds he won’t be forgotten so soon, and if he doesn’t, well, the rest is history.
And you my friend, who idolised either of them will never succeed (at least, in the quest to ‘save Nigeria’) if you don’t groom your mind, because you are simply dreaming someone else’s dream, you are just another “small mind”.

Muhammad Dawodu

@reMOHdified on twitter

JAMB EXPO QUESTIONS – HILARIOUS

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Staff Reporter

I got this via a BlackBerry broadcast. Thought you’d like it in the spirit of JAMB

EXPO FOR JAMB QUESTIONS TO EXPECT TODAY:

1. If white rice is white, jollof rice is what?

2. How many times have you written this exam?

3.At what age did GEJ started wearing shoe?

4.W hich Nigerian artist now wash cars in kanye west garage?

5.what are the names of the two people shaking hands when you put on a Nokia phone?

6.complete with the appropriate word (wiz kid) oya oya ___ your mummy. A. axe B.hask C.ask

7.Each of the following causes death Except A. Mouth Odour B. Armpit Intoxication C. Rat poison D. Boko Haram

8.How old were you the last time Arsenal won a trophy??

9.What’s A Toilet To Ladies? (A) Convenience (B) Photo Studio

10.Who pour water inside CoCOnut??

11.What is the past tense of BROKE?

12. What is the relationship btw fuel subsidy and GEJ, Okonjo Iweala, Sanusi Lamido and OCUPPY NAIJA?

13. Why do Nigerians look forward to the First Lady, Dame Patience speech?

MY LESSONS FROM #OccupyNigeria

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Staff Reporter

Nigerians are peace loving people #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

The journey to liberty cannot be achieved in 2 weeks #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

There’s a new awakening, Nigerians now care to know #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

We are on the path to redemption #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

When u occupy, never go to sleep. “for When men sleep, the enemy comes to plant weeds ” #bible #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

We now have our own young heroes, there’s hope in 2015 #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

We now know our friends, and our enemies too #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

“Help our youths the truth to know” … our youths now know the truth. #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know. #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

Nigerians in diaspora are still in touch with home. #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

We are not cowards because we did not protest today, they are d cowards for bringing guns to a battle of words #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

January 2012 will remain in our memories just like 1993 #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

Beyond SUBs & twitfights on twitter and poking on fb,Nigerians have learnt how to put social media to use #Whatilearntfromoccupynigeria

By Oluyomi Ojo, Lagos Nigeria

NOW THE STRIKE IS OVER – Femi Fani-Kayode

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Staff Reporter

That the strike has been called off is no longer news. What is important is that we have all learnt lessons from it and that the President was compelled to make some concessions. In other words he bowed to the will of the people even though he may not have gone as far as some of us wanted. That is the beauty of democracy.

It is time for us to build bridges, to come back together as a nation, to heal the wounds of the last few weeks and to collectively face the challenge of Boko Haram and all those who seek to divide our nation on religious and ethnic lines.

I commend the members of Occupy Nigeria, the NLC and the people of Nigeria for a fight well fought and I commend the President and the government for getting off their high horse and pulling us back from the brink. That is what we expect from them. I do however regret and condemn the killings and the deployment of troops in Lagos, Abuja and some other parts of the country.

My conclusion and my position is this- it is time for us to drop the anger and the hurt, to sheath our swords and to try to move on and forge ahead as a nation. Let us join hands with one another, come together and do precisely that. As long as we have a government that is sensitive to what people want, think or say and that respect the rights of the people there is still hope for tomorrow. God bless Nigeria.

PASTOR TUNDE BAKARE ON DEATH THREATS AND THE RALLY

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Staff Reporter

”If politics, desire for popularity,politicians or their money are the reasons why I led civil protest against Fuel Subsidy…Let my name be removed from the book of Life.
BUT If national peace,steady and predictable progress …in Nigeria is the reason why I resisted the government ..then let those who rise against me be scattered and consumed!

**I was asked why I went to Ojota with my whole family…my response is this: It’s evil to ask other people and their children come out to protest while you hide your own. Leadership must be transparent

**FG through their agents..said to me…You are the one asking labour to insist on #65 per litre of fuel. For that, we will investigate your early years in legal practise and expose you. And I say to them…..THAT WHICH YOU WANT TO DO..DO IT QUICKLY! Go investigate, if you find anything,PUBLISH IT!

**My wife was called and told to inform me….DO NOT SLEEP AT HOME TONIGHT..we are coming for you. Odumakin also got the same text message….I got home that day,tired, ate my food and slept like a log of wood!

**Even if tomorrow never comes, I have great peace/joy that I have fought the good fight of faith..

**It will be foolish for anybody for anybody to ascribe the success of the rallies and protest in Ojota and other parts of the country to Save Nigeria Group and its allies..ONLY GOD COULD HAVE DONE THIS. There is a clear handwriting on the wall that God is at work in Nigeria.

**A Bishop sent me a text asking me to be careful of being ‘contaminated’ by my actions…and I replied and told him…Our high Priest,Jesus Christ can be touched with our infirmities. We must be ready to identify with the poor and depressed of the land”.

—-Tunde Bakare
Tomorrow. @ Ojota freedom park , we occupy Nigeria ! Arrest or Not !

#OccupyNigeria we will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail