Do you love watching cartoons? Who are the people that makes the cartoons? Where do they get their ideas from?

The people who design cartoons grew up just like you! But most of them develop an interest in drawing and making stories out of their drawings.

drawings and write a story to go along with it.

Send your drawings to Saturdaychildren@yahoo.com or akinwolererita@yahoo.com .The best drawings will be featured in our next edition.

The post CREATIVE MINDS appeared first on The Nation.

The sleepy community of Sabongidda-Ora in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo  State came alive last weekend as top politicians in the state joined the Oratokhais to bury their mother, Janet Ohiagueni Oratokhai, popularly called Ukpodime.

The late Janet Oratokhai, who died at the age of 87, was the daughter of the family of Pa Aye Oarhe of Ukpafiano quarters in Evbiobe, Sabongidda-Ora. She was a successful trader who travelled to different parts of the country dealing in several consumable commodities.

The funeral rites for the late Ukpodime climaxed with a funeral service held at the Cathedral of St. John, Anglican Communion, Sabongidda-Ora.

The church hall was already packed full before 10am when the remains of Ukpodime in yellow casket was brought in a white ambulance van. It was rolled into the church hall by undertakers from the Nena Brigade Band.

Children of Ukpodime were dressed in white and purple attire and tears trickled down their faces at the sound of the processional hymn which ushered in the casket.

Venerable Lee Obaigbo, in his sermon, urged the mourners to always be prepared for the second coming of Christ. He said a body of filthy of sins would not make heaven and added that anybody not prepared ‘to die’ for Christ would go to hell fire.

The remains of Ukpodime were later interred at the Silent City of the dead, the cemetery ground where faithful Anglicans from the community are buried.

Guests were later treated to a sumptuous reception at the Holy Trinity Grammar School Playground, Sabongida-Ora. Music was provided by Prophet Emmanuel Debo dance band supported by the Obisa Dance band.

The reception venue was beautifully decorated, while the Master of Ceremony was Jacob Afekhena.

Guests that graced the occasion included the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu; former Governor of Edo State, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor; former Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Joe Ekpenkhio; wife of a Military Governor of the defunct Bendel State, Esther Ogbeha; wife of Senator-elect for Edo North Senatorial district, Lady Monica Alimekhena and lawmaker representing Owan Federal Constituency, Pally Iriase. Others included Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief, The Nation Newspapers, Mr Victor Ifijeh; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Lucky James; former council boss of Estako West, Gani Audu; a member of the APC Board of Trustees, Prince Malik Afegbua; Arumeme Rotimi; Johnson Ikhide Arumeme; former Minister of Defence, General Godwin Abbé; Sir Raphael Arunah and APC woman leaders led by the state APC Woman Leader, Dr. Aisosa Amadasun.

The post Edo community comes alive as ex- gov, former Defence Minister, others honour the Oratokhais at mother’s burial appeared first on The Nation.

It was a quiet Saturday evening in Olomoro town, Isoko South council area of Delta State. Everything was as normal until a ‘power drunk’ vigilante head started a little war, which consumed him, got some people killed, properties worth millions of naira destroyed and turned a bubbling community into a ghost town. In this piece, BOLAJI OGUNDELE writes of the ‘little matter’ that set fire on a whole town.

•Relics of the destructions left behind by the vigilante mob

It all started like a mere skirmish; an argument between two men over a young lady who claimed to her boyfriend that the other guy ‘had been toasting’ her, leading the lovestruck boyfriend to sue for a physical combat. In the process, the leader of the town’s vigilante group intervened, bragged a bit about how he was authorised to kill and so on. It sure raised dust and unsettled the environment. However, it has now led to about three deaths and desertion of a hitherto bubbling community.

“The most annoying part of the whole thing is that the two guys who were arguing over the girl took no serious part in this crisis. If the situation had been allowed to take its natural course, I mean if Oyibo (the vigilante head) had not rushed into the argument and started that fight that took his life, probably people living in about five houses away from the scene at Egbo might not have even heard about any disagreement in their neighbourhood; but see now, the entire town has been put to flight because a boastful ignorant man could not stay on his own lane. He had looked for trouble, killed himself, got others killed and scattered the whole town”, said Ajiri Thompson while describing the events of last weekend in his now deserted Olomoro home town in Isoko South council area of Delta State.

He said: “There’s this girl who is befriending a guy, she was once wooed by another guy. So it happened last Saturday that as the girl and this her boyfriend were passing,  she saw the other guy pointed him to her boyfriend as the guy, who had been disturbing her. The boyfriend went up to meet the guy and asked why he was disturbing his girlfriend. An argument ensued and people were trying to settle them.

“In this process, the leader of the vigilante group in Olomoro, known as Oyile or Oyibo, came in and laid hands on the guys that he was arresting them. He was taking it beyond normal and this attracted the attention of other people who were drinking around. One of the guys who came to appeal to Oyile to release the guys was one guy called Omo Jesu and because Oyile was holding the guys tight, the people had to loosen his hold on the guys. As his hands fell off the guys he was holding, the scuffling guys left the scene and this angered Oyile. You know he’s the commandant of the vigilante, he just went straight for Omo Jesu, asking why he came to interfere and loosen his grip on the guys. That led to another faceoff, almost getting the two men to the point of throwing punches. People around, however, came to settle the matter and everybody dispersed.”

Meanwhile, all this drama between Oyile and Omo Jesu, according to reports, happened at Doctor’s Bar, where Omo Jesu had gone to eat and he was with some of his friends, one of whom is one guy called Obaro. Oyile sighted all of them. These all happened earlier in the day like 4pm. Later in the day, Oyile returned to Egbo, chanting all manners of threats, calling himself Ogbu, which means killer and threatening that he was going to kill somebody.

“When he was returning there, he had prepared himself, wearing charms and carrying a dagger. By the time he got there, Omo Jesu had left, the first guy he saw was the one called Joshua, he pursued him and stabbed him. They said he continued bragging to be Ogbu, that he was in the mood to kill. At that point, the Omo Jesu guys that he was threatening also got resolute and dared him. He then went after Obaro, fought with him and stabbed him in the stomach. No sooner he was stabbed than Obaro pulled his native shirt, tied his stomach and went after Oyile. As Oyile tried to flee on his motorcycle, Obaro sighted a wood, picked it and used it to hit Oyile. As Oyile fell from the machine, Obaro continued to hit him with the wood until he died.”

Some of the guys with Obaro reportedly took him to a hospital, but by then the whole town had heard about the death of Oyile. This cast a dark pall of fear on the town particularly residents of Olomoro. The vigilante boys launched a reprisal attack against the families and loved ones of Obaro. But before the angry youths got to Obaro’s home, news had reached his family and his mother and siblings took off, leaving his father, who was reported  insisted on playing ‘brave heart’ in the face of impending doom.

On getting to the house, the mob descended on Obaro’s father and gave him a sound beating. Then they took him with them to Egbo, the exact spot where his son beat their commandant to death. There, the vigilante squad beat Obaro’s father to death.

After killing his father, the vigilante squad headed back to Obaro’s abode and set it ablaze. That done, they headed for Omo Jesu’s abode with intent to kill him as well, but Omo Jesu reportedly took off before they arrived. The assailants broke into his apartment, parked his effects out and set them on fire. Then they headed for his family house and razed it down as well.

Joshua, the first man to be stabbed by Oyile was next on the list but he also fled before the squad got to him. In his absence, the rampaging vigilantes also levelled his house in anger. Afterwards, they went to Oruabe, one of the three quarters of Olomoro, destroyed the house of the uncle of one other boy, who is a friend of Omo Jesu. All these happened on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, the orgy of vengeance was reenacted; the assailants began to destroy property and shoot sporadically in the air thus creating an atmosphere of  chaos. It was at this point that security agents, including the police and the army, decided to intervene. They repelled the rampaging gang and the latter retreated to reinforce and confront the security forces. They were however, overwhelmed by the law enforcement agents and their gang leader, identified as ‘Planner’ and a few other members were arrested.

Authorities of the 222 Battalion, Agbara-Otor, refused to comment on the incident but the Police Public Relations Officer of the Delta State Command, Celestina Kalu (DSP), confirmed that suspects were arrested concerning the unrest but he could not give the exact number of those arrested.

The post How Delta community bled and burnt over a little matter appeared first on The Nation.

Victoria Crown Plaza Hotel, an upper end luxury hotel offering in Lagos, has reopened after shutting its doors for a few months to upgrade its facilities.

The hotel recently took some selected travel journalists on a tour of the upgraded facilities. One of the things that struck about the hotel is the ambience.

Everything about the hotel carries taste of quality, most especially in the choice of paintings and art works that dot every part of the hotel. They give the place a kind of presence one feels in top hotels in advanced countries. The aesthetic of the hotel is urbane and takes works from different parts of the world.

According to the hotel, the upgrade in the area of facilities is in line with its philosophy offering its guests the best. In addition, the hotel, according to the new general manager, Mr. Paul Neville, said there was also a retraining of the hotel staff.

The aim, he said, was to have a crop of staff that would offer the guests personalized services. He said: “We want to move into a higher level. We are retraining for personalized service. We have 49 luxury rooms with 90 staff. In line with the concept of the hotel, it is not busy or noisy. That is why discerning guests come to enjoy our facilities.

He added even though the hotel as it is, offers luxury, there are more in the offing for the guests. He said: “We have more things coming into our hotel. We want to make it as cozy as possible with personalized services. We are trying to do something different from what the other hotels are offering”.

Speaking about himself and what he was bringing to the new hotel, the new GM said: “I want to take the hotel to the next level. We have the products and we have to make people know about these products.

“We are re-establishing an effective team which can serve luxury. We try to be active to make our team deliver luxurious personalized services. That is what we are currently doing.”

VCP Hotel boasts of six categories of rooms: Classic Single, Twin Classic, Executive Suite, Executive Studio, Luxurious Suite and  Presidential Suite which occupies the top most floor in its entirety.

Neville said the market potential is huge with his experience in West Africa.

The Sri Lankan general manager also said he has worked for several years in Nigeria and Ghana and is very much familiar with the taste and predilection of local and international hotel guests.

On the cuisines in the hotel, he said the hotel’s Alo Alo Restaurant offers both local and continental dishes with specialized Italian cuisines. It also has the Onyx Bar and Lounge for cocktail and after office bar.

There are also small meeting rooms with conference and the larger Marc Anthony hall that can sit about 500 to 600 theatre style.

The post VCP upgrades facilities appeared first on The Nation.

Maj Gen. Geoffrey Obiaje Ejiga has written his autobiography which readers and researchers of Nigeria history will find to be profoundly interesting, provoking and rewarding. Gen. Ejiga was born the only son of his mother Ohigana and the 12th and last of his father Ede Ejeh.

Ede named his Obiaje which translates to “holder or lord of the land” while Ejiga the man who played the role of a father of him named him Ogbole which translates to “watcher of Home or he who has come to take care of home”.

The dominant trait early his life, when as a young student of Katsina Ala m Middle and Secondary School, was such a shinning light, that he played a leadership roles through his life in the college, culminating he becoming a house prefect in his two years of 1959 and 1960. Going to Katsina Ala wasn’t quite easy for then timid boy who had had his early years in the villages of Ipole and Okpafio and in the Methodist Central School, Adoka, Otukpo Local Government Area. Travelling from Adoka to Otukpo on his first journey to Katsina Ala, he had to be carried on a bicycle over a distance of some 36 miles. At Katsina Ala, he would have to cross River Katsina Ala in canoes and walked the last ten miles to reach the school. Life here was harsh. At a stage he toiled with running away back to his village. However, he persevered through the school before ending up in the military in 1961. At age of 39, was already a Maj. General in the Nigerian Army.

The Army the Author joined was an army in the British tradition. The author also covered thoroughly the military in governance from Gen. Ironsi to Gen. Abubakar vividly analyzing all coups. This is one of the reasons the book must be read by anyone who wants to go though basic military drills discipline and the story of the Nigerian Army after the British had left up to end of military governance in 1999.

Through the entire period of military coups from Ironsi to Gen. Abubakar, the author held to a principle that the career of a military officer should not be in politics but service to the nation as required by the oath of service on enlistment. Hence although he had the bitter experience of witnessing all the coups that occurred in the nation, he never shared in any spoils of successful coups. He remained on pure military postings throughout his career period.

There was an irony. The first coup led by Nzeogwu passed through his nose without  knowing it. As the General Staff Officer 3 in the Brigade Headquarters commanded by Brigadier Ademolegun, the author has responsibility to receive requests for us of troops from units. Nzeogwu as the chief instructor Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) requested for troops to use for exercise Damisa. The author assessed the request and recommended to Brigadier Ademologun who approved Nzeogwu used the troops for operation Damisa on the coup day to eliminate political and senior military commanders in Kaduna. The author covered the entire coup from the counter coup of 1966 which removed and killed Ironsi. The 1975 coup led by Col. Taiwo which out stead Gen. Gowon, the failed Dimka coup, the Buhari/Babangida coup of 1983 which outstead President Shagari. The Babangida coup of 1985 which outstead Gen. Buhari which the author described as the most relaxed coup he ever witnessed.

At page 86 the author recalled the incident how he called off Lt. Col. Ojukwu’s bluff when Brigadier Ademulegun visited his 5th Battalion in Kano. About Gen. Murtala the author recalled that his command of 2 Division during the civil war was disastrous but yet he was not called to question. He vividly gave account of Onitsha River crossing, which turned out to be a disaster because of failure of the GOC and Division Staff Officers. The author was the Battalion Commander that first landed at Onitsha at 3am of the day. He corrected the misconceived stories spread in the Army that troops entered Onitsha and were engaged in looting hence the failure. The author at page 124 to 126 give reasons for the failure of the crossing which should be entirely placed on the GOC and his staff. About Gen. Obasanjo the author said he was often too lucky to the extent that some officers regarded him as an opportunist. For example, he came into the civil war at its tail and only for him to claim victory of federal forces in his book ‘My command’ similarly the ways and means he became head of state after Murtala’s death and his presidency in 1999 were opportunistic. About Gen. Gowon, the author said his administration was easily the best in the military era. About Gen. Danjuma, the author praised him and said he was the best chief of army staff (COAS) that the army has ever produced.

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About his late wife, he said she was a wonderful wife. He reproduced his goodbye message to his wife at the funeral. The author indeed underscored the sorrow that tore through his heart. He is still devastated till today.

In chapters thirteen, fourteen and fifteen the author described his roles in pioneering commands he established i.e. the Command and Staff College (CSC) and Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). He also spoke on his sojourns in retirement and politics. These are also a must read for military officers and civilians in public.

The author talked about his great passion for the game of golf. He had built golf courses where ever he went. He built the Bagauda Lake Hotel, golf course for Audu Bako, the Jaji golf course when he was the Commandant of the College, the G.O.C of TRADOC and a personal one in Adoka in his village.

In chapter sixteen the author reflected on life in the army and out. He noted the gradual rot, decadence and indiscipline that came into the army after the British had left. He said all these were brought about by rapid Nigerianization, first republic politicians, coups and military in governance.

The post The measures of my days appeared first on The Nation.

Cute shoes can make your day, but can also die a slow death in your closet. The most important thing is to pay attention to foot size. A lot of men are steadfast, saying I wear size this, but size varies according to designers. I have noticed that when you go shopping with friends, they will convince you to get a style sometime you are never going to wear. Try trusting your instincts, and don’t cave into that peer pressure.

Shoes are the foundation of your work out, if they don’t fit right, you can’t walk right. Here we are going to talk more on the five perfect ways on how you can pick a shoe right.

•Identify the activity you will be engaged in, while wearing your shoes. Obviously, you will not want cowboy boots on if you are headed for the beach, but on the other hand, flip-flops are not appropriate in a pasture full of cattle. Here are some general suggestions for activities paired with suitable footwear:

•Anchor your ankle.

The areas around the ankle called an ankle collar should be heavily padded to prevent twists and blisters.

•The small heel part.

Look for a snug fit around the heel; it helps reduce stress around your Achilles tendon and a high Achilles notch, the slight dip not the top of the shoe’s heel.

•The sole points.

The outer sole should be textured enough to give you traction and prevent you from slipping.

•Arch shaped.

The shoe should actually fit the arch type. For instance, if you have a high arch, look for a curved type of shoe that will make the edge of the sole noticeably dips in at the middle. And those with a low arch need a straight size of shoe that will make the edge of the sole go straight.

•There should be at least 1\4 to 1\2 inch of space between your big toe and the end of the shoes to prevent calluses and provide stability, especially since your foot expands slightly as you exercise.

In conclusion, make sure the insole should support your arch, keep your feet and lower body in proper alignment, and help distribute your weight evenly across the bottom of your foot. When you walk, it should feel like you are walking on a cushion.

The post Caring for your shoes appeared first on The Nation.

The maiden edition of the Niyi Osundare International Poetry Festival which will hold in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital between  May 26 and 27, has continued to win support from stakeholders in the book publishing industry as well as the creative and academic world.  The nation’s pioneer university, the University of Ibadan, which is also Prof Niyi Osundare’s alma matter, is a partner in the festival which is to honour the poetry icon who is a multiple awards winner.

The 2-day historic event will feature traditional Nigerian and contemporary poetry presentations, including, esa, ijala, ekun iyawo, iwure as well as music, dance and drama. It will also offer literary scholars, students of secondary and tertiary institutions a unique opportunity of meeting the celebrated writer who will be coming in from his United States of America base where he is currently a Distinguished Professor in the Department of English at the University of New Orleans, Lakefront, New Orleans.

The event will also provide a platform for better understanding of the great works of the poets as eminent scholars and experts in literature will discuss his writings, style and content at two sessions devoted to such in depth engagements.

In addition to all the foregoing, publishers and booksellers will have the opportunity to take stands to exhibit their titles to the gathering of literary giants expected at the festival. The organizers expect that more individuals and corporate organizations will is want to be counted in by supporting the celebration of a Nigerian who keeps projecting the nation excellently across the globe where he is highly respected for his advocacy for humaneness in governance and literary prowess.

The post Niyi Osundare international poetry festival opens May 26 appeared first on The Nation.

Daddy dearest departs

Ascending the founts of Elysium

On diamond wings of flight

Begetter of dream angels.

Ani Baba Kan!

Our one and only

Father of all

Chief J. Adeleke Lakisokun!

Father calls Father Time

In the benediction of passing

Now the age is ripe

For the harvest of all seasons.

Ani Baba Kan!

Our one and only

Father of all

Chief J. Adeleke Lakisokun!

From earth to sky

And deep into the seas

The eye courts wonders

Of the deeds of Daddy Dearest.

Ani Baba Kan!

Our one and only

Father of all

Chief J. Adeleke Lakisokun!

You are the one tree

Maker of the vast forest

In the future tense

Marking eternal blessedness.

Ani Baba Kan!

Our one and only

Father of all

Chief J. Adeleke Lakisokun!

- Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

The post Daddy Dearest Departs appeared first on The Nation.

Former Registrar and Chief Executive of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the first Nigerian to hold such position, His Majesty Eze Prof Chukwuemeka Ike (Ikelionwu XI, Eze Ndikelionwu) is one of Nigeria’s rare literary icons. After a successful stint at the University of Ibadan and University of Nigeria, Nsukka as administrator he left for Ghana as Registrar, WAEC. During his tenure at WAEC, the council cut its umbilical cord with the University of Cambridge, University of London, Royal Society of Arts, and City and Guilds of London Institute, to become an autonomous examinations council whose certificates received national and international recognition.

Last Thursday, the Nigerian International Book Fair, holding at the University of Lagos, Lagos, honoured Prof. Ike with Chukwuemeka Ike Book Jubilee marking his 50 years journey in writing. The acclaimed creative writer, whose first novel, Toads for Supper, was published in London in 1965, has written several short stories, eleven novels, one novel in Igbo, one fictional travelogue, two non-fiction books, four monographs, and edited eight non-fiction books.

He spoke on story-telling, the moral values in some of his books and role of literature as preservation and dissemination of culture; the documentation of the history of the development of the writer’s society as a people; social criticism; public education and entertainment.

Early years

“Government College, Umuahia (1945- 1950) provided a conducive environment in which I began my life career as a creative writer. Each house had a manually inscribed House Magazine, which served as an outlet for creative writing. While I was in class 4, the college introduced a printed College Magazine (later named The Umuahian’. The maiden edition (1948) carried my short story, In Dreamland, giving me my first opportunity to appear in print.

Our masters (as we called our teachers) were of invaluable help. Mr Charles Low (Australian) comes immediately to mind. Poet and playwright, he taught my class including Christopher Okigbo, how to write poems, and involved us in advancing a play he was writing at the time. His most memorable impact was the poem he wrote on a netball match organised by the college to expose us to girls. The match between the college and the Women’s Training College (WTC) Umuahia was played on a Saturday. The following Monday, Mr. Low came into the class and read out an unforgettable poem titled ‘The WTC are here! ‘. I can still reel out lines from that poem 63 years after. The poem demonstrated the relevance of the creative writer in his society.

University College, Ibadan (UCI) took off from where Umuahia stopped. Chinua Achebe, who was two classes ahead of me at Umuahia, facilitated my invitation to join the Magazine Club: set up by the University to promote creative writing. ‘The University Herald’, a literary magazine funded by the college authorities, gave me another outlet to appear in print as a short story writer. The Students’ Union set up a rival outlet, ‘The University Voice’, which also helped me to establish as a short story writer.

Back to Umuahia

Umuahia brought me in contact with another master who influenced my subsequent development. Mr S.O Bisiriyu came to Umuahia with B.A honours in English from Cambridge University and B.A Honours in History from London University. He got drawn to me after grading me 27/30 in a class essay. He left Umuahia to return to England for the Ph.D degree and subsequently became the first Nigerian Registrar of University College, Ibadan with a new name Dr S.O Biobaku. Dr Biobaku sought me out from my job as a graduate teacher and drew me into university administration in January 1957, opening new doors for me and helping to make me what I am today.

I have already mentioned Chinua Achebe. He was the trail blazer in whom I had implicit faith and trust. My short story, ‘Waiting for his Programme’, was aired by the Nigerian Broadcasting Service while he was on their senior staff. His greatest contribution to my emergence as a published novelist was the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. The fact that a close friend, with the same cultural background, who passed through the same crucible with me, could publish a highly acclaimed novel, was all the challenge I needed to become a published novelist. True to his character, Chinua did not dismantle the ladder that took him up to stop others from joining him on top of the iroko. When I went to him with the draft of my first novel, he put me in touch with an Englishman who read my manuscript and made helpful suggestions. In 1965, my first novel was published in London.

Achebe invited me to join the maiden editorial board of ‘Okike’, an African Journal of New Writing. I was at Stanford University, USA. when he, Christopher Okigbo (the poet) and others established a publishing company, Citadel Press. On my return, I became a joint proprietor.

Chinua’s wife, Christie, and my wife, ‘Bimpe, were classmates at Queen’s College, Lagos. Chinua’s younger daughter, Nwando, is my God – daughter. Chinua and I had a lifetime friend, Chike Momah. I could go on indefinitely.

I am grateful to my publishers over the years for the cordial working relationship between me and them, with only one exception- Malthouse Press Ltd, Ikeja, Lagos (publishers of To My Husband, from Iowa). They showed no respect whatever for the publishing agreement between us, and marketed my book within Nigeria and outside Nigeria (through African Books Collective Ltd, Oxford, UK) without rendering accounts or paying any royalties to me. I am particularly grateful to my UK publishers. William Collins Sons and Co Ltd Group-Collins, Harvill Press, Fontana Books – for bringing me into international limelight. I always cherish photographs of my visit to Sir William Collins in his London home in 1964, shortly before the publication of my first novel, Toads for Supper, accompanied by my wife and our 2- year old son, Osita.

My wife, ‘Bimpe, has been my most thorough and reliable critic. Each time she gave her green light, I felt confident to move to a publisher. Because of the contents of my war novel, Sunset at Dawn, including my description of Nigerian soldiers as “jigger infested vandals”, and the fact that the Nigerian Military Government which crushed Biafra was still in power, a BIAFRAN academic I invited to go through the manuscript blatantly refused to offer any opinion. He was certain the military would pick me up if I went ahead to publish the novel, and feared that in the course of their rigorous interrogation of me it might leak out that I sought his opinion on the draft manuscript. He did not want to die a martyr. ‘Bimpe, who had read the manuscript encouraged me to go ahead and publish it. I timed its publication for 1976, the year preceding FESTAC’77, reasoning that the Nigerian Military Government having offered to host the world in a cultural extravaganza would not arrest and detain a creative writer on the eve of FESTAC’77. I bow to my innumerable readers, in Nigeria and in different parts of the world. It gives boundless joy to have touched so many lives.”

The role of the storyteller

“Traditional story telling was a key ingredient for inculcating moral values into Igbo children and moulding them into responsible members of the society. The stories in which members of the animal world (particularly the tortoise) featured as principal characters, had no individual authors to claim copyright. They were part of folklore handed down by the elders from one generation to another.

Socrates is quoted in The Dialogues of Plato as defending himself against the accusation of poking his nose into other people’s affairs by likening himself to the gadfly attached to the society by God, to arouse, persuade, and reproach as appropriate at all times and in all places.

The Nigerian creative writer, referred to as the storyteller in this lecture, similarly plays the role of gadfly of his society, using his creative work or story to mirror, commend, reproach and persuade his society, his goal being the evolution of a better society. His story is his avenue for prevailing on society to re-examine its values. He attempts to bring order and coherence to bear on life, thereby enabling his reader to learn from the experience depicted in the creative work.

Chapter 21 of my book: How to Become a Published Writer, proposes broad roles for the creative writer in present day society. These are: the preservation and dissemination of culture; the documentation of the history of the development of the writer’s society as a people; social criticism; public education; and entertainment (1). My novels in their totality reflect my contribution in each of the five roles.  However, for the purpose of this lecture, I shall concentrate on my role in national transformation, essentially a combination of social criticism and public education.

At the time my first novel, Toads for Supper, was published in1965, the widely acknowledged role of the creative writer was to serve as a mirror of society, held out by the writer to enable the society see itself, warts and all. In the course of my growth as a novelist, I saw my role as going beyond merely showing the mirror. I also saw it as my role to assist in achieving the desired goals.”

Transforming the child: The Potter’s Wheel (1973)

“The child is said to be the father of the man. The Jesuits of old claimed that if you gave them your child till he attained the age of six they would account for him for the rest of his life. Proverbs 22: 6 admonished the parent to train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Mindful of the significance of youth to national development, I have so far devoted SEVEN of my full length novels to problems of youth development, earning me the appellation by literary commentators of advocate of the youth.

I have addressed youth transformation at three levels: the child (primary school), the adolescent (secondary school), and the young adult (tertiary level).

My third novel, The Potter’s Wheel, focuses on the transformation of the child. It is the first full length Nigerian novel to be written with a Nigerian child as the principal character. It was my first attempt to use the novel to transform a human being. The publication history of The Potter’s Wheel is significant. Harvill Press Ltd, London, published the hard back edition in 1973.Then followed Fontana Books paper back in London in 1974. In 1986, Collins published a simplified, abridged edition in its Collins English Library series, the first Nigerian novel to appear in the series. The novel was first published in Nigeria by University Press Plc in 1993. In 1999, University Press Plc published Anu Ebu Nwa, my Igbo edition of the novel and my only published work so far in Igbo, my mother language. In 2010 Africana First Publishers published the Nigerian edition of the Collins simplified abridged edition. Following the selection of the novel as a text for Literature in English in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), University Press Plc published the UTME edition of The Potter’s Wheel, in 2011.

The Potter’s Wheel is set in a rural Igbo environment. An itinerant trader, Mazi Lazarus Muduabuchi, popularly called Mazi Laza, had five daughters before his wife bore him a son, Obuechina (shortened to Obu). Mazi Laza and Mama Obu tried for another son after Obu, landed a sixth daughter. Obuechina (may the home stead never revert to bush) and the names given to Obu’s six sisters, bring out the importance attached to the male child in Igbo society.”

The post My wife has been my most thorough, reliable critic -Ex-WAEC Registrar and literary icon Eze Prof Chukwuemeka Ike appeared first on The Nation.

Two years after the report by The Nation (Saturday, March 2, 2013), warning the country of the collapse of an important monument site and the need for urgent attention, the Obu Ndi Ananga monument site in Ohafia, Abia State, is collapsing.

The country has losing a monument site and precious artifacts as a result greed, incompetence and carelessness.

The market at the village square of Elu Ohafia, the ancestral capital of  Ohafia, was on. Despite the heat from the midday sun, residents went about their chores with little or no stress. For those from the city, the sharp contrast was very vivid.

The village square is symbolic to the Ohafia people because it was within the vicinity that the founder of Ohafia, Uduma Ezeama, was buried, under the Achichi tree that had since given way.

Although all seems well, it is actually a façade. Deep down, many elders of the community are worried over a conundrum that has left them tossing awake on their beds at night. The community has been put under siege by certain unscrupulous elements who, under the cloak of darkness, have unleashed sacrilege on the town.

Rare and priceless heirlooms bequeathed to the community by her forefathers are being pillaged and carted away to unknown places. The community is helpless  against this incessant rape on its tradition.

The site for this sacrilege is the Obu Ndi-Anaga House. It is  a national monument site designated since 1961. But there are no monuments. The site has collapsed and artifacts carted away my robbers in connivance with some miscreants in the community.

The stolen, about 12 feet,
wooden artifact

Some of the stolen artifacts date back to hundreds of years. The replica of Nkwa stolen is in the reception hall of the National Museum, Onikan.

The raped monument site used to be a reference point for studies in indigenous architecture. It housed artifacts that helped in understanding the Ohafia society hundreds of years back with invaluable materials on the structure of governance in the pre-European era by the Ohafia people.

Walking to the site of Obu Ndi Anaga or what used to be the place, the first reaction was shock and disbelief, seeing that the monument site has turned into a heap of rubble. The place looked like a compound visited by war.

Obu Ndi Anaga was a clan house in the old days where meetings and rituals were held. It was the place where activities that protected societal values and gave cohesion to the people were held.

It served as a place where war strategies and other kinds of meetings for the well-being of the community were held. It had religious value as certain societal rites were held, including war strategies.

The artifacts there were mostly wooden carvings, Nkwa, with intricate designs that mirrored the dressing and way of life in Ohafia hundreds of years ago. But all these have come to ruins as a result of neglect, carelessness and ignorance.

On Saturday, March 2, 2013, The Nation newspaper had alerted the country and the museum authority on the imminent collapse and extinction of the site.

The Nation wrote: “The site was in deplorable condition. The wooden gate, about three feet, which served as gate to the place, has given way. The metal corrugated roofing sheet used to protect the Obu House is gradually peeling and falling off from the roof. The artifacts are exposed to elements. There are gaping holes inside the house whereby rain water penetrates to further damage the priceless work inside and accentuate the process and decay and destruction of the artifacts.”

This report was made after the robbers had broken into the site and stolen Nkwa. Despite this, little or nothing was done to salvage the place.

With less than two million naira properly used to take care of the place, the site would not have been lost. And now this historical legacy has been lost to robbers and elements.

Chief Brutus Agbai Otti is the leader of the committee set up by the Elu community to look after the site.

He narrated how the nation lost the monument site: “It was during the rain and the structure was falling. We reported this thing to the authority.

“Even when they stole the first one, we reported to them. We told them that we had caught the people. They sent someone to find out whether it was true. Those people made statements at the police station.  They were not charged to court”.

Asked why such a huge artifact, about 12 feet, could be stolen from the community without anybody seeing the culprits, he said: “All these things happened when it was raining in the night. You know in such a situation, a person will hardly hear anything. Even if you hear, you would not feel safe to come out. The first one was stolen when it was raining and we saw it the next morning. This second one, the same thing happened. People leave around the site. We are surprised.”

On the efforts by the community to recover the artifacts, he said: “The community is not interested. It is only the clan of the Ndi-Anaga compound that has been fighting for the recovery. We spent a lot of money to find the people that stole the first one. We spent more than N400,000 to  find out who stole the first one.”

He said those accused of stealing the artifacts are moving about in the village free, and no efforts are being made to investigate and bring the culprits to book.

While other countries do everything within their power to preserve their history for people to come and learn and then pass it on to posterity, Nigeria continues to lose irreplaceable artifacts as a result of ignorance, greed and incompetence.

Other monument sites may soon go the way of Obu Ndi Anaga, unless the issues of neglect and theft of artifacts are tackled.

The post Obu Ndi Anaga Nigeria’s crumbling monument site appeared first on The Nation.

•  ‘Why we can’t stop consuming alcoholic herbal drinks’
• The dangers consumers are exposed to

You may not know the extent of the emotional attachment that consumers of the numerous alcoholic herbal drinks that abound in the society have for their various brands until you say anything negative about the drinks. They adore their various brands and would not treat any unpleasant remarks about them with kid gloves.

The Nation got shocking revelations about the roles that these drinks play in their lives when it sought their views about the ban of similar drinks in Ondo State after the mystery deaths that stalked Ode Irele, an ancient community in the sunshine state recently.

In spite of the state government’s statement that the deaths were caused by the consumption of some alcoholic herbal drinks and our story last year that such drinks contain harmful substances like ethanol poisoning, the consumers demurred, stating strongly that the drinks are all they need to keep their lives going. Those who spoke with our correspondents frowned at any attempt to ban the drinks warning that it would spell worse doom than was recorded at Ode Irele.  Rather than see the drinks as harmful to their health, they amazingly ascribe curative powers to them.

In fact, they have different appellations and cognomen for the drinks. In some quarters, the drinks are called akpuru achia (what you put in your mouth and must giggle); ogbum na atom (something that kills and intoxicates), Yoboyobo, nokia, apeteshi, paraga, shayo etc. Some commercial drivers commonly refer to them as ‘kerosene.’

“When we ask our boys to go and buy ‘kerosene’ to wash the glass of the vehicle, we are simply asking the person to go and buy alcoholic drinks. That is what we use to clean our eyes (glass) after driving and staying in traffic for a very long time. When we drink them, the nerves of the eyes would regain their strength and every impurity in the eyes flushed out. If you take the drinks the way we do, your eyes will be wide open and you will be able to drive even for a whole day without any stress on your eyes, ” Suraju, a bus conductor, said.

Kasali Nure, a commercial driver, sees the drinks as medication and the sellers as doctors. “We would protest if they try to ban the drinks. Have you witnessed the protest of alcoholics before? If you haven’t, it is better you don’t do anything that will provoke it. The drinks are medications and that is what I use. I don’t go to hospital. I am a believer in Yoruba adages and one of them that I hold dear to my heart so much states that a person that drinks (alcohol) early in the morning, doesn’t fall sick. You may not believe it but it works.

“I take these drinks, especially, the ones soaked in herbs as medication. They are very potent and better than orthodox medication. I don’t know what medical doctors look like apart from what I see on the television. Whenever my body is not sound enough, I run to my doctor, the drink seller. She has the solution to all my health needs. Banning it would send me to my early grave because that is what I depend on to have sound health.”

In some of the drinking joints, some of the consumers play the roles of preachers, convincing non- drinkers of the need to pick interest in consuming the drinks.

“The drinks are not harmful as they are making you to believe. Drinking is good for the body and life without it will be boring. If they ban the drinks, they will end up paralysing and depriving the world of fun. It is also wrong to see those of us who drink as sinners or outlaws. Taking alcohol will not make you go to hell. It is when you refuse to help your fellow human beings that you are in the danger of going to hell. If you look at it critically, you will find out that drinkers are cheerful and generous people because you can’t drink alone and enjoy it.”

Titi, a female consumer, strongly believes that the drinks are the only solution to her monthly menstrual pains, adding: “I often go through severe pains during my menstrual period. I had used different drugs to no avail. My freedom from this monthly trauma came after a friend advised me to be taking this gin. I have equally told others in similar situations about it and they have never regretted taking to my advice. What would people like us who depend on these drinks to do if the government bans the sales and consumption? They would only succeed in returning us to the state of pains that we bade farewell long ago.”

A consumer, who simply identified himself as Old Soldier, gave a hilarious account of how the consumption of alcoholic herbal drinks facilitated his promotion in the army.

He said: “Nobody can ever stop me from taking alcohol. It is not possible. Even if I am selling it, there is no Jupiter that can ban me from selling it. You cannot stop me from taking what I enjoy eating. I wouldn’t have been promoted when I was serving in the Nigerian Army if I had not been indulging in alcohol. I was to have a parade one day and on the eve of that fateful day, I took a quantity of an alcoholic drink and mixed some herbs with it. I drank it and went for the parade.

“When the parade started, I marched energetically and luckily, some senior officers were present. They were amazed to see me march with such energy and demanded to know what my rank was. When I said it to them, they recommended that I should be promoted.

“If I don’t drink, my life would be dull and consequently, my job will suffer. But the very moment I drink, you will see me moving about and doing my job with vivacity. My boss in my present place of employment has called to ask me why I take alcohol and I have made it known to him that, that is what helps me to do my job very well. He has observed me and found that I work better when I have taken my drink and has stopped complaining since then.”

“Other state governments should not attempt to ban the drinks because if they do so, the number of people that would die would be more than what was recorded at Ode Irele. I can describe these drinks as a saviour of the consumers because they help us to overcome the frustrations of life. There are many people that joblessness and the economic situation would have quickened their deaths, but their dependence on these drinks keeps them going. When we take them, especially in the company of our friends, we easily forget our frustrations,” Tayo Samson, a lotto business operator stated.

Prince, a lover of some of the drinks, had this to say: “It will be suicidal to ban the drinks. We have been taking them long before the Ode Irele incident and have no reason to stop them because of what happened there. The only thing the government could do is to ban those that are not duly registered by NAFDAC. There are actually so many of the drinks that are in circulation and it would be good to stop the sales and production of such drinks.

“The drinks serve different purposes for the consumers but many male consumers take them because they enhance their sexual performance. Most of the drinks are prepared with ingredients that boost the sexual drive of men and this often forms the crux of their advertisement. Aside from sexual enhancement, they also help so many to survive the economic downturn in the country.

Benjamin, a commercial motorcyclist, said the drinks serve as protection for him and his colleagues against cold. He said: “It is difficult for any okada man not to take alcohol. We are daily exposed to severe cold, especially during the rainy season in the course of doing our work. No matter the thickness of the cloth that you wear, cold would always affect you. The only way out for most of us is to be consuming alcohol to warm our bodies just the way sailors do.”

The sellers also kicked against any plan to ban the drinks, saying that any attempt to do so will amount to taking their means of livelihood from them.

Maria, one of the traders, said: “We would starve to death if they ban the drinks. Do you know how many of us are surviving on this business? If you know, then you can imagine the number of families that would be affected by such decision. Personally, I have no other skill or source of income than whatever I get from the sales of these drinks.

“This is the trade I learnt from the outset and any attempt to ban it would amount to rendering me jobless. How would I take care of my children if I don’t have any sources of income or what skill will I go and acquire at this point in time to provide for my family? I can’t take to prostitution or steal, so they should just allow me to continue this little business.”

Abel, a middle aged man, spoke about how peer pressure made him to be consuming the drinks which he nicknamed ‘African pot’. “I refer to it as African pot because it contains local gin. It was rampant in Apapa and they have different names. There is one of the drinks they call Yoboyobo, there is another called Nokia, which is mixed with Indian hemp. There is also small leaf as well as ginger and garlic flavour. The common one in this area is Opa eyin, Dongoyaro for waist and Awopa, which is a yellowish drink that cures fever.

“I started drinking at Apapa because of peer pressure. At a time, it was beginning to affect my health because I was drinking it excessively to the point of becoming an addict. These drinks come in varieties but they a have the same alcohol content, which may be up to 45 per cent. I will advise government not to ban it because no incident has been recorded here. The Ode Irele incident could have been as a result of poisoning. If what happened in Ode-Irele should happen here, I will stop drinking immediately.”

Mrs Funmilayo Akinsola, who claims to have been selling alcoholic drinks for the past 30 years, noted that the sales of harmful drinks predated the Ode Irele incident. She pointed out that the drinks that appear harmful are the ones diluted with too much chemicals. “People have been selling ogogoro (local gin) mixed with large quantity of chemicals long before the Ode Irele incident. It is this type of drink that some people consume and their cheeks would start bloating as if they are adding weight. For some, it is their legs that would begin to swell after some time. I don’t sell those to my customers, I have been in this business for long and I have my reputation to protect.”

Asked why some of the sellers choose to sell the ones mixed with chemicals, she said: “They simply do so to enhance their profit margin. It is always discussed at our meetings. In fact, whenever we hold our meetings, our leaders often warn those girls who hawk not to use such chemicals but some of them would not desist from doing that. We have an association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners but many of these hawkers are not registered members.

“The government should endeavour to fish out the people that are doing such deadly mixtures and punish them accordingly. We are also concerned about the health of our customers and would appreciate if the government, instead of banning all the drinks, could carry out tests to determine the good and bad ones. When this is done, they should not only flush them out of the market, they should also arrest the manufacturers.

Mr Olamilekan Oluwafemi, a car dealer, who was spotted at one of the popular joints along Mushin road, admitted that some of the sellers  are using harmful chemicals that are damaging to the health and subscribed to the urgent need to sanitise the business. “It is true that there are so many of such drinks that are dangerous to the human life. They are so rampant in the society today and because they play on sexual enhancement, which is the in-thing in the society, many people quickly buy into them without minding the dangers they constitute to their health.

“I totally agree that the business needs total cleansing to safeguard the lives of the consumers. But the truth is that, one can identify a harmful drink by merely perceiving the odour. If you are not a regular drinker, you may not know. Even the branded liquors made by some companies also parade many fakes. If you go to Ojuwoye market, you will see them there. For those who take beer, some are dangerous too if not properly sealed. If you open it, it would be watery and it will not foam. It is just like plain urine.”

Explaining the use of ethanol in conventional sciences and its effect on human health, Femi Olutade, a biochemist, said: “It can be used as a reagent for extraction in chemistry and pharmaceuticals and can also be used in the production of alcoholic drinks. The quantity used in the production of liquors is at the manufacturers’ discretion. So the quantity varies with brands.

“Ethanol is to be used in carefully measured quantity because of the dangers it poses to health. The ones in ogogoro is not measured and can put the liver and other organs of the body at a serious risk, which can lead to a disease called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is an irreversible health condition caused by excessive intake of alcohol. Also because of the oxidative stress parameters it contains, it can initiate genetic mutation, which can lead to various forms of cancers or failure of some other organs.

“The liver is a very soft organ but when alcohol is excessively consumed, it makes the liver hard and very turgid and this leads to the condition known as cirrhosis as I said earlier. I mentioned earlier that alcohol in general has the structural formulae of CnH2nOH; the OH is responsible for oxidative stress. There are some substances called reactive oxygen species; examples are OH, H2O2, sulphur, etc. This substance alters the nature of the organs of the body by complex chemical reaction.”

The dangers consumers are exposed to

Some time last year, The Nation conducted laboratory tests on some consumers of the herbal drinks to establish the dangers inherent in the consumption of the products. The study, which was part of a series of special report undertaken by the paper, was conducted at Pathcare Nigeria’s medical laboratory at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Blood and urine samples of five subjects were collected and analysed simultaneously at the medical centre’s Nigeria and South African laboratories over one month.

The laboratory tests and analyses conducted on Awoyale, one of the test subjects, revealed that his blood plasma samples contained the presence of the heavy metal, lead (pb), at toxic level. Lead contained in his blood towers at 56ug/dL (56 microgram/deciliter), which is precisely 46 micrograms higher than the acceptable lead limit of 10ug/dL.

While Awoyale’s test results showed that his blood lead level was dangerous at 56ug/dL (56 microgram/deciliter), the other test subjects, who pleaded anonymity, also recorded worrisome results from the test. For instance, two of the test subjects had cadmium concentration in their blood at high levels beyond World Health Organisation (WHO)’s permissible limit, while the heavy metal abounds in the fourth subject’s blood towered at borderline level. The fifth subject, however, suffers a deficiency of iron in his blood, according to interpretations given by the medical centre’s resident pathologist, Dr. Segun Isioye.

Awoyale, like the other test subjects, presented a forlorn sight at press time; he perspired particularly when agitated like a sickly child caught in a wooly blanket. His freckled face tapered off into a weary smirk every time he smiled and his blackened lips twisted into a pout at the news of his test result; behind that smirk resonates a silent wail for help perhaps?

The case of Awoyale was particularly worrisome because lead poisoning can have rapid, acute effects or chronic, long-term effects in an average human, according medical experts. Acute and sub-acute effects are typically caused by relatively large doses of lead over a short period often days to months. These effects can be dramatic and include sudden death, severe abdominal cramps, anemia, ataxia, strange headaches, and behavioral changes, such as irritability and appetite loss.

A high level of lead in the blood is dangerous to health argued Dr.Chukwuemeka Isanbor, a Physical and Organic Chemistry don in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba Lagos. According to him, a blood lead level of 70-100ug/dL can cause death. “Acute exposures often manifest as central nervous system (CNS) and gastrointestinal symptoms. Central nervous system symptoms include encephalopathy, convulsion, and stupor. Colic, a gastrointestinal symptom, is a consistent symptom of lead poisoning characterized by abdominal pain, cramps, and nausea.

“Adults have exhibited lead-induced colic at BLL as low as 40 µg/dL. Chronic exposure differs from acute exposure in that chronic symptoms manifest as general malaise, anorexia, constipation, wrist drop, hematuria, and anemia. Although not specific to lead poisoning, basophilic stippling may be seen in erythrocytes due to changes in ribosomes. Additionally, lead targets the proximal tubules of the kidneys and is capable of inducing nephrotoxicity in the form of proximal tubular nephropathy, glomerular sclerosis, and interstitial fibrosis. A decreased glomerular filtration rate and the direct inhibition of the biosynthesis of erythropoietin (EPO) production by lead may contribute to “lead-induced anemia.” Long term accumulation of lead could lead to illness and lower cognitive functions,” he explained.

In the face of arguments that lead ingested at lower levels poses no serious consequences on human health, recent research findings reveal that chronic effects are most often the result of smaller amounts of lead being taken in over longer times months to years. These effects can be quite subtle and nonspecific, but include all body systems. A brief list of effects documented in people includes such effects as lowered sex drive, decreased fertility (in males and females), miscarriages and premature births, learning problems, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and increased aggression and kidney problems.

Could it be termed an African fraud this prevalent misconception that only a woman can determine the father of her baby? As far as I am concerned, that assertion fosters a conducive environment that gives undue advantage to promiscuous young girls to perpetrate paternity scams against any promising young man who unwittingly fall into their hands.

No woman can tell whose wild oat is blooming in her womb especially if she had had sex with more than one man around the time of conception.  After all, a lot of women don’t even get to know they are pregnant for weeks, so how could they tell whose seed is growing in their wombs ( of course I am referring to situations of infidelity which is almost the norm today). A very good percentage of women don’t even know much about their reproductive system; when they are ovulating or about to menstruate, neither do they know their dry or free period.

The advantage that phony belief gives to women is that a promiscuous woman can wantonly sleep around, get pregnant and simply point to the one man she knows has all the resources she can feast on.

I can’t but wonder how many children have been born to homes and husbands who must take responsibility for seeds they genuinely cannot account for, thanks to this fraudulent African science.

Such situation would make one suspicious  of most  of the first borns in many African homes were pregnancy was the catalyst for the wedding(welding), in a culture where women have the infallible  sole privilege to determine the paternity of the infant.

For the record, new statistics indicates that about 30 to 40 percent of children in most Nigerian homes have paternal issues, especially the first born in cases where there were any kinds of delay in conception. Considering the intense pressure they always suffer when after nine month of marriage there is no yelling infant, women, though not meaning to cheat, but also being mindful of the brewing trouble, try to get pregnant by all means.

They actually go all out visiting everywhere imaginable to get help. And the help giver most of the time are far from sympathetic. Sometimes they include sex with their clients as a necessary part of the solutions. And who is going to argue? Am I advocating a massive shift of wealth to doctors by going for aggressive DNA test?  Not really, all I am saying is, as far as paternal accuracy is concerned the woman do not have the power ascribed to her.

This same issue was raised in a little gathering of friends, two weekends ago. Hmm, a friend who has been caught in such a messy situation opened up to tell his story. At that point, I was so ashamed of how cheap and deceitful some girls could be. According to Stephen, he was in his third year in the university when one of the girls he was ‘playing’ games with told him he was pregnant for him. Because he claimed to come from a strict home where shedding of the innocent blood of unborn babies is regarded as a taboo, he accepted the responsibility, took her to his parents and started making plans on how to be a student-father in the next nine months.

It was later discovered that the girl who was the only child of her parents was on her second journey of being pregnant in school. She had earlier terminated the first pregnancy and almost lost her life in the process, so when Stephen ‘impregnated’ her again, and her parents got to know, she was warned not to tamper with the growing fetus. All care and support were promised to her as long as she remained a good expectant mother.

With mixed feelings, Stephen’s parents accepted their son’s mistake in good faith and often visited and sent regards to their prospective daughter-in-law. Few days to the EDD (Expected Date of Delivery), the whole family was apprehensive as they awaited the arrival of the latest member of the family.

Fortunately for Stephen and unfortunately for the young girl, she delivered a bouncing baby boy who was more or less an albino.  It was then remembered that a particular guy often came to the university campus to visit the new mother. And then they had a situation whereby the new born was 90 percent a spit image of the mulatto-like young man. The jigsaw fell into place.

Overjoyed, Stephen threw a party for his friends for such timely ‘deliverance’ from the shackles of pregnancy scam. He would have been the father of another man’s baby and probably live in regrets.

There are other instances of this kind of situation. If you are woman and you are reading this article, you better be careful. There is always a punishment for any woman who deceived an innocent man into accepting another man’s blood. It might take 10 or 20 years before nemesis catch up with you, but be assured that the disgrace would be thunderous. Ladies, dont try the pregnancy scam on any man. If you played around and got yourself impregnated, if you were such a multi-player Domitilla ‘whose ground was tilled’ by more than one man days before you took in, simply do a DNA test and get the child’s paternity right.

Sheraton Hotel, Abuja has won this year’s Hot FM Social Media Award. The management of the hotel was proudly honored with an award in recognition of its operational and service standards in compliance with international social global metrics and it’s dynamic support of the media in Nigeria.

The colorful event featured top Nigerian Artistes with the likes of Korede Bello and a lineup of other artists and acts.

The Award captioned ‘Best Social Media Friendly Hotel’ was presented by Senator Chris Anyanwu and received by Nanji Tyem, the Area Communications Director, Starwood Hotels, Nigeria.

The prestigious award recognized Sheraton Abuja Hotel’s commitment to continually supporting and assisting start-up organizations and groups across board.

The officials of Hot FM aptly recognized Nanji Tyem as their major ally /collaborator and eulogized her for her unflinching partnership.

The event was colorful and filled with glitz and glamour.

The General Manager, Sheraton Abuja Hotel, Boris Bornman gladly delivered a brief acceptance speech.

“Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., of which Sheraton Abuja Hotel is proudly part of, is the leading Hotel and Resort Company in the world. Our ethos is to excel in all we do and to support localization in all countries we operate in. It is a proud moment for the Sheraton Abuja Team to accept this highly acclaimed Award”.

As a new administration emerges, members of the book industry are calling for a “book revolution” that is powered by youth-and-industry-driven policies. The leadership has been urged to prioritise the growth of the knowledge economy even as Nigeria seeks to become a leading global player in the pursuit of sustainable development. EVELYN OSAGIE who was at the just-concluded 2015 Nigerian International Book Fair (NIBF), reports.

There were books expos, readings, discussion sessions, schools’ excursions and the retinue of Mama Nigeria, founder of Loveffanadas Goshen Group of Schools. Her entourage of schools’ children between 2 and 8 years has become a yearly side attraction of the Nigerian International Book Fair (NIBF). The yearly book fair serves as a meeting point for stakeholders in the book industry, affording participants the opportunity of interacting with international players. The week-long fair at the multipurpose hall of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) featured over 50 publishers, printers, booksellers, book foundations and authors from United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Bahrain, Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Egypt and Botswana.

Inspiring the young to read

Each year, not minding that their impoverished mien painted a pitiful picture that contrasted loudly with that of their counterparts from more expensive private schools visiting the fair, Mama Nigeria sought to inspire hope in her children’s minds by introducing them to the world of books at the fair. But what inspires this teacher and philanthropist notable for establishing charity schools in Makoko, one of the slums in Lagos. “I tell them, education is the only way out of poverty,” Mrs Loveffans Alfredo-Durugo, fondly called ‘Mama Nigeria’ due to her humanitarian feats, said.

With wide-eyed and dreamy look on their faces, Mama Nigeria’s entourage walked from one stand to another. The children stood hand-in-hand and in a file; they pointed at the shelves of the books and nodded their heads as Mama Nigeria explained away. Decked in Nigeria’s national colours of green and white, she warned her children: “Don’t touch the books, just look. See that fine picture of tiger; we also have them in our forest”.

The children could not read, but were drawn to the world of books. The picture books on animals and children grab their attention more. They looked at the books with somewhat reverence, perhaps, wishing they’d one day be able to read them, as Mama Nigeria said: “If you pay more attention to your books, one day, you too would read these books. And in the future, some of you would also write better books than the ones you see here.”

Those words were fast becoming her yearly anthem as she and the children kept a date with the fair. Notwithstanding the odds of growing up in the slums, she said, the books will inspire them to aim high. As if well-informed of the theme of NIBF international conference, she told The Nation, “I always tell them that when you are educated you are empowered, and the world is at your feet.”

Finding better ways of advancing the fate of the young (such as Mama Nigeria’s entourage), with regards to education, was a major concern at NIBF’s conference.

Low budget, poor standard of education

With the theme: African youth empowerment through book for sustainable national development, members of the book industry decried the low budget attributed to education in Nigeria every year, in comparison with other countries. They observed that education, which accounts for 12.67% of GDP, is a huge part of the knowledge economy that holds huge possibilities.

They, therefore, called for a ‘book revolution’ which, they said, should involve ‘provision of books at cheaper prices’, ‘reduction of tariff on newsprints’, ‘all-inclusive distribution channels’, ‘funding of bookshops’ and ‘building of libraries’ at every local council.

The Chairman HEBN Publishers Plc., Mr Ayo Ojeniyi, who chaired the conference, urged African leaders to invest heavily on education and human capital, saying: “education is an empowerment tool for the youth”.

Prof Godini Darah of Delta State University (DELSU), who gave the keynote address, reiterated Ojeniyi words, saying the most effective way to empower youths through books is to provide universal basic education and eliminate illiteracy from the African continent. He urged the government to be committed to “the UNESCO benchmark of that urges that about 25 of national budget be should be devoted to the education sector”.

He said: “The amount we spend on education in Nigeria is too low. I have looked at figures from other countries and they spend a lot. South Africa spends about 21 per cent, Egypt spend about 18 per cent; Ghana spends about 25 per cent consistently. We spend only about eight per cent in our budget on education. The good examples of Ghana and South Africa should be our guide. Africa cannot participate and compete in the global economy without a fully literate and technically competent populace. Nigeria is particularly important in this respect.

“Basic education should be extended to the secondary and tertiary education levels. The total enrolment at the secondary level is about 10 million presently. This figure should be doubled within a decade. To facilitate the transition from secondary to tertiary levels, the government should establish an education loan scheme whereby beneficiaries can borrow to support themselves and pay back when they are employed after graduation.”

Publishing, he further observed, is a vital area of the education industry, while calling for the reduction of dominance of foreign publishers by subsidies of educational materials since it is got from imported petroleum products.

He said: “The must be reduced through a programme of high subsidies for educational materials. It is scandalous that the Nigerian government charges exorbitant tariffs for educational products. The tariffs should be abolished in order to promote local production to meet rising demands.”

Citing financial sponsorship of dance and musical competitions to literary and science ones, Prof Darah criticised the absence of systems that rewards intellectual excellence. He named the corporate organisations as “major culprits”, as seen in their financial sponsorship competitions. He recommended: “There should be endowments for authors and publishers which should be set up through government intervention. In the 1970s, governments in East Africa established state-funded publishing houses.”

On schools’ curriculum review

Like the flow of the changing tides towards the sea, the world is gravitating towards a world of virtual reality whose community thrive on the Internet. Keeping abreast with the dynamics of the virtual world, the Acting Executive Secretary, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Prof Ismail Junaidu, noted, has remained the world’s biggest challenge. Well aware of this trend, he said, the government is constantly reviewing schools’ curriculum to meet up with changing trends in the educational sector, globally.

Junaidu, who was the special guest of honour at NIBF conference, blamed the dwindling education standard on poor reading culture, while urging Nigerians imbibe the culture of reading. To promote self-reliance and tackle growing security concerns, he added that the government has also added Trade Studies and Security Education to the curriculum. “The curriculum is supposed to be reviewed every five years. Reviews are necessitated as a result of the world’s dynamic nature and emerging issues. Government is constantly changing the curriculum to tackle these issues. We have entrenched Reading and Civic Education into the schools’ curriculum so that we can catch them young,” he said.

Such moves, however noteworthy they may be, are without its negative impact on the book industry. Its members, therefore, called for a holistic approach, urging government to take into consideration businesses in the sector during the education policy-making processes.

Mrs Oluronke Orimalade of the Booksellers Association urged that the industry key-players be carried along during each change or review. While calling for collaboration between government and stakeholders, she said Nigeria needsa book revolution. “You must encourage bookshops to grow established libraries and involve us, the stakeholders, in the policy-making processes,” she said.

Group Captain Salaudeen Latinwo (rtd) is a former Military Governor of Kwara State during the regime of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. In this interview with SEGUN AJIBOYE, Assistant Editor, Latinwo spoke about his relationship with Gen. Buhari and his deputy then,  the late Gen. Tunde Idiagbon; his belief in the ability of Gen. Buhari to turn the fortunes of the country around and other issues. Excerpts

You were a military governor of Kwara State between 1984 and August 1985. What was the experience like?

We had a lot of tasks lined up for ourselves because as at the time we came in, the atmosphere in the country was absolutely unacceptable. The roads were bad, there were no hospitals working, the educational system was nothing to write home about and the economy was in a shambles. We were having backlogs in payment of debt and quite a lot of other issues. Immediately we took over, we sat down to find out what was really the problem. Among what we concluded was that there was so much indiscipline in the society, so we introduced the War Against Indiscipline (WAI). This had to do with the culture of hoisting the flag, singing the national anthem and other things aimed at putting a stop to the culture of indiscipline that was becoming the order of the day.

Beyond that, we had an agriculture programme attached to each state. You could call it a food-for-all programme, the aim was for you to go back to your state and tend your people towards production of food. Then we needed to do a trade by barter system because the oil thing was really not functioning. For instance, if you have machines to give us, we give you oil in return. And gradually, things began to improve and eventually, the economy was picking up. Of course, there were problems of paying salaries in some states, so we made them to make arrangements on what to be done.

There were guidelines from the Federal Government on what to do: reduce the number of local governments, reduce the number of commissioners and within three months, there was stability and things began to improve. We also went to town, mobilising the people. There was the need for them to know the truth about the situation of things and that there was no secret to it. You’ll be surprised that some people came to offer advice on the way to go about it. And thus we were able to stabilise the system.

You mentioned the WAI programme. Back then, all Nigerians, irrespective of class or religion, fell into line and there was orderliness everywhere you went. Do you think we need such programme at this time?

I think we need it now. You see, it was not just WAI, for its interpretation. It was a mobilising factor, it made the people to have a sense of belonging in participating in the programme. That was what it was all about. It was the key issue of bringing Nigerians together as one. We need it, but it has to be modified to suit the democratic dispensation. Today, I think it is imperative to evolve new policies that would bring about discipline and ethics in governance and private practices in line with the War Against Indiscipline of 1984-1985 military regime.

However, the new WAI should be directed at changing the general attitude in the social, economic, political realms and environmental attitude towards ensuring that the people imbibe the attitude of change. Also, the citizens need to be reassured that Gen. Buhari will never run a unilateral government nor will he be vindictive. Rather, he should take the country along the path of recovery, genuine change and progress.

As a military governor, you must have worked closely with Gen. Buhari when he was the Head of State. What kind of leader was he?

He was an energetic man. He was a good leader, a firm leader, a listening officer, very courageous and serious officer. And if go to him for anything, he would listen to you and if you are able to convince him, he would go ahead, but if you are not able to convince him, he would stay on the line. If you do very well, he would appreciate you, but if you don’t do well, he would punish you for it. He was highly committed to the progress of the country. His attitude towards the country can be described as progress, progress and progress of the country. He was an officer you would really want to work with. So we are looking forward to a man with such qualities to move the nation forward once again. My only wish is that his colleagues in the political terrain would understand and appreciate these qualities.

It has generally been agreed that the problem of the country is bad leadership and corruption. How would you advise the incoming president to tackle these problems?

The good sign is that if you look very well, you would see that during this transition period, people have become jittery about committing crimes in official circles. They already have a feeling that if you do something wrong, you would be picked up, and that if you do a good thing, you would be commended. I think the focus should be that of reducing corruption. And in doing that, there should be no sacred cows of any sort. No matter how close to you, if such person is indicted, you let him face the book and let the world see the outcome of whatever investigation that is carried out.

I tell you, once that is done, the ‘domino theory’ would follow, because everybody would fall into line and things would begin to go on as they should. Now, the atmosphere is in the air that you cannot mess up with the government coming in, that you cannot continue to ask for money if the services are not provided. Look at the fuel scarcity, I believe it is because they are scared that he might not pay them, except if he is sure that the services they are asking to be paid for were genuinely provided. But the bad people cannot win, because the man they are up against is a sincere and honest man.

If you recall, during the campaign, the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said the US turned to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to provide leadership, the French also turned to Gen. Charles de Gaulle when the nation was in crisis. Now, Nigeria has turned to Gen. Buhari for leadership. What do you think should be the expectations of Nigerians?

I think Gen. Buhari has all the attributes to enable him move the nation forward. I know that in a democracy, there are so many interests, but that is where he has to remain firm and in control. It is like an aircraft taking off, the captain cannot leave it in the hands of anybody. He would be in control until it has stabilised in the air. That is the situation that we are now, and Gen. Buhari needs to be firm and in charge of affairs. He also needs tested and committed people to work with him. I know the party is powerful in politics, but for the Gen. Buhari that I know, the country is the number one for him.

We have all agreed that we need change in Nigeria. What do you think is the role of the civil society groups and Nigerians in general in achieving this change?

They all have vital roles to play to achieve this much desired change. They need to understand that there is no need to ask for money when the money is not there. To achieve that, however, the government needs to be sincere and transparent about its activities. I am sure that if the NLC and other groups know the true state of affairs in government, they would be willing to make some sacrifices. For instance, they may agree not to ask for salary increase if they know that the government does not even have the money to pay. The reality is that there is no money, but they need to know. And the people will know that at the end of the tunnel, there would be light.

One of the major problems confronting the country is oil theft. How can we stop this?

These problems are there because certain people at certain times failed to do their job and they are not committed. Now, you have a government that appears to be serious. And when that is done, all these things would be tidied up. This tidying up will reflect in every area of our lives. The truth is that oil theft on the high seas is unprecedented in the history of the country.

I can see that you are very optimistic about the incoming government. What exactly is giving you this hope?

I think it is the kind of leadership that is coming into office. If you want to borrow ideas from somebody, you need to watch what he says and how he goes about what he says. In the history of this country, there was no campaign that has ever been filled with hate than this last one. And despite all the hate messages, one thing that they could not ascribe to him was corruption. With that in mind, one cannot but have the hope that with Gen. Muhhamadu Buhari in charge, the future is bright for Nigeria. However, he has the responsibility to look for people who are like him to work with. He needs to be surrounded with people with genuine love for this country.

Let me take you back a little bit. You were close to the late Gen. Tunde Idiagbon. There were allegations that he never laughed or joked. What kind of man was he?

Gen. Tunde Idiagbon too was a very firm officer. He was a very committed officer. I think he was one of those officers who came together back then, and said we won’t allow these bad things to continue in the country. The truth is that both Idiagbon and Buhari were one solid team. Anytime there was a meeting, Buhari would be taking his own minutes, while Idiagbon too would be taking his own minutes. And soon after the meeting, the minutes of the meeting was ready. Aside from this, there was solid commitment to the success of that administration. People say they don’t laugh, Buhari would not laugh with you unless there was a serious thing to laugh about. They were focused and took their time to act. Nobody knew what was between them, it was the result of their actions that the people saw.

What do you think would have happened if the coup of August 1985 had not happened?

I tell you, we wouldn’t have been in this mess. Virtually all the problems were being taken care of. For instance, let’s say there were seven problems, I think three or four had been taken care of at the time. And in no time, the whole thing would have been solved and the country would have been moved forward. You see, life is not only about money alone. If we were a united country, there are lots of things that can be achieved. We would have reached a point where we would be proud to say I am a Nigerian. But that is not the case now. We don’t have any direction or policy at the moment. You see, this was what we were preaching, believe in yourself and be proud to be a Nigerian. If we were able to achieve a 40% success within one and half years, you can imagine what would have been achieved now. Nigeria would have been a reference point for other countries to follow. And ever since, things have continued to get worse, even more than they were in 1984.

You were just 42 when you were removed from office. Tell me about your experience.

I was not in the country when the coup took place. We were in Saudi Arabia, and Idiagbon who was the leader of the team, said we should come back because we had nothing to fear. We were operating a transparent system, so there was no reason for us to fear. I think the only thing that they accused us of was that the system was high-handed, not that we were corrupt in any form.

But what we did was to investigate anybody who was suspected to have acquired wealth illegally. The person was invited and asked to explain, if his explanations were found to be genuine, he was let off and if not, he was detained. That was what we were doing. So, we all came back. Meanwhile, Buhari had been kept under house arrest. When we came back, we went to the supreme headquarters for debriefing. I was removed as governor and sent back to the office as the Director of Administration, Nigerian Air force. As soon as I got there, I went to work trying to reorganise. But I was there for only about three weeks. I was arrested and taken to the Air Force base. I was there for about three or four days before I realised that other officers had been picked up as well. Food was served and put at the door.

For how long were you detained?

I was detained for about four months. I asked all sorts of questions, but I was never sent to face the court marshal. But after that, having told the world all sorts of lies about us, that we were planning to use the aircraft to monitor facilities; since they didn’t have anything to hold me, they just said I was dismissed.  But some serving officers later rose to say that it was wrong for them to dismiss us; so they changed it to retirement.

You were still young at the time…

Exactly, I was young and could not be planning for retirement at that age. Part of the tragedy was that after the country had spent so much to train you, the time when the country was to reap that benefit, somebody would just throw you out.  I was part of the first set of Nigerians that started the Air Force. I must confess, after that experience, there was disorientation, so I had to go back home and join the family business. But unfortunately, the children were not spared the trauma too. At school, they were harassed and called names. Each time they came back from school, they would cry and weep. When we saw that, we decided to relocate for the sake of the children.

Some of you were not that lucky. Some like Gen. Vatsa were executed. When you heard that news, how did you feel?

Well, being a military officer, the feeling looked slightly different. You just feel like it could have been you. And of course, you go to war, you sit down together for briefing and some die. But a military officer’s life, especially after having that kind of experience, you just want to move on with life. But as a human being, you just felt that those people were killed for nothing. By the time you begin to review it, you didn’t see anything concrete about the allegation.

Why were you picked up?

It was just because I was close to Tunde Idiagbon. There was no doubt about that, and they were not comfortable with that. But that had to do with their level of thinking, that because this man was close to that man, he would want to take revenge on them. Anytime they saw you, they felt uncomfortable. Even up till now, sometimes I would go to a conference, and once the people get to know who you are, they quickly get up and move away from you.

How easy has it been for you to forgive those you feel were behind your travail?

Initially, what I thought was that in a developing country, there was bound to be such problems. So, I see it as my own sacrifice to my nation. I think the pain, disorientation and the discomfort remain part of you for life.

Have you met any of them?

Yes, one way or the other I have met them and we only shake hands and move on; even Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, but you don’t discuss such issue. And in any case, you still see him as your boss, so you cannot ask him ‘sir why did you arrest me?’. You only go to him and salute. But it is something you cannot forget, because it affected your family, your children and all those around you.

What do you do presently?

Though I am retired now, but like I told you, I was into trading and doing some jobs here and there. But now, I only sleep and read newspapers. At 72, I think I need to slow down on some things.

Hello Harriet, I’m enjoying your column. Please, kindly explain to me why children figh., My house is like a battlefield and I am tired. I really don’t know what to do.

Ted U.,  Edo State.

Ted, what you are experiencing is sibling rivalry. Some children relate with their siblings very well with a bit of disagreement here and there.

Some are always on each other’s throat. It is very common to see brothers and sisters quarrel and fight. As we go along, you will understand the reasons behind it and how to deal with the situation.

Rivalry starts even before some children have siblings. They compete for everything from food to toys, even when they are alone. So when there is a second child, they start seeking attention and affection.

What we should know is that as children attain different stages of development, their evolving needs can significantly affect how they relate to one another and this can be frustrating and upsetting for parents. Trouble between siblings can be traced to different issues like rivalry, strife or abuse.

Rivalry can be seen as a spirit of competition or jealousy between siblings in a family. For example, once there is a shift of attention among siblings, there is bound to be rivalry. This can be devastating among siblings, while in some cases it can be advantageous with regards to good behaviour and achievement.

A home where the older children are hardworking academically, the younger ones in return will want to follow their footsteps. Don’t forget that children naturally are very competitive; most of them want to be seen as the best, so they try very hard to be noticed and praised.

To some extent, sibling rivalry is natural. Another problem of sibling rivalry is sibling strife.

Strife: This can be destructive to a child. If a child sees that his or her parents pay more attention to  other siblings, it can lead to them showing nasty behaviour towards their loved one, so to express their feeling of neglect what most of them will do is to start teasing or ridiculing their sibling and this might affect the sibling in question emotionally.

Moreover, sibling abuse is a problem of sibling rivalry as well. Relationship between siblings can sometimes degenerate into abusive behaviour and pattern by name calling, fighting, threats, destruction of personal possessions, hitting or inciting fear in the younger ones could be as a result of temperament or how some children  respond to situations.

Some older children transfer their anger or hurt to their younger ones, especially when they are been blamed by their parents. So in order to regain their sense of power, they react in the above ways. With these problems we can see that sibling rivalry has to do with a lot of things to a certain extent.

It is a common happening where there are children in the family setting seeking for attention and affection. One other cause is birth order. The first child gets all the affection and attention at the beginning because he or she is the only child. But the minute there are others, the equal share now comes to play. If not handled properly, it might lead to serious sibling rivalry.

Jealousy can also lead to sibling rivalry. When parents start giving preferential treatment to one child over others (daddy’s girl or mummy’s boy), not that as parents they don’t love their other children. They certainly love them as well, but the fact that they pay a special attention to a particular child might make one or others jealous.

Remember jealousy is not a new thing. It has been in existence right from time and this can lead to a lot of things, if not handled properly.

Furthermore, unhealthy or unfavourable comparison can pose as a cause for sibling rivalry. Children are very sensitive about their matters of physical attractiveness and body characteristics.

It is highly inflammatory to commend one child at the expense of another. Don’t forget children are very competitive. They are very sensitive to certain issues. Desire for attention cannot be overlook, while mentioning the causes of sibling rivalry. Some children create trouble with their siblings just to get attention from adults. It could be their parents or guardians. They want to be noticed at all times.

Changing roles is another cause. As children start growing from one stage to another, their attitude changes. The teen body begins to mature, he or she starts to develop new interests. They may have more responsibilities at home. Some are more involved with their age friends. Such changes can have effect on their families. For example,  a little sister may feel neglected by her older sister  or big brother, moving to a boarding school. These changes can lead to sibling rivalry.

Stress and frustration contribute to sibling rivalry. When a family is going through stress, it could be as a result of the position of their marriage, tension at home, parental abuse and an alcoholic parent. If not dealt with properly, it can actually affect the children. Some might start taking the frustration of the whole situation on the younger siblings.  In addition, selfishness and lack of sharing limited resources can lead to sibling rivalry.

To be continuted

Harriet ogbobine is a counselor and a motivational speaker. Send your questions and suggestions to her on bineharriet@gmail.com or txt message only 08023058805. You can also follow her on twitter: @bineharrietj

Like a knife in her back

their from the world of the dark

pretending to be a friend

their deadly at the end

realizing it

is the death of Britt

piercing through her heart

is their aim using their dart

Forgive and forget

is an unaccomplished target

in this mission

the only hope is restitution…

They take her kindness

for weakness

is it good to be good?

a little girl stood

looking up to the sky

whether the star were down or high

wondering what they thought

whenever she was hurt……….

Reaping what they’ve sow

is a promise unfold

whether good or bad

its just what they will have

an abundance of harvest

will or not give them rest

its all what they reap

after they took that leap

Getting to Arochukwu town is like a trip to the land of the spirits where one has to pass through the proverbial seven rivers and seven hills.

Although less than  100 kilometres from the Abia State capital, getting to Arochukwu from Umuahia can take between three to four hours. This is simply as a result of a bad road.  From Umuahia to Ohafia, the road is bad, especially through Bende. From Ohafia to Arochukwu, after the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Army Cantonment Ohafia, the road becomes hell.

From the perspective of tourism, Arochukwu is a town with many interesting tourist sites. The most interesting thing for this reporter is  Ibini Ukpabi better known as the Arochukwu Long Juju. It is a deity that transformed Arochukwu to a place where major issues and conflicts were adjudicated at the shrine of  Ibini Ukpabi.

Ibini Ukpabi, at the height of the its powers, during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was the most powerful deity in Igboland. It was a kind of supreme court whose judgment was final. There was no appeal.

The guilty paid with their lives, while victims of the crime returned back to their communities with the sense of getting justice. No community would oppose the judgment of Ibini Ukpabi for the fear of being invaded by either Ohafia or Abam warriors.

Ibini Ukpabi, coupled with the strategic location of Arochukwu town, made the Aros serve as a kind middlemen in the trading between the whitemen and the Ibo in hinterland. The Aros travelled to virtually every part of Iboland to buy goods they sold to the whitemen, including slaves.

The reputation of Ibini Ukpabi was based on its ability to deliver swift  judgments. Once a person entered the shrine, if found guilty, the person never returned. The relations would only see blood flowing out form the shrine and then would know the person was guilty and had been killed by the deity. But many said it was all a ruse as the priests would never kill. Animal blood was poured out, while the person was taken through a door to a secret location to be sold as slave.

The oracle was destroyed during the military expedition to Arochukwu in 1901 and 1902. It was after the punitive expedition that historical figures like Mary Slessor, the Scottish missionary, moved into Arochukwu to stop the killing of twins.

Ibini Ukpabi or the Long Juju ought to be a major tourist site in Abia State, but the bad road and the reluctance to take people to the historical site have robbed the people of Arochukwu the huge benefits they ought to be enjoying by having such site in the community.  Ibini Ukpabi, rather than being a tourist site, is shrouded in secrecy.

•Eze Ibomisii

On getting to Arochukwu, the writer was tossed from one elder to the other. Finally, I met the Eze Ibomisii of Aro. The Aros operate a kind of triumvirate royalty with three paramount kings, all with their areas of jurisdiction. Ibini Ukpabi falls under the Eze Ibomisii, Eze Kanu Okereke. Eze Ibomisii is tall and regal. There was not much in the palace except the throne and chairs for meetings. Some of his children were playing around.

When told of the purpose of the trip, the king allowed a kind of wry smile to play on his face. He initially refused any form of interview. He demanded for the sum of N7,000 and a bottle of St. Remy drink.

After much pleading, he decided to lower the price and then waived the drink.

The amount was just for an interview. If the reporter insisted on going to the Ibini Ukpabi shrine, he would have to cough up N35,000 for certain sacrifices.

He talked about Ibini Ukpabi: “It is as old as Aro and Arochukwu is more than 1000 years. It served as a supreme court. If you committed an offence, you would be tried. If your offence was severe, you would not go free. If it was  a minor offence, the Long Juju would set that person free. It depended on the offences”.

Asked at what point the diety became the deity for the whole of Iboland, he said: “Even before the time of our colonial masters. You know they fought the Aros from 1901 to 1902.  The British military expedition to Arochukwu was led by a colonel. It was after the war that its influence started to drop.

“As the population grew, they started moving to different places to develop. People started coming from these places with one request or the other. If something good happens to you, you will tell others. That was how the influence started. Its popularity increased because of the positive news from the people who had visited the shrine.

“It acted as the appellate court, meaning that the decision of the deity was final.  Whatever decision it took was final and before such decision was taken, the matter must have been examined very well. If you committed an offence in those days, for example, you took a knife, pursued and killed somebody, you would be brought here to be tried. I believe that the practice of Court of Justice was inherited from that long Juju. If you killed somebody, you were going  for it. There were offences that attracted imprisonment. There were others that attracted exile. It happens today. That was the work of the Long Juju. It secured lives.”

Many believe the  Aros used the deity to perpetuate their dominance in Igboland and get slaves for the slave dealers.

The king disagreed: “No, that is not true. As I told you, the Long Juju served different functions: function of trading ; function of securing lives; function of worship and others. We did not invite anybody. People were bringing people here. We did not force them. In fact, the Aros took a very big risk to accommodate different kinds of people. Aro did not go anywhere to bring people. It was the families of these people that brought them. Aros saved many communities. They forgot the risk that the Aros took to admit a bad person, sometimes the strongest person from that village.”

The shrine of Ibini Ukpabi is located deep inside the forest. It is after Hon. Mao Ohuanbunwa Street in Arochukwu.  The difficult conditions set by the keepers of the shrine have made it difficult for tourists to visit the site. The gate to the shrine has overgrown weeds to show that it has not been seeing much of visitors. According to our tour guide, the journey required crossing a river but was not ready to continue. The farthest one could get was the point of no return before being told the required amount one had to pay and the sacrifices to be performed.

Arochukwu ought to be a popular destination, but needs efforts from the state government and the community.

Despite the array of colourful designs on the fashion scene, black has been one of the biggest trends for men this season.

Whether it is vibrant or dull, there are plenty of men who love to look and rock this look. Black combo is a fashion trend that you wouldn’t want to miss. It is classy and sexy.

Since the beginning of this year, the whole world has hopped on board the all-black madness train: suits, trousers, natives,  shorts, tops, shirts, full-on dresses, all made of black.

As human beings, we almost always like to wait for a perfect time to take necessary action about our plans. Is there any time called “Perfect”? I need your answer, please. Some years ago, a friend of mine bought a car and got a man to drive it and also teach him driving because he could not drive. As expected, whenever the man wanted to teach my friend, the learner sign “L” would be hung on the number plate with the driver sitting beside him and guiding him. Surprisingly, after one year of learning, my friend was still using the “L” sign and totally dependent on the driver to guide him while driving. I was compelled to ask why he was still using the “L” sign and could not drive unguided. He said he wanted to PERFECT his driving skills even when the driver had been encouraging him to be driving alone.

Different experience

I had a different experience while learning driving. Within one month of learning, the man teaching me just alighted from the car one particular evening as if he wanted to buy something. Then he bent down, opened his mouth and let loose an intercontinental ballistic missile into my ears, which almost deafened me. I thought the world had come to an end! What did he say, you may want to know? He said he just remembered he had one important appointment to keep with one rich man he had just met for business assistance. Reluctantly, I nodded in agreement but the ocean of confusion had engulfed me from within. Would I say he should not go to see the man that wanted to assist him? That would be selfish of me.

Flashing thoughts

Some thoughts flashed across my mind. One of them was to get a towing van to tow the car from there. Another was to look for just anybody that could help me drive it home, but that could be very risky. My dilemma became heightened because the man had never encouraged me to use the “L” sign that could have given me some protection from other road-users. After about five minutes of total confusion, I decided to start the engine of the car, then engaged the gear, accelerating little by little and gaining confidence gradually as I was driving along.

I finally got home and became very happy that I prematurely achieved a feat that I had thought could only be possible in three or four months from then.

The second day, the man came and commended me for driving home alone without hitting another vehicle. Then, he confessed that he did not have any appointment the previous day but just wanted me to master driving early as I was learning fast. In one month of learning driving, I started driving to other states unlike my friend. So whatever plan you have to execute, do not wait for any perfect time. Perfect time is a figment of imagination. If you believe there is a perfect time, then NOW is the “perfect” time to act.

Contradiction and

flexibility

We like to blow hot and cold every time. We are quick to admit in one situation that nobody is perfect but God when it comes to doing some things. So we always resign our fate to attaining excellence not perfection. But it is ironical that when it comes to implementing our plans, we quickly hide under the pretext of seeking a perfect time to board the flight of perpetual procrastination.

Even our perfect God is not rigid about perfection. Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was VERY GOOD….” “Very good” is used not “Perfect”. According to Psalm 8:1, “O Lord our Lord, how EXCELLENT is thy name in all the earth….” “Excellent” is used not “Perfect”.

It is human nature to always look for perfection before taking action. When God told Moses that He wanted to use him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, Moses gave excuses thus in Exodus 4: 10, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent… I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” But he should have known that God was aware of his shortcoming. God then replied him, “…Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”

Average lifespan and

interpretation

We need to take action fast because Psalm 90:10 says, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten….”  The noun phrase “Threescore years and ten” means 70 years in modern English. The implication of this is that we have a short lifespan, especially when considering the fact that Methuselah lived for 969 years and Enoch 365 years.

By daily interpretation, 70 years is about 25,568 days, including extra days of leap years involved. By the time one is 20 years, one must have spent above 7,300 days; at 30 years, one must have spent above 10,950 days; at 40 years, more than 14,600 days must have gone, leaving one with about 11,000 days. At 60 years, one must have spent 21,900 days, remaining about 3,650 days out of 70 years. This interpretation is not meant to instil fear in you but to motivate you so that you can discard your long-awaited vehicle of perfect time. We will continue with this discourse next week.

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GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Professional Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

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