Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel has won its  fifth consecutive Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2015. The Certificate of Excellence, which is earned only by receiving consistently great reviews from the hotel’s customers and international travellers, posted onto the world’s largest travel portal trip advisor. The hotel says the award “fully reaffirms Southern Sun Ikoyi’s  commitment to delivering quality, consistent and leading service within Nigeria’s thriving hospitality sector.”

Reflecting on the thrill of receiving the desirable international certification, General Manager of Southern Sun Ikoyi, Mark Loxley, commented that “the much coveted certification is indeed a great honour, continuing that, “the fifth consecutive win for the hotel is of particular significance being that this distinctive certification does not only celebrate the hotel’s excellence in hospitality services but more importantly that the award is voted for, by the esteemed guests, travelers and visitors to the hotel ”.

Mr. Loxley encapsulated allby stating that “Southern Sun Ikoyi will not rest on its oars rather, it will continue to raise the bar of quality service delivery and standards to its valued customers”.

The recent win comes with an added merit to the hotel as it also signifies Southern Sun Ikoyi’s official adoption into the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence, Hall of Fame, an outstanding international accolade of distinction, granted only to businesses that have won the Certificate of Excellence for five years in a row.

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Qatar Airways has signed a business partnership agreement with Royal Air Maroc, a statement by the Moroccan carrier has said.

The statement quoted the Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, and the Royal Air Maroc’s Chairman, Mr. Driss Benhima, as saying that the agreement involved commercial cooperation, which would result in significant benefits for passengers of both airlines.

According to the statement, Royal Air Maroc will operate three weekly flights between Casablanca and Doha.

The agreement was signed at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai in the presence of journalists and travel trade partners.

It said the join business would benefit passengers by providing better links between Qatar and Morocco, greater choice of flights to more destinations and enhanced frequent flyer benefits, adding that with the new agreement, passengers would be able to purchase a single itinerary combining flights on both carriers’ global networks, affording them the ease of one stop ticketing and baggage check in.

The statement read: “Royal Air Maroc will be operating three weekly flights with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Doha complimenting Qatar Airways’ existing seven times weekly to Casablanca, giving passengers the flexibility of using a combination of flights from both airlines and aligned fares on their journey to and from Qatar and Morocco, significantly increasing their options.

“Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc will also be improving flight transfers for passengers through enhancing and expanding the code share network beyond their respective hub cities of Doha and Casablanca”

The Royal Air Maroc boss was quoted as saying that “the Moroccan company is pleased to conclude the historic partnership that consolidates fraternal relations between the two countries”

He said:“This agreement is a crucial phase in the history of the Royal Air Maroc since it allows a bridge between Asia and African that will facilitate the movement of customers in the best conditions due to the extensive network of Qatar Airways in Asia and the dense network of Royal Air Maroc in Africa by transiting through the hubs of the two companies”.

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Evangelist Caroline Nagbo is the Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State. In this encounter with Sanni Onogu in Abuja, she spoke about the tumultuous 2015 elections in Rivers State, the  Buhari administration and the need for Nigerians to be ready to make sacrifices. Excerpts:

There was these apprehension in Rivers State because of the things that happened before the general elections. As the Woman Leader of APC in the state, can you tell us what really transpired during the elections? How did people vote and how did you receive the outcome, especially that of the governorship election?

I think your question is multi-dimensional – before the elections, during the elections and after the elections. Yes, as the Woman Leader of APC in Rivers State and as an evangelist, a servant of the most high God, the truth is that PDP did not prepare for election in Rivers State. They never prepared. All the the few rallies they were showing on the screen were all make believe. They never prepared for election nor electioneering. We the APC were the only people that were actually preparing, mobilising and campaigning from village to village, house to house and ward to ward, preparing for our success in the election because, we never actually knew the extent of the plan or evil plan they had. It was during the election we now saw it.

Yes, we were apprehensive also because of the militants – the kind of candidates they coopted into their party and gave tickets to militants into the Rivers State House of  Assembly and all over. We were apprehensive and we were very cautious. Even when we were provoked, we never reacted. So we used intelligence and strategy during all our campaigns to ensure that we never collided with them. There was one particular incident that even the wife of the Governor of Rivers State, Dame Judith Amaechi, was almost attacked in Ahoda East where the wife of Nyesom Wike (PDP governorship candidate)  comes from. But in all of these we used wisdom and tact to ensure, that we never fought with them. Why? Before the elections we knew that guns were being imported into Rivers State. We also heard and knew where they were training their militants but we thought that this time around, especially during the governorship, that the police were actually going to be unbiased and fair to both parties.

But of course we know what happened to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police that was withdrawn under 24 hours to give way for rigging. So there was no election in Rivers State; the election in Rivers State was a hoax.

Immediately after the elections, women led by you and some of your leaders in Rivers State protested. What was the reason for the protest?

First and foremost, before the women came on the street, the the APC gubernatorial candidate, Hon. Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and all the party stalwarts, we all went to INEC to demonstrate to INEC and gave our own petition about the election that we were not given the right to vote and so the election should be nullified. Thereafter, we went on the street, the women also came out to register their grievances that they were not allowed to vote and as we came to the street, we were not even allowed access to INEC. On the road at Waterline Junction, we almost lost three women. Three women went into coma because the police openly teargassed us and chased us away because they were working for the PDP and this was what APC felt that they were unfair to us and that we needed a level-playing ground for us to even demonstrate and show our grievances and this was a non-violent demonstration, a non-violent protest, why were we not even allowed, especially women and we know that international conventions and regulations actually talk against police harassment of women but in Rivers State, the opposite was what we saw.

Will you say that your demonstration achieved its objective?

Yes. We were not allowed into INEC but the whole world saw the true picture of what was going on in Rivers State. It actually demonstrated to the world that APC in Rivers State, even the women were gagged by the authorities.

Now, you contested senatorial elections under the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011, what informed your decision because we know that in spite of the fact that Buhari founded the party, it was relatively unknown in places like Rivers State then? 

My conviction was and is on the candidate – your leader, the personality of the leader determines the followership and coming from the background where I was coming from as the Women Desk Officer of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), I have always been in this agitation for good governance and justice to the people. So, coming from that background, the only party I could identify with, the only party I could be a member and seek my political reality was CPC. Why CPC? Because of the candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari. I came into the party, coming from activism background and actually launched the party among the Ogoni people. When he came to launch the party in Rivers State, the then Deputy Governor of the state then, Tele Ikuru, was the person that came  there to receive him at the launching and the book launch because that was also the day that Prof. Tam David-West launched a book on General Buhari. The Deputy Governor came to officiate for the governor at the Presidential Hotel and everybody who came there saw people wearing ‘Ogoni for Buhari’ Tee-Shirts and caps were all over the place.

It was my brain child because Buhari had been seen to be the only leader – and this is not about exaggeration – the only one that is disciplined, the only one that has really carried the problems of Nigeria at heart and that was why when he wept in 2011 – let me use the word wept – people were making mockery of him but I knew that for such a leader to feel bitter or bad for the poor, that Nigeria and even God in heaven is angry. So, I brought in the popularity of the CPC because of General Buhari. I entered the party and contested, I went through primaries and I got the party’s ticket for Senate – Rivers South-East Senatorial District. I didn’t step down for anybody. I contested but of course, I did not win. Even when I did not win, I did not go to tribunal and people were prompting me: ‘Madam, why won’t you go to the tribunal?’ I said for good reasoning and for wisdom that if I lose now, what of 2015 and 2019? So, I went back to my business, went back to my private life and started recouping and paying my election debt.

How did you transit into the APC?

Of course, the new party after the merger is the APC. After the the merger, there was a rule or condition given by the party for state exco, if you have to be a state exco in the new party, you must be somebody who contested, a candidate not an aspirant – a candidate of the National Assembly, a gubernatorial candidate – so, if you fall in any of these categories in the new party, then automatically you become a member of the state exco in your state of origin and that was how I came in because I was a senatorial candidate of the CPC. I came into the party and we formed – those of us from the ANPP, the CPC and the ACN – we all came together and formed the merger according to the party’s rule and that was how I became an interim exco member and from there, I singularly started the APC Women Prayer meeting in the interim exco. I started the prayer meeting in order to mobilise and sensitise women about the new party until we went to congress and after the election, I emerged as the substantive APC Woman Leader.

What was your growing up like and how did you grow to become what and who you are now?

It is God. Mighty and great men in this world actually have not been known to come from silver spoon homes – only very few. Every great man or woman in this world comes from a humble background and that is the background that is conducive for easy growth. I am from Bane, in Kana Local Government of Rivers State and that is the same community that Ken Saro-Wiwa came from. I am from the same village with him and he was actually married to my aunt. That being my background, I went through government schools and as the first daughter of my parents, I was encouraged by my grandmother, grandfather and it was like they were looking for a girl child having had some male children and then I came up, so I was the love of the family and they encourage the me through school and I did not disappoint them.

As a girl, growing up in such a background, I am accustomed to the pains of the poor. I am accustomed to injustice. I am accustomed to women deprivations. I am accustomed to so many issues of everyday person. So, growing up among people like that, for goodness sake, it gave me the compassion  up till today that poverty is a bad thing, injustice is  a bad thing and that equal opportunity should be created for everybody and that is why there is need for good governance because if there is good governance, we will use our available resources to create an enabling environment for children and adults, men and women and youths to excel and actually become what God created them to be. So, that was my background and I am happy that I continued to identify with the poor. It is not a class issue whereby people feel that if you are whatever you are, then you look down on the poor. After all, it is the poor that brought us to power now. Isn’t it? In the last election, poor women, poor people in the villages filed out to vote President Buhari into power and that is why APC has come to change the lives of the Nigerian poor and to balance the lives of the Nigerian rich, it is all about equity.

From your days in CPC up till now in APC, you seem to have some attraction for Buhari, what informs this?

I am a woman of God and where there is no godliness, I will never identify. Somebody has track record, his integrity is my attraction, his discipline is my attraction, his forthrightness is my attraction and like I have always said, even if in this 2015 he didn’t win, I will still be following Buhari because there was no party to defect to  wherever he goes, I go (prolonged laughter).

What is your message to Nigerians considering the fact that they are expecting so much from Buhari? People are saying from May 29 women without husbands will be given husbands and that school children will no longer need lunch parks because Buhari will feed them in schools. The change story is a big thing in Nigeria today. What is your take?

We are not General Buhari or the APC, but sincerely speaking, we are not going to disappoint Nigerians. But I also want Nigerians to be realistic, with N60billion debt hanging to inherit, let us be realistic, how is he going to pay off this debt and then to create an equilibrium or a balance for change and for growth? It takes a lot of tact, professionalism, commitment and sacrifice. So, it is not expecting the heavens to open. So, it will take some time because it is not a level playing ground. There are debts and I am talking about debts to be addressed. Nigeria’s economy is dead and for him to resurrect this economy, there should also be sacrifice on the part of the Nigerian people but one thing we promised and I know is that there will be zero-level corruption. Nigeria’s money will be used for Nigerians.

The post How we almost lost three women in one fell swoop during the polls—Rivers APC woman leader appeared first on The Nation.

THE trip to Ghana was supposed to last for a week but due to an unforeseen situation, we had to stay an extra one week. The organization had a guest house in one of the housing estates in Accra and that’s where Flora and I stayed. We were very busy most days as we had to visit several locations where my outfit had ongoing projects in some suburbs of the city like Osu and Jamestown and even some communities many miles from the city.

Then a few days before our return home and with most of the work done, I took some time off so Flora could do some sight seeing as it was her first visit to the country. She had worked really hard and I believed she deserved a treat.

We visited several tourists sites including the popular Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. A wedding reception was taking place in the spacious garden of the centre when we arrived. Inside the mausoleum, we stood silently surveying the final resting place of the late Ghanaian leader. Close by was the grave of his Egyptian wife who the guide informed us had directed her children to bury her close to her husband after her death.

“Her body was brought from Egypt and buried here according to her wish,” the guide explained.

“Their love must have been really strong that even death could not separate them,” Flora commented as we went outside towards the fountain…

The following day Ronnie Blankson, a very good Ghanaian friend of mine called to invite me to join a group of friends that were visiting a beach resort on the outskirts of the city that weekend.

“I won’t take no for an answer. Most times you come to Accra, do your work and run back to that mad Lagos city of yours. You need to take a break, man, learn to relax from all your hard work,” he stated.

“Alright,” I conceded, not in the mood to argue with him. “When are we leaving?”

“Around 10. I’ll come and pick you,” he said. “And Bari,” he added before hanging up. “Make sure you come with that sexy secretary of yours. I want to see her again.”

“See her for what? And she’s my P.A, by the way,” I corrected him. He had met Flora the couple of times he had come to visit me at the guest house.

“Whatever. I like her and I want to be close to her,” he stated.

To a chronic womanizer like Ronnie, that meant one thing and I put my feet down.

“No way, dude! She’s my staff, that makes her off-limits to you. Look elsewhere for your fun and games,” I stated firmly. Whenever, he saw a beautiful lady that he liked, Ronnie, who at 33 was the same age as me, often behaved like a child in a toy shop instead of a grown man.

“Thank God, you said staff and not your wife. So, why are you fencing me off? Or are you interested in her? Are you two…?” he said before I cut him off.

“Nothing of the sort. It’s just that, that girl has been through a lot and I don’t want her to be hurt again,” I explained.

“Who’s going to hurt her? Not me! Infact, I think she will enjoy what I have in mind for her,” he stated with a chuckle.

“Ronnie! You will never change!” I stated in an admonishing tone.

“You know me now! Alright. I get the message- no messing around with your precious P.A. Just come with her, though. I will just chat with her, be on my best behaviour…” he vowed.

I laughed and hung up.

Ronnie’s friends were already there when we arrived at the resort that Saturday. It was built close to the oceanfront with a beach nearby. It was a popular spot for holiday makers, weekend revellers and foreign tourists. Several of these were already at the beach when we got there.

“Aren’t you joining us in the water?” Ronnie asked Flora who had gone to sit under a canopy with the girlfriend of a guy in our group.

“No. I didn’t come with a swim suit,” she stated.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I can always go back to town and get one for you,” he offered.

She gave him one of her radiant smiles.

“Thanks for the offer. But I’m fine. I will just sit here with Efua and watch you guys have fun,” she stated.

“Ah, you’ll miss a lot. Let me…” said Ronnie.

“She said she’s ok so let’s go,” I said, taking his hand and dragging him towards the sea.

“Hey, man! Take it easy! Na which kind bad belle be this as you people love to say in Nigeria…” Ronnie protested, running to join his friends in the water.

After the swim, we played a game of beach volleyball which was keenly watched by a large number of the resort guests.

We later had lunch after which we sat at the open-air bar under some coconut trees to drink and chat. Flora and the other ladies in our group had gone to the gift shop at the resort to ‘browse’ the items as Efua had put it.

“Women and shopping! They never miss an opportunity to buy stuff,” said Ronnie, taking a sip of his cold drink.

“And we always end up picking up the bills!” George, who was Efua’s boyfriend, grumbled.

We all laughed.

Moonlight rendezvous

“Hope you are having fun,” I said to Flora later that evening. We were taking a stroll on the beach after watching a live band that performed at the resort regularly. Ronnie and the others were still there dancing and grooving.

“Yes,” Flora replied as we walked along the nearly deserted beach. “I love this place. It’s beautiful. And it has such a soothing, calming effect on the mind,” she added.

She was right. The soft sea breeze which gently rustled the coconut trees, the moonlight and the sound of the waves of the sea lapping at the shore, created an ambience that could soothe the most troubled soul.

“It’s magical!” she noted enthusiastically, spreading her arms wide. I took a peek at her, noting how the soft moonlight playing on her face, added an extra glow to her radiant looks.

“Oh!” she said suddenly, looking down on the sandy ground.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s like one of my bangles fell,” she stated.

“I’ll look for it,” I said, bending down to search for the ornament. She did the same too and we ended up colliding into each other, falling down on the soft sand.

“Oh! Sorry!” she said, laughing as she tried to get up.

But I held her hand to stop her and drew her to me. I caressed her face as my lips slowly searched for hers. I kissed her and for a while, she was unresponsive. Then she sighed and kissed me back, holding me tightly in her arms. Her soft body, the sweet scent of her, got to my senses and I kissed her like a thirsty man who had finally found water on a hot day.

I unbuttoned her blouse as my lips trailed down her neck towards her bosom. As my fingers reached inside her blouse, my mobile phone which was in my pocket rang. I ignored it at first but it kept ringing incessantly and it broke the spell.

It was Ronnie, asking where we were and that a hot new artiste had arrived from Accra and we would miss his act if we didn’t hurry…

A few days later, we returned to Nigeria. Life went on as usual but things were no longer the same. Before we left Accra, I had apologized to Flora about the incident on the beach, blaming it on the booze I had taken. She was quite understanding about it.

“It’s not your fault. The ambience in that place is something else- it can turn any one’s head,” she stated quietly.

Deep in my heart though, I knew that was not the case. My actions that day had nothing to do with where we were. She was the problem. It was clear to me now that I was in love with her and after that night on the beach, I just could not get her out of my mind or head. Remembering the sensation of holding her in my arms made me realize that that was where I wanted her to be now and forever. By my side. In other words, I wanted her for keeps.

And there lay my dilemma. For by this time, I had already got engaged to Nikki and we were already planning our wedding. But how could I marry one woman while in love with another?

“Dude, you have a serious problem,” my friend, Abel said bluntly, after I had discussed the matter with him.

“You can say that again. I love Flora, yet engaged to Nikki,” I said.

“But one thing is clear. You can’t go ahead with this wedding,” he noted.

I looked at him askiance.

He continued to speak. “Marriage is a serious affair. It’s not something you jump into when you are not sure like you are right now. Doing so can make you jump out quickly and end up divorced. You are obviously confused now. But let me give you a tip that will help you decide. Which of these women fills your heart with joy at the mere sight of her? Whoever it is, should be your choice.”

I took his advice and my heart chose Flora. As a result, I intend meeting Nikki soon to call off the wedding. I know she will be hurt but I can no longer deceive myself. Much as I care about her, it’s Flora that I’m in love with. The woman I want to be with, to be part of my life. I don’t know yet what she feels for me but from her reaction to my caresses that night on the beach, it was obvious she liked me.

I know my family might not be too happy with my decision to call off the wedding or my choice of Flora for that matter. They might have objections to her being a divorcee with two children. But she’s my choice, the one after my heart. For me, its Flora forever.

And since I don’t care about her past, I don’t think it’s anyone’s business to do so. Or what do you think? I will like readers views on this. Thank you.

Concluded

Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity and other individuals in the story

Send comments/advice to 08030822400 (sms only), psaduwa@yahoo.com or psaduwa007@gmail.com

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Faith Paul Achas (Pry 2)

My dream job is to be a lawyer in either a private or a government firm.

A lawyer is an advocate who represents one of the opposing parties in a criminal or civil trial. They also serve as an advisor to counsel clients on legal rights and suggest courses of action.

However, being a lawyer takes hard work, dedication and many years in Law school, so I am prepared to study hard.

Furthermore as a lawyer, I can practice in Law courts, like; Supreme Court, High Court, or Magistrate Court.

In conclusion, I want to be a lawyer so that I can always help people and defend them.

Estherpearl Akin (Pry 3)

My dream job is to be a big visual artist.

A visual artist draws, make paintings and sculptures.

Artists bring joy and wealth to men and women all over the world. When an artist makes a work of art, people are happy see it and  interprete it, and works of art also increase in value, so that collectors can also re sell them.

A person that will become a visual artist must have natural talents in drawing and colouring and must be able to observe things.

I dream of painting portraits and making beautiful designs and pictures that will make people happy and make me very rich. That is why I do a lot of drawings and make things with paper.

I know one day I will be a great artist like Bruce Onabrakpeya and Olu Amoda and I will be famous.

Victoria Agumagu (Pry 1)

A dream job is an occupation one desires to do in future to earn a living. M y dream job is to become a pharmacist.

A pharmacist is someone who provides advice on healthcare and how to use medicines correctly. He or she is also known as a chemist.

To be a pharmacist needs hard work and this means I have to study hard at every stage and remain focused.

I dream of working in a big government hospital, having a wide knowledge about drugs and helping people with their health.

Jasminejoy Akin (Pry 2)

When I grow up, I dream of becoming a Pediatrician. A pediatrician is a doctor that treats illnesses in children.

To become a pediatrician, one must love children, be gentle and kind and also to be a doctor one must not be afraid to see wounds and diseases.

I want to be a pediatrician because I hate to see children in pain or sick with diseases.

I plan to study medicine in the university and get more training in John Hopkins Hospital because I want to be like like Ben Carson in Nigeria to help children get better.

Modeniola Adelekan (Pry 2)

A newscaster present News stories to television, internet or radio audiences on topics related to local and national current events, sports

In order to become a Newscaster, the right education is needed. A degree in Journalism or Mass Communication. These will provide the right training and education necessary to work in this field.

I want to be a Newscaster because I like honesty and I want to make Nigeria great by telling the truth at all times.

Tomilayo Kayode-Onifade (Pry 1)

My dream job is to be a pilot. A pilot is a person who flies any type of aircraft which could either be privately owned, government owned or military owned.

I will become a pilot by performing well in my science subjects and I am not afraid of high places.

I want to be a pilot because it will be fun to fly an airplane and also to help people get safely to their destinations.

The post Dreams of Nigerian children, Essay Title: MY DREAM JOB appeared first on The Nation.

At the close of activities marking the reign of Port Harcourt as UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 last month, the task of finding a balance between the written and oral forms of the African story was the highpoint of Oladipo Agboluaje’s drama piece, Obele and the Storyteller. It was performed at the Atlantic Hall of Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt Rivers State capital, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME. 

The influence of written word over oral tradition in Africa and the dwindling capacity to sustain the storytelling tradition are among the challenges of Obele and the Storyteller and other story tellers.  Also of concern is how can Africans transit from the oral tradition to the written word and be able to master the new one and challenge European narratives about her.

How can they find a balance between the written and oral forms of the African story? How can the effect of the dominant, negative narrative of the westerner be countered for the true African story to emerge in its purity to ennoble the African heritage? How to tell the continent’s story to mask the lie and untruth of the European narrative? Who will bell the cat?

Again, this is the dilemma Obele and his succeeding lines of storytellers faced before the turn of the century.

But, it is the story of the book on Africa as narrated by Obele and the Storyteller at the closing ceremony of UNESCO Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014 in the Rivers State capital recently. It was a production of Bikiya Graham-Douglas-led Betta Universal Arts

Foundation, written by Oladipo Agboluaje and directed by Israel Eboh.

One wrong turn and Obele’s story grows wings in a completely different direction that negates the virtues of the clan and upturns common lore. In a post-haste manner that Africans seek commercial gains at the expense of commonsense and morality and why they sold their own kith and kin into slavery centuries back, Obele’s story finds a ready hand that documents it in a book, but the logic has been corrupted. Rather than uphold the values that the oral tale spells out, a corrupted version is woven to make Obele a liar. Armed with this twisted tale that is at variance with Obele’s, the white man arrives just after the Berlin Conference of 1884 where the European powers shared out the continent among themselves, and begins to draw arbitrary boundaries that separate a people that once lived as one.

When they protest, the white man holds up Obele’s book, as fact and oracle for his self-appointed mandate of adjudicating for the people and the land and carving them up into convenient portions for his selfish use.

Even Obele’s protest to the contrary falls on deaf ears; her own people feel betrayed and blame her for their woes. They drive her out of town for betraying her heritage and selling out. And so Obele embarks on the journey of recovering her story so it could be written in the light in which she told it originally. But this proves an arduous task, as she wanders from one civilization to another, from one country to another to find the man who upturned her tale for a wrong one to emerge.

When she finds him at last close to a university town, things take a different dimension. The fraudster of historical patrimony had grown rich on his subversion of the African story. How to retrieve Obele’s tale and restore it to its original form? This becomes a hard task; the fraudster would not oblige her. But her encounter with a student who is determined to write a counter-narrative to the ones the likes of Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness) and Joyce Carry (Mr. Johnson) had written about Africans revives her spirit; she sees a chance to restore her tale and dignity. Conrad and Carry had written these tales to suite and sustain European bias against the continent still unable to write about herself.

But things soon change with the education the colonial government introduces that educates the first young crop of Africans who soon catch up with the lies and false narratives of the west against Africa. They also begin conscious revisionist efforts to rewrite accurately both the historical and fictional accounts of their beloved continent that had been so maligned and marginalized by dominant western narratives.

This is the crux of Obele and the Storyteller, the conscious, accurate retelling of the African story by her sons and daughters. And the story is told from back to front from the past unto modern times, especially the fictional tales, which are, in a sense, the old oral tales retold with modern, European tongues of the written texts, for a wider audience and education of the entire world.

Obele and the Storyteller is a fascinating performance that reenacts a continent’s battered tale and retelling aright by her own children, who use the modern, written tool of the white man. It’s a dance drama also, which greatly endeared it to its audience, with its energetic dances and moving songs and use of folk narrative elements like animals that communicate with humans and all. Obele is Africa’s story of encounter with the west and the emergence book and how African storytellers have since appropriated the book to tell the continent’s tales to a world audience the correct way.

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• Day Delta communities shut down Jones Creek flow station

PENULTIMATE Thursday, May 21, dozens of placard-wielding Ijaw and Itsekiri communities’ leaders and their members stormed the Jones Creek flow station of the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company to protest perceived unfair deals allegedly meted to them by the management of the national oil firm and its contractor, Nestoil Nigeria Limited.

Their posters expressed their dissatisfaction over the relationship with the oil firms: ‘No More Divide and Rule in Jones Creek’, ‘Comply With Local Content Laws’, NPDC/NESTOIL Flouting Local Content Laws,’ among others, were inscriptions on the placards.

For four days, the Ijaw and Itsekiri protesters shut down the facility reputed to be one of the largest producing oil facilities in the African continent. By the time they finally left the scene last Sunday, May 24, the nation, oil industry and the companies had suffered massive loss resulting from downtime and lost man-hour.

The Jones Creek Flow Station, one of several oil wells from which Anglo Dutch Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has divested its stake, is reputed to be one of the largest and most prolific oil installations in the company’s Western Operation. It has a production capacity of about 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The facility is jointly hosted by four Ijaw communities of Kokodaigbene, Okerenkoko, Akpatagbegbe and Akpataekpemu located in Warri South West Local Government Area and an Itsekiri community of Omadino in Warri South LGA of Delta State.

The inheritance of the oil facility by NPDC has been dogged by several controversies; from host communities calling for the firm and its contractors, mostly Nestoil and Lee Engineering Limited, to engage them in dialogue over the sharing of lucrative contracts and patronages, to the debate over ownership of the licence to Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 on which it is located.

Environment activist and chairman of Kokodiagbene community, who led penultimate Thursday’s protest, Sheriff Mulade, told The Nation that the communities were not bothered by the debacle over ownership of the licence. He said their major concerns were their stakes in the facilities and how to get the benefits due them, adding that the host communities were determined to extract their due in spite of whoever wins the licence ownership tussle.

He disclosed that the issues that led to the invasion and disruption of activities at the station bordered on an alleged breach of the terms of the Freedom to Operate (FTO) given to the NPDC before its re-entry to Jones Creek.

“The agreement was that NPDC will manage 60 percent of the contracts, while the host communities will be given 40percent in the area of pipeline repair, dredging and revamping. The NPDC’s share (60 percent) was given to Nestoil, a contractor to NPDC. What NPDC said is that they don’t have fund, so Nestoil would pay the (host) contractors their 40 percent of any job completed or agreed milestone.

“NPDC also agreed with communities to build infrastructural projects; some communities like Kokodiagbene have three housing units of two bedrooms. Others were allotted two in line with the re-entry agreement.

“There are also community development projects, like the electrification project, where host communities will be connected electrically through Jones Creek flow stations. All these community development projects are expected to run simultaneously with the construction jobs,” he added.

Mulade further claimed that there was a gentlemen agreement with NPDC on the employment of communities’ members. He said although there was no concrete decision on this deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) subsidiary, there was an understanding that managerial positions would also be given to them.

In the case of Nestoil, he said it was agreed that the management of the company would source and employ 60 percent of the skilled workers, while communities get 40percent; while on menial labour jobs, the formula would be 60/40 percent in favour of the host communities.

“Sadly, we found out that on site, Nestoil has four 100-man houseboats  that is over 400 workers, excluding communities workers. Yet, communities were entitled to just 10 slots each, which gives the five communities a total of 40 out of a possible 400 workers on site. This is a gross violation of the agreement and the FTO signed with them. That is one of our reasons for stopping the operation. The 40 allocated to the communities is not allocated to us in terms of contracting employment.

“Outside the failure of that agreement, Nestoil, in connivance with top personnel of NPDC who are indirectly directors of Nestoil has not been fair to the communities in the area of 40 percent contract specified in the dredging aspect which is over 90% complete,” Mulade alleged in an interview with our reporter after the siege.

Spirited attempts by our reporter to get the views of Nestoil on the community leader’s allegations were futile. Series of telephone calls to the switchboard of the company’s headquarters in Lagos were passed to key officials who refused to comment on the protest.

Ifeoma Oragwu, who was listed under ‘Corporate Communication and Business Development’, refused to answer our reporter’s inquiry, after initially denying knowledge of the protest by the host community. She said: “I do not speak for the company”.

Pressed for information and link to a competent mouthpiece of the organisation, she asked for our reporter’s telephone number and promised to get in touch, but she was yet to do so at the time of concluding this report on Tuesday evening  that was over 24 hours afterwards.

At the project site, two officials of the company, simply identified as Odili and Iyke  Project and Site managers respectively, reportedly told the aggrieved locals that they were aware that the company’s management was in discussion to resolve the issues raised.  One of them said he “believed that some payments had been made.”

Nevertheless, Mulade, who volunteered information on his people’s grouse with NPDC/Nestoil partnership, accused some of the companies’ officials of using tactics to blackmail “host contractors who refused to dance to their tune”.

He alleged that the NPDC officials were wont to arm-twist locals to part with their contract allocation for stipend or a percentage of the profits. Such contracts, he said, were usually done by the oil workers using proxy firms that are paid in record time, unlike their local counterparts.

Besides that, another issue concerns lack of employment for youths, men and women from the host communities”, Mulade said.

“There have been a lot of altercations over this matter and it has led to the stoppage of the company’s operation on several occasions. The last one, we discussed and they asked for two months to clear all contractors’ (debts) and at the end, nothing came.

“Again, we issued threats and they invited us and they asked and got two weeks; still nothing. Then there was another month and a week before the action.

“The very painful and sad part is that as we are giving them time, they would be rushing in more workers to quicken the job; they want to complete the job and run away without meeting their obligations to us.

“Our action (invasion of the platform) opened our eyes to some of the things that are going on behind our back. For instance, they are already doing the upgrade, civil jobs, piling and even working on wells allocated to the communities. These are unacceptable acts which we hope to stop,” he vowed.

However, at the time of filing this report on Wednesday, sanity had returned to the area after a truce was brokered by the Joint Task Force, through the Commander, 3 Battalion of the Nigeria Army, Col Ekong Bassey, last Saturday. Ekong invited the two sides for a roundtable meeting in his office at the Effurun Barracks.

Some of the communities’ leaders, who spoke with The Nation after the meeting, expressed satisfaction with Col. Bassey’s handling of the dispute. They said it was a break from the past experience when the oil firms and their servicing companies used the force of the military to stifle genuine and peaceful protest.

“That had always been the problem because they (companies) would tell you that if you disrupt the Federal Government’s job, you will have to face the wrath of the federal might, which is usually the army and navy. The military would be deployed and without hearing our side of the story, they would descend on us. But the CO listened, investigated what was happening and he understood that our issues were genuine.”

However, there were conflicting signals from a follow-up meeting held on Monday at the Effurun Barrack. Mulade told our reporter: “We were able to get the company to agree that all outstanding debts would be paid within two weeks, while henceforth, due to the distrust we now have for them, communities would now be mobilising side-by-side with Nestoil; if there is no money to mobilise community contractors, then they too should not be able to work.

“Also, we have decided that after this job, Nestoil may be declared a persona non grata in Jones Creek because we (communities) would no longer grant them the needed FTO. We will now be carrying out headcount of workers on site to avoid a situation where the company employs arbitrarily without giving us our due 40percent.”

Col. Bassey, who confirmed that there were discussions between the two sides, declined to divulge details. He said: “They are discussing but they were not able to arrive at any conclusion, but work is ongoing in the Jones Creek.”

Investigation also revealed that there could be more protests at the Jones Creek facilities as the communities are also girding their loins in preparation for similar face-off with another indigenous firm, Lee Engineering Limited.

A source in one of the Ijaw communities disclosed: “What Nestoil does is what Lee Construction is also doing. They are both NPDC contractors and we believe they have the backing of NPDC in whatever they are doing. Whenever we have issues with them, they use the military to intimidate us but we are determined to get justice.”

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IN continuation of my article of last week, we will be looking at how to solve sibling rivalry. In most cases, it is natural for sisters and brothers to quarrel  although it is not pleasant for people in the house when this happens because a family can only tolerate a certain amount of conflict. The big question is how do we solve this problem of sibling rivalry?

When your children start fighting, if possible, try not to get involved. Only step in if there is a danger of physical harm. If you always intervene, you stand the risk of creating other problems. On the other hand, your children will start expecting you to come to their rescue every time they have problems among themselves instead of them learning to work out their differences on their own. You might be passing the wrong signal to your children that one child is always being protected which could foster even more resentment. In addition, the rescued child may start feeling that he/she can get away with anything. Even then, encourage your children to settle their problems themselves. In case, you have to step in, try to resolve problems with your children not for them.

More so, here are some useful tips to guide parents when getting involved. In  a fighting situation, for example, separate them and tell them to go and calm down. Don’t ask questions at the heat of the situation; wait until they are calm enough to talk, otherwise the fight can escalate again. To make the whole scenario a learning experience, you have to wait until the emotion has died down. In the process of getting involved, don’t put too much attention on finding out who is at fault. Remember it takes two to start a fight, so any one involved in a fight is partly responsible. Next, try to set up a win win situation so that each child gains something. If they are fighting for the same toy, give them a game that both can play together instead. As children learn to manage differences among their siblings, they are also learning an important skill that will help them in life, for example, to know how to value another person’s perspective, how to negotiate and compromise and then how to control temper.

Furthermore, there are certain steps parents should take to help children avoid fighting and so on. These steps are: setting boundaries- children should be fully informed about what behaviour is acceptable, especially when it comes to dealing with siblings. Tell them there should be no name calling, no fighting, no cursing, no yelling, and no playing with doors or door slamming. Also emphasise  the consequences when they break the rules. This teaches children that they are responsible for their own actions regardless of the situation. Parents, in handling sibling rivalry, should discourage the attitude of who is wrong and who is right. In addition, no child should make you think that everything always has to be fair and equal. In some cases, a particular child might need more attention than the other due to some circumstances.

If your children are always struggling with things like TV remote, video games, and so on, post a schedule showing which child should have the item at what particular time of the day, but if they keep fighting over it , then don’t hesitate to take the item from them completely.

Another step to take is the reward system. Parents should encourage the child who reports to an adult instead of engaging in a fight with his or her sibling. Consider establishing a programme where your children earn points towards a fun family oriented activity when they work together to stop battling.

To handle the issue of sibling rivalry, younger teenagers should have their own space which should be respected. They should have time to do their own things and play with their own friends without their siblings tagging along. Sometimes they should be allowed to enjoy activities all by themselves without sharing.

Spending quality time with your family is also an important aspect of solving sibling rivalry. Enjoying special moments with children creates a bond among siblings. It could be watching a movie at home or playing outside or doing things. You are establishing a peaceful way for your children to spend time together and relate to one another. Therefore, helping them to ease tensions and getting you involved as a parent or guardian.

Another way of tackling sibling rivalry is: never compare children with one another. The case of why can’t you be like your brother or sister must not be said because it can lead to jealousy which is one of the factors of sibling rivalry. Note there is no way children are going to have easy relationship if jealousies and rivalries are permitted to exist between them. As parents or guardians, don’t give the impression that one child is better than the other in certain areas. Let your children understand that they are gifted and unique in their own ways, so show love, care and appreciation to them at all times.

Every child wants to be loved and appreciated by their parents.

Don’t have a favourite child. Having a favourite child is wrong. Some people will say to you that it’s not bad to have one or that it is impossible not to have a favourite child among your children. Under no circumstances should you admit to your children that you have a favourite, not even by words or actions. You must love your children equally.

Teach your children tolerance. Today children interact with people of different cultures, religions and tribes in school and outside school. Charity, they say, begins at home, so we must teach our children how to accommodate different personalities, starting from their siblings to others. As parents or guardians, we should know that we are our children’s role models.  So for us to teach tolerance in every form to our children, they must see through us. As a result, parents who show tolerance in their everyday lives are actually sending a powerful message and in return their children learn to appreciate differences and they respect others.

Finally seek professional help for sibling rivalry, if it is so severe that it is leading to marital problems, or creating a real danger of physical harm or wellbeing to any family member and so on.

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

The post Dealing with sibling rivalry (2) appeared first on The Nation.

The children milled in front of the gate to the park in expectation not minding the stern looking policemen stationed to man the gate. They waited impatiently not necessarily because there was an invitation extended to them to come there. They must have heard the fun spot is ready and being Children’s Day, what better place was there to spend the day than the park?

The day was far gone, but the children kept hope alive. Finally, around 3:00pm, a lady in yellow top and black jeans came and informed the policemen that the children should be allowed to go in. They overheard her and rushed to enter.

They milled and pushed themselves in and sprinted from the parking area down to the main gate of the park.

Inside, there were cups of chilled Coca- cola products to refresh with. They then dashed to the fun area. It was very obvious that these children both from rich and poor homes had been longing for a place like this.

The first impression one gets on entering the park is the feeling that one is in one of those fun spots that dot the city. The buildings are built in the Arabian style architecture. The flat top with horns, the dark yellow paint and the rough wall all remind one of Dubai Jumeirah. This is a kind of mini Jumeirah tucked inside Apapa.

Some years ago, the Apapa Amusement Park used to be the number one leisure spot for family entertainment. Families trooped to the leisure spot for healthy family entertainment. That was before the rot set in and the park fell into decay and at the end of the day collapsed.

Years after, just as the Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola administration in Lagos was winding up, a couple of tourist offerings were added to the state, giving residents and tourist visitors options for entertainment and relaxation. A few weeks after the commissioning of the family fun park at the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lekki, another major family fun spot was added. The Apapa Amusement Park is back and better.

The park tucked opposite the Apapa General Hospital, the new place has upped the ante in terms of choice fun spot for family. The park has just done a soft opening last Wednesday in honour of former Governor Fashola.

The Lagos State government had concessioned it to the company to redevelop and bring back the former fun of the place.

The new Apapa Amusement Park is bigger and with better facilities than what were there before. In addition, there has been an addition of conference centre and indoor game facilities. There is also a mini-football field for visitors.

Entering the game area, on the right is the rocket, the tea cup, carousel, pirate ship and many other games were all available. It is a place that one could easily spend the whole day without knowing.

The managing director of Crystal Cubies Construction Company, the company the park was concessioned to, Mr.  Rabih Jaafar, spoke about the new Apapa Amusement Park.

He said the company had to start from the scratch. “When we came here, our engineer, that is our partner, had the vision of an amusement park that he had seen in Dubai. All these buildings you see, they are like what you see in Dubai’s Jumeirah, so he had the vision of building a kind of  a smaller version of Jumeirah because of  the land.

“That is what we have done here. For the rides, we went through children and adults. It is not only for children. There are amusement facilities for teenagers and adults also. They will be improved upon in the near future,”Jaafar said.

He talked about the facilities so far put in place and what would be added in future.

bumper cars

“There is the disco ride. It is for adults. It can take 24 persons. There is also the bumper cars for adults and children, the carousel for children and adults, the rockets, the pirate ship for children, the spinner and the tea cup for children.

“ We also have an air bicycle for fun and exercise. It is not electrically operated, you paddle it. With the children playing at the carousel, the adults could have fun with the air bicycle and still monitor them from the top.

“It is a total fun spot for the family. You can come here and spend your day easily having fun. We will have snacks, pop-corn and ice-cream points.

“There is the 7-D cinema facility. We have indoor games. We are going to add an arcade  in the next two or three months. Hopefully there will be  gym and conference facilities.

“With what we have here on ground, there is no need to go out of Lagos. Sorry to say it, now there is not a place to go and spend the full day in family entertainment. That is what we have here. It is a good place for tourists to come to while in Lagos.

“ We brought in experts to put this together. They have done it in Lebanon and in Senegal. This is their second construction in Africa. In Lebanon, they have done about seven. This is the second one in Africa.

“If things go well, we are thinking of building others within Lagos and later out of Lagos. We have offers to build outside Lagos, but we first want to put this one on sound footing”,he said.

Some of the parents that brought their children to the park commented also. “It is a pleasure to have such a place here  in Apapa. It is a place that I will always bring my children. They really had a good time” said Mrs. Atinuke Ajao who came with two children.

Although almost every thing needed for families to have a good time has been put in the place, the management of the park said what was done on the Children’s Day was simply a soft opening for children to  also feel the facilities and enjoy themselves for that day.

The doors of the park would be fully  thrown wide open to fun lovers in the middle of July at the end of the Ramadan.

The post Apapa Amusement Park: Coming alive again appeared first on The Nation.

• Nigerians recount mixed experiences as fuel scarcity nearly shut nation down

THE situation has variously been described as hellish, harrowing or catastrophic. Whichever way it is described, Nigerians will for long remember the hassles they passed through in the last one week and pray never to experience such again.

Although the people are already accustomed to the trauma of epileptic power supply and fuel scarcity, nothing could have prepared their minds for the total lockdown instigated by complete blackout and lack of fuel.

The experience was mixed feelings for residents of Lagos. While a larger percentage of the people lamented the double-edged trauma of blackout and fuel scarcity, others smiled to the banks as they made unprecedented gains from brisk business.

For several days, many residents of the city resorted to trekking long distances as commercial motorists hiked fares beyond their reach. Findings also revealed that many hospitals and their patients, especially those who were to undergo surgical operations, suffered grievously as there was no power supply or sufficent fuel to power their generators.

Lamenting the situation, a nurse in one of the public hospitals in Alimosho area of Lagos State recalled that the hospital literally went through the eye of the needle to get petrol to save the lives of their patients.

She said: “We would have lost so many patients, especially those that were to undergo surgical operations. When we were about exhausting the petrol that we had left, our chief medical director became very angry and instructed us to comb every nook and cranny of the state to get petrol so that the lives of the patients would not be endangered.

“Luckily for us and the patients, we got some fuel on the outskirts of Lagos, albeit at very high price. We used the fuel strictly for the patients and had to do away with air conditioners and other electrical appliances which could have consumed more fuel. It was not a good experience but the sacrifice was worth it because we saved the lives of our patients.”

While many Nigerians bemoaned the hardship and prayed that the situation would end as soon as possible, petrol attendants, black market operators, water sellers and motor park touts, among others, smiled to the bank, praying that the problem would persist.

While many major filling stations in the city had no fuel, black market operators displaying gallons of the product on major roads and selling at exorbitant rates. At a point, they sold five litres for as high as N5, 000. And even in spite of the astronomical rates, motorists and other users of the product begged to buy it from them.

A trader who spoke with The Nation said: “How can I wish that the scarcity would end? Would you wish that your source of income shuts down? My standard of living has improved in the last few weeks that the scarcity started. It is a very lucrative business that can make one to become stupendously rich within a short time.

“We get it from the petrol stations above the official pump price and add our own margin when selling to the people. There is no fixed profit margin. Demand determined the price we sold the products. If it were possible, I would wish the scarcity continues indefinitely because it would enable me to raise sufficient money to start a viable business.”

Before the scarcity began, Shuaib Adamu, a water seller in Akoka, Yaba area of the state, charged N300 each time he delivered 10 jerry cans of water to his clients. But with the scarcity, Adamu jacked up his fee to N600, forcing his clients who had difficulty getting petrol to pump water for household use to pay through their noses.

He said: “It is true that I am making more money than I was doing before. But the truth is that, I did not increase my fee to exploit my clients. I am forced to increase the price because the price has also increased where I buy the water from. The people also use petrol, which they have been buying at high prices to pump water. And for them to recover the money they have invested in the business, they have no alternative but to increase the price.”

Motor park touts have also made the most of the problem as they equally hiked the tolls they usually collect from commercial drivers, who in turn hiked their fares by more than 200 per cent in some areas.

A tout, who asked not to be named, said: “It is not possible for us to continue to collect what we were collecting from them in the past. The fare determines how much we charge, but it is always an addition of what two passengers pay. If the passengers pay N200, we would collect N400 from them.

“It has been a bountiful season for us. Although we remit a substantial part of the money to our bosses, we have been smiling home since the scarcity started. There is a season for everything in life. For us, this is our season and there is nothing anybody can do about it.”

The blackout was another opportunity for some smart Nigerians to make brisk business. Among them were those who charged handsets at public places. Aside from jacking up their charges from N20 to N50, they also added charging of rechargeable lamps to their business.

A lady, who identified herself as Busayo, confessed that the business is her own little way of getting increased income.

She said: “This is an opportunity for me to up my income. It doesn’t come all the time. Those of you doing white collar jobs would have your salaries increased every year. I have not had this kind of patronage in a very long time. I have the scarcity to thank for it.

“But for the scarcity, would all these people come and charge their phones and lamps here? I would appreciate if it continues because it has been helping me to pay my bills, although I also have some areas of life where it also affects me.”

In Kano, the scarcity of fuel inflicted untold hardship on residents, just as business and commercial activities were affected. Vehicular movement was reduced as car owners abandoned their cars and elected to use the few commercial vehicles available. Many who could not afford the high fares charged by transporters trekked long distances to their places of work.

A banker, Mrs. Patricia John, who spoke to The Nation, said she was forced to rise up earlier than she used to in order to get to work early.

She said: “I am a banker, and as such, must report to the office before 8 am. I don’t have a car yet, so I depend on public transport. Before the fuel scarcity, I spent N200 on transportation every day. But now, I spend nothing less than N800. For that reason, I have resorted to trekking to work every day. It is a terrible situation.”

Investigations also revealed that many traders in the city have resorted to trekking to the market with astronomical rise in transport fares. In most parts of the ancient city, residents now sleep outside at night because of intense heat.

With the total blackout across the city, coupled with high cost of fuel at between N200 and N250, only a few rich could afford it to power their generators. For many, the situation opened an opportunity for local producers of hand-fans to make brisk business.

Checks across the city also showed that most filling stations had no fuel to sell to motorists, with queues of vehicles, motorbikes and tricycles stretching several kilometers.

A filling station manager, Alhaji Manir Sule, said: “There is trouble in the land. There is no fuel supply coming from the depots, we are experiencing bad market and we don’t know when this scarcity will subside. We are praying to Allah to come to the rescue of the people who are suffering from this perennial fuel scarcity in the country.”

Mr. Denis Ukauwa, another station manager, said: “It seems there is sabotage in the present scarcity. I cannot rule out the possibility of oil merchants engaging in racketeering by deliberately hoarding fuel and making life unbearable for Nigerians.”

It was also observed that fuel sold at different prices in most of the filling stations visited by our correspondent. Most independent marketers in the city sold petrol between N200 to N250 per litre. Interestingly, the gates of most major marketers were under lock, with ‘no fuel’ sign pasted on their gates. The fare for a distance of about a kilometre or two, which previously went for N50 has since been increased to N100.

Speaking with our correspondent, the North-West Zonal Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Muhammadu Lawal Danzaki, said that the fuel scarcity that is being experienced in the country will linger for a while. He blamed the scarcity on what he described as the nefarious activities of the Deport Market Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) and major marketers of fuel.

Danzaki explained that the major marketers and deport owners association may have resorted to their present action because of the fear of the policy the incoming administration may adopt. To end the scarcity, Danzaki said the government needs to build new refineries, while the old ones are refurbished and put back on track.

In Calabar, the Cross River State capital, the first indication that something was amiss was the unusually quiet and empty roads. For a city known for hustling and bustling, the situation has virtually turned Calabar into a ghost town.

In the capital city, almost all filling stations were shut while the few that were selling sold for between N150 and N200 per litre. Major marketers, like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mobil and Oando, among others, did not have the product.

The few filling stations belonging to independent marketers, which sold fuel, had long queues of vehicles as motorists fought tooth and nail to get the product. Expectedly, black market operators cashed in on the situation to sell at N300 per litre.

Transport fares also doubled, even as many commuters were stranded due to the scarcity of taxis and buses on the roads. Heated arguments between commercial drivers and passengers became common place. The passengers would argue that salaries had not been paid, insisting they would not pay more than they used to. The drivers on the other hand would point to the prevailing fuel situation to say they would not collect the usual rates.

Prices of foodstuff and other necessities sky-rocketed, leaving some residents to describe their experiences as hellish.

An independent marketer, who did not want to be named, said: “Sincerely, I cannot explain what is happening. Initially, I thought it was because of politics, but I cannot really say so any longer. In my two filling stations, as I speak to you, we don’t even have fuel and it is unfortunate. The only way out of all these is that our refineries should be fixed, and this is a task I hope the Buhari administration should maake a priority.”

David Effiong, a car owner in Calabar, said in dealing with the situation, he had to park his car and resort to public transportation despite the double price. “My brother, I cannot even find petrol to buy. So the best thing is just to leave the car at home,” he said.

Asuquo Inyang, another car owner, said he had stopped using his car, except for very important assignments. “For me, there is no more frivolous driving around town. I take the shortest cuts to wherever I am going now. I go there straight and I come back home. No detours.

“At home, we ration petrol. At least, I was lucky to have up to 20 litres in the house now to use for the generator. I have also ensured that the generator is not put on until 10 pm. With that, we can ration the little fuel and make sure it lasts us up to eight days.”

In Lokoja, Kogi State, the untold hardship visited on residents of the state as a result of grueling fuel scarcity is better imagined. At the onset, the effect of the fuel debacle was limited to motorists and commuters. But with time, it became more biting.

With the total blackout in most parts of the capital city, a large part of Lokoja ran on generator. Across the city, fuel sold at N280 per litre in some of the filling stations, while black market operators charged more. The result was a near paralysis of both economic and social activities.

There was also a threat of epidemic, with refuse piling up on public roads as a result of the inability of the state waste disposal unit to evacuate refuse dumped at strategic points. With the reported breakdown of the greater Lokoja water system due to lack of fuel to run the machines, the city is gradually being taken over by stench.

All around town, the few filling stations with fuel sold at between N200 and N250 per litre. A particular filling station in the city opened its gates to motorists, selling at N120 per litre. But by the end of the same day, the filling station had increased the pump price to N280.

In some parts of the capital city, residents resorted to sleeping in the open at night to avoid the suffocating heat indoors, while several closed water wells were reopened. Several households went back to using firewood for cooking.

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, blamed the situation on the outgoing government. According to him, the government ruined the nation’s economy and put the future of the people in jeopardy.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while motorists and other petrol users lamented non-availability of fuel in the country. Black market operators smiled to the banks, celebrating the huge profits they made from the sale of fuel.

Black market operators said they wanted the fuel scarcity to bite harder so that they could continue to make more money.

Across the city, more and more filling stations shut their gates, while those who managed to have fuel adjusted their metres in order to make more money.

A visit to filling stations located at Ada-George Road, Rumueme in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, showed that they sold fuel for N200 per litre. Black market operators also seized the opportunity to sell the product at N300 per litre.

Speaking with The Nation, some black marketers confessed that they had made between N500, 000 and N800, 000 in the last one week, adding that they were enjoying the situation and praying it would linger.

A black marketer, who did not want to be named, said he had made enough money to take care of his needs for the whole year, adding that he was praying fervently for the scarcity to continue.

“I don’t want the scarcity to end for now. I even pray that the whole thing should get worse. Since I was born, it is in the last few days of fuel scarcity that I made the highest cash in my life. As for me, Nigeria is in a good condition.

Another black marketer said: “I supplied to banks and other companies in town. Before now, almost all the marketers had shut down their filling stations. It was only the black marketers that were selling. Even the filling stations that were selling were over-crowded, so the people were left with no choice but to patronise us.

“The serious black marketers get their products from the men in the creek and shift them down to town for quick money. To be frank, I wish the condition should continue for a long time.”

However, commercial drivers see the situation differently. Mr. Emeka Ejiofor Martin, a bus driver said: “We are living in hell now. It is actually very difficult to cope with the present challenges. My family members are suffering. Some passengers prefer to trek than pay the high fares we are charging them.”

A female cab driver, Nkechiyere Oha, said: “I am solidly behind President Buhari for saying that he will have nothing to do with subsidy. Let this country forget anything about subsidy and let the product be available at all times. Nigerians are suffering and we don’t know what to do.”

The situation was the same in most parts of Kwara State as the residents groaned under the yoke of fuel scarcity and total blackout. In most filling stations in Ilorin, the capital city, fuel sold for between N120 and N160. Many of the filling stations owned by major petroleum marketers put their gates under lock and key.

A few of the stations run by members of the Independent Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN) sold a litre of fuel for between N130 and N150.

To compound an already harrowing situation, it was gathered that a few of the filling stations which had fuel did not have gas or diesel to power their generators.

The ubiquitous commercial motorcyclists had a field day as they charge between N70 and N100 per drop, depending on distance.

A factional Chairman of IPMAN in the state, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Olopade, said that most independent marketers buy the product at private depots in Lagos.

“Before you can talk of availability of petrol, it has to be complemented with loading from Ilorin depot. Once we are not loading from Ilorin depots, we find it difficult to regularise or regulate anything.”

Authorities of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) had to suspend the second semester examination for three days. Spokesperson of the Students Union Government (SUG), Kamil Sodiq DanFulani, said that the reason for the postponement was to reduce the stress associated with the prevailing situation ahead of the semester exam.

Also, almost all private schools in the state instructed their students to stay away from school for three days.

“We will like to inform you that the school will be closed for three days only (due to fuel scarcity) starting on Wednesday, May 27 (Children’s Day), May 28 and 29 (Democracy day),” a text message to the parents read.

Just like in the other parts of the country, residents of Kaduna State continued to lament lack of fuel at most filling stations across the state.

Some residents who spoke with The Nation described as unfortunate the pain they were going through. While most of the filling stations within Kaduna metropolis were under lock and key, the few filling stations which had stock of the product sold for between N140 to N150 per litre.

Within the Kaduna metropolis, major marketers like Total, Oando and Mobil, occasionally dispense at the official N87 per litre. Black marketers who displayed fuel along major roads in the city sold the product ‎‎in gallons at between N200 to N250 per litre. It was observed that most of the vendors, who chose to display their products near popular filling stations, sold 10-litre fuel at N2,000 while those who operated outside filling stations sold at N2,500.

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A new play Batonga produced as a means of giving back and influencing positive change in the society will make its debut today at the Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School, St. Finbars Road, Akoka, Bariga Lagos. The play, which will be directed by Gbenga Yussuf will be performed for one hour starting from 4pm. It is targeted at children as a form of education and employment opportunity for the youth. Batonga is set to offer viewers the child trafficking business lesson and is expected to hold in 3 locations in Lagos. It will draw its casts from mostly unknown young actors and actresses in the creative sector.

It is a project initiated by Terra Kulture with the support of Ford Foundation to promote theatre in public spaces intended to show that theatre can thrive even when there is no purpose built infrastructure.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Kulture Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters ‘we believe talent and creativity should not be limited or held back by want of proper facilities, but that we can make do with what is available and by being innovative and creative we can use what we have to get what we want. We believe that success with this initiative will inspire the growth and proliferation of neighbourhood theatres, help develop talents, create employment and help get kids off the streets.’

She said the project would enable them to take theatre to public schools, parks, play grounds and open spaces easily accessible to children and the youth. She noted that the project would focus on plays with social messages that are educative, informative and capable of instigating change.

“We will invite public schools in the neighbouhoods to arrange for their students to attend.  We will also reach out to community associations to help spread word about the play coming to their neighbourhood,” she added.

Ford Foundation Representative Mr Innocent Chuwuma said that the foundation’s involvement is part of coming back to its legacy-art and culture in West Africa noting that though it was down played few years ago. “A new management at Ford is bringing that back. We are also exploring new ideas on other things that could be done in that area. Art and culture is a barrier breaker and everybody has a message to take away from it. This is what we want to do more. Let’s take over public spaces with arts. Until now, the elites have been offered lots of cultural shows as against the low appearances in the suburb areas,” Chukwuma said. He observed that Terra Kulture has revolutionized theatre growth in Lagos

The aims of the project include to use the platform to propagate social messages, create awareness about the potentials of careers in the theatre, create employment and economic benefits and get children off the streets, encourage investment in theatre and heater infrastructure, create a source of recreation and entertainment to families who ordinarily will not engage in recreational activities by taking it to their neighbourhood.

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ALL COLOURS: Colours are synonymous with fashion,though a specific colour rules per season, but at this season white should not be included to avoid being stained or discomfort when going out.
VIVID PRINT: This is a print that is now firmly entrenched in many women’s wardrobes. It is mostly worn by women who are fashionista.
JACKET: Smart blazers or jackets of any colour are worn on jeans trousers. They are suitable for formal and informal outings. Most women put on ties whenever it is worn and some don’t. Blazers make a fashionista look smart on any occasion. Having a suit in your wardrobe can really help you mix and match some of the outfits in your collection.

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DEAR reader, I welcome you to the last edition of the series of teachings for this month. I want you to know that it is not just reading alone that guarantees your desired result. It is taking practical steps based on what you have read so far that can guarantee your success. Today, we shall be looking at another vital topic, which will really pave way for your marriage titled, God’s Instruments for Formation.

1.  The Word of God

How does God form your marriage before it can become a reality? It is by His Word! Not just by prayer, but by His Word! This is because when you pray contrary to the Word of God, He doesn’t hear you.

Some people will say, “Oh! Just pray for me, just put your hand on my head so that my marriage can be successful.” There is nothing wrong with that, but it has to be done in accordance with God’s Word! If you do not pay attention to the Word of God that has been gathered by His breath to form you, no matter the intensity of prayer offered on your behalf it will not yield the desired result. Until you allow yourself to be formed by the breath of the Almighty God which is His Word, you can never become what He destined you to be.  It is my prayer that after reading this article and you apply the Word of God, your marriage, family and life will become what God has destined it to be in the name of Jesus Christ!

When God is forming you and I by His Word, it doesn’t have to be convenient.  I wish the clay can talk in the hands of the potter when he is forming and reforming it. But the clay keeps enduring, even when it is not convenient. Why? This is because a better tomorrow lies ahead.

The clay must subject itself to the formation of the potter if it must become a centre of attraction tomorrow. God wants to turn your marriage and family to a centre of attraction. But before that will happen, you must be ready to subject yourself to the formation of the Almighty God, Who initiated marriage, by His Word.

2. Dwell According to Knowledge

The major reason for crises in marriages today is because husband and wife do not fully understand their God-given responsibilities in a marriage set-up. A person cannot do that which he does not know. If a person does not know his duties in a marriage, he cannot fulfil his obligations. The Word of God says: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered ( 1 Peter 3:7).

The main emphasis here is the phrase, “Dwell with them according to knowledge.” The word “dwell” is translated from the Greek word, “Sunoikeo”, which is used to denote domestic association. This association is to be done according to knowledge. For any marriage to experience any degree of success, knowledge of the nature and duties of every member of the family are inevitable.

What, then, is knowledge?

The Oxford dictionary defines knowledge as awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a person. Dictionary.com defines it as, “The state or fact of knowing; familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study; specific information about something.”

When the Bible, therefore, enjoins us to dwell according to knowledge, it means there are certain facts that one must lay hold on in order to enjoy success in marriage. There are lots of family crises when we have little or no knowledge of our duties in fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose for the family. That is why the Bible says: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children (Hosea 4:6).

Husband and wife have certain God-given responsibilities to fulfill in their family, in order for success to abound therein.  My husband has often shared one of the secrets of our family success, which is the acquisition of knowledge. By reason of what he saw of the marriage institution in his early days, he began seeking to know from God, His true purpose for the institution of marriage. It was in that state that God showed him the seven concepts of marriage, which we have practiced conscientiously in our family, causing us to enjoy a great deal of success. It took knowledge for us to know our individual placement in the family network, and that knowledge has set us free from every family crises.

To enjoy family success, therefore, the place of knowledge cannot be over emphasized. The Word of God enumerated the benefits of knowledge; it says: By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures (Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV). If you must find rooms (families), which are filled with rare and beautiful treasures of peace, love, joy, satisfaction, sunshine, fulfilment, etc, then knowledge is the key. It takes knowledge to enjoy family success.

The prescription to dwell according to knowledge within the family network has its source in God.  The Bible says in Proverbs 2:6: For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. The Scriptures often use the words wisdom, knowledge and understanding interchangeably. But they are occasionally spoken of as separate and distinct. Knowledge is the facts, understanding is the ability to lift the meaning out of the facts, and wisdom is knowing what next to do.

It is important for us to understand that as husband and wife, you are meant to live together as lovers, and friends. But there is no way that can happen, except you are knowledgeable about each other. Wife, when you get to know what your husband doesn’t like, you will save yourself from a lot of unnecessary prayer and fasting.  All you need is to apply wisdom and do away with the things he doesn’t like. You must learn to stick together as one, so that your marriage can become what God has destined for it to be.

For you to be knowledgeable about your spouse, first and foremost, you need to know God, the One who is knowledgeable about everything. Do you want to be born again? Why not say this prayer in faith and you shall be born again! “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner.  Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood.  Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God.  I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

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The Gani Fawehinmi Arcade Ground at the Ondo State House of Assembly Igbatoro Road, Akure, was agog penultimate Friday.

Choice vehicles streamed into the arcade one after another. Many of the occupants were gorgeously dressed in traditional attire.

They were received by a bevy of beautiful women, who led them into their designated seats.

Waiters couldn’t allow them sit before introducing the lists of the assorted meals at their disposal.

The guests couldn’t have asked for more having gone through the menu lists.

Aside the dishes, a gospel maestro Yinka Ayefele high life band was on the stage to entertain the guests.

It was all in honour of the late Madam Theresa Abiodun Oluwole  (née Ajayi)  who died on April 28 at 75. That day, a commendation service and interment were held earlier before the guests converged on the arcade for a lavish reception.

Despite the heavy down pour, prominent people across the country still made it down to St. John Bosco Catholic Church, Ikere Street, Ijapo Estate, Akure for the service.

The deceased, who was a trained nurse, got married to a former Ondo State High Court judge, the late Justice T.A Oluwole, and they were blessed with seven children.

Two of her daughters got married to a lawmaker, representing Epe Federal constituency in Lagos State, Hon. Lanre Mukaila Odubote and a prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ifedayo Adedipe.

The burial ceremony began with a Christian wake a day earlier followed by the service held at St. John Bosco Catholic Church in Ijapo.  Family members, friends and well wishers were in joyous mood all to celebrate the passage of an exceptional woman.

The reception was decorated with beautiful red, yellow, cream and green colours.

The guests were led by Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko; Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN); Hon. Dr. Bode Tawak;  Hon. Oyetunde Ojo; Hon. Akeem Muniru; Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde; Hon. Dauda Bakare; Gbenga Elegbeleye; Hon. Ebenezer Alabi among others.

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Lufthansa has designated Lagos as the centre and regional headquarters of its Sub-Saharan sales, station and administration organization, leading marketing and sales for the airline across the continent, including East African and Southern Africa countries.

“Nigeria has always played a key role in Lufthansa’s intercontinental network and now we are creating a new organization that will benefit from the country’s economical size and business prospects as a leading regional business hub,” said Claus Becker, Managing Director, Sub-Sahara Africa, who will head the new organization.

Lagos boasts three Lufthansa destinations (Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt).It  has been served by the German carrier since 1962 and is a pillar in the burgeoning economic relationship between Germany and Nigeria as well as businesses in both countries.

Speaking to media in Lagos, Becker was joined by Tamur Goudarzi Pour, Lufthansa Vice President Sales and  Services for the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Europe.

To discuss the aviation group’s upcoming plans for the African continent, including the new and revamped cabins of services to be offered on all flights from Nigera as well as other key African gateways.

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Etisalat Nigeria has announced the call for entries to this year’s Etisalat Prize for Literature which is in its third year. The Etisalat Prize for Literature is the first ever Pan African prize celebrating debut African writers of published fiction.

According to Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria Matthew Willsher, ‘the Etisalat Prize for Literature serves as a platform for the discovery of new creative writing talents out of the African continent.’

The CEO stated that following the success of the second year which was concluded early this year, the literary community is eagerly awaiting the third year. No Violet Bulawayo won the maiden edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature with her highly celebrated debut novel, We Need New Names, while Songeziwe Mahlangu emerged winner of the second year of the prize with his novel, Penumbra.

The Etisalat prize is designed to foster writing in Africa, bring exciting new African writers to the attention of a wider audience, and promote the reading culture. The winner receives a cash prize of £15,000 in addition to a fellowship at the prestigious University of East Anglia under the mentorship of the award-winning author, Professor Giles Foden. The winner will also receive a sponsored three-city book tour while the two other shortlisted writers will receive a sponsored two-city book tour to promote their books. The Etisalat Prize for Literature also supports publishers by purchasing 1000 copies of the shortlisted books for distribution within the continent.

This prize accepts submitted works which must be a writer’s first work of fiction over 30,000 words, and published within the last 24 months. The Etisalat Prize will also launch the online based flash fiction prize later in the year to engage the rising stars of fiction.

It also announced members of the judging panel who will decide the winner of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature. The judging panel will be chaired by Prof Ato Quayson, a Professor of English and inaugural Director of the Centre for Diaspora Studies at the University of Toronto Canada. Also on the panel is Molara Wood, author of The Madam and Men of the South.

Commenting on the choice of judges for the prize, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher stated that Etisalat carried out extensive research and consultation in deciding the choice of judges for this year, and also expressed the belief that the selected judges will bring their experience to bear on the Etisalat Prize for Literature. The judges, he said, will have the responsibility to develop the long list of nine novels as well as a shortlist of three novels before finally selecting a winner. Submission of entries are ongoing, having opened June 18, 2015 and would close on August 27.

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FOUNDER and Director of Life Unlimited: The Center for Human Possibility, Dr.Lynda Klau has said that building loving relationships is possible if  couple would obey the following 10 tips:

1. Create a safe environment where you can trust and share openly without being afraid: Don’t interrupt, even if you need to put your hand over your mouth to stop yourself. Learn to fight fairly. No name calling. Don’t make threats. Apologize when you know you should. If you’re too angry to really listen, stop! Go into another room, take space for yourself, breathe, and “calm down.” Remember: your partner is not the enemy.

2. Separate the facts from the feelings: What beliefs and feelings get triggered in you during conflicts? Ask yourself: Is there something from my past that is influencing how I’m seeing the situation now? The critical question you want to ask: Is this about him or her, or is it really about me? What’s the real truth? Once you’re able to differentiate facts from feelings, you’ll see your partner more clearly and be able to resolve conflicts from clarity.

3. Connect with the different parts of yourself: Each of us is not a solo instrument. We’re more like a choir or an orchestra with several voices. What is your mind saying? What is your heart saying? What is your body saying? What is your ‘gut’ saying? For example: My mind is saying ‘definitely leave her,’ but my heart says ‘I really love her.’ Let these different voices or parts of you co-exist and speak to one another. In this way, you will find an answer that comes from your whole self.

4. Develop Compassion: Practice observing yourself and your partner without judging. Part of you might judge, but you don’t have to identify with it. Judging closes a door. The opposite of judging is compassion. When you are compassionate, you are open, connected, and more available to dialoging respectfully with your partner. As you increasingly learn to see your partner compassionately, you will have more power to choose your response rather than just reacting.

5. Create a “we” that can house two “I’s”: The foundation for a thriving, growing, mutually-supportive relationship is to be separate and connected. In co-dependent relationships, each person sacrifices part of him or her self, compromising the relationship as a whole. When you are separate and connected, each individual “I” contributes to the creation of a “we” that is stronger than the sum of its parts.

6. Partner, heal thyself: Don’t expect your partner to fill your emotional holes, and don’t try to fill theirs. Ultimately, each of us can only heal ourselves. Your partner, however, can be supportive as you work with yourself, and vice versa. In fact, living in a loving relationship is healing in and of itself.

7. Relish the differences between you: The differences between you and your partner are not negatives. You don’t need to be with someone who shares all of your interests and views. We may sometimes fear that these differences are incompatibilities, but in fact, they’re often what keeps a relationship exciting and full of good fire.

8. Ask questions: All too often, we make up our own stories or interpretations about what our partners’ behavior means. For example: “She doesn’t want to cuddle; she must not really love me anymore.” We can never err on the side of asking too many questions, and then listen to the answers from your whole self  heart, gut, mind and body. Equally important is to hear what’s not being said  the facts and feeling that you sense might be unspoken.

9. Make time for your relationship: No matter who you are or what your work is, you need to nurture your relationship. Make sure you schedule time for the well-being of your relationship. That includes making “playdates” and also taking downtime together. Frequently create a sacred space together by shutting off all things technological and digital. Like a garden, the more you tend to your relationship, the more it will grow.

10. Say the “hard things” from love: Become aware of the hard things that you’re not talking about. How does that feel? No matter what you’re feeling in a situation, channel the energy of your emotions so that you say what you need to say in a constructive manner.

The post Top 10 tips for building loving relationships appeared first on The Nation.

The checks our correspondent made revealed that some residents had been living in horror as a result of their daily experiences with the cemeteries. Yet, a casual visitor to the area would be alarmed at the seeming equanimity with which the residents, including school children, view the huge number of burials that are done in their neighbourhood every day.

While mourners wore long faces as they walked slowly in groups of two, three or more, talking in low tones, school children walked past them playfully and without any sense of feeling or concern for the grim atmosphere surrounding them.

A resident, who pleaded not to be named, expressed surprise when asked whether the huge number of burial activities the residents witness daily, particularly the children, could have an adverse effect.

“How can the burials have any negative impact on the children?” he retorted. “You saw them playing as they walked past the mourners. This is something they see almost every day. So I don’t think it has any negative impact on them.”

Yet, there were residents of the street who said their experiences had not been palatable since they moved into the area. Many of them said they had developed a fear for ghosts, commonly referred to as phasmophobia or spectrophobia. Consequently, their thoughts, actions and movements are hinged on the happenings around the cemetery every day.

Alhaja Siti has lived in the area for more than six years. Her house, a bungalow, is bounded by three cemeteries, one behind the house, another one to the right and the third only a short distance away. The elderly woman believes that most residents of the community live in fear as a result of what they see on a daily basis.

She said: “It is impossible for one not to be fear-stricken living in this kind of environment. No matter how long you have lived here, you will at one time or the other get traumatised by the large number of cemeteries encircling the area. Only somebody who has lost every sense of human feeling would see what is happening here and still have his emotions intact.

“For me, the trauma is not about having graves all around the area. It is about the sight of bereaved families who come to bury their dead relations amidst tears, not once or twice every day. On some occasions, some people would just come and dump dead bodies in the cemetery without any attempt to put them inside a grave. Such sights leave one emotionally wrecked and that is what we see and live with everyday.”

At night, Siti said, the fears of the residents are heightened, especially those with a phobia for ghosts. “It is almost impossible to pass through certain areas of the community at night because you will develop goose pimples as unusual breeze blows you. Presently, we have five cemeteries in the area, but it would have been six if not that the plan to create another one was resisted by the people.

“This move, though rejected by the people, forced many tenants out of the community because they could not come to terms with how the dead could populate an area that is meant for the living.”

Another resident, who pleaded anonymity, said: “We want the state government to come and do something about it because it is not good for us. We have our children living with us and all they see here would have a way of affecting their psyche.”

Although it was afternoon and the sun was shining bright, Kaseem Najium could not veil his fears for ghosts in the area. Tall and dark, Najium’s phobia for ghosts is such that he does not patronise any trader he is not familiar with in the area, especially at night.

He said: “I don’t buy what I eat or use in the house from people that I don’t know very well. I don’t mind going outside the area to buy whatever I need. If I must buy anything here, it must be from somebody I know intimately.

“The reason is very simple: we are living in a community surrounded by cemeteries. Some of the corpses could transform to human beings and begin to sell one thing or the other. If you buy something, especially edible products, from such a person, would your life not be in crisis?”

Najium added: “I have read and heard accounts of dead people that transformed into human beings and go on to engage in business activities until a person who used to know her ran into her. I can bet that all the people that bought and ate what she sold would never be balanced again. I don’t want to be a victim of such and as a result would do everything possible not to fall into that trap.”

For years, Ganiu Rasheed has operated as an okada (commercial motorcycle) rider in the Morkaz area of Agege. But while he described himself as bold and willing to take risks, he said there was no amount of money that would tempt him to take a passenger to Jafojo area once it is past 7 pm.

He said: “I won’t take anybody to Jafojo area after 7 pm, no matter the amount you offer me. It is risky and I would not put my life on the line because of money. Everything in life is not about money. When you carry a passenger to that area late in the night, you are likely to be carrying a ghost, and if it happens that the passenger is a ghost, the trip may have unpalatable consequences.

“We have heard numerous stories like that, but they are not what one can be narrating publicly. If the passenger is not a ghost and you are to carry him or her across the numerous cemeteries in the area at night, you may run into spirits, and if you are not lucky enough, you may not return the way you went there.

“These and several others are the reasons why many of us would not dare go near the community late in the evening. I have personally been warned against it and would not do otherwise. It is only the stubborn fly that goes to the grave with the corpse.”

Another resident, who simply identified himself as Adewumi, said, as a bachelor, he finds it difficult wooing ladies in the area because for fear that they might be ghosts parading themselves as human beings. For him and many of his friends, an abiding code of conduct is to stay off strange girls in the neighbourhood, no matter how beautiful they are.

“I can’t date any lady in this area, no matter how beautiful, because it is an unusual environment. The reason is borne out of the fear of taking a ghost home. We have read and heard of men who wooed and took some women home and later found that they were ghosts. It may sound like a fairy tale, but I have never treated it with kid gloves. Even if I know the lady’s parents or her house, I would not give in to wooing her.

“I have fears about the cemeteries and as a result, I don’t stay outside the community till late in the night. If for any reason I am outside the community till late in the night, I would pass the night in any of my friends’ house. When you come into the community late at night, your whole being may suffer some psychological crisis.”

Akpan James did not bargain for what befell him when he went out in search of an apartment. After a fruitless search, the Akwa-Ibom State-born man was overjoyed when the agent told him he had found a good place for him.

With the fear that he might lose out once again, he quickly paid for the apartment without even bothering to ask about the location. But no sooner was he taken to the house than it dawned on him that his new apartment is surrounded by cemeteries.

But in sspite of his fears, he has lived in the area for 10 years because he has not been able to raise enough money to rent another apartment.

He said: “I have been living here for the past 10 years, but I never wanted to stay here in the beginning. It happened that when I was searching for accommodation, the estate agent did not give me any inkling that the building is tucked in the middle of burial grounds. He brought me here through another street and made it appear as if that was the only street leading to the area.

“It was after I had paid and was planning to move in that I noticed the building is surrounded by cemeteries. Immediately I saw this, I went after the agent to ask for a refund because I felt it would not be psychologically healthy for me and my family to be seeing graves and people coming to bury their deceased friends and relations every time. But all my efforts to have them refund my money failed.

“All they told me was that I should just manage and live in the house till my rent expired. I heeded their advice because it would not be possible to get the money I paid refunded in full. If they wanted to refund the money, I wouldn’t have got half of what I paid because all the middlemen involved in the business had taken their shares and gone their various ways.

“I thought I would leave once the rent expired, but I couldn’t because of financial challenges. I have developed thick skin to the cemeteries. I have no fear whatsoever about them. In fact, back in my hometown, I sleep on my late father’s grave because he was buried in my room and I have my bed on his grave, and since I have been sleeping there, I have not had any reasons to be petrified.”

James’ neighbour, Goodness Samuel, is eager to move out of the area. Her fears, which are often heightened whenever she is pregnant, she said, make her to have nightmares.

She said: “I can’t wait to move out of this environment. It is horrifying for one to be seeing graves around every minute of the day.

“My fears about the cemeteries were heightened when I was pregnant. I was scared stiff because I didn’t want to dream about it at night. I always made sure I wiped the thought away from my mind before going to bed so that it would not end up forming what I would dream about at night. One of the steps I took to achieve this was to always take a longer route that has no cemeteries around it. That was what I did all through the time I was pregnant, although it was very strenuous.

“We are not the only people that are terrified by the cemeteries. Commercial motorcyclists also don’t come here late in the evening. When you ask them to take you to this street, they would refuse, saying that they don’t go to cemeteries. They often refer to us as cemetery tenants and that, to me, is demeaning.

“I am prepared to move out right now if I have the wherewithal. If my landlord asks me not to pay rent anymore, I will leave if I have the means. Even if he dashes me the whole building, I will not stay. I will only sell it to buy another house elsewhere.

“I was scared when my family newly moved into this area because I found it strange and unhealthy to live in the middle of cemeteries.”

But Mohammed Awale, a resident of the community, is not in any way perturbed by the presence of the cemeteries. For him, cemeteries are the last home for all mortals and therefore should not be feared by humans.

He said: “I have no reason to be afraid of the cemeteries because that is the final home of every one of us. The people in those graves were human beings like us before they transited to the world beyond.

“I have never encountered any ghosts since I started living here eight years ago. I am a believer and I believe that we all came from Allah and unto Him we shall all return. Guided by this belief, I have no reason to be scared about the cemeteries or hounded by stories being told about ghosts. I don’t believe in all that.”

Mohammed’s line of thought was shared by Hauwa Sule, a trader. As a business woman, she said she sells to everybody without bothering if they could be ghost.

She said: “I don’t have any reason to be scared of the cemeteries or the corpses buried there. Why do I have to be scared in the first place? I am here today, tomorrow I may be there with them, and if I am there, I would not have any reasons to be haunting the living. If you look at it from this point of view, you will not have any reason to be worried about the burial grounds and their contents.

“As a business woman, I also don’t have any reasons to suspect that any customer may be a ghost, as long as he or she is not patronising me from the grave or casket. Since I have been selling goods to people and collecting money from them, none of the notes has told me that it is a ghost’s money.”

Mohammed Sanni also says he is not disturbed by the happenings in his neighbourhood even though his house is surrounded by cemeteries. This, he said, is based on his religious beliefs.

“I have no fear of any ghost at all. I have lived here for more than five years now, and I can tell you that I have never had a single encounter with any ghost. Moreover, I am a Muslim, and with that, there is no particular reason for me to say that I fear this or that about the cemeteries,” he said.

Sanni’s friend and popular comedian, Funky Mallam, laughed away the talk of ghosts harassing the residents. “How can somebody who is dead drive fears into me?” he asked. “That sure is not possible. The cemeteries are home for the dead and we are living. So, we have nothing in common at all.”

Speaking on the impact that regular burial activities in the area could have on a growing child, a psychologist, Lateefat Odunuga, said it might not be pleasing for a growing child to live around cemeteries.

She said: “From a psychological standpoint, the emotional and behavioural state of a child living around the cemetery can be signified as miserable with lots of negative symptoms.

“Some researchers have identified associated psychosocial symptoms such as somatic distress, preoccupation with the image of the dead, sadness, anger, intensified feelings of loneliness, fear, depression, loss of established patterns of conduct. This makes some of these children try hard to read books as the environment in which they reside is extremely quiet.

“Some developing children are faced with myriads of challenges, such as not having friends around to visit them and inability to mix with other children in the area thus bringing about peer isolation. The social expectations of a child include making friends and learning societal cultural values. This might not be so in the case of children who live around cemeteries.

“Inferiority complex can be developed amongst these children due to the kind of environment they find themselves. Also, some of these children might not be happy with their parents for bringing them to live in such environment.

“Children in this category might engage in some disorders that can be threatening due to the frustrations they encounter in living in such environment.”

Odunuga narrated the experience of a young school boy to drive home her point. The boy named Hassan, she said, became tired with going to school, because he alongside his brother had to pass through a cemetery.

“Hassan and his brother routinely had to cross a cemetery to get to school. They had no choice because it was the only route that leads to their school. The uncomfortable silence and the aura of death oozing out of the environment gave them goose bumps.

“Seeing people gathered with such sad faces and tears, the sight of caskets and digging of graves make them sad and perturbed.

“They see people pouring sand into the grave with tears in their eyes and sadness in their faces. Although they may not know why, they know it is not for a good reason. The problem of death concerned him very early in life as this was never a pleasant experience for him.”

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•Molo icon died without a biological child

YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU takes a look at the life and times of popular musician, Dan Maraya Jos, who passed on in Jos last week.

The death, last Saturday, of Alhaji Adamu Waya a.k.a. Dan Maraya Jos was like the demise of a popular king, considering the huge number of sympathisers that thronged his premises. Some residents likened it to the death of a market leader.

Bauchi Road, the street on which he lived, witnessed a kind of vehicular traffic the people had not seen in the recent past. Sympathisers from neighbouring states like Bauchi, Nasarawa and Kaduna, were also there in large numbers to show their last respects to the internationally acclaimed music icon.

With the unique nature of his music, particularly his kind of guitar whose replica can hardly be found anywhere, Dan Maraya Jos was popular not only in Plateau State and Nigeria but also in Europe and America. On many occasions, the late musician dazzled his audience in Europe and America with his solo music each time he was invited to demonstrate his rare style.

Dan Maraya’s was an inimitable one-man musical band. All alone, he composed his songs, sang them alone and played his unique guitar without any help. He was simply an amazing singer on stage. Each time he was introduced at an occasion to entertain the audience at home or abroad, he appeared on the stage alone, bearing no musical instrument. With that, he left the audience wondering how he was going to perform without an instrument. But while the audience was still wondering what he was about to do, he would slowly tuck his hand into the sleeves of his dress, bring out his locally-made guitar and begin to play.

And once he struck his local guitar and matched it with his scintillating voice, you cannot but like the music that came forth. A story was told of an invitation the Nigeria Ambassador to Switzerland extended to him to entertain an audience made up of Europeans. As usual, he appeared on the stage without a musical instrument, causing members of the audience to start looking at one another in confusion. Their amazement turned into a rowdy applause when he drew out his unique brand of guitar from the sleeves of his kaftan and began to sing.

He was appreciated with several awards for originality because his kind of guitar could not be found in Europe. It was also on account of representing the country so well abroad that the Federal Government awarded him a national honour as Member of the Order of Niger (MON).

Born in 1946, he died last Saturday after a protracted illness. He was born and brought up in Jos, the Plateau State capital, where he spent all his 70 years in life. His popular name, Dan Maraya Jos, means “The Little Orphan of Jos”. His father was said to have died shortly after he was born, while his mother also died while he was still an infant, hence the name by which everyone knew him.

Dan Maraya’s father was a court musician for the Emir of Bukur, who took Dan Maraya under his care when his parents died. Dan Maraya showed early interest in music and came under the influence of local professional musicians. During a trip to Maiduguri while he was still a pre-teen, he was impressed by musicians there. Thus he made a kuntigi, which became his permanent companion. His only musical instrument, known as molo in Hausa language, is a small, single-stringed lute. The body is usually a large, oval-shaped sardine can, covered with goatskin.

Dan Maraya might not be the only solo musician in Hausa land, but he was virtually the most famous of all. Like most professional musicians, the mainstay of Dan Maraya’s repertoire was praise singing. But he singled out his personal heroes rather than the rich and famous.

His first and perhaps  most famous song is Wak’ar Karen Mota (Song of the Driver’s Mate). It was in praise of the young men who get passengers in and out of minivan buses and do the dirty work of changing tyres, pushing broken down vans, and the like.

It was said that he composed numerous songs during the Nigerian civil war in praise of soldiers of the federal army and incorporated vivid accounts of scenes from the war in his songs. Many of his songs incorporate social commentary. These included the songs on marriage, families and the principles of parenting, motherhood, fatherhood, and so on.

Some of his tracks included Jawabin Aure (Discourse on Marriage), which lists the problems attendant in divorce and admonishes married couples to try to patch up their differences. There were also Auren Dole (Forced Marriage), which decries the practice of families arranging marriages for their daughters rather than letting them decide on their own mates, and Gulma-Wuya (The Busy body), which dwells on neighborhood gossips.

Dan Maraya was married to Hajiya Sabuwa Dan Maraya, but they were not blessed with the fruits of the womb. Notwithstanding, Dan Maraya housed more children than he would have required. He adopted some and chose to house and train a good number of youths. At the time he died, there were eight of such youths in his house.

One of the beneficiaries of the late musician’s gesture, Alhaji Kuchili Yusuf Dan Maraya, said: “The man was not my father, but I grew up to think he was my father, because he loved me so much that I thought he gave birth to me. He was so caring. He taught us how to love fellow human beings, how to live in peace with neighbours, and to be kind and take life easy.”

His immediate neighbour described him as a community leader who was known for solving disputes among neighbours. One of the neighbours, Sanusi Yahaya, said: “We knew him as a dispute manager, to the extent that even if he travelled out of town, no matter how long he stayed, others would be waiting for him to mediate in their disputes because he spoke the truth and was never biased. He was a domestic problem solver.”

His widow, Hajiya Sabuwa, spoke about her late husband, especially their lives without a biological child: “Our marriage was based on love. I loved him and agreed to marry him because of his principle as a young man. He was never lazy,

“I met him a hardworking young man in those days. He was a man of peace. These were the characters that attracted me to him.

“We had the challenge of not having a child of our own, but he never thought of divorce in spite of pressure from friends and neighbours to do so. Instead of thinking of divorce, he rather surrounded himself with children from other parents.

“He loved children a lot, he was always happy seeing children around him. He treated them like his own biological children.”

Dan Maraya was believed to have thrown a lot of resources into training other people’s children. The present crop of youths in his house do not even know the number of children he has brought up because they come and go. His widow also said she had lost count of the number of children that had been brought in their house. He was said to have erected a storey building with many rooms to accommodate the children he brought up.

The late musician was highly regarded by the Plateau State Government, because he was believed to have done the state proud with his music. He had performed for the state at reputable fora within and outside the state, which is why a street was named after him during his life time. The street where he lived until he died had been renamed Dr. Dan Maraya Street.

The Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Peter Azi, who paid a condolence visit to the family of the music legend on behalf of Governor Simon Bako Lalong, said: “The death of Dan Maraya is shocking to the state government. It is so unfortunate he did not survive the ailment.

“This government wished he was alive to serve it just as he had served all the past governments in the state since its creation. But God has taken him away from us.

“We celebrated him in this state because he was a peace maker and a human rights activist who used his songs to preach peaceful coexistence. He used his music to defend the poor and advocate for their care.

“He will be greatly missed by this government. He will be greatly missed by Nigeria because he had been a worthy ambassador of this country with his songs. He has performed for this country and represented the country well. He was a national figure of great repute.”

The post Dan Maraya: Unforgettable times of a fallen music legend appeared first on The Nation.

Okoroji House in Ujari, Arochukwu, is one of the richest monument sites in the country, yet not much is written about it. With such rich artefacts from the Trans-Atlantic  slave trade era, the house is invaluable for tourists and researchers. OKORIE UGURU recently visited the place and writes. 

It was like a throwback to Okonkwo’s era in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The old man pushed the chalk-like ball towards me to touch and rub as a sign of welcome.

Then, the kola was brought.  After the initial passing around, he applied pressure and the kolanut disintegrated into pieces. He carefully looked at the pieces of kola and nodded his head. “The pieces are ok,” he said.

He took one, threw it into his mouth and passed the rest to the other family membes around. He then  took the bottle of local gin in front of him, brought out a small glass cup, took a tot and started praying that the visit to the place would be for good and not for bad.

After that, he took the glass cup outside and poured it at the threshold of the ancient house. He came, helped himself to another tot which he gulped. He grimaced as he drank.

He cleared his throat and passed the drink to other family members who had come to join him.  The others took turn to measure the local gin in the class cup and gulped. It was after this that the discussion on the Okoroji Monument site began.

The Okoroji House in Ujara, Arochukwu is one of the preserved monument sites in Abia State. The place becomes of even greater importance when, under the watch of the National Commission of Museum and Monuments, an important site like the Obu Ndi Ananga Monument Site in the same state could be allowed to collapse.

The Okoroji House Monument Site is located at the heart of Arochukwu where most of the activities at the height of the town’s prowess in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries took place.

A few metres from the site is the place where the house of the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, used to have her house. It is equally not far from the river though which she entered Arochukwu at the beginning of the 20th century when the British punitive expedition had been completed and it was  the time the Christian missionaries moved in.

The fruit of the Christian missionaries’ activities is the Presbyterian Church, Obinkita. The site was said to be an evil forest where corpses of twins and others whose deaths were considered a taboo were dumped.

To many, the import of this monument site is not the story of the exploit of Okoroji, a very successful and powerful merchant in those days, but it is the ancient artifacts at the site that give vivid information about life about 300 years ago, most especially in the early days of contacts and trade between local merchants and the white men.

The legendary Okoroji of Arochukwu  was said to be stubborn as a youth. At a stage, he decided to run away from his father’s house to his maternal family. After much pleading, he later returned to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful merchants in Arochukwu.

He sent out his agents and apprentices on trading missions to different parts of Igboland and even further. He engaged in slave trading with merchants from Europe. He became so wealthy and famous that people were bringing their children to him. Some used their children as collateral to borrow money.

The children would remain and work for him as apprentices or slaves. Such individuals, after carrying out his own findings, he would decide whether to use them as his domestic slaves or sell them.

The Okoroji House is one monument site that has rich artifacts. At the outer section of the house, there  are sowem artefacts: old pots, bundles of wooden sticks, chains, handcuffs and so on.

The seats were built from clay. They were built in such a way that they face each other. On the left of the door, leading to the inner chambers, is also a clay seat with a metal chain that hangs from the roof to the floor.

According to the curator, that was where Okoroji used to sit to hold court. He sent out different signals by the way he would draw the chain. His acolytes knew what to do once he did that.

On the right hand side of the door is another chain with cuffs obviously used to hold prisoners. Farther on the left, by the wall, is what looks like a shrine.

On the top is a human skull. It looks old. There is a crack on one side of the skull. This shows how the person died. Up on the ceiling, there is a carved wooden images of leopard. There are also old calabashes and skulls of wild animals held together in bunch and hung on the wall. There are about three wooden drums, a broom and many other artefacts.

On the left of the house, there is a bunch of sticks of same length tied together. According to the curator, this was used by Okoroji to keep tap of his debtors and who and when they were supposed to pay. There is a huge metal pot said to have been used for cooking for the slaves.

There is a huge wooden door painted black and white. According to the curator, the wooden door was taken as war loot from the king of Orumba in the current Anambra State.

The curator said: “Okoroji had two other bothers, Otti Orji and another person. Okoroji was the last born child of his mother. Otti was a trader and migrated to Orumba to trade. He settled at the place. The people waged a war against him and sent a message to his younger brother, Okoroji.

“Okoroji sent his men to Orumba to fight for his brother. As a sign that they actually conquered the people, Okoroji’s soldiers came back with the door of the king’s palace. Our people settled there and became indigenes of the place. But up till now, they still have their roots here.

“A former chairman of the national electoral body has his ancestral root here. Our people also spread to other places like Okija, Owerrinta and so many other places. They are all originally from here, Ujari.”

He went on to explain other artefacts: “Those animals’ horns and jugs were used  for drinking palm wine.  These are plates used for eating. If you go inside, you will see so many things. If you go inside the chamber, you will see so many other things.

“The skulls of animals you see there were those of games killed by Okoroji’s slaves and brought to him. Usually, when they killed big games, as a sign of respect and homage, they would bring the head to their master, Okoroji.”

The artifacts at the outer chamber was a child’s play compared to the ones inside, but one would have looked beyond the shrine that is very close to the door.

On the shrine are very old swords with an elaborately designed handle, a gun and so many other items. Behind the shrine are ancient bush lamps and many other artefacts. These were likely some of the items Okoroji gathered in the course of his trading with the merchant ships.

The artefacts and ancient items are too numerous. The inner chamber is like a store where ancient artefacts, both local and European, are kept.

The Okoroji House has both touristic  and scholarly value. Unfortunately, the terrible road to Arochukwu has totally made it difficult for many to visit the place.

Arochukwu is  blessed to have a cluster of rich tourism sites: the Okoroji House,  the Ibini Ukpabi Shrine,  old Presbyterian churches that are more than 100 years old and  Mary Slessor route are some of the sites.

With an  effective tourism policy by Abia State, Arochukwu will become a viable tourist destination and the state and its people would be the beneficiaries.

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