News In A Flash:March 30th 2013

BY CHARLES ENOH

Kaadi-igbeayo: Ondo state governor, Olusegun Mimiko (Labour Party), launches ₦950m state welfare smartcard.

Cross-Carpet: No less than 50% of PDP members will defect to All Progressives Congress (APC) when registered -Kashim Imam (PDP BoT member).

Imo: Eze Madumere to be sworn in today as Deputy Gov of Imo state; Jude Agbaso impeached following allegations of ₦458m bribe.

Economy: International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts 7% economic growth for Nigeria in 2013

2013 Cropping Season: state Govt boosts agriculture with purchase of 8000 metric tonnes of fertilizer for sale at subsidised rates to farmers.

World Bank-Financed: 13.5km BRT lane extension from Mile 12 to Ikorodu town to be completed by end of 2014 BRT lane from CMS to Ikorodu town to be 35 km. To gulp ₦30bn

Charles Enoh a Legal practitioner, who is very passionate about Nigeria. He is that being in informed is a step in the right direction towards development especially for Nigerian youths.

Charles Enoh would write the News in a Flash section.

News In A Flash: March 29 2013

BY CHARLES ENOH
Aviation: Senate Committee on Aviation orders Aero Contractors to recall 650 sacked workers(y); Industrial action due to dismissal of workers.

Anambra: Over ₦80bn spent on construction of 700km roads in the last 7 years by Anambra State Govt -Callistus Ilozumba (Commissioner for Works).

₦458m Bribe: State House of Assembly impeaches Jude Agbaso (Deputy Gov) Replaced with Eze Madumere (Chief of Staff to Gov).

En route Dakar: NDLEA nabs 33-year-old Senegalese woman @ MMIA, Lagos in attempt to smuggle 515g of cocaine & 165g of heroin.

Erstwhile 1st Lady: Gov Muazu Aliyu (Niger) appoints Justice Fati Lami Abubakar (Abdulsalami Abubakar's wife) as acting Chief Judge of Niger state

Finance: Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) extends deadline for quoted companies to submit financial statement by 30 days.

Up & Down Like Wall Street: FG has no plan to raise pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or remove Fuel Subsidy -Dr Doyin Okupe (SSA to President on Public Affairs).

Charles Enoh a Legal practitioner, who is very passionate about Nigeria. He is that being in informed is a step in the right direction towards development especially for Nigerian youths.
Charles Enoh would write the News in a Flash section.

News In A Flash: March 28 2013

BY CHARLES ENOH

NCS: Nigerian Customs Service's 2012 revenue boosted by ₦90bn underpayment collected from Risk Assessment Reports (RAR) issued by Service Providers

Keystone Bank: High Court, Lagos grants bail to Francis Atuche (fmr MD, Bank PHB) on self recognition. Arraigned on fresh charges of alleged forgery

Subsidy Scam: EFCC secures restraining order on UK accounts of fuel subsidy fraudsters. Funds to be forfeited to Nigeria -Ibrahim Lamorde (Chairman, EFCC).

Delta: Salaries of Secondary school Principal & 46 teachers ordered to be stopped due to absenteeism -Prof Patrick Muoboghare (Commissioner for Basic & Secondary Education)

Kano: Police intercepts bomb-laden Golf car in Kano state. AK 47, AK 47 Magazines, Rocket Launcher recovered -Musa Daura (Commissioner of Police)

Senate:  Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) inaugurated. David Mark (Senate President) advocates capital punishment for oil thieves.

Road: Federal Executive(FEC) approves over ₦47.8bn for construction & rehabilitation of 13 federal roads in Nigeria -Mike Onolemeimen (Minister of Works).

Charles Enoh a Legal practitioner, who is very passionate about Nigeria. He is that being in informed is a step in the right direction towards development especially for Nigerian youths.

Charles Enoh would write the News in a Flash section. 

Just My 2Kobo: Destroying Tomorrow's Leaders Today

BY ELLA


Growing up in the early 90's was quite fun for me. There was always some party to attend. If my mum wasn't throwing one for my birthday, I was attending one. Life was good.

I looked forward to these parties with relish because it was simply an opportunity to dress up in mini ball gowns,decorate my hair with colourful ribbons,wear frilly socks  and  pretty flat shoes (usually with a strap  and  buckle across. lol) as i write i have a mental picture of me on my 7th birthday looking exactly as i have described  and of course with one or 2 teeth out. Hahahhaha

For me, these parties were always a time to shine  and  "show" yourself by winning a prize or two for answering a quiz or riddle correctly. There was also recitation of poems, books of the bible in order, singing of a "special number" etc. Answering questions correctly  and getting a gift for the effort made one feel intelligent  απϑ  u could see the huge smile on your mum's face. Of course a party isn't complete without dance so there was also the dance competition where we would dance round some chairs fewer than the dancers until a winner emerged (i never won this game.)

Recently I was the birthday party of a one year old here in Abuja  and I couldn't help but marvel at how much things have changed over the years.

First of  all  let me point out that here in Abuja I have noticed that a child's birthday party is almost some sort of carnival. I see the rich trying to outdo each other with venue ,food, side attractions etc.  and  the middle class (if there's still something like that in this country) struggling to play "catch up". A friend of mine whose daughter was turning 3years  this year  was telling me how she needed to "turn up the swag of her child's party to beat the parties of the other kids in her daughter's class", what for? Everything is a class thing now,everyone is suddenly trying to belong. So much competition! Smh.

Let me paint an typical picture for u ; A young couple's baby is turning one, invitations are sent out,venue is either a posh garden, pool side etc. Bouncing castles are pumped up on the side to entertain kids  and  a clown is almost always present. Aside from the regular food, which is mostly a buffet, there is ice cream  and wafers, pop corn  and  of course a take away pack which holds exotic gifts for the kids.

Now let me get to the crux of the matter bothering me. The duty of the clown is basically to engage these kids in fun games right? But the only game I see available these days is dance! Dance!! Dance!!!.  During the dance competitions I keenly watch the kids especially the girls as they move their bodies. Omo! No be  small moves!  These kids know the latest songs and  steps  and  even dance better than most adults (well, at least better than me. lol) .They roll  and whine their tiny waists  and  even try to pull some seductive stunts while their parents cheer on . What?

I wait patiently for the clown to start another game but its another form of dance competition involving the parents this time  and  am like, seriously? Is that it? Is that all  there is to a birthday party nowadays? Nothing educating,informative? No poems, rhymes, songs? We just gather kids now just for them to show off new steps they know? You've got to be kidding me! Or am i ancient??? I have been to several parties including the ones organised for my little ones  and they are all the same. Sad, very sad.

I do not have a problem with parties. Its a beautiful thing to call friends to come  and  celebrate with you. But can we have something more than just a booty-shaking-nothing-else-to-do-party for these kids? Why exactly are these clowns paid? It can't just be to help the kids practice their azonto  and  etighi steps. Why is so much money spent on  an event which won't engage these budding fertile minds?

I have little ones around me  and  I meet with children often  and most do not know basic poems  and  funny songs we learnt back then, some can't sing the national anthem  and say the pledge properly, but guess what,a regular kid of about 8-12yrs knows gangam style moves  and sings kukere very well! This is worrisome indeed! At least to me.

The dresses worn by these kids to parties is another story. It has to be showy or nothing. For this one I blame the mothers. I still cannot for the life of me fathom  why a six year old is subjected to the torture of fixing weavons! Absurd if you ask me. It is really not necessary. Why not leave  a child to enjoy being child and  when she grows, enjoy being an adult? Instead of making her skip childhood right into adulthood. These children simply follow the trend we set for them. We cannot complain of how badly some young ladies dress even to church when we dress our kids that way too. The excuse of "they are just kids now" isn't good enough because the early age is the time when the foundation for a decent life is laid. We know PHCN  and  the sun have connived to drive us crazy with heat but it is still no excuse for near nudity.

I will like to implore everyone especially the  young parents to plan more meaningful parties when next there is a reason to celebrate. Try  and  ensure the kids go home with something informative. organise educational games, something they will remember your party for. We can make learning fun  and those are the ones that stick.

On a final note,to raise better children we would be proud of tomorrow, parents should please ensure they monitor what their kids watch both on tv  and  internet. It seems the ratings of movies  and  programs on television have been ignored if not where  and  how do these kids learn ugly stuff? There are great educational programmes kids they can be restricted to instead of allowing them glue their eyes to Soundcity, Mtv Base & African Magic channels.

As a child my dad used to tell me "no one is given an award for watching a lot of tv because it makes one stupid  and  unintelligent" honestly this helped me. (I guess that's why it takes me about 2-3 days to watch one movie from start to finish on my laptop! Lol) A good friend of mine told me they were allowed only an hour of tv everyday  while they were growing  up and  the rest of the time they spent it doing something constructive or school homework.  I honestly think we should borrow a leaf from this and caution our kids on what they watch. Let's Engage them positively.

Now that I have poured this out, I feel better! Phew! I only hope this piece doesn't rub off the wrongly on some people. I do mean well . I am only burdened  and  saddened at the extent of decay  and  decline in the society. Our society is fast losing its values  all  in the name of westernisation/civilisation. At this rate , nothing will be left for our children to hold on to.  I write this in good faith, hoping and praying for a better society

Emmanuella Nwabundo Enweonwu is a lawyer, a volunteer program officer with Society for Community development (SCD), free lance writer and a makeup artist. She is passionate about what she does and very enthusiastic about the quest for a Better Nigeria.

NEWS IN A FLASH: MARCH 26TH 2013

BY CHARLES ENOH

Head Of Service: President Jonathan swears in new Head of Service, Goni Aji in the Council Chambers of Presidential Villa, Abuja.

2015 Presidency: Posters of Gov Sule Lamido (Jigawa) & Gov Rotimi Ameachi (Rivers) flood Kaduna state. As President & VP respectively under the platform of PDP.

NNPC: National Industrial Court orders NNPC Fund to pay ₦500m to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pensioners who retired prior to 2004.

Delta Gov: Great Ogboru (DPP Gov Candidate) seeks sack of  Gov Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta; PDP) Supreme Court to deliver ruling June 21, 2013.

Appointments & Projects: President Jonathan pledges equitable distribution of appointments & federal government projects.

EFCC v Speaker: Federal High Court, Lagos turns down Adeyemi Ikuforiji's (Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly) request to strike out money laundering charges levelled against him.

Potable Water: No fewer than 334 million persons (39% sub-Sahara Africans) lack access to clean drinking water -WaterAid

Joint Forces: INEC rejects African Peoples Congress' (APC) application for registration as a political party. Shares same acronym with All Progressives Congress (APC)

Zambia: Erswhile president, Rupiah Banda, arrested by law enforcement agency over crude oil import deal with Nigeria. Allegedly misappropriated $11m during 3-year tenure.

Charles Enoh is a Legal practitioner, who is very passionate about Nigeria. He believes that being in informed is a step in the right direction towards development especially for Nigerian youths. Charles Enoh would write the News in a Flash section.

News In A Flash: March 25 2013

BY CHARLES ENOH
Telecoms: Poor GSM services by network providers attributed to vandalisation & theft of telecommunication infrastructure- Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

Workman (Unpaid Wages Prohibition) Bill: Employers risk 1-year imprisonment & 30% loss of benefits due to employees for delay or failure to pay salaries Bill passes 2nd reading.

Ogun: State Govt lists 6 state-owned tertiary institutions in 2013 state diary. Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) absent.

₦15.8m Oil Fraud: Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) suspends Deputy Director, Vincent Usiahon, over alleged scam.

2013 Budget: Gov Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) signs 2013 Appropriation Bill into law. Budget upped from ₦94.4bn to ₦96.4bn by legislature.

NDIC: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation paid ₦90.13bn to depositors of 48 Deposit Money Banks (DMB) in liquidation as @ December 31, 2012 -Umaru Ibrahim (MD/CEO)

Charles Enoh is a Legal practitioner, who is very passionate about Nigeria. He believes that being in informed is a step in the right direction towards development especially for Nigerian youths. Charles Enoh would write the News in a Flash section.

Young and In Charge: Folajimi Olujuyigbe

In the age of social media, meeting people is a whole lot easier, meeting talented young people is one of the best things about the social media. I met our Young Person Of the Week on Instagram, and I must admit, I was blown away by his work and I knew I had to share him with you guys. Meet  Folajimi Olujuyigbe, Young Person Of The Week.

Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Folajimi Olujuyigbe, I grew up in Ibadan, Oyo State but I live in Abuja now. I've lived here for fourteen years. I'm the first of three boys and no we didn't torment my mother...too much.

What was growing up like?
It was a lot of fun, my parents were firm as compared to strict, so I didn't get the chance to stray much, plus I was a kid who loved to play indoor and I just always thought getting in trouble was just too much TROUBLE. the brother immediately after me is a thinker...he's been writing since I can remember, he's really good if may say. The one after him can talk for Nigeria.

Tell us a little about your educational background?
I went to Oritamefa Baptist Nursery and Primary School, long name. I was at the Federal Government Academy, formerly Suleja Academy, in Suleja, Niger State. I graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State with a BSc in Demography and Social Statistics.

So what is Les Memoirs all about? What does it mean and how did the name come about?
There's a joke I always make, I say "I have a weakness for beauty, so I capture it...I'm a photographer". Don't steal, it's patented. Lol. Truly though, that's what it is, I like to capture the beautiful moments so we can always go back to those memories, hence "les Memoirs" which is French for "The Memories".

How did you go from reading Demography and Social Statistics to capturing beautiful pictures?
Truth is that I wanted to be an Engineer as a child, so I started off with Agricultural Engineering  in school and later changed. I can't brag that I'm very academic, I love to learn though.  I've always loved pictures, especially tv. Moving pictures fascinated me as a child and I got teased a lot then and this was before satellite tv was affordable, so I'd watch just about anything. My father gave me a Sony camcorder once and I recorded mainly videos I'd take a few still pictures too. One day I decided to edit a whole load of photos and give to the people I'd photographed. Most of them were so happy and seeing that joy made me happy. Plus, some people paid me, much more than it cost me to get the photos done.  #smile.

Do you see yourself mixing the both of them, Demography and Social Statistics and Les Memoirs Studios?
No, not really, except I get a job that requires taking pictures of the statics and demographics I'm supposed to be studying. If it would take me around the world though, I'd gladly accept.

What is your typical day like?
I wake up and then go back to bed, lol. The thing about my job is that I decide my working hours. Although, if I have an early shoot or event, I get out of bed early, I hate to be late. Most times though, I don't go to bed till after midnight. Editing is a major part of a photographer's life. So I'm editing or at a shoot or an event most of the time.

What do you love most about you what you do?
Freedom, there's the opportunity to breath and take time to see the beauty in everything around us and I really mean everything.

What has been your best work ever?
My best work ever will be the picture I take tomorrow, you know what they say, tomorrow never ends. Lol. To pick one photo i really like though, I'd have to say this picture of me I called "Prayer". It's one that a lot of people connect with.

What are the difficulties involved?
Difficulties? For one it's people who think that all photographers are uneducated, unrefined secondary school dropouts who had no choice but to pick up a camera. Second I'd say because photography equipment and knowledge are expensive, some clients aren't ready to pay what it takes or would rather get a cousin with a point and shoot camera to take pictures, because everyone has a camera on their phone or tablet. The awareness for quality photographs is coming back and more people appreciate the difference in getting someone who knows what they are doing.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?
If this means what's plan "B" I'd say a job with UNICEF, WHO or some other big company, but in reality, with the condition in Nigeria, I'd probably be at home frustrated that I can't get a job.

Have you ever felt like giving up on Les Memoirs Studios?
Yes, at the beginning, before i really committed, because I wasn't sure that the thing I loved to do would be appreciated enough to bring money in. Thank heavens it is, lol.

Who or what inspires you?
Who? I'd have to say my father, because he helped guide me and he kept encouraging. As to "What?", I'd have to say Beauty, the beauty you can see in anything, if you look at it from the right angle and in the right light, lol.

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.
I'm a late bloomer, I'm thirty years old, late bloomer because I didn't find my passion until a few years ago.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?
I love watching movies, hate doing it alone though. I love swimming, not a fan of reading sadly. I love music, especially rock songs and I have a tendency to try to make people laugh.

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.
Find your passion, everyone has a God given talent that will them happy and that they will excel at.

Where do you see yourself and Les Memoirs Studios five years from now?
Five year plan, a really nice studio and some level of specification, glamour/fashion, weddings and portraiture. A couple of international exhibitions. I'd also like to travel to capture breath taking scenes and cultures.

Picture time.

Folajimi can be reached through the following means:

Blog: www.lesmemoirsphotography.wordpress.com

Email: lesmemoirsstudios@gmail.com

Twitter: @jimi_chu

Instagram: https://twitter.com/Jimi_Chu

Phone: +2348037866970, +2348076254357

NEWS IN A FLASH: MARCH 22 2013

BY CHARLES ENOH
Mandatory Retirement (60 years): President Jonathan appoints Bukar Goni Aji (former Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office) as new Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Replaces Isa Bello Sali

$620,000 Bribe: Farouk Lawan sacked as Chairman, House Committee on Education. Replaced by Aminu Suleiman (PDP, Kano) as substantive Chairman

ECA: National Economic Council approves sharing of between $1bn & $2bn from Excess Crude Account amongst 3 tiers of Govt (Federal, State & Local), ECA balance @ $7.82bn

NIPP: President Jonathan presents Share Certificates of National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) to 36 state governors & Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

SEC DG: House of Reps urges President Jonathan to sack Director-General of Security & Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh

Nigerian/Benin Trade: Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to open Border Information Centre (BIC) at Nigeria’s premier border station in SemeB.



Charles Enoh is a Legal practitioner, who is very passionate about Nigeria. He believes that being in informed is a step in the right direction towards development especially for Nigerian youths. Charles Enoh would write the News in a Flash section.



Just My 2Kobo: Religion is the cause of Nigeria’s problems

BY IPHIE OBIECHINA

I know a lot of people would read this heading and be turned off by the heading of this write up, I would have been turned off too by the heading. I have battled with my self to come up with a less controversial but suitable heading, but for reason best known to ‘it’, that’s the name that keeps popping up so I am going to go with it and hopefully if you stick with me, you would see what I mean.

Like clockwork, when I wake up each morning I say a prayer and head out for morning mass and after I get back I go on Twitter and Facebook to get a download of what is going on in the lives of my family and friends that are far away. Recently though, I have noticed that I can’t scroll on my Facebook page  for a minute without coming across one ‘prayer post’ or the other. The post usually starts out with a sob story of a fellow, down on his/her luck and then suddenly the Lord blesses him/her with a miracle and his/her story turns around. The post is closed with you being asked to comment with an Amen or liking the post if you want such story to be yours too. Seriously you believe that if you type Amen in or like a post, your story would change, I don’t even waste time in deleting friends that I see commenting on or liking such post, I jejely delete and unsubscribe from their page, I cant be getting angry unnecessarily everyday.

So what has religion done here? My problem with religion here is that it has turned young, capable men and women into a lazy set of zombies. Lazy zombies who instead of going out to work have turned into miracle hungry humans, who believe that all they have to do is pray and suddenly they have the life D’banj  and Psquare have now. It has turned our youths into zombies that patiently wait for their miracles without going out to try to achieve their dream through hard work. Even the bible in James 2: 14 – 26 talks about faith and work, James rounds up by saying ‘… faith without action is dead’ (Good News Bible), the bible to my understanding tells us that we should have faith but that we should also work towards achieving that which we have asked God for. You don’t expect God to come down from heaven to do the work for you now do you? You know what ticks me off the most, the most ‘Amens’ and likes come from those who I expect to know better. My uncle used to say shows like Who wants to be a Millionaire, the Star Game show etc and MTN, GLO promos have turned Nigerian youths into a lazy lot, who now wait to win money off these shows and promos instead of going out to work hard to earn a living. Same can be said for the young mean and women, who instead of working hard, go about writing Amen and liking Facebook posts. The most annoying part of these stories is that they sound like something out of a storybook and are filled with grammatical errors. I am not saying don’t have faith, I am just saying be ready to work hard alongside that faith. Oh and don’t think that the ‘Amens’ and likes come from Christians alone; I have seen a couple of Muslim ‘Amens’.

The other thing that ticks me off with religion is the way my generation and the generation before us react to the situation of things in Nigeria. Instead of coming out to fight for and to defend our right or to speak out against our corrupt leaders, they go ‘it is not in my place to judge, it is God that would judge them’. Really so you believe God would come down and fight your battle for you, if that is what you think then you are on a long thing. To my understanding what Luke 6;37 means by “do not judge others, and God will not judge you” is that you shouldn’t go around saying things like ‘you would go to hell for stealing that yam’,  it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call a spade a spade, the fact remains that the person is a thief and calling him/her a thief doesn’t mean you are judging him/her. God would only help us when we show him that we are tired of being trampled upon and make an attempt to change that, only then would God help us. I mean even God’s own chosen people, the Israelites, didn’t just lie back in their tents and wait for God to fight their enemies for them, no they went into battle against them knowing that God would come through for them. David could have just sat back when he sited Goliath, after all they God he served was bigger than a hundred Goliaths, but no he showed God that he was willing to find a solution to the problem and God saw him through.

My other issue with Christians has to do with the doctrine of ‘forgiving your enemies’. The ‘enemy’ in this case has to be the corrupt authorities. Christianity teaches us to forgive and forget whatever wrong may have been done to us and in my opinion, it is a very good way to live, as it gives you less to worry about. I am one for practicing the church’s teachings in every aspect of one’s life, so what am I on about? Well my problem comes up with the way Christians interpret this teaching in relation to public officers.  Yes we are to forgive public authorities when they wrong us, but that doesn’t stop you from reporting to the necessary disciplinary body. No it doesn’t mean you haven’t forgiven and forgotten the wrong that has been done to you or that you are seeking revenge, it just means you are sparing the world of the hardship that a corrupt official would cause. This takes me back to something that happened at my NYSC (National Youth Service Corp) orientation camp.

The story goes that a female soldier slapped a girl who refused to run to the parade ground after she had told the group the girl was walking with to run down to the parade ground. Apparently the girl was ill and therefore could not run  as was requested, she even had a pass from the clinic to prove it, upon getting to the soldier before she could make her excuse, the female soldier dished her some heavy slaps  and so she reported to the authorities. The soldier was eventually court martialed and had to appear to defend herself, in the end eyewitness account differed from what the girl reported and so the female soldier escaped punishment. Now the soldier went round the hostels asking us to thank God with her, the punishment she escaped must have been very serious for her to resort to this. Anyway this set off an argument in our hostel, the argument was that the girl in question should have forgiven the soldier as she didn’t know whether she might just drop down and die. I was of the opinion that the girl did the right thing by taking it to the necessary authorities, apparently this wasn’t the first time the woman had gone round hitting corp members. The corp members either went off in fear or decided to forgive her and forget it. That to me was the wrong approach as what they ended up achieving was exposing the society at large to a power hungry soldier who felt she was above reproach and could get away with anything. The court martial mellowed her down and I didn’t hear of any incident involving her and a corp member till I left the camp. It took a lot of courage, so the girl that reported her should be praised for stopping the growing menace that was this female soldier. It’s a shame that graduates could be that small minded, hiding behind religion and letting their rights be trampled on. I cant come up with any biblical backing for this, but I am very sure Christ doesn’t want you to sit back and have corrupt leaders get away with their crimes.

I don’t know anything about Islam, except maybe for the fact that Muslims believe Mohammed to be the last true Prophet of God, so I am not going to go into an area I know nothing about. But I am pretty sure Islam doesn’t not treat people with double standard, like I said I know nothing about Islam, but this is what I have been able to deduce from my Muslim friends. So I am still yet to understand why the Northern elite use religion as a form of bondage over the poor highly uneducated masses. Just recently we woke up to the news of the killing of nine-health worker who administered polio vaccines to young children, by unknown gunmen. A few days later we were told the killings were provoked by comments of two radio presenters on a show, where the claimed polio vaccinations were not in line with Islam. Now I don’t know what Islam says about polio vaccinations so I am not going to comment on that, my grouse is with the Northern elites who use religion to continue to hold the northern masses captive, who live by a double standard. They live by a double standard because we all know children of these elite get vaccinated against polio. I just realized why they would have a double standard, discouraging them from being vaccinated would ensure that they masses keep churning out ‘al majiris’ who they can use for their mischievous intentions. Another area of double standards is the boko haram sect that claims everything western is bad but still continue to use western ways to advance their cause. The use of cars as vehicles for their suicide bombers, use of the media to tell their story, use of advanced military guns etc . These are the double standard I mean, people who should otherwise know better, people who are educated use religion as a way of enslaving the uneducated masses.

I have no grouse against Christianity or Islam as religions, I am a very devout Christian, like I said earlier I attend mass every morning, not because I am forced or because the bible says so, I attend mass every morning because I love it, it gives me the opportunity to say thank you to my God. My grouse is with Christians and Muslims who hide behind religion to perpetrate evil, who hide behind religion to shy away from doing the right thing. Christianity or Islam is not the problem, Christians and Muslims are.

The earlier we stop hiding behind religion to cover up for our laziness or to perpetrate evil, the better for us. Its time for the priests and pastors to start telling their members simple truths, you must work hard alongside prayers, to enjoy the good things of life. You must fight for what you believe in, believing that God would see you through. You must fight for you nation by fighting corruption with God's help of course. Its time for the Northern elites to set the 'enslaved masses' free, its time for them to start telling the truth, its time for them to stop hiding behind their own version of Islam.

This is just my 2kobo’s worth, you may agree with me, you may not, that’s just the way I see it!

Young and In Charge: Omozele Patience Imafidon

While going through our young person of the week's interview, all that kept coming to my mind was 'wow'. As I went through her interview, I was reminded of why I started this section of the blog, to share inspirational stories of young people following their dreams. I was reminded also not to judge a book by its cover, prior to this interview, I knew of her legal background, and a little about her designs, never knew she was this good at it. Meet our young person of the week, Omozele Imafindon, Lawyer and designer!

Tell us a little about yourself?

My full name is Omozele Patience Imafidon, a lawyer, qualified barrister in two countries ;) and currently serving my country Nigeria.

What was growing up like?

As the oldest child out of six, growing up was full of managing my siblings with my very busy parents, it was the best thing ever! My siblings have different personalities which made it fun growing up .

Tell us a little about your educational background?

I started my education at a private school, on to a public school for my primary education and back to a private catholic boarding school for my secondary education. 

Was off to college and then to university to study law. Thankful to God, I completed it after almost giving up in my first year. Today can gladly proudly display my masters in Law in addition to my degree!

So what is Zéls Roärke Production all about? What does it mean and how did the name come about?

Zéls Roärke Production is my lil baby. As I love to point out all the time. 

It's about creating my designs with the traditional Anakara materials. It also about providing foreign designs to the people with prints that are commonly used in our country.

The name Zéls Roärke.... Zéls a cut out from my name meaning 'Because', thanks to my friend Uju, Roärke which is my favourite Irish name, in Gaelic meaning 'Champion'. 

Both names have their special holding on me so decided to combine both and name my first child that! 

How did you go from reading Law to producing these beautiful Ankara pieces?

Law had always been my passion but I always had an attachment to creating designs of clothes, bags and my favourite accessory -SHOES! Clothing was really what I wanted to get into but seeing that I love shoes so much I said why not. 

Ankara materials come in all colours and designs, feeling one could use them with any style, I decided to create comfortable accessories with them. Trust me when I say they do go with anything, even your English attires! 

Do you see yourself mixing the both of them, Law and your production line?

For now I'm trying to keep them as separate as I can. They are both at different ends right now. Maybe which is a very big maybe down the line they would mix but for now... Separate ends.

What is your typical day like?

A typical day would be go to the office, try to organise my business from Abuja as my production line is based in Lagos. Therefore chasing my PA, who by the way is my little brother Eustace, to get in contact with my employees and chase orders because mostly, time is of the essence with delivery.

It's most times a continuous circle.

What do you love most about you what you do?

Its mostly having to see my products with customers. Seeing my designs alive with materials have personally selected. Also have people comment on their beauty n have regular customers! 

It's a special feeling. 

What has been your best work ever?

Would say my "special design" slippers as my PA loves to call it. Its got woven hand n specific flower design. 

Can proudly say it out-smarted the problems I had initially with some designs. 

What are the difficulties involved?

Having to run it from another city. With a line like this, one has to personally see to some things like material selection, which I love to do myself. 

Also to inspect every product, ensuring they are up to my expectations. My rule is- I wouldn't put anything out there that I wouldn't carry myself! I could be really selective :D

There is also the issues of manufacturer's not keeping to assigned date. It gets very frustrating. I try very hard to try to work around those.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

Modelling! At this point would say running my own modelling company.

Have you ever felt like giving up on Zéls Roärke Production?

Honestly... Like twice. The thought had crossed my mind. But I go back to look at a product and the pride gives me more determination! 

Who or what inspires you?

I look inwards for inspiration and I'm always looking to improve

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.

I am 25 years old.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

I love to party when the feeling arises. This might not count as fun to some, but I sure do love to read! Give me a book, a pool side and music any day and I'm game! 

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

You have to be really determined and not easily discouraged. Things don't always work out at first try but you should be willing to battle it out!

Where do you see yourself and Zéls Roärke Production five years from now?

I see both at a higher level. At international and national fashion shows and a well known brand name!

And to our favourite part, pictures of her breathtaking work.

Modelling her work.

Price range:

Bags: 6500

Clutches: 3500-2500

Shoes: 5500

Slippers: 4000

 

Omozele can be reached on:

Phone: +2348167426124 and +2348157279930

Email: zellyangel@yahoo.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZelsRoarke

Head Office: F261 Road 64 VGC Lagos

Branch office: Suite E8 Ikota Shopping Complex VGC Lekki-Epe Expressway Ajah

Better Nigeria: All we Ogas at the top!

BY ADESUWA ILUOBE


At the office this morning I could  not help but put this down.

So, I woke one beautiful morning to the “oga at the top” joke. I didn’t get the joke until I saw the video and my! I was dumbfounded at first and then it got funny, then I began to think...

First, for those of us that do not know, the man who was being interviewed by channels on its morning show popularly known as ‘sunrise daily’ is Obafaiye Shem, a commandant of the Lagos Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps.
The interview was about ‘Job Racketeering in MDAs’. He stated that he has never visited the website and he has only been working in Lagos for three (3) months. Quoting him “I cannot be in all departments….it is somebody’s job to report on website”.
When asked about the address of the NSCDC he kept beating around the bush and stated that “I do not want to say one thing now and my oga at the top would say another…” and when he finally decided to give the address he said “ the website is
ww.nscdc. he thought and coughed* that’s all”

Then I googled “oga at the top” and wow! I got thousands of sides to the story.

For me, I am repulsed and highly disappointed that a man of such supposed calibre would actually go for an interview on a renowned television station ill-prepared. Who does not know Channels television and the quality of its staff  in Nigeria and their doggedness during interviews?

As I saw how the joke became widespread I was like how idle are Nigerians? But another thought stopped me “No, how bad are our leaders?”. Now, am talking about leaders at every level, whether at school, at work, our small communities and so on. If at these levels we have bad leaders and we fold our arms and we watch, of course we would have bad leaders at the top. Also, I want to ask we Nigerians, how knowledgeable are we about what we do ?

Well, that aside. My main worry is the way Nigerians took the issue. I thought the joke would stop at the video alone. But no! as I write some people had made handsome sums money off this blunder. We now have branded ‘oga at the top tee-shirts’ with a finger pointing upwards, musicians like Jahborne and springz have individually released solos titled “oga at the top” just in the space of 24 hours. There are cartoons and pictures, and those from whose websites we downloaded the video and songs are richer.
I must commend Nigerians for our creativity. It is highly commendable. However, can we channel this energy to positive things also? Let it not stop at "oga at the top". This issue has shown the power we have in our hands...technology. Through technology we have exposed a lot of ills in our country. Its during times like this I see the good sides of gadgets like Blackberry phones, we all know they are highly distracting too. Has it occured to us that through our phones we can decide 2015? that we can make strong statements  that would be the birth of great things in Nigeria? Comm. Shem's blunder opened my eyes to these facts.

However, I would like to see lasting solutions. I remember Aluu4, we made a lot of noise about it, and soon there were jokes about Aluu community and it ended there. How about we use IT to ensure that things are done the right way. Ridiculing the situation is 1st step..how about way forward?

Just as we broadcast jokes through the media, we can also think up solutions and use jokes,music,videos and so on to spread the message...you never know who is observing.

We are laughing and spreading pictures, videos, cartoons and music about ‘oga at the top’, but the issue is bigger than it looks.

This issue exposes at length, the bad reading or research culture of Nigerians. We would not read, we would not find out, if any one wants to help us, we ask for an easier way out. For example, today, one would send a link to some friends and be like read this, it would help you. About 90% would
Reply saying “abeg I open am e too long, what is the link about?”. Oh well, you opened it but would not read it!

I took part in an interview exercise as part of the interviewing team, I shook my head as I watched applicants mess up, for an interview whose advert was quite detailed. One would expect that as one hunting for job, such person would take the pains to develop him or herself while waiting and try to be acquainted for the job applied for.

So Comm. Shem, was just unfortunate to have exposed his ignorance on television. Many Nigerians would have done same and even worse.

However, I also thought in the line that he knew the website, but after having defended NSCDC for not taking part in job racketeering, and may be afraid that the interviewers would check the website and see that of course no advert for recruitment was on the site, he decided to be smart about it. It is just a thought.

Please Nigerians, lets not condone ignorance and lets not be ignorant ourselves. We should see this as a wake up call, to
be fully informed about who we are, what we do,
why we are doing what we are doing. The world is global village now, tommorow it could be anyone, and would travel the globe like Comm. Shem's and his blunder has done.

Nigerians Let us :
∙ Read widely
∙ Be sensitive, as we spread news, let's give way forward
∙ Beware! The world is now a global village, gossip soon fizzles out, but cyber gist never does . In 2050, google and you would find 'oga at the top'
∙ Suffer not corrupt practices to go without reprimand
∙ Not allow ignoant people lord over us
∙ See this interview as a wake up call to be better informed.

Now, let me go back to work, before my boss reprimands me.

GOD bless Nigeria.

Better Nigeria: Change We Can See

BY IPHIE MANUELZ
Being away from home for sometime, it was very easy to spot changes that have occurred over the time that I had been away, change that people who had experienced the process of this change take for granted. Change they say is the only thing that is constant, whether change is acceptable or not is up to the people affected by this change.

Being away from home, it was easy to notice the change that had taken place in Nigeria, especially in Abuja where I live, over the year that I had been away for. The changes were both good and bad, they impacted the life of Nigerians both negatively and positively. Now I am not here to talk about the negative changes that has occurred since I had been away, we all know them, I am here to talk about the positive changes I could see. Yes Nigeria is besieged with so many problems linked to corruption, but that doesn't mean we should be ungrateful for the little things that the government is getting right. There is nothing wrong with noticing and appreciating the government even though what they are doing is their duty.

I made it a priority to look out for positive change during my visit. The first positive change I noticed on the day I got into Nigeria was that the old domestic area of the local wing in the Lagos airport. It was wearing a new look, when I landed in Lagos in January 2012 for my trip to London, I can definitely tell you that it was in a sorry state. It had working conveyor belts now, there was no disruption of power. That was a good home coming gift I must admit, although the heat and bus ride from the international wing was trying to spoil this joy, I didn't let them.

Next leg of my journey was to my beloved city of Abuja where I noticed some changes too. First change I noticed was the Lugbe express way, on a good day the airport to my house would take atleast 25minutes, but include the Lugbe traffic jam and you had to leave your house 2hours ahead of time, this trip was made in under 25minutes.

The next thing I noticed was the light situation, it had certainly gotten better. Through out my stay, which lasted for almost a month the generator was turned on only twice, once for my aunt to iron her dress and the second time on the day I was leaving for me to print out my ticket, there was even light in one phase, just not on the phase with the printer. Now I am not saying they never took the light, they just never took the light long enough for the inverter's battery to run down and require the gen to be turned on.

If you live in Gwarimpa, you probably know that Gwarimpa houses run on borehole water. Well that is about to change, pipes have been laid for water distribution by the Water board in Gwarimpa, I am not sure when they would start suppling, but it can't be too far away anymore right?

If you drive in Abuja, you probably would have noticed my next observation, the street signs that sprung up all over town are a nice development if you ask me. These signs help maintain sanity on the road, I know I tried very hard to observe them. You must have also noticed how free Wuse market road is now right, thats one development I am sure a lot of Abujans are happy with, I know a lot of you that didn't even use to dare going to that area even if you were paid. In terms of road user regulations, I am very glad to say that when I went to renew my licence at the VIO, I was glad to see that the VIO official were doing a good job of ensuring that the people whose licences were renewed were worthy of being on the road. They are also slowly creating a massive data base, that in my opinion if maintained properly would be a good source of information for the police, drivers are ten printed before being allocated temporary licences, this fingerprints can help solve crime.

The last but not the least has to be my favourite observation during this visit. The Kubwa express road is just a beauty to drive, but the best part of driving on that road is driving on it at night when all the street light were turned on. For the fifteen minutes I was on it, I was transported out of Nigeria. The road had my cousin dancing between 120km/h and 140km/h, we went from Gwarimpa to Garki 2 in under 15 minutes, and no i am not encouraging speed. Funny that not everybody appreciates these roads, when my sister commented on a taxi driver that ran into a gutter, the driver of the taxi she was in went 'aunty na government fault, why them go make the road wide like this'. Really, the government does not give you road, you complain, they have given you road now, you are still complaining. *sigh* you can never win with people.

These were the little changes I can remember noticing while I was around. I am not saying Nigeria doesn't have problems, I am just saying appreciate the little that we have, while we fight for a better Nigeria. Like I always say, the change we want for Nigeria wouldn't just happen at once, it would be a gradual process, so let's start appreciating that change from now. And no I have never met GEJ or any of his cronies, neither am I looking for an appointment, I am just a Nigerian who is saying it as I see it.

I am sure you guys must have observed some positive change, please feel free to let us know through the comment section.