The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

CBN remains committed to sports development

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso yesterday said that the bank is irrevocably committed to the development of sports activities in the country.

Mr Cardoso added that CBN has accordingly, been in the forefront of supporting and developing sports through “our sponsorship of other events which include the CBN Lawn Tennis Open and CBN Golf tournaments.”

CBN said this in Ilorin, Kwara state capital at the finals of the 42nd edition of the CBN Governor’s Cup Football Competition.

Abuja Headquarters of CBN FC and Lagos FC played the final with the former emerging victorious.

CBN Lagos FC came second, and CBN Bauchi FC beat Ilorin FC to cling the third place.

Represented by the Head Employee Relations and Welfare Division of the Human Resources Department of the CBN, Mrs. Brenda Daurang, Cardoso added: “The significance of the competition, reflected in the bank’s corporate social responsibility and derived from its sponsorship of the All-financial institutions’ football competition, remains a testament to the bank’s contributions towards the development of sports in the country.

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“This year’s competition featured the 2nd edition of the “All Female Novelty Football Match” which took place this morning.

“The aim is to usher in a sporting activity for women along with the governor’s cup competition and continue to engender social recreation, cohesion, team building, and a healthy workforce as well as create a diverse and inclusive sports community within the bank.

“The winners of the finals will receive a trophy, gold medals and a cash prize of 2,000,000.00, while the secnd and third place winners will go home with silver and bronze medals as well as 1,500,000.00 and N1, 000,000.00, respectively.

“The 4th place team will receive the sum of 500,000.00. Trophies will also be given to the Most Disciplined Team (MDT), Highest Goal Scorer (HGS) and the Most Valuable Player (MVP).”

December 10, 2023
United Nigeria Airlines, Enyimba FC seal N100m sponsorship deal

The United Nigeria Airlines has signed a N100 million sponsorship agreement with the Enyimba Football Club of Aba.

The two-year sponsorship deal represents a major milestone for both organisations.

The deal entails use of the airline’s branded T-shirts and other materials by the players, provision of airline transportation for the team, among other needs.

At the signing of the agreement at the airline’s corporate head office in Enugu weekend, chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo said that he was attracted to Enyimba FC since the legendary Kanu Nwankwo became the Chairman of the club.

Okonkwo noted that his airline’s mantra which is ‘Flying to Unite’ is in line with what football does to Nigerians.

According to him, the airline has seen football as a very important factor that unites Nigerians regardless of state, tribe or religion.

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“Football is one thing that if it’s being played, you always place emotional attachment and it gives one joy and in our Corporate Social Responsibility, we see that as an important thing that we should identify with and we didn’t find anyone better than working with the King himself, Papilo (Kanu Nwankwo).

“The happiest moment in my life had to do with Super Eagles, that was the Atlanta 1996. Unfortunately again the saddest moment in my life had to also to do with the Super Eagles, that was USA 1994, the day we lost that match to Italy. But the 1996 Atlanta match, I’ve watched it over 50 times because it refreshes me, especially the semi-final because Kanu was at the center of it.”

In his remarks, the chairman of Enyimba FC and former Super Eagles captain, Kanu Nwankwo expressed deep appreciation for the partnership with the United Nigeria Airline.

December 10, 2023
‘Why we need to groom young gospel artistes’

As the yuletide season draws nearer, top-list gospel artistes continue to dominate major gospel concerts and shows, leaving little or no space for younger talents to thrive. ADEOLA OGUNLADE writes about the need for the church to open the space for new talents to blossom

I have a record label called Spotlite Nation. We are doing quite a lot. We are managing eight artistes who are under 23 and they are doing marvelous things. We are not losing the young artistes we are encouraging them.”

That was the submission of a fast-rising gospel artist, Moses Bliss Uyoh Enang, popular known as Moses Bliss, as he shared his story of rising to the top with our correspondent in Lagos, yesterday.

According to him, his rising was divine, adding that God and his church were instrumental to his success in ministry as a young artist.

Bliss, 28, who had his debut single in 2017 titled: ‘E No Dey Fall My Hand,’ said that there are a good number of young gospel artistes who are doing well in the gospel music industry.

Bliss cited the scriptures saying: ‘Seeth thou a man diligent in his business,: he will not stand before mean men but he will stand before kings. Be diligent and you will stand before great men.

“A lot is happening and help is available. Those who are doing the other music, maybe that is what they want to do. God has children-son and daughters who are ready to go all the way with him all the way,” he said.

Also, a songwriter and gospel artist, Tope Alabi, who has collaborated with up and coming artistes, said that the established gospel ministers are trying their best and as they get to know God the more, they will get it right. Jesus is the only way.

She stated that up and coming artistes must be patient and persevere as Rome was not built in a day. ‘ You want to move on the staircase and move from one to sixty at once, it is not possible”.

On her part, a worship leader, Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu, known professionally as Sinach, stated that she aspired for the biggest stage when she started. “I was helped in so many ways. Mentoring is a big part of it. I want to speak to young people from my heart. The fact that you are not making gains at first in serving God, does not mean you will not make gains later. Find where God has called you and don’t allow the devil to deceive you into error because of wealth, fame, and prosperity”.

Sinach posited that helping young gospel talents is huge. “We are setting up a process to help young artistes and creatives in different ways. If they are good., they can see that the future is so bright.

Also, a trumpeter and producer, Evangelist Nathaniel Bassey said “I think that by living by example and setting the example for young talents to follow is the way to go in raising new gospel talents in our generation.

“From time to time, I take the bull by the horns through mentorship sessions and training people. We have a project tagged: 50. It is a close meeting of emerging gospel ministers. We put them together to speak, train, and answer questions, and then from time to time, we create opportunities for them and just identify great talents and mentoring”.

“I am sure that with a platform like The Experience, young talents hope will be greatly increased. I remember at the Experience in 2008 when it was raining, I was worshiping and singing You are Alpha and Omega. I came to love the Lord and sing and I just felt something in my heart that The Experience painted the picture of my future. Here, I am ministering back to back at The Experience. With platforms like this, we are creating hope and a bright future for our young artists. We, as top gospel artistes must live a life worthy of emulations and we expect them to follow us as we follow Christ”, he said.

Role of the church in raising new talents

A front runner in gospel ministry and Publishers of Today’s Music, Mr Faith Ajiboye said that the need for the church to create platforms that will help up and coming artistes is crucial and imperative. A church like Christ Embassy is leading the way in raising new gospel artistes by setting up a studio and giving the artistes a platform to encourage them. Artistes like Buchi, Eben, Sinach, and Moses Bliss have benefited greatly from the church. The church must provide the opportunity for their artistes to ‘blow’ and find expression for their talents. The church must be deliberate in disciplining their congregants including their artistes. If our youths are properly disciplined, nothing outside of Christ will entice them. I have been singing since 1989 and am still here by the grace of God. It is a function of the teachings and training I had when I started that nothing in this world will move me away from Christ. Unfortunately, discipleship is not the emphasis in many churches today as prosperity and healing messages have become the priority. It is a dangerous trend for the church

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“There is a level of discipleship that people receive that even if the church does not give them anything, they will stay there because they know their service is not to the church but to God. When you know that your service is to God, it does not matter what the world offers you, you will not look there. Teachings, discipleship, and training are major roles the church can play”, he said.

Also, a musicologist, Professor Albert Oikelome said that the role of the church is so huge, stating that so many pop musicians started from the church and were given the foundation from the church, and because the church did not follow up on them, they left the church. Some people feel they should be given some incentives, which I think is okay.

Oikeolome, who was the National Choir of Deeper Life Bible Church, said that the church gave incentives to it choir members in those days and it was indeed an enabler for them to come. The church has the money. The church has the style of music and a ready market for gospels talents. Every church is a market for gospel artists.

He cited Christ Embassy as a church that has a huge market for talents. The church can boast of 100, 000 congregants, it is a huge market for talents. What the church leader or set man of the church needs to do is to raise the CD or Album of the artist in front of the church and the whole church will buy it. The church should encourage artists to create songs, and let them sing these songs. Some churches missed it at the beginning. What they refused to do in the 80s or ’90s with the thinking that when they supported their artistes, that would make them shine and if possible outshine their churches. All the so-called A-lists gospel ministers in Nigeria, a good number of them had their upbringing in Deeper Life. They will tell you they started in Deeper Life and because there were no opportunities for expression, they had to leave. They will tell you they started from Baptist. Micheal Jackson and Whitney Houston started at Baptist Church and because the church was highly conservative, it affected them. They are churches learning in a fast way, that are opening their doors to their gospel artises.

Role of the artists

Oikolome noted that artistes who hope to be great must be at the right place at the right time with the right people and under the right mentorship of the right personality. “Be in the right place means that there are places where they kill talents. There are a thousand and one place where talents can be appreciated. The Bible says that the talents God has given to you is to profit wither. Profitable to people around and the person himself. and if you are not profitable, you are the one to be blamed. If you have the right genre of songs, you can blossom where you are planted. If you feel you are planted in a place of tears. Times are of the essence to young people. It is like women who have biological clocks. Talents have a clock. Stay with people who understand you. Learn from young people like yourself. You have to search for yourself. You will find people who believe in you so you create your niche. Find a mentor. You cannot be an island. In looking for expression, look for mentors who can help you through those expressions. You can even work for free. You can’t replace experience with money.”

Oikeolome posited that the disciples for three years were under the apprenticeship of Christ. “I believe the apprenticeship is what a lot of youths are missing. You can gather your talents with people In the process of learning as an apprenticeship, you will learn so much you can see in schools. Duscin Oyekan started at a loss. He composed his songs years ago and they were not accepted but with consistency he became one of the most sought after gospel artistes in Nigeria. Consistency is the key, Oikeolome said.

December 10, 2023
How my fortunes changed after Ebuka Obi prayed for me – Nwole

A former member of the National Assembly, Hon. Dr. Uche Nwole, has recently testified at Zion Prayer Movement Outreach (ZPMOM) about how his Christian ministry and business witnessed a positive turnaround after he joined the Evangelist Ebuka Obi-led prayer ministry.

Hon. Nwole, who represented Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, told the audience at Zion City at Okota, Lagos, that he flew in from the United Kingdom to testify to what God did in his life through Evangelist Ebuka.

He said when he noticed all his family in the UK were addicted to the ministry online, he started praying and challenged God with an offering and asked that if Evangelist Ebuka was a true prophet, God should make him mention his name in his prophecies. This became a reality on February 9 this year when Ebuka prophesied about him during his online Open Heavens programme.

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He stated that the Evangelist also mentioned something only a few people who knew him were aware of – a family deity which he was supposed to serve but because he rejected it and founded a church, his business and ministry became crippled.

Hon. Nwole confirmed to the congregation, however, that after the prophet mentioned his case and prayed for him, things started turning around for good.

“This convinced me that the prophet is real and I came down to Nigeria to step my foot on Zion ground and confirm to everyone that Evangelist Ebuka is a rare gift to the world”.

December 10, 2023
Oyegbami, Adegbite assure Nigeria will be great again

The National President, of Ministers of God Prayer Network International, Bishop Bola Oyegbami has assured Nigerians that the country will prosper again.

She gave the assurance at the end of seven days of prayer for peace in Nigeria which took place in Lagos where the Lagos State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman, Bishop Stephen Adegbite also emphasized on the need for the prayer on peace and stability in Lagos State and Nigeria at large.

Oyegbami also hinged the prayer for the nation on the need to align the throne of the presidency with the throne of God to enable the government actualise its plans to take Nigeria out of the woods and move the nation forward.

“We believe when any matter is settled in the spiritual realm, the actualisation in the physical would be easily implemented.

“For us to prosper in Nigeria, we must discourage the exodus of our youth.

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“The fact is that Nigeria will not develop and prosper if our youthful tech., savvy population leave the country daily as it is apparent that our demographic dividend is gradually disappearing with the ‘japa syndrome’. Our skilled youth professionals leaving the country to develop another country is nothing but a brain drain.

“The essence of this seven days prayer and fasting is also to call on God to repair all those foundations of people that are in government for prosperity to come to our nation spiritually because spiritual must be taken care of before the physical,” she said.

Adegbite who was represented at the event by CAN Chairman, Ikeja South, Ambassador Enoch Adesola advised Nigerians to always say good things about Nigeria because every negative pronouncement about the country will bounce back on them.

He advised the government to make the country conducive for the youth and create an empowerment that will discourage them from running away from their country.

He advised the government to stop importation, adding that Nigeria has enough resources to develop and produce what the populace needs.

December 10, 2023
Cleric to FG: work for interest of Nigerians

The Presiding Shepard of Harvest Centre Mission), Prophet Wale Ojo David has advised President Bola Tinubu and his cabinet ministers to carry out their work in the interest of Nigerians.

David said this in a statement issued to The Nation yesterday in Lagos, said that the choice of President Bola Tinubu is God’s choice for Nigeria and that Mr. President is a man of honor with a high vision and has full understanding by the grace of God to examine the crises and weaknesses of Nigeria today, to rescue our Nation from the high cost of items.

“Mr. President that the good people celebrate today not in Lagos only but, across the globe should work more as Nigerians need a better transformation that will come as a new story according to the word of God”, he said.

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This is because of the erroneous motive we now have that the high cost of items can never go down but rather will continue to increase.

“Mr. President that the good people celebrate today not in Lagos only but, across the globe should work more as Nigerians need a better transformation that will come as a new story according to the word of God”, he said.

David urged Nigerians to continue to pray as stewards for more strength and wisdom toward building a better country, stressed that all the leaders and government functionaries should also work against wrong policies that can fight for the people’s comfort in Nigeria.

December 10, 2023
2024: Tinubu’ s govt will make reasonable landmark – Olujobi

Nigerians have been advised not to despair despite the challenges facing the country.

Speaking during a session with the press in Lagos on the state of the nation and the prophecies for 2024, the Founder of Wisdom Church of Christ International, Prophet Bisi Olujobi, said 2024 would be a better year for the nation.

According to him, while 2024 will start on a platter of uncertainties, he said the economy would eventually pick up and “this will favour a lot of Nigerians as Tinubu’s government will score a reasonable landmark in this regard.”

He described as normal criticisms that President Tinubu is currently getting from some quarters, especially regarding his policies adding that “if you do good, people will criticize you, if you are not doing good they will criticize you, that one is a normal thing. But what we believe as prophets is what God said to us.

“Nigerians should be hopeful, the man is going to work.”

Narrating his experience on the events leading to the pre -2023 presidential election, he said “I remember what God revealed to me about him (Tinubu), I was praying for him. I could remember the time, I did three days dry fasting for him, it was not that he came or he should come and give me money, no! but I was only doing according to what God revealed to me not according to what I was going to gain. The Lord will bless him and be with him. “Things are going to work well in this country.

“They will criticize him that is normal, there is no government that will be on the throne that they will not criticise.”

Olujobi disclosed that his prophesies of the result of 2023 election that Tinubu would be first, Atiku would be second, Obi third and Kwankwasi fourth, came to pass but this did not go down well with some people. ” I was threatened, they said they were coming to burn my church, they came here to set fire on my church, they told me on the phone that they were coming, they said why was I supporting Tinubu, maybe he has given me something.

“I still remember some people that waylaid me on the street because of Tinubu.

“I have never met the man one on one, discussing with him, no, but I just said what God told me then

“Thank God they did not poison me, they wanted to poison me that time, the Lord revealed it to me, thank God for the prayer we prayed then. I could remember 31 people gathered together praying for him,

“They asked me reasons for praying for Tinubu, and I told them you are not the one that made him, the maker is God, let Him judge. We thank God that he got to the place. And the Lord will be with him. But he needs to pray more, he should not rely on people because there are some cabals that will operate beyond his own capacity, he will get to a point where he will be fed up with the cabals. They will force him to do what he does not desire to do.”

The cleric advised former Vice President Atiku not to bother to contest election again, saying”Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should not waste his time and money as his political career profile has expired spiritually. I remember I recently told some of his spiritual confidants who came to me for spiritual counsel that the man has no political future again as far as Nigeria is concerned, he should be advised to retire as not to suffer more ridicule and defeat.”

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He also revealed that the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki will bounce back politically, ‘he will be courted as a new bride. The chance is still available for him if he can pray. If Saraki can start working now, the room is already open to become president in the future.I’m not saying he going to become president now.

He should not relent on his efforts, he is still young, there is still hope for him.. He needs to work more because the mark of God is upon him. This country should not underrate him.’

On Wike, Olujobi said the Lord revealed to him that the minister would still encounter more heavy betrayals, all his efforts to use federal connections would fail him as I had initially forewarned. They will betray him, there is nothing he can do about that one will surely come. “He just needs to be careful so that he will not lose his life, I pray that the Lord will be with him. He needs to be extraordinarily careful.”

The seer also revealed that while one of the biggest Pentecostal churches in the Southwest will disintegrate, the leader of the church is likely to pass on if he does not seek the face of God.

Naira Marley, Wizkid, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, David Adeleke, Rotimi Akeredolu, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, all need to seek the face of God over one challenge or the other.

He also disclosed that Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State will stand as a heavy force in the north, “the man will make heavier remarkable political feats. But he needs to pray and be wary of women.”

Speaking on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, he said the commission will have a remarkable score as more secrets would be revealed.

He warned that some prominent traditional rulers in the Yorubaland will join their ancestors, saying if they can pray, they could have their lives elongated.

On the new Kogi governor, Usman Ododo and his Zamfara State counterpart, Dauda Lawal, he said they need lots of prayers. If they pray very well, the Lord will still show mercy on them.

December 10, 2023
Eleventh hour, eleventh day, eleventh month (II)

The immediate cause of the Great War was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo but the remote causes could be traced back more than fifty years with the rise and rise of a unified German state in the middle of Europe. This unification which brought all ethnic Germans, except those in Austria and Switzerland together, under the leadership of the militaristic Prussian state was painstakingly put together under the uncompromising hand of Otto von Bismarck, also known to the world as the Iron Chancellor. Even before this unification was complete, the military fettle of the new nation was tested against France, the only country which had the military clout to stand against the new German Empire. They had been contemptuously swatted aside in a short sharp war which put the French in their place. The war, short as it was, struck such a blow at French morale and national integrity that it was the subject of a bitter novel, The debacle, by the eminent French writer Emile Zola. To make matters worse, the seeds of another round of fighting were sown by the annexation of the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. Had this annexation not been reversed at the end of the Great war, the former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger would have been born a German and not French as we have come to know him to be.

The Germans did not go through the pain of unification for sentimental reasons but for the purpose of building a thrusting productive country in the heart of Europe; a new country with the capacity to compete with Britain and her empire for global markets and diplomatic influence. Up until that time, the British under the protection of the Royal Navy extended their influence all over the world making it difficult for other nations to threaten the monopoly which Britain exercised over global trade and diplomacy at that time. It has to be said that Britain had been dominant at sea for close to a century and was determined to hold on to her pre-eminent status at all cost if necessary. To this end, the British Parliament passed the Naval Defence Act, which formally adopted the ‘two-power standard’. This stipulated that the Royal Navy should maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies in the world. The first sign that the Germans were determined to challenge British hegemony was that she started a spate of warship building which threatened to produce enough ships to close the gap in naval power with Britain. The British were not amused and had to build up their naval capacity to such an extent that the Royal Navy remained the most powerful navy at the beginning of WW I. But, this came at great cost.

The Germans arrived late, very late at the European table where the rest of the world, especially Africa was on the menu. It was in an attempt to gather something for themselves that Germany was at the front of efforts to partition Africa. They were determined to ‘have their own place in the sun’ and this is why it fell to Bismarck to invite the statesmen of Europe to Berlin, there to carve up Africa like a turkey to the satisfaction of European interests. At the end of the conference however, Germany came away with small portions of African real estate which could not have satisfied her ‘legitimate’ yearning for a place in the sun. What she could not win at the Conference table, Germany confidently expected to win in battle and so, the squabble over Africa which Bismarck wanted to prevent was only postponed.

The period before WW I was one of a great industrial leap forward and in each country in Europe, it was full steam ahead as they produced a broad spectrum of industrial goods at the rate of knots. The factories were not only producing domestic appliances and bicycles but were turning their attention to the production of arms, ammunition and powerful explosives with which to force their influence over their neighbours, some of them like Germany and Italy which had just been forged and therefore ready to defend their new status with blood if necessary.

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The situation in Europe was such that their kings, statesmen, generals and the general populace which had no idea what a straggly little machine gun could do to human flesh clamoured for war. When war was declared, the news was welcomed with jubilation and uncontrolled excitement. The young men were fairly giddy with expectation as they went off or were carried to the war front by speedy railways which criss-crossed the continent like blood vessels through muscles. Even the ladies prepared for a desirable phase in their lives, the thought of losing their loved ones in the war very far from their minds. It was as if the whole of Europe was preparing for a grand picnic by the sea side.

When the guns began to bellow and machine guns began to stutter, it was clear that in the words of General Sherman during the American civil war, war was hell as all those caught up in it began to howl in the manner of demented wolves. Millions of men were thrown into the conflict and they were led into it by insensate generals who saw their men as nothing more than cannon fodder to be slaughtered at will for the achievement of minor military objectives. The armies stood toe to toe and let loose barrage after barrage of deadly munitions at the practically unprotected positions of the enemy. At the battle of the Somme in a five month period, the British army sustained more than 400,000 casualties with sixty thousand young men mown down like grass in the first morning of the battle; the largest single casualty figure for a day’s fighting in the history of the British army. Their commander, Douglas Haig was unperturbed by this scale of slaughter for which he was christened ‘Butcher’ by his men who bore the brunt of his strategy of fighting a war of attrition. So many men were lost that some working class men in Britain began to wonder if their officers were deliberately using the war as a means of decimating the working class. The only argument against this was that the officers drawn from the middle and ruling classes were losing their members in similar proportion. The men continued to bleed out into the mud of Flanders without any perceptible shift in territorial control. At the end of the battle of the Somme for example, the British had gained six miles of a muddy patch of ground for the loss of 420,000 men whilst their allies, the French lost 200,000 men. German casualty figures showed that they lost 450,000 men and their failure to replace such a large number of experienced fighting men in this and subsequent battles eventually led to their defeat in 1918. Thus, the Butcher won the war but at what cost.

In the end, the whole of Europe lost the war and I for one am awed by the severally demonstrated European capacity for the slaughter of men and the wanton destruction of material. It is a capacity totally unmatched and unmatchable by Africans, with the exception of those that had been trained in European war schools. The first field of technological development was in the development and production of weapons of mass destruction. It was during the Great war that tanks and aircraft were first used in battle and by the Second World War both had been converted into excellent killing machines but at least aircraft flying all over the world today have revolutionised human movement and is set to do even more. It appears that war, total war is a spur to the development of technology. Can it be that our lack of appetite for the large scale slaughter of human beings is at least partly responsible for our inability with coming to terms with the handling of cutting edge technology at this point in time?

A truly astounding post-script to the Great war is that three months short of the 31st anniversary of the Armistice, armed with infinitely more murderous weapons, the antagonists were back at their old game; slaughtering men, women and children with apparent joyful abandon, this time all over the world. The condition for growing poppies did not arise this time around and the highlight of this war were the mushroom clouds which covered Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the Japanese were fed a diet of atomic bombs to finally bring them to their collective knees.

December 10, 2023
Echoes of voices and places

Title: A Medley of Echoes

Author: Tunde Olusunle (PhD)

Publishers: Kraftgriosts, Ibadan

Year of publication: 2022

Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

It is quite heartwarming that Tunde Olusunle has given a fresh new voice to his poetic muse and delivery after years of disturbing lull and interregnum. This collection is really refreshing coming at a time when the political and social scenes in the country seem to stand at a crossroads. In the poems Olusunle lends his remarkable voice and imprint on the sand of times. He resonates with a loud voice that stirs the soul into realism. His is like a long voyage through time and into the recesses of life, where all sorts of issues tend to distort the normal flow of normalcy in all facets of life.

Entitled A Medley of Echoes, the lines drip with a poet’s prolonged sojourn into time, in which time is also of the essence. And you have to accompany him into the foyers of history, recounting and reappraising with him the nuances encountered in the process of this journey. They are not all horrendous, hazardous and bereft of humanism. Olusunle breeds ideas on the concepts of passage of time and life. He recalls history; he revisits places and issues where time is of the essence. He recollects with nostalgia moments of peace, nature and tranquil in his place of birth, a place where ancestors hobnob and commune with the living.

While dividing the book into sections he took his time to deal with each sub theme in breezy style and composite manner. As he does so he tears at the themes he treats thereby producing some of the amazing contemporary poems of all times. The poet makes it clear that a poet has the liberty to expose, explore, express and impress.

It shows how thus far he has come as a poet since 1996 when he had his debut collection themed: Fingermarks. You see here now a transformed poet, matured, resilient, who took time off to get better. He took time off too to sort some grey areas of his recourse into time. The first section is tilted Wandering Echoes, and dwelling on very many places he has traversed in the world. The experiences vary, some pleasant, while some are sordid, harsh and not comfortable to recollect or celebrate. Yet they all show a world where some have it good while some are still rummaging in the cocoon of regression, corruption and amnesia.

Examples of pleasant places abound. You embrace the soothing nerves of Istanbul, Turkey, Chitown, Chicago in the US while you snub such ugly contraptions such as Tinapa, Nigeria, where deterioration is a norm and where inertia has been elevated to the point of doldrums. Such are the parenthesis of life where some have it and keep it and some have it but rather discard it. Tinapa- “dream slaughtered/on the butcher’s slab/of our collective amnesia”. You needed to have been to Tinapa when it was at its peak to realize and appreciate why the poet is sorrowing, kicking and bemoaning.

Ibadan is also on the brink. Makurdi is no better, so also Lokoja, a former capital of Nigeria. How the mighty fallen. Tell it not in Abuja lest the poet broadcasts it. Ibadan- “global ordered disorder/and disorderly order”. But Port Harcourt “serially seize the throat/of hapless evenings”. It is all about different strokes for different folks as seen in 8115 Vilakazi street and within the confines of Nicon Hilton and Lagos-morphosis, and the way to Argungu where “of those who would dare/The silt and sand”. And so on and so forth.

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In Sombre Echoes, you encounter Hollow echoes, deep, contrived to celebrate Olu Obafemi, teacher, scholar, artiste and a Professor of English. Olusunle is poignant and precise. Here, is Obafemi his teacher from the days of yore. It is never a tribute too late or too small. When the escapades inside the ubiquitous African Hall of the University of Ilorin is mentioned familiarity creeps in. The poet says “fervidly fanned the flaming forge/where a million fertile minds”. Then here he goes on to mention some great people, teachers, raconteurs and so on who have joined the world beyond. It is such sorrowful rendition of ideas but the poet meticulously and carefully pays obeisance nonetheless. Yes, he says “The wilted banana stem/ has spawned a billion scions”. And of course life goes on amid all these anguish.

The section themed: Angry Echoes also reechoes into time, traditional and otherwise this time. The section dwells on ritual where it is “Midweek again/and billowing robes and Hilfiger suits/Porsche watches and suede shoes/siren their paths in unending convoy…” And you see many disturbing groups sprouting out to derail Nigeria – “of the blood-guzzling Boko Haram/Ombatse, Egbesu, Oodua, IPOB/and other ghommids”. With all these how would kidnapping and terrorism and other inanities of a troubled society end? You have servant-looters and payback, all like a template in cacophony of voices. That template, Olusunle situates thus: “This self-same tepid template/to no end”.

In Earthly Echoes, he traces “past treacherous bumps/and ever twisting bends/past gullies, gnawed deep,/deep still to laterited marrows”, as he and others journeyed home for the yuletide echoes. As a poet, Olusunle is at home with his rural people, his cradle and ancestral embrace. And so he says: ‘ let me bask with this priceless oasis of sanity,/in the pristine homeland”. In other words, East or West home beckons; it is where realities are exhibited uninhibited. And so finally we all follow the poet to Ijagbe where sun-tanned Igba/soothes the throaty passage, of aromatic oguro/where banters and backslaps/reinforce homeland conviviality”. And where, perhaps, Doctor Tunde Olusunle, the poet feels freer to consume kegs of palm wine in the midst of his relations and kinsmen. It is all about a poet’s recourse in and out of season, reconnecting with his roots. With tributes to his beloved parents, Olusunle equally recollects his two previous offerings that made waves and still do in the literary firmament. They are: Fingermarks, 1996 and Rhythms of the Mortar, 2001. All these have helped to establish his name in literary circle here and elsewhere.

December 10, 2023
IBB’s day of honour in Anambra

All roads will lead to Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State on December 15 for the maiden edition of Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Public Lecture series organised by the school’s alumni association.

Former governors, sitting governors, ex-ministers and senators, among others, will storm the community of former Vice President, the late Dr Alex Ekwueme, for the event.

The event, which is billed to hold at the polytechnic’s auditorium, will also be attended by House of Representatives members and influential business moguls. Former governors Jim Nwobodo and Chukwuemeka Ezeife will also be in the mix.

The inaugural lecture, themed ‘The Ingenious of Rtd General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and the Making of Federal Polytechnic Oko’, will be delivered by Prof. Eugene Nwadialor, Vice Chancellor of Tansian University, Umunya in Oyi LGA.

Incidentally, Nwadialor was said to be the Rector of Anambra State Polytechnic, Oko when it was made a Federal Polytechnic.

National President of the Federal Polytechnic Oko Alumni Association, Nze Henry Nnebe, said that the association settled for IBB because he made the institution a federal polytechnic, and that action, according to him, impacted it positively.

“It is because of the fact that the school was made a federal polytechnic which made it to have more funding. And more funding with good administrators and lecturers will give you success.

“So, we decided to remember the person that helped this school tremendously by making it a federal institution. That is the person of General Ibrahim Babangida. And till date, he is the highest visitor ever to have graced the land of this polytechnic.

“He was here in August 1992. Then I was the Speaker of the Students’ Union Government (SUG). And since 1992 till date, no other president has visited this institution.”

Nnebe said that IBB also donated generously to the institution and the money was used to equip the Mass Communication Department with state-of-the-art facilities as well as the upgrading of the institution’s infrastructure.

The National President, who said that there would also be an award presentation that day on the deserving recipients, gave a rundown of the polytechnic’s history, thus:“The kernel of what eventually became The Polytechnic was the brainchild of Oko Progressive Union (OPU) greatly catalysed by the patronage, resourcefulness and result-oriented leadership of its pioneer Chairman, a former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, GCON.

“At inception in 1979, the institution was approved by the Anambra State Government as a College of Arts and Science designed to prepare candidates for the General Certificate in Education (GCE) examination at both the ordinary and advanced levels.

“On June 28, 1980, Chief Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, the Governor of old Anambra State, upgraded the institution to College of Arts, Science and Technology; an elevation that made it more attractive to young school leavers who came in droves to seek diploma certificate which the college could award.

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“The then principal of the college, Mr Ndu Lawrence, was elevated to provost of the college. The coming of the military regime of Rear Admiral Alison Madueke as the Sole Administrator of the then Anambra State saw the college formalised as the Anambra State Polytechnic, Oko through Edict No. 12 of 1985, published as a supplement to the Anambra State of Nigeria Gazette No. 24, volume 10 of June 27, 1984.

“His administration lured Prof. Ezeilo, a professor of Mathematics, to become the first Rector of the Polytechnic, and he laid a solid foundation for the polytechnic.

“In 1993, the Anambra State Polytechnic, Oko with many other institutions across the country, was taken over by the Federal Government of Nigeria under the able and proactive leadership of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (rtd) to reflect federal character, and the institution was renamed Federal Polytechnic, Oko.

“The institution is strategically located and surrounded by several centres of industry, commerce and diverse local craft such as Awka (well known for blacksmith/iron works) Nnewi (industry and technological products), Onitsha and Aba (reputed for commerce and industries).

“Federal Polytechnic, Oko was so lucky that the rector of the polytechnic then, Dr. Eugene Nwadialor, a London-trained chartered accountant who was an internal rector, was retained as the new rector of the polytechnic.

“With him being at the helm of affairs and as a prudent manager of resources with tenacity of purpose, the institution experienced tremendous growth amidst paucity of funds.”

Nnebe said that the sagacious human resources management of Prof. Nwadialor, fondly called ‘Ozuo omee’ or ‘Ogidi’, saw the staff of the polytechnic contributing from their meager salaries to fund construction of classrooms for accreditation.

He said the SUG led by Tony Nwosu as President, himself as Speaker and Igwe Maurice Aghara (Okaa Omee VI) galvanized students to produce 1,500 desks to enable the students to take examinations before the Federal Government finally took over the polytechnic in April 1993.

The National President, Nnebe, said that the history of this journey of growth and development of the polytechnic was something that needed to be retold and brought to bear so that its relevance to the institution would be rekindled among the staff, students and indeed the community.

“Given the aforesaid circumstance, the Alumni Association wants to use Rtd General Ibrahim Babangida’s Annual Public Lecture to mirror the activities of the polytechnic, share experiences that provide context and insight, and ponder on ways to make it better and greater through research and learning.

“This inaugural annual public lecture occasion will witness the establishment of Rtd. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida International Museum in Federal Polytechnic Oko.

“The museum will document relics of the Nigerian polytechnics and monotechnics, chronicle Federal Polytechnic, Oko and its events; house an Exhibition Hall, Hall of fame for the polytechnic, library, study centre and will be a reference Museum for Science and Technology in Nigeria,” he stated.

The association said that the highlight of the occasion would be awards presentation to the best-graduating students in every department.

Members of staff who have served the polytechnic meritoriously for over 30 years, according to it, would be designated as Polytechnic Veterans, while Alumnus/Alumnae who carved a niche for themselves growing the association will be awarded Polytechnic Ambassadors.

Nnebe added that plans were underway to immortalise the progenitors of the institution by the alumni association. They are: Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, who initiated the institution; Mr. Lawrence Ndu, who was the first Principal/Provost when it was a college, and Prof. Ezeilo, the first Rector as a polytechnic.

Others are Chief Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, the Governor that made the institution Diploma awarding College, Rear Admiral Alison Madueke who renamed it a polytechnic; Rtd General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida who took over and made it a Federal Polytechnic; Prof. Eugene Nwadialor, the transition Rector of the polytechnic from State to Federal Polytechnic.

He described the “rectorship of Mr. Ndu and Prof. Ezeilo as inspirational and monumental, while Dr. A. B Uzuakpunwa and Prof. Eugene Nwadialor were leaders par excellence in managing the scarce resources available to set standards worthy of being a tradition by pioneering accreditation and creating acceptability with the famous slogan ‘Anampoly is Okay’.”

“Prof. Nzewi tried his best to steady the ship while Prof. Uba Nwuba and Dr. Yusuf Awodi brought discipline and integrity. Prof Godwin Onu continued with innovation and bulldozed on infrastructure that led to the school becoming ‘The Polytechnic of the Moment.’

“Currently, the Polytechnic is on another page, a rare gem has entered the block. Engr. Dr. Mrs Francisca Unoma Nwafulugo, who happened to be the first female Rector of the Polytechnic and one with great potential, is serving the polytechnic, and her contributions towards the development of this great citadel of learning will be properly appraised after her tenure.

“Sir Izuchukwu Nwabueze, CEO of Premier Breweries, Ambassador of Federal Polytechnic Oko, who holds over 217 awards ranging from educational, religious, socio-cultural, faith-based, professional, government to corporate organisations, will Chair the Committee of retired General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida Annual Lecture series, while Dr. Joseph Ogai of Mass Communication Department, Federal Polytechnic Oko will be the Secretary.

“Other members include Dr. Emmanuel Ezenwafor, Prince Emeka Ezeoke, Dr. Gift Eyisi, Mr. Chidi Ikechukwu and Mr. Gabriel Nwafor.”

December 10, 2023