The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • The Nigerian Civil Service: A Reformer’s Manifesto (2)

    One of the strongest points of Dr Tunji Olaopa’s new book, ‘The Nigerian Civil Service of the Future: A Prospective Analysis’ is its detailed account of the evolution of the Nigerian public service as well as a rigorous analysis of the process, triumphs, travails and failures of public sector institutional reforms from the colonial era through the various phases of the country’s post-independence period. We are thus enabled to trace the systematic and incremental deterioration of the civil service from the efficiency and qualitative policy conceptualisation and implementation that was the colonial legacy, through the golden age of the immediate post-independence era and the consequent downward plunge in the orientation, values and efficacy of the civil service. We can thus see the correlation between the degeneration of the civil service and the disorientation and mal-development of the Nigerian polity and society. Dr Olaopa conceptualises civil service reforms in Nigeria from two perspectives: first, achieving a set of future goals and second, retrieving lost positive and valuable attributes of the past. Utilising divergent experiences of civil service leadership titans of the first republic such as Chief Simon Adebo in the Western region and Chief Jerome Udoji in the Eastern region, Dr Olaopa shows the critical linkage between a functional civil service and ‘good development performance’.

    It is thus his contention that to help the country achieve development objectives of the future, the Nigerian civil service must re-discover its lost attributes of incorruptibility, discipline, loyalty and competence that aided the political leadership of the first republic to achieve the still unprecedented socio-economic strides of the period. He points out that under Chief Adebo’s leadership, for instance, some of the qualities of the Western region civil service included emphasis on service and mutually respectful relationships among seniors, colleagues and subordinates as human beings; the establishment of qualitative institutions/mechanisms to reproduce qualitative leadership through continuous training and effective succession plans; collaboration between academics and administrators in policy conceptualisation and generation of ideas as well as boosting confidence between staff and management through vibrant industrial relations practice.

    Adopting a near evangelical, proselytising stance in his fervent advocacy for the emergence of a ‘new public service’ predicated on the retrieval of lost values, Dr Olaopa contends that the civil service is not just an employment but a spiritual endeavour which emphasises leadership as integrity in service. In this regard he laments that “In the Federal Civil Service, there are too many people doing nothing, too many doing too little and too few people doing too much”. This is what he describes as the phenomenon of ‘bureaucratic pathology’. He attributes the institutional decay in the public service to various developments in the evolution of the service including the post-independence Nigerianisation policy that devalued competence and professionalism in the service; the decimating purge of the 1970s; the culture of impunity and ‘with immediate effect’ attendant on military rule; the administrative incoherence engendered by the debilitating organisational politics between generalists and professionals; negative implication for quality of ceaseless creation of states as well as the value erosion associated with the oil boom.

    According to Dr Olaopa, the crisis of state, society and economy that practically paralysed the African economies in the mid-eighties took a heavy toll on a civil service that had been considerably weakened by post-colonial contradictions. In the wake of the ensuing neo-liberal reforms to address this crisis, the civil service along with other public sector actors, was perceived as lacking the capacity of steering the society on the path of economic efficiency and good governance predicated on transparent and sustainable democracy. The imperative of public service reforms, Dr Olaopa continues, deepened with the increasing democratic pressures on the state. Ironically, the intensely partisan environment attendant on democratisation intensified the problems of corruption, nepotism as well as clientalist and primordial considerations that further incapacitated the public service from fulfilling its potential to assist government in delivering qualitative and efficient social services to the people.

    The author is definitely in a vantage position, as we noted in the first part of this review, to discuss in an informed manner why public sector reforms have failed for the most part of post-independence Nigeria. This he does exhaustively in his magnum opus. Much more important than the content of various reforms – decentralisation, New Public Administration, capacity building etc – he argues are the strategies and tactics to actualize the objectives of reforms. It is thus at the stage of implementation, that otherwise sound reform programmes have failed dismally. He looks at every aspect of the conceptualisation, implementation, management, monitoring and strengthening of the reform process in Nigeria. The sense one gets from the book is that reforms; a continual process of self-examination and unending institutional improvement never reaches a terminal point.

    From this perspective, it follows that the only basis of sustained development and progress in an ever increasingly competitive world is for a society never to be satisfied with its level of socio-economic, political, cultural and moral attainment. Just as with liberty, eternal vigilance to protect and continuously enhance reforms is the price for the avoidance of institutional stagnation and decay. Thus,Olaopa in various chapters expertly examines different aspects of the reform process – strengthening the capacity of government to deliver on key functions of policy implementation, service delivery and security; the dynamics of pay and compensation in the public service; managing public sector industrial relations; rethinking personnel management and performance and ultimately advocates the institutionalisation of reforms through the establishment of a Bureau of Public Service Reforms as a lead reform agency in Nigeria.

    In one of the most important chapters in the book, Dr Olaopa brings a practitioner’s perspective to bear on the phenomenon of ‘Bureaucratic Corruption and the Public Service’. Quoting Edward Griffin, he affirms that “To oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism”. He examines in detail various manifestations of bureaucratic corruption including bribery, embezzlement, fraud, extortion, abuse of power, conflict of interest, Insider trading/abuse of privileged information, favouritism and nepotism. After a clinical and thorough diagnosis of the contagion, Olaopa proposes various preventive and curative strategies to tame one of the most sinister monsters that has impeded the reform process in Nigeria and turned the country into what Professor EghosaOsaghie calls a ‘crippled giant’. Of course, Dr Olaopa admits that central to any meaningful anti-corruption initiative must be “the availability of the political and bureaucratic will from the leadership to alleviate corruption in all its manifestations”. Is this not a tall dream in a political economy in which vicious and unstructured competition for state power – elective and appointive – for the purpose of primitive capital accumulation is the driving force of politics? That is the million dollar question.

  • Group offers Our united heritage

    Group offers Our united heritage

    It all started in April 2010 when 30 Nigerian artists were selected out of about 150 entries for the third Lagos Black Heritage Festival. The thirty finalists selected for the final stage of the visual art competition have transformed into a new group, 3rd Black Heritage Artists to provide a platform for the exhibition of works by the practising studio artists.

    On Saturday, September 27, the group will hold an exhibition titled Our United Heritage at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos. The exhibiting artists include Kunle Adeyemi, Akin Onipede, John Onobrakpeya, El-Dragg Leonard Okwoju, Dotun Alabi, Bimbo Adenugba, Aimufia Osagie, Harriet Ekwueme, Gbolade Omidiran, Kelani Abass, Folami Rasaq, Kehinde Sanwo, Oni Stephen, Ighodalo George and Edessy Lawrence.

    Others are Muyiwa Akinwolere, and Ola  Balogun. Others are Ike Francis, Abiodun Fagorola, Ajiboye Oluwarotimi, Sola Olumuyiwa, Idowu Biola, Fatai Adewale, Adeoye Lanke, Akintunde Gbenga, Munza Dhlimi Samaila, Kuti Ezebiro, Zibor Moses, Umeh Uchenna and Folarin Adebimpe Ajarat.

    According to the president of the group, Dr. Kunle Adeyemi the primary goal of the group is to influence the younger artists especially those that are relatively unknown in the exhibition circle. He noted that the platform could turn out to have positive influence on the artists, Nigerian art landscape and the larger society.

    He stated that group will not be restricted to exhibition only as there are plans to also organise other artistic events that will take the art to the people using the unorthodox formats. “There are chances of witnessing some paradigm shift in terms of art practice,” he added.

    The group exhibition which will host 60 paintings and mixed media will feature mainly paintings that show the diverse styles of the artists. From printmaking to mixed media (paintograph and paintocast), abstract, impressionism and realism that reflect the major art schools’ artistic tendencies. Other common threads in the works are the use of African and Yoruba motifs, forms figural compositions.

    Our United Heritage will run till October 4 at Nike Art Gallery, Lekki Lagos.

  • Ovonramwen resurrects at Ofeimun’s drama fest

    Ovonramwen resurrects at Ofeimun’s drama fest

    Renowned poet and writer Odia Ofeimun’s latest showpiece drama, Because of 1914, revisits the 1897 Benin expedition and Nigeria’s 1914 amalgamation. Evelyn Osagie and Esther Chibueze write.

    The stage was set, the lightings on. Fifty-two colourful dancers dressed in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and Benin attires besieged the stage with electrifying dance steps, chanting traditional songs intermittently in various languages.

    Men and women also took turns on stage to recite rousing lines, recasting stories from 1914 – the year of the amalgamation of northern and the southern protectorate and Benin monarch Ovonramwen died.

    The audience’s eyes are glued to the stage with a sketch of Queen Idia’s head as backdrop. The set and the stirring performances drew applause.

    Call it a confluence of nationalities, a festival of a nation’s heritage, a centenary celebration or reminiscent piece, renowned poet and writer Odia Ofeimun latest showpiece drama Because of 1914, was those and more. The centenary piece was inspired by the poet’s mother, Mrs Onomonresoa Ofeimun and was first previewed last July at the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) at Ekpoma in Edo State as part of activities marking Odia’s mother burial ceremony. The performance, which was staged 72-man cast, at the MUSON Centre Onikan, Lagos, added spectacle and energy.

    He said: “She was so impressed by Lord Fredrick Lugard that during my baptism, she named me Fredrick. Even though the Reverend Father said it was not a Christian name, she insisted that I be named Fredrick in honour of Lugard.”

    It was as if  Ovonramwen resurrected or spoke from the grave, while revisiting the agony of Nigerians in pre-colonial times, the drama focuses, on the story the Benin monarch and happenings in Benin in 1897. In attempt to answer the question: “Why 1914 “, the playwright uses poetry, music, dance to highlight socio-cultural and political issues, especially focusing on Ovonramwen.

    In his play, Ofeimun builds a Nigeria where there was no language barrier; in fact, the differences in language helped united the people because the people took turns to celebrate each group’s history, including language and culture. The songs have a circular nature in which one song entered into another, emphasising that Nigerians should go beyond the differences in language or culture to what unites them.

    While showcasing dancers and dances that represent Nigeria’s cultural diversity, one could see that Ofeimun is corroborating the popular slogan “unity in diversity”.

    “I have always wanted to write about Nigeria. Before this drama, I did Nigeria The Beautiful, which was an attempt to look at all the icons of our nationalities in Nigeria’s history. This one was actually a centenary piece, simply to say: “for those who do not want the centenary to be celebrated that there are questions we need to answer. It is not about celebration: celebration is not only a matter of just enjoying yourself; it is also about asking and answering difficult questions. And the difficult question which the Ovonramwen character consistently talks about is a simple one: “We were conquered, how much of the knowledge with which we were conquered have we acquired so that if they return, we will not be worst of”. And it is a question which requires us to acquire knowledge so that we can be independent of those who may have been our masters. That we in the state we are in, is simply because we have not learnt to defend ourselves, properly speaking,” he said.

    According to him, when a people are struggling over how to consume in the society, it creates a problem. He said: “I believe a common morality among different nationalities is possible not only in Nigeria and anywhere in the world. If we are struggling about how to produce, we will break the backbone of many of the things that they complain about.”

    The main character, Ovonramwen, which was played by different persons, revisited Benin Empire before and after 1885, displaying how the Benin monarch was overthrown, his family and people’s agony, their courage, the amalgamation and the cry for freedom. Through his eyes, the audience were taken back to the colonial times, showing how Nigerians were turned into slaves, made childless, forced under the authority of the British. He called for a national conference where Nigerians would share narratives of past experience; and go beyond nepotism or lording over one another. Hence, Ofeimun’s Ovonramwen says: “We have a reason to stand together because of 1914.”

    “The Ovonranwen character says we desecrated our city where different parts produced different things, and we abandoned all that and went into slavery. So, we  created the basis for fear and distrust that made it very easy for those who invaded to take over. You no longer needed to talk about uniting because our people were already distrustful of each other to even unit against the foreigners.

    “We are still in that state; we are following the patterns of the old where violence erupts everywhere and then foreigners use it as an excuse for intervening. If every governor who comes to power starts by saying “I want before I leave power to produce all the things consumed in my state and if I cannot do it alone, I would join with my neighbours, we won’t have problems ever,”Ofeimun noted.

    Choosing Ovonramwen as the key character from the Midwest was deliberate, he said.  “They declared the amalgamation in January and in February, Ovonranwen died. So, he needed to say his piece and what her just done is to say his piece for him.”

    And on Tuesday, September 30, Ofeimun is taking his dance drama, directed by Felix Okolo, the director for Ofeimun’s dance pieces, to the Civic Centre, Abuja.

  • Liver cancer patient needs N7.4m for surgery

    Liver cancer patient needs N7.4m for surgery

    Fifty-year-old sailor Mr Joseph Omosuyi  would give anything to be free of his pains, especially the ones in his stomach.

    He is suffering from cancer of the liver and needs about N7.5million to stay alive.

    The pains are wracking his system, with his swollen liver threatening to burst.

    Two years ago, Omosuyi, also popularly known as Captain Omo Ijoba, was active and agile, working as a sailor at Global Resources in Apapa, Lagos. Before then, he  worked at Honeywell Fishing Company for 13 years and Kaflex Fishing Company for three years; and would sometimes spend about three months at sea.

    He recalled “It started in June last year. I was still managing to go to work then. By November, it has taken become worse. Since then, it has been a painful experience I never taught existed. As a sailor who worked with different fishing companies on the high sea, I have survived all kinds of ordeal from  pirates but none can be compared to the pain I am facing now.”

    Omosuyi and his family initially suspected, and were treating poisoning, but after series of tests when nothing reflected, they resorted to alternative medicines and prayers. But his case got worse. As he struggled to recounts his woes, one could see he was in pain. He would pause, hold his stomach tight, roll his eyes and continue.

    “I am in severe pain. I feel terrible pain inside my tummy that pushes towards my back. And I feel internal heat at my back. This happens at intervals and most times cannot even move. My legs are swollen and I can’t move them. My liver is swollen at the centre of my tummy. I can’t eat again. Sometimes, I still manage to take pap and custard. I want the pain to end. I am crying for help because I can longer raise the money for the treatment. We have spent everything. When the pain comes, I won’t be able to do anything, lie or stand.”

    His sister, Mrs Margret Omosuyi, who is a businesswoman and works with the Presbyterian Church, said she fear is for her brother. According to her, Omosuyi needs urgent attention, saying there is a sharp drop in his blood level, which is constantly fluctuating between 17 and 20. She said her brother’s illness has eaten into her resources and left her dry, adding that they are owing her hospital alot of money. She called on well-meaning Nigerians to come to their rescue.

    “We saw the liver swollen and thought it was poison. We, the family members, have spent so much – over N1million. We were treating poison before we knew last month that it is cancer of the liver we have spent all that we have. I have sold my half plot of land and have finished the money on the case. His wife, who had a thriving business, has also sold all; and now sells drinks on the heavy traffic. His situation has gotten worse; we are told he needs N7.5million to save his life. We don’t even have money to buy his drugs. We can no longer shoulder the burden alone anymore. That is why we are coming to the public. Please, Nigerians help us, she said.

    The Omosuyis are in a dire situation: in addition to their woes, the hospital where  he is receiving treatment  in is about throwing them out, it was learnt. Although the doctors are yet to ascertain how much damage has been done to the liver, according to the Medical Consultant in charge of his case, Dr Okorie Kalu, they have a crisis situation at hand. In his words: “Omosuyi’s spleen, heart, sex organ have been affected. Soon, if no drastic medical action is taken, it may affect his eyes or have a cardiac arrest which could lead to death. We have a crisis because they don’t even have money to buy drugs that he urgently needs which would cost about N60,000 and undergo a complete test. “For instance, he needs  Elodax, Fortum and Colonox; and to do a colon ultra-scan and a biopsy, according to an Oncologist report.

    “Most of what we have done so far we have not yet collected money for it; we have an understanding that it would be paid soon. We have tried our best for the family because the sister is a church member. But we are not a charity organisation: we have reached a point that we may not be able to keep up with his treatment because of lack of money.”

    To survive, Omsuyi needs  treatment and continuous management, including surgery in India, according to the Dr Kalu said. To achieve this, he said: “We are looking at treating him for 12 months and this would cost about N5million; because he may need surgery which is an additional cost of about 2 million along with chemotherapy and other management cost – it would amount to about 7.5 million”.

  • Clash of faith resonates in Prisoner of Conscience

    Clash of faith resonates in Prisoner of Conscience

    Book review

    Title: The Prisoner of Conscience
    Author: Jamiu Abiola
    Reviewer: Adeniyi Taiwo Kunnu
    Publisher: Arab Scientific Publishers, Inc.
    Pagination: 318

     

    The flurry of emotions, a clash of faiths, the unrest of civil troubles and the resolution of marital aspirations and its attendant problems characterise the work of Jamiu Abiola. A work set in Lebanon at the period which slightly precedes the Lebanese civil war, two central personas- Isaac, a Muslim and Mary, his Maronite Christian lover got involved with each other in the most unusual manner, thus setting the tone at what is best termed “most inauspicious” juncture in their nation’s history and their lives.  The intrigues of love are introduced at the outset, employing Flashback, a narrative technique that wove the several phases of the characters’ lives as brilliantly as one would expect.

    Mary’s years of struggle with her father’s death, her internal battle over guilt, the family’s sojourn in the US-with her mother and maternal grandmother in the absence of her father; the eventual and painful death of these great women in her lives, her groaning over the reality of love, the trappings of fulfilling her mother’s marital wishes to the ill-tempered Chuck as against following her heart, strength and support from Olga- a colleague and friend on to finding fulfillment are some of the several interesting interplays in this beautiful narrative.

    Isaac, Mary’s lover and eventual husband, whose life is full of emotional fluctuations suffered from immigration’s punitive measure, temporary servitude, family ostracism and sibling neglect. In the process, becoming a developed character, whose relationship with his creator is as clearly defined as his unfailing affection for Mary – “his path through many of life’s troubled waters”. These can be simply put as measures akin to the process of getting the best out of gold when put through furnace.

    Worthwhile ventures appear daunting, but unbroken spirits emerge victorious. This preceding line lends credence to the climax of this story. In truth, lives are lost in the case of Antoine and Sarah Elias-Mary’s parents, marriage almost broken, considering the strain between Umar and Suad Kashogi-Isaac’s parents, yet fate rewards painstaking wait and belief in a singular course as demonstrated by Isaac and Mary, whose faith, though almost upturned by time and distance eventually relish the joy of efforts that are not in futility. The story shifts settings among Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, USA and back to Lebanon.

    The prisoner of conscience can best be described as Fiction full of facts. The author creatively infuses certain important details into this narrative, which one encounters through a cursory read between the lines. One finds a revelation of the Arab culture and temperaments, values that are of immense importance in the Arab socio-economic system, the similarity in a number of human actions and inactions, and ultimately the universality of expectations by parents from their children when it relates to certain critical decisions in their lives.

    It’s a fact that Lebanon attained independence from France in 1943 and equally true that Lebanon is the only Arab nation without a desert. Also true is that the Kissinger’s – a famous American family runs a charitable foundation.

    Fact in this fiction also features the Lebanese civil war which broke out in April, 1975. The roots of Lebanon’s civil war, as history records lie in the arrangements for the distribution of political power among the country’s ethnic and religious mix at the time of independence from France in 1943. Officially, Maronite Christians “were” recognized as the largest single group, followed by Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Greek Orthodox Christians and Druzes.

    Jamiu Abiola also intimated readers with “Marshal Plan”, the post-second world war measure aimed at rebuilding Devastated Europe, the claim of refugee status in other countries by many Lebanese during the civil war, the manner of seeking forgiveness or giving honour to parents or an older person, the danger of bringing to dis-honour one’s family name, complexion disparity between Jordanians, Syrians and Egyptians as well as a local delicacy known as Douma. He also demonstrates a rich knowledge of places like Long Island, the Bronx and Manhattan, all in the United States of America.

    The prisoner of conscience is a delightful read, employing predominantly the omniscient narrative technique, while at sparing junctures conveying interactions through stream of consciousness. This is even made better by the brevity of each chapter in its over three hundred pages.

    The author brings to bear, a richness of experience having lived in the US for 13 straight years. It is noteworthy to state, that Jamiu Abiola is a polyglot who speaks and writes Arabic, the language in which the book was first written and self translated into English, thus becoming the first Nigerian and West African to have written a complete literary piece in Arabic and subsequently translating same. He has equal command of French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and importantly Hausa language and his Native Yoruba.

    It is no doubt then, that this author who has traversed both the western climes and the Middle East fuses themes of religion, war, faith, hope, friendship, family and marriage to achieve a delightful resource material and delicious read, confronting post-modern issues that have been presented in highly creative way. No doubt, the Prisoner of Conscience has been emancipated.

  • Ilorin: Home of traditional pottery

    Ilorin: Home of traditional pottery

    Lottery as an art dates back to the late Stone Age. It has survived into the present era and has been studied by various artists, cultural anthropologists and archaeologists. It is one of the oldest surviving traditional craft found in different parts of the country, which has been practised from pre-historic times to the present.

    The art started as far back as 3000BC with the evidence discovered in a site known as Iwo-Eleru in Ondo State. Further archaeological research proved it may even be dated earlier to about 6000BC in the Borno area. Another site, where several ritual pots and stone axes were found, is Igbo-Laja in Ondo, which is dated to the 14th to 15th centuries AD.

    Even though the Yoruba speaking people are predominantly farmers, they are involved in other economic activities such as weaving, dyeing, metal casting, carving and pottery. As a craft, pottery making is exclusively a woman’s profession among the Yoruba people and is usually passed from mother to daughter through apprenticeship. They carry out their day to day activities at a specific pottery site known as ‘eebu’. An eebu consists of a series of sheds and work areas and is usually located in a shady area. The number of sheds in a pottery site often depends on the number of potters practising in the area. The shed usually serve as store for clothes, food, tools, the finished and the unfinished pottery products. Moulds and stands for pots are kept in front of the sheds. The hearth for firing the moulded pots are situated close to the work area for easy, and proper monitoring during firing.

    Ilorin, Kwara State capital is well-known for her artistry in pottery. It is known as an important centre of pottery, producing both red (pupa) and black (dudu) pottery wares. Researchers like Frank Willet recorded that some modern pottery forms sold in the open market in Ilorin carry identical marks which have close resemblance to those found inside open bowl pottery (isaasun) relics of the old Oyo kingdom. He suggested the likelihood of the women potters from the old Oyo kingdom, migrating and settling in Ilorin after the collapse of the kingdom in 1837, hence the resemblance in the pottery works.

    Pottery works are being produced in different pottery centres in the present Ilorin town, areas such as Okelele, Dada and Adeta pottery centres are well known for well-finished products.

    Various forms and styles of pottery are usually produced in these pottery centres scattered all around the metropolis. These includes decorated water coolers, (aamu) open mouth bowls, (ape) soup bowls (isaasun), fryers (agbada), pitchers (oru) and traditional pottery money safe (kolo). Other forms of pot, which are no longer in great demand such as the large dye pot (ikoko-aro) and large fermentation pot (ikoko-isa), are also made on request. Samples of these pottery forms are on display in a new exhibition presently open to the public at the National Museum, Ilorin.

    The studies into the art of pottery give a good insight into the intelligence, skill and technological know-how of these, though unschooled, yet skilful people; and their economic activities and trade connections at this ancient time, despite the non-availability of today’s high technological development and advancement.

     

    •Mrs Adeboye is Curator/Asst. Director, of National Museum, Ilorin.

  • Diamond Records signs artiste

    Diamond Records signs artiste

    Diamond Records has signed a new sensational afro-pop artiste, Da Prinze, into its stable.

    According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Diamond Records, Charles Osariemen, a single from Da Prinze, which was released earlier this month, is already enjoying  airplay.

    He said the video of the single was also out and was being played on television and radio stations across the country.

    The Diamond Records chief disclosed that Da Prinze was collaborating with three foreign artistes from Jamaica, America and the Caribbean in his first debut album that would soon hit the market.

    He said his company decided to sign Da Prinze on, because his talent.

    On how to reach at the Da Prinze and other young musicians on the diamond Records label, the CEO said such could be possible online by linking on to: www.diamondrecordsentertainment.com

    “As Diamond Records, we are here to change the way things are done in the Nigerian music industry,” he asserted.

    He added that the outfit had couples of foreign artistes in its label.

    “In the next few months, Nigerians will see these foreign artistes working with Diamond Records in Africa, especially in Nigeria,” he said.

    The Edo-born artiste explained Da Prinze as Desperate Attitude Positive Respected Indomitable Noble and Zealous Entertainer.

    “I make my music for the global audience, not for just Nigerians alone,” Da Prinze said.

    He added that he decided to do collaboration with foreign artistes instead of local ones, because many Nigerian established artisteswere not cooperative.

    The artiste named some of his models to include Sir Victor Waifo, Fela, and TuFace Idibia.

    Meanwhile, barely few weeks after the artiste’s public presentation of his first music album, Da Prinze managers said the talented young musician has been getting series of engagements within and outside the country to perform in clubs and other entertainment arenas.

    “As at last week, he has been in more than two University campuses to perform and this will be beefed up the more as the years draws nearer to end,” one of his managers said.

  • Paying attention to matters of love, sex

    Paying attention to matters of love, sex

    Book review

    Title: Love, relationship & Sex
    Author: Bola Dada
    Pagination: 82
    Publisher: Distinctions Academy Publishers
    Reviewer: Chinasa Ekekwe

     

    Love, relationship and sex, in the order of important hot topics in the minds of young people rank next to career and money. Youths feel highly misunderstood by parents, teachers, churches and society. Youths have little or no experience about life; no past and no tradition and therefore feel as free agents. They are risk takers and adventurous and like to explore and experiment.

    Bola Dada have dedicated a great portion of this book to the topic of sex the way most authors have not. Sex is the topic most churches do not like to highlight. Parents hope that their wards will not get into it early and the fear is that they may get into trouble.

    Since these issues; Love, relationship and sex are front burners of the existence of man particularly the younger generation, they dominate man’s thoughts and faculty and also represent the key topics of discussion among friends, in the media, social media and books. These issues also play a major role in many decisions and interactions with the opposite sex.

    Bola Dada, in this book, ‘Love, Relationship and Sex’ tries to explain these issues from the perspective of being a christian. In his view, pains,agonies, heart breaks, disappointments, betrayals, frustrations and losses can all be avoided if choices concerning love, relationship and sex are made under the influence of GOD.

    The book contains eight chapters. Chapter one is titled, ‘Let’s talk about Love’; chapter two talks about ‘Chastity’; chapter three is titled ‘The Sex Drive’; chapter four is titled ‘The trials, the temptation and the test’; chapter five talks on ‘Appearance’; chapter six is titled ‘Who are your friends?’; chapter seven is titled ‘Building a successful future’ and the last chapter is titled ‘Where are the sons and daughters’.

    The first chapter talks about love which is the greatest desire of man; to be cared for. In history, the greatest songs of all time are songs about love. William Shakespeare attained a high ground as a playwright and poet with his plays and poems on love. Romantic novels are usually best sellers and even when thrillers are about crime and adventure, the authors more often create romantic dimensions.

    Most of the movies produced all over the world are on love and when they are not, romance is still included in the plot. In musical videos, makers of music maximise sales with the creation of a form of romance with sexual appeal through dance steps and in the appearance of characters in the videos. Regardless of what is adertised; soft drinks, tissue paper, toothpaste and so on, television commercials also displays a form of love,romance and affection. So, if love is seen in all these and shown everywhere, when young persons come into the world, they like everyone else have to satisfy their love desires because it does not take much to learn from the environment.

    Therefore,the book postulates that what the world preaches in the movies,books, soap operas and songs as love is not love at all. The world teaches lust, infactuation and obsession.

    Chapter two talks on chastity. The book explains that chastity is the quality of practising sexual purity. Sexual feelings are part of what makes us human. That is why married couples can have romantic feelings. Sex, invigorates a marriage and adds zest to life and it enables a husband and wife to be truly one. So, there should be a proper outlet to build the sexual feelings and the only outlet that God recognises is marriage.

    Young individuals play around with sex in the community with reasons which the book refers to as ‘Common lies of the devil’ which are: Everyone is doing it so we should not be different.Nothing is wrong with it, boys saying that they will get married as soon as possible and many girls are falling for the line ‘I cannot help myself’, ‘If you loved me, you would let me’, ‘Just this once’ and ‘If you do not let me, I will do it with someone else’.

    The author, gave reasons on why young individuals should avoid pre-marital sex. He said one may never know real love with such act, sex before marriage may affect sexual relations with one’s spouse, there is loss of dignity and self-esteem, it leaves an individual with a life-long guilt, there is loss of God’s presence, there is exposure to devil’s attacks, there is a danger of contacting sexually transmitted diseases, possibility of marrying just anybody and danger to hell fire.

    Purity on the other hand is beautiful. It means that a person has character, self respect and courage. The book encourages that individuals should always turn to God in prayer.

    Chapter three is on sex drive; a powerful force in the body of males and females which creates appetite for sex. According to the book,young individuals should not allow movies, soap operas, and commercials on television to shape their minds. It is important to understand sex drive and learn to control it before marriage. This is possible because God would not ask of it if it was not possible.

    All young people are bound to go through difficult times and face trials(betrayals and disappointments) in life. Chapter four of the book talks on ‘the trials, the temptation and the tests’. Trials can manifest in form of lack which makes concentration on important things impossible. Whatever an individual goes through in life, is nothing compared to a bright future by God.

    In Chapter five, titled ‘Appearance’, it reflects the different ways of dressing around the world that centers on multiple cultures, values and religious beliefs. Like Moses, a way of dressing may be used to identify a civilsation one belongs to and may even reveal one’s religious inclination. Dressings which reflects people’s cultural background and scriptural admonition have been done away with. Dressing seems to have gone haywire everywhere.

    In the nation’s higher institutions, most female students now dress so provocatively and this is also seen in the ‘well modernised’ Pentecostal churches. When you wear clothes that are revealing, you send wrong messages to people. The boys are not left out. The waist of their trousers are lowered and fastened tightly at the middle of the two bottom lobes to reveal their inner wears. This is know as ‘sagging’. In the aspect of bearing tattoos, the examines that throughout history, the tattoo bears the mark of paganism, demonism, baal worship, shamanism, mysticism and every other pagan beliefs known. He attributes bad dressing to poor parenting and wrong influence of the society to individuals.

    Indecent dressing is not good for a christian. It encourages rape and sexual harassment.A fine boy and girl does not need to go semi-nude or sag.

    Chapter six assists young individuals in defining friendship. A good friendship is progressive, there are quality discussions, good behaviour and advice, love and concern and understanding.

    In ‘building a successful future’ in chapter seven, the author advises as one journeys through life, one should be moving in the direction of set goals and ambition. Achieving goals will not be an easy task. An individual will go through a lot of obstacles and distractions and one could only get to the desired destination through focus, good strategies, determination, discipline and diligence.

    The last chapter titled: ‘Where are the sons and daughters?’  talks on Abraham’s faith in God which is legendary and it remains a model for children of God today in putting unalloyed confidence in God. In the story of creation, God created man to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. But satan ensured he scuttled the fellowship between God and man. The satan knows that God hates sin and being the great deceiver and liar, he deceives Eve and man into sin.

    One lesson to learn is that satan can go to any length just to destroy one life. If he has to kill everyone in a commercial bus, derail a train filled with passengers or sink a ‘Titanic’ just to get one soul, he will not think twice. The good news is despite the onslaught of the devil against the church, the church will continue to march on and the gate of hell can never prevail against the church. Which side are you on? The author asks readers in this last chapter.

    A new earth created by God is a place of continual fellowship with Him. No more sickness, diseases, poverty, anxiety and darkness. Death will be thrown into the lake of fire and therefore, there will be no more death.

  • ‘Don’t wait for money before you write’

    The author of The Perfect Church, a book adapted by Wale Adenuga’s Super Story, Ms Ebi Akpeti, is back with another interesting novel titled: God Has a Sense of Humour.

    In this inspiring and realistic novel, she tells stories about six women who are faced with various  challenges, such as a cheating husband, heartbreaks, loneliness, and health issues, including childbearing and why men cheat.

    According to her, God Has a Sense of Humour is her way of talking to women in general to embrace who they are and face the challenges life bring their way.

    At the public reading of the book in Ikoyi, Lagos State, Akpeti said: “Basically,  women  should not blame people for their challenges with all due respect. It is up to us (women) and God to sort out ourselves.”

    She continued: “Must times I hear women say my husband is responsible for this and that, we have women who are living without husbands and kids. I am healthy, in my late 30s and I am not married, but you make your life what you want it to be with God’s help. That is what the book is really all about.”

    She described God Has a Sense of Humour as a moralistic book. “Everything in this world is based on principles, as I used to tell my younger ones, seven per cent of this world will get unlucky; the rest of us what we give is what we get. It’s just a book about morals.”

    The book consists of the following chapter: A Prison with Golden Gates, Death Is No Longer a Rumour. The Woman that Marries for Money Earns Every Kobo, Singlelaria, Life Can Only be Understood Backward, The Gong that Should have Deafened Me and God Has a Sense of Humour.

    On how long it took her to complete this unique book, she said: “This book was hard; it took me three good years to author the book. I started writing the book in 2010 and I just finished it in 2014 because I kept changing and the way I think kept changing too, and what you write as an author changes too.

    “Even before I wrote the last story in the book, I felt like giving up because there were so many things I had to change. I experienced a lot of challenges but eventually at the end, the book is here to stay.”

    She stated that her source of inspiration “is God. Everything I do is God.”

    Advising  writers who are still struggling to get published, she urged them to “keep writing. I self-publish, people say this is  not the good way  to make money, but if I were looking for money, I will not write. If you have a voice, if you have something to say, please write.  Don’t wait to get money before you write.”

    This Business Administration graduate aside The Perfect Church has written other books, such Castrated and Growing Pains and hopes to write more.

  • Ojeikere documentary goes international

    A documentary film on the late acclaimed photographer by Tam Fiofori and Joel Benson and, with music by Funsho Ogundipe, is now showing on the international Film Festival circuit.

    Entitled: J.D. Okhai Ojeikere: Master Photographer, the 30-minute film is an intimate study that explores Ojeikere’s life and his 60-year career as a self-taught professional who eventually became a world-renowned master photographer.

    In Master Photographer, Ojeikere (1930-2014) talks about his passion for photography, the growth of Fashion and Glamour Photography in Nigeria and his preoccupation as a culture patriot capturing moments of history, portraying Nigeria “in good faith” and emphasising the beauty, glamour and identity of the Nigerian woman.

    The documentary is an apt and befitting visual obituary and tribute to him and his great body of work, according to Fiofori.

    The film is now being shown around the world to honour his photographic achievements. Last Sunday September, it was will be shown at the British Film Institute’s African Odysseys programme in London. Come this Sunday, it will be airing at the Life House Lights Camera Africa Film Festival at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos. And in November, it will be one of the feature films showing at the African International Film Festival, Tinapa, Cross River.

    A version of the 30-minute documentary was premiered last year at the iREP International Documentary Film Festival in Lagos, which was attended by Mr Ojeikere, his wife and family, and given a standing ovation.