Oh, weddings, weddings, weddings. I dare say I love weddings. No.
Saying I love weddings would be an understatement. I simply adore weddings. When I get wedding invitations, I just melt. You know, the thought of two very different people from very different backgrounds coming together to become one body is one union I have a lot of respect for.
On wedding days, I have made some observations. However, I have noticed over time that during the couple dance, the bride in most cases appears to be happier. She dances more and smiles more. She is oftentimes more relaxed than the groom. I really wonder why it is like that in most cases. Does it mean that women are happier that they are getting married than the men?
An example will suffice here. When Mr. and Mrs. Adefemi put off all existing and prospective suitors the moment she set her eyes on Adefemi. According to them, it was love at first sight. Their story was not like the regular. ‘Boy meets girl’ kind of love, it was more like ‘boy was made to meet girl’.
They met through a mutual friend who ‘match-made’ them. When a blind date was arranged for them at a restaurant, the chemistry between them was so thick; they were love struck and they simply could not get enough of each other’s company. Believe it or not for the eight months they dated, they saw and called each other every day for about eight months. So, it came as little or no surprise to their families and friends when they announced their wedding date. People were, of course, happy for them. It seemed the right thing to do considering how inseparable they had been for the months they dated. The only slight hitch they had was during the preparation for the traditional engagement ceremony. The bride price was so exorbitant that the prospective hubby almost had a change of heart.
According to him, the bride price was enough to buy him a choice property at Aja, a choice area of Lagos State. But hey, guess what, love conquered all, including the bride price. He managed to cough up the needed amount for the bride to become his wife. Initially, he had thought that since they had done a very loud traditional marriage by all standards, he felt that the wedding proper had to be low keyed. But his in-laws would have none of that. They had to maintain the same tempo or even a higher tempo to prove to their family members and neighbours that their son-in-law was a big catch. This did not go down well with him as he was fast running out of 40s. As the wedding plans progressed, the bills kept mounting, but again love conquered all. The bills were all eventually taken care of. And the wedding went as planned.
Since love is supposed to conquer all, then why was the groom not too enthusiastic on the dance floor when it was time to dance for joy? I am just curious.
The reverse was the case when Ethel, a top executive in an IT firm, took Tunde, a graphic artist as husband.
Yours truly was also fortunate to be invited to their wedding. When it got to my favourite part of the couple dance, I noticed Tunde, the groom, seemed more enthusiastic than Ethel, the bride. Tunde danced his heart out. In fact, he not only danced ‘legwalk’ and ‘shaku shaku’, but not minding the expensive suit and shoes he had on, he also danced ‘alanta’. Ethel, on the other hand, barely managed to move her body. She seemed lost in thought. I later found out from a close friend of Ethel that the bride had sponsored the whole wedding! From her bride price , the wedding hall and sponsoring Tunde’s parents and other family members to the venue of the wedding, and even down to Tunde’s wedding suit and his best man’s. She bought them all. You want to know why? I am so glad you asked. Ethel, by the standards of our society, has hitherto being labelled the proverbial ‘big girl’. She is a successful IT top executive like I earlier said and trust the men in our society, I mean the ones who are easily intimidated by successful and independent women, and they did not have the courage to make passes at her due to Ethel’s financial status. As a result she is in her early 40s but had no man to call her own.
According to her friend, the only man that had the courage to come her way were the married ones who wanted nothing but a fling with her. Not Ethel. She wanted more. She wanted a man that would be a hundred per cent hers.
As the years went by and she became more and more successful in her career, desperation to finding her own man set in. The eligible ones did not have the courage to make love overtures to her; they were not men enough for her. They were afraid that her successes could make her a controlling female and trust our men, they couldn’t handle it. Tunde, financially, was not too okay but he had balls, sorry, I mean he had guts. Yes, he had guts enough to walk up to Ethel with a bouquet of roses and asked her out on a date.
Ethel was too dazed and overwhelmed by his courage that she did not even hesitate to accept his offer. Tunde naturally chose the venue of their first date and guess what. He paid for everything and even mange to give her a thousand or two to fuel her car. To say that Ethel fell in love with Tunde would be putting it mildly. She was hooked. Anyway sha, one date led to another and then phone calls followed suit, sms and then the wedding.
In all fairness to Tunde, he never wanted to exploit Ethel in anyway by insisting on an expensive wedding. The entire thing was planned and executed by Ethel. They were both madly in love with each other and that was all that mattered. Or what do you think? Ethel as a big girl also had her image to protect. Perhaps, the reason why she was a little deep in thought when it was time to dance was the fact that the wedding preparations were taking its toll on her? Well, maybe, maybe not. But I wish both of them a blissful marriage.
Weddings are very special and divine. It should not be jumped into nor rushed. Weddings should take place based on the platform of love. It is the key. It does not matter who spends on what.
The reason is because the bride might sponsor the wedding today, who knows what the groom might sponsor tomorrow?
As for the couple dance, my belief is that wedding should ideally happen once in a lifetime, so when it is time to hit the dance floor, forget everything else and simply dance like never before.
Money can destroy families and friendships. It causes rivalry and even destroys relationships. Couples can have a lot going for them, but when it comes to money, problem arises. Maybe one person chooses not to open up to the other person their true financial status or is hiding debts or embarrassing habits related to finance from their partner.
Some go as far as ensuring there is no financial trace to all their dealings, like deleting alerts, both sms and email, avoiding any financial discussions, spending more than the other person or spending less to deceive the other that they don’t have. Even as far as having heavy investment or property without disclosure. There are many reasons for this. But it’s something that cannot stay hidden forever unfortunately. We have cases where people stayed in rented apartments not knowing the house actually belongs to their spouse. Or business men having huge balances and not letting their spouses know. Secret now comes out upon the death of the wealthy one.
Ideally, financial status should not matter when relationships are involved because what we are trying to preach here is financially transparency. A lot of people have bad experiences which have made them to stop. You may be madly in love with someone, but please have it in mind that when you get serious, you’re joining your financial statuses together, no matter how good or bad the status is. So you need to love with your eyes open and medulla oblongata intact.
So my question is why are you arguing with your spouse about money? You are definitely not alone. When you put together partners and money side by side, you will surely have days where how money is spent becomes an issue will let loose, arguments on how much to spend to buy food for the house and someone is requesting for a pair of shoes or Gucci hand bag or human hair costing the same with a plot of land. Do you know money is one of the major issues people in relationships fight about? It sometimes can lead to a serious breach in communication and if not handled well, end up in divorce.
Trying to merge your life and that of your spouse, especially in relation to money is not easy. It is a continuous work in progress as each individual has their own perspective. Here are a few mistakes couples make when it comes to their money and relationships and possible ways to avoid or handle them. The truth is talking about money with your partner is the key to handling the issues before they even come. Before settling down with anyone ask the necessary questions.
Cheating your partner and spending on the side man or side chick
Any type of affair, same sex or otherwise, can destroy a relationship. And when the wayward partner has been running up bills, no matter how small, it is with some side chick or side cock, side goat or whatever they are called these days, this will only worsen the issue.
If you decide after all the turbulence to stick to each other, that is if you are both patient and strong enough. You will need to get counselling or have a serious heart to heart talk with each other. This is not easy at all, but it can work, if you are committed. Nobody plans to cheat, sometimes it crawls up on you and overtakes you, which is why even in relationships one needs to be emotionally intelligent so you don’t get sucked into what will hurt your spouse, guard your heart and thoughts jealously.
From a financial aspect, the erring partner going forward needs to be transparent the person who betrayed their partner would have to be willing to make all financial transactions transparent, what this implies is that you will have to willingly inform you partner on all financial transactions and discuss on what you spend, thereby making you financially and emotionally accountable.
Hiding your debts
This, I am so sure, will not be news to you, while you may not be doing this, you will at least know one or two people doing this. Why? Because it is a common situation amongst friends, family and people in relationships. Hiding debt is not just keeping mum about the money, it also shows that there are fundamental issues of trust amongst couples who experience this.
It may be difficult to discuss this particular one, but you have to start it anyway. So the first step is to not judge, shout or make the person feel worse. Let your statements always have “we” so that they know you are interested in helping them sort it out, as long as she or she is not a chronic debtor, in that case immediate counsel is needed.
Giving money to either family member
This is another issue with trust. Sometimes family members come up with business ideas and ask you to get involved. Sometimes they come asking for money all the time and you keep giving, even at the detriment of your own needs and those of your spouse or immediate family needs. A toxic relationship can erupt here, as one spouse will be forced to take sides or quarrel with family because of money not being paid back. At the end of the day, it boils down to who you perceive to be right or wrong.
It is still possible to fix trust between two people, though a difficult thing to accomplish, as one may need to create boundaries. You will have to accompany your spouse as a team with one voice and tell them (family) how you feel and what they need to do to rectify the situation. This will clear the air and let family know that you have a unified front and destroy any doubts anyone has been experiencing or feeling. Also any misconception on repayment needs to be cleared and put in the open. You may not recover the loan, but at least will have been put in proper perspective and ensure it doesn’t happen again. I wish you all the best.
THERE is nothing as cool as a sexy and classy waist belt. Flamboyant waist belts of all kinds are being rocked this season. It has been the reigning waist fashion accessory for skirt, trousers and gowns.
The waist belt is one of the season’s big accessories, whether cinching or dazzling with gems that those who know their onions can’t do without.
With emphasis on the waist, belts are helping out a great deal with what we wear. Imagine cinching your outfit with a nice belt. A belt can be used by fashionable ladies to make a loud or quiet fashion statement.
Elegant and quality belts with unique buckles can be combined with one or two accessories to get a versatile, clean and sexy look.
THERE’S a general assumption that secrets are bad. Honesty is expensive and something that if not properly handled can affect so many things in a relationship.
Telling lies, hiding things are issues that partners should be accountable for. In this case, all manner of small and big secrets, but really who is to say what’s small or big in terms of secrets?
What may be small to you will appear mighty to another person. A minor misdemeanor is another person’s betrayal. And betrayal of any sorts cuts deeper even than a sword because some wounds don’t heal quickly.
The ability to handle confessions or confess relates differently to people. Some people may misbehave and quickly confess while some will wait till they get caught. Now remorse on misdemeanor is any discussion that can take days to argue on.
I will discuss a few of these secrets with you below, just a few, because people experience so many more. These are tips that have been shared before, but will share again based on feedback from people
Secret of having affairs and/ or one-night stand
I believe that the damage a secret can cause in your relationship depends on your personal perception. Also in some cases, how your partner perceives it to be, the more you keep it, the harder it is to confess. The secret will not give you peace of mind. I had a case of someone who had a one-night stand, that was meant to be “meaningless” the cost of keeping over time became an additional burden. Let’s not even talk about porn, debt, gambling, another wife or husband hidden somewhere or having a constant side chick or side bae, an ongoing relationship that does not seem to have an expiry date. Coming clean means you have to change, are you ready to?
Effect of confessions
It may be a relief at long last to get a secret off your chest and finally be free. But what about the person who has been kept in the dark? How can you tell what the reaction will be? Secrecy is deadly. It is nearly always better not to have secrets, but sometimes it might be better to keep quite in a wise Head, the decision is yours. You have to think about what you’re hoping to achieve and be ready for the consequence, you also have to think about keeping quiet and be ready for what comes after or maybe never just maybe.
Secrets of the family
For any family, there should be boundaries on secrecy. While some couples may think there is nothing wrong in letting the kids know about what goes on between the couple it is not ideal to be too open or frank with them, especially if they are not old enough to fully comprehend issues on ground. Honesty is best. But that doesn’t mean revealing all the dirty details. I usually advise that couples should censor with wisdom their words and think carefully about motives before you give away too much about your life or issues between you and your partner
Ultimately, it’s up to you as a couple to decide what’s appropriate for them. But never underestimate the impact of revealing secrets to your children. Be wise
Steps to take if you decide to confess a secret
— Think about how your partner will feel. Will it be good? Will it be bad or downright ugly? Put yourself in his or her shoes.
— It’s an awesome relief if you have now decided to come clean yourself. It’s much harder if you get caught with that secret and also difficult if you are the one it is being hidden from.
— Be ready for hard work because when trust is lost, gaining it back is serious pressure. Your every move after this will be scrutinized closely, you must be ready. And it will take time. Sometimes it is difficult to gauge the real depth of damage confessions bring. It’s just a risk one may have to take to set things right.
— The onus will now be on you to lay emphasis that you believe honesty is a risk worth taking because you value the relationship (that will not be easy to say).
— Have it in mind that if your relationship is truly strong, and you are prepared to put in the work, and also face the music, then confession can lead to renewed trust and closeness. You just have to try and convince them that you will not or never repeat those things and own up quickly when you need help to resist. I wish you all the best.
BEFORE now, we grew up believing that love was blind.
You know, I still wonder where that phrase came from. Times are criminally changing. Things are not what they used to be anymore. We are told that in the good old days, two people fell in love with each other as long as the chemistry was right between them.
They met their parents and made their intentions known regardless of whether the man owned a car, a house or fat bank account.
I am afraid to say that those days are fast gone with the wind now. They are tales in the annals of history.
Using my country home as a case study (apologies to my kinsmen), people become so materialistic that when you ask for a girl’s hand in marriage, your would-be in-laws would want to know where your car is parked. Shameful! Isn’t it?
Some ladies have started to measure their fiancés’ success with that of those big boys who are said to have ‘arrived’. It becomes so bad that some of our eligible bachelors develop cold feet in coming for our girls’ hands in marriage. Because of the huge expectations, some of our guys are either looking for ways of making money at all costs or looking elsewhere and settle for non-indigenes. The consequences and impacts on our girls are disastrous.
Our place now has ladies in their late 20s and 30s still stuck in their fathers’ homes.
The question is this: Is it right to attach finance to romance?
When you find a partner you fancy, should your falling in love and establishing a good relationship with such an individual be determined by how much he has and the kind of car he drives? Or do you just love him for love’s sake?
I have met people who met their partners while they were still trying to find their feet, and years into their marriage, they stumbled into massive wealth. I am sure we have all read some rags-to-riches stories at one point of our lives or the other?
The saying, “No romance without finance,” has greatly tainted love. Most men with money are finding it difficult to really trust girls. These days, love has really become elusive and it is really hard to recognize the real thing.
Relationship is a serious business and it shows how a man can be when you are together in marriage. It is imperative to look at yourself as an individual and focus on what matters most to you. You need to be judged according to what your heart holds dear. If you truly meet and fall in love with the man of your dreams, you know, the man that makes your heart skip a bit each time he walks into the room, will you dump him for money? “No romance without finance” is s phrase that is so popular. It shows how materialistic today’s society has become. Love is being measured in terms of money and material things. Love and money have a very close association. In fact, romance, these days, is being sold by some people.
However, this will depend on how we see romance. Do we see it as a good time leading to sexual pleasure, or do we see it as a means of exchanging our bodies for money?
Unfortunately, this is very common with some of us ladies of today. If a man is not financially able to pick a few bills, there will be no love to speak about. Has society become misguided or are we just being realistic? These are questions we must answer as individuals.
Come to think of it, have we even wondered why ladies have suddenly started to attach finance to romance? Some have argued that if you take the pains to labour with a man till he becomes financially stable, chances are that he will look for another woman thereafter. Some believe that even when the man is responsible enough to remain with you, he naturally becomes wayward simply because he feels he can afford to.
‘Romance without finance’ emanates from the need to insist on responsibility. Many young men today have put the issue of responsibility in the back seat. For some ladies to feel secure, the man must appear to take up the role of being a man and pick a few bills.
When a man does this, he will be qualified to be labelled promising with regard to life in a fair setting.
On the other hand, there are still women out there who will help put a man when he is down. Some of these women have their careers and are not looking for a man to look after them financially. What they simply want from a man is respect, trust, honesty and above all, companionship.
As millennium ladies, I think we all should strive to reach some level of independence in our lives because, really, a woman that relies heavily on a man to take care of her is not only unattractive but outright ridiculous.
Mind you, there is nothing wrong with guys pampering us a bit, as often as they can afford it, but it becomes a little crazy when the emphasis is on me, it sets the stage for a disastrous relationship.
Although I am a lady, I would never encourage any guy to stay in a relationship with a gold digger. Instead of placing too much emphasis on materialistic things to the point where they lose sight of their true identity and potential as an individual, we should focus on getting to know a guy for whom he really is.
The best thing is to look for the real thing not just the finances. However, if your goal is to be stable financially, you might have to go for what you are looking for.
Having sex for money is prostitution. If a woman is with a man on the sole basis of money, then I am sorry, she is a whore. Women should be independent; they should not depend on men for money. The days when men picked all the bills, went out hunting while the woman stayed at home, are long over.
Listen to me ladies, focus on your education, get a good job or learn a good trade. There are many options open to you. If your man chooses to pick your bills, it is fine, but it is not right to be a liability. Some men prefer us if we meet them halfway, you get?
In conclusion, here is a food for thought: Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.
Chinelo Iwenofu, the Head Communication Affairs of the African Union Agenda 2063 Ambassadorial Assembly, is one of the young Africans being brought on board the administration of African Union (AU) in the bid to launch a new path of growth for the continent. With her global mindset and a life abroad devoid of inhibitions, Iwenofu is trying to use her creative energy to form and lead an organisation that would tell the African story in a new way. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, she relives the Nigerian civil war and how she narrowly escaped death at a tender age to live abroad and returned only to find that “things were no longer at ease.”
CONGRATULATIONS on your appointment with the African Union. What exactly does your office entail?
I was unexpectedly appointed as Head of Communication Affairs by the African Union ECOSOCC Nigeria, under the Agenda 2063 official media platform of the Ambassadorial Assembly, which is a continental initiative. My office entails that I act as a contributor and editor on the Africa 63 Magazine, which offers objective information within the African Union scope that educates, entertains and promotes African values to birth a prosperous continent. I will also co-ordinate the writing and production of their up and coming book – The Africa We Want.
How relevant would you say the African Union has been in recent times?
To be frank, the African Union seems to me to have been rather silent of late. Understandably, they are also rather overwhelmed by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But I could sense as well that the AU has taken an observatory stance, through which they can, for now, record all the negative occurrences on the continent which will inevitably have to be addressed and acted on sooner or later.
Right now, the continent is under siege, and any voice that speaks too loudly and too prematurely may well be silenced. The relevance of the AU will be felt, once handled well and strategically.
Nigeria used to play the big brother role in Africa. But with the nation presently at the bottom of global poverty rating, do you see Nigeria continuing to play that role effectively?
I see Nigeria continuing to play the big brother role, whether they want to or not, primarily because of the teeming population both inside and outside Africa. We have left good and bad footprints everywhere.
Even if Nigeria was destroyed today, the millions of us living outside will still have an impact. We have stamped our dominance in entertainment, leadership roles outside the continent, even finance! Nigerian banks are fanning out all over Africa, to the extent that a prominent Kenyan described us as being like the Chinese, all over the place spreading our culture.
I am afraid that if Nigeria fails, it will have a domino effect on the rest of Africa, because our DNA is all over the black world. But that is not likely to happen. Nigeria looks now like it is on a downward spiral, and could very well crash to the bottom. But we won’t die. We will get up with a few broken bones and bad bruising in plaster and so on. But once healed, which is the part where we get rid of all the selfish, destructive and recycled elements smothering us from the top, a progressive, young offspring will emerge, as long as they are given the right awareness and creativity. No human being in their right mind will want to dwell forever in ignorance and decay. Mark my words, fresh blood will emerge and take over.
Is it not disturbing that no one is expecting the Covid-19 vaccine to come from Africa? The only African country that offered herbal remedy was undermined and is presently suffering bigger scourge of the virus? Is Africa ever going to find its feet in global development?
Why no one is expecting the Covid-19 vaccine from Africa baffles me. And must it be a vaccine anyway? When we saw Ebola off in 93 days, not much was said about it. In fact, I will not be surprised if the west and the big pharmaceutical companies were disappointed. The fear of Africa and what Africa can achieve is real. So even if we were sitting right on top of the perfect cure for Covid-19, it is likely to be suppressed.
Unfortunately, our age old inferiority complex will also interfere with our own belief in ourselves that we can’t produce such a vaccine. The hydrochloroquine saga comes to mind. This is a cheap anti-malaria drug that we have been using for decades. Most of us may even have it in our system! There are herbs that are rumoured to be effective too. We should have scientists in the lab working on what we have, not waiting like idiots for some foreign power to come and give us a vaccine. I think it’s really about time we formed our very own AHO (African Health Organisation). We will then have the capacity to guide our own medicinal and healing processes.
Africa already has demonstrated its ability in the global dispensation, mostly on an individual basis. And what happens to those Africans who have come out with brilliant developmental ideas? They were snapped up by America and Europe, given citizenship and blended into their respective societies. And guess who takes all the credit? Never the African or Africa! And quite frankly, it serves us right! But that’s another story.
You are a poet, a writer and a publisher. Which of the vocations came first and how were you able to groom each part over the years?
Actually, being a poet came first. Because when I was an 11-year-old, I came first in a national poetry competition in England and Wales. That was barely two years after I arrived in the UK. In between everything else, family, school, reading, and so on, I wrote short stories, newspaper articles. I was a magazine columnist, then editor.
When I got back to Nigeria after a disturbing stint of working with unpleasant employers, I branched out on my own and decided to start my own publishing company, with little or no capital. I still write, mostly ghost-writing for people who want to publish biographies and such.
I’ve barely had time to write for myself, because I would like to write a novel or my memoirs. I jot down poems every time I feel like it, and I should have clocked well over 100 poems, some of which I have carelessly misplaced. However, I have just completed a book of poems which I intend to bring out on my birthday this August.
What led you into the law profession?
Oh, that? I used to think it was a mistake until after a while I began to enjoy it. Practising law in England was a memorable experience. Anyway, I read Law at Southbank University in my desperation to go back to school after the end of a rather early and traumatic marriage.
I had initially applied to read Mass Communication and was told that there was a three year waiting list. My other choices were English, History and Law. When I was offered a place on those other subjects, I opted for Law because that seemed like the most practical in terms of career. I thought I would go back to writing later, but I found myself lingering in the legal profession for many years long after I graduated and qualified.
I worked in a few solicitors’ firms as well as her Majesty’s Treasury Solicitors, which was a source of pride on my CV then. I eventually went into partnership in the city of London before bowing out finally.
Which do you prefer, practising law abroad or in Nigeria?
Practising abroad, of course! I don’t understand what is going on in Nigeria. I’m not used to the system here. I never bothered to go to Law School here, because I had no intention of practising. I was put off by the low salaries of new lawyers.
What memories of your parents do you recall and which of them were you closer to?
My father left for London while we were still in Lagos. He went off to specialise in Ophthalmology. We got caught up in the progrom against the Igbo, which had spread from the north to Lagos. So, my little brother and I were evacuated to the East with my mother. We lived with her throughout our time in the war until we eventually left for the UK in September 1969. My father met us at Heathrow Airport, so most of my adolescent life was spent with him, even though I was put in a boarding school at some point. In which case I would say I was a little closer to my father, but reconciled with my mother in my adult years when I started visiting her in Lagos.
Did your parents play any role in the civil war?
My mother was a nurse at a military hospital in Aba and Nkwerre. Meanwhile in the UK, my father was a Biafran activist when he was not practising medicine.
Were you married to a Nigerian, and given the opportunity, will you go into marriage again?
No, I was not married to a Nigerian. In fact, he was from Grenada and we have two beautiful sons together. I have been given more than ‘an opportunity’ to go into marriage again, but I have not been willing to because the demands on my peace of mind was too high. I had vowed never to go into an abusive relationship or marriage ever again. However, I can never say never. If it is God’s will and a gentleman shows up and our spirits blend, then why not?
The embarrassing journey of African immigrants across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe continues. Why the silence by African governments about these suicidal journeys?
I told you already that most African governments, especially Nigeria, are selfish, destructive and, sorry to say, rotten. It is not in their mindset to help their citizens. They do not want to get their hands dirty, especially if most of the migrants are from another tribe. We need new governments, new leaders that will at least make an effort; at least encourage them to stay home. But they are not being given an incentive to remain in their countries. They are virtually refugees, whether war torn or economic.
You must have seen the Nigerian civil war or experienced a bit of it. What memory did it leave on you?
As a child from a privileged home, the impact was not as daunting as it was for many. But I do recall the constant fear and instability we faced, and I did witness some horrors now and then. Flying out of Biafra a few months before the war ended was also a terrifying experience. The indelible memory it left on me is that war is not the best solution. But sometimes it is absolutely necessary for self-defence.
Did you ever meet the main actor in the civil war, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu in person? If yes, what impressions did he leave on you?
I like the way you say “main Actor”. But who told you he was the main actor? I could only say I actually met Ikemba Ojukwu in person before the war and after the war. During the actual war, despite the fact that we spent some time in his house in Onitsha before it fell into enemy hands, he was never there. We used to watch him on television inspecting soldiers on parade, while his toddler son, Emeka Junior would be exclaiming with delight in Igbo, ‘Look at my father! Look at my father!’
What are your fears about Nigeria and Africa generally?
My fears about Nigeria and Africa is that we could be recolonised. If we continue to allow our governments to greedily seek loans from outside, we might well be plunged back into neo-colonialism and financially enslaved.
Some people are suggesting that Africa needs a revolution. Do you share that belief?
We need a thought revolution, a reset of the mind and complete financial independence through hard work, and the harvesting of our own resources by ourselves. Also, we have to learn to stop fighting one another in the name of ethnicity and religion. These unnecessary conflicts have brought us right down and rendered us easy to manipulate.
It has always been time for a female president. But whether our self-absorbed misogynist males will allow it is another issue. I remember once a guy told me to my face, “If a woman ever rules Nigeria, I will rather commit suicide.” I have never forgotten that sad declaration.
We are the way we are because more than half of the population is not allowed to have a say in the running of our affairs. One or two countries are trying and they are developing faster than the rest. That, I guess, will be a conversation for another day.
Richie Adewusi took a 23-year-old MajekFashek on his sleeves, to represent his interest after he interviewed him for his magazine, Just It, in 1987. Fashek had just released his widely acclaimed album, Prisoner of Conscience, but he was new in Lagos. After much persuasion, Adewusi agreed to represent Fashek as his publicist. The duo bonded so much that Adewusi eventually took charge of the singer’s administrative affairs including concert bookings and his personal needs. Their relationship lasted six years until they parted ways in January 1993. In a no-holds-barred interview, Adewusi narrates to ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, GBENGA BADA his experience with the late reggae icon. Excerpts…
WHEN and how did you meet the late MajekFashek?
I met Majek in 1987. I had founded Just It magazine to profile and celebrate young talents and youth activities. It was a project that I initiated to challenge the notion that young people couldn’t get anything done. I was young and fresh from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. A major focus of Just It was to celebrate young people who were doing remarkable things that other young people could emulate. One day, one of my staff, OsagieAgboanite, who was also a friend and colleague with whom I served in Sokoto, arrived at the office at 51, Ijaiye Road, Ogba, Lagos, enthusing about a new act in town. Osagie said, ‘Richie, there’s a boy in town if you hear his music…he’s on fire.’ Though skeptical, I agreed that we interviewed him for our music section. The meeting was set up and he was invited to the office. On the d-day, this nice looking, impetuous character walked into our office; he could hardly stand in one place at a time. He was restless throughout the interview. Afterward, he was taken downstairs to our in-house studio for a photo-shoot. Osagie subsequently told me that the singer hadn’t done any show in Lagos and that we should discuss it with him. I wondered if we were also music promoters. Anyway, I gave in and after the photo-shoot, I asked if Majek would like to do a concert at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and he agreed. So, we agreed to put him on stage in one month after we interviewed him. We scheduled the concert for July 1987 at the main auditorium of UNILAG.Before we put Majek on stage, I assigned a car to him from the day he came for that interview. We signed a contract with him to do the concerts, and even though it was about a week to the concert, we paid him and provided him a car for the whole week.
That time, Majek had this very successful album with the hit song, Send down the rain, but he also had a group called Jastix. The group had a contract with another recording company. There were so many issues with that recording company, and they couldn’t get their album released. Meanwhile, Majek was working as a producer at Tabansi Records. According to him, as narrated in my first book on him, ‘Trailblazer,’ he said it was Tony Benson, one of Bobby Benson’s children, that talked him into going solo. He got thinking and that was how he went solo but Majek kept trying to pull Jastix together. These issues materialised at the concert. Just before he stepped on stage, I realised that he didn’t have a band. That concert was his first fee-paying concert in Lagos after the release of his solo album. So, he had to piece session men together, and it cost me a fortune; because they were strangers to each other, he had no control over them.
On the concert date, after the band had set up instruments, and done sound-check, the drummer said he wanted to go and eat eba. I said, ‘No problem, don’t worry, I will send someone that will bring you the best eba on campus’ but he insisted on going home to eat the eba that his wife had prepared for him. The possibility of getting someone to drive him home was moot because he lived in Alapere and we were at Akoka, and we had a concert that was to start in less than an hour. Still, he left. Majek started that concert playing the drums by himself. Majek was a multi-instrumentalist. I lost money at that concert because of that incident with the drummer. You know students, especially within the campus, the show didn’t start when we promised them, so they got restless and all of that. Being an alumnus of the school, I instructed my staff that anyone who wanted his or her money back should get a refund. Consequently, we did the concert as a free show but it was a wonderful show. The drummer returned eventually and Majek had to go play the guitar.
After the show, I left the car with him, telling him he could still use it for a week. The day he returned the car to my office, he said nobody had ever treated him like that and he wanted me to manage him. I edited a magazine, and I would have to juggle that with managing Majek. I was hesitant but he persisted.
So, you started representing Majek but in what capacity?
I was never Majek’s manager. Majek never had a manager. That ultimately had an impact on a lot of things. I was his publicist, but I did more than that hence people concluded that I was his manager. My territory was communication and public relations. So, I offered to work with him as his publicist and public relations consultant.
•Majek and Adewusi
If you check the album slips of his subsequent albums after the Prisoner of Conscience album, what you will see there is Richie Adewusi, ‘Public Relations Consultant.’ When you now check the subsequent albums up to the ‘Spirit of Love’ album, what you will see there is ‘Publicist.’ Let me repeat again, Majek had no manager.
There was a controversy about Majek’s age. You knew him as a young man, how old was Majek at the time of his death?
Majek had a lot of people who claimed to be his managers even till he died. And that has also continued to create confusion because you hear somebody saying he was 72 years old and he said he was his manager. That tells you that, that person knew nothing, absolutely nothing about Majek. Majek died at age 57. I mean, his life story from his mother, his family members, himself and everybody around him was my first book about him, Trailblazer. The book was published in 1989.
As Majek’s publicist, what were the things you did?
I handled all sorts of contractual, organisational, administrative things for him. I worked at organizing Majek. I worked at turning Majek into a product; he had a talent quite alright. I went to work using what I knew in public relations and product creation, to package him. Majek had a lot of appeal.
How many years did you work with Majek?
My story with him started in June 1987. I didn’t agree to represent him until October 1987. And I resigned officially from representing him in January 1993.
You probably had a deep connection and work relationship with Majek in those years. How would you describe him?
As a musician, Majek was complete. He was a complete musician, in the sense that he was an entertainer, a multi-instrumentalist, and a gifted lyricist. With the available technology now, you could just turn down all the rhythm in any of his tracks and enjoy only his songs; you could liken them to poems. He was an accomplished lyricist. Majek was a total and complete musician. The only musical instrument he could not play at the time I met him, and up to the time I resigned from representing him, was the saxophone. And it pained him very much because he always had a problem with the saxophonists during music sessions. He was always like, ‘No men, play this damn thing, man! This is not what I want.’ And he kept saying, ‘I will play this instrument one day men!’
Well, he eventually worked with very talented saxophonists. Prominent among them was Mike Apo. In terms of his talent and appeal, you could liken him to Fela and to some extent, King Sunny Ade (KSA). I’m talking in terms of Nigeria. The bundle of what God programmed in Majek could be seen in Fela, and KSA enjoyed similar acclaim, internationally. But the acclaim turned out to be Majek’s undoing, eventually.
What people have failed to understand is that Majek was actually your typical village boy who migrated from Benin to Lagos, and made it. He had very little education, stopping at secondary school. But he was tremendously talented. Many people and the media criticised him for sounding like this person, sounding like that person, and Majek responded saying, ‘Look, what you guys are saying simply is that I’m a genius. If you’re saying that I can take the music of Bob Marley, BujuBanton, all these great musicians and create one thing, then you’ve called me a genius.’ That’s who he was. That’s how intelligent he was. As a man, Majek was impressionable. He was impulsive. He was very humble, and he came from humble beginnings. If you take into consideration that he was the last of three boys or three men from his mother, all three of them were from three different fathers. That leaves some kind of pressure on anyone, especially the last child.
As a man, Majek was very passionate and loyal to his friends. He was loyal to a fault, even to those who were using him. In most cases, he knew that they were using him, and he would be like, ‘Richie men, let them take the bread, meaning money.’ Majek also was attracted to esoteric things. He was fascinated by magic. And if you put into consideration, that, Majek had a strong background in the white garment church, he also had a lot of challenges growing up, even physical and psychiatric challenges. These got him tied to the Aladura (white garment church) environment which was actually where his music started. He started playing percussion within the Aladura church environment where he was being treated. This was before he became a music star. So, having survived those challenges, he was grateful to God. Even some of his family members tried to use those challenges to blackmail him when he attained fame. They would say, ‘You want us to talk to the public and tell them you are mad.’ I witnessed all of these challenges brewing at the backdrop of his success. It was a lot to deal with for an unprepared, unschooled person. He was principled but Majek had a very rebellious spirit. Rebellious in the sense that, he saw things differently from other people. Most of us do anyway but we still learned to live with society. Majek didn’t understand what it meant to respect contracts. So that was actually a major challenge in whatever transpired with him going forward.
You left him in 1993. Why did you quit?
Well, it’s heavy. It’s painful. I left Majek in 1988; that was the year of the MAMSER tours packaged by Rtd. General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration to prepare Nigeria for democracy and Majek was the lead artiste. He was the only one that the Federal Government contracted to tour all the states in the country except for states that didn’t want him because they thought he was too revolutionary. My work relationship with Majek was based on agreed terms. I told him that he couldn’t play every show and that we have to agree on the kind of shows he wanted to play. I told him, ‘You can play shows to promote product brands, universal rights, advance a particular cause, shows that have meaning. In other words, you can’t play birthdays, naming ceremonies, and all that, because you are not a Juju or Fuji artiste.’ We created a clearly defined path, going forward, and it worked.
•From left, Hajia (Majek’s handler),Stella Monye, Fola, Richie and Majek at Changeville. Resort, Ado-Ekiti in 2012
But it wasn’t easy to put Majek on stage at that time. You needed to provide a minimum of N60,000. That fee was not chicken feed, and that was just his artiste fee asides equipment, accommodation, transport, and hospitality. So, to put Majek on stage then, a promoter would spend between N200,000 and N400,000 as far back as 1988. However, we insisted on not having him play political shows or perform for cigarette companies. One of those instances was when Lucky Igbenedion was going to contest for the governorship of Edo State. Majek’s mother hailed from Benin, and Majek was more Benin than Yoruba. He spoke more Benin. He couldn’t even speak Yoruba like that but he was from Ilesha.
His lawyer then later became Attorney General in Edo State. They organised a meeting and Igbinedion wanted Majek to play at his campaign rally but I declined, stressing, that Majek won’t support any politician but the people around him kept pushing and they set up a meeting in Surulere. At the meeting, they started speaking their language, and at a point, I said, ‘Can we have this meeting in English because I don’t understand the language’ and Igbinedion turned to me and said, ‘Who is this guy?’ Majek responded saying, ‘Bros, leave this guy o. He said we need to speak English.’ That was how much he respected, trusted, and bonded with me. Igbinedion wasn’t happy, so, I said to him, ‘I cannot deny that Majek is your brother but he can only come to your campaign as a brother and not as the Prisoner of Conscience, and the band can’t play at your campaign.’
Igbinedion got angry and walked out of the meeting. Then he returned to insist that Majek performed for him but I also insisted that once he played the show, he would lose his claims to non-partisanship. Of course, Majek didn’t play at the campaign. What I am getting at is that I had a listening client that followed the road map that we had drawn.
An ugly trend is on the rise in Lagos and other parts of the country with motorists brutalised or killed in road rage incidents reports KUNLE AKINRINADE.
YOU don’t know me? I will show you who I am,” the stocky driver of a brown Toyota Corolla car in the middle of the road at Oshodi, a Lagos suburb, boasted.
“Are you Sanwo-Olu or the person whose picture is on the N1,000 note?” retorted a commercial bus driver who was trying to overtake the first on the wrong side of the road in a traffic jam.
The verbal exchange eventually turned violent after the driver of the Toyota Corolla jumped out of his car, walked up to the window of the bus driver, landing him deafening slaps as shocked bystanders and other motorists tried to intervene.
“Next time, you will learn to respect the law,” the boiling Toyota Corolla driver said as he was being pulled back from the scene by other motorists.
The Oshodi incident has become a common sight in recent times, frequently with tragic consequences. In July last year, a viral video showing a soldier who drove against the traffic assaulting another motorist on Moloney Street on the Lagos Island caused an outrage in the social media.
In the footage, the soldier identified simply as Duru could be seen blocking the road and subsequently hitting the vehicle of the motorist he assaulted. The scene of the assault was filmed by a woman in the victim’s vehicle, who cried as the soldier, who had alighted from a Honda Acura with registration number Oyo AE 996 YYY, was joined by two others in punching and kicking the hapless driver with their boots until he collapsed.
An eyewitness, who recalled that the incident occurred around 5.16 pm at a spot opposite the Kam Salem House in Lagos, said: “We were on the right side of the road coming from Obalende, but had to stop as there was an oncoming vehicle on our lane. The vehicle ought to have taken the left side of the road.
“We hooted several times but the vehicle refused to move. We then heard other disgruntled drivers murmuring, ‘Na soldier o (it is a soldier)’, so we reversed in an attempt to wriggle our way out peacefully.
“To our surprise, the soldier reversed the vehicle and intentionally drove forward to hit our car.”
In one of the worst incidents of road rage attacks, a 39-year-old Christian Innocent brutally killed a tricycle operator, Anita Bassey, over an argument on the right of way on Akerele Street, Surulere, Lagos in August 2019.
Bassey was said to have died at Randle Hospital, Surulere, where he had been rushed to after the incident in which Innocent allegedly broke his head with a wheel spanner.
Surprisingly, even employees of corporate organisations, who ordinarily are regarded as gentlemen, are not left out of the show of shame that has become a common occurrence in several parts of the Lagos metropolis. They are tempted to turn into brutes when they feel cheated out of their right of way by other motorists.
The foregoing was the scenario at Palmgroove in Lagos penultimate Friday when a chauffeur-driven top official of an insurance firm in a Toyota Camry gave the driver of another vehicle a dirty slap for hitting his car from behind in a bid to overtake him.
The matter would have degenerated into fisticuffs when the brutalised driver signaled to some street urchins for help, but for the timely intervention of other motorists who separated the two feuding men.
Why motorists bully one another on the road
According to experts, many motorists are tempted to unleash their anger on other careless drivers trying to cheat them or who might have hit their car and tried to get away. This was the case on Wednesday at the popular Super Bus Stop on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway when the driver of a mini-bus conveying passengers from Ikeja to Abule Egba, identified as Opeyemi, dealt blows on the driver of a mini-truck that hit his bus from behind while he was trying to get over a road bump.
Efforts made to settle the duo was almost frustrated by the ranting of the truck driver who vowed to use supernatural means to deal with the younger bus driver for brutalising him. It took the intervention of some auto technicians nearby to broker a truce between the two adults, with the truck driver agreeing to pick the bill for the repairs of the commercial bus.
late Adeyemo
The menace of road rage among motorists is not peculiar to Lagos alone but other states of the country where cases of violent clashes involving motorists have also been reported in recent times.
Traders at the Toll Gate end of Sango-Ota in Ogun State recently became spectators in a fight involving two commercial bus drivers over whose turn it was to load passengers. The drivers involved in the bloody fight were later separated by policemen.
Effects of road rage
Experts say traffic rage has consequences on infrastructure and social amenities as well social order.
A safety professional, Mike Awotibe, noted that those involved in the act have the tendency to damage public facilities and by extension hurt other road users.
He said: ”Motorists who indulge in fighting to settle disagreements on the road usually throw caution to the wind. Quite a number of them have been found to have damaged the layers of the road through acts such as vandalising structures used as road barricades as weapons to attack each other, thereby endangering the lives of other motorists who ran into craters for which the barricades are meant to cover.
”In some instances, the motorists fighting either get injured or killed or even injure or kill other motorists or road users who tried to separate them in a fight. So, the effect of unnecessary fighting or brutality disrupt public peace.
“Some motorists become aggressive when stopped by law enforcement agents, and would use either their vehicle or weapon to attack the minions of law.”
In November 2018, an operative of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Rotimi Adeyemo, was shot dead at Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos State by an officer of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) when he was flagged by the deceased traffic officer.
In retribution, the unnamed policeman was killed by a mob.
In his words, a security expert, Samson Okoduwa, said aggressive motorists often use the road to vent their anger on other motorists or road users, noting that many of them often end up with severe injury or mortality.
”Road rage has the potential of resulting in injury or death, depending on the severity of the outcome. For example, motorists who are subjected to brutality by other drivers can end up with permanent disability such as brain damage, fractured bones and even paralysis, depending on the gravity of the physical assault meted out to them.
”A few years ago, a taxi driver was killed in Imo State because he scratched a Lexus RX 350 Sport Utility Vehicle. The owner of the car dealt a fatal blow to the taxi driver, leading to his untimely death on the spot.
“Many drivers of private or commercial vehicles are on hard drugs, which may be responsible for their violent attitude on the roads.
“In some instances, angry motorists or drivers who have firearms in their vehicles have turned them on other road users or law enforcement agents who tried to reprimand them for violating traffic regulations.
Way out
”The solution is for appropriate public transport authorities to subject those who indulge in this act to stringent psychological and anger examination. If the result turns out to be acute psychological disorder or influence of hard drugs, they should be banned from driving in order to prevent them from further unleashing the beast in them on motorists and mandated to go for anger management theraphy.”
Awotibe suggested prosecution and imposition of fine on erring drivers to serve as a deterrent to other motorists who indulge in violent act on the road.
”Offenders should be prosecuted and punished with either a huge fine, temporary imprisonment or life sentence if their action result in the death of other motorists or drivers,” he said.
Activist relives how private investigator was murdered
Syndicate tortures, dismembers suspected spies
Informant’s whereabouts unknown
NAPTIP officials’ lives under threat, says DG
The annual World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was celebrated globally on Thursday last week to sensitise people to the reality and dangers of the menace. In spite of intensive campaign and enlightenment against the ungodly practice, hordes of innocent people are still being trafficked daily, with many of the traffickers unleashing terror on anyone seen as standing in their way, INNOCENT DURU reports.
INHUMAN, heartless, deadly or mean are some of the adjectives deployed by victims of human trafficking as well as leaders of different organisations combating the menace to describe the activities of the traffickers.
For the victims, human trafficking is a crime they would not wish that even their enemies to fall victims. And for the various anti-trafficking organisations, it is a daily battle against a formidable and influential cabal determined to sustain and expand their illicit business.
Not too long ago, a private investigator with Project Ferry, a non-governmental organisation that rescues and facilitates the return of trafficked persons, was brutally murdered by a trafficker who got wind of her moves.
A co-founder of the organization, Motilola Adekunle, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, relived how the graduate of Criminology was killed.
She said: “One of our private investigators in our NGO was murdered by a trafficker in Ikorodu area of Lagos State. She was a graduate of Criminology in Benin. “She was gruesomely murdered as she was stabbed to death. It is unfortunate. We have reported the matter but the culprit has still not been prosecuted,” she said in a tone laden with deep frustration and disappointment.
Motilola, who is also an actress, regretted that the suspect has continued with his despicable business and was “currently threatening a victim who recently returned to the country”.
She said the case in question had been forwarded to NAPTIP, but “up until now, the guy is till roaming free, working on trafficking other people.
“How do you begin to combat that? How do you tell a victim to feel free to tell you who trafficked her when a trafficker who murdered somebody is still alive, walking around the streets of Lagos?
“Traffickers are leeches who profit from the misfortune of another human being. They profit from the ignorance of an innocent person,” Adekunle said.
The President of Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR), Comrade Solomon Okoduwa, whose organisation has been at the forefront of campaigning against human trafficking, told of how some of the oraganisation’s informants were brutally dealt with by traffickers.
He said: “My experience with traffickers has not been smooth because they are a cartel. Coming out to kick against their business has not been very easy. Most of them are either cultists or members of one gang or the other. They like to fight back.
“Traffickers are always after informants who leak their information. The informants are sometimes members of their cartel who they have betrayed.
“I had an informant who, as we speak, nobody knows his whereabouts. The traffickers trailed him and one other guy. They beat the hell out of one, making him to leave Edo State. The other one is nowhere to be found. We have been looking for him for a very long time, but even his number is not reachable.
“The parents have reported the matter to the police. But I don’t think the boy is dead.
“There are so many of them like that. Because their lives are not protected, they would run away from the country rather than staying back to get killed. Informants’ lives are very much in danger.”
After the Oba of Benin had publicly spoken against trafficking, Okoduwa said, most traffickers now use “intimidation and oppressive tendencies to suppress their victims by holding on to them and not taking them to native doctors.
“They go to their houses to beat up the parents because their daughters refused to comply. Once the girl’s mother says anything contrary, they would descend on her. What the woman would do at that point is to call her daughter and plead with her to simply comply because her life is in danger in Nigeria.”
He blamed the plight of informants on the insincerity of security officials who, according to him, release information about informants’ activities to traffickers.
•Security agents with arrested trafficker and rescued children
“After being compromised, they will tell the trafficker it was Mr XYZ Who told us that you wanted to take one or two girls out. Before you know it, they will just descend on the informant,” Okoduwa said.
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, the IYMIDR president said, people are still being trafficked.
“It is a business that is done in secrecy. You don’t know who is to be trafficked until a crime has been committed.
“People are still leaving the country, but not at the rate they used to.
“I read in the papers recently that NAPTIP arrested some persons allegedly leaving Nigeria for Libya in the midst of the pandemic. Those were the ones we heard about. What about those who were not apprehended?
It’s a battle with dark, retrogressive minds – NAPTIP DG
The Director-General of NAPTIP, Barrister Julie Okah-Donli, whose organisation daily confronts traffickers, in a telephone chat with The NATION, said the dangers her staff faced were many.
She said: “The corrupt minds who have invested in that evil trade will naturally fight back. They will attack my person by posting spurious and concocted stories about me to defame me and stain my integrity.
“They access victims and manipulate them not to help in their prosecution. They threaten me, my staff and our families on a daily basis. But in spite of these, NAPTIP is still here and standing.”
She described the fight against human trafficking as one with criminals and dark and retrogressive minds who are seeking to destroy the future of this country.
“Human Trafficking is a waste of Nigeria’s best and brightest, because it is an arrow in the heart of Nigeria’s human resource.
“No country can sustain the wastage of its youths the way human trafficking portends. Since I assumed office, I have retooled our arsenal for strategic planning, intervention, arrest, investigation, prosecution and rehabilitation of victims.
“Most importantly, I have personally invested both energy and passion in awareness creation and enlightenment of our public, just so that nobody is in doubt of the dangers posed by human trafficking and its human security implications.”
Asked why people continue to fall victim to the crime in spite of the massive enlightenment campaigns, the NAPTIP boss said: “People fall prey to human trafficking due to deprivation, greed, ignorance, poverty, and low self-esteem. This is part of the reasons that I am campaigning for the whole of government and whole of society’s effort and synergy to curb this menace and scourge. “Everybody has a responsibility, from the parents, who are first responders, to the community, which must erect anti-human trafficking road blocks, and the local government which must invest in targeting all children of school going age to make sure they are in school.
“The states must erect structures that protect children both in law and in deeds; adopt the child rights act, domesticate the law on violence against persons; and make education free, compulsory and accessible to every child.
“If we create this web of response and cover, our communities will become impregnable to traffickers. The private sector and all have a responsibility too.”
On the challenges militating against the anti-trafficking battle, she said: “The critical challenges include the tendency of state governors to leave this fight to the Federal Government. I am going round the states to persuade them to adopt and domesticate the laws I mentioned; to create state working groups on human trafficking, create empowerment programmes to lift women and families out of poverty and support our enlightenment effort by producing and playing anti-trafficking jingles on their state radio and television stations.
“You must also know that NAPTIP is the only law enforcement agency in this country that rehabilitates victims of crime. This places a huge demand for funds on the agency for this purpose.
“There are many victims in our care who have undergone skills acquisition programmes. The states are not helping by meeting NAPTIP at least half way in this journey by empowering them.”
The effect of human trafficking on victims and the society at large, according to her, is huge. “Nothing destroys the country’s human resource potentials like trafficking in persons. It has human security implications.
“I travelled to Mali and Libya and saw Nigerian girls in slave camps. It was heartbreaking. However hard I try, I can’t delete those images from my brain. That experience told me that there is work here to be done.
“Just imagine, right now, the Federal Government is spending money to bring back our girls from Oman, Lebanon, UAE, and so on.
“The agency has since inception secured the conviction of over 450 traffickers who have been brought to justice for their crimes.
“With the slow but assured wheel of justice grinding, there are over 150 cases in several courts in the land.”
She described a trafficker as “a merciless, corrupt minded fellow who targets the weak and the vulnerable amongst us with false promises of jobs, marriages, money and opportunities anywhere, everywhere for exploitative reasons and for his own personal gain.
“He destroys our best, brightest, young or old, irrespective of age. His primary concern is profit. He will never let go of his victim until he has no further use of that victim.”
Traffickers are reputed for buying their ways out when the long arms of the law catches up with them, but the NAPTIP DG says that is not possible with her.
“How will you approach me for such rubbish? The fear of NAPTIP is the beginning of wisdom. They won’t even think of it,” she said.
‘Ways to check trafficking’
Checkmating human trafficking according to Co-founder of Project Ferry, Motilola Adekunle, is not rocket science.
According to her, trafficking in persons has become an institution in Nigeria. “It is a hydra headed monster which if we are not careful will be around for a very long time. Each time we think we have stopped one aspect of it, you realise that there are more to unfold.
“It is so disappointing that the stakeholders are not doing enough to stop trafficking in the country. There are five phases to this.”
She revealed the five steps that must be taken to check trafficking and also help its victims. need to know that trafficking does exist. There is a qualified nurse in Nigeria who was earning as much as N120,000 monthly. She was told that there was a job in Dubai and that she was going to be working as a nurse and earning as much as N600,000. She accepted. But instead of Dubai, she found herself in Lebanon, working as a maid and earning less than N60,000 a month.
“It can happen to anybody. That is the first thing everybody needs to know. Trafficking is not beyond you. It doesn’t matter whether you are educated or not.
“The second thing is that there needs to be trafficking desk at every airport in Nigeria. People should not be in a hurry to jet out. At every point, let them ask you what are you going there to do? Do you know the person that is coming to pick you up? Do you have the person’s number and are you aware that you are actually going to be a maid? Those who cannot satisfactorily answer the questions should be turned back for their own good.”
The third, she added, “is that we need to repatriate. Anybody who finds themselves in the web of trafficking should be willingly allowed to come back.
“The fourth stage is the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims which NAPTIP and IOM are doing. It has not been enough. We need to do more. If this society has not failed them, there would be no need for a qualified nurse to jet out of Nigeria to earn N60,000 as a cleaner in an airport outside Nigeria.
“When they come back, they need to know that there is something in store for them. How about collaborating with microfinance banks to give them soft loans to finance their businesses and have them pay back over a period of time? How about partnering with the Bank of Industry to fund all of these things?
“The fifth is prosecuting the traffickers. Once you have evidence that a lady has been trafficked, why are her traffickers not arrested and prosecuted? Let their trials be fast tracked so that the victims could get some justice for all the ills that have been meted out to them.”
Four months after they were closed as a preventive measure against further spread of COVID-19, churches and mosques have received the green light to commence operations at 50 per cent capacity. As the D-day approaches, PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU reports that there are concerns whether adherents will religiously obey necessary protocols.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Saturday announced the reopening of places of worship at 50 per cent capacity effective August 7. The re-opening after four months religious centres were closed down as a result of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the governor said, followed the downward curve in active cases recorded in the state for some time.
But the re-opening order came with caveats: Ju’mat prayer or church services should be held in well-ventilated halls with physical distancing order enforced.
Only regular services or religious gatherings are permitted; no vigils or other programmes until further notice; people above 65 years are not allowed to attend; handwashing, sanitising, thermometer, as well as a mandatory face mask policy.
The governor, who reiterated the need for people to take responsibility in the battle against the virus by adhering to all protocols as plans continue to flatten the curve and gradually return to normal said the important decisions were taken to calibrate an effective balance between competing demands of safeguarding lives and enabling livelihoods.
Statistics from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday night indicated that 304 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded across the country out of which Lagos recorded 59 and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 90. From the statistics, Nigeria has recorded 44,433 confirmed cases, 31,851 discharged survivors and 910 deaths since the index case of the disease was recorded in the country on February 27.
Prior to the announcement, the government came under severe criticisms, especially from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), some popular pastors such as David Oyedepo and Chris Oyakhilome who described as unacceptable, unjustifiable and untenable, the continued lockdown of worship centres while markets and other less-organised places were allowed to function.
They regarded the continued closure of places of worship as an attack on Christendom, insisting that churches should be allowed to run their services unhindered so that more people can be healed of the virus.
Hence, the partial re-opening came to these groups as cheery news, with CAN describing it as prayers answered.
Hailing the decision, Lagos CAN Chairman, Apostle Alex Bamgbola said the move was a loud testimony to the prayers of church leaders, just as he urged churches to comply with all regulations on COVID-19 to avoid losing the gains of the re-opening.
Similarly, the founder, Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo said the re-opening of churches in Lagos and Ogun states was an attestation that the devil has been shamed. He stated this while preaching to the congregation on Sunday.
“The laughter has begun; the devil is tired, the devil is weary. By next Sunday (August 9), all the churches in Lagos will be opened. The devil is tired. Why fight a battle you know you cannot win? Can any man win against God? Can any authority win against God? Shame on the devil!
“The Sunday that follows (August 16), Faith Tabernacle opens, to the shame of the devil and his cohorts. Don’t you see the laughter has started? We are laughing at the devil, we are laughing on the devil, and we are laughing upon the devil.
“What has changed? Nothing but Jesus! The gang-up of hell cannot prevail against it. What a joy that nothing has tampered with this joy. Shame on the devil! The revival fire is burning hot, hotter by the day,” said Oyedepo who emphasised that nothing can stop the church in Nigeria from moving forward.
However, sceptics are concerned that the COVID-19 protocols might be flouted, especially because worship centres accommodate people from all strata of society.
The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, on Wednesday, said its branches in Lagos and Ogun states would not open until September.
A statement from the church reads:
“1. MFM Churches in Lagos and Ogun states will not open yet.
“2. We need to observe and properly appraise post-lockdown indices before opening our branches.
“3. We must be careful not to make any mistakes because all eyes will be on us.
“4. No deliverance program after opening.
“5. Tentative date to reopen is 13th of September.
“6. Compliance Committee has been constituted by the G.O.
“7. It is imperative for every branch to officially invite the Compliance Committee for evaluation of state of readiness.
“8. The Committee must issue a letter of authorisation before reopening.
“9. What is the committee coming to evaluate? *Our compliance with the government guidelines !*
“10. What are we expected to do?
Provision of wash hand basins with flowing tap water.
Hand sanitiser.
Thermometer.
Spraying machines.
Disinfectants etc.
“11. One and half hours multiple service on Sunday only.
“12. Pastors who are 65 years and above should stay at home.
“13. No midweek programmes.
“14. 70 days fasting to start in September.”
Like MFM, other churches have also ruled out the possibility of opening on Sunday.
Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God also Thursday to announced that his church would not open despite the lift of the ban on worship activities.
The founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Pastor T.B. Joshua, said his church would not begin service until he heard from God to do so.
The Overseer, Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, warned Christians not to let any religious leader or government official lead them like sheep to the slaughterhouse.
He wondered why the government should ask worship centres to re-open when they said this month would be the peak of the infection.
“Please keep safe and do your best to keep alive by keeping all the necessary rules. We know that by the grace of , this pandemic like the others before it has an expiry date. It shall not see our end. We shall see its end in the mighty name of Jesus,” he said.
Explaining that CGCC building would not open until the coast was clear, Pastor Bakare noted that the church of God was far beyond a building and cannot be shut.
The church, as it is known, has always been a place where people from all walks of life and different strata of the social ladder congregate in fellowship and share love without hitches.
Usually, hugs, handshakes, holding hands in prayers and having communion are some of the common practices in churches. For the Muslim faithful, common use of water kettles and mats are part of the rituals performed during Ju’mat prayers on Fridays.
They worry that worship centres, especially churches, may not be able to congregate at large, well-ventilated auditorium without flouting the Environmental Protection Laws with regard to noise pollution.
There are also concerns that the “no facemask, no entry” policy could heighten security risks as criminals since the masks mostly make wearers unidentifiable.
There is also the fear that wearing the masks for long hours in the enclosed auditorium could further endanger the health of the wearers since oxygen supply to vital body organs are blocked while humans are forced to inhale the same carbon dioxide they exhaled.
Expectedly, churches planning to re-open have started sending messages to their members which contain some of the rules that must be followed throughout the services inline with the government’s guidelines.
Among the practices expected to be altered are the modes of collecting offerings and tithes, which may now be done electronically or at stationery boxes with a well thought-out arrangement to prevent congestion and body contacts.
Also, the duration of the services or Mass may be breached to prevent worshippers from suffocating as a result of long use of face masks, just as handshakes, hugs and other forms of exchange of pleasantries that involve physical contacts must be prohibited.
A safety officer, Chijioke Obi, said it was long overdue but described the conditions as stringent.
“However, I think the stringent conditions deployed to the re-opening are wrong. We have really undermined the power of God all this while. We have given much attention to medical sciences that have not given us a solution. Why not try the God factor?
“Allow people to gather in their usual manner to pray and worship the Almighty God, then you will see what will happen. Give believers the benefit of the doubt. Safety will be upheld,” he said.
