The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Etihad Airways waiting for Boeing 787 Dreamliner

    Etihad Airways waiting for Boeing 787 Dreamliner

    Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), James Hogan, recently visited Boeing’s Everett production facility, as the UAE flag carrier prepares to take delivery of more 777s and awaits the arrival of the 787 Dreamliner.

    Mr Hogan is leading a senior delegation of Etihad Airways and Airberlin executives on a one-day visit. Etihad Airways owns almost 30 per cent of Airberlin, Europe’s sixth largest airline.

    In March, the two carriers announced plans to strengthen their partnership by integrating their respective Boeing 787 Dreamliner programmes.

    Inspecting the 777 and Dreamliner assembly lines, Mr Hogan said: “It is exciting to see these aircraft take shape and we look forward to taking delivery of nine more 777s over the next 15 months.

    “For both carriers, the Dreamliner’s arrival will be a positive milestone for two strategically aligned partners who are looking to successfully work with Boeing on our integrated fleet programme.

    “Already we are sharing infrastructure, streamlining our purchasing activity for engines, rotables, avionics and in-flight entertainment systems and are also hard at work on common onboard product specifications for our respective brands which will give passengers a consistent product experience,”Mr Hogann said.

    Last December, Etihad Airways announced it was taking its total order book for the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to 41, the first of which arrives in the last quarter of 2014. The order, valued at US $9.3 billion, will make Etihad Airways the largest operator of the aircraft type in the world. The UAE flag carrier has options and purchase rights for an additional 25 aircraft.

    Etihad Airways has already taken delivery of three Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft in 2012, including the airline’s first three-class aircraft type. The airline’s current fleet of Boeing aircraft includes: 11 Boeing 777-300ER, one Boeing 777-200 freighter and one Boeing 747-400 freighter (wet leased).

  • Teenage sex: Should I or should I not?  

    By Richard

    “Should I or should I not?” is a common question among teens. Perhaps you are in a relationship that is progressing in that direction, but you’re not sure what to do. In your mind, you are probably weighing the pros and cons of adolescent sex. On the positive side of the scale, there is immense pleasure to be gained from the act acceptance from your peers, and the fulfillment of sexual desires. The negative side of the scale carries the weights of morals, fear of pregnancy or disease, loss of self-respect and guilt. How do these scales balance? What is the right decision? Let’s take a look at some of the facts.

    Sex in itself can be really good for system as it serves many purposes besides reproduction. Indeed, several health publications have listed a number of benefits to be derived from a regular sex regime in our lives, benefits that range from a boost in the body’s immunity to healthier looking skin and, for men, an increase in sperm production. It is a way to express love for someone; it provides a feeling of security and has the effect of calming people in stressful situations. That being said, as with all things good in the hands of a ‘wrong’ user, there are outcomes that are less than desirable.

    A knife can be used to cut bread, in the hand of a killer however, it becomes an instrument of death. The argument is thus advanced that while the object (sex, in this case) may not necessarily be on trial; the user (Teenagers) may create outcomes that are far less desirable and harmful to themselves, since their immaturity on matters of sex often lead to ineffective contraceptive and preventive methods (indeed condoms have a technique to their use and can pull out during intercourse, if put on wrongly).

    Physically speaking, teenage sex poses more of a risk to the female gender than it does to the male. Whereas adolescent boys may have regular sex without any physical side effects, researches conducted in the U.K. has shown that girls who engage in sex before the age of 25 risk of developing cervical cancer as a result.

    Social Pressures: Most often when boys and girls begin to date, the pressure to engage in sex early in the relationship usually comes from the boys as their social concept of virginity differs considerably from that of their female counterparts.

    Research has found that, depending upon gender, adolescents generally think of their loss of virginity in one of the following ways: as a gift, as a stigma and as a normal step in development. While girls generally think of virginity as a gift, boys think of virginity as a stigma (that is to say they often seek to cover up the fact that they are virgins). In studies, girls said that they viewed giving someone their virginity like giving them a very special gift. As a result they often expected something in return such as increased emotional intimacy with their partners. However, after the act they are often disappointed because they do not feel as though they actually received what they expected in return and this makes them feel like they were used. It is a feeling of giving something important up and afterwards feeling like this action was not recognized. Thinking of losing virginity as part of a social developmental process therefore results in power imbalances in the genders, with girls often left confused as to whether their refusal to engage makes them seem immature. Many young girls understandably feel conflicted by what society is telling them to do; on the one hand they are told to maintain a good reputation by abstaining, while being told on the other hand that in order to maintain a romantic relationship they must behave in ‘adult ways’ (which of course includes having sex with their man). Teenagers, more importantly girls, need to understand that it is their lot to wait patiently for the right age (which is 25, scientifically speaking)  before partaking of this wonderful fruit called sex; indeed most religions go even further to advocate total abstinence until marriage (even if marriage has to wait till age 40). The morality issue is however a matter of personal conviction and beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say however that the health implications (both psychological and physical) should be motivation enough to wait, if not till marriage then at least till the right age.

  • The internet and naked photos

    If you are the type with an aversion for nude pictures, then I will advise you to steer clear of the internet this period. This is because, in the past couple of weeks, the internet has been awash with nude photos of certain persons, both famous and the unknown. Never knew that taking naked pictures of one, has become the latest hobby in town.

    First, it was those of a certain lady said to be a top banker in one of the financial institutions in the country. The story goes that the photos were the handiwork of a jilted lover, who incensed by being dumped, took his revenge in a most shocking way, by posting his lover’s nude photos on the web. Those who saw them, all agreed they were not a sight you will want your young children to see. They were that raunchy. Who knew that some bankers, in a profession renowned for its conservatism, lived such ‘wild lives’ on the side? They present such a serious image in those banking halls, it’s quite shocking to hear stuff like this about some of them.

    And secondly, the British Monarchy is in the middle of a serious media storm as a result of naked pictures of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William that were published in a French magazine last week. The offending pictures were allegedly taken by the sharp lens of a paparazzi while the couple were holidaying in a villa in France. This latest scandal is coming so soon after the Harrygate affair- when naked photos of Prince Harry while holidaying in Vegas, were published on the internet.

    From all these examples, it’s becoming crystal clear that the web is becoming a tool that the inventors never envisaged- a medium for exacting revenge and for publishing stuff that will put people, especially the famous in a very bad and embarrassing light.

    For the lady whose pictures were circulated on the internet, one can image her state of mind when the photos, taken in privacy became public property via the web. Anger and despair must have been some of the emotions she felt. And regret for taking such intimate pictures in the first place and sending them to her boyfriend. One of the questions asked by some who saw the photos was why would a grown woman, and a married one at that, with a responsible position in a bank, take such pictures in the first place, much less send them to a boyfriend, not even her husband?

    To them, she brought all the mess on herself and as such has no one to blame for all the humiliation and embarrassment she’s going through, including losing her job. I agree totally with them. Nobody put a gun on her head and forced her to take those pictures. It was a choice she made, a very bad choice as events have shown.

    And her experience should be a lesson to others-those who think nothing of taking lurid pictures of themselves and storing them in their computers, mobile phones and other gadgets- remember, they might come back to haunt you one day. If in doubt, ask former actress Anita Hogan, whose movie career, prematurely ended due to some nude photos of hers that were splashed all over the internet in 2006. Six years later, she’s yet to recover from that scandal.

    As for the Duchess of Cambridge, all I can say is, welcome to the club! As soon as she married into the Royal Family, she ‘signed’ a life-long contract with intense media interest, the paparazzi and public scrutiny. All her actions will be covered by the media (especially the papps) who will go to any length to get exclusive photos of her as the ones taken in France show. She will learn now that with the kind of ‘gold fish’ lifestyle and the life of privilege and luxury she married into, also comes great responsibility. And that includes keeping her clothes on all the time except perhaps in the privacy of her bedroom. So, no more topless sunbathing by the pool, please since she’s not a page 3 girl.

  • Capturing allure of Nigeria’s tourism

    Capturing allure of Nigeria’s tourism

    Nigeria’s tourism endowments are like a rich art work on canvass with bright esoteric strokes, and each stroke tells a story. In trying to deconstruct the mind of the artist and interpret the work, the connoisseur must go on a soul- searching journey, a journey that captures every facet of his life.

    That is the story of tourism in Nigeria. That is the story recently captured by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) through a compendium, Nigeria: Tourism is Life.

    In this compendium, Nigerian tourism endowments were brought to the fore for both local and foreign tourists in vivid colours, and it leaves one absolutely stunned and giddy by the plethora of tourism assets in country.

    One important thing is that there is no particular part of the country that has the monopoly of endowments.

    Many tourists desirous of visiting a destination tries as much as possible to get all the information they need to get baout that particular destination before embarking on a trip. This helps a tourist prepare in terms of weather, culture and other things that would make the trip an enjoyable expererience. Unfortunately in the past, Nigeria lacked such a compedium that could be a source of information for a potential tourist.

    This is captured in Nigeria: Tourism is Life. The landmass, vegetation and people are all captured in the beginning of the book. The policial history of Nigeria is well articulated in the book.

    Another vacuum which Nigeria: Tourism is Life will also fill is the desire of local tourists to get to know about destinations that they want to visit.

    It is a known fact top tourist destinations in Africa like South Africa, Ghana and The Gambia depend so much on the tourism traffic from Nigeria to actually balance their tourism book. For example, if Nigerians refused to go South Africa for a year, that country’s inbound tourism arrivals would be down by close to 30 per cent. The same applies to Ghana and, to a lesser extent, The Gambia. But the local travel in Nigeria is abysmal. This has been attributed to lack of knowledge about the sites and the tourism endowments in the country.

    The NTDC compendium has solved the problem. The sites have been captured so vivdly and in an attractive page layout and colours that lure any person desirous of leisure or simple adventure to hit the road.

    This is part of the core NTDC mandate to develop and market Nigeria’s tourist sites and destinations.

    However, this has also brought to the fore the poor state of the infrastructural facilities like roads to the sites and the development within these sites for them to attract tourists. It is only Cross River with its huge investments in tourism that has really put their money where their mouths are.Maybe one can add Ekiti State in the light of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s efforts in Ikogosi. The NTDC has done its own part in articulating and properly documeting these sites. Other tiers of government should also do their own part.

    The tourism endowments are divided into eleven groups. One could broadly group these into natural or eco-tourist and man-made endowments. The eco-tourist endowments include rock formations, lakes, waterfall and springs, while the man-made endowments include monuments, dams, palaces, festivals, cities, holiday resorts and many others.

    Monuments: the monuments include the Nok terra cotta figurine from Kaduna State, one of the well known cultures of black Africa having been around for over 2,500 years. The intriguing Sungbo Eredo earthwork in Epe, Lagos State. The moat in the league of the Benin moat served as defence between 800-1000AD. Other works under the monument include the ancient Sukur village in Adamawa.

    Rocks and hills in Nigeria come in different forms and shapes, but they always add allure to any place the hills are located. They are most in the middle belt areas with a few exceptions like the Olumo Rock and Idanre Hills. Rock formations such as Agbele, Olosunta, Zuma, Pulka, Gembu hills, Kilang hills and many others.

    Nigeria is blessed with exotic waterfalls. With Tourism is Life book, a tourist has vivid capturing in picture of these waterfalls and could go on adventure to some of them. Top among them are Olumirin Waterfall in Erin Ijesa, Owu Waterfall in Kwara State, Farin Ruwa, Gurara, Awhum and many others. They are places that seeing them triggers the desire for adventure.

    The NTDC boss, Otunba Runsewe, speaking on the compendium in his forward said: “With an area of about 923,768,64 square kilometres stretchiang from the Atlantic Coast and the rainforest in the South through the savannah to the semi-arid region in the north, Nigeria is magnificently endowed by nature.

    “The diverse eco-system, manifesting in varying climactic zones, network of rivers, lakes, beautiful beaches , awesome caves, warm and cold springs and waterfalls all add to the geographical landmass called Nigeria.

    “A nation with over 250 ethnic groups, Nigeria is the most plural and most culturally diverse nation in black Africa. Its rich cultural heritage is expressed in its fascinating festivals rendered in songs, dance, drama, acrobatic display, poems, epigrams, incantations, costumes , riveting arts and craft products.

    “The beauty of her natural environment, richness of her culture and diversity of her people readily make Nigeria a foremost tourist destination in Africa.

    “One of the biggest problems of marketing Nigeria as a destination in past had been the lack of promotional materials at major international tourism exhibitions and fairs. Recently, a Japanese travel agent came to Nigeria with some tourists. One of the her complaints was that there was no promotional materials for them to know about eco-tourism sites and festivals in the country.

    “While the new work would greatly help in the promotional materials for country, it is also important the embassies and other foreign outlets that have one or two things to do with the Nigerian image should have copies of this book.

    “Outside this, the book should be in soft copies and posted on the net.”

  • The millionaire’s daughter (3)

    She looked at me sharply and asked: “What’s that supposed to mean? Have I not been supportive enough?”

    “You are getting me wrong. I’m not saying that. All I’m saying is that this project means a lot to me and I need all the support I can get for it to take off,” I explained calmly. I could see she was getting worked up and since I didn’t want us to get into an argument, I let the matter drop.

    It was a few days later that the issue came up again. It was Meera who brought it up.

    “So what kind of business are you planning to go into?” she asked one evening after dinner. I looked at her, surprised and pleased as well. I had already done the proposal on my laptop which I quickly showed to her.

    “Hmm. This doesn’t look bad,” she commented, as she used the console to scroll down the page to check all the details including the start-off capital I would require.

    Later, after discussing more about the business, she stated:

    “It looks viable. I think I like it.”

    I simply smiled, glad I had won her over.

    With her support and that of her family, I was able to raise the capital and the business took off. Meera offered me the use of one of her buildings which was vacant then and with the initial staff I recruited, we moved in. That was how I started my own business. My wife really tried to support the business especially at the beginning. The first major job I got was through a contact of hers. It was a big, multi-million naira job and I threw myself into it to ensure I delivered.

    With time, more of such jobs came and I started doing really well, making more money than I had ever dreamt of. To add to my joy, Meera gave birth to a daughter whom we named Cyndi. It was a happy time for us and we became closer. However, it wasn’t long before cracks began to appear in our bubble of happiness.

    Actually, they emanated mostly from our home life. Shortly after our wedding, I realised quickly that Meera was not the domestic type of woman. She knew next to nothing about running a home and worse, was not even ready to learn. She couldn’t cook, wash, clean the house and take care of stuff in the home that a good wife is supposed to do.

    “I was brought up in a home with a lot of domestic staff. A cook prepared all our meals and maids cleaned the house. I never learned to cook,” Meera explained when I grumbled about her shortcomings in the home. We had moved after the wedding, to another accommodation not too far from Meera’s apartment. It was a big mansion owned by my wife’s family with a large garden, a swimming pool and other facilities. To run the place, Meera employed a large retinue of staff including a cook, maids, drivers, a nanny for Cyndi and even a man to do the laundry.

    “Are they not too many? We don’t need all these people,” I stated when the staff resumed for work.

    “We sure do. Who’s going to do all the work around here? Definitely not me!” she declared.

    Besides her inability to cook and do other domestic work, my wife also turned out to be very sloppy and untidy. Most days, our bedroom looked as if a tsunami had passed through it as her expensive outfits, handbags, dirty clothes and other stuff would be strewn all over the place. I liked to live in a clean environment and I couldn’t understand why she was so messy. This caused several quarrels between us but she refused to change her sloppy ways which only manifested at home. Whenever she was going out especially to parties, she would spend hours dressing up and by the time she finished, she would look so beautiful and glamorous, she could be mistaken for a model. Sometimes, I found it difficult reconciling that untidy lady at home with the glamour puss outside.

    It got to a stage I could not bear it any longer and I had to move out of our bedroom to a spare room in the house.

    “I need my own space,” I explained when she asked why I was moving out.

    That was not all. Her attitude towards our lovely daughter became a source of worry to me. Meera hardly paid attention to her, leaving all the care to the nanny. It wasn’t as if she was a busy career woman. She was a director in the family business but she didn’t have to be in the office every day. She went a few days a week and closed whenever she liked. So, she had a lot of time on her hands, yet she neglected Cyndi. She would go out in the morning and would not return home till very late.

    Since I was very busy at work, I didn’t know what was going on till my mum came to stay with me for some time. She drew my attention to my wife’s neglect of her baby.

    “She’s supposed to be a nursing mother, yet she’s hardly at home. She leaves the baby with the nanny all day and only comes home at night,” my mother disclosed one night on my return home from work.

    I looked at the baby who was sleeping peacefully in her cot. She was nearly six months old and was growing very fast. The nanny had closed for the day and she was in the care of my mother. It was nearly 10 pm yet Meera was not back from wherever she had gone to.

    That night, Meera did not come home till nearly midnight. I was really angry with her and I gave her a piece of my mind.

    “The baby is still too young to be left alone. You are the mother. She needs your love and care now,” I told her firmly. We were in her room where she was undressing and as usual, flinging clothes and shoes carelessly everywhere.

    She turned an angry look on me.

    “She has a nanny who’s doing a good job. So, what am I supposed to do? Sit at home and hold her hand?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm.

    I shook my head.

    “That’s not the point. A baby needs bonding with the mother especially at this early stage of her life. A nanny can’t do that,” I pointed out. “Besides, the nanny takes care of the baby, the cook prepares our meals and the other staff do all the work. So, what do you, as the wife do in this house?” I asked.

    She came up to where I stood and smiled coyly at me.

    “I take care of this,” she said softly, her hand slipping inside the loose house robe I was wearing to caress my chest and body. At first, I resisted her caresses as I was still angry with her. But as she slipped out of her undies and she wrapped her warm, voluptuous body round me, I melted.

    I kissed her and fondled her succulent breasts. She began to moan and held me tightly. Soon, we were hungry with desire for each other and falling on the bed, bodies entwined, all was silent in the room for a while except the sounds of our lovemaking…

    * * *

    Despite my talk with Meera, her attitude did not change. In fact, it got worse. She even started sleeping outside our home. When I complained, she would give the excuse that she had gone to a party with Tracy and her other friends and it was too late to return home.

    “I slept at Tracy’s place. What’s the big deal about that,” she grumbled, turning over on the bed with the intention of going back to sleep even though it was nearly twelve noon.

    “The big deal is that you are now a married woman. And a responsible married lady doesn’t run all over town with her friends, going from one party to another and sleeping outside her matrimonial home,” I said angrily and stormed out of her room. I could not understand why she couldn’t just focus on her home and family and reduced her partying ways. I knew when we were dating that Meera was the fun-loving, partying type who loved to attend all kinds of bashes with her friends especially at weekends. Most of her circle of friends, who were all from wealthy backgrounds, were like that including Tracy who was like the head of their group and the most ‘crazy’ of them all.

    Return of Elfreda

    But I had thought with marriage and motherhood, that she would calm down, become more mature and responsible. How wrong I was! She was only interested in two things; shopping and partying. Those were the things that absorbed all her attention to the detriment of her baby and even husband. She could travel to any part of the world just to shop or attend a high class party. She never bothered about my meals or wellbeing as a caring wife should. Agreed, the domestic staff took care of all that but it was not the same. You can call me old-fashioned but I still believe it was a wife’s duty to look after the home and her family. I often longed for a nice meal cooked by my own wife instead of by a cook no matter how delicious his meals were. When I was growing up, my mother did all the cooking in our home and my father never ate food cooked by a servant.

    I wanted the same for myself but it seemed I had chosen the wrong woman. Whenever I complained to my mum about my wife’s behaviour, she would preach tolerance.

    “You should not blame her too much. She must have been spoilt as a child and never learnt the things a woman needed to know about running her home,” she stated one evening.

    To be continued

    Next Saturday, Dave runs into his old flame, Elfreda and sparks start flying… Don’t miss it!

    Names have been changed to protect the identity of the narrator and other individuals.

    Send comments/suggestion to 08023201831 or psaduwa@yahoo.com

  • Africa to lead debate in WTM 2012 airline programme

    Africa’s airline industry will be put under the spotlight at World Travel Market 2012, the leading global event for the travel industry, as part of a wider series of discussions among aviation chiefs over the industry’s future.

    The airline events programme will start on Tuesday 6 ,November with the Airline – Out of Africa session which will look at how the continent’s airlines are taking on international airlines to secure a slice of this growing market. In the past, many local airlines have complained that they are missing out on the increasing passenger numbers Africa is generating. However, the emergence of strong African airlines is countering this issue helped by the introduction of new generation aircraft, such as Boeing’s 787 and the Airbus A350. The session will focus on both the opportunities in Africa for air travel and tourism development, but also the challenges it faces regarding infrastructure, regulation and the sheer problem of the distances flown in Africa.

    The session will be chaired by John Strickland who runs aviation consultancy JLS Consulting and has 30 years experience in the industry. Before founding the consultancy, he held senior positions in Caledonian, British Airways, KLM uk and Buzz and is now regularly called upon by the international media to comment on aviation issues. He will be joined by Ethiopian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Tewolde Gebre Mariam who, over a period of 27 years, has worked his way up through the airline. During this time, he has held many overseas positions, giving him a view on Africa’s airline industry from both the in and outside of the continent. Also lending his expertise to the panel is FastJet Chief Executive Officer Ed Winter who is running the low cost African carrier which has 10 aircraft serving about 25 domestic and regional destinations. Further strengthening the line up is Kenya Airways Chief Operating Officer Mbuvi Ngunze.

    The event is one of three focusing on the aviation sector with the second on Wednesday 7, November entitled “Airline – Setting the Scene: The Big Challenges.” Chaired by Strickland again, the session will focus on the many tough issues the industry faces, from rising taxation and oil prices to weakening demand and airport capacity.

    A core panel speaker will be Iberia Director of Corporate Affairs, Manuel López Colmenarejo, who has spent most of his career at the airline. He also boasts of additional experience on the boards of several other companies, including Amadeus and was also President for Amadeus Spain.

    He was joined by Gatwick Airport CEO Stuart Wingate who has a long and distinguished career at airports having held the positions of MD at Stansted Airport, CEO of Budapest Airport and Customer Services Director at Glasgow Airport.

  • My time and cat

    Phew… I really had to find time between clearing my table at work, rushing to pay school fees for children and wards, doing airport runs and getting home to cook. Of course, the first sound that greeted me as soon as I got into my house was the meow sound of Fresh. Guilt seized me as I remembered that the last time I fed her was about six hours before then. Poor Fresh! You would feel sorry for her if you knew her story.

    Fresh was barely out of her mother’s womb before somebody saw how cute she was and got her for me. The person feared that other people would see her and take her and he felt I deserved to have her more than anybody else. Since she got to my home, I’ve had to literarily bottle-feed her. Her first few days in the house were delicate for us as well as well as for her. While she wanted the warmth of a mother and snuggled close to us at every opportunity, we had to be sure she wasn’t sitting on chairs so we won’t press out her small brain with our weight. We also had to be careful while closing our doors and we walked around the house with caution.

    We all soon forgot about those delicate days as Fresh began to play by herself, showing she was independent. She also identified her bowl of milk and so, the task of feeding her ended. I was so happy the day I was cooking fish and the nice smell of it brought her to the kitchen and from the way she was licking my feet and meowing, I knew she was  begging me for a piece of the action. I was so delighted to know she could now eat solid food. That meant she was growing.

    My cat, Fresh has really brought a gush of fresh air into the home and we just love watching her. But when I have to go out to work, not knowing when I’d be back home, it makes me feel guilty. I can’t look for a nanny for her; or can I? That would be the greatest insanity of the year. I wonder if anybody has ever gotten a caregiver for their cats. I know about dog handlers, groomers for horses and farmhands for big animals. But cat nannies? None that I know of.

    Even if there are people like that, I don’t fall into the category of people those who can afford that. And since I do not have a housekeeper now and everybody has gone to school this week, I’m alone most times. I have had to do my house chores, make a living and look after the cat by myself.

    I have been able to set the ‘table’ for Fresh in the few minutes I got back home and as I type this, she licking my feet and rubbing her body against mine. I guess that’s her way of saying thank you to me. That is it. She’s no longer angry now that she’s okay and I can face the Hearts page. Richard my neighbor, thanks for your contribution this week. I’m happy to offer you a space for you to try your writing skills. All those writing books you got from the UK are not a waste. I’m sure all those youths who have asked questions on teenage sex would be happy.

    Chioma from Owerri and Mr. O from Abuja, I will not be able to personally answer your questions on how to make a marriage successful, I however got you the piece on marriage as sent to me by Jonathan. I hope you will learn from it.

    To you all in the dating game, I’ll be back fully next week. I love you all and that’s what matters. And to make this weekend really nice for us all, I’m giving us some jokes to make us laugh. Happy weekend.

  • 2015: Jonathan is South East’s problem —Ex-Anambra Governor Mbadinuju

    2015: Jonathan is South East’s problem —Ex-Anambra Governor Mbadinuju

    Doctor Chinwoke Mbadinuju was the Governor of Anambra State between May 29, 1999 and May 29, 2003. But in the run up to the 2003 governorship poll, he ran into troubled waters with the powers that be and was subsequently denied the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for a second term. Even though the Alliance for Democracy (AD) offered him a lifeline to fly its flag, the former governor said the forces arrayed against him were too prevailing and as such, militated against his return to Government House Awka. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Linus Obogo, Mbadinuju opens up on the chances of the South East ahead of 2015, the Jonathan factor and sundry issues. Excerpts:

    With 2015 still a long way from now, there have been whispers from different regions of the country as to who produces the next president. How ready is the South East now for the presidency or would the Igbo, as usual, adopt someone else from other regions?

    As far as the South East is concerned, the point has been made clearly that the region is the only one that has not produced a president. Unlike other regions, South East is also the only region with five states, while all others have six and the North West seven. When you look at this glaring lopsidedness, you cannot but agree that it has been a clear case of injustice. It is part of what I captured in my new book, How I governed Anambra State. There has been a lot of injustice meted out to the Igbo. There is no way you can discuss the unity of Nigeria without the cry of injustice against the Igbo. Gen. Johnson Aguyi-Ironsi was there for only six months during which he was savagely killed.

    The North, from what I gathered, is agitating for power to go back to them in 2015. But if we must ensure that there is justice and equity, it should be the turn of the South East in 2015. As a political scientist, I do not think that power is ever given and it has never been given. So nobody is going to say let us give power to the South East in 2015. Power is taken and that is why it is up to the South East that has been at the receiving end of power marginalisation to do all that is necessary to wrest it from the other regions. We recall how the South West, including the South East, reacted to the June 12 debacle. At the end, they were assuaged with the presidency in 1999 with the emergence of President Olusegun Obasanjo. It is that same mindset that the South East needs to approach the issue of the Igbo presidency in 2015. But the problem the Igbo will have is President Goodluck Jonathan.

    President Jonathan is from the South/South and by 2015, he would have ruled for just one term. However, the Constitution allows him the right to aspire to the office for a second term. But if you have to stop him from exercising his right of a second term, you will be abridging his constitutional rights. That is what the Igbo will contend with. In 2011 presidential poll, the Igbo gave him the largest votes. But this time around, we will have to sit down with President Jonathan and discuss the issue of 2015. If he is interested in 2015 and he tells us to support him with the understanding that he will support us in 2019, we will have no choice but to support him.

    The President has, after all, been doing everything possible to convince us that he has our interest at heart. What he has been doing for the South East is a subtle appeal to us to queue behind him whenever he makes his decision for 2015 known. But then, he needs to sit down with us and convince us that if we align with him for 2015, he will in turn work with us to have a shot at the presidency in 2019.

    I feel that we should give President Jonathan the opportunity and believe that if he makes an agreement, he will keep it. So far, there is no indication of such an agreement being made and there is the feeling also, that he may not want to enter into an agreement that will tie his hands as a politician. And that is the problem that the Igbo will have. But once he enters into an agreement, I believe sincerely that he will keep it because the President is a gentleman and also a man of his words.

    With the emerging babble of voices from the South East, what do you think will be the fate of the Igbo should they enter an agreement with President Jonathan and he loses or fails to win in 2015?

    There will be nothing much that could be done in that regard except that we have to go back to the trenches and start afresh. How do you hold a man who has lost power to his word? Once a president is defeated at the poll and he is out of office, you cannot go back to him to keep his promises to you. But my feeling is that unless the impossible happens, given my own experience with the party, but should Jonathan be given the ticket, he will still win because PDP remains the party to beat at any election.

    President Jonathan was recently in Anambra State, where he inaugurated the Onitsha River Port Complex, declared the state an oil producing state and promised to build the second Niger Bridge. Against this backcloth, the Igbo seemed to have favoured him for 2015 presidential election. Doesn’t that portray the region as rather cheap?

    Let us not lose sight of the fact that the bridge he promised to build is neither an Anambra State bridge nor an Igbo bridge. Rather, it is a bridge that links the region with other regions. The bridge will connect the region with the South/South, South West as well as the North. So, if anybody is promising to build a bridge across the Niger is not doing that for the Igbo alone to enjoy. It is for the whole country, particularly those in the South, including the North. It is not going to be the property of Anambra simply because it is located in the state.

    What needs to be appreciated here is that successive governments have come and gone without any tangible effort to find an alternative route across the Niger until President Jonathan came on board. Today, it takes three hours instead of 30 minutes from Onitsha to Enugu by road because of its deplorable state. This is not President Jonathan’s fault, but he has also promised to look in that direction.

    What is happening in Anambra, particularly in the country, is part of his transformation agenda. The country has never felt this kind of transformation before and we must commend him for this. On the issue of the President declaring Anambra an oil producing state, it is a noble gesture, given that the oil has always been here in Anambra, but no successive president or head of state has ever bothered to accord it the status of an oil-producing state. His recognition of the state as oil-producing is also a worthy aspect of his transformation agenda.

    The presence of oil was not discovered today. It was there when I was a governor and there were steps I took to acquire a licence for its exploration. But the president then, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said we could not go ahead. He said we should leave it as a strategic reserve. We argued then that if it was for strategic reserve, then the state needed to be paid some sum as derivation. However, this was not to be. Obasanjo refused. So, why shouldn’t we applaud Jonathan for recognising the status of the state as oil-producing? He has done what a transformational president should do. If he keeps doing what he has been doing by transforming every Igbo state, what else is left for an Igbo president to do?

    The crisis of consensus among the South East political class is attributable to the apparent absence of a formidable front in its quest for the leadership of the country. How does the region intend to overcome this morass as a people?

    The crisis of consensus which you identified to be an Igbo problem is not peculiar to the South East alone. This problem pervades all the various nationalities in Nigeria. Today, the North has split into nine groups. Would you say they are speaking with one voice by splitting into nine groups? Or is it the South West where you have the ACN, the PDP and the AD that you will say with certainty that they are speaking with one voice? Was there a consensus among the Yoruba, when President Obasanjo was running for the presidency in 1999? As we speak, have they been speaking with one voice? There is no reason why the Igbo should be subjected to that level of scrutiny or judged by a standard which is not found in other regions. There is no time the Igbo will speak with one voice. As a people, we are bound to have diverse opinions on issues. We must not always see things the same way.

    What other people should worry about is the absence of justice for the Igbo. The Igbo need an additional state and the chance for the highest office in the land. We should be bothered about this kind of injustice and not the perceived lack of consensus among the Igbo.

    The Igbo race is what can be described as an atavistic society perpetually at war with itself. How possible, do you think justice can be ensured in such a society which is perpetually in dissonance with itself? And will the Igbo be ever ready to wrestle power from other regions?

    It is just like asking the question: is there an Igbo man qualified enough to be the president of Nigeria? Having asked this question, my answer is if there is only one Igbo man who is qualified to be president of Nigeria, let us give it to that Igbo man.

    When Obasanjo was selected from the South West, the region was not speaking with one voice. He was selected with the hope that the entire South West would rally round him, but as soon as he emerged, there was more division within the region. The same thing applies to the South East. Everybody does not need to agree on an issue. That is the beauty of democracy. However, it is enough that we have somebody who is qualified to rule Nigeria.

    Take the former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, for instance, he came so close to becoming the president of this country, but he was denied. Of course, he is still alive and if the rest of the country can do to the East what they did to the South West in the person of Chief Obasanjo, Ekwueme should be allowed to rule this country. Remember when he also came close to winning the primary in Jos, but because of the same injustice, he was sidelined and abandoned. I still feel that he should be given the chance to rule Nigeria. He has paid his dues for this country.

    The same thing goes for me as well, I should be allowed the chance to do my second term for which I was denied the opportunity after winning the primary elections three times. So, you can see the trend of injustices meted out to the people from the South East. It is not just fair. The country cannot move forward with this brazen injustice. It is until we ensure that justice becomes the watchword, before God, Himself will begin to work with us.

    You spoke of Alex Ekwueme being sidelined and how he should be allowed to rule Nigeria. The former Vice-President, many will agree, is already in the evening of life and in the ‘departure lounge’ of his political career. Is this the quality of leadership the Igbo would be prepared to offer the rest of the country?

    When the time comes for the Igbo to produce a president for the country, and if that candidate is Alex Ekwueme, the Igbo will demonstrate that the former Vice-President is not only in the afternoon of his life, but also in the ‘arrival lounge’ of his political career. Apart from Ekwueme, the Igbo have as good quality leaders as any region to represent this country. I do not agree with you that Ekwueme is in the evening of his life. The Igbo have a reservoir of qualified and experienced sons and daughters to rule Nigeria. The problem is not the personnel from the South East, but for Nigerians to accept that Igbo have been grossly wronged.

    For a very long time, the state governors have advocated for the establishment of state police, but there have been divergent positions of late by majority of the governors. What is your take on this?

    I had my views when I was governor of Anambra State on the state police. Where were the police when the Aguleri and the Umuleri were killing and carrying their dead in wheel barrows for burial? Where the police not there when armed robbers were writing letters telling their victims in Onitsha when they would come visiting? The women were sleeping in churches. People were afraid to come home for Christmas because of the menace of armed robbers, yet there was police security in the state.

    It was when I came in as governor that I set out my priority to address the challenge of insecurity in the state. To me, the peace and security of the people were paramount. At the end of the day, I put up a security outfit with the help of the police. Within six months of putting up the security outfit, armed robbery disappeared from the streets and we returned to a state of peace and tranquility. The federal allocation accruable to the state during my tenure was N300million out of which I had less than N200million to carry out developmental projects. In spite of the paucity of allocations to the state, I was still adjudged the best in terms of provision of adequate security for the people. Funnily enough, my opponents who did not want me to succeed went to Abuja to tell the President then that my security outfit was chasing them out of the state. And before I knew it, Obasanjo used his federal might to disband the outfit when I left office. Before long, armed robbers and kidnappers found their way back to Anambra to continue their business as usual.

    So for the state police, as long it is used to stabilise the states along with the federal police, no problem. But if it is the autonomy of state police controlled by the governors, it is not necessary. The fear of those against state police is that governors will abuse it. And their fears are well founded.

    The North has been kicking against the inclusion of the six geo-political zone-arrangement in the ongoing constitution review. Do you support their position on the retention of the North/South arrangement?

    I will prefer that the six zonal-structure be included in the Constitution. It should not only be included in the Constitution, but the Constitution should also make provision for the six zones to produce six vice presidents to work with the president. There should be one president with each zone electing its own vice president. Today, the tension of representation is rather too high and the only way to lower it is to allow the zones to elect vice presidents to work with the president. The feeling has always been that once your man is not in the scheme of things, everything is against you.

    The North will be making a mistake to think that the North/South arrangement is what is good for the country. Before now, it was a three-regional structure that we had always had before they were split into 12 states.

    After your first term of four years in 2003, you appear literally frozen out of politics. Why have you not found it necessary to seek governance of Anambra State for a second time or any other political office for that matter?

    In 2003, after completing my first term, there were two us, Governor Rabiu kwankwaso of Kano State and I who could not make it back, even though we sought reelection. We were not allowed to go back. This was despite that I had won the primary of my party three times. But the power that-be did not want me back in office. While Kwankwaso contested and lost, he was later compensated with a ministerial appointment by President Obasanjo. He was made Minister of Defence.

    In my own case, I was penciled down for ambassadorial appointment to Germany. But Obasanjo deleted my name from the list for reasons that were inexplicable. The PDP, after realising that I was wrongly excluded, decided to forward my name for ambassadorial position. Today, Kwankwaso is back in the saddle as governor of Kano State, having served as Minister of Defence. That was my fate. The PDP decided to abandon me despite that I remained a loyal member of the party. Of course, there was no way I could impose myself on the people when my party did not lend its support. Part of my effort in Anambra State while I was governor, was what led to the discovery of oil in the state. I have taken time to document my stewardship and accountability as governor of Anambra State in my book.

  • 10 tips for a happy marriage

    10 tips for a happy marriage

    To have a really good marriage, you need to work at it. As the saying goes, the only place you find success before work is in the dictionary. Here are some things you can do to help build a strong marriage.

    Watch Your Relationships. To preserve your determination to make your marriage succeed, don’t get too close flirt with members of the opposite sex. If you do, in the back of your mind, you might begin to view them as alternatives in the event that your marriage doesn’t work out. This will weaken your resolve. After all, why work so hard when you have an escape route? Also, these types of close relationships are likely to make your spouse feel threatened.

    Pay Full Attention. Listen to your spouse when he or she talks to you. It’s a sign of respect. Try to give him or her your undivided attention. Also, nod in agreement occasionally—it tells your partner you’re listening. If your spouse talks to you when you’re in the middle of something important, say so, and suggest a time when you’ll be able to pay full attention.

    Share Enjoyable Activities. Do fun things with your spouse. Exercise together, take leisurely walks, or share a pursuit that’s mutually enjoyable. Such activities strengthen your relationship and make it easier for the two of you to endure the hard times that come in every marriage.

    Learn from Your Experiences. Learn from the past. For example, if you find that you’re often tense when you’re very hungry, minimize your conversation with your spouse during those times. Similarly, if you see that your spouse gets worked up whenever you mention the name of a certain relative, don’t mention that person’s name unless absolutely necessary. Try to learn from the past.

    Be Polite. Be courteous to your spouse. When speaking with him or her, use phrases such as “please,” “thank you,” “would you mind if I….,” and so forth. It will make your spouse feel appreciated and respected.

    Never Say “I Told You So.” Remove the phrase “I told you so” from your lexicon. Saying these words only causes ill will between you and your spouse. People say this phrase for two reasons:  To show off that they were right and to get their mates to listen to them in the future. What they don’t realize is that the message that comes across is, “Aren’t I smarter than you?” which is insulting. When you’re proven right after an argument, your spouse will realize this on his or her own. There is no need to point it out. The poet Ogden Nash wrote the following poem to encourage people to act this way:

    To keep your marriage brimming,

    With love in the wedding cup, Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; Whenever you’re right, shut up.

    Don’t Keep Score. Don’t walk around with a watchful eye making sure your partner carries his or her share of the workload. Instead, take the view that it doesn’t matter if you end up doing more than half of what has to be done. Making sure your relationship stays fifty-fifty will put so much tension into your marriage that it’s not worth the effort. So unless your spouse is very lazy or a real responsibility shirker, don’t keep track of who does more.

    Watch Out for the Little Things. A family court judge once commented that in 99 percent of the divorce cases he presided over, the couples were upset about very small matters. Here are some of the types of complaints he was referring to:  ”She never lets me leave the window open at night.” “He always wears that loud shirt that embarrasses me.” “She never replaces the toilet roll when it’s finished.”  ”He always leaves his socks on the floor.” These small matters can be very detrimental to a relationship, so watch out for them. There is, however, a silver lining to this cloud: Just as little things can ruin a relationship, they can also build one. A brief call to ask how your spouse’s day is going can make a big difference in his or her feelings toward you. Remembering your mate’s birthday with a little gift can mean a lot. Even just bringing your partner a chocolate bar or a novel you think he or she will enjoy can mean a great deal, because it shows you care. Women in particular often need small but frequent gestures of love.

    Greet Your Partner Happily. Smile at your mate when you greet him or her. It will make your spouse feel appreciated and loved. Even if you’re in a bad mood, be sure to flash that grin. It’s a small investment that can go a long way.

    Respect Your Spouse’s Privacy. Don’t go through your partner’s things out of curiosity or in an effort to make them look neater. Privacy is a fundamental need all humans have, so be sure to respect it. Similarly, make it a habit not to repeat your spouse’s words to others. You never know what your mate wants kept secret.

    Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Two with meatballs, one without.

    A wealthy man was having an affair with an Italian woman for a few years. One night, during one of their rendezvous, she confided in him that she was pregnant. Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a large sum of money if she would go to Italy to have the child. If she stayed in Italy, he would also provide child support until the child turned 18. She agreed, but wondered how he would know when the baby was born. To keep it discrete, he told her to mail him a postcard, and write “Spaghetti” on the back. He would then arrange for child support. One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife. “Honey,” she said, “you received a very strange postcard today.” “Oh, just give it to me and I’ll explain it later,” he said. The wife handed the card over and watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted. On the card was written “Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Two with meatballs, one without.”

    A lie detector robot that slaps people who lie

    A man buys a lie detector robot that slaps people who lie. He decides to test it at dinner. He asks his son, “Son, where were you today during school hours?” “At school.” The robot slaps the son. “Okay, I went to the movies!” The father asks, “Which one?” “Harry Potter.” The robot slaps the son again. “Okay, I was watching porn!” The father replies, “What? When I was your age I didn’t even know what porn was!” The robot slaps the father. The mom chimes in, “Haha! After all, he is your son!” The robot slaps the mother.

  • Airlift of Christian pilgrims starts October 22

    The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Mr. John Kennedy,has dsiclosed that the 2012 airlift of pilgrims to Israel will commence on October 22.

    Kennedy made this disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian ambassador to Israel, Mr. David Obasa.

    He explained that their visit was in tandem with the calendar of activities of the commission as approved by President Goodluck Jonathan. According to him: “we are here to sign an agreement with the Ground Handlers and the Israeli authorities for the 2012 pilgrimage.”

    He affirmed that the airlift of 2012 pilgrimage would commence on October 25.

    He explained that in April this year during pre-visit, the commission interviewed and screened the ground handlers and 10 were successful.

    He commended the ambassador for the love he always shows each time members of the commission visit Israel on pilgrimage matters.

    The chairman of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Archbishop Nichola D. Okoh, led members of the NCPC Board to the Nigerian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel on a courtesy visit to the ambassador, His Excellency Obasa, during the evaluation of the State of Readiness for the 2012 Christian pilgrimage exercise.

    The chairman thanked the ambassador for all his efforts and support to the commission, especially to the Nigerian pilgrims.

    He appealed to him and his team to help the commission so that they would be able to finish well, stressing that the final lap of any race is usually very important.

    He explained that this year is very important for his board in the sense that if well-handled, they could likely receive applause. Consequently, he said” it is very important that we do it well.”

    The chairman further commended the ambassador for his spirituality, his organizational ability and the promptness with which he attends to issues.

    In the words of the chairman, “we are grateful to you for your assistance so far; we ask for more”.

    In his remarks,the Nigerian ambassador to Israel, His Excellency Obasa commiserated with the chairman of the NCPC, who is also the Primate of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, on the demise of his dear mother who passed on to glory recently.

    His Excellency stressed the fact that changing a winning team is not usually the best, thus he prayed that at the expiration of the first tenure of NCPC board, they would be re -confirmed for a second term.