The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Interview

  • Why I’m reluctant to give marriage another shot — AU official Iwenofu

    Why I’m reluctant to give marriage another shot — AU official Iwenofu

    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.

  • Majek was a complete musician, but lost his soul to indiscipline (1)

    Majek was a complete musician, but lost his soul to indiscipline (1)

    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
    •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
    •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.

  • Cowboy motorists on the loose

    Cowboy motorists on the loose

    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
    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.

  • I’m set to remarry – Obey

    I’m set to remarry – Obey

    Rumour mongers were at work recently with the purported death of juju music maestro, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. But like every unfounded rumour, it ended up a ruse as the great musician himself came out to debunk it days after it trended on the internet. He told PAUL UKPABIO in an interview at his Ikeja, Lagos home that he has forgiven both the originator and the peddlers of the fake news.  He also spoke on his plans to surprise everyone with a new wife and went as far as revealing the kind of woman he will likely marry.

    • Says only a foolish man would take young lady as wife at his age
    • Forgives originator of his death rumour

    You were recently rumoured to have died. How did you receive the news?

    I cannot understand it. I would not know why someone who has not confirmed a story would go on the internet and announce such an unconfirmed piece of news.

    Maybe you were sick and some people saw you being taken in or out of hospital…

    No, I have not been sick in recent times. I was here in Lagos when the rumour got to me. It was when people from all around the world stated bombarding my phone with calls to find out if the news was true that my children and I became alarmed. We had to start dispelling the rumour and telling people that I am alive.

    What came to your mind when you first heard of your death?

    Well, I knew that I was alive, I wondered and then I knew I had to correct the error and tell them that there is nothing wrong with me. But when I saw the reactions of people from all over the world, it also reassured me that I have fans and admirers all over the world, and that also impressed me. I realised once again that there are lots of people all over the world who love my music and love me too.

    Of course, I knew that before. But the response in the past weeks has been beyond my expectation. And I said to myself that it is good to do what one knows how to do well and let people recognise you for that. It has also taught me that every good thing that one does matters. This has also taught me that I should continue to do good to humanity more than ever. But again, that is what I have been doing all along.

    But how about those that started the false rumour?

    Oh, I have forgiven the person that started the rumour. I did that immediately. I cannot hold a grudge against the person. After all, the truth has been revealed; just like Jesus Christ said that ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. People have rejoiced and they are still rejoicing with me.

    It is said that the Covid-19 pandemic affects the elderly the most. In what ways are you protecting yourself against the virus?

    The government has laid out preventive measures. We don’t know much about the disease except what we hear about it. So the government says we should cover our noses and mouths with masks and wash our hands as well as keep a social distance. I am keeping to these rules as much as I can.

    In an interview you granted some years ago, you said you would never retire from music. Is that still your position?

    Of course, it is. But since the outbreak of Covid-19, it has not been possible to perform in the public. But I still do my recordings. Singing and music is part of me. Once you are in it, you cannot leave it. But when the real old age comes and I can no longer do it, I will have to leave it and remain thankful for all that I have been able to do in the past and the opportunity that God gave me to serve humanity.

    A lot of people at your age consider themselves to be old…

    I thank God for His grace. I can still sing and perform. But then, age is certainly catching up on me. Still, there are certain things I still do conveniently, like singing. I thank God for keeping me till now.

    Do you believe that you can still sing and perform at 100?

    (Laughs) Let me tell you the truth: if I am able to open my mouth at that age, I will still be singing and performing, especially if my fans are still out there to dance.

    Have you recorded any album in recent times?

    Yes, I have. I have just completed the recording of a public enlightenment stuff on Covid-19. It is meant to support the enlightenment campaign, because till now, some people don’t even believe that Coronavirus exists. So, what I have done is to encourage people to believe and keep to the safety rules.

    It is believed that the lockdown caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 has affected professional musicians financially. What is your experience?

    That is true. Covid-19 has affected the finances of musicians because there are no gatherings for celebrations outside; only about 20 people are allowed at social events now, so it’s not really what we used to have. The entertainment industry has been worst hit and all musicians are affected.

    So what can musicians do at this time to augment their finances and earnings?

    We have been hearing that in foreign countries, arrangements are made for palliatives for the entertainment industry. In Germany for instance, they don’t miss the good times because their finances have been cushioned at this period by the government. If musicians are working, of course, they would be able to take care of themselves. It is unfortunate that we don’t have that kind of orientation in Nigeria, and Covid-19 has now become an eye-opener for all musicians.

    I had been saying it in time past that musicians should have alternative means of livelihood. With the kind of money they make, they could go into agriculture; it is the in-thing. Agriculture provides me food. It is a sector that can admit everybody. There are several ways of being part of the sector. You can be in the farming aspect or in the processing part of agriculture. Oil is going out gradually and agriculture is the present and the future.

    As regards my personal experience, I have been on this same matter with my musicians, but they see it as easier said than done. So it is not good for them to just wait on music alone. Something must be added to music so that in case a thing like Covid-19 happens, they can have another source of livelihood. At that point, music becomes an additional source of income. It is the wisdom of the wise. If musicians who read this follow my counsel, they will appreciate it later. You hear some of them say they cannot do something else, but the truth is that there is no job a man cannot do.

    Are you not missing companionship?

    Well, the companionship of a wife is a good thing. It is not against God’s rule. So, I am here, I can marry at any time; not just for the sake of marriage as it is, but for the sake of companionship, because what else do I want? I have children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren. So I have been blessed. It is not like I am looking for a wife that would conceive babies. As long as I still have life, you will hear when the time for marriage comes.

    What has prevented you from marrying a young lady since you lost your wife?

    Marry a young lady? It’s a foolish old man that will say he wants to marry a young lady. The young lady has just started her life and definitely is virile and strong. Someone like me should be thinking of a woman who is 60 or above. And when I do it soon, everyone will know.

    Do you miss your late wife or see her in dreams?

    Of course, I do. I miss her all the time and have seen her in dreams so many times.

    Are there people you miss playing for?

    Yes, a lot of people who have gone. I miss playing for a lot of those top socialites who are no longer with us on earth. But then, there’s nothing anybody can do about that. They have gone and they have gone.

    What do you cherish the most now?

    I cherish God. He is my number one. Then, of course, I have good people who are nice and kind to me.

    How about the church?

    That is what occupies my time now. It is from music to the ministry. I have enjoyed it so much because the word is God. I have had major challenges in life, and it was God that saw me through those stormy periods of life. When Jesus Christ left, he promised to send us a comforter, and He did.

    What is your take on the opening of schools and churches?

    Some people say that the government should not open schools and churches because the number of casualties from Covid-19 is high, and I say they are right. And some people are saying let’s open schools and churches so the economy can come alive again, and I say that they are equally right. Personally I think that if we look back, before Covid-19, people were dying all over the world. If the number of people that were dying then were also announced, we would equally be amazed at the number. But we don’t have a solution for Coronavirus.

    In the bible, there were seven lepers who thought among themselves that where they were, if they waited, they would die of starvation, and if they left the place, they would be killed. So they decided that they should go and look for the much needed food, and behold, the Lord had prepared food for them by confusing the enemy that brought war tos that country with a noise that made them to abandon their camps. The lepers came and saw food and went to the city to make it known to the king and the people. And that was when the king knew that their enemies had been destroyed.

    Covid-19 is our enemy. Let us take every necessary preventive step that government wants us to take in the churches, schools, mosques, and so on. There must be social distancing. Let us do all that, but also let us go out there because we don’t know when it is going to end. People cannot feed and the economy is going comatose gradually. We should go out but observe all precautions.

  • How I survived the cold war in Afghanistan — Nigerian-born officer honoured by US Navy for honesty

    How I survived the cold war in Afghanistan — Nigerian-born officer honoured by US Navy for honesty

    Lieutenant Victor Agunbiade was recently honoured by the United States Navy for effectively managing its largest overseas cash disbursement office, handling about $45 million (about N17 billion) and gave a perfect account of $23 million (about N8.7 billion) across six rigorous inspections and independent audits with zero discrepancies. For his exemplary exploits, he was awarded the Navy and Marin Corp Development Medal. Agunbiade,  who was also named in 2018 as the Navy’s 2018 Officer Recruiter of the Year alongside 17 others and honoured at the annual Recruiter of the Year ceremony in Washington D.C. tells DAVID ADENUGA how unwavering determination and resilience have kept him going in the face of so many battles.

    How was your childhood?

    I was born into an Anglican family as the only male child in a family of seven. I hail from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State. I had a very happy childhood, though I am from a humble background. One of the earliest memories that are engraved in my mind is that of waiting for my dad to come home from work on his bicycle. On his arrival, “The old man would put me on his lap, ask me how I fared in the school work of that day and what homework I came home with. While we did my homework together, my father would use the opportunity yet again to remind me to always keep these three things in my mind: aspiring to be the best in all my endeavours, remembering to learn something from everyone I passed through in life and respecting the people I met in life irrespective of status. He would say that some lessons are painful and some are painless, yet all are priceless because they would add to my experience. That advice stuck into my head, and I would use them as a benchmark to set targets for myself in everything I do and to always have it in my sub-consciousness not to undertake anything I do with a mere symbolic gesture.

    My father taught me each passing time to be confident and how to choose the right path in life.

    What is your educational background?

    My father being a trained teacher knew the importance of education when he enrolled me at a tender age in Christ Church Primary School, Porogun, Ijebu-Ode Molode; the Anglican school the church founded to ensure that its members’ children could commence learning at a tender age. On completion of my primary education, I moved to Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu-Ode, where I completed secondary education.

    Propelled by the importance of a well-rounded education, I gained admission into Ogun State College of Education, Igbeba Campus Ijebu-Ode for my A-Levels. Thereafter, I gained admission into then University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, now Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria to study Agricultural Economics and Farm Management. I served in Kastina State in 1997, where I taught Biology and Agriculture at Katsina Secondary School. After my National Youth Service Corps in Katsina, I returned to Somolu, Lagos where I was employed as a Parent-Teacher Association teacher at Baptist High School, Obanikoro, Lagos. A few years later, I was employed by Governor Tinubu’s administration in Lagos as Agricultural Research and Planning Officer with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture. I decided to quit on the 8th of February 2003 for further education. This time, to pursue a business programme at Kensington College of Business, London. Unfortunately, I was denied British entry visa three times, even with documented evidence of having paid the required tuition fees and having provided a bond agreement issued by my sponsor. The British Consular concluded that I would not return to Nigeria after my studies. With that disappointment, having resigned my employment with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, I remained unemployed for four years before I eventually travelled to the United State on February 16, 2007 with an Immigrant Visa.

    Did you feel like giving up after you were denied British Visa thrice?

    That was my wilderness experience. I have to depend on God each day for my daily bread. My faith in God kept me through. I knew it would soon pass and I held unto my dream. I came to a resolute conclusion that only death can stop me from reaching my goal. I wrote it on the wall of my room that “I will reach my goal.”

    What were the challenges you faced?

    I had financial challenges because I had used all my savings to pay for the school in England and there was no job to return to. My father also died on July 20, 2003 and was buried on July 26, 2003. It was a big loss to my life because he was my go to person. I had to start all over again. It was my darkest hour.

    How did you find your way to the US?

    I travelled to America on family sponsored Immigrant visa on February 16, 2007. On landing and settling down, I prayed and committed my career plan into God’s hands.

    Was it always your dream to become a naval officer?

    I had a dream in which I saw myself in a US Navy war ship, and I knew that was the answer to my prayers.

    After much deliberation and due diligence, I decided to join the US Navy as a store keeper on the 27th of February 2008. The Navy then provided opportunity to go back to school where I pursued a degree in Economics and an MBA before becoming a commissioned officer in 2013.

    You were deployed in Afghanistan in 2013. What was the experience like?

    I can’t really talk much about that because of what I did there. Yes that was combat, real combat, and I lost some friends there. But I have put Afghanistan behind me!

    Was there any threat to your life at any point in your career?

    Well we all face threats to our lives each day, but my faith in God has always been my fortress. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil.”

    What came through your mind when you learnt about the honour done to you by the US Navy?

    Well, I was actually very excited, fulfilled with great sense of accomplishment and primarily gratitude to God.

    Nigerians will like to know your toughest mission and how you survived it.

    My toughest mission was Afghanistan. I followed through all I was taught in training – perseverance, dedication and strength! I look beyond myself and I made it through prayers and faith in God. I had good team and great leadership that provided awesome guidance and structures.

    Why did you choose to serve in the US Navy and not in the navy of your beloved country Nigeria?

    Like I said earlier, I joined the US Navy because it was a divine leading. I never had the desire to join the navy until I dreamt about it while I prayed about my career path when I relocated to the US.

    How are you able to balance the role of a naval officer with that of a father and a husband?

    Well. I have great support at the home front! I have great support from my family, my wife and children, and that makes it aso easy for me to be able to balance work and family. We go on vacation together and I spend lots of time with my family when I am not working.

    What do you love to do when you’re off the battlefield?

    I spend time with my family. I also like sports; soccer to be precise. I am an Arsenal fan for life. I like NBA, American football, athletics, travelling and reading.

    What strategy do you think Nigeria should employ to win the fight against insurgency?

    I really don’t know what methods Nigeria military are using to fight the insurgents, but I am very positive that they could do better if they are well equipped and well taken care of.

    If invited home to help in the fight against insurgency, would you honour it?

    That has to go through my job; if the Nigerian government requests that.

    What are the awards you have won?

    I won the Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal 2020, Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal   2019,   Navy

  • Dayo Amusa: Actresses make themselves vulnerable in sex-for-roles drama

    Dayo Amusa: Actresses make themselves vulnerable in sex-for-roles drama

    With almost two decades in the movie industry, Dayo Amusa has shown her versatility as an actress and producer having featured in hundreds of Nollywood movies and produced over five. In this interview with ADENIYI ADEWOYIN, the actress cum singer addresses her recent fall out with a fan, advances from male admirers, and other issues rocking the movie industry.

    In recent times, there’s a belief that you have switched from Yoruba speaking films to only English speaking films, how true is this?

    Not exactly because over time I’ve done some movies that have to do with both English and Yoruba like Urban movies. Movies like Unforgivable, Pathetic runs in between both so it’s not like I’m abandoning Yoruba movies. As far as I am concerned I am an actress, an entertainer.

    How has it been for you in the industry since you started almost two decades ago?

    It’s been challenging, it’s been fun and everything but as far as I am concerned, everything is on a positive note. It’s been from one grace to another grace and as you can see now the rate at which we kind of pay attention to details when it comes to film production can’t be compared to 10 to 15 years ago. The way we pay attention to our story lines, technicality and so we are improving.

    What were the challenges you faced back then?

    The initial challenges were the roles I picked up then and how I was always dressing like a Tom Boy so, I was finding it difficult to get producers and directors to see me do other roles. As a matter of fact, I was being stereotyped but gradually, I was able to find my place.

    How often do you get advances from male fans?

    Almost every second but I try as much to respond to some randomly. If you have one million people admiring you you can’t give all of them that attention.

    Have you experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the movie industry?

    No, I have not but something similarly happened to me in my early years but for me I believe that as an adult I believe you have every right to say no. A director might see an upcoming actress and say I like you but you can not be forced and it is so sad that these upcoming actresses are coming to fire the directors and producers to have their way. It’s not that the directors are the one taking advantage of them, even the so called girls as well come in making themselves vulnerable to the producers to get roles fast. So it takes two to tango.

    Why did you decide to do music considering the fact that some of your colleagues had ventured into it and failed?

    Well, music for me is not like I just picked it up one day and tried. Over time, even before I joined the movie industry, I’ve always been a singer in church though it wasn’t like I was doing it officially and when I wanted to get into the entertainment industry, I wanted to come in as an artiste but the it wasn’t something that was really lucrative like it is now and I realized that I got that opportunity in the acting sector, so I focused on that trying to find my space and get my brand to be recognized and after which I realized that this thing is still inside me so I tried once and I got the encouragement from my friends and fans out there so here we are.

    How true is it that there is a competition among female actors?

    The industry is a very large place and we are many. I believe everybody wants to find their space and some people might see it as a competition but as far as I am concerned, the sky is so big for everybody to take his or her space. For anybody that thinks they have to go the extra mile, that’s their problem. Just do your thing because people are watching.

    You were recently under attack for criticizing a fan who asked for your assistance as an upcoming actor, what really transpired?

    A young aspiring actress kept sending messages that she has talent and so on, initially I was ignoring but on this fateful day, I just decided to check her page but on opening the page, I realized that she had just two posts and the posts had nothing to do with acting. I was like what are you calling me to come and see? So after seeing your page were you expecting me to call you to my house or what? You have the internet and you can’t do a sixty seconds skit are you a joker? I guess the word I used made people come for me but then it was just the truth.

    So after that encounter, have you been able to reach out to her and how has it been?

    Yes I see that she’s posting now, irrespective of how Nigerians must have taken it, at least, she’s able to pick up something from it. I see she’s doing some skits now. Unfortunately, it was during the pandemic and I didn’t have any project going on, I would have invited her but hopefully maybe in my next production if I have one or two roles, I would invite her.

    What’s your take on Covid-19?

    I know about six people who have contracted it home and abroad. It is real, it is no scam. You know in Nigeria we like to learn the hard way. It’s not like they can’t comply with what the government is saying but I feel when they start seeing visible situations but it doesn’t have to get to that.

  • Dekunle Fuji: I lost my memories for many years in US

    Dekunle Fuji: I lost my memories for many years in US

    By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

    For almost nine years, singer Dekunle Fuji went into a hiatus leaving little or no information on the happenings in his life.

    After breaking into the mainstream in 2007 with hit single, ‘Mo like Jesu gan,’ under Obi Asika and Olisa Adibua’s Storm Records, Dekunle Fuji became the toast of many.

    Four years into his life as a famous singer in Nigeria, things took a bad turn just before his decision to take a short trip to the United States of America. He ended up staying back in the country with stories of grits and groans.

    Born Adekunle Michael Olalekan Oloyede to Oba Solomon Oloyede of Ipetumodu (1971 – 1980), Dekunle Fuji narrated how he lost his memory for some years, his unplanned life in the United States and his experiences with clergies after a shaming performance at The Experience in 2011 to colleague, Bouqui on the programme, Bouqui’s place in a recent interview.

    Life-changing experience

    In 2010, I lost my memory. It is like when a file is deleted. You know when you have a file and you are working on it one a day and you find out that the file you think has been saved is deleted. That is the story of your life.

    I had a major concert in Nigeria called The Experience, I was invited and we rehearsed for three weeks, 21days. But the day of the event, a lot went wrong. We got there, we could not sound check, from that we went back because they said we got there late. From there we went back and came back for the main concert, I got there and saw different set people that were not part of my band backing me up.

    I was like who are these people, where did they come from? They didn’t understand what I was doing and I didn’t understand them too. I left that stage seriously disgraced. Afterwards I decided to mingle with the crowd and started hearing talks like ‘he was drunk’, ‘he has smoked weed.’ I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. And if I drink it is occasionally and it has to be red wine. After the whole incident occurred, I decided to go back to my hotel; Eko Hotel and Suites.

    I had to pass along the bar beach and I didn’t know how the water came out and covered my car. My car was totally lost for minutes; if not for God Bouqui, I would have been, you know it is like when they want to completely wipe someone off the face of the earth. That was when it occurred to me, that what happened to me was not ordinary. I didn’t see any pastor to give me that vision or revelation that they saw this attack coming. Even pastors were saying Dekunle ‘why did you go and drink before performing? Why did you go and smoke? That day I knew it is not everybody that has the gift to see. That was when I decided to take things easy and take time off, to be able to get myself together.

    The attacks and revelation

    When I was leaving Nigeria, I just wanted to take some weeks off. At the airport I saw Pastor Paul Adefarasin, I was so impressed that, that man as tush and polished as he is, he understands the spiritual. He said to me, ‘Dekunle it is not about you that was a spiritual attack’. And he said don’t worry don’t let this weigh you down, go and regroup. I came to the United States, I could not find my passport, I did not know anybody, it was three years ago people started calling; you left this amount of money in your house. We found thousands of dollars in your wardrobe; we found some amount in your account. My account officer called and asked why I was not running my account again, revealing to me, how much I had in the account. I said to myself, how? I distanced myself from everybody because I didn’t know who to trust anymore.

    In the church, one of my bandboys confessed to me what he did and I urged him to go ahead even though I was told that some of my bandboys were envious of me. He asked if I remembered a cloth he begged me to give and I said yes; he called me three years after the incident happened. I picked up a man; I started using my car for uber. And he asked, are you a musician? I had stopped using Dekunle, I was using my Christian name Michael. He said ‘that is not your name. You have a Yoruba name.’ And within me, I was thinking, just enjoy your ride and let me be. He described the boy, and I discovered that it was one of my band boys; someone who will go to any length to get anything I want. This is someone I had not spoken to for six years and I had to reach out to him. He started crying on the phone and said ‘Chairman, please I need you to forgive me.’ ‘Indeed God is with you, I used your clothes to do certain things’. And when he told me who took him to where he did the job, I started crying, I had to pull over, I could not drive again. I have seen demons appearing to me face to face, and I keep wondering who was behind all those things. And kept asking why they are after my life after all they have done. I have forgiven them, and moved on.

    Breaking free

    It got to a point; I was praying and fasting every day. There was no pastor I did not talk to. But you know one thing I have come to understand, all these prophets you are seeing on social media are all sakamanje (fake). Majority of them are herbalists operating under the umbrella of prophets.

    When all these were happening, some people thought I was arrogant, and proud. These are people that don’t even know who I am. I am using this opportunity to say thank you to Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, Pastor David Ije, Mike Abdul, Kehinde Phillips, and Vice president’s wife, because these are the people God used. Ask Mike Abdul, there was a time, he was sending me money from Nigeria. It was that bad. I went through a lot, I was homeless, I was stranded, and I didn’t know Jesus better but in all these, create a relationship with God yourself, know God yourself. This is a dead man talking, you see in this Christendom, some people singing gospel, they have baba isale, and you that you are not strong, you want to compete with them, and climb the same stage with them, they will mess you up.

    Almost all the secular artists got closer to me, because they wanted to size me up. But you know one thing I would say to them. Everything you have done, God blesses you. You did not do me any evil or harm; you empowered me.

    I didn’t know what came over me, it was three years ago that my memory came back to normal, and I was asking myself what was I doing here. If you don’t know Jesus and you are playing games, they will kill you like a chicken. It is recently my friends started looking for me. It was bitter and tough, but I now understand better. The lady I was engaged to in Nigeria, they called her and told her I had married a white lady. She didn’t ask me, she just jumped into conclusion.

  • ‘How my four-year-old daughter was abducted from school, sold for N2m’

    ‘How my four-year-old daughter was abducted from school, sold for N2m’

    By Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

    On a bright morning on November 13 last year, Mercy, a four-year-old girl, joined her elder siblings as they all headed to their primary school in Awka, Anambra State.

    Their mother, Comfort Nwadukwu, had bid them farewell as usual, expecting them to return home in the evening like they always did. Unknown to her, fate had a different game plan but she was oblivious of the trouble that hung in the air.

    The reality dawned on her late in the afternoon when everyone else returned from school but there was no sight of Mercy. Unknown to them, a man whose identity is yet to be revealed had abducted the hapless girl and took her to an orphanage where Philomena Okoye, a woman in desperate need of a child, acquired her with N2 million as part payment.

    Explaining how she came about Mercy, Okoye said she had been married for years without a child, hence she decided to adopt a baby from an orphanage in Nnewi, Anambra State in November last year, who turned out to be Mercy.

    “I was told that the child’s mother brought her to the home (orphanage) on the excuse that she had too many children to cater for,” she said, adding that she made a part payment of N2 million and was issued documents to that effect.

    She, however, said she was not involved in the abduction of the child.

    Mercy herself had said that she was taken away from her school by a man shortly after the school dismissed.

    “The next place I found myself was in the midst of other children before I was finally taken away by a woman who took me to her home,” she said.

    ‘How my daughter got missing’

    According to Nwadiukwu, her daughter had left for school in the morning of that fateful day together with her siblings without any inkling of the fate that would befall her.

    She said: “It was on November 13, 2019. I was in my shop where I sell yams when a woman on evangelism came to my shop and told me that I was about to lose something precious.

    “She advised that I should offer the money I intended to restock my shop with as sacrifice to God.

    Little did I know that it was a prophecy that would be fulfilled within a few hours.

    “When it was time for my children to return from school, the others came back but I did not see Mercy.

     

    My first daughter who she normally came home with said she thought she had returned already.

    “I started making calls but nobody, including the teachers, seemed to know her whereabouts. Some said she must have followed one of the aunties. It was like a joke.

    “I rushed to the police station and reported the matter. They sent signals to all their stations across the state. I also gave out the announcement to radio stations in the state as well as town criers, with some of them collecting money.

    “I also sent messages to all the prayer houses around. There was no church in Awka that was not praying for my daughter. Some of them collected money.

    “I spent more than N200,000 in some of the prayer houses. One of them collected as much as N84,000. My husband counted the money and gave it to him with Mercy’s pictures.

    “The following day we visited, he said he saw the girl in the hands of one Alhaji with 32 other children.

    “Another prophet said it was not long my daughter was abducted; that she was taken out of the state to Enugu. He later said she was in the hands of ritual killers. One even requested for N180,000, which I refused to pay.

    “Because of this same child, I had to embark on one-week fasting and prayers without water. Immediately after that exercise, however, God started revealing to me that my daughter was still alive. This was before Easter. For me, that was enough encouragement.

    “Later, my husband and I decided to take the baby’s clothes and shoes to the altar of our church where she was dedicated at birth. We made some prayers there, asking God to locate our child for us.

    “Meanwhile, we started receiving another revelation of where I was killed, with the poster of my obituary. My husband had to embark on a 21-day prayer and fasting, during which he saw himself bathing the child with the blood of Jesus.”

    Mercy’s miraculous reappearance

    Nwadiukwu described the reappearance of her daughter as the greatest miracle she had ever witnessed, saying she would not forget that day in her life time.

    She said: “It was on a Sunday morning, precisely on June 21. One of our church members was on his way to church with his family when one of the daughters sighted from the car a little girl walking on the roadside with a woman. She quickly called the attention of the dad to the girl, shouting, “Daddy, is that not Mercy?’

    “The father stopped, alighted from the car and approached the woman, requesting to know how she got the child. Although the woman claimed to have adopted the baby, the man insisted she should joined them in the car to the police station for further inquiries.

    “However, they first drove to the church to inform me of the development before we later drove to the police station.”

    Disclosing that she fainted on receiving the news of her daughter’s reappearance, Nwadiukwu said she could not believe her eyes when her daughter was brought to her.

    She said: “I had gone to sweep the church early in the morning because I could not go the previous day. I was there when one of our members drove to the church with his family members.

    “He had not parked the car when I saw the kids beckoning to me. They quickly jumped down from the car with my daughter and started shouting: ‘Is this not Mercy your child?’ I fainted. I could not believe my eyes.”

    Nwadiukwu also recalled how the news of her daughter’s return filled the air barely one month after she was abducted.

    She said: “It was not up to a month after the incident when rumours started spreading that my daughter had been found. I went to the school where she was kidnapped and requested that they should produce my daughter but they rather mocked me.

    “In the midst of all this, I refused to be discouraged. I challenged God that if my daughter was to die, it would have been during her pregnancy when I took drugs that a pregnant woman was not supposed to take.

    “Besides, I didn’t get her from a herbalist. Since He allowed her to survive, it meant she had something to do in my family.

    “How God catapulted the woman who claimed to have adopted my daughter from Ogidi area of the state where she earlier resided to Okpuno in Awka North Local Government Area, remains a mystery.

    “And while I had sleepless nights over the condition of my daughter, particularly because it was exam period, little did I know that she was being adequately taken care of. She was enrolled in a special school where her academics were taken care of.”

    Nwadiukwu pledged to hand over the girl to God by ensuring she served him for the rest of her life. She also planned withdrawing her from her former school to a better school where she would receive quality education.

    A senior Police officer at the Central Police Station, Awka, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said some persons had been arrested in connection with the case, while the victim had since been re-united with the family.

    He however said the prime suspect and owner of the orphanage was still at large, adding that the matter has been transferred to the state CID for investigation.

    The Police spokesperson in Anambra State confirmed the incident, saying investigation was ongoing.

  • ‘Why I’m a habitual wearer of adire fabric’

    ‘Why I’m a habitual wearer of adire fabric’

    Mrs Funmi Abokede is the General Manager of Community and Social Development Projects (CSDPs), a World Bank-assisted agency based in Osun State. A master’s degree holder in Developmental Studies from the Netherlands, she spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI about poverty, HIV/AIDS and what her agency is doing to lift vulnerable people and communities. She also explains why she is at the forefront of the agitation for women’s rights and civic education, her attitude to cross cultural marriage, among other issues.

    I noticed that you are fond of wearing attires that are made of adire fabric. What is the reason for that?

    I wear adire mainly out of patriotism and also because I am am from Osogbo, which is referred to as the town of dye. Dye is used in dying clothes into adire. That is why I am fond of wearing it. I try to make it into different styles that suits office wear.

    I can also say that I want to see how I can contribute to economic development; the employment of the youth and women. As you can see, my headgear is made of aso oke, which complements adire. There are people who are already learning how to make adire with smart gele (head gear), and that is creating employment for some people because the adire is not just worn like that; it is also embroidered. I am just using myself to advocate that we can patronise our own products here, thereby helping to improve the lives of many people.

    Considering that you spent a significant part of your life in the northern part of the country, would you have married someone from the north if you had not returned to the South West earlier than you did?

    I was indifferent. But I think my parents more or less wanted us back in the South West. My mum, especially, took the step quickly, if she did not take that step, sure, we would not come back to the South.

    What do you do in situations where men tend to go beyond their bounds, especially in the office?

    You must recognise that we are in a patriarchal society where men see themselves as superior. That tends to give men ego. So, I know whatever I want to do, I must not in any way rubbish the ego of a man. I also accord them that respect that we are in a man’s society.

    But at the same time, I acknowledge the fact that there must be gender equity, which talks about fairness. So, I don’t talk the issue of gender equality which says I’m equal to you and you are equal to me. Rather, I come in from the direction of gender equity. When I want to talk about gender equality, I talk about equal access or equal opportunities. I don’t talk about gender equality because that tends to bring more problems with men. Make sure you don’t rubbish the ego of any man because the moment you rubbish their ego, they will want to react, and you won’t get their maximum cooperation.

    Your job does not only entail lifting communities, you also work with those in need. How do you feel when you see poor people?

    I feel very bad because of the gap between the poor and the rich, which continues to widen on a daily basis. I’m not particularly happy about it, and that is one of the things that led me to go and study again. I wanted to be an authority in that line, so I went for my master’s degree in Development Studies. It was made possible because I had scholarship to go and do that in the Netherlands. There, I did women, gender and development, minoring in poverty. Coming back, I tried to look for the approach we could use in addressing poverty.

    Poverty is a multidimensional concept; it is no just economic. There is poverty of the mind. That is what we are seeing in Nigeria. That is why you see somebody who is rich still going to embezzle money. What does he want to do with it?

    There is a need for awareness. There is a need for orientation and positive attitude. We need to go back to our roots and bring back the values. Whether we want to talk about the culture or our religion, it is important that you must be concerned about those who have not.

    But because of some of these foreign cultures, we have embraced, capitalism. The capitalist idea is alien to us. That is why I said we should go back to the roots. Some of these cultures we just bought, which is individualism, are not our own way of life in Africa or in Nigeria. In Yorubaland, we appreciate social capital, which is about working together with ourselves. In those days, if you were going out, you could leave your children with your neighbor.

    You cannot even leave a girl with a brother now, considering the different things that are happening. We need to bring back the positive value and culture we had. That will address some of the problems we have in the country today.

    Your agency champions anti-female circumcision, yet you talk about going back to our culture. How do you reconcile that?

    Some of the cultures we think are bad or injurious to health, we will not propagate. One of them is the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) because of the effect it has on women when they want to give birth. That is why we are saying that if we do have high maternal rate, and one of the reasons that exacerbates this is because of the FMG, why don’t we begin to advocate against it? That there should not be female circumcision again because of the harm it is doing to women when they want to give birth.

    What are the risks involved in your job?

    It is a bit risky in the sense that some of these outreach communities have bad terrains. Some of them don’t have bridges; what they put on top of the rivers are just woods that are not even strong enough to have bicycles pass through them.

    There was a day we were trying to come back at night, but we couldn’t see very well. There was a river and we couldn’t swim. Unfortunately, the tyre of our vehicle did not align very well with the wood that had been placed on the river as a makeshift bridge. The vehicle could have plunged into the river. These are some of the things we encounter.

    Again, when you go, so many of these insects will deal with you. Of course, it is an experience that will make you know what the people are going through. It also makes you to say, ‘No, something must be done. Whenever I come to these people, their lives must change.’

    It is when I come to these people that I feel their pains. Feeling their pains makes me know how to find solutions to them.

    Tell me about some of your good and ugly experiences on the job.

    The good aspect is the fact that I am so grateful to God that this is the type of job I had wanted to do. I like to see changes in the lives of people. I am passionate about seeing that people who were sad are happy or people who were not having the good life are now having good life.

    Sometime in 2006, I was in the Netherlands for training. I wanted a service and they said the place was a village and that they could not render that service. I said, ‘Sir, this is a village? My state capital is not as good as what you call a village.’ Then I was challenged and I took it upon myself to know how they were able to go round it for a village to develop like that. I took it upon myself that I was going to do something on developmental studies and, thank God, I got a World Bank scholarship and went for the study, to know how we can have development in our communities and in our states. By the time I finished, they, in the school, were talking about the four Asian Tigers. I said if there are tigers, we too should be able to have our own lions; Four African Lions or something like that. I now said I would come back to Africa, what I have learnt back here in the Netherlands,  I will start from Nigeria and from my own state. That was how I got my journey into the agency. I’m so happy that it is happening.

    I saw a place where the water was so bad. The people told me their story; that they would have to wake up at 1AM to start fetching water and the water would be coming out in drops. They would use the whole of the night to get water from the stream. And the water they put in the bucket is so cloudy. They would use something like grass, make it round and put it on top of  the water and say they have placed an embargo on the water so that nobody would come and touch it. That day, I wept. I just said water?

    All their productive life, the time they should use for something meaningful is spent just to access water. Of course, I told myself that these people must have positive change in their lives. Thank God, there is a borehole in that place now and you don’t need to scoop water before you use water.

    Also, some of them had not had electricity for more than 15 or 20 years. It also shocked me to see that in the 21st Century.

    Prostitution used to be something alien, especially among the young girls in the South West. But that does not seem to be the case anymore…

    I think one of the things we need to do is that one, religion should intersect with culture. The religious institutions should wake up to their responsibilities. They should not mince word about preaching the truth. It could be bitter, but the truth must be said at any given time. We must bring our culture back. The foreign cultures we have imbibed are responsible for some of these problems.

    Again we have to go back to the basic structure of the society, which is the family. Parents must be responsible. They must be able to teach the children how to dress and should let them know that they should keep their body holy .

    The churches and mosques should go back and emphasise on holiness. The culture should also talk about dressing and the way women must keep themselves.

    One of the things I always say is that it takes two to tango. If you say women are causing it, we have men prostitutes too. If women come out and say they want to be prostitutes, if no man patronises them, will they not go back to their houses?

    The men too should stop patronising them. The solution is that men who have money should not use their money to induce young girls. They should use their money for positive things.

    To what extent did the life of your late mother, the Iyalode of Osogbo, impact on you?

    My mum, Chief Alake Kolade, was my mentor. We joined hands together to work in a non-governmental organisation. One of the things I would say about her is that because she was a nurse, she was very caring and I got that from her. When the HIV issue came up, she took it seriously and she actually made me to realise that it was a very serious issue and I also joined hands with her because then, many hospitals were rejecting people with HIV. Because she was a nurse, she really brought them back and admitted them. We had to join her because the load was getting too much on her, especially supporting her in the area of psycho-social support for the people who had HIV/AID.

    Then, ARV was not affordable. She would have to charter a bus for them to access the drug at UCH, Ibadan. That time, discrimination was a serious issue. Once they knew that you had HIV, they would want to eject you from your home. But she would use her position and say, ‘You cannot eject this person from home.’ At the place of work, she would use her position and say, ‘You can’t sack this person.’

    The HIV positive people, we used to call them ‘my people’ or ‘our people’. Most of the time, they would come from their homes and stay with us and we would give them food. We were organising many things for them. We had a social club for them, organising things that would lift their self-esteem. She stood for the truth.

    In taking care of people with HIV/AIDS, did you not fear that you too could contract it?

    Of course, as a scientist, you need to really know the facts. I took my time to study. I know the facts about HIV and I know that HIV progresses to AIDS. I also studied to know the ways in which one could contract HIV, so those were the things I took precautions against.

  • ‘My sweet quarantine experience in Abuja’

    ‘My sweet quarantine experience in Abuja’

    Tobi Ayodele-Keeney is the Managing Director of Quincy Herbals, a natural weight-loss, skin care and natural health firm. She took over the leadership of the renowned herbal company after her mother Chief (Mrs) Quincy Ayodele stepped down as the CEO a few years ago. The holder of a master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Baltimore, USA spoke with KEHINDE OLULEYE about her marital life, her passion for the beauty/wellness industry, her career and family and her experience at the isolation centre where she and other American returnees were kept for 14 days.

    What was growing up like?

    I had a relatively peaceful and happy childhood. My parents didn’t have much in terms of money but they did their best to make sure we had food to eat, got a good education and supported us in other passions like learning how to play the piano, how to knit, martial arts and sports. It was very costly for them to do, but they made us their priority.

    I also grew up with a lot of extended family members, so we had a lot of aunties and uncles who also cared for us. My mother was always an entrepreneur, so we were also involved in her various small businesses, including helping to sell the puff-puff down the road.

    In Addition, our parents ensured that we maintained the ties with our hometown so we would spend our holidays in Egbe, Kogi State, living as any village child would do, sleeping outside under the stars, caring for the livestock, following our grandpa to the farm, fetching water from the well and so on. I thank God for my childhood; it shaped me into who I am today.

    How did you meet your husband and what was the attraction?

    I met my husband online back in 2006. There was a social media site back then called Myspace which was like Facebook. We used to go on those sites to connect with our long-lost friends and share pictures and things like that. Sometime in March of that year, he sent me an email, saying he looked at my profile and saw that I had a nice smile. He was new in town and wanted to know if I could show him around the place.

    I did not read his mail until about three months later when I was cleaning out my inbox. My younger sister looked at his profile with me and told me to respond and get in touch. I was not so keen on it because he was a white guy and I didn’t think we would have anything in common. Regardless, I agreed to meet up with him for dinner and we hit it off.

    I even tried to scare him away by inviting him on our second date to a Yoruba naija get-together and warned my friends to only speak Yoruba, eat very indigenous food and act very stereotypical Nigerians to see if he could handle it. After the whole exercise, I was dead sure he was going to run away.  Surprisingly, he asked when he could see me again! That was pretty much what sold me. I liked the fact that he was smart, easy going, very adaptable and came from a very stable background like mine.

    How did he propose?

    He proposed about a year after we had been dating. He apparently had sought permission from my dad and my family behind my back, and I was shocked when my dad allowed him to take me out of town on a weekend trip. We were supposed to go to have dinner at a restaurant, but I guess he could not wait or was shy, so he proposed to me on our way out of the house. Luckily, I had just done my nails, which I rarely do. So everything turned out fine.

    Were your parents or his against the union at any stage?

    Never! We never had any opposition from my parents, his parents or any of our extended family, right down to our grandparents on both sides. If anything, I got a lot of backlash from strangers and non-related people saying things like I was a sell out or that I wasn’t proud to be black, or maybe I married him for papers or money, all of which were false.

    I was already a US citizen through my parents and we were very comfortable financially.  My parents have always been forward thinking and are progressive and knew that there was a high possibility of their kids getting married to people who were from the land we were living in at the time (USA), as there were more of them there than Nigerians. If we lived in India, they would not have been opposed to us marrying Indians, or Russians or whoever. Their criteria were solely about the character of the person, the love between their child and the person, the person’s values, goals and aspirations rather than the colour of their skin.

    What is your take on love, marriage and relationship?

    Love, relationship, and marriage are three separate things. Marriage is like a partnership of which the couple (partners) has sworn an oath to each other to be together no matter what unless there is threat to life or something very deadly. Until recently, marriages were contracted worldwide without the criteria of love and dating or establishing a relationship beforehand. Most people did not even know who their spouse was or how he or she looked like until the wedding day, and there was rarely any divorce. This was because everyone knew what the expectations were and the understanding of what they were getting into.

    Now, there is this Hollywood, fairytale expectation of what they think love is about, and it is causing a lot of relationships and marriages to fail. Also because nowadays, we are meeting and getting married to complete strangers unlike before where it was a union of families who had known each other for a long time. We have to do a better job of understanding each other’s background, past, values, goals, mindset, and so on before jumping into marriage. What we have now are people marrying each other for the wrong reasons, or just marrying themselves solely based on ‘love’ or physical attraction-infatuation that will fade away after some time.

    We are forgetting that compatibility, commitment, compromise, sacrifice and establishing good communication skills are way more essential in having a peaceful, lasting marriage than just love.  How do you love someone you just met so strongly who hasn’t been through thick and thin with you? Someone who you barely know about his or her past and have made mutual compromise and sacrifices for? That which most people experience and think its love is chemistry and infatuation. Those types of feelings fade away after the kids come into the picture and everyone must hustle to raise a family.

    True love grows over time and gets stronger with each passing year. It happens when you have truly been together during challenging times and have shown yourself strong in times of stressful situation.  Love also gets strengthened when you also have shared good times together; the joys of bringing forth children into the world, buying your first house, getting promotion at work, or establishing a business, and so on.

    This is the reason you see a couple that has been married for 50-60 years plus are attached to each other by the hip. If one of them dies of old age, the second one follows soon after.  They are so in love with each other they cannot live without themselves.  Yet if you hear their story, there were a lot of ups and downs, betrayals, sacrifices and more. Yet they were so committed to making their partnership work, it grew into a deep type of love we rarely see these days. I would say I love my husband more now than ever before.

    I learnt from a source that you recently returned from America and you were one of those sent to Abuja for quarantine. What was your experience?

    The mental stress of not knowing the future, whether I had caught the illness or the unknown was quite traumatizing. But that was the only thing I would say was the worst experience of being stranded in America and the journey back home.

    My experience in quarantine was exceptionally good. We were all kept in well air conditioned hotels which had constant electricity, cable TV, internet and we were fed very well…if not overfed. We had daily menus to choose from, and the company handling our welfare was very accommodating to our needs. They even allowed us to stay for an extra day for free for those that needed extra time to sort our logistics to Lagos.

    The only majorly stressful thing was that we were not allowed to leave our rooms for those 14 days and that was to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus from one evacuee to the next. So, I will call it a luxury prison that was very necessary. We did not pay a dime for anything they provided to us. I was quite shocked when I read something in the newspapers that said we were protesting Nigerian government for neglect and lack of care. I gained at least 2kg from all the food we were being fed with: large chunks of chicken, goat, beef, or fish. At a point I would just skip lunch and dinner and just ask for apples because I was still full with last night’s meal.

    Yet some of the people were giving the government a ridiculously hard time during the quarantine period, asking (sorry, demanding) that they provide things like SIM cards, stepdown transformer, comb, cream; complaints upon complaints. That was what gave me and a lot of other right minded individuals worry, because we knew that a lot of what was being done for us for free was just done out of altruism. Now, because of the protests and all the complaints, the government has stopped the quarantine process and is demanding that evacuees should get tested before being allowed to board the plane.

    Many Nigerians do not know that to get tested for Covid-19 in America and most western countries can only occur if you are extremely ill and have tested negative for all other respiratory illnesses and are in dire need of oxygen support.  This will mean the average Nigerian visitor who is healthy and does not have a doctor in that country may not be able to get the test done.

    Basically, they are stranded in those western countries indefinitely. So, the actions of a few evacuees who were not considering their fellow Nigerians stranded abroad has further worsened their plight. I would not say Nigeria is perfect in any way, but this quarantine process was a pilot case and we should have been more patient and understanding.

    Were you worried that some of the other returnees you were mingling with could be COVID-19 positive?

    We did not mingle with any returnees until we were declared negative for Covid-19. It was not even allowed like I mentioned earlier. All our communications were done through WhatsApp. I was just hoping someone was not positive, because it could mean us getting retested and delaying the quarantine period. But there was no chance of contracting the virus from others if we were inside the quarantine hotels.

    What has been your experience since you took over the leadership of the family company – Quincy Herbals?

    Luckily, I was always involved in the business from a young age. So, it was not much of a drastic transition. I had officially been working directly under my mother since 2010. The experience has been good and at the same time challenging. One must keep with the times, seasons, and trends.

    Why do you think your mum handed the management of the company over to you?

    I am the only child in the family who has a medical background and has passion for healthcare.  My sister is a US immigration lawyer and my brother is an IT specialist. So, the only option was me. My sister does run the operations of the company and is good in process planning and strategy, but I am better at execution of the process and have the passion and the gift of healing people.

    Was there opposition from any quarter?

    No. There was not any need for opposition as there was no other alternative.

    Did you feel inadequate at any point?

    Oh, yea definitely, especially in the beginning. I was changing things to suit my style of leadership which is different from my mum’s. It was a period of learning and adaptation, and I am still learning and adapting.

    What was the reaction of your siblings?

    They were relieved it was not them as they don’t even have the knowledge of basic anatomy, not to talk of medications or how to arrive at a diagnosis. It will be as if my brother told me to help run his software development business and start writing codes. That will be a total failure (laughs).

    Considering that you often shuttle between your factory in the USA and Nigeria, how do you balance your personal life, home, and family?

    Luckily, I have a lot of family support, especially my mother. I can leave the kids with her and travel at short notice. And she is excellent with the kids more than I am, to be honest. My hubby also travels a lot for work, so we are always in and out. But the benefit of owning your own business is that I can make time for my children. I exclusively breastfed my kids and did so for over a year with each one and was pre dominantly their care giver until they started primary school. Family comes first in everything and family is my priority.

    What other business do you do apart from herbal business?

    We produce and process fonio (acha) into flour for making into swallow or using to bake. We also provide healthy delicious meals for people who need to change their diet in order to lose weight and be healthy, and we are in the process of producing an alkaline water that will be affordable for anyone that can afford bottled water.

    All my side businesses are still health related as making people healthy is my passion. In line with the new development of coronavirus, we are transitioning to a full naturopathic and wellness centre with an in-house diagnostic lab. In this way, you can see an herbal doctor, see a regular doctor, get your lab work done and if we can, have a pharmacy that will provide both herbal and synthetic drugs depending on your diagnosis.

    What is your advice to young women who are planning to go for body enhancement?

    Be careful, do your research and make sure it is not something you will regret later in life. This current look of having an excessively big bum and big breasts is just a trend, and anyone who has lived long enough will know that trends come and go. So, make sure you do not do anything that will make you look outdated in the future.  Tribal marks on the face, arms, back, etc. were once a thing of fashion and everyone struggled to get it done. Now it is considered archaic and a form of mutilation.

    What best describes your style?

    Casual and comfortable. I also believe in dressing for the occasion. So, I have different styles depending on where I am going. However, in general, I like to look put together but not in an extravagant manner. I also believe in modest, decent but classy dressing. I do not like to show too much skin as I believe it gives out the wrong impression and people will not take me seriously.

    What is your favorite Nigerian food?

    Anything with yam inside. I am from Kogi State, so I was literally born with a yam in my hand. I can eat yam six times a day if it was healthy to do so. My favorite stew is ofada stew. My mum is from Abeokuta, so we had been eating ofada stew decades before it became popular.